Ken Wiseman St Thomas Real Estate Blog

New Kenny Chesney Video, When I See This Bar

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 08:19:01 -0700

I wrote about speculation of which bar Kenny Chesney was singing about in the song "When I See This Bar" (you can see that post here). I thought it was Ivan's Stress Free Bar on White Bay, Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. I was right, but the new video came out today and not only is Ivan's in the video but a host of others. I have been to all of the ones in the video. Here is a break down of those bars. Ivan's Stress Free Bar Foxy himself! Soggy Dollar Bar, JVD (I think that may be my boat at 2:40 into the video?) Latitude 18 - Red Hook STT One Love on Christmas Woody's (this is where he is sitting down with the guitar) STJ (Notice they whited out the top of the sign in the video?) Quiet Mon STJ Beach Bar STJ Customs Dock, JVD Chasing that sun and following his heart. Yeah, that's what I see When I see this bar. Some are still living the dream, Stuck in still life it seems. No matter where they've been, Or where they are, Yeah, I see 'em here When I see this bar. When I see this bar. Here is the video, see if I missed any bars? Kenny Chesney, When I See This Bar I am still Living the Dream, why aren't you?

Should You Buy a Vacation Home in the Virgin Islands?

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 05:45:42 -0700

Should You Buy a Vacation Home in the Virgin Islands? My intention of this blog is not be advertising my real estate brokerage on here, but rather give readers what it is like to live here in St Thomas and the Virgin Islands. I though I would take a look at how owning a vacation home here may work for some!Does it make sense to own a condo here in St Thomas? Well, after doing some math, it may make sense! I have a one bedroom, one bath, 780 Sq Ft condo for sale near Sapphire Beach. It is currently listed for $139,900. Now let's say you purchase this condo for list price. Now you rent this condo out on VRBO.com as a vacation rental for $125/per night and you only have it occupied 50% of the time. Of course you will want to spend some time using the condo and of course your friends and family will want to use it too?Your annual income of $22,875 minus expenses of $11,539 (HOA dues, power, water, repairs, etc) would be 8.1% of your investment or $11,336.Now let's look at a conservative appreciation over the course of ownership for 5 years at 3% appreciation a year, you would have an annualized rate of return of 11.1 %, not bad considering what are your other choices are for investing your money these days? Not mention, living in paradise part of the year? Oh and don't forget how much you can save too by having a kitchen and making some of your own meals?Many people opt for a timeshare route, which after a purchase price of about $35,000 for a week, maintenance fees of $1500 a year and after five years, what would your timeshare be worth?If you are interested in vacation real estate here in St Thomas, please contact me. I can also send you the spreadsheet I have on condo investments here. Sapphire Hill Village, Dominca 165Listed by America's Caribbean Realty*All investment scenarios are strictly hypothetical, contact a professional financial planner for any real estate investment.

Happy Summer and Microbrew Beer Festival this Weekend!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 05:01:09 -0700

Happy Summer - Virgin Islands Beer Club Micro Brew Beer Festival - Sat. June 22nd! I will have to admit, one of the things that I miss from stateside is a plethora of micro brews to chose from, either when you are eating out or when you are at the grocery store, kind of like my Taco Bell habit? Being I went to the University of Colorado at Boulder and lived in Boulder for 12 years, microbrews are like the fine wine of the beer world, with Colorado being the Napa of Beer!I heard about this festival last weekend at King of the Wing and nothing will be stopping me from going tomorrow night, especially to taste one of my old friends and some delish BBQ from Chris! Here are the details and if you need directions to Compass Point Marina, contact me! I would also bring some lawn chairs too! I guess today is the first day of Summer? Only thing I have noticed is it is light out until 7 PM and the sun is in my eyes at 5 AM? Oh yes the temperature does change about 4 degrees, so here is the same old weather forecast: Isolated showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Northeast wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10%. It really never changes! Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Great Condo on the Marina and Steps to the Beach! $139,900

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:55:18 -0700

21 Photos

Status: FOR SALEPrice: $139,900Address: Sapphire Hill Village Dominica 165Type: Condominium Style: Single Story Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Suite: No Living Area: 781 square feet Year Built: 1972 More DetailsVirtual TourView RoomsRequest More Info | Email Listing

Description

Great one bedroom condo with down island and marina views. This ground floor unit features an open floor area with combined living and dining area that faces out to the balcony. Nice bedroom with plenty of closet space. Balcony is spacious. 5 minute walk to the beach and snorkeling. The complex features two pools, one with a restaurant, BBQ grill areas, and nice landscaping. Great investment!More Description

Information is deemed to be correct but not guaranteed.

Ken WisemanAmerica's Caribbean RealtyWork: (340) 514-5671 Email Ken

Brokered and Advertised by America's Caribbean Realty LID 82882770

King of the Wing Contest, Sat June 15 at Megans Bay!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 04:42:29 -0700

Tuesday, June 4, 2013 King of the Wing - St Thomas USVI June 15th, Megans Bay Mark your calendars folks!Our favorite special event on St Thomas is coming Saturday, June 15th, King of the Wing Contest!If you love chicken wings, this event is the grand daddy of chicken wing tasting in the World! Last year's event was awesome and we have never tasted so many variations of chicken wings before all in one place!This years event is going to be even better as they have moved the venue from Lindquist Beach to Megans Bay, home of one the World's Top Ten Beaches! According to their Facebook page, there are 36 entrants in this years event!Don't miss out on this great event! For more info on this event, please contact King of the Wing at https://www.facebook.com/alpinekow?fref=ts On another note, are there any stories, topics or things you would like to see on our blog?

