Don't Fret and Don't Regret!

During the first 15 days of December 11 single family homes and 10 condos and townhomes went under contract in Key West. There was only one bank owned property in each category and just 4 short sales in the single family and condo/townhome category. The remaining 15 sales were "real market" sales. During the exact same time in 2009 there were just three short sales that went under contract and they were for condos. I checked my numbers twice to make sure the numbers were correct. The number of new sales this month is simply staggering compared to a year ago.

I have been watching the Key West Association of Realtors mls website light-up each day for the past two weeks with new properties going under contract. I have buyers looking to buy property and there are very few properties left to sell in the lower price range. ( A lot of other real estate agents have the same types of buyers looking for the same types of properties that are similarly priced.)

When potential buyers call, send me an email, or visit in person, I invariably hear the same litany of features buyers want: good location, parking, decent condition but buyer would be willing to do a 'little' work to help get a better price. Some require pools. Some require off street parking. I often tell them "You are not the Lone Ranger" meaning there are a lot of buyers looking for exactly the same thing.

I have a new buyer I am working with this week. We are looking at houses in a certain price range. An agent in my office blurted out and told me that he/she is showing a particular house my buyer really likes. Someone will buy it. And then there will be one less property to buy. Each time one property goes under contract, there is one less property for sale.

It looks like there have been about 14 new listings added to the mls since December first (this does not include properties that went off the mls for a few days and were re-listed). I can tell from the addresses that these listings are new to the mls. But even a couple of those new listings went under contract within days because the supply of houses is going down.

CLICK HERE to search the Key West Association of Realtors mls database. Do your own search of available properties. You are the best judge of what appeals to you as a buyer. Our mls does not require you to fill out any form or disclose your personal information to anyone.

If you see a place that interests you, please contact me, Gary Thomas, at 305-766-2642 or by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Proprieties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. Don't regret not taking advantage of buying opportunities that still exist in Key West. There will be more houses for sale. We know that. I believe prices are going to start to increase as the number of units for sale decreases. That is the way all markets work. If I am correct in my prediction that the real estate market recovery in Key West has started and will increase during the next few weeks, look for prices to increase after the beginning of the new year.

SUPERMAN and me

A few months ago a reader made a couple of comments about me being just a 'salesman'. He or she noted there is nothing wrong about being a salesman, but that reader thought my 'job' is pretty much akin to that of the sales clerk in a store that sells retail of all sorts and ilk. No more, no less. Later in response to another comment on another blog I posted a pic of 'not Gary Thomas' - a photo of a snappy used car salesman - as if to disprove that I am a salesman.

During Fantasy Fest a couple (friends now) that I sold a house to last year invited me to dinner at the Cafe Marquesa. I decided to wear some old beads I had stored in a box. As I was looking in the box I found a wallet of school photos from 1957 through 1959. Included in the wallet was my identification card as an OFFICIAL MEMBER of the JUNIOR SALES CLUB OF AMERICA. And that card brought back a wave of memories and internal ruminations about how I got to Key West and where I am in my life. It started with SUPERMAN.


Most pre-teen boys are concerned about three things: candy, things to amuse themselves with, and not getting beat up. (At least those were the things that motivated me.) I lived in Denver from birth until I moved to Key West in 1993. In the mid 1950s I would ride the Continental Trailways bus from Denver to Sterling Colorado to spend a week with my three second cousins - all girls my age and younger. I would always take a comic book to read on the bus ride, and it would always be a SUPERMAN comic. I was 11 years old in 1958 when I took my yearly trip to Sterling. There was a page that lured me into becoming a 'salesman' for the Junior Sales Club of America. (A click of GOOGLE helped me find the ad that helped make me the 'salesman' I am today. See the ad below. CLICK HERE to see a larger view of the ad.


As soon as I returned from Sterling I cut out the coupon and mailed it to Springfield 1, Mass. A few weeks later I got my OFFICIAL MEMBER identification card and a sample box of 'all occasion' cards which I promptly hawked from door to door in my neighborhood. I earnestly plead to my neighbors the efficacy of buying all occasion cards because you never know when someone will have a birthday, get married, sadly die, have a baby, or be ill. You just need a box of cards for all occasions. It worked. I pre-sold the required number of boxes and my mother sent the money to headquarters. At $1.25 the box of cards was a 'deal' except back then $1.25 was more than a lot of people made for an hour's work. A couple of weeks later the cards arrived and I took them to the awaiting customers.

