502 Margaret Street, Key West - an Old Town Buying Opportunity!

JUST LISTED 502 Margaret Street, Key West. This is nifty house located in a great Old Town location. I got inside this house a short time ago and took more photos to share with you. CLICK HERE to see all photos. But please read on while I tell you more about why I think this place is a buying opportunity.

I found the above photo in my old shoebox. This pic was taken in 1965 and shows the house without a front porch. It sits pretty high off the street and very close to the city sidewalk. You can tell that an addition was added to the left side of the house before 1965. I checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when this house was built. It existed as early as the 1889 map but was designated then as 231 Margaret Street. The street number changed to 504 Margaret (not a typo) on the 1899 map and remained that way until after the 1912 map. All four maps show a large cistern located just south of the house where the addition I mentioned is now located. It may still be there. I'm pretty sure it is.

They did not have French doors in 1889 - not in Key West, they didn't.  So we know that the French doors that enter into the living room are not original. And it is unlikely that the north living room wall had the beautiful built-in bookcase back in 1889 either. An extra wide doorway opens from the living room into the ante-room with staircase to the second floor loft. One bedroom and bath are located just off this area.

This property is listed as a three bedroom, two bath house. It works fine just the way it is. A new owner might want to do some upgrades and maybe reconfigure the house. Perhaps a new owner might want to eliminate the second floor loft sleeping space and vault the ceiling to provide more interior height and drama. That would free up the area where the current stairway is located for more bedroom space or perhaps enlarge the living area. The listing Realtor says the house has 1796 sq ft of living space. I think a good designer could come up with a plan to use some of the space more effectively. However, this place is so cute as it is a new owner might just decide not to reinvent anything.

The house has a life guard chair but no pool. There may be room for a small pool. An interested buyer would need to have a pool contractor state how large a pool could be built and then the owner would have to obtain permission from HARC and Planning Department. The outdoor space is long and narrow on two sides of the house but there is so much space that I think some type of water feature can be built. But I don't get to make that decision.

The listing Realtor describes this property this way:

"Location Location Location, Key West Gem, Close To Everything, Roomy Living Areas, Open Kitchen, Sleeping Loft And Lots Of Storage. Rear Porch Off Of The Kitchen And Street Porch To Watch Key West Go By And Private Porch Off The Bedroom. Classic Key West Home Built In 1918. Own A Piece Of Old Town Key West."

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property which is offered at $795,000, and then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to arrange a private showing.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise. 

SUPERMAN & Me

Sometime ago a reader posted a couple of comments about me being just a 'salesman'. He or she noted there is nothing wrong about being a salesman. That reader thought my 'job' is pretty much like being a sales clerk in a store. No more, no less. Later in response to another comment on another blog I posted a pic of a snappily dressed used car salesman with the notation 'not Gary Thomas'  as if to disprove that I am a salesman. I don't wear Hawaiian shirts, gold chains, sun glasses. Nor do I smoke a cigar or look particularly untrustworthy.

A few years ago I was invited to dinner during Fantasy Fest at the Cafe Marquesa . I decided to wear some old beads I had stored in a box. While I was searching through boxes looking for the beads, I found the wallet I used when I was still in elementary school. Inside I found school photos taken of me and some friends taken between 1957 through 1959. Included in the wallet was my identification card as an OFFICIAL MEMBER of the JUNIOR SALES CLUB OF AMERICA. Seeing 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.


When I was a kid primary concerns were candy, things to amuse themselves with, and not getting beat up. 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 SUPERMAN comic book to read on the bus ride. I was 11 years old in 1958 when I took my yearly trip to Sterling. There was a full page ad which lured me into becoming a 'salesman' for the Junior Sales Club of America.  DOUBLE 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 the efficacy of buying a box of all occasion cards because you never know when someone would have a birthday, get married, have a baby, become ill, or sadly die. You just need a box of cards for all occasions. It worked. I sold the required number of boxes. At $1.25 a box of cards was a 'deal' since back then $1.25 was more than a lot of people made for an hour's work. My mother sent the money I had collected to the Junior Sales Club of America headquarters. A couple of weeks later headquarters shipped the cards to me. I promptly delivered the all occasion cards to my awaiting customers.

In the early fall of 1959 headquarters sent me a sample box of Christmas cards together with a list of prizes I could earn. The Kodak movie camera pictured at the top left hand corner of the above ad caught my eye. I sold the required number of boxes in no time. The prize was mine.  I started shooting movies as soon as my 8 mm Kodak movie camera arrived. A year later I got a projector for Christmas so I could finally see the movies I shot. I decided I was going to be a cinema photographer and end up in Hollywood.

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 trying to sell 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! I guess the reader who said I am nothing but a salesman was right!