KENNY CHESNEY DONATES PORTION OF LIFE ON A ROCK

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:27:42 -0700

Friends of the US Virgin Islands National Park to Benefit from 4/30 Release Nashville: Kenny Chesney didn't know what he'd found the first time he went to the Virgin Islands for a video shoot. But over the next 15 years, he found a harbor in the craziness, friends he would have far beyond stardom and a place that grounded him in the beauty of the ocean, the shore and the national parks. Over time, all that would inspire him to write a lot of songs for himself and his friends; now a handful of those songs have become Life On A Rock, which arrives April 30. Given the powerful role the various islands in the Caribbean have played in his life, the singer/songwriter wanted to do something to honor on all that. To that end, Chesney will donate a portion of the proceeds of the sales of Life On A Rock to the Friends of the US Virgin Islands National Park to insure the legacy of nature for coming generations. "As the world becomes more developed, protecting these wild places is going to become harder - and the cost of maintaining them needs to be covered," Chesney explains. "It's easy to forget, or not understand when it's a line item on a piece of paper, just one more expense. But if you've ever seen the trees, the oceans from a ridge, the way it all tangles together, you realize how important making sure lands like this exist for the people who come after us is... "For me, Life On A Rock comes from this place, so I want to give something back, so it's there for others. Let them find the peace and the awe that I did for so many years. And I like that the music can be connected with protecting something so important." The Friends of the US Virgin Island was founded 25 years ago, with the sole intent of protecting and preserving the natural habitat in the US Virgin Islands. The organization has been responsible for creating and maintaining accessible trails, beach restoration, coral reef research, various educational projects including ranger-in-training camps and hands-on learning for school children, ship mooring, archeological preservation and underwater explorations, as well as general staffing, volunteers and maintenance. "It also includes cultural preservation with relics from the Pre-Colombian Amerindian Civilization, remains of colonial sugar plantations and reminders of African Slave and Substistence Culture during the 100 years after Empanicaption.* "Our national parks are one of those things you might not think about." Chesney explains. "But once they're gone, you can't get them back, so protecting and maintaining them is so important. I know: I've spent hours in these parks, on these trails and beaches. Over the years, they've been a big part of my time away from the road, and I think they're a great sanctuary for all of us. To me, to connect these songs with something so special is both an honor and a chance to call awareness to the Friends of the Park."

New Real Estate Brokerage in St Thomas

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:01:17 -0700

I am pleased to announce the opening of my new real estate brokerage in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, America's Caribbean Realty. I am here for all of your Virgin Islands real estate needs!

40th Annual International Rolex Regatta

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:30:29 -0700

The 40th Annual Rolex Sailing Regatta blew into to town this past weekend! They have several classes of sail boats with 3 days of racing around the Island of St Thomas and St John. Headquarters for the Regatta is at the St Thomas Yacht Club. Every night they had live entertainment, food and drink. Friday we headed over to the Yacht Club. They had a large screen going of the recap of that day's races. The bar was great. And there was a BBQ with food for purchase. Out in the water they built a bandstand. They had some really nice chairs out on the beach and was great to take in the video and then listen to the great band Cool Session Brass Band from St John and dance in the sand under the stars! Here is a video. Saturday we gathered a group together to go out on our boat to watch the regatta up close on the water. We found a spot just off the Wyndham Resort where they had to make a sharp turn. Wind was pretty strong here along with the current and trying to stay in place was a challenge. So off we went to the other side of Pillsbury sound and went in between Little St James to Christmas Cove we were anchored up for the rest of the day! Saturday proved to be fun, so we ventured out again on Sunday, this time we found a more calm place right off of Thatch Cay. Here is a video of the sailboats making a turn. The Rolex Regatta was a good time and can't wait for next year! Next event is St Thomas Carnival, end of April.

St Patrick's Day in St. Thomas

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:41:50 -0700

Move out of the way Saint Thomas, we have Saint Patrick taking over for the day! Believe it or not, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated here in St Thomas. Most of the action takes place down in the Red Hook area with all the bars having their own celebrations with drink and food specials. We ventured down for our first St Patty's day in the warmth. Although the weather took a turn for the worse with some much needed rain showers (much needed as it has been very dry this Winter) it was still fun. Most of the action centered around Molly Malone's Irish Bar with live music and a parade that went around the Red Hook center. This certainly was no NYC type of parade by any means. We had one bagpiper!

Kenny Chesney's New Album, "Life On a Rock"

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 04:47:37 -0800

Country music star Kenny Chesney has a new album coming out in April called Life On a Rock. From what he was quoted in a recent interview, the songs will reflect living on an island. Funny! A few things here: 1. Kenny Chesney owns two houses on St John (one is for sale). 2. We always say we live on "The Rock" otherwise known as St Thomas. 3. The video for "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem was filmed at Ivan's Stress Free Bar on Jost Van Dyke. The songs insperation came from a sign in front of One Love Bar on Jost (see picture). "When I first went to the islands, I met a lot of people who were making a life beyond anything any of them knew... They were boatmen, bartenders, waitresses, real estate folks. They were all loving life, living a dream and coloring outside the lines with this real sense of freedom; they took a country singer from East Tennessee into their tribe at a time when having friends outside everything I knew was important. Time passes, life moves on, but those friends lasted, and this album in a lot of ways is about the power of that kind of friendship to endure." What are you waiting for, make your move to paradise now! Here is the link to his interview: http://www.kennychesney.com/news/news.php?uid=176

State of the St Thomas, US Virgin Islands Real Estate Market

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:33:05 -0800

Some of you may have been wondering what is the state of the St Thomas, US Virgin Islands Real Estate Market? Is it any different than what is happening stateside? All statistics are showing that are market is improving and on the up swing. Let's take a look at year over year statistics, 2011 to 2012 2011 Average Sold for residential was $511,014 vs. 2012 Average Sold of $532,543 for a gain of 4.13%. 2011 Median Sold for residential was $440,000 vs. Median Sold of $456,000 for a gain of 3.64%. Sold listings for 2011 was 53 vs. Sold lisitngs for 2012 was 67 for a gain of 24.3%. Median days on market is 208 days, meaning it will take about 7 months for a listing to sell on average. Condominium sales are showing some strength too: 2011 Average Sold for residential was $211,271 vs. 2012 Average Sold of $236,706 for a gain of 12.04%. 2011 Median Sold for residential was $175.000 vs. Median Sold of $177,000 for a gain of 1.14%. Sold listings for 2011 was 67 vs. Sold listings for 2012 was 64 for a decline of 4.5%. Median Day on the Market was 222 days for 2011 vs. 163 days for 2012 for a decline of 26.58% The National Association of Realtors states, "The price of existing homes increased by 5.4% annually from 1968 to 2009, on average." Although the 3.64% in residential homes is not yet at the 5.4%, it is very encouraging? What do you think of the state of the St Thomas Housing Market? *Statistics are from the St. Thomas MLS.

