Best Realtor to Sell your USVI house
For those of you who have sold a house here in the USVI (specifically STX), tell me why you loved (or didn't love) your realtor:
Didnt love ours.
We did most of the work.
She wanted us to take the offer and go... We said no and got asking price....
Plus she never showed it. Others did.
What we did like was the coverage we got. Good pictures etc.
Most if not ALL realtors are idiots. When I listed my house in the states I left strict instructions to be sure to LOCK both locks and ARM the alarm system. And please remember to turn off all the lights. I would arrive home hours later and the lights were left on, the alarm not armed and one if not both of the locks were not locked!
One realtor called after showing the house and wanted to know how she is supposed to arm the alarm while still in the house. How does she get out after it's set. I told her to either jump out the window or climb up the chimney like I do.
In one instance I was home during the showing. The prospective buyer asked me all the usual questions while the realtor just stood there clutching her clipboard. About 3 minutes into the barrage I told the realtor if I had to sell the house for her while she stands there and listens that I would get half her commission.
WavesNC,
Call Pam McFadden, Coldwell Banker, Office: 340.778.7000
We used her when we sold STX property.
Awesome to work with - Great communication - Highly recommend her.
Good luck in your search!
Waves, just curious but I seem to recall that you purchased a house shortly after moving to STX so are you selling it now? Moving away?
I've heard very good things about Kim Lucas and Chris Hanley in STX.
i adore pam at coldwell banker
Pam
Chris & Kerri Hanley.
Check them out on Caribbean Life on HGTV.
Caribbean Life
Season 2, Episode 8
A mom, dad and their four kids move from Michigan to St. Croix to live the Caribbean life
Chris Hanley is the go to guy.
I've lived in two houses that were listed with real estate brokers here on STX. From what I've seen, most realtors waste people's time. Both homes I lived in would be a nightmare for people with little children.
Both homes were high up on crappy, very crappy washed out roads and great distances if one fell, no yards, just steep cliffs from which one could easily fall.
Yet, they kept showing them to people with small children or families with dogs. There was NO yard at either place. Needless to say, a total waste of their time. Most pictures listed were pictures when decks, etc. were new and not rotting. Even though most said they were NOT looking for a fixer-upper, both homes needed over 100k to bring them back to semi-new again.
I was a realtor and have been shocked by the performances of most, not all, realtors here. Do they actually listen to what a family is looking for, or are they just showing to show?
I agree with rosesisland. Back in the day when we were looking at buying a home on STX, many that the realtor took us too were so shabby that we wouldn't even get out of the car to look at the inside of them. We ended up renting a home that we liked then buying it from the owner a year later.
I agree as well. I gave a very specific set of requirements and was often showed houses not even close to what I wanted. The feeling I got was that I could be talked into taking something I did not want.
None of this is peculiar to St Croix or the USVI but is common everywhere. I've bought several properties over many years in different areas and have switched and ditched many real estate agents who made it clear from the outset that they had no clue what I was looking for, even with a well thought out and presented list in hand of needs and wants. The realtor who suits one person may be total anathema to another and you just have to find the right fit.
I searched the MLS myself, filtering for the price, size and area we wanted then called Kim Lucas who arranged the showings. That probably only works if you've been here long enough to know where you want to live tho.
Another good reason to come and rent a year before buying. I feel some people just come to see our houses for the views as they spend no time looking through the house but, rather long time outside staring at the ocean. It sucks for renters when the homeowners list the house they are leasing.
It sucks when rentors do not take care of places they rent.
Quite a few homeowners, I know, have sold their properties just so they don't have to go in to deep-clean, paint and repair their rental property every year when tenants move and leave it a mess in order to be able to re-rent it.
As a landlord, I've seen people leave quite some messes over the years.
It's definitely a drawback having those types of tenants in residence when selling a property as well.
Pam McFadden on St Croix is by far the best. She really listens, and shows you exactly what you're looking for. I know; I purchased through her.
We recently sold our place on STX and here is our experience.
When we purchased the homes, we located them and then called a friend who is a realtor, obtained as much information as we could and made our offer.
When we sold, we listed with a realtor based on who we thought would provide us with the most visibility. We need good advertising and a very good web presence to showcase the property.