There was another ad in the SUPERMAN comic to which I also responded. That ad was to request a printed pamphlet from Charles Atlas who was going to change me from a 75 pound wimp into a muscleman. Although I sent the coupon, I never received the pamphlet from Mr. Atlas. He must have known I had lied about my age when I mailed the coupon. I was destined to be a wimp for life.


SUPERMAN has been the idol of 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, power, and moral rectitude was partially what motivated me to become an attorney. I grew up in a the western suburbs of Denver just after World War II. The Jefferson County schools were always top rated in the State of Colorado. Plus America was on the move upward in the 1950s. At least where I lived everybody was moving up in life. I recognized that I had an advantage by living in a community that was participating in America's upward mobility.

 In my early teen years I really envisioned going to California to become a cinema photographer. I wanted to attend the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara to learn the craft. First in junior high and later in high school, I started to take an avid interest in politics. I admired President Kennedy and watched how he responded to the racial unrest and political strife. A lot of people hated Kennedy. I remember hearing anti-Catholic rants; Anti-Irish rants; Anti-Joseph Kennedy wealth insults; Anti-civil rights comments such as 'give them an inch and they'll take a mile' or 'who do you trust less a Mexican or a n***er?'.  Most of the negativity quieted down after President Kennedy was assassinated. I felt a tremendous sense loss after he died. I forgot about becoming a cinema photographer. One day I announced to my family that I wanted to become a lawyer. I figured as an attorney would give me entree into politics. Hopefully one day I would get elected to public office where I could change things for the better.

Left to Right: Marcia McGinley, Ben King, Gary Thomas

In 1964 I was seventeen years old and got involved in the campaign of three Democrats who were running for the position of county judge in Jefferson County Colorado.  The county seat is Golden, Colorado - the place where Coors Beer is brewed.  Democrats Frank Jamison and Dan Shannon got elected to the bench.  C. F. Johnson, a Republican, won the third judgeship race. Later Judge Jamison took me under his wing and became the male father figure 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.  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 was admitted to the Colorado bar in 1972. I became an attorney in a five man suburban Denver law firm. Later I did commercial loan workouts for two Denver banks. I worked in the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) from 1990 until December 1993.  I worked on multimillion dollar assets some of which were extremely complex in nature. I had more personal satisfaction working at the RTC than I did in law or banking. 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 the decision to sell it at a time I was having personal relationship issues. I made a bunch of money and successfully invested it just as the stock market started to soar during the Clinton years. Later 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 listing new properties, showing properties, attending home inspections, handling customer issues, and maybe even writing blogs. Helping people achieve their dreams is very rewarding. But it is a seven days a week job. 

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.

812 Simonton Street, Key West - Two Transient Licensed Properties

Just Listed 812 Simonton Street in Key West, Florida. The listing Realtor describes this unique property this way:

"Fantastic multi-unit property with two transient licenses! Property is divided into two sections-812 Simonton is a 3br / 3ba while 812 Simonton Rear is a 1br/1ba. Great Old Town location in an X Zone. Owner financing possible! Multiple possibilities with this property. Perfect for an investor"

 The front building is identified as 812 Simonton Street. It currently has three residential units. The front unit is a small studio apartment. The middle unit is a much larger one bedroom unit which has a transient license attached. The rear unit  is an efficiency apartment which also has a transient license attached. The rear building (812 Simonton Street - Rear) has a totally separate tax identification number and could be sold separate and apart from the front unit. That building is a one bedroom unit with kitchen, living area, a laundry, and two bathrooms plus rear deck. The asking price for both properties is $1,295,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet.

I found a couple of old photos taken fifty years ago that show the front house and rear cottage that make up this property. Even back then it appears the original wood front porch was removed and a cinder block addition added to provide a bit more living space. If you look at the top photo you will see a typical cigar maker cottage type building with a sawtooth addition attached. In the far rear you will see the outline of the rear cottage which appears clearly as a distinct unit the lower photo. The backside of St. Peter's Episcopal Church is seen to the far rear. Today the buildings appear to me to be pretty much the same. The exteriors are in much better shape and the interiors have been renovated for daily rental purposes.

The house next door to the south at 814 Simonton Street is very similar to 812 Simonton Street with a couple of exceptions. The front porch at 814 Simonton Street offers a perfect place to sit and watch the world go by whereas  812 Simonton would have to be restored to create a proper front porch. The front house has a similar sawtooth addition located midway. The cottage at 814 Simonton Street rear has been expanded to two stories and there is a pool between the front house and rear cottage at 814 Simonton Street. Unfortunately there is not enough space at 812 Simonton Street to create a pool.  Finally, the neighboring property has parking whereas 812 Simonton does not have parking.

