I am going back into my memory closet more than twenty years to relate this story. Soon after I got my real estate license in 1996 I was working with a gay couple who wanted to relocate to Key West to own and operate a guest house. There were a few properties listed for sale. I set up showings for my customers and casually mentioned to a woman agent in my office that I would be showing Newton Street Station, an all gay male guest house.
The woman agent had first hand knowledge about the place because she lived nearby and was familiar with its mode of operation which was a bit odd even for Key West. She suggested that I warn my customers to expect to see the manager open the door in the nude. She said the manager would actually show the guest house as the owner would not be present. I thought she was joking, but she was not. She had experienced first hand when she had shown it. And she had seen the nude dude open the door to greet guests for years. So I told my customers. They were gay and took it in stride. I can recall missing things in the property because I was avoiding looking at the obvious. Over the following months I showed the guest house several more times to both gay and straight buyers. The manager always opened the door in the buff and always conducted the showings.
During that same time period I had a listing on a different guest house. I remember showing it when a buyers' agent mentioned he was going to show Newton Street Station right after leaving my property. I warned to expect the Newton Street Station manger to greet him and his customers in the nude. He was shocked but appreciated the warning. A few days later he saw me and thanked me again. He said had warned his straight couple from the Midwest and they took it is stride.
2 comments:
Did you know that John Adams, the 2nd President of the United States, once owned Newton Street Station? Rumor has it that his nick name was Fig, as in Fig Newton.
Clever.
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