Thirteen years in banking. Ten in real estate. A portfolio now in excess of US$300 million — and a practice that still begins with a pre-approval, not a showing. Shermel A. Jeffers Chandwani leads SAJ Interior Designs and Real Estate Services from St. Kitts & Nevis, where the work is listings, yes, but also counsel: which bank, which product, which appointment, before a key turns in a lock.
A friend in the banking years put it plainly. She was great with people, and she could sell anything. She should do it. She did.
From the lending desk to the listing
As Managing Director of SAJ Interior Designs and Real Estate Services, Shermel leads a luxury consultancy on St. Kitts & Nevis. The work is not only listings. It is the unglamorous middle — mortgage introductions at the local banks, appointments booked, the financial picture made clear before anyone stands in a doorway.
The early years were the Royal Bank of Canada: top personal lending officer from 2005 to 2012, more than twenty-five Royal Performance awards in sales, locally and across the Eastern Caribbean. Then a friend said the obvious thing. She should sell. The island has been the proving ground ever since.
Always master the art of the deal.
Shermel A. Jeffers Chandwani
What the awards actually mark
2005–2012: Top Personal Lending Officer, RBC Royal Bank of Canada. More than 25 Royal Performance awards in sales. 2024 in New York: Best Luxury Boutique Real Estate Consultancy, St. Kitts & Nevis — Luxury Lifestyle Awards. Named among the Top 100 Real Estate Brokers of the World. 2025 in Switzerland: Leading Luxury Real Estate Consultancy for Personalized Investment Guidance — Global Elite Awards.
Coverage in CEO Magazine, EliteX, MSN, the New York Herald, and USA Today.
If there is a deal to be made, make it
SAJ's brief is complete: every detail of a client's real estate need, including the middle that luxury marketing usually skips. Which bank. Which product. Which appointment. Creativity here is not a mood board. It is a path through financing that actually closes.
The websites hold the listings. The practice holds the rest — empathy during the transaction and after it, and accurate information on every property in play. Ten years in, SAJ is a primary listing agent on the island, trusted by local banks to help liquidate foreclosed balances.
The next five years
She sees sales and new development rising — lifestyle buyers and Citizenship by Investment alike. The horizon she names for SAJ is not the island only, but the Caribbean region: a powerhouse broker, built the same way the first decade was built. To anyone who wants the work: it is not all glamour. Be focused. Know the market. Hear what the client actually needs. Stay determined to finish the task at hand.
