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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

731 Waddell Avenue - Casa Marina Area - Key West


Just listed by Preferred Properties, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 731 Waddell Avenue in the Casa Marina Area of Key West. The listing Realtor describes this property this way:
"Built in 2008 to resemble the grand Key West Conch homes, in the center of the Casa Marina is this spacious 5 Bedroom 5 Bathroom home. On the main level there is a bedroom and bath, currently being used as an office. As you walk into the massive living area, you are greeted by oversized French Hurricane impact doors that lead you to a large tropical backyard with a beautiful pool and spa. The Kitchen boasts new granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Architecturally designed stairs lead to, the Master bedroom and bath with two additional guest en-suite bedrooms with private balconies and laundry area. On the third level there is another bedroom and bath and a bonus room which can be used for a media room or exercise room."
Here are some photos I took of the large house by Key West standards (3286 sq ft on three floors).

The Main Floor has a formal entry which leads to the great room and kitchen at the rear.

Formal Entry

Great Room

French doors lead to the pool and spa

Kitchen

A guest room or study is located just off the entry.


There is a guest bath located off the entry which is also accessed by the guest room or study.


There are two large bedrooms with en-suite baths on the second floor. Each room has access to the rear second floor balcony that overlooks the pool and spa below.

West bedroom second floor

East bedroom second floor

Both bedrooms share this second floor rear balcony overlooking pool below

Master bedroom with en-suite bath is located at the front

Second floor front balcony located off the master suite

Third floor bed and bath

The rear yard has wonderful pool and spa. The house is located on a large corner lot and is located just one block from the Casa Marina Resort to the south. A small city pocket park is located one block away.

Walk a block to the ocean

This property would make a great vacation rental. There are few houses this large with this many bathrooms in Old Town or the Casa Marina Area. CLICK HERE to view a slide show of all rooms and views at this great property.

731 Waddell Avenue is offered at $1,425,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet and to view listing photos. If you would like to schedule a private showing of 731 Waddell Avenue and are not working with another agent, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

This property sold a year ago for $900k. A prospective buyer probably would like to know that relevant fact but it was omitted from your post. The KW market has not gone up, if at all, in the past year. Certainly not 50%! You KW realtors should devote more time to realistically pricing properties rather than suing each other for releasing information to the consumer who has a right to know.

Gary Thomas said...

This property was purchased a year ago for $900,000 as a short sale. I told potential buyers at that time that this (and the near identical house next door at 729 Waddell) were real bargains. They were!

The current owners made significant improvements to the house.

731 Waddell was appraised just before it was listed at a price higher than the asking price.

Look at the other current and recently sold larger Casa Marina area homes and you will see that those houses are selling at a premium once again. There are few active listings in the Casa Marina area, but there is a big demand for homes like this.

The good thing about Key West is that the Key West Association of Realtors mls website is available to all to view for free without any kind of limitation. The City of Key West and Monroe County have open websites that provide all kinds of information for viewers to see the intimate details of each others lives including how much a person paid for his or her house, if it was mortgaged, and so on. You can find out who is getting divorced, who is being sued for non-payment of bills, and who is being foreclosed upon.

Gary

Anonymous said...

"significant improvements"? The house was sold brand new last year and the current seller is and has been the only owner. What significant improvements might these have been? No permits are shown being issued since 2009.

You're right. One should check to see what other similar properties have sold for. But then again we can't because the same KW Association of Realtors prohibited the same website that they are currently suing from listing "recently sold properties" more than a year ago. Why don't you do your readers a favor and reprint that resolution passed last year and see what they think of it.
Gary, sorry to be a little harsh but this lawsuit has really gotten me upset. We mere mortals who are not realtors can not get a list of ALL properties "just listed" or "recently reduced," only the handful of ones you choose to feature. That is truly pathetic. (Of course, if I am wrong, please direct me to the site where I can get that information.)

Anonymous said...

The Key West Association of Realtors mls is not "without any kind of limitation." It does not show to the public listings that are pending or contingent or that have sold. That information is only for the brokers

Anonymous said...