In the early fall of 1959 headquarters sent me a sample box of Christmas cards and a list of prizes I could earn. That Kodak movie camera (at the top left hand corner of the above ad) caught my eye. We did not have a projector, but that did not matter. I was gonna make movies and end up in Hollywood. I sold the required boxes in no time. The prize was mine. (A year later I got a projector for Christmas so I could finally see the movies I shot.)

When I delivered the Christmas cards a neighbor lady up the next block told me that I had been knocking on her door ever since I was a little kid - always selling something. She said the first time I went to her house I was really small and had a wagon filled with canned goods out of my mother's kitchen. OMG! The guy who said I am nothing but a 'salesman' was right!


There was another ad in the SUPERMAN comic which I also mailed. It was to some outfit that was going to change me from a 75 pound wimp into a muscleman. I sent the coupon but never got the necessary info and was destined to be a wimp for life. (They must have known I lied about my age to get the info.)


SUPERMAN has been the idol of scarred little boys who admire strength for generations. He was morally straight and fought the bad guys. And he always won. As I look back on it years later, SUPERMAN's strength and power was partially what motivated me to become an attorney. I really did envision going to California to be a cinema photographer. I wanted to attend the Brooks Institute of Photography and figured how to pay for it. I felt a tremendous loss after President Kennedy was assassinated, and I started to develop new aspirations involving public service. Then I got seriously involved in politics in the 1964 election where I met a man who inspired me to change me life aspirations. He and two other local attorneys were running for judgeship in Jefferson County, Colorado. The three were Daniel Shannon, Charles Flett, and Francis W. Jamison.

Shannon and Jamison were elected to the bench and Flett lost. Judge Jamison took me under his wing and provided the role model I needed after my dad died the week before I graduated from high school. I put myself through college and law school. Judge Jamison helped me get summer jobs during college and I eventually clerked for him while I attended law school. As a lawyer and as a man, I looked to him for advice and counsel when it sometimes seemed the world was not a nice place. And he was there. Always. It was Judge Frank Jamison that became my mentor, my SUPERMAN.

I got my first (and only job) as an attorney in a five man (no women, then) suburban Denver law firm. There were two partners and three associates. But one partner was more equal than the other, just like it is in a lot of marriages. The main partner was a go-getter, super aggressive, alpha-male guy with ties to many political, civic, and business groups. I did not need to do the schmoozing so many lawyers and business people need to do. The work came to us.

The first year I was at the office one of the secretaries was raped. I found out about it on Monday morning. That kind of thing never happened in the community I lived in or the world that I knew. So this was something epically wrong. But senior the partner joked about the rape and told her she should have laid back and enjoyed it. I kid you not. She quit. Immediately. What an insensitive moron he was. Her leaving didn't phase him a bit.

A few years later he found out that I was gay. He never said anything direct but made hurtful comments. Once while the five of us were driving to lunch when he commented that when he was a teen in Philadelphia he and his friends would go beat up 'homos'. Another time one of the attorneys said we might have to hire a woman someday and then someone said we might have to hire a gay. The senior partner said we already had enough 'queers' in the firm. Everybody laughed. But me. This guy was on the Board of Governors of the Colorado Bar Association. He was the President of our local bar association. He was a governing board of the Colorado State Republican Party. Yada, yada, yada. I had enough and gave the lesser partner my thirty day notice of resignation. I got all my cases in order and left on my terms. I wasn't asked to leave. I wanted out.

It was a mistake on my part to quit before have a new job. I learned that the hard way. People assume 'something' must have happened even though nothing did happen. After four months of looking for a new job I ended up taking a position with Chevron as a landman. (That's a person who works on procuring oil leases.) That was not fun. As luck would have it, I got a call from the personnel department at a big bank where I had also applied. I met with my potential new boss for lunch and a day later I got a job offer. I accepted it. I was hired to do commercial loan workouts on some of the biggest deals in the biggest bank in town. A few years later I managed a similar department for another bank.

The man who hired me to manage the Special Assets department at the second bank left two years later fearing it would be shut down by the feds. His replacement was the new executive vice president, and he was a jerk. Not a stupid one; a expletive deleted kind of guy. I could not stand the guy as a person or as a boss. I quit another job rather than work in a place for a man that I hated. About nine months later I went to work for the Resolution Trust Corporation and that is were I had the best paid job, ever.

