Watch a few episodes of HGTV’s Beachfront Bargain Hunt and Caribbean Life, and you may feel like you have a pretty good idea of what a real estate agent on St. Croix does every day. There’s no doubt, we have a pretty sweet gig! We get to meet interesting, new people, tour beautiful villas with stunning views and help people make their dreams come true – our favorite part!
However, there’s a whole lot more to being a real estate agent on St. Croix that we’d like to share. If you’re thinking about hiring a real estate agent on St. Croix – or becoming one – consider these things.
Amy showing the beautiful Caribbean Sea views at an Open House.
Generally speaking, a real estate agent’s job is to make sure that every part of the home buying and/or selling process gets done effectively and efficiently. Real estate agents wear many hats including property researcher, scheduler, concierge, marketer, mediator, consoler, educator, negotiator, advice giver, problem solver, purchase manager and, if all goes as planned, congratulator on the sale or purchase of your property. Ok, yes. On St. Croix we also wear floppy brimmed hats. It is the Caribbean after all!
No two days are the same in real estate. And, with 21st Century technology, there are few full days off. A typical day in the life includes responding to emails, voicemails and texts from buyers, sellers, other Realtors®, prospective clients and service providers; keeping up-to-date with the Multiple Listing Service, watching the market constantly for things like new listings, price changes, pending transactions, or properties that have sold; scheduling showings and prepping house hunting itineraries; keeping appointments with buyers, sellers, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, interior stagers, photographers, and repair technicians; negotiating offers and seeing sales through to closing; crisis management for those inevitable challenges, like financing that falls through or inspection issues; and overseeing marketing efforts, including website, social media and print materials.
Unique to being a real estate agent on St. Croix
Amy showing a spectacular poolside view of the Caribbean.
On St. Croix, there are some unique aspects of a real estate agent’s role. One of our favorites is having the opportunity to sell beautiful St. Croix and our enviable island lifestyle. For buyers that may be looking at other tropical destinations in their property search, we love sharing why we choose to call St. Croix home.
In the States, residential open houses are often scheduled on weekends in hopes of luring more prospective buyers who might ordinarily work during the week. However, on St. Croix open houses are targeted more toward exposing properties to other real estate agents. They are usually scheduled on weekdays during the late morning and early afternoon. We enjoy the opportunity to network with other real estate agents on St. Croix and showcase our latest listings.
As real estate agents in a vacation and retirement destination, we get to work with a lot of second-home buyers and retirees. Many of our clients buy their vacation home on St. Croix with the vision of retiring here in the future. The wish lists are always different and we welcome the challenge of finding the perfect property to fit each client’s vision and budget.
Of course, there’s also the times of being called to stardom. We’re so grateful that shows like Beachfront Bargain Hunt and Caribbean Life put our island in the limelight. Don’t just watch and live vicariously through those people though. Call us and put our real estate expertise to work!
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