1022 Washington Street - Casa Marina Area - Key West

 
Attention Bargain Hunters.  You know who you are. You are the guys and gals who use coffee breaks and late night internet searches trying to find a deal in Key West real estate. Most of the good deals got snapped up. Today's blog is about a deal that has evolved over time and that is now ready to be snapped up as well.

1022 Washington Street is located in the Casa Marina Area of Key West and particularly on one of the prettiest blocks in that area. I know. I live around the corner.  I love the tall mahogany trees, the giant palms, the majestic date palms, and all of the flowering trees of every sort that line the streets and populate the large yards in this section of town.

The house across the street - there goes the neighborhood

The house across the street has got to be one of the prettiest houses in all of Key West.  When I recently drove my buyers to look at 1022 Washington Street I remarked about the beauty of that house. When I got inside 1022 Washington I turned around to catch a glimpse of the neighbor.

1021 Washington Street

After I passed the threshold I turned around and  took the above photo so that you could imagine the pride you might feel in living in such a great location.

 
1022 Washington Street is a legal three unit property that sits in a predominant single family neighborhood. The main house is 2009 sq ft and has four bedrooms and three baths, a voluminous living room, and kitchen.  There is an adjacent two story house with a ground floor two bedroom apartment and a second floor one bedroom apartment with a total square footage of 1152 sq ft. The combined gross square footage of both buildings is 3250 sq ft. The lot is 71' wide by 94' deep for a total of 6603 sq ft. Access to the cottage apartments is via a walkway on the other side of the side fence.  Whether the cottage is used for income or forever appearing friends and family, whoever occupies the cottage won't interfere with whatever is going on inside the main house. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls database and to view listing photos.

The front door opens into the living room which has a vaulted ceiling and French doors that open out to the pool.  Two of the four bedrooms in the main house are located on the east side of the living area. The remaining bedrooms are located on the west side. The kitchen is at the east rear.

The lower level two bedroom apartment is shown above. The one bedroom second floor unit is shown below.

The main house and cottage were recently updated. I took photos of both living spaces and the yard and pool area. You can see those photos if you CLICK HERE 

The listing Broker describes this property as :

"Bright, open and airy single family home with pool totaling 4BD/3BA in the beautiful Casa Marina Area. Plus, a duplex in rear with private entrance comprised of two 2BD/1BA apartments. Very spacious floor plan with vaulted ceilings, lots of French doors and windows, new decks surrounding the home, brick walkways and a charming picket fence for privacy. Very clean and well kept with plenty of off street parking. One of the owner's is a licensed Florida Real Estate Agent but is not the listing agent."

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I did a quick comparison of sale prices in the Casa Marina Area for the past 18 months for single family homes and three to four units (which this could be).  There were 18 single family home sales that sold at an average price per sq ft of $464. This group included a couple of super-cheap short sales and a foreclosure. But it also included a recent sale of a single family home one block to the south for over $1,950,000. Most of the homes in the Casa Marina Area are larger single family homes on large lots. A new builder would not be able to build a similar multi-family unit like this on vacant land today.  For what it is worth, I believe a smart buyer might do some additional renovation to the main house, take down the two story building and create a covered outside loggia overlooking a newly expanded pool.  Key West has several very competent architects who could do some creative things to make this property fit into the area even better than it already does.

1022 Washington Street has been on the market for quite some time at a much higher price. The price has been dramatically reduced to $849,000.  I would love to show this property to a real bargain hunter who can appreciate the location and value of this property.  If you would like to see this home, or any other property in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

912 Truman Avenue - Old Town - Key West

Photo circa 1890 from Monroe County Library showing horse drawn trolley on Division Street (now Truman Avenue) at the corner of Francis Street a couple of blocks east of 912 Truman.

I dug around in the famous old shoebox and found a photo of 912 Truman Avenue taken back in 1965.  If you study the old black and white pic you will see an almost ancient chain link fence that surrounds the corner lot. Also, note the extra long posts that support the roof overhang and the 'missing' second floor porch floor. Checkout the extra tall roof with gables facing north, east, and west which will be discussed below.

912 Truman Avenue as it appeared in 1965

912 Truman Avenue - 2012

Today the front porch of 912 Truman Avenue that sits back off the busy street behind a white picket fence and spacious front yard populated with lush palms.  This is one of the few surviving grand homes that once lined Truman Avenue that remain a single family home. When you step inside, you will find a property that is reminiscent of olden days.  This home retains the functionality and character of the original home. Some new fangled features such as nearly gourmet kitchen, updated baths, and central air conditioning have been added. But the old style rooms with all of their charm and character (flaws and all) remain in tact.

As you enter the front entry you are greeted by a wonderful staircase and central hallway that divides the house in two. On the right side you will find the living room with its formal parlor in front and more informal living space at the rear (that opens out to the new pool). On the left side you will see the formal dining room at the front and the country kitchen at the rear.

 Front door with living room located on the right

The dining room is located to the left. Note the crown molding and high baseboards.

The beautiful staircase leads to the bedrooms on the second and third floors

The living room (above) is divided into two sections.  Note the rich Dade County Pine walls, the rich and very real wood floors (not the kind of manufactured floors we see in modern homes which you just know are fake), and the old school Dade County Pine wood ceilings. Note as well the ancient windows with glass that ripples.

The formal dining room obviously hearkens back to another era. What a wonderful space to dine with family and friends. So what if it is formal. Instead of buying take-out or nuking Healthy Choice or Marie Callender's you might actually use your recipes from the Food Network and begin to cook  real meals.

My dear old grandmother had the same octagonal tile in her bathroom. I love the look and feel of this place. It evokes a feeling continuity over generations of people that lived here. The house has the necessities, but it is not consumed by modernity. It retained its soul.

The master bedroom and bath occupy the west side of the second floor. Two more bedrooms plus a shared bath are on the east side.

The two second floor bedrooms are shown above. One is now used as a sitting room. Note the old newspapers glued to the ceiling. The papers were originally used as insulation and where retained when the home was renovated.

A door in the hallway opens to the second floor front balcony that spans the breadth of the home. 

The second floor hallway divides the spaces by function and use. The master bedroom is located to the right and it's bath is located to the right rear. The second bath is located at the far rear and it is used by the occupants in either of the bedrooms on the left.

Note the staircase at the rear. It goes goes down to the area just off the kitchen. The main staircase provides access from the main floor (at front). And the staircase rising on the left leads to the third floor bed and bath.

The third floor space is actually quite large. Unfortunately I took lousy pics.

The listing Realtor describes 912 Truman Avenue this way:

"This elegant historic three-story home has been carefully restored with stainless steel and granite in the kitchen and three and half modern but charming bathrooms. The double front porches are 38 feet long, there is a sparkling swimming pool in back and off street parking. This a great price per square foot for a renovated home."

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet and to view listing photos. And CLICK HERE to look at photos I took. 912 Truman Avenue is offered at just $795,000 or $227 per sq ft for this gracious 3494 sq ft historic home.

I think this property would make an excellent vacation rental. It has a optimal location for vacationers who want a large house (remember it has four bedrooms and three bath), a pool, parking, character, and lots of charm. This place will end up photo albums across the world as vacationers celebrate their great Key West vacations here.
 

If you are a buyer who wants a real "old house" and not an imitation of one, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing of this property.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This home offers a lot of value at the asking price.