Getting to Home Sweet Home

First Listing

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 02:34:00 +0000

I got my first listing today- well, sort of. To be clear, I got my first co-listing today. My sponsoring broker and I will be listing a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo in Mahogany Run. I am very excited. Now I just need to work on getting buyers to the home. I will show you pics soon.

Paradise-Bound.net

Open House - 4/23

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 02:11:00 +0000

Today I went to an open house in Sorgenfri. The house has 3 bedrooms/3 baths. It has a great view, but needs a lot of updating. The house also has a rental unit.

MLS #14-21 Listed at $475k

When you look at houses, how important is the listing price to you? Do you look at homes priced over your budget and just prepare to negotiate or just skip over them?

Beautiful Bolongo Property

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 20:19:00 +0000

Got $1 million to spend on a beautiful St. Thomas property? Well this property is listed just under $1 million. It is in Bolongo, so it is close to the Lobster Grille, Mim's Seaside Bistro and Iggie's, if you don't feel like cooking. There is also Bolongo beach and Antilles School nearby and a short drive to Red Hook and Havensight.

The house has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bath rooms, rental units, great outdoor space, a pool and a gorgeous view. I really love the outdoor space. I think it is so important to have outdoor space here, especially when you have a beautiful view to enjoy.

MLS #13-2448

(yeah, that is a huge closet)

The house is listed at $975,000, not in everyone's budget, but I am sure it is perfect for someone.

What do you think about the house and price?

Its Time to Enter the HGTV Smart House Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:00:00 +0000

Just a reminder that it is time to enter to win the HGTV 2014 Smart House. If you win, will you let me visit? This house is totally amazing (like all the other HGTV houses).

What is your favorite feature?

Oh yeah, don't forget to enter to win the swag also.

Started Working

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 02:43:00 +0000

So, I just started my new career in real estate. Or do I need to start making money before I can really say it is my new career? I went to 5 open houses today and a possible listing appointment. I met some nice agents and property owners and am looking forward to a career. We also met with one of my broker's property management clients- so fun. Today was great, but I can imagine that this will be a very challenging endeavor.

These are some of the places I saw today...

MLS #14-616 Listed at $843.5k

I loved the living areas and view.

The size is nice, but the house could use some updating- notice the carpet.

*Has a rental unit!*

MLS #14-638 Listed at $595k

Super cute!!

*Has a rental unit!*

MLS #14-502 Listed at $575k

This would probably be a good long term rental property.

Needs updating.

*Has a rental unit (s)!*

MLS #14-579 Listed at $1.299 million

Absolutely beautiful. Great views. I love that the 4th bedroom is separate.

The rooms are a tad small, which makes me think it would be a perfect villa rental property.

MLS #14-426 Listed at $3.75 million

Stunning view. His and hers master bathrooms and closets-nice.

Wine cellar, game room/loft, beautiful pool,..

*Has a rental unit!*

Do you have any experience in real estate? Do you have any advice for me? Want help buying, selling or renting?

Curb Appeal Makeovers

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 00:34:00 +0000

Check out these "Curb Appeal Makeovers" on the Huffington Post. What do you think? Planning any projects to improve your Curb Appeal?

Why Live in the VI?

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 02:44:00 +0000

When you live here in the US Virgin Islands, day-to-day living can give you alot of reasons why not to live here: not so great schools, high cost of living, violence,... but when you see things like The Huffington Post's

"Why You Should Move To The U.S. Virgin Islands," it reminds you why you don't want to live anywhere else.

(The Huffington Post)

Why do you love it here or where ever you live?

A Career Change?

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 01:01:00 +0000

I know this blog is supposed to be about building my home and I will get back to it soon.

So, I am leaving my current employer in two weeks. I am by trade an accountant, but have been working as a retail manager for the last year. Retail management has been interesting, but is not my calling. I don't have a job to go to, which is very weird for me, but I need a change. My personal (and maybe even professional) life have been suffering because of this job. Until I find something, I can do some light accounting or bookkeeping work. I am also planning on getting into real estate. There I said it... now it is true and I have to make it happen.