812 Simonton Street (rear) is located at the rear of the lot and is accessed via a deeded walkway that flanks the north side of the property. The front house has an easement that provides access for the front one bedroom unit and the separate efficiency unit. The third unit in the main house has access off the front entry. The rear unit is gated and totally private.

Rear Cottage Interior

Rear Cottage Kitchen

Rear Cottage Bedroom with French Doors that Open out to Deck

Rear Deck

The rear cottage is a fully contained one bedroom house with living room, dining area, kitchen with adjacent (outdoor) covered laundry, bedroom, and rear deck. The living space has all been updated and ready for monthly vacation rentals. The deck area is very attractive and very private. There is room for a hot tub or maybe even a plunge pool. The building at the rear is the backside of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. 

Living Room and Kitchen of the Front Building

Front Building Kitchen

Front Building Bedroom

 The above photos show the living room which is accessed off the north side easement. Note the vaulted ceiling where the sawtooth addition attaches to the original front cottage. The kitchen is located to the rear. The front room is the bedroom in this unit. This unit is rented as a transient rental unit.

An efficiency unit is located at the rear of the front house. It is also accessed off the north side walking easement. It has a small kitchen, bath, and living/sleeping space. This unit also has a transient rental license.

A new owner might want to renovate the front building by restoring a wood front porch and perhaps incorporate the current efficiency unit into the existing middle unit and thereby create a single family front cottage with two bedrooms, two baths, one kitchen, and a very valuable transient rental license. I believe the new owner could transfer the second transient license to the rear unit.

Neither a pool nor parking is necessary to have a successful rental.  Both are helpful but not mandatory. This property has a very good location that is within easy walking distance to most Old Town attractions. The shops, restaurants, and nightlife on Duval is just one block away. You can't get much closer than that.

Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing of these properties. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.This property is listed by Preferred Properties but not by me.

1430 Albury Street, Key West - Dream the Possible Dream

The above photos show the vacant lot at 1430 Albury Street in Key West which is offered for sale with all necessary building plans approved by various City of Key West agencies to construct a new home.  Now in most parts of America that would not seem like a big deal. But in Key West where there are few building lots and especially lots in such a prized location as this, it is a pretty big deal.  That is because the Historic District in Old Town and much of the Meadows Area and the Casa Marina Area fall under the protective HARC (Historic Architectural Review Commission). HARC is charged with the preservation and conservation of the character, integrity and appearance of the historic districts. All changes, alterations, additions, demolitions or relocations to buildings and sites must first obtain a certificate of appropriateness from HARC before any work can be undertaken. That's kinda easy to write but more difficult to obtain in real life. 

As lovely as the old CBS house was, in reality it was not worth saving. The building had spalling in a couple of locations. The owner went through the tedious process of obtaining permission from  HARC to raze the non-historic structure. The owner worked with local architect Carlos Rojas to design a two story 'Conch' Style home with about 1900 sq ft of living space on a 50' X 70' (3500 sq ft) lot. All plans have been HARC Approved and all City Planning  Department requirements met. A new owner can apply for a building permit the day you close. The hard work has been done. The house will have four bedrooms, three and 1/2 baths, four porches, a pool and deck, and off street parking. The house can be constructed with new and efficient building materials including Hardiboard siding which is easier to maintain than traditional wood siding. The home will include new wind impact resistant windows and doors. This means your wind insurance will be a fraction of what you would pay for a house with regular windows. The new house is FEMA flood compliant which will result in lower insurance costs. Your regular home owner's insurance will be less costly because it will be built to the highest building standards in Florida again as compared to old construction. These savings will be significant in the short and long term. If you don't like the approved plans,  you could revise the plans and build a different version of your own dream house. The site approvals and basic structural approvals are in place and should govern any proposed change. A new owner could revise the plans and build a different version of his or her dream house. The approvals are done. The hard part is over.

The new house will be located within easy biking distance to Duval Street and all of the noise and commotion over there. I know a lot of potential buyers think they want to live within two blocks of Duval. Believe me, you'll be much happier not having to hearing folks walking back to their hotels or rental houses at 3:00 AM or listening to Conch Train conductors re-telling stories about old Key West twenty times a day - every day of the week. 1430 Albury Street is located in a much quieter part of the Historic District, just one block from Bayview Park. You can go there to walk your dog, play tennis, marvel at the glorious Royal Poinciana trees, or participate in one of the civic events which occur at the park throughout the year. Of you can go out the back door and sit on the deck and watch the sun rise or walk the dog down lovely Albury Street which is populated with huge flowering and fragrant trees. You will fulfill your dream of living life in Paradise.

1430 Albury Street is offered with approved architectural plans at $750,000. The price does not include the cost of construction of the new home but it does include all architectural plans, surveys, approvals, etc.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. I can provide more detailed information on the plans to interested buyers. Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.