Financing a Home in the US Virgin Islands?

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:52:20 -0800

The US Virgin Islands? Yes we are a United States Territory, and with that designation, buying a home is just like buying a home in the states. We have deeded property here and the sales process is just like buying a home in states. Well what about financing? Yes, financing here is just like the states. We have all the same financing programs here in the US Virgin Islands. Buying a home here now is easy than ever before, especially with the low interest rates and higher loan limits. Conventional Financing? Yes we have conventional financing. Financing up to a loan amount of $625,000 and 2 unit (which many homes here have a main house and then a smaller apartment) $800,775. Interest rate (estimate only as rates change daily but here is the latest rate) 3.4% APR Average home price here on the Island of St. Thomas 2012 was $456,000. 20% down payment of $91,200. Loan amount of $364,800. 30 year loan payment a month of $1617.82 (does not include property taxes or home owners insurance). FHA financing? Yes we have FHA financing! FHA requires only a 3.5% down payment. The home must be a primary residence and a credit score of 640 or better. Financing a loan up to $446,200 and 2 units $571,200. Interest Rate (estimate only) 3.25% APR Average home price $456,000. Down Payment of $15,960 (less than the price of a good used car?) Loan amount of $440,040. 30 year loan payment of $1915.08 (does not include property taxes or home owners insurance). VA financing in the US Virgin Islands? Yes we have VA financing! VA loans are zero down loans and must be a primary residence. Financing up to a loan amount of $625,500. Zero Down Payment! Loan amount of $456,000 Interest rate with VA loan (estimate only) 3.25% APR 30 year loan payment of $1984.54 per month (does not include property taxes or home owners insurance). So as you can see home financing here in the US Virgin Islands is easy and with reasonable payments. These interest rates are at historic lows and eventually are going to go up. There is no better time than now to buy a home a now with low home prices and low interest rates? In 2-3 years, ask yourself if waiting to buy a home was a good idea? Many people that I know that live here full time on the island are paying $2000 - $3000 a month in rent for a nice home. Sometimes those homes have a downstairs apartment too, which would rent out for $800 - $1000 a month. Take that income and subtract that from your FHA loan payment of $1985 and you would be living in a home that you own for only $985/mo, or about half of what you are paying your landlord? Do you think that it would make sense for you to own rather than rent? If it does make sense for you to own here in the US Virgin Islands, contact me today! *Ken Wiseman is not a home loan officer, all information herein is for educational purposes only, please contact a qualified home loan officer for your home financing needs.

US Virgin Islands Beaches Make the Top 10 List!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:33:45 -0800

These beaches are in my back yard, my personal favorite is White Bay, Jost Van Dyke, BVI, although having Megan's 10 minutes down the road and we look into Trunk from out patio isn't too bad! :)http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/01/14/travel-leisure-magazine-ranks-3-vi-beaches-best-earth Travel + Leisure Magazine Ranks 3 V.I. Beaches ‘Best on Earth’ | St. Thomas Source stthomassource.com

Owning a Home in St Thomas, USVI - Repairs Part II - Drinking Water

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 07:30:33 -0700

Here in the Virgin Islands, most homes that are not in populated areas are on rain cisterns for water for the home. Most of the homes have a metal roof or a roof that is coated with top coat, the same paint on plastic that is found on RV roofs. From there, the rain water goes into gutters and downspouts into a holding tank, generally a section of the home's foundation contains this tank. There it is pumped from a water pump and small pressure tank to the home's plumbing. The bad news about this system is that all kinds of debris from trees, dust, critters, etc, gets into the tank which for drinking water is not good due to the chance for bacteria, choloform and girardia. There was a study done here in the Virgin Islands by the University of Florida that showed that 54% of the cisterns had giradia. If you have ever had girardia, it is not a pleasant experience. So as one can figure out, you shouldn't be driking your cistern water. Above is how our home is set up, with the top coat roof, gutters, downspouts, water pump/tank and cistern hatch. Notice we have an all house sediment filter, but that does not kill and sanitize the bacteria. The issue of safe drinking water causes a dilema, and the best solution is to purchase bottled water from the grocery store. Plaza Extra sells a 24 case of 500 ML bottled water for 3 cases for $12. They also have gallon bottled water for a 6 pack at $6.09. This can be costly as you are supposed to drink one or two gallons a day, not to mention hauling from the store to the car and then up the stairs and the waste of the plastic bottles, especially for here where there is no recycling and the landfill is full. Well I saw a friend on Facebook who posted his solution to this. A reverese osmosis system with a U/V light. Yes folks, take a look at any of your bottled water like Niagara or Kirkland and see that it is Filtration, Ozone (sanitizer), and reverse osmosis technologies from Ontario, CA. I don't know about you, but I wasn't aware of a giant spring in Ontario, a suburb of Los Angeles! It is city water put the same R/O system you can buy for your home. Scott, my friend, got his from www.freedrinkingwater.com, and had it shipped here via US Mail. My brain started thinking, we have our first guests coming, Larry, who owns ASAP Well & Pump in Reno, NV (Otherwise known as Larry the Water Guy!). So I ordered the system with the assist pump as we have pressure below 50 PSI and the UV light. The cost came to about $575 with shipping. This is pretty good payoff of about a year with figuring there is two of us drinking one gallon a day at $1.03 a gallon over 52 weeks, my system will pay for itself in a little less than a year. Yes the costs of electric running the U/V light and water pump, and replacing the filters and light once a year, but to not have to haul water anymore, PRICELESS! It took Larry about a half day to install this, with a trip to Home Depot as we have some funky plumbing here, but we now have FREE bottled water from our cistern! We call our new bottled water, "Virgin Larry Water". The logo is in the works!

