Sitting Pretty - 526 William Street Unit # 4 - Old Town - Key West

526 William Street - Old Town - Key West

Just listed by Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc., (that's where I work) 526 William Street Unit No. 4, a second floor condominium in the beautifully restored and centrally located Delancey Hall building in Old Town Key West. Each unit in this five unit building is unique. Unit #4 is a smart one bedroom located on the second floor front. It shares the front balcony that has a commanding view overlooking William Street. The listing Realtor describes this property this way:

"In the heart of Old Town Key West is this beautiful Historic Home, that has been converted into 5 units, this particular corner unit is bright and airy, with balcony access on William Street. It has one bedroom and one bathroom with a great kitchen/living area. Kitchen has beautiful wood cabinets and granite countertops. The floors are all Brazilian Purple Heart hardwood flooring, Dade County walls, custom ceramic tile shower,crown molding and high ceilings. You would be 3 blocks from Duval and 3 blocks from the historic waterfront."

Unit #4 is second floor left side

Delancey Hall is one of the very best renovations I have seen in Key West. The quality of the workmanship and the superior interior finishes look as good today as they did ten years ago when the original renovation was completed. Buyers that work with me know that I am quick to point out shoddy construction and poor workmanship. Nobody should pay good money for unprofessional construction. Each Delancey Hall unit was built to high quality standards.

Unit #4 is located on the second floor front or William Street side of the property. The one bedroom unit has 550 square feet of interior living space (almost the same size as some two bedrooms at Shipyard). It occupies the south side of the building so you will have good light and not a lot of neighbors. The second floor front porch is your outdoor space. CLICK HERE to see the Key West mls database and to view more photos of this unit.

Offered at just $299,000 unit #4 would make a getaway place for quick trips to Key West or as a permanent home for a single person. The property has the necessary amenities (pool included) and a great Old Town location to make it worth your while to view. No need for a car because everything you want is within walking distance.

Mangia Mangia located at Southard & Margaret

You can get your daily gossip and cafe con leche at Five Brother's

Locals and frequent visitors know the value of a good location, and 526 William Street is located in the very heart of the Historic District. The Key West Seaport is three blocks to the north. There are lots of great restaurants and water based activities there. Duval Street is just a five minute walk to the west. Mangia Mangia is a block to the east at the corner of Margaret and Southard. Five Brothers is located one block further to the east where you can get your morning gossip and cafe con leche at the same time. Fausto's Food Palace is three blocks west on Fleming. Fausto's has a great wine selection plus one of the best real butcher markets in Key West. And Fausto's always has fresh sushi. One-half block off the corner of Duval and Eaton you will find the Tropic Cinema, a hangout for the elite of Key West. The point is you can eat and greet and meet just about anywhere in Old Town within a few minutes walk of bike ride.

Tropic Cinema is on Eaton Street between Duval and Whitehead

If you are looking for a very nice and affordably priced condo in Old Town, you owe it to yourself to take a look at 526 William Street unit #4. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to arrange a showing. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. If you buy 526 William Street #4 you will be sitting pretty in Old Town Key West.

623 Elizabeth Street - Old Town - Key West Charmer

623 Elizabeth Street as it appeared in 1965

623 Elizabeth Street - Key West - February 2010

So many potential buyers have the image of the ideal Key West Cottage etched in their heads. They envision the simple, yet unmistakable, one-story home referred to as a Conch Cottage or Cigar Maker's house. Features usually include an entry door on one side with two windows, historically correct shutters, a shiny metal roof, a pool in the rear, off street parking, a very good Old Town location preferably out of harms way when it comes to flooding, and priced under $500,000. I give you 623 Elizabeth Street, a Key West Cottage that meets many of those ideal expectations. This is how the listing agent at Preferred Properties describes this new listing:

"Classic conch house located in a coveted Old Town neighborhood. Good ceiling heights in the living and bedrooms, with vaulted ceilings in the eat-in kitchen, which has butcher block countertops and custom cabinetry. French doors from the kitchen lead out to a covered dining porch and a nice deep lot. Livable now, with room for personal touches, including a pool and/or additions. Great value in a sought out location."

CLICK HERE to see more photos of the interior and rear yard at 623 Elizabeth Street. You will note that the yard does not have a pool. But there is room for a pool and there may be room for a rear second floor addition to expand this old house. I have included a street view of three of the neighboring houses including two at the south which have second story additions.

The house at 623 Elizabeth Street as presently configured has 726 sq ft of living space that sits on a 2300 sq ft lot (23' x 100'). The two neighboring houses sit on the same sized lots and each has an addition and a pool. What none of the four houses has is off street parking.

623 Elizabeth Street is the 3rd house to the left

The nice thing about a house like 623 Elizabeth Street is the ability of a buyer to move in and take some time before deciding to remodel the house because remodeling is an elective decision, not a requirement.

