What a Difference a Year and a Gay Make !

1212 Olivia Street - Key West - January 2009

Way back on January 12, 2009 I wrote a new blog entry on 1212 Olivia Street. CLICK HERE to read what I said then. The property was a newly listed bank owned house in Old Town Key West that was priced to sell at $599,900. I showed that house twice the day it was listed, and other agents were there right along with me at both showings. Someone had removed the kitchen and did some minor damage by removing bathroom sinks. But that house had a wonderful rear yard and large pool that more than made up for the inconvenience and cost to repair and replace things that were missing. That house went under contract within seven days of being listed and closed within 3 months for just $540,000. CLICK to see sold listing data.

The new owners engaged a local gay duo that "do" houses very well. Within a matter of months the place was spiffed up and made even better than before.

I received a phone call yesterday about this house. The gentleman mistakenly thought I wrote the blog in 2010, not 2009. I explained the house sold within days of being listed and told him know what a good deal he missed. I later recalled that I had received several other phone calls and emails on this particular property during the past few months.

I drove past 1212 Olivia Street earlier today. Right below you will see a photo I took today that proves my point about what a difference a year and a gay (duo) make. The guys that did the interipr dod a terrific job. I'm sorry to report I don't have any photos, however.

1212 Olivia Street - Key West - February 2010

If you are thinking of buying a house in Key West You can search the official Key West Association of Realtors mls website by CLICKING HERE. If you see something you like, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305.766.2642 or contact me by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. Our office is the exclusive lower Florida Keys affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.

Just Listed 1212 Olivia Street - Key West

Just Listed -- well, last week it was. This unusual property was the carriage house that was part of a much larger home adjacent to the east. This property was listed in 2008 at $1,375,000. CLICK HERE to see what it looked like then. It did not sell. The bank foreclosed and now this property is Bank Owned. The new asking price is $599,900 or $358 per sq ft.

The property is located at 1212 Olivia Street in The Meadows Area. It is just a step away from White Street to help out of town buyers place it. The house has 1676 sq feet of space and sits on a large lot of 4275 sq ft. The house has 3 bedrooms (none of which are large, but they are not small either). There are two bathrooms, but they are definitely not as large as we are custom to seeing in new renovations. The kitchen pictured above in the photos when the house was listed last year is missing. Somehow the the appliances went away. The bathroom vanity is gone from one bath and the sink is missing from another. The pool pump and air conditioner and all of the light fixtures are missing as well. Some of the exterior shutters are gone for good.

But if you get past the things that are wrong with the design or things that are missing, you still see a good sized house in a very good location with a terrific pool and rear yard, an interesting design, and a cute front yard with off street parking. The house next door is for sale and it is offered at well over $4 million. The neighbor to the west is an apartment building that fronts onto White. But the block and location is great nonetheless.

This property would be a good project property for someone with design and construction skills. CLICK HERE to read what the listing realtor says about the house and view more photos.

It is easy to see this house at 1212 Olivia. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642.

January Real Estate Sales in Key West

I've been telling you that sales are picking up in Key West and advising you not to wait too long before you buy. Snoozers are Losers!

In January there were ten single family home sales in Key West (including a couple of properties that could be used as legal duplexes). Going either way is common in Key West, I guess. I have written about several of the homes that sold and I gotta tell you, I told you they were bargains to be had. Included were 701 Elizabeth, originally $1,579,000 and sold for $695,000 (Not a Short Sale nor a distress sale); 3 Pinder Lane, originally listed for $1,390,000 and sold for $900,000; 716 Olivia Street (originally listed for $2,895,000 and sold for $1,025,126 in one day). The buyers on the above referenced properties made excellent buys in my opinion. A major Key West house sold that was listed for $6,495,000 and sold for $5,700,000.

There were eight condo and townhome sales during January. Four of those were identified as either bank owned properties or short sales. Among the winners of that group are a unit at 1075 Duval with a real transient license. It sold for an incredible $439,774. A third floor bank owned unit at Sunset Marina with a terrific water view sold for $399,000. And a two story townhome at Windward Park sold for just $400,000.