What To Do in the Virgin Islands When....Part 1

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 07:16:52 -0700

You are waiting for your real estate Broker's License. When we moved all of our belongings down here a month ago, I made it a priority to submit my broker's license application. Three weeks later I received a letter that I had been approved to sit for the Broker Examination. Only problem with that is there was a dispute with the RE Commission and the testing company over the cost to the territory. The RE Commission has been looking for a new testing company, but we all know that means, "Island Time". So what better way to spend our time, enjoying all that is here to enjoy! I haven't posted in a while as we had been getting unpacked and our house ready for our first guests from Reno, NV, Larry and Teresa. Well we did do some sneaking away from domestic duties in preparation too. Larry was my Well & Pump specialist when I worked in Reno. One of our favorite things to do was to go to Water Island's Honeymoon Beach on a Sunday afternoon for a Heidi Burger and Joe's Rum Shack. Water Island is seperate from the main island of St Thomas and there is no bridge, just a water taxi. So many of the islands inhabitants drive golf carts. Well Heidi's is no exception, she has her portable hamburger stand! The burgers are delicious and huge all for a decent price. When you come by boat you just park outside the swim area in front of Joe's, which has live music and sometimes a late afternoon pot luck! As you know we have two Labrador retrievers, and they, you guessed it, love the water. So we found this beach called Vessup which is by a nice restaurant in Red Hook called Latitude 18. With a little help from Google Maps we found a road to this beach where we can drive our Toyota Tacoma on the beach with the dogs, which is perfect! Put the tailgate down and viola, a beach chair! Of Of course we have been doing grocery shopping, and I will save the whole shopping experience for another post. But I had to throw this picture in for humor! One of our all time favorite weekend excursions is to go over to the British Virgin Islands to Jost Van Dyke and visit White Beach, home of the Soggy Dollar Bar. This little island is about 8 miles away and from our porch we look out at this tropical paradise. From the photo below it is the island on the horizon toward the left. We have been over here in the past and had the nice opportunity to go out on a friends boat! When you get to JVD you have to check into customs in another harbor called Great Harbor at the police station. There you will fill out customs paperwork, pay your $15-$45 fee for the boat depending on the day and have your passport stamped? Yes, this is another country believe it or not! Once that is accomplished it is off to one of the most beautiful beaches, White Bay. Soggy Dollar Bar gets its name for the reason that there is no dock in this bay and all the boaters have to swim to the bar. It is known for its rum drink, "Painkiller", which is dark rum 1/3 of the cup, pineapple juice, orange juice, creme de coconut. We started off with breakfast, otherwise known as a Bloody Mary. Lunch is at Jewel's Snack Shack! She has the best burger on the island is right down the beach from Soggy Dollar Bar. Jewel is originally from NYC, and has been living on JVD for about 11 years. And of course the rest of the afternoon consists of a drink, swim, drink, swim, noted so much I put the sticker on our boat. Then it is time to go back home and get the house ready for guests!

Owning a Home in St Thomas, USVI - Landscaping Part I

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:43:43 -0700

Along with owning a home, comes the landscaping. I had a pretty green thumb at our old home in N. Nevada, problem there was only 9 inches of precipitation a year and winter. I am excited to see how my thumb does here with 45 inches of precipitation a year and warm year round! As you already may know we bought the home here in 2009. I came down in 2010 to live in the upstairs and do repairs and clean up. While I was here I went to a nursery on the North Side. I bought 3 lime trees and two banana trees. Since the tenants weren't keeping up with the general trimming and weed whacking, I hired a landscaper to get the yard back in to shape and come for a monthly service. So I had the landscaper plant the banana trees below the septic tank and the lime trees on the side of the driveway hill. Here we are 2012 and I have yet to have one piece of fruit from either. One of the banana trees died, the other one had two stalks going and one blew down a week after we got here full time. One of the lime trees got whacked by the landscaper (yes the same landscaper who planted it?). The Lime tree is big, but no limes? DUMB Banana Tree that does not produce any bananas. Maybe it is a plantain tree which take longer? Well enough of not having fruit, I went to a different nursery and got a new banana tree (looks different than my dud tree?). Now I had planted an avocado tree when I was here in January, but when we got back down here it was just a stick, no one watering in dry season here I guess? Well, I give up on avocados and going to go more for a tropical fruit, so I bought a Mango tree. I planted a hibiscus tree in January, and was almost dead when got back on island, it is recovering though. Above in its glory and below where it is now. Our old hibiscus in the front isn't doing so hot. The plant was infested with mites when we were in January. It is watered with Gray water from our kitchen sink. I think combined with no water and the mites we came back and found it all trimmed down. I guess the landscaper did this. I brought some garden insect dust with me, and sprinkled it on there, it seems to being doing much better! Of course we have our favorite palm tree! Which of course produces coconuts! I brought a nice machete down with me to enjoy this fruit! No limes to put in da coconut though. Since I now have my weed whacker, pruning sheers and bought a leaf blower I am going to move down a scale with the landscaper to just quarterly tree service. Crime here with regards to break ins can be a problem too, so I added some yard art to discourage that behavior. Notice we have prickly pear cactus growing here? See the plant next to the ADT sign? That is a wandering wild orchid or something, can be irritating to dogs and people's skin, so we removed it in the backyard and I threw some Bermuda Grass down. There are other birds other than the Thrasher, I have seen two different kinds of hummingbirds and we have some random lizards here, I will start to gather the pictures for a future post. We have large Iguanas. Hermit Crabs And moving rocks! This Red Footed Tortoise came to visit us yesterday! And my father's favorite critter, the tarantula! Let's not forget all the frogs too! I will update another time, hopefully when I have some fruit!

