USVI-On-Line

so, after many years of thinking about it....we bought a house. (i cannot believe i just wrote that sentence) .....it is a house in need of TLC--so while this isn't a building blog per se (since i don't think i would be a good person to build a house-too much crazy!) , it is a 'blog' about our renovation process.. and what we find (the good the bad and the ugly/expensive) i have never blogged about anything (and am not sure how i even feel about doing blogging) but some of you may find it amusing (others might just get fed up with my increasingly bad sentence structure and lack of tech expertise) -- if you are interested then you can go to
www.hardlaborstj.com
thanks!
Lori

Congratulations on your new home!

You are on your way! I am reading! Congratulations!!!

Follow your dream. Rome wasn't built in a day. Wish you much success!

Thats great- CONGRATULATION on your new home! I look forward to following along...

Lori: Congratulations! We can attest that buying a home with "good bones", but in need of some TLC can be awesome, but do plan on a little "hard labor" along the way. We can barely imagine the maelstrom that a build from scratch project would entail. The Bongo-bongo guys were impressed with what we had done at Coconuts, but commented that it seemed a bit like "cheating", skipping over the build from scratch ordeal. We're very glad we did! The renovation process can be engrossing fun, and at the end of the day, you'll have a home on St. John - priceless!

All the best,

Kevin

PS: I'm thinking this must be you, right? http://www.stjohnvirealestateblog.com/?p=7571

yes coconuts/kevin...that is now 'home' though the issues we are uncovering are rather, shall we say ...daunting.....hope we manage!!! any advice/suggestions you have ? wow...did not realize that our transaction would be so public!

Lori: You'll do fine; don't worry. You will need to stay pretty focused on things, though, and it will take some extra cash to get through the renovation phase. As time goes on, you will build up a roster of productive and trustworthy folks for both the renovation projects and the subsequent villa maintenance. There is definitely a learning curve of local details to master; make sure you keep good notes. If you have any specific questions, PM me and we can talk.

Mostly, congratulations! That looks like a lot of house for what you paid, with great views.

All the best,

Kevin

Congratulations, Loria...

As an ex-building blogger I urge you to just let it all hang out and have fun with it. The blog can be a great release for you during the building/renovating process, and a way of documenting everything that will be a hoot to look back on a few years from now...

And as for all the "issues" you face at your new home, just take a deep breath and face them one at a time...

All the best to you!!!

Awesome! Can't wait to live vicariously through you/your blog

Wow, how exciting! Will you rent it out once it's finished? Will you keep the name?

Wow the view is wonderful! Your new house looks stunning, I am anxious to see pictures of the interior!

we hope to rent-- just not sure when!! it would be nice to have it ready by thanksgiving-- but i sort of think that is really optimistic..... And i will try to post pictures of the interior (one is up now-- but i really am not good at this blogging thing-- as a matter of fact i completely stink at it!!!! hopefully more later as we move thru things and i get better at figuring out the blog thing! ) thanks all for all your well wishes......

Congratulations on your purchase a wishing you the best of luck on the renovations!

Congratulations and welcome to St John. We are one of the 'built from scratch' owners and while it was a long - and, yes, expensive - process we have no regrets! Please PM us if we can ever help with thorny issues, happy to help. Trust me, we encountered a lot of them during our building process. In the meantime, breathe, enjoy the views, and squirrel away a bit of extra money and time (e.g. don't start accepting reservations until you are absolutely positive, I mean really positive, the house will be ready for prime time!).