I submitted my application and am studying for the exam. I should have a temporary license soon. Do you have any business to send my way?

Almost there?

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 12:29:00 +0000

The outside still needs a lot of work. Our contractor gave us an estimate to put in the driveway that made me want to cry, so we are going to seek other estimates. Wanna give me an estimate? ;) So, you probably want to know what the status of the inside is? Its coming along. The bathroom tiles are being put in, the floors need to be stained (the sample area looks scary now), the closets need shelves, the kitchen countertop needs to be put on, the plumbing and electrical fixtures need to be installed and the solar system needs to be installed. (We are looking a solar powered air conditioners. I'll let you know how tat works on soon.)

The kitchen cabinets have been installed. The countertop is on order. We decided to go for quartz, because it is very strong, heat and stain resistant and requires little maintenance.

The master bathroom is being tiled.

The boys' room. I drew the waves and have a great idea for a chalkboard.

The concrete stain sample area is looking really crazy right now. Did we make the right decision about staining? Does the contractor know how to apply it?

In by November 1st?

Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:07:00 +0000

These pictures were from about a month ago.

I Messed Up

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:01:00 +0000

I decided, and Paul had no objections to, putting up a block railing around the porch. The thing is it ruins your view, duh. I didn't even think about

Covered Up

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:22:00 +0000

It's June and we just got our roof on. Thank goodness for the progress. However I have issues with the the style of the roof. Its almost flat but not. I know flat doesn't mean totally flat because water needs a slant to come off the roof, but there are several ways to achieve the style and mine fails to do so.

Last Saturday, I told my contractor he needs to work on his communication. I should know if something isnt going to look like the plans (not just the roof) or what we discussed before it gets started. He should present us with the problem and our options and we, the homeowners, who are financing this project and have to look at whatever change it is every day of our lives once we move in, should decide on how to proceed based on our options. But thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

We used an Insuldeck insulated concrete roof. Take a look at the progress.

Our Current Status and of Course, Happy Mothers Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:18:00 +0000

First, Happy Mother's Day! I hope of you mothers are feeling very loved and appreciated today.

Second, I have got to get it together and give you regular updates on the project.

Check out these pictures of the progress. We are waiting for our roofing materials. They should be ready to be shipped from Florida tomorrow. However, we are going to ship some other supplies with them so it is going to take a little longer for them to leave Florida.

The week before last we went to Miami to order a kitchen and look at tiles, bathrom vanities and other finishes for our house. We are going to ship a container with that stuff at the end of the month. Anybody else need to ship something from Miami around that time and what to split a container or part thereof?

We are also trying to decide on whether we should build our downstairs apartment now. It will be expensive, but nice to have the additional space to rent or for ourselves.

Roof by the End if April?

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:20:00 +0000

Last week my contractor said we should have our roof on by the end of April. Yes, that was before all the rain. These pictures were taken this week. What do you think the chances of our roof being on by April are?

So, we looked at some kitchen cabinets at Home Depot last weekend. Apparently they take wo to three months to arrive. I will be checking out some other options. But who knows, I may end up ordering from there anyway. I have been thinking about Ikea too.

One day...

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:18:00 +0000

One day our house will be done. These pictures are from last week. Sorry about the photo quality. I've been taking pictures with my phone, because they are easier to upload, but the quality stinks. Stay tuned, I am hoping that soon I'll have pics of the floors, then the walls, then the roof and maybe, just maybe, the entire house... before next year.

Besides just wanting to move into my own home, my living situation now is not fun. Its a small island, so I wont say anything else.

In the meantime, I am checking out every home, design, kitchen magazine and looking for ideas. It is essential to plan ahead. Got magazine or website suggestions? Got any suggestions for great home appliances, fixtures or furniture?

While on St. Croix.... Redi Rock Retaining Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:19:00 +0000

We were on St. Croix for the Agricultural Fair. While we were driving around I spotted this Redi Rock wall system for retaining walls. I like it and am going to look into it. It looks like a mix between cinder block and rock. I love the texture and large size. It was being used as a fence wall.

