True Tales of Key West Real Estate in the Time of Covid 19 - Part Eight

This is a true story about Key West real estate in the time of Covid 19.

Sometimes houses are so unique they take a long time to sell. The house in today's blog was on and off the Key West real estate market for over 15 years. It was an impressive large home located in a highly desired area of town and price accordingly. The listing agent was one of the best in town. The house was just so large and so expansive that it was difficult finding a buyer. Years passed. The house was renovated again which made it even more expensive. The owner replaced the listing agent. The house still did not sell. A couple of years passed nothing happened and then in 2020 the pandemic occurred. Buyers flocked to Key West. Voile a buyer appeared, a deal was struck, and the house was finally sold for several million dollars. 

I ran into the selling agent yesterday afternoon and congratulated him on the sale. I told him my recollection of showing that house years earlier. Most houses in Key West do not have a garage. That particular house had a large double garage. I remember the garage especially well because one stall had a red Porsche on a lift. There was a heavy metal brace that spanned the stsll width to prevent the Porsche being driven away even if it was lowered to the floor. I remember asking the lady listing agent what was going on. She said "The owner has a teenage son."

It all fell into place. The dad must have seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off and did not want to lose his car or his son.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True Tales of Key West Real Estate in the Time of Corona Virus - Part Nine

 

If you are a long time reader of my blog you know I frequently remind readers that we keep selling the same houses over and over year after year on the Island of Key West. First and foremost there is a limited supply of land upon which to build new homes on this island. There are lots of state statues, city ordinances, and HARC guidelines that control what may be built and how exiting properties may be renovated. I also remind readers the most frequent source of real estate listings are death, divorce, relocation, foreclosure, and/or greed.

This is a true story involving an unpleasant divorce. Are there any pleasant types? A youngish Key West couple with two small children decided to split. They sold their house to a buyer who wanted to fix it up and flip it. There are a lot of flipper types in Key West. The husband worked out a deal with the buyer. The closing occurred and the family moved out. The wife got the kids and the possessions. The husband got rid of the wife. (He did not kill her.) 

The buyer  told me he rented a dumpster and began tearing the house apart room by room. He took out the easy stuff first like the left over dishes, magazines, junk in the bathroom, etc. The two story house had several bedrooms including one with women's clothes and a fur stole. The buyer called the seller and told him about the clothes. The seller said to throw them out - that his wife did not want them because they reminded her of him.

A coat. Not the coat. The buyer described it to me as mangy gray.

The buyer took the clothes and fur to the street and placed them in the regular trash container so that passers-by might take. They did.

A few days later the wife called the buyer and asked if he had found her fur coast and some other clothes she had forgotten. He said he did and told her about calling the husband who said to toss them out. The buyer said the wife started to moan and groan and cry.

I used to be a lawyer and handled many divorces. If a new divorce client had children I would tell that person he or she would be seeing and dealing with the ex for years to come. I suggested we make the parting as stress free and possible. That was easy to say. Few cases worked out that way. 

There is no happy ending to this story.  There never is. 

 

 

The buyer kept the house.