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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

1119 Catherine Street - Short Sale - Key West





Attention K-Mart shoppers and other bargain hunters. The legal duplex at 1119 Catherine Street in Key West may be the one you have been waiting to find. The property is a short sale and the asking price is now $490,000. Interested? Read on.

The listing Realtor describes the Catherine Street duplex this way:
"Great renovation in progress - very close to finished. First floor unit is 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths; the upstairs unit is 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. Both units have covered rear porches. This is a great location - walk or bike anywhere. Condo papers are finished but not filed. New paint inside & out, new electric, new plumbing upstairs and down, new downstairs cabinets and vanities, new tile in the downstairs baths & kitchen, new walls, 37 new windows, most doors are also new. NOT YOUR NORMAL DUPLEX - COME LOOK AT THIS ONE! Priced well below recent bank appraisal. This is a potential short sale and may be subject to third party approval."


The photo above is a bit deceptive. The photo shows a glass enclosed front porch. In real life the porch area is now part of the master suite with drywall that cleverly conceals the windows on the exterior. That deception enabled the renovator to use the interior space much more efficiently. The downstairs unit would make a really great place for an owner to live. The kitchen has higher end cabinets and tile already installed. The appliances also need to be purchased. The baths are nearly complete but are missing a couple of sinks and toilets. And the living area still needs hardwood floors installed.

Upstairs the views are just wonderful. This place is really bright and cheery. It needs a few finishing touches as well. But overall the upstairs and downstairs unit can be completed fairly quickly and cheaply-maybe $20,000 or so.

There is room for a pool in the backyard. There are some nuisance trees that will need to be removed and the pool would need to be hand dug. That happens quite often. I think the existing main level deck could be extended into the rear yard so that the depth of the pool need not be so deep. A pool and deck like that might add an additional $50,000 to your investment.

I don't do property management, but the upstairs unit would be an easy rental with or without a pool. The downstairs unit would be great for an owner live-in situation. Maybe you use the upstairs for the occasional guests instead of as a long term rental.

The renovator was going to condominiumize the property. The paperwork was done, but not filed. Good thing. It costs money to terminate a condo association and there is no present market for condos like this today. But having the option to use the documentation at a later date is another potential positive on this property. CLICK HERE to see more detailed information and photos of 1119 Catherine Street.

I think this duplex will go fast at this new price. If interested, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305.766.2642. This property is listed by Preferred Properties Coastal Realty Inc.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Captain says:

This property is way overpriced. The Property Appraiser's Office has a Total Assessed Value of $364,133. If you can't buy a property for less than the assessed value in this market there is a problem.

Cap out......

Gary Thomas said...

Captain, Have you been inside Catherine Street? I believe the assessed value was based on the property prior to renovation. I did a quick search of actual SOLDS under $400,000 where the property has at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. There were only six in the past year. Two were mentioned here: 921 Eaton and 1525 Flagler. Neither is anything comparable to 1119 Catherine Street. (And the other solds were pure junk! oin my opinion.)

A buyer needs to actually look at property and not just at numbers to determine if a particular property might be of value to him as a real purchaser.

I know that the listing realtor has received at least one offer since I wrote this blog. I think this property is worth a serious look by a serious buyer.

Gary

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The information on this site is for discussion purposes only. Under no circumstances does this information constitute a recommendation to buy or sell securities, assets, real estate, or otherwise. Information has not been verified, is not guaranteed, and is subject to change.
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