Even, perhaps, more interesting is the number of contingent and pending single family and duplex properties in Key West. Fifty-three properties are now under contract. Of that number, 26 are shown as short sales and 11 were identified as bank owned properties. In case you think that all short sales are crappy little houses that could not be sold CLICK HERE. The incredible house at 811 Southard is a short sale and somebody snagged this big one. I wrote about 1212 Olivia CLICK HERE. It is a bank owned house on a really nice block. I showed that house twice within a couple of hours of when it was listed. (Just as in the case of the sold bank owned home at 716 Olivia CLICK HERE (scroll down to October 27th) mentioned above under single family sales, this unit reportedly went for a little more than the asking price just so that the buyer could seal the deal.)

Finally, thirty one condos and town homes are shown as contingent or pending sales. Of that number, 15 are short sales and 6 are bank owned properties. The most notable in my opinion is the gift at 1118 Olivia Street that was listed at only $359,000. CLICK HERE to see what I wrote about that property that went under contract just 4 days after being listed.

You need to be aware that there is some confusion about how to classify houses and condos that have signed short sale contracts. Not all properties that have signed short sale contracts are listed as such. I believe the number of actual contingent and pending sales is much, much higher. But that is just my opinion.

Buyers who are not in Key West have a bit of a disadvantage to those people who happen to be here when new properties get listed or when prices are reduced. But that should not stop you from using your computer to do some research and using your noggin to figure out if a particular property could work for you. You probably know what you want and what you can afford. I encourage potential buyers to search the real Key West Association of Realtors mls database CLICK HERE to see what kind of property they can buy for the money they want to spend. Always look at properties priced higher than you can afford and search properties with less space or amenities than you require. CASH is KING and you may be able to negotiate a real sweet deal, just like some of the lucky buyers mentioned above.

Let me, Gary Thomas, help you buy your place in Paradise. Please either call me at 305-766-2642 or 3-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com. Tell me what you want and how much you want to pay. You might own a place in Key West where you can snooze on the beach.

Key West Real Estate Trivial Pursuit - Part Two

Think back at these older  pics of  Key West. Where is/was the house or building located?

EDIT: Since nobody played I will give you the answers.

Number 1 720 Waddell Ave. Casa Marina. Photo taken after Hurricane Wilma - not Irma.

Number 2  1400 Whalton St taken in 2007 the large green lawn is now gone. Two new houses replaced the decades old grass lawn obliterating a Key West landmark property. Shame on HARC.

Number 3   1100 Flagler Avenue  This photo is at least a decade old.

Number 4  1025 Johnson St. Formerly a one floor mid-century modern owned by Aldous Brown. When his life passed away, Aldous came out as gay at around age 88 or so. What a gent he was.

Bonus Points if you know who lived there before...

Number 5 626 William former home of Broadway impresario Jerry Herman (Hello Dolly!) who renovated this home and others together with his partne.

Number 6   418 William Street

Number 8   1012 Southard Street  photo taken 2011 or 2012

Number 9  Gordon Food Service mall at 2508 N Roosevelt  Put the two store signs together to form a single phrase.

I had to stop my car, get out, and photograph this sign.

Number 10   405 Frances St  the site of one of my Key West Real Estate Horror Stories

Number 11   319 Grinnell St. Bank foreclosure with several illegal units including first floor rear that had been "remodeled" and included a totally exposed toilet in the kitchen. Kid you not. During the renovation shown below the house was burned. The fire damage was repaired.

Number 12  Former hospital, then law offices on Eaton Street. I sold this property shortly before Hurricane Wilma. This building is now a part of The Saint Hotel. This was probably the toughest deal I ever did.

Number 13     916 Fleming Street during renovation a decade ago.

Number 14  The Key West trailer was owned by the Catholic Church and located at the corner of Simonton and Virginia. It was populated by big shady trees and some shady people - and nice Key Westers.

Number 15

1212 Olivia Street as it appeared a decade ago. It was the carriage house adjacent to the larger estate next door to the east. It was sold off then foreclosed upon. It appeared in my blog the day it was listed for sale as a bank owned house. A lot of offers were made immediately. Local designer Ben Teague did the redo of this home which subsequently appeared on HGTV.

Number 16

720 Eisenhower Drive photographed in 2006 or 2007 while the old house was being renovated.  The house occupies the entire north side of Petronia Street.

Number 17

The corner of Duval and Petronia Streets. I took the photo in 1985 or 1987. This is what much of Duval Street looked like back in the day. We had lots of Conch cruisers as compared to the SUVs and luxury imports all over the island these days.