1205 11th Street, Key West - Bank Owned House For Sale

Potential buyers seeking bargain priced homes in Key West may want to take a look at 1205 11th Street. This is a Bank Owned home which was under contract for several months. It went back on the market on Thursday afternoon. I took new photos earlier this morning. I think this is a real buying opportunity for someone.

This 1248 sq ft home is a concrete block structure with stucco overlay which was built prior to 1973. The Property Appraiser records on this house are in conflict as age of construction and size of the home. I found one reference to the house existing as early as 1