Have you seen it used? What do you think?

Another Hurdle

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:58:00 +0000

So last I mentioned that we had come across a hurdle. What happened was... our contractor informed us that he had expected a lot more rock at our site than there actually is. But since there was so much dirt to dig through before he actually reached a hard rock surface, the columns we are going to need, are going to be significantly longer than initially expected. So, besides needing additional concrete and rebar for the additional height, we are going to need additional support beams at least if we want to continue with our current design. He said that if we shortened the balcony (which is supposed to be 12 feet wide) we could use other support options, which would cost less. However, the balcony size is very important to me and I don't want to compromise on it to save a few thousand dollars. I'm planning on living in this house for a long time and have already imagined the dinners, sun bathing and parties that are going to happen on this balcony. As soon as he suggested shortening the balcony I knew I would regret it for the next however many years, so we will be adding the support beams and extending the column height, which is not only adding to the budget but adding to our construction time. Check out how we are doing.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:09:00 +0000

It's been a while. I hope that you are enjoying the new year. We made some progress and have run into some hurdles, but we'll get over them.

Take a look at what's been done.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:27:00 +0000

I wanted to show you some houses on St. Thomas that are decorated with Christmas lights. Unfortunately, the power went out for several hours during my photo shoot and only one of the houses I wanted to show you had a generator on.

It's just more motivation to get solar power.

Enjoy!

We've Closed!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:08:00 +0000

Thats right. We closed on ourbank loan last week. Its about time. So now we shouldn't have to worry about any delays due to money. Closing is a great Christmas gift. Now I need to make sure that we stay within our budget so the bank doesn't cut us off before our house is done. My wish for the new year is that are columns are up by January 1, 2012. Am I hoping for too much?

Just think, I should be in my own home next Christmas.

The latest pictures...

What do you want for Christmas and the New Year?

Moving Along

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:50:00 +0000

We were supposed to pour the concrete for the retaining wall today, but that didn't happen. I hope its happening tomorrow. I didn't speak to the contractor today so I'm not sure what the hold up is.

In the meantime, I am researching fixtures and putting together a wish list. Got any suggestions?

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:23:00 +0000

Speaking of homes, wanna know where your turkey might have been living? In a turkey coop.

And this one is for sale on Craigslist. (I'm not selling it)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

5 Walls

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:22:00 +0000

We have a cistern floor and walls. Yay! Does that mean if we don't go any further we have a pool? I am very excited, but nervous too. I am getting worried about all the things that could go wrong, from not having enough money to my contractor turning out to be terrible (he has been great so far, I just worry).

The back wall is supposed to go up next. It wasn't originally scheduled to go up next, but since it has been raining so much lately, the contractor wants to put it up to prevent run-off (the mountain from falling). Then the pillars that will hold up the floor will go up. We just need it to stop raining so much.

We are going to meet with the contractor this weekend to discuss some small changes to the plans and to look over the budget and make sure we aren't over budget already.

With WAPA rationing water now, I really appreciate having a cistern.

Its Starting to Form

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:21:00 +0000

I didn't get up to the site until late today, so my pictures came out pretty dark. The crew has started putting up the forms for the cistern walls. I'm so excited.

On another note, we have finally been approved by the bank and are getting some last things together for our loan. We have to close in less than 60 days. If everything works out the cash will flow smoothly and we will be in our new home within 6 months.

Enjoy the view.

Stalled, but made some Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Sahi) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:32:00 +0000

It's raining. It's pouring. Pouring rain, not concrete (at least not anymore).

We got started. Yay! Some land was cleared (again) and the footings for the cistern have been poured. I hope I'm saying that right. I haven't got the construction lingo down yet. The next step is to put up the cistern walls. As soon as the weather dries up for a few days, the construction workers can get back to work getting the forms ready for the cistern walls. That should take about five days. I can't wait.