Gary is more than right in this case. The buyers who got it for $900K jumped on a deal and now are pricing the property in line with the market. This house is going to sell quick. Do you feel that someone who bought apple stock at it lowest point years ago should sell it today for the same price? The stock market is no better today than it was years ago, the same way the key west market is today compared to the past. I doubt if you were the lucky buyer who bought the place for $900K you would be selling it for the same. Its easy to complain about stuff after the fact. Its easy to put realtors in a bad light for no reason. I suggest next time you get off your butt and jump on a good deal and then you'll reap the rewards instead of trying to rain on other people's parade. Get real!!!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Gary too. There are currently a lot overpriced KW houses on the market at this time. . . but this is not one of them. If you look at the per square foot asking price you will see that this house is in line with properties that sold in the area over the past year that were not short sales. If only other sellers would look at recent sales rather than nearby over priced listings when they price their homes.

Anonymous said...

To 3:21

If it is indeed such a great deal, then go ahead and buy it. In fact, send in your offer at full price! It's only $430 sq ft. Besides it has all these unnamed "significant improvements" that the one and only owner must have done in the last year without permits because the last permit was issued in 2009.

The fact remains that the original post omitted the fact that the property sold only a year again for $500k less. You may think that detail is unimportant. I, and I venture to guess most prospective buyers, do not.

Anonymous said...

You can't look at recent sales. The KW Association of Realtors prohibits the release of that information. Just ask Gary.

Anonymous said...

Past paid price has no bearing on current market value. Even in today's struggling market, some homes were sold at an incredible bargain in the past couple of years and those buyers stand to make gains.

The market will let these sellers know if their price is fair. Looking at comparable homes on the market and recently sold indicates that it isn't really out of line. Lucky them. Maybe.

The next buyer is actually the one who will experience the largest gain in value, especially if they hold onto it for a few years. The undeveloped land in that area is worth a fortune and there are probably nice things in store for it within the next several years.

It looks like a nice house and it's in a good location. Let's see what the market decides. Fact is, it isn't up to any of us, anyway.

3:21 said...

Just do us one favor, Gary. When this place sells at far more than the $900K that it sold for a year ago, blog about it. Then the foolish blogger that thinks that previous price makes a difference can eat some crow.

Gary Thomas said...

It will. And I will.
Gary

Anonymous said...

Your post gives a total sq ft of 3286 which I'm sure you got from your colleague's MLS listing which gives the source as tax records. However, the Property Appraiser's website gives the total sq ft as 2204. That's a big difference which would boost the price per sq ft to well over $600. Any explanation?

Anonymous said...

It appears the appraiser's site fails to include the third floor living space. If you look further, in the "sections" section, it lists three air-conditioned areas. Their total air-conditioned living space totals what's listed on the MLS.

From an appraiser's perspective, removing stairwells and other "non-living" spaces, it's probably closer to about 2800 sf of usable living space.

Gary Thomas said...

Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy in square footage. The listing agent used the sq ft shown on the architect's plans. The appraiser measured the house for the recent appraisal but did not add back in the third floor or closet areas. The listing is being corrected to show the same sq ft as shown on the Monroe County Property Appraiser's website.

Gary

Anonymous said...

If previously said that 1.4M is a good asking price for this house. But if the house is indeed only 2204 sq ft the based on recent sales for the area an asking price around 1M or perhaps a bit less might be more appropriate.

Anonymous said...

No need to concern yourself about adjusting the price due to the lower sq footage. 3:21 above is still willing to pay the inflated price!

By the way, the listing agent has not yet corrected the listing. Buyer beware.

FloridaAG said...

These are nice houses (not sure if I saw this one or its companion) but I always feel suffer from their layouts and feel smaller than they are. Just my opinion.

I like the neighborhood a lot. I live nearby and walk my dog by here regularly as do many others as it is near Dog Beach

Gary Thomas said...

Quick Update. This property sold (closed) for $1,200,000.

Gary

Anonymous said...

Well, let's hope this ends the scuttlebutt about this house. The sellers took a risk and made a nice profit and the buyers got the home for $300,000 less than a recent appraisal. I don't know why this home generated so much controversy, anyway.

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