Condo or Villa in Sint Maarten: How to Choose, Cost by Cost

Condo or villa in Sint Maarten? If you will spend a few weeks a year here and want someone else to handle the roof, the pool and the security, buy a condo. If you want privacy, space and full control, and you are ready to manage a house by the sea or pay someone to, buy a villa. Most of the other differences follow from that.

The details are where buyers get surprised, so here is how the two compare on the costs and rules that matter, and where each type sits on the island.

Where condos and villas are

On the Dutch side, condos concentrate on the west end: Simpson Bay along the lagoon and beach, Maho around the resort strip, Cupecoy on the cliffs and the marina at Porto Cupecoy, and Pelican Key on the point, which also has villas on the hill. Indigo Bay mixes both: in our current figures, villas start around $1.5 million and condos around $900,000. Dawn Beach and Point Blanche on the east side offer condos with a quieter pace.

Villas dominate the hillsides above Simpson Bay and Pelican Key, and the French side. Terres Basses is private estates behind their own entrances. Orient Bay, Anse Marcel, Baie Nettlé and Grand Case mix villas with smaller residences. Our neighborhood guide covers each area in more detail.

The real cost of owning each

The purchase price is the easy number. The carrying cost is where condos and villas split.

Condo

• Monthly association fees cover the common areas: building insurance (often), pool, grounds, elevators, security, sometimes water or internet.

• Your own contents insurance, electricity, and maintenance inside the unit.

• Special assessments when the reserve fund cannot cover a big job.

Villa

• Full building insurance, including windstorm, usually your largest fixed cost.

• Pool and garden service, a caretaker or property manager, security.

• All repairs: roof, waterproofing, shutters, cistern and pumps, generator, air conditioning.

• On estates like Terres Basses, an owners' association with its own dues for roads and security.

A villa's costs are less predictable, not just higher. Ask the seller for twelve months of real bills, not an estimate.

Association fees and reserves: read before you buy

On the Dutch side, a condo is usually held as an apartment right, and every owner is a member of the owners' association (VvE). On the French side, the equivalent is the copropriété, run by a syndic. Either way, you are buying into a shared balance sheet.

What we ask for on every condo:

• The last two years of financial statements and the current budget.

• The reserve fund balance and what it is set aside for.

• Minutes of recent general meetings. Planned roof, seawall or elevator work shows up there first.

• The house rules, including rental and renovation rules.

• Any pending special assessment or litigation.

Low fees are not a bargain if the reserve is empty. A building that has underfunded its roof for years will ask owners for the money later, all at once.

Renting it out: check the building rules

If rental income is part of the plan, this is the question that decides the purchase. Some Dutch-side buildings run short-term rentals smoothly, some restrict or ban them, and some require a minimum stay or registration with the front desk. Get the rule in writing from the association before you sign.

Villas give you freedom on this front, but guests expect more: a pool that is always clean, a generator, fast answers. Resort-area condos in Simpson Bay, Maho and Cupecoy rent on location and walkability; villas rent on views, privacy and the number of bedrooms. On the French side, check local registration rules for furnished tourist rentals. On both sides, rental income is taxable, and short-term rentals can carry turnover and room taxes; confirm current rates. For the numbers, see our guide to maximizing rental returns, and if you would rather not run it yourself, our rental management team does.

Salt air, maintenance and who carries it

Everything metal on this island corrodes, and faster near the water. Railings, window frames, air conditioning units, pool equipment and electrical panels all need regular attention.

In a condo, the association handles the exterior and the budget absorbs it. In a villa, it is you, on a schedule, or a manager doing it for you. We have seen well-bought villas lose value in three years of absentee ownership because nobody washed down the shutters or serviced the cistern pump.

Security and lock-and-leave

A condo is the natural lock-and-leave: controlled access, neighbours, often a guard or front desk. A villa needs alarms, cameras, lighting and someone who checks the house regularly, especially between guests. Gated estates and villa communities narrow the gap, at the price of association dues.

Hurricane season and insurance

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. Irma, a Category 5 storm, hit the island in September 2017, and newer construction generally follows stronger codes.

For condos, ask how the building fared in 2017, what was rebuilt, and whether the association's policy covers windstorm and at what deductible. For villas, you carry that policy yourself. Windstorm deductibles are often a percentage of insured value, which on a large villa is a serious number. Check shutters, impact glass, roof fastening and drainage. Our hurricane season plan lists what to do before, during and after a storm.

Resale and demand

Condos in established buildings in Simpson Bay, Maho, Cupecoy and Pelican Key have the deepest pool of buyers: price points are more accessible and rental history makes them easier to value. Villas sell to a narrower, wealthier group; the right villa in Terres Basses, Indigo Bay or on a strong view lot holds its appeal, but each one is its own market and can take longer to sell.

How we would decide

• Under a few weeks a year on the island and wanting rental income: a condo in a well-run building that allows rentals.

• Family, space, privacy, longer stays: a villa, with a manager budgeted from day one.

• Somewhere in between: a townhouse or villa inside a managed community, where the association carries part of the load.

Questions we get

Are association fees in Sint Maarten high? They vary widely by building and by what they include. Compare what the fee covers, and look at the reserve fund, not just the monthly figure.

Can I rent my condo on Airbnb? It depends on the building. Some allow short-term rentals, some restrict them. Get the association's rule in writing before you buy.

Is a villa harder to insure? It is your policy to carry, including windstorm, and deductibles are often a percentage of insured value. Get a quote before you make an offer.

Which sells faster? In our experience, condos in established buildings, because there are more buyers at their price points.

When you are ready to compare real options, start with properties for sale, or talk to us about what fits how you will use it.

Sources: Andreu Realty transaction experience; ASL des propriétaires de Terres Basses. Association fees, insurance and tax figures to be confirmed for each property.