“THE COMPANY”

Calypso Realty, “a boutique full service real estate Company” was formed on March 1, 1996 with Sharon E. A. Hupprich as the principal broker. Sharon was a sales agent with Byrne-Brown Realty beginning in 1985 and the sales manager from 1987 until February 1996 when the owner left island and closed the business in the aftermath of hurricane Marilyn. During her tenure at Byrne-Brown Sharon managed several sales associates and became a National Association of Realtors® Million Dollar Club member. Her specialty was and still is the high-end market; both sales and listings. In 1981 Sharon left a Boston hospital administrator’s position to move to St. Thomas when Xerox Corporation transferred her husband Fred. Sharon and Fred have been full time residents and homeowners on St. Thomas since 1981. Fred (everyone calls him “Coach”) eventually left Xerox and in 1985 joined the faculty of the prestigious Antilles School http://www.antilles.vi where he is now the Director of the Department of Physical Education.

Calypso Realty handles the full spectrum of real estate transactions from sales of residential homes, home sites, condos and businesses to commercial sales and leaseholds, and the leasing of properties long term and short-term vacation homes. Calypso currently has over 25 units in the long-term property & rental management division and 7 unique properties in the vacation property & rental management division. We enjoy an excellent reputation with our owners, tenants, guests, sub-contractors. We maintain properties for off-island owners in a cost-effective and competent manner with excellent attention to detail. We have handled everything from minor maintenance and repairs to large-scale construction and re-construction of properties. We replenish and re-supply inventory as needed and in concert with our owners and tenants. We do not accept properties in poor condition until the owner has brought them up to our discerning standard. Otherwise, it is impossible to get a quality tenant in a competitive rental market.

Completing the full spectrum of real estate, Sharon has listed and sold many businesses from boutiques to restaurants and bars and leasehold build-outs and improvements. From American Yacht Harbor and Secret Harbour in the east to high end downtown Charlotte Amalie and two restaurant leaseholds in Frenchtown, Sharon has participated in many successful leasehold transactions.

The vacation rental business has grown from a few simple condos to seven varied properties from beach side condos to the luxurious 4 bedroom pool villa; Magen’s View overlooking glorious Magen’s Bay. This end of the business has provided many potential purchasers with their “first look” at living on a tropical island. Our advertising tag line is … ”Island-style living…for a week or a lifetime” and many people take it literally and purchase a primary residence or second home.

Calypso Realty maintains aggressive advertising all year, recognizing that St. Thomas really doesn’t have a “season” anymore. Tourists visit all year and many serious purchasers make the summer and fall their “hunting trip” while things are a bit more leisurely paced allowing more time to look around while taking advantage of the value season accommodation rates that are sometimes 30% less than winter rates.

We advertise annually in Virgin Islands Playground (a 4-color ad), St. Thomas This Week (the “yellow book”), monthly in Houses magazine and The Real Estate Book, annually in the Caribbean Vacation Planner (4-color), Innovative’s Yellow Pages, and throughout the year in Islands, Conde’ Nast Traveler, Bon Appetit’, Caribbean Travel & Life, Travel & Leisure and other high-end and highly visible international publications. We are listed in all the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism publications since we supply important monthly demographic data via the occupancy reports. These full color publications are distributed worldwide.

Our most important advertising tool is our extensive web site www.CalypsoRealty.com/ Started in mid-1996; our web site was and is a “cutting edge” web presence for St. Thomas real estate. We have refined and adjusted many times since the beginning, but kept it simple since our visitors tell us how easy the site is to navigate. We also enjoy links with many publications such as the print media listed above and others. We have sophisticated technology to track the origin of our hits on our web site garnering over 250,000 hits to the main page since we began tracking a few years ago.

We have the software (Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe PhotoShop) to edit the site, and a state of the art digital camera allowing for immediate and current information. People have called regarding certain listings and made the trip to St. Thomas and made a purchase. So, it works! I have excellent on-island support in Virtual Virgin Islands. They have assisted us in the technical development and many changes in CalypsoRealty.com on a continuing basis. They also host the site with their own state of the art servers in Green Bay (yes, Wisconsin!).

We are complemented almost daily on our logo and name. People are uplifted by it and it immediately says “this is island-style real estate”. The logo is recognizable everywhere so that people don’t even have to see the name to know it’s “Calypso”. Our advertising signs on a property bring calls and subsequently either directly or indirectly it brings sales.

Sharon’s membership in the following organizations brings credibility and professionalism to the business: St. Thomas Board of Realtors, Virgin Islands Territorial Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, St. Thomas-St. John Hotel & Tourism Association, Caribbean Hotel Association and the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce. Sharon Hupprich has served in various capacities with the St. Thomas Board of Realtors® from 1994 to 2003 when she completed her term as second vice-president.

