How far $750,000 goes in buying Virgin Islands real estate depends on where you look and what you want.
St. Croix has a diversity of spacious estates in the three-quarter-million price range, including an enormous three-story building in Richmond, a short walk from downtown Christiansted. The 4,700-square-foot, 12-bedroom, nine-bathroom 1957-built wooden structure was previously used as a bed and breakfast. The 1,000-square-foot first floor is set up for retail and has two entrances, so it could be used by more than one business. Parking for multiple cars in an additional adjacent lot located behind the property is included in the sale.
Not far away, a 1,740-square-foot triplex with three apartments may appeal to residential property hunters looking to rent out. Each of the apartments has two bedrooms and one bathroom, air conditioning, and are separately metered. They also have their own cisterns. Although built in 1970, the building is like new, according to the listing agents, Sea Glass Properties.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a 746-square-foot one-bedroom cottage with an adjacent 0.45-acre vacant lot is also going for $750,000 outside Coral Bay in Calabash Boom, St. John. The vacant land is the real boon here as buildable property on the National Park-heavy island is hard to come by. The masonry building has a cistern, galvanized roof and sweeping 180-degree sea views to the north and east, including the BVI.
Not far away, just south of Coral Bay at 13 Saunder’s Gut, a 1991-built two-story home offers not just lovely island views and Pebble Beach access, but wood floors and other craftsman interiors hard to find in the V.I. The upper three-bedroom unit features fine woodwork, pine and tile floors, vaulted cypress ceilings, and custom kitchen cabinets. The one-bedroom apartment on the lower level can be used as a rental.
People on Water Island have long coveted the hideaway’s peaceful, away-from-it-all vibe. No matter how much developers of a proposed eco-resort promised to keep that tranquility, people living nearby have fretted the golf cart community could grow raucous, if only mildly so.
Game house hunters could snap up a five-bedroom, three-bath home right across the street from the resort for $750,000. The 3,000-square-foot house stretches over two tax lots covering 0.70 acres. It has two entrances, two addresses, two driveways and sits on a a corner. One side has four bedrooms and two baths, and the other has one bathroom and one “giant” bedroom that listing agents Sea Glass Properties said could easily be renovated to two or three bedrooms. It’s a five-minute walk down to Honeymoon Beach on newly repaved asphalt roads.
It’s a different level of real estate adventure seeker willing to take the plunge on a $750,000, six-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot home perched on a Peterborg cliff. Anything selling for that price at one of St. Thomas’s most coveted addresses should raise eyebrows. No, it’s probably not haunted. But it does need extensive renovations. Aerial photography of the property shows what appears to be a resort-like three-story estate curved around an irregular hexagonal pool and jaw-dropping northeasterly sea view. Zoom in a little and you’ll see it’s much more than a handyman special.
Photographs inside the palatial five-bathroom home reveal dramatic contrasts of what was and what is. Some of the damage is likely storm related, water stains on ceilings and carpets, broken railings, and more. Some of the renovation needs are more aesthetic, like battered kitchen cabinetry, aged sliding glass doors, and worn tile floors. Other curiosities may be to your liking, maybe not, like an internal spiral staircase — in clear lucite — and a glass-brick shower.
Much more move-in ready, a 2,068-square-foot home in St. Thomas’ Upper John Dunko neighborhood doesn’t have the seascape panorama of Peterborg but does have a nice southern sea view. The two-story home has mature topiary, a modern cabinetry, lovely covered galleries front and back, and ample parking. The glass brick show is back again; seems people like that. The upstairs primary residence includes two bedrooms and two bathrooms, while a one-bedroom apartment below offers a steady $1,200 monthly income to renters. The home features split unit air conditioners, hurricane-resistant doors and windows, and freshly painted interiors and exteriors for $749,000.
