5 Hunts Lane Old Town Key West, Florida

Are you one of those adventurous sorts that feels the need to leave your mark for posterity? Do you want to be the next Norm Abrams and redo a historic Key West home?
Well this little home at 5 Hunts Lane may be your dream project.

Here's the skinny. The house is located on Hunts Lane which is on the north side of Southard Street midway between Grinnell and Margaret Streets. Five Brothers is located at the corner of Grinnell and Mangia Mangia is located at the corner of Margaret. So you can walk to get your morning jolt of Cuban Con Leche and your evening fill of pasta and never walk more than 200 feet. But you are only a couple blocks from Duval to the west or the Historic Key West Seaport to the north.

The house has been in the same family since it was built around 100 years ago. The last owner occupant is in his early 90s and recently moved to mid Florida to live with relatives. The house is one of the more primitive homes in Key West. And I say that nicely.

The house was remodeled in the 1950s when a second floor and indoor plumbing was added. Those additions could make for some interesting expansions to the house. Since the house is in HARC a buyer will need to get HARC approval for changes, but I think a new owner with good "vision" and a local architect could find a way to convert the 1950's downstairs bath into a new stairway to the second floor. That would permit better usage of the 3 downstairs rooms and the elimination of the current interior stairway.

The second floor is quite tall and could be vaulted to provide a very dramatic ceiling. There are 3 good sized rooms that could be made much more user friendly. The views (and quiet) are quite pleasing. The rear of the property could be improved immensely. No room for a pool without a variance which I think is unlikely. But perhaps not impossible. But there is room for a nice rear living area, deck, and landscaping.

Renovation costs have dropped a bit so this is a project that might fit into your budget now more than it may have at an earlier time. The house is 1210 sf ft and is priced at $409,000 or only $338 per sq ft. That price is down from the original $499,000. If you spent $100,000 on renovations (which I think would be overdoing it, but what do I know?), you could be into this house for around $500,000. Just think about it: a six room house in the heart of Old Town for about $500,000. CLICK HERE for additional info and listing realtor's photos of the house and yard.

Here are some more pics that I recently took. The house was not "staged". This is the way the owner left the property. It just shouts Quaint!. The Dracula's Closets in two of the upstairs bedrooms. The lamp table in the front bedroom. The high ceilings and Dade County Pine walls in the middle bedroom (and throughout the house as well).

If that sounds interesting, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com to schedule a showing. The house is vacant and relatively easy to show, but advance notice is required.