Owning a Home in St Thomas, USVI - Repairs Part I

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:09:54 -0700

Everyone from stateside tells me I have moved to paradise. Yes, we have moved to paradise, but no place one lives is perfect. Owning a home here has its challenges with regards to maintenance. The humid environment with salt water sea breezes can takes its toll on a home here, and after some years, leads to repairs. We bought our home in 2009. Of course our view (it is called a down island view) and some flat land for the dogs was important (there is a reason the locals call the island the rock, it is a mountain that literally comes out of the sea). The main reason for our purchase was the home was built of masonry construction (solid concrete). The home was built in 1969 and probably back then built of West Indian style. We figured if the home was still standing without seeing any past damage of hurricanes, it would be a safe bet. That is true, it is solid, but back in 1969 they must not have had a tape measure, as nothing in this house is lined up with anything. Every slider, arch, doorway, etc. is a different size. And yes some attention to detail was left out and with some deferred maintenance from the old owner, we have spent some time with repairs and remodeling. After our upstairs tenants moved out in 2010, I spent what was going to be 3 weeks living here, became 3 months. We had a major issue with the old breezeway, which is now a dining room. That whole story is another blog post for the future. We have been living here now for 3 weeks, and I am somewhat grateful for not working as I await my broker license as there have been some minor repairs needed done. I am very grateful that we have a Home Depot here about 5 minutes away! We have an office in the rear of the house that had a wood door with glass windows. Well when we opened it when we arrived the lower section of the door fell off. The side windows were never trimmed out. I had to downsize my old 3 car garage to a small shed on the side of the house as we do not have a garage (not many homes have a garage here as there is not much in the way of flat land). I opened the door on my lower shed and of course it fell off its hinge, wood rotted. We had a contractor come out and replace the office door (no more wood for me, ALUMINUM!) and the door on the shed. As it is so humid here and the wood you do get from Home Depot is also wet, I am going to wait a month for the wood to completely dry before painting. Now on the laundry room. This is essentially a shed on the outside of the home. Now in a previous blog I disccused the power cord and plug for the clothes dryer. Well, that was not the end. Shannon was running the washer and I was on the lower deck and saw water coming out of the door! The drain hose for the washing machine went into the old laundry tub and was tied with a thin plastic cord. The cord had broken. So I got some wire and re-attached it and fixed the problem. Now we have a bird problem in the laundry room. Every Spring a bird gets under the eaves and starts to build a nest. The bird that is doing this is a Pealy Eyed Thrasher. I am not going to have this messy nest, so on to Wal-Mart.com and order some pigeon spikes. I installed them and that seemed to work, except this morning there was a breach in the spikes and now I have to go back into the mosquito laundry room (why do the mosquitoes love black things, they seem to love the black trash cans in there and the black door to the apartment?) and make some adjustments. So you thought I had the washing machine drain all fixed? Right! Shannon comes up to me the other day and tells me there is a puddle in the laundry room. WTF? So I go and investigate, the water is coming out of the drain of the old sink. I rub my hand underneath where the pipe hooks into the drain and gobs of metal fall on the floor and the pipe is now detached from the sink. The faucet on the sink was rotted so that was shut off at the shut off valve and now this? Who really uses a laundry room sink anyway especially with the mosquitoes in there. Out comes the old sink and now the drain pipe is directly piped into the drain line. I am off to the Thrasher breach and will continue with Chapter II - Pool/Cistern another day!

First Day On Our New Boat!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:31:27 -0700

One of the reasons for moving here was to spend time boating. We had a boat and RV on our land at Eagle Lake, CA for some years and some of my best down time was being on the water. Well being on the water is really only a 4 month window. Here in the Virgin Islands it is a year round window. In the past times of coming to our home, we would go out on friends boats or rent a boat from Awesome Boat Rentals. With Awesome, you can captain the boat and they have 26 ft Twin Vee's with twin motors. We have always felt comfortable with this boat and liked the perfomance and utility of room for snorkeling and island hopping. We also liked the fuel economy. One day I mentioned to Gary, the owner, after a day renting if he would ever consider selling one. And of course he was willing and we were willing. After my experience in selling everything stateside to move here, I learned a valuable lesson, don't ever buy your toys new, buy used! And to boot, Gary also owns Gary's Marine, which is the Suzuki dealer on the island, which means a captive ear for all my questions and repairs. We had a name in mind for the boat, "The Funnie Mae". So we bought the 26 Ft one that is a 2003 with twin 2010 Suzki 115 HP motors. I brought down a new stereo and Gary installed that. He still has some other work to do on the boat before we will have it to ourselves, but we took the boat out this past Sunday over to Water Island and Honeymoon Beach (this is a local's favorite on the weekends with Heidi Burgers cooks on a portable grills with a golf cart, $8 for a 1/2 lb burger! and Joe's Rum Shack with live music.). We invited our friend Lee (Lee was my father's fishing buddy when he lived in Melbourne, FL from 2000 - 2004 and by chance has also moved to St Thomas!). This is where the cruise ships dock! Oceana Restaurant in French Town. Cargo Port in Crown Bay Honeymoon Beach!

