Warning ....Please be very careful about renting from **** *******

[islandgirl36]

I want to warn incoming students that they need to be very wary of renting from **** *******. She and her family rent properties to students on Saba. From what I know, her other relatives are fair and have not caused any trouble for students. **** has an interesting way of interpreting her contract and has the police on her side. Our family had a very scary experience with **** this week. She was in the wrong and brought a police officer to our home to threaten us quite inappropriately. If you are considering renting from her please, please pm me first for details. I would be very concerned with the safety of any students renting from her in the future. I have alerted housing to this issue, however, I do not know if they will advise students of the concerns.

[islandgirl36]

Apparently, I am not allowed to post the names of landlords who are not fair to students....I have to wonder why as I feel it is important that students are aware of potential risks associated with renting on Saba. Anyway, since my story has gotten out I have been contacted so far by 2 other students who have stories similar to mine. It appears that "some" landlords on Saba will keep your damage deposit for no real reason other than they can get away with it. This is happening to more than just us so I feel that students need to know this as most of us don't have extra money that we can just throw away or afford to lose. If any of you out there have had similar experiences or know of someone who does, I invite you to PM me to share those. I am going to crack this story wiiiiidddde open. Enough is enough.....This is not to take away from the good and fair landlords that are on Saba....but for those of you who are taking advantage of students, we are not impressed and not going to stand for it anymore.

[islandgirl36]

Oh and for the record, I believe that SUSOM needs to step up the plate here and advocate for its students!!

[golfman]

I will assume that you are new to the island. If not, then you are a slow learner. Saba is a tight knit community. I would strongly suggest that you keep your head down and get through the first 20 months of med school with as little attention drawn to yourself as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed my time while on the island but you have to realize that you are in their country. Sure somethings aren't done as you see "just", but Saba isn't the US or Canada. The quicker you realize this the better you will be. Going online and calling out someone on a message board is the complete wrong approach to this situation. Realize that although you might not like it, saba is extremely small and when calling out one landlord, you are insulting around half of the island. Don't forget that there are basically 3 last names on the island. I understand your frustration,and if you are wanting a 1 BR place I'd be glad to give you my old landlords contact info. They were wonderful. But, keep you head down and get through there. Otherwise you will have a miserable 20 months. JMO.

[islandgirl36]

I appreciate your feedback golfman, they are wise words.....and I do hear what you are saying....I guess I am just feeling very concerned that this happened and has also happened to others.....how does it ever stop if we all just "put our heads down?" That is my concern......

[golfman]

You have to pick your battles. Realize that Saba is a means to an end. You can't stop all the injustice that happens in any given place. I just tried to leave Saba a better place than I found it. I'm sure you will do the same. Good luck resolving your issue. Feel free to PM me if you need a contact for a good landlord. I knew many of the families on the island fairly well and if you let me know what you are looking for I'd be glad to help you out.

[Hugh_Mongous]

the fact that Saba is a small island also means that a bad landlord establishes a reputation for him/her self. I asked a lot of people about the reputation of my landlord when I was agreeing to the apartment. landlords crazy behavior follows them and all three of you should definitely tell Laura about it and share the info with your classmates. This forum is good and I am sure if someone wants to know the bad landlord's name, they can PM you to get the name.

[tabithak]

I would like the name of the landlord with the bad reputation please.
Also, what are the living conditions like on such an under developed island?

[WaiWahine]

I would like the name of the landlord with the bad reputation please.
Also, what are the living conditions like on such an under developed island?

Hi Tabitha, Saba is actually well developed. Some things are more convenient in N. America but we have the same amenities such as running water, flushing toilets, stoves, power, AC, satellite TV, internet and cell phones.

It's not as easy to live here because the internet does go out as does the cellular network, but it's easily manageable. Sure we don't have an IT guy to call when our net goes down that's available 24/7 but everything works out well in the end. There's no need to worry about living in a mud hut or anything, it can be really nice here!

Cheers :)

[tabithak]

what about food, local grocery stores, the pharmacy, pet food store?

[WaiWahine]

what about food, local grocery stores, the pharmacy, pet food store?

Well that's where it gets inconvenient lol. There are two grocery stores in the Bottom, both close at 6pm I believe and nothing is open Sunday. Food choices are rather limited but if you enjoy a bit of hiking or know some local people you might be able to get local fresh fruit now and again. It is possible to meet the fishermen at the harbour for fresh fish now and then but most of the good stuff goes to Sint Maarten first.

Pharmacy is tiny, they can order in special items as needed. If there is a specific medication that you or your pet may require, bring heaps of it with you - enough to cover until you get back home for refills.

Pet food stores aren't on the island.... Pet food choices are limited but there are the general dog and cat foods available here - no special diet stuff that I can recall....

Fortunately you can order from a store called Cost U less (or something along those lines) in Sint Maarten and they will ship your order over on the Dawn II. I've been told that it's analogous to Costco but haven't seen it for myself.

Cheers!

[atldoc]

hi guys, can anyone that knows who are the good landlords on saba to rent from please pm me and let me know their names. Also, please pm me with information on which landlords are bad and tend to keep deposits and are unfair to students. Thanks.