True Key West Real Estate Related Stories in the Time of Covid-19 Part Two

Pardon the blurry image of the Old Town house that I sold the first day on the market in 2003. That happens quite often in Key West so the fact it sold on the first day is not remarkable except for what we found at the back side of the house.

I had been working with the buyer for over a year. He was a medical doctor who made several trips to Key West to look for a house to renovate. We made offers on several properties, all of which were turned down. We were driving to a showing appointment when he spotted a For Sale By Owner sign in the front yard. I stopped the car. We got out and looked at the house from the street. The house appeared vacant. We looked around. I called the phone number and got access via lockbox - something that usually does not happen as most houses here are shown by the listing agent by appointment.

The house was located on one of the best blocks in Old Town. The house across the street was being totally renovated. It was later purchased people who own the talking dog that does television commercials. They later purchased a small house behind it which they renovated and added a large pool. I would guess they have over $6 million invested in the main house and pool addition.

I vaguely remember the house. I think it had been a rental for the past several years. It was in basic good condition, but it would require a thorough renovation to bring it up to the ergerging standards of high priced Key West. My buyer made a full price offer and waived formal inspection. He accepted it as is - with one caveat not written into the offer: verification as to whether there was a body under the house.

There was a headstone located near the back door. Years earlier I worked for a bank in Denver where one of our outside lawyers and purchased a former funeral home for his law office. The basement of that building had been used as the embalming room. There was an adjacent closet which contained three of four urns with unclaimed cremations. The lawyer had to file a lawsuit to dispose of the remains. I did not want my buyer to have to do anything similar to move a body. The owner told us the prior owner operated a monument business in Key West and the headstone was just a sample. Oh, what a relief.

My buyer bought the house, hired a great Key West architect who designed the house the buyer demanded. He hired one of the best builders in town who did an incredible job in restoring and building a new addition and pool.