While on vacation is St Thomas I decided to look at real estate. St Thomas Villas are reasonably priced and can earn a lot of extra revenue. You have to decide on what type of villa you need. You can choose from luxury villas, to condo's to apartments. What's important is what you'll do with the villa.

One may want to consider a 4 bedroom luxury St Thomas villa. This way one could rent the villa out to families as well as corporations. One may want to consider looking at St Thomas condos as well. This seems like a good way to go because they are maintained for you on a regular basis.

The pros of owning a St Thomas villa versus a St Thomas condo are;
- Privacy in the villa
- Larger in size
- No condo rules to follow

The cons of owning a villa are;
- more expensive to purchase
- more expensive to maintain
- higher taxes

You'll also need to find a good vacation rental agency to work with. They can be invaluable as they know the area and the locals. They can help you on location of the property, where to hire vendors, and what's important to potential renters. They usually collect a villa rental for of 15-20% for their efforts.

St Thomas is a small island but the most popular in the US Virgin Islands. They get cruise ships on a daily basis so tourism is critical. You need to determine if you want to capitalize on this by purchasing a villa in the Virgin Islands.

Some things you'll need to consider for owning a villa are;

- Water. Water is scarce on the islands and all homes are set up with a water catching system called a cistern. Water is funneled to a cement holding container that you use for your villa.
- electricity. Power is very expensive on the island. Running AC units on a daily basis can cost you $1000 per month. So buying villas in the breeziest location may save you a lot of money.
You're not going to get a pizza delivered in the Virgin Islands. Get use to the fact that good, fast service doesn't exist in the Caribbean.

do a lot of research before you look for villas. If done correctly you could make large profits.

I personally believe that buying a larger villa with at least 4 bedrooms is the way to go. Then put in as many amenities as you can afford. I would recommend a pool, hot tub, bar, outside kitchen, awning, wifi, plasma tv's and whatever else you can think of. The more toys you have the better chance you'll have of renting the villa out.

Location of your villa is also critical. You'll want a beach or waterfront location if you can afford it. Remember, you're selling too people that want luxury. They can stay anywhere they want but being on the water really makes the difference.

You'll also have to keep in mind that you'll want your property in a location that gets a lot of water if possible. That will reduce the number of times you'll have to order water. The more rain you get the better off you'll be.

Next you'll want to advertise your rental. You'll need a web site for sure. You'll need to hire a photographer to take good pictures to add to your web site. You'll want to find some good vacation rental web sites to add your villa to. Advertising is critical to the success of your occupancy rate.

Be prepared for a slow season and a high season when renting your villa. Typically the slow season is from April 25th to December 15th with high season in between. Then you'll have your really high season for Christmas and New Years. So most of your profits will come from your high season rentals.

The rewards are great if you can at least average 1 rental per month. If you can do that you can most likely pay for your mortgage for the entire year. Hopefully you can have at least a 50% rate of occupancy. If so you'll be paying off your mortgage and making a nice little income. Nothing beats a free home in the Caribbean. In 15 years you'll get to sell your property for double what you paid and retire if you'd like.

Owning a piece of paradise in the Caribbean is a feeling that can't be described.