First Two Weeks of Living on St Thomas Fulltime!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:11:08 -0700

The day has come, officially we have been here for two weeks! The weather has been a mixed bag with many cloudy and muggy days with no breeze, which has been ok for unpacking. Our first few days were busy with various errands. The 4Runner which was already down here, started with no problems. Cistern for water is overflowing. Everything in the house is working. Dogs are adjusting to their new backyard. Made our trip to the mailbox at TuTu, Plaza Extra and Cost U Less for groceries. We even snuck out on Saturday for Carnival and the adult parade! There were many interesting sites and had my first pate which tasted like a doughnut stuffed with hamburger meat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHZwgpS3hZQ Click to view movie! Sunday we snuck off to Sapphire Beach! We made it to our favorite bar, Island Time Pizza We went and looked at the boat we were buying and started that process. Tuesday was spent going to the property tax office and pay our quarterly taxes. Taxes here are the same federal tax rules, but we fill out a VI form, that is because all tax money collected here goes to the territorial government. We stopped by Viking Moving on Wed to see where our container and Tacoma were doing and to drop off the title and much to our surprise, this was in their yard! Wow that was fast and Tacoma will be there the next day! We choose to have the movers bring their two vans as this container would not fit at the house, there is a reason they call this place the "The Rock", most of the homes are literally built on rock and our home is at the top of a rock. We better get a move on cleaning out the house for our stuff from Reno. Next off to submit my application for a Real Estate Broker License, change the IPhones to a local # at the AT&T store and then to meet a friend at Tickles. Well he had to test a boat, so we went with him. I love being on the water, but this boat launch may not be the most scenic? This area is known as sub base, which was at one time a submarine base starting with World War I to combat German U-boats, hence the reason for the US buying the islands from Denmark for $25 million in gold. Well now this is the site of our island's power plant, otherwise known as the most expensive electric utility known as WAPA. This plant is a dated diesel powered generator. We also made many trips to the Humane Society flea market and even had their van come to give them a desk and two beds. Now the moment we have not been waiting for, the container contents arriving. They filled up our home in no time! The main thing I was waiting for was my Honda 3000 IU generator as power outages are numerous. After the movers left this come up the driveway. Friday and Saturday were spent unpacking the kitchen. But of course it is now May 5th. Time for the Chihuahua Races at Yacht Haven Grande. We saw many people we knew there and had a great time. On the way home we got a pizza at Pizza Amore, the BEST NY style pizza I found since leaving New Jersey. The weather has been muggy and rainy and the next week was spent unpacking and making minor home repairs. We made many trips to the dumpsters. We do not have home trash service here on the island. What we do have is strategically placed dumpsters on the island. I see it also as a place known as "take one, leave one". Whatever you have that is not worthy of donating to the Humane Society, you leave it at the dumpster, and usually when you come back in an hour it is gone. Some of our leave its: old generator, patio table and chairs, old brooms. Notice the wild chickens that make the dumpsters their home? One home project I wanted to share was the dryer outlet. We had an old dryer here that was used and abused by the tenants over the years. We brought our newer dryer from Reno. Oh but wait, whomever wired our laundry room shed must have been on island time? The outlet was for a kitchen range, and they even set up the old dryer with a cord for a range? So I decide I am going to need to also wire our dryer for a range? I buy the plug and cut the wire on ours. Well problem is once you open the grey wire there is no inner insulation, just copper. Well that will not fit in the plug unless it is just copper with electrical tape. After sleeping on this theory, those wires are going to get hot? Now I need to get a new dryer cord and get the appropriate outlet. Viola, it wasn't hard as I thought. What cracked me up even more was how they installed the range 30/50A outlet upside down to boot! Enough of home repairs and unpacking, time for some beach time for the dogs while we have an afternoon with sun! We took the dogs down to Vessup Beach, behind Latitude 18 for a late afternoon swim! Yes, we sometimes curse ourselves while dripping in sweat, my foot sore, unpacking, repairing, hot and muggy, but at the end of the day, we have to remind ourselves where we are living, and for many living here is just a week for a vacation of a lifetime. We know life will be normal again after these 3 months of moving, but we have a feeling it is all going to be worth it!

