1122 Southard Street, Key West - Price Reduced on Investment Property

The asking price on 1122 Southard Street in Key West was just reduced from $995,000 to $875,000. This is the really interesting property with upside potential. The listing Realtor describes this investment property this way:

"This historic building includes 5 licensed apartments. There is a large 2BR/2BA, two story unit at the rear ideal for an owner, a 1 Bedroom, an efficiency and 2 studio units. Lot's of the original Dade County Pine and architectural details including the original staircase are intact. Excellent Old Town location. The property is currently owned by a non profit organization for their use and so rents are currently well below market value"

Frequent readers of my blog know that I have a shoe box where I sometimes find old photos of actively listed properties. I found just such a photo of 1122 Southard Street that was taken five decades ago when this property was a laundry of all things.  I searched the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when 1122 Southard Street was built. The 1889 Map ignored this area entirely but I know for a fact that there were multiple homes and businesses in existence in the immediate area at that time. then. It was not until the 1892 map that a building was cited on the lot and the address given at that time was 1018 Southard St. The address of 1018 Southard was changed to 1122 Southard Street on the 1899 map.  That map indicated a small cut-out a the right rear of the lot where a water tower was located. That cut-out exists today which is now a part of a large adjacent property to the rear. My conclusion is that 1122 Southard Street existed at least as of 1892 and probably earlier which I will explain later.

 The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this building as having 2515 sq ft of living space plus porches. The irregular lot measures 40 ft wide by 82 ft deep minus the cut-out for the old water tower in the rear which I mentioned earlier. The building is located next door to the historic Key West Armory which is now owned by the State of Florida. This suggests to me that the Armory will always be maintained and not become a nuisance neighbor. In fact local painting contractors are just finishing the front facade of this historic building. Southard Street has three of the most expensive listings in town. Most of the single family homes on Southard are priced over the one million dollar mark.

As the listing Realtor indicates this property currently is owned by a non-profit organization which was providing housing to local artists and temporary artists-in-residence. Today the building is vacant except for two tenants. I think whoever buys this building has several options to take advantage of the low occupancy by re-renting the vacant units at market rate without spending any money.  These units are small and ideal for single occupancy tenants. There is a real housing shortage in Key West. These would be rented in a heartbeat.  A buyer who wants to do some "fix-up" could do some improvements to the units. I  am not sure the updated units would rent for a lot more money but a fix-up may make the buyer feel  better about the building itself. The building has been well maintained. I just know that many buyers feel compelled to spend new money whenever they buy something. Below are a few photos of the four units in front.

These apartments would be easily rented to new people moving to the area or to people who have lost their long time residences to be displaced by someone who bought a home that they plan to renovate.  This building is located within easy walking distance to Duval Street and the seaport where many locals are employed. There is adequate on street parking, but the fact of life in Key West is that many locals do not own cars. Instead many locals walk or ride bikes or scooters as primary means of getting around.

The two story unit at the rear has so much potential for either an owner-landlord or as a place to actually spend some money to increase the rental on this particular apartment. I think any money spent on the rear unit is money well spent. This space is worth the price of the building in itself. The income from the apartments in front would pay all taxes, insurance, and upkeep on the building.

CLICK HERE to view some not-so-good photos I took with my small pocket camera on a recent showing of this property. They provide some simple views of the units and the grounds.

The asking price on 1122 Southard Street was just reduced from $995,000 to $875,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule an appointment to see this property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.