Well, like most realtors, they all talk a good game then they list your house, toss it into the MLS, case closed! You have to rely on people searching the MLS and or websites then questioning a realtor about your property and scheduling a showing. This would represent the best scenario but it seldom worked out that way for us.
We had 58 showings over a one year period but only 3 were by our realtor and 6 by the company. hey constantly wasted our time and brought people for showings that wanted NONE of the features that the property had just hoping that they would get a bite. And in the meantime, totally wasting our time getting everything ready for the showings! We did all the work and they pocketed the commission.
They do nothing to really earn it other than fill out a listing agreement and an MLS entry. You even have to hire attorney now to do the closings, etc. So, what do they really do to earn 5-6% on a sale?
So, good luck as I don't think any realtors really SELL a property. They just wait for someone to come along and then take them to it and hope they like it.
There are a limited number of buyers on our islands.
STX seems to have more sales due to their prices being lower than on STT, STJ and WI, with STJ and WI prices being higher than STT.
Realtors generally will send their prospective buyers MLS reports and other info on properties that are within their price range. It is up to a buyer to decide what they wish to view. No one wishes to waste time showing a potential buyer something unsuitable but it can happen.
There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes when listing, advising seller on how best to show their home which some do not heed, making it more difficult to sell, advertising, scheduling showings, attracting buyers for a property, vetting buyers or helping getting them prequalified or preapproved for a loan, unless they're a cash buyer, keeping people on schedule for the inspections, surveys, etc., working with the attorney, lender, title company and there can be many pitfalls between having a signed offer to purchase accepted and getting to the actual closing which need to be addressed and finessed during the process with both buyer and seller and working with their respective agent in the process. Some are better than others.
I've had buyers that have said they know exactly what they want, fly in to view properties, and as a last resort, I've shown them something they didn't want to look at, only to have them fall in love on the spot and make an offer then and there.
I've had great buyers and sellers and had extremely difficult ones. I've had buyers I've worked with over the course of 2 years or more, to find them just the right place.
I do my best for both customers and clients and am sure many others do as well. Of course, as in others professions, some will be better and work harder. If you think it's easy working for a commission, get a license and get busy.;)
I totally agree with gonetropco.
Ours wanted us to take a lower price just to sell . We held out and they finally agreed to pay full price. If we had listened to her would have been out thousands.
And what is this .... Oh of course they are pre-qualified...
There are a limited number of buyers on our islands.
STX seems to have more sales due to their prices being lower than on STT, STJ and WI, with STJ and WI prices being higher than STT.Realtors generally will send their prospective buyers MLS reports and other info on properties that are within their price range. It is up to a buyer to decide what they wish to view. No one wishes to waste time showing a potential buyer something unsuitable but it can happen.
There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes when listing, advising seller on how best to show their home which some do not heed, making it more difficult to sell, advertising, scheduling showings, attracting buyers for a property, vetting buyers or helping getting them prequalified or preapproved for a loan, unless they're a cash buyer, keeping people on schedule for the inspections, surveys, etc., working with the attorney, lender, title company and there can be many pitfalls between having a signed offer to purchase accepted and getting to the actual closing which need to be addressed and finessed during the process with both buyer and seller and working with their respective agent in the process. Some are better than others.
I've had buyers that have said they know exactly what they want, fly in to view properties, and as a last resort, I've shown them something they didn't want to look at, only to have them fall in love on the spot and make an offer then and there.
I've had great buyers and sellers and had extremely difficult ones. I've had buyers I've worked with over the course of 2 years or more, to find them just the right place.
I do my best for both customers and clients and am sure many others do as well. Of course, as in others professions, some will be better and work harder. If you think it's easy working for a commission, get a license and get busy.;)
Got one! Both realtors and general contractor. Doesn't change my opinion of the workforce. There are very few professional realtors today and most don't really earn what they get. It's all a matter of luck for most of them.
Has Kim Lucas left STX? After hearing amazing things about her in a similar thread about a year and a half ago, I contacted her regarding potentially selling my property. We exchanged a few emails, and she was very helpful, even though the advice she gave me wasn't in her best interest financially. I decided to wait a bit to see if the market improved. I tried to email her again recently and got no response.
Kim is very much still here. She isn't the listing agent of the house we live in now, but, she shows it about 2-3 times per month.
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