Moving to St Thomas, Leaving Stateside Edition

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:12:07 -0700

After spending a nice 4 day break from our drive across country at my father's in Cedar Point, NC where we got the dogs their health certificate and of course our yellow lab got a hot spot from swimming. Good thing we have a vet right down the street there! We spent our days with the "hoodies", the neighbors with some great dinners and conversation. Tuesday morning we packed up the Tacoma, and off to Miami, Florida, where we are going to catch our flight to St Thomas. We spent the night in Jacksonville, Florida with our last Popeyes Chicken in the room! The next day was spent getting the Tacoma off to port and to St Thomas. We rented a mini van from Hertz and found a Wal Mart to switch everything over. I felt like a soccer mom. Now off to the Port. All I had from Viking was directions to the Sea Star office. So I plugged that into the GPS and off we go right? Well no, we arrive at the gate with Shannon following me in the mini van and the security tells me we went to the wrong place. They took my driver license and stopped all lanes of traffic to turn us around and told us we need to find someone on the road and have them escort is in that has security clearance? I was confused and went to another parking lot where they told us we had to go into the admin building and get an escort. So we go back to the building and oh yes they will assign us an escort. Problem is, it is 11:55 and they go on lunch. So off to Wendys and come back. We get back and they are "short staffed" today. 1:30 we get our escort. We get to the fenced Sea Star building and go in, well our escort was pissed and wanted Shannon to go in too (we never told them the dogs were in the van, lord knows what terrorist acts they may commit). The gal at the Sea Star desk says she has no clue that we were coming and we are not in their system even though I am looking at her screen and see our order. After multiple calls to Viking and they calling Sea Star corporate we are good to go. Our escort has now left and Shannon went back to the van. I am with the lady to go over the condition report. After that I am going back to the office and who do I see, our escort. He yells at me, "where is your wife?!?!". I looked back at him and said, "I don't know maybe it is your day to watch her?". We are no free to go, into the mini van and drive down the flattest state to Miami! We passed through Melbourne, Fl, where my father used to live. Took the Miami Turnpike (even though I don't know if that was any faster?) to maze of freeways of Miami. We stopped for our last Taco Bell to go for the room in some sketchy neighborhood. Checked in to our Red Roof Inn and got the dogs settled and began the process of asembling the crates for the morning flight. Now the big day, April 26th. Shannon is a nervous wreck. We load up and off to the airport. We stopped at gate 2 and they told us we had to go to 5. Off to 5, and the porter tells us that they always do that because no one wants to deal with dogs. I load the luggage and get the dogs in their crates and take off to drop the van off. I get back and there are the dogs with Shannon going through the mounds of paperwork with AA customer service agent. After getting approval with all their paperwork at the dog check in counter (Shannon spent months on what is required and the CSR even made a compliment that everything was in order, what would I do without Shannon?). Now they go to TSA back room to make sure we didn't hide a bomb on them. After they got patted down, back in their crates and off they went, Shannon was on the verge of tears. We now have to get going as we have 1 hour and ten minutes to get to our gate (one hour was spent on paperwork). We get to one TSA checkpoint and I am told by the non-English speaking security woman that my carry on is too big (well duh I had stuffed my belt and other items in the front pocket. So I get that all out and then she says we need to go to security gate 1. Off we go to 1 where there is also a huge line. We are now down to one hour. So here we are standing in line for over 30 minutes now, not moving, as there are two express lines where those who have a close flight are getting to cut the line? I tell Shannon we are going to miss our flight and the dogs are going to be in St Thomas without us. Shannon goes to the security woman to plea our case to cut the line, she didn't speak English, next thing I see is Shannon coming down the express line and yells to me, "Kennnnn, we have permission to cut the line!". Everyone around us knew our predicament and gave us the encouragement. Now TSA, can I tell is the biggest joke? I really don't think anything they do stops terrorism, they are just another useless government entity. So after you disrobe and get your bags through the x-ray machine, there is the old pass through detector or you can get pushed over to the complete body scanner. I can see that there is now a 10 min line for the full body and no line for the old shcool. I can't believe it, I am getting chosen for the old school!!! Not so fast, I am asked if I had anything in my pockets, well yes, I have my bording pass. Nope off to the full body scanner! WTF? So I cut that line next Shannon. We get through all that, get dressed again and I look up and see Shannon running down the gate area, with or without me! She is not going to miss that plane. I walked fast, and thank goodness they had just started boarding. WE MADE IT!!! Shannon had assembled a picture of the dogs with a note to the captain of who they are and if he could tell us if they made it on the plane. She also attached a box of Peppridge Farms Milano cookies (we were at the grocery store in NC with my dad and I wanted to get a small box of cookies and gold fish, I was poo pooed with the gold fish and was told that they wouldn't like goldfish? Really? Who doesn't like gold fish?). Shannon came back from the flight deck and told me the captain had already seen the dogs (he mentioned he was going to take a picture for his daughter as he has two labs himself) and they were loaded. Time to buckle up and let's get this tube in the air! As we were pulling back, the flight attendant announced that Bristol and Bo Peep were on board joining us on our flight! Five more planes in front of us and we can take off, I am hoping it doesn't get to much hotter. Yes, we are in the air, the last leg of our journey! As the beverage truck came by we both ordered a bloody mary. The FA never charge us? Then the head FA came back and asked if we wanted another drink, well yes, he brings back enough for 4 more drinks? Did we look stressed and exhausted? Just before landing they mentioned they made coffee and all had the cookies with coffee and how what manners Shannon had! We land in St Thomas and I left Shannon with the task of watching the dogs come off the cargo belt (in STT the airport doesn't have jet ways, old fashioned stairs, so she could wait.). I ran off (had my complimentary shot of Cruzan Rum) and off to the snack bar to buy my $3.95 bottle of water for when the dogs come out as it was about 83 degrees and sunny. Shannon shows up, says they are off, but where are the dogs going to come out? I told her to go over to the curtain where the conveyor belt goes out and stick your head out and see where they are? She went over there and there they were in their own little trailer with the curtain closed (gotta love the culture here with repsect to dogs?). She told them to get them out!!! And here is next what we saw! The look on Bo Peeps face! I will never forget it! Gave them some water. Get them on to the porter cart and now let's find a taxi (we tried renting a mini van but they were all sold out due to Carnival). Once again, no one wanted to help us. We finally had our taxi van! Well not so fast, once again culture comes into play. Bo Peep is loaded into the back of the van behind the seats and then the taxi driver and porter begin to pile bags on and around her!!! Shannon pulled some off to give her some air. Then poor Bristol, she was tilted (her head now smshed to the side of the crate) and shoved to first bench seat. Finally after a 30 min cab ride we arrive! We were all exhausted and ready to relax!!!

