1012 Varela Street - Bank Owned - Key West

Attention Bargain Hunters: This BANK OWNED property at 1012-1014 Varela Street may be the bargain you have been looking for. Here's why. This two cottage assemblage is located in the Viva Varela Condominiums just a stone's throw south of Truman Avenue in the Old Town area of Key West. The front cottage consists of a good sized living room with two story vaulted ceiling. The walls and ceiling are Dade County Pine. Thee is a small bedroom downstairs and the master bedroom is on the second floor. It is accessed by a spiral stairway from the living room. The master bedroom is open to the downstairs so both spaces have a very open feeling. The one bath is located on the first floor. The kitchen is quite large. It has two sets of French doors that open on to the rear bricked courtyard. (There is also a laundry closet in the kitchen.)

Pretty nice kitchen for the price, wouldn't you agree?

Double set of French doors looking onto private courtyard and second cottage to the rear.

The main house with deck of master bedroom as viewed from the rear cottage.

The second cottage sits near the rear of the lot. It has a good sized bedroom and large bath with a glass block wall that lets lots of light into the area. There is a deck to the rear of that cottage which has a separate gate that provides private entrance into the cottage without going through the main house. That would be an excellent place to put your guest so they won't disturb you after they return from a night on the town. That cottage does not have a kitchen. The living space is vaulted, and did I mention the front of that cottage has French doors that look out toward the bricked courtyard that separates the two cottages. That courtyard is large enough for a pool.

The rear cottage as seen from the deck off second floor master bedroom.

The interior of the rear cottage as it appeared before the foreclosure.
Note the private deck at very rear of the property.

Glass block wall is the shower in the rear cottage; private gate to right.

The listing agent shows the two properties having 1130 Sq Ft of living space on a 7598 Sq Ft lot and describes the property this way:

"This BANK-OWNED property consists of two adjacent condos originally deeded separately but now combined under one legal description. This property has been recently upgraded and only requires some TLC. The front unit is a one bedroom/one bath with a loft and the rear unit is also a one bedroom/one bath that can be used as a guest quarters or master suite. It also has a separate entrance. Both units are separated by a paved rear yard."

Prior to becoming a bank owned property, Preferred Properties listed 1012 Varela Street as a short sale. The listing agent described the same property a little differently:

"Two newly-renovated freestanding condos, originally separately deeded, now combined with one legal description. 3 bedroom 2 baths with private bricked tropical garden area between the main house (2/1) and a fully-detached 1/1 cottage in the Viva Varela Compound. Main house has dramatic vaulted ceilings in living area with a loft bedroom and access to a rooftop sun deck. Eat-in kitchen has granite counter tops with stainless steel appliances and attractive cabinets. Cute new bathroom and lovely tiled floors throughout the main house. The second unit has much charm and a separate entrance via a tree-lined garden path."

CLICK HERE to review the current mls data sheet and see more photos of 1012-1014 Varela Street.

No matter how it is described this two cottage property is now offered at $348,900 or $310 per Sq Ft. The roof over the kitchen needs a little repair. The owner previous to the present bank owner combined the two contiguous condos into one real estate parcel (to minimize taxes I suppose) without obtaining the approval of the condo association. That was a "No No" and the condo association will require the new owner to pay the cost of amending the condo docs to reflect the new reality. So a new buyer will need to spend some money(but not a lot) to make things right with the house and right with the neighbors, but this two cottage compound is a real compound investment.

If you want to see 1012 Varela Street please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in sunny Key West, Florida where today it will be 74 degrees and sunny. The streets of Key West are filled with happy campers walking around with their shirts off (the guys) and enjoying to fresh air and sunshine of the Keys.