In June 2003 Sharon was nominated and accepted a position of Director (and now Secretary of the Board) with the prestigious Board of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands www.cfvi.net. She co-chairs the annual “Angels” campaign that raises money to support the 90 named funds at CFVI and provides mini-grants and scholarships among other things. In the 2007-08 campaign we raised over $400,000 in just 5 months and celebrated at a gala thank-you reception for our donors of $500+ in March 2008. This is an exciting opportunity to work with CFVI in their philanthropic goals focusing on education, children and families. Won’t you join us soon and you can party next Spring with us all!

In March 2004 Sharon was elected to the permanent Board of Directors and Chair of the Site Selection Committee for Habitat for Humanity International, U.S. Virgin Islands affiliate www.habitat.vi This provides Sharon an exciting opportunity to assist in the development of the program in the US Virgin Islands. We broke ground for the first home in November 2006 and the first concrete footers were poured in January 2007. The home should be completed by the Spring of 2008 with everyone’s help. We hope you’ll help us achieve our goals in everyway possible!

Sharon’s knowledge of and close relationships with all the local lending institutions, title companies, surveyors, and insurance companies assures the most comprehensive information for our valued customers and clients. Close colleagues on St. Croix and St. John assist the Calypso clients that desire a real estate purchase on our sister islands. Sharon provides those brokers with complete information on the client so that their needs are met promptly and professionally.

Barbara Weatherbee,as a licensed sales person, is a valuable team member for Calypso’s customers and clients. Sharon and Barbara often work as a team with clients and Barbara is completely familiar with all aspects of on-going transactions. Barbara is a past Director and Treasurer of the St. Thomas Board of Realtors®.

Our bi-lingual Office Manager and Manager of the Property Management division, Dianne McNeal, will be sure to assist you in every way when you call. Dianne and her husband Andrew have sailed the Caribbean, South and Central America for seven years with their cat and after spending two years on St. Croix they finally settled on St. Thomas the end of 2005. Dianne manages the Property Management division with vacation rentals and long term leasing. Call and say hi to Dianne! Se Habla Español!

Calypso’s offices are conveniently located in Havensight on the first floor of the St. Thomas This Week building, which is just about 100 yards east of the Havensight Mall entrance. With the all-important convenient parking right in front of our building, we would love you to visit us! Just look for the attractive three story beige West Indian style building with the hip roof, French doors and windows and blue shutters. We have all the latest equipment along with a charming setting allowing us to work hard for you and your real estate requirements.

Over the years Sharon has assisted a local and international clientele, private and public sector, corporate and personal, in the exploration, leasing, listing and purchasing of Virgin Islands properties. Corporate clients include Trammell Crow, Esso, AT&T, Heery International, Southern Energy, Cellular One, Sun Glass Hut, Metro Elevator, Cross Country Staffing, Professional Nursing Service, Medical Consulting Services, Cape Air, Marriott, Innovative Communications, Innovative Communications, Daily News, and the Federal Government. For many years Sharon has assisted several U.S. companies interested in establishing new VI companies under the U.S. Virgin Islands EDA program (www.usvieda.org). From the initial introduction to the island to the leasing of office space and purchases of condos and homes we are full service to all clients!

A short history of the St Thomas’ real estate market… The market started strong in 2003 and continued to grow. It was a red-hot market in 2005, 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. The demand for high-end homes, condos and land exceeded many predictions. Commercial and residential leasing has been steady since 2002. Toward the end of 2007 the market made an adjustment and it has slowed down somewhat into 2008. However, the lower interest rates and the fact that we are an attractive year round U.S. destination that does not require a passport along with the pro-business administration of Governor John P. deJongh, Jr., who took office in January 2007 will help our market steady.
In calendar 2007, Sharon personally closed on 20 transaction sides representing over $11,074,500 in total sales volume, along with over $772,000 in short and long term leasing.

In calendar 2006, Sharon personally closed on 30 transaction sides representing over $15,238,000 in total sales volume, along with over $830,000 in short and long term leasing.

In calendar 2005, Sharon personally closed on 43 transaction sides representing over $18,065,000 in total sales volume. Residential and commercial leasing represented an additional $900,000 of sales volume in 2005. In calendar 2004, Sharon personally closed on 39 transaction sides, representing over $12,500,000 in total sales volume. In calendar 2003 Sharon personally closed on 48 transaction sides representing over $14,800,000 in total sales volume.

As you can see, my boutique real estate company is small, personal and successful. Let’s talk further about your specific real estate requirements. Thank you again for your interest in my company Calypso Realty.

Warm Regards,
Sharon E. A. Hupprich

Sharon E. A. Hupprich, Broker-owner

P.O. Box 12178

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00801-5178

voice (340) 774-1620 ~~~~~ fax (340) 774-1634

www.CalypsoRealty.com ~~~ Sharon@CalypsoRealty.com