Driving Across Country to Move to St Thomas USVI

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:41:32 -0700

Well everything was packed up, cleaned up, items donated and what we are bringing was packed into the container that arrived! We have a 40 foot sea container that will be shipped to the Virgin Islands with our personal effects and furniture we wanted to bring! It will take about 6 weeks to arrive and ask me about the cost, which was very hard to swallow! Sold the camper at the last minute and the Honda. After sleeping on mattresses on the floor for five days and eating off of paper plates on a makeshift table, we finally are going to hit the road on our cross country journey in our Toyota Tacoma which will be shipped from Jacksonville, FL, then rent a car to Miami, FL where we will fly with the dogs to St Thomas. On our last night, all of friends stopped by for our last happy hour in the garage! Leaving on the road trip! Our first night in Wells, NV at Motel6 (which never asks questions about our dogs, but we found a new chain called the Red Roof Inn). Next day was our 3 day stop at my Sister's house in Teton Valley, ID (Victor, ID, Shannon and I lived here up the highway in Driggs, ID from 2000 - 2004). She and her Husband have a new baby boy and it was the first time for me to see my new nephew! Next stop was to see some old friends who used to live in Driggs at their home in Laramie, WY. We haven't seen them in 8 years! They now have 3 kids. Of course it had to snow while we were there, and yes this will probably be the last time our dogs see snow! The next three days were in truck driving across country all the way to my father's house in Cedar Point, NC! We spent the night at Motel6 in Independence, MO, Nashville, TN and Charolette, NC. Of course I had to stop at White Castle in MO, I haven't had one of their burgers in 18 years! St Louis Arch Nashville, TN at the honky tonks watching a great band, River City Gang. We both really liked Nashville, for dinner we were so sick of eating crap food we found a Whole Foods for their salad bar! We went through Gatlinberg, TN through the Great Smokey Mtns, and I can see why it gets the name it does! Finally we made it to NC and we were treated to temps in the mid 70's and a trip to the beach on the boat! Next we will be driving to Jacksonville, FL to drop the Tacoma off at the dock for Sea Star Lines where it will be shipped. Rent a mini-van and down to Miami for the big flight. Should be fun considering that there are no rental cars available in St Thomas as it is Carnival. At least the temperature in Miami will be below 85 as over that the dogs can't fly!

Continuing to Pack Up for Move to St Thomas

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:38:02 -0700

I don't know how people can retire, I am getting very antsy? I am down now to 14 listings of which all are now pending, so there is not much time needed for those properties. Both of my agents have moved on to other companies. We finished our last garage sale over a week ago, and funny how no one shows up at the end, even though most of the items were 50% off. We have still been selling our left over items on Craigslist (including our California King Bed, much to Shannon's dismay!). Made a trip to NV Humane Society to donate some pet items. The MS Society truck refused to come pick up our garage sale left overs as we were not on their map book, apparently an extra 5 miles was not worth it to them. We had the United Cerebal Palsay truck come instead! So now I have room in the garage now to start packing up all our items we are bringing! Speaking of which, the container to move from Reno to St Thomas is going to cost about $18,000. Yikes! But after doing a cost analysis of selling our current stuff (we have learned from the garage sale that your stuff is not worth anything!) that the cost of replacing all our furniture, not to mention, the family heirlooms, was going to be more than the cost of the container. So I ordered our container to come on April 6th. What we have found to be interesting is how many people hear you are moving away all of a sudden want to hang out with you, some you never hung out with for the last 3 years? We have been busy with our garage happy hours entertaining (and empying out our liquor cabinet) old friends. Still trying to sell the Travel Trailer, no one has even looked at it? Lesson learned, don't ever buy a new camper, bought it new in 2006 for $22K. I have the price down to $11k and still no bites. The Honda CRV was held off the market for 2 weeks as my neighbor was going to buy it. He was going to sell his truck, but assured us if he didn't sell his truck he would buy it anyway. Well, he informed us yesterday that him buying was contingent on selling his truck. Translation: He isn't buying the CRV. Lesson learned here, don't trust your friends, get a non-refundable deposit no matter who they are. We also thought it would be a good idea to get health checkups before we leave to make sure we are up to snuff (dogs are going today to their checkup). I went and results are back, borderline high cholesterol and vitamin D deficiency. I think it is safe to say I will be getting more exercise in the VI with my snorkel swims at Sapphire Beach and walks at Megan's Bay. Vitamin D deficiency requires more exposure to sunlight, hmmm, that will be tough in the VI? Shannon goes in for her exam next week. We have bought our one way ticket from Miami to St Thomas for April 26th. We can't believe how quick we are going to be there full time! We plan on leaving on April 10 or 11th from Reno, driving the Toyota Tacoma with the dogs to Miami. Here is the tentative itinrary: Jackson Hole, WY to visit my new nephew Ryan and my sister Caryn. Off to Laramie, WY to visit old frineds when we lived in Teton Valley, ID. Independence, MO - a night at a Motel 6. Spending a day in Nashville, TN as we are country music fans. Cedar Point, NC on the outer banks to visit my father.Jacksonville, FL - drop the Tacoma off at the dock to be shipped to STT. Rent a car and got on a plane in MIA. First offical guest has booked their visit to St Thomas for May 26th. Larry, my well guy and his girlfriend are coming to stay in the apartment. I have a feeling we will be seeing many more friends and family in St Thomas then we ever did in Reno, most if any came once, and that was enough for them for a lifetime I guess? Other than that, there really isn't much more to pack. I have been so used to working 6-7 days a week, that having this much down time, and I hate to admit it, but I am bored and ready to start our new brokerage in St Thomas. Which leads me back to, how do people retire? I need to be busy, and it is looking like I am never going to be able to retire!

Garage Sale Time for Our Move to St Thomas!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 04:15:35 -0800

Well the results are in for a 3 car garage filled garage sale from the weekend! Well we hit our financial goal of recovering $1000 of beloved junk! Unfortunately, our big items, Honda CRV, tractor and RV didn't sell. We will keep trying with another sale this weekend!

Moving to St Thomas!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:38:15 -0800

I arrived back to Reno, NV on Feb. 7th, 2012, to the cold weather. My wife Shannon and I had a wonderful time and with the news of limited foreclosure activity in Nevada, this would make a perfect "getaway" time? After losing 3 of our labradors this Summer and with the slowdown in new REO inventory, this decision was easy! These pictures from our latest visit also made it easy?

St Thomas Property Fenced!

Ken Wiseman (America's Caribbean Realty) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:24:23 -0800

Cyclone fencing, fenced the back of our property for the recycled labrador retreivers! This should make it easier on the dogs for moving to St Thomas, VI The one on the left is Bristol, the right is Bo Peep (Pig)Here is what is going to be their new digs!