623 Elizabeth Street is located at the tippy-top of Solares Hill so flood insurance will not be required should you need a mortgage. The house is a two block walk to Duval Street, a five minute walk to the Historic Key West Seaport, and five minutes or less to numerous great coffee shops and restaurants. The Red Barn Theatre, The Waterfront Playhouse, The San Carlos, and Tropic Cinema are all within a five to ten minute walk. There is always something going on nearby. Who knows you may decide a pool and additional bedrooms for guests are not necessary.

If you would like to see 623 Elizabeth Street, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. Our office is the exclusive Lower Florida Keys affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.

631 Southard Street - Old Town - Key West

Here is another real deal. The problem is you need to be kind of rich to afford it. But there are still lots of rich folks in America and some of them are looking for homes in Key West. If you are among that lucky bunch, you might want to consider 631 Southard Street that was just listed for sale at $1,995,000 or $785 per sq. ft. The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Elegant, Sophisticated, and Luxurious Historic Home on Solares Hill in the Heart of Old Town Key West. Fully renovated and restored with an eye for perfection and quality. Beautiful kitchen with Jenn-air and Fisher & Paykel stainless steel appliances. High ceilings, hardwood floors, bedrooms with bath ensuite,laundry room, and open floor plan with finest details throughout. Huge tropical lot with lush vegetation, heated pool, spa and outdoor living room with privacy galore. Newly renovated guest cottage CLICK HERE offers glass tile shower room, open floor plan for easy tropical living. Off-street parking, full house generator, wrap-around porches and custom made Ipe' shutters. A Luxurious Residence in the Heart of Historic Old Town Key West."

This house is such a charm to show. The downstairs combined living-dining areas work so well for the relaxed Key West lifestyle. The French doors look out onto the gardens and pool. And unlike a lot of older Key West homes, the view is bright and cheerful on all sides. That corner location provides nice morning light on the east and the extra large yard provides sun for the pool and gardens. CLICK HERE for more details and some great photos of this special property.

631 Southard Street is located at the corner of Southard and Elizabeth Streets--just two blocks from Duval but only one block from 5 Brothers CLICK HERE to the east or Sarabeth's CLICK HERE and Nancy's Secret Garden that is hidden at the rear of Free School Lane CLICK HERE. Fausto's Food Palace CLICK HERE is a two block walk and the Key West Cinema CLICK HERE and The Red Barn Theater CLICK HERE are about three minutes away by foot. (The Waterfront Playhouse CLICK HERE to see a "chick play" is about a ten minute walk because you have to walk through hordes of tourists!) The Historic Key West Seaport CLICK HERE is five minutes by foot. So you see you cannot beat the location. The house is near everything important.

I represented some people that tried to buy this house back in 2004. My buyers offered $2.8 million cash and the then seller turned them down. The then seller eventually sold to the present owners for a lower price. Such is the fate of market timing. Greedy bastards sometimes lose even in an up market.

The present owner has put a lot of time and money improving this already superb home. If you are looking for a second home in Key West and want the lifestyle, the excellent location, and the amenities 631 Southard Street offers, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to arrange a showing. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc., an affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.

"Say Goodnight Gracie"

Before I moved to Key West I did the Duval Drag. That is the practice of walking up and down Duval Street every morning, afternoon, and evening. I guess I thought that the only things that ever happen in Key West occur on Duval Street. When I decided to buy here, I wondered how in the world I could go to Duval Street every evening to sustain my existence. It sincerely bothered me.

I had a couple from Great Britain back out of a deal to buy a cute-as-can-be condo on Peacon Lane because she feared Duval Street would not be enough for her. I tried to assure her that there is more to Key West than Duval. We have a real symphony, three theatres (Tennessee Williams Theatre, Waterfront Theatre, and Red Barn Theatre), the Regal Cinema (mainstream movies) and Tropic Cinema (first run and "art house" movies), the San Carlos Theatre, and many venues where concerts are performed. Then there is a plethora of seminars and events to honor notable cultural icons. During Season there is a party a night somewhere in town--usually more than one.

So last night I attended the final performance at the Tennessee Williams Theatre and the Florida Keys Community College (yep, we've got a college too!). The program was "Say Goodnight Gracie" and was performed by Don McArt who portrayed George Burns in a one man show about the late comedian's life with Gracie Allen. I'm not a critic so what I say doesn't matter. But he did mess up on a few of his lines. And then he corrected himself. He could have kept on going and nobody would have been wiser. But the audience gave him a standing ovation at the end.

Say Goodnight Gracie is a multimedia presentation that features music, images, movie clips and some sketches from the old Burn's and Allen TV program. The audience howled at some of Gracie's lines. I'll bet that half the audience was too young to know anything about her. But I'm sure they want more of Gracie now.

Going to the theatre or other cultural events in Key West is really fun, too. You always get to see old friends. And that makes going to the theatre much more enjoyable.

If you would like to know more about Key West cultural events CLICK HERE. And if you are interested in buying a home or business in Key West of the lower Keys, please CLICK HERE to checkout all mls listings and then please give me a call toll free at 1.877.778.7092.