1501 Truman Avenue, Key West - Transient Licensed Property

Sometimes we need to look backward to see forward. That's the case for the investment opportunity located at 1501 Truman Avenue in Key West. The listing Realtor, not me, describes this listing as a:

"Great Investment Opportunity. High Visibility On Truman Ave. 4 Units Each With Full Kitchen And Private Bath. Transient Licenses, Pool And Off Street Parking For Two Cars.Original Structure Has Dade County Pine.Needs Tlc,Being Sold As Is."

I recently took some photos for a potentially interested buyer which you can see if you CLICK HERE. I used the pocket camera and the pics are not all that good. You will quickly see that the camera would not have made much of a difference. This place needs work! A lot of it. Let's look back to a couple of older photos of this property.

 This photo shows the house much better than we can see it today because of all the trees and foliage that protects the house from Truman Avenue.  You'll notice the broad front porch which angles back on the right side where there is also one off street parking spot. Note also the exterior staircase to the second floor. That tells us there is no interior staircase. And finally we see a second floor front balcony that appears to have been added.

The above photo shows a banner across Truman Avenue welcoming M.W. Davis H. Wilkinson, Mason Grand Master of Florida to Key West in 1960. You can also see that wrap-around porch. The house has a stately look back then. Today, the beauty of the house is more difficult to see party because of all the trees but also because the place has not been maintained.  A good haircut never hurt anybody. It's gonna take more than a paint job to fix this old place, but it will certainly look much better after it gets a spiffed up.

The site is located at the corner of Truman Avenue and Pearl Street. The lot measures 49' X 88' or 4371 sq ft. The Monroe County Property Appraiser records show the main house plus rear first floor addition and a second rear cottage on the Pearl Street side total 2214 sq ft of living space capable of being air conditioned.  The stairs were removed from the main house. Today these areas are used as kitchens or baths for the three apartments that make up the current building. I think any renovation would remove the exterior staircase and relocate it back in the main house. 

Original staircase area now used as a kitchen.

The above photo shows the second floor apartment. The room on the right is where the stairway would have landed. The opened door leads to the front balcony that overlooks Bayview Park across the street. The views from the balcony are actually pretty interesting.

The three photos immediately above show two sawtooth additions appended to the rear of the main house followed by a rear cottage which the listing Realtor describes as an owner's unit. You'll see a nice pool located just off the owner's unit plus the sunny expanse on the opposite side of the tall white fence.  Each of the three apartments in the main house have a valuable Transient Rental License which permits daily rental.  The street photos also show what the listing Realtor describes as off street parking. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet on 1501 Truman Avenue which is offered for sale at $949,000.

The large building lot located on the far side of 1501 Truman Avenue is my listing at 1430 Albury Street (formerly 901 Pearl Street). This lot measures 50' X 70' or 3500 sq ft.  I think a smart investor might be able combine the two parcels into a single lot and potentially relocate one or two of the transient licenses into structures moved from the front portion to the rear or to build a new structure or structures there. There is actually plenty of room to have three stand alone cottages each with separate pool and parking. A land planner and a real estate attorney would need to advise a buyer whether such a combination is legally permissible and politically acceptable.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1430 Albury Street which is offered for sale at $750,000.

I think that the old house combined with new construction could create a wonderful Renaissance project that could work. The transient licenses and the size of the vacant lot provides all sorts of potential for such a project. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of both properties. Let's look at what exists and explore what might be. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.