USVI-On-Line

My wife and i have been going to St John for the last 8 years and stayed at the Westin first trip then started to stay at villas and then did a quick 4night trip at Gallows which worked well. Great location no car needed, rented a dingy for the beach and a day with John Brandi to Jost.

We have always talked about having a villa someday but it might make more sense to have a condo and wanted to know if anyone has had experience owning at Gallows. Pros and cons.

Thanks
George

I don't know anything from personal experience, but I've definitely looked into ownership in the VIs. My one concern is that Gallows rates seem very high when compared to other comparable 1-2 bedroom units, especially in Grande Bay, which is just right across the road.

Some other factors I'd be curious about: (1) does Gallows limit the number of weeks you can use your unit (I know Serendip limits owners to 12 weeks/year), (2) What are the assocation/management fees (I imagine very high), (3) can you remove your unit from the rental pool?, (4) if you do, what are your fees in that instance?, (5) how often are there special assessments (since the property is getting older, I'd be particularly concerned about that), (6) how are the units insured?

Those are some starting point questions I'd have for any realtor you talk to.

alw1977 wrote:(6) how are the units insured?

We were told, several years ago, that Gallows couldn't get property insurance because the buildings weren't built to a standard that would minimize hurricane damage.

I am very curious to know if this is true.

(This came up in conversation with someone in the STJ real estate business when he learned that a friend of ours worked for a construction company on STT rebuilding after one of the major storms.)

DONT QUOTE ME ON THIS... But I have heard that the HOA fee is about $3200 a month! this includes your hurricane/flood etc. insurance so I assume that is why it is so high, also you cant hold any mortgage on the property. In addition to be in their rental program your unit must meet certain standards, which makes sense, but I think that is why you may see some comparable units for sale much cheaper than others at times

John and I looked into Gallows and the answers to two of alw1977's questions were enough for us to not be interested:

(1) does Gallows limit the number of weeks you can use your unit
Yes, it is 16 weeks in total that you can stay there--that includes you as well as your family

(3) can you remove your unit from the rental pool?
no

I am not sure if this is the blanket policy for all units but it is what we were told for the ones that were available at the time we investigated.

On the insurance side, betcha both points mentioned above might be true - probably real tough to get it on your own, esp if they dont meet higher construction stds. More likely to be able to get some kind of limited (and very expensive) coverage as part of an HOA pool.

We just complete a villa/condo hunting expedition in St John. The HOA fees for the unit we were looking at was quoted at $2900 a month. Also we were told that you can not hold a mortgage. We were interested in being able to utilize the property for more than 16 weeks so that was a factor also.

With all that being said. Gallows Point is an awesome place to stay. Stayed there for 10 days while on our villa hunt. We really enjoyed the unit (5a), staff, and the entire complex. Would do it again in a heartbeat under the same circumstances.

Thank you for all the feed back so far. I also spoke to a real estate agent. She told me know bank with hold a mortgage. The 16 week limit is fine for us now as we have 2 young kids and would go a couple of times a year with them and a few long weekends without. I have gotten some P&L statements that are not very clear.

I can not get a straight answer if the rentals have covered the HOA expenses

Could you email a unit's owner directly on VRBO and ask their experiences? Here's link to to the unit I rented (and LOVED IT!)...
http://www.vrbo.com/257023

George - I'm pretty sure Gallows has a "no small children" policy during most of the year. Sometimes they relax it in summer if occupancy isn't high enough. Maybe it doesn't apply to owners, but another question to ask. That's why we cannot stay there.

Should you still be interested in looking at St John real estate we would love to help as Les (hubby and current president of the St John board of realtors) and I are realtors on St John. You can send us a pm if you wish and we would love to be able to answer any questions on Gallows and any other property you might be interested in, and we come with referals from other forumites that we have helped purchase here
Pia
ps: please forgive any typos as I'm in Atlanta waiting on a delayed flight (ugh) and using my phone

My husband and I are owners at Gallows since 2006 and are delighted. It is not like owning a timeshare or a residential condo. Rather it is closer to owning a 1/60th share of a small resort.

The high condo fee covers the cost of running a hotel - laundry, maid service, maintenance etc and the owners who choose to participate in the rental pool (50, of the 60 units, I think; 8 are owned or co-owned by an individual that runs a St. John villa rental company) share in the rental proceeds; there is no management company taking a percentage off the top; the costs are in the so called condo fee.

Unlike owning a share of a hotel, you own and are responsible for your own unit. There is a locked closet where you can leave your personal items (clothes, swim gear, booze, toothbrush) There are strict standards for furnishings and condition. While a few owners send down their designers, most furnishings are similar as they are bought in larger orders that share the cost of a container.

As for hurricane insurance, it is very expensive and has huge deductibles (usually $20,000 deductible, so the owners have voted to have a reserve fund instead. Gallows is very well built (my husband is an architect)and has survived two category 5 hurricanes with very little damage - mostly to the landscaping which regrows quickly. We have all the other insurance that is needed and is included in our "condo fee". We also own a substantial generator and desalinization plant as part of our "common property" What is great is that when a storm is coming, the wonderful staff moves furniture to the rear of the units and prepares it for the storm.
I met a man who has been coming to Gallows every year since Hurricane Marilyn. He worked for a NY bank that had a branch in St. Thomas and he was sent to retrieve documents etc. All the STT and STJ hotels were closed, but Gallows was open for business and he loved it..

Re mortgage: This can be an issue. Banks want hurricane insurance to protect their investment, so most units are bought with cash, seller financing, or by refinancing your stateside home. I have told my daughter that when I die, and if she wants to sell it, be prepared to offer seller financing.

I wouldn't buy at Gallows if you want to live there year round - you would be paying for services in the "condo fee" that you don't need. Part of the original zoning approval required that the units be available for rent most of the year, but that does not seem to be a problem for anyone.

The surprise advantage at Gallows is that because we come to the owners meetings, we have meet some wonderful new friends whom we connect with year round.

Thanks for all the great info. Went to Gallows on my honeymoon in 1999 and oh boy do I wish I'd bought one of those really expensive $240K units back then!