I worked with a group of really smart people on some amazingly complicated and highly valued assets that were owned by subsidiaries of failed savings and loan associations (S&Ls). The S&Ls were permitted to do transactions that were not permissible in banks.Those transactions usually took place in wholly owned subsidiaries of the S&ls. Many subsidiaries were created to own and/or manage single interest assets like an office building, hotel, or golf course. Some subsidiary corporations were real estate development corporations: big builders of entire communities. Others were created to partner with other subsidiaries in other locations so that two or three partners could spread the risk and share the rewards of mega-projects. I worked on numerous deals where the subsidiary investment was in the multi-millions.

When the economy faltered in the 1980s it was the big S&Ls that needed cleaned up. And I was right there in the middle of it. I had a great boss (Fred Schotte) and a great team of fellow workers that I really enjoyed working with. I only quit that job to move to Key West after I purchased a guest house here.

I operated the guest house for almost two years. I made another snap decision to sell it at a time I was having personal relationship issues. I made a bunch of money and invested it. Then I decided I needed a job to keep myself busy. I got a real estate license.

Selling real estate in Key West is not a part time job. The people who make good money do their job every day. They are showing properties, listing properties, working on existing contracts, and even writing blogs. Continually.

The little kid who mailed the coupons in the SUPERMAN comic (one to sell cards and the other to get muscles to avoid getting beat-up) became the man who would become a lawyer to help others not get beat-up in the court room and the guy at the bank (and later the government) who had the job of recovering money from people or businesses that would not pay it back. The little kid is still inside the old guy writing this blog. My mission now is not to get the bad guys: it is to get the good buys.

And that, Dear Reader, is how SUPERMAN got me to Key West where I became a SALESMAN.

Old Key West - Ocean View - Estate Property

701 Waddell Avenue - Casa Marina Area - Key West

Just listed by Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. (that's where I work), 701 Waddell Avenue in the Casa Marina area of Key West. The listing Broker describes the property like this:

"Situated across the street from the Atlantic Ocean, this beautiful home occupies a prominent corner lot in a vibrant neighborhood. Built in 1908, the 5 bedroom, 4 bath house originally served as an inn for the Key West Electric Company, and later as a doctor's office. The home was completely renovated in 2003 and received the Ceramic Star award from HARC. In addition to the 1,500 sf wraparound porch, the elegant interior provides 4000 sf of living space highlighted by original windows with wood sashes, Bahama shutters, crown moldings, solid wood doors and 10' ceilings. A large porch off the kitchen is complemented by an outdoor living area with a heated pool and waterfall, perfect for entertaining. Pool house can be used as a studio space."

I found one of those 1965 vintage photos of the property that shows how it looked then. Compare it to today's look. Both are pictured below.

701 Waddell Avenue as it appeared in 1965

701 Waddell Avenue as is looks in December 2010

Not much has changed on the outside. The house is basically the same with some minor architectural changes. And that is the way it is supposed to be in Key West, especially for homes in the Historic District and homes that have been singled out for the historic significance to the community. The inside of this home has been updated but the basic character has been left intact. There is a great new kitchen with partial views that overlook the pool at the rear. The baths are all updated as well. The old Key West charm is readily evident on all three levels of this water view property.

You may be more familiar with the location because of its famous neighbor across the street at 700 Waddell Avenue, Louie's Backyard. I found a photo of that property also taken in 1965 and a current pic as well. (The house behind Louie's was moved to another location many years ago. That space is now the After Deck bar which provides incredible views while sipping cocktails and contemplating life.)

Doggie Beach - Key West

701 Waddell Avenue is priced at $2,285,000. It is a big house with 3914 sq ft of space including 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, the office and entertaining areas. CLICK HERE to checkout the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and to view more photos of the property.

The lot is an irregular 100' x 100' with 9787 sq ft of actual land. CLICK HERE to see a Google Map aerial view of the house and area. The back yard is huge. There is a small cottage that overlooks the very large kidney shaped pool with waterfall. A large "U" shaped deck wraps the house from Vernon Street around to the opposite side of the kitchen. That deck is elevated from the yard below so you have a heightened perspective of the yard and pool below.


I live in the Casa Marina area and love it. I am close to everything but far enough away that I don't have to live with the commotion. The (other) beaches are just a couple of blocks away. Old Town is a short bike ride or a long walk. Shopping is a few blocks away. (This particular location is busier than most of Casa Marina because of Louie's and the beach.)

Locals are welcome to use the facilities at the Reach Resort, just a block to the west down a sandy walkway CLICK HERE. Simply rent a chair and buy cocktails and you have first class ocean seat any day you want. Locals may also purchase a membership at the Casa Marina where they have full use of the gym, spa, and beaches plus a discount on all food and beverages. First class all the way.

If you are looking for a large estate size property like 701 Waddell Avenue, please consider contacting me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to show this property to you. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. Our office is the Exclusive Lower Florida Keys affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.

Thanks to the Grinches

I want to share a little story with a very happy ending. It's about a couple who had a dream of buying a Key West getaway place with a pool and good location. They had been coming to Key West for several years and made the decision to look for a place to call their own.

We looked at houses in the Old Town and Casa Marina areas. After a couple of trips they found a place in the Casa Marina area they really liked. It was recently built and had a lot of features they liked. They made an all cash offer "near" the over the million dollar asking price. The seller happened to also be a part-time real estate agent with a full time job doing something quite different. A lot of sellers have very confused views of how valuable their personal property is worth. And this seller/agent was most confused. I met with the seller in his/her office and discussed the offer. The seller expressed a desire to get a deal done but who ultimately was not prepared to make any deal.

A couple of months later my same buyers made an offer on another property in the same neighborhood. This property was a delightful small two bedroom home with a cottage and a beautiful pool. It was priced in the "stratosphere" by one of the top agents in Key West. My buyers made an all cash offer on this place, but we were unable to reach a mutually agreeable price.

We looked and looked at other properties and my buyers got very frustrated at the reluctance of the two sellers they viewed as greedy. As the number of quality homes in just under million dollar price range shrank I suggested we look at fixers and also consider building lots. There are different rules for renovation of non-historic houses and for areas not under HARC's jurisdiction. That opened a world of new possibilities to my buyers.

I suggested that they buy a big building lot in the Casa Marina area and build their own dream home. They hired a local architect, found a great contractor, and incorporated several of the things they liked in the two houses they were not able to purchase. They purchased a vacant lot in Casa Marina, and I got to see the finished product yesterday. I have been taking progress photos over the past year as the house was built, but seeing the final home was just amazing. I could not be happier for my buyers. The place is just beautiful.

View from the living room toward the outdoor living area and pool & gardens beyond

View of the master suite

View of the pool and garden from the master bedroom

The separate Writer's Cottage - a world of it's own

Tom Pope did the architectural design; Brent at Teixxeira Enterprises was the general contractor; and Craig Reynolds did the landscape design. The house came in "on time" and on budget. The owners are really happy about the way things worked out. And all of this happened because of other peoples' greed. (By the way, neither of the two houses mentioned above sold.)

So thanks to the Grinches my buyers have exactly the dream home they wanted!

Open House - Sunday - Key West

Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. is hosting another big Pre-Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 12th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in various Key West locations. This is your opportunity to see a wide variety homes in different parts of Key West. (The house shown above, however, is not on the list!)

The following homes will be open for your inspection. Click the blue linked address for more information on each home.

1175 William Street offered at $750,000 and hosted by Gary Thomas

1502 Petronia Street offered at $825,000 and hosted by Dominque Barerra

1116 Stump Lane offered at $615,000 and hosted by Dan Skahen

4 Lowe Lane offered at $995,000 and hosted by Mabry Binnicker

618 Grinnell Street offered at $1,200,000 and hosted by Frank Kerwin

316 Peacon Lane offered at $999,000 and hosted by Beth Eliot

806 Shavers Lane offered at $729,000 and hosted by Cory Held

1106 Packer Street offered at $698,000 and hosted by Everett Watkins


1222 Johnson Street offered at $429,000 and hosted by Mary Readel

1315 Eliza Street offered at $1,495,000 and hosted by Walter Schmida

Please drop by one or all of the the homes featured in our Pre-Christmas Open House. And mention you saw my blog when you walk in the door. I won't get anything out of it, but we will know that potential buyers (and some skeptics) are reading my little blog.

Emma's Secret -713 Emma Street # 4 - Key West

The asking price for 713 Emma Street #4 just got a lot more tantalizing: it has been reduced to just $399,000. The four unit compound was built in 2005. Each unit is slightly different but each unit has top of the line fixtures, amenities, and workmanship. I can't say that about a lot of properties in town. But this place is so fine that I invite would-be buyers to call me to schedule a showing. Then we can do some comparison shopping so you can see for yourself how this place stacks up against similarly priced properties in all parts of Key West.

The listing broker describes this property this way:

"Stylish 3BD, 2.5BA condominium situated in a secured and private courtyard setting. Just blocks from Duval St & built as the owners unit 1995, it is in beautiful shape. Fine craftsman ship & materials throughout include Brazilian hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, granite counters, sub-zero refrigerator, Viking stainless gas stove and Bosch dishwasher & compactor. Lounge by the designer pool with waterfall surrounded by a tumbled brick patio. Enjoy the luxuries of modern construction with GE smart wiring, Hardiboard siding, , assigned off-street parking and storm shutters. Walk to local attraction, restaurants and shops. Just four units in the development."

The gated entry to the complex lets you know you have arrived someplace special and secretive. When the gate opens your eyes travel down the bricked pathway past the pool and finally view the water wall. It looks like an ever changing mirror of water cascading down into a pool. The small courtyard separates the four units and provides some shared and soe private spaces for each property owner.


This home is located at the far rear on the south side. It gets morning light which breaks into the kitchen and living room. All rooms have beautiful crown molding, rich real wood floors, and designer light fixtures. The kitchen is just gorgeous.. You will not find a prettier kitchen for this price in this town. Period.


The third bedroom the listing broker refers to opens directly onto the kitchen so it can do double duty as a guest room, office, or a third bedroom if required. This room has its own private bath. This bedroom has an entrance onto its own private rear porch.

The two bedrooms upstairs have vaulted ceilings and separate en-suite baths. There is a beautiful stairway between the two floors that has a window that illuminates the stairway and provides a glimpse of the pool below. I don't recall having ever seen such a beautiful staircase in any home at this price point.


If you are shopping just by "price point" you need to see this home. If you are shopping for value you need to see this home. If you are shopping for a 3 bedroom home priced under $500,000 you definitely need to see this home. CLICK HERE to checkout the Key West mls data sheet and to view more photos of this property.

If you don't know the area, the Shipyard Townhomes are located 1/2 block to the north, Santiago's Bodega is 1/2 block to the south, and Blue Heaven is just one block to the east. Ft Zachary Taylor State Park and Beach is a five minute walk.

Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a showing of what I call Emma's Secret. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.

909 Pohalski Lane - a Cool Block in Key West

Just listed by Preferred Properties (that is where I work but this is not my listing), 909 Pohalski Lane in the Old Town area of Key West. Several months ago I wrote about a neighboring property, a multi-unit building which still has not sold. Other real estate companies have other houses for sale on this little lane. The house across the lane is offered at $549,000. I don't think the failure to sell is so much a function of the location as it is an ability to find the place. You see Pohalski Lane is just one block long and is a one way street entered just west of the Chevron gas station at the corner of White and Truman. If you drive past the entrance, it's a big ordeal to drive several blocks to make a second try.

I will also bet a lot of people wouldn't give the location a second thought because the houses are so close to Truman. Perhaps houses on this block would appeal more to folks from busy places like New York City or to locals who value proximity to work and fun. I found a delightful "read" on this little block on Conchscooter's Key West Diary. Read his blog item CLICK HERE . He fails to mention the incredible fried chicken at Dion's located in the Citgo gas station across the street or the fun time so many locals have at the Coffee Mill. But his comment "Pohalski Lane invites life to be lived outdoors, with lots of plants and enough activity, bit not too much considering how close to the main artery it lies" is spot on. When I took the blow photo (notice the cat) a neighbor across the lane was watering his plants. Another gave a watchful eye. The weight set in Conchscooter's photos is still there and it looks like the weights are used daily. This is a cool block.

The listing Realtor describes 909 Pohalski Lane thus:

"Darling conch house duplex in old town Key West at a very affordable price. The front unit is a bright and adorable studio apartment. The rear unit is a 1/1 with a private patio. The property is fenced and has a white picket fence in front. This property is walking distance to everything that Key West has to offer. A great rental property and also perfect for an owner occupied / rental combination."

909 Pohalski Lane is on the right behind the white picket fence

The Coffee Mill on Pohalski Lane

Dion's Quik Chik in the Citgo gas station - best fried chicken in Key West

CLICK HERE to checkout the Key West mls datasheet for more information on this little legal duplex that is priced at $299,000. A lot of potential second home buyers want a place they can occasionally use and also rent out when they are not here. Perhaps this duplex property might provide the kind of living arrangement that would work for a buyer seeking income to help offset the purchase price.

If you are looking for a place in Key West, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.