Recently, a customer of mine wrote me to tell me that she intended to put off her purchase for several years. She is about 4.5 years away from retirement, and she wants to get her debts paid off and her house sold before she moves here. She's looking at an adorable 2 bedroom 1 bath townhouse I have listed for $174,500 that has no monthly condo fees.

While I certainly respect her decision, I felt I had to point out few things...

 
1. The market is really good here right now - a BUYER's market. Not sure how long that will last - our gut feel is that it won't last much longer. We (the realtor community) feel the prices are most definitely going to go up as the economy shows some flicker of rebound and as people get tired of seeing their money sit around. Real estate - especially investment property - is still a money maker. And people are ALWAYS going to want to live and vacation in the Caribbean!

2. Interest rates are really good right now. Who knows what they'll be like in a few years.

3. There are very few rental units on St Croix that accept pets. This complex does, which means that it would be relatively easy to find and keep a long term tenant - probably for $1200 - $1500 a month. This would more than cover the mortgage payment.

4. Buying now and using the townhouse as a rental for four years will make it very easy to justify "fixing it up" really spiffy in 4 - 5 years when it's time to take it over to live in.

So - buying now and renting out the unit is a good investment - both financially and for future retirement plans!  Visit my St Croix web site for detailed information on the Cost of Living and Investment Considerations.  Then contact me to discuss the wealth of opportunities here!

Kim Lucas, Realtor
340-626-3758
www.retireinthevi.com
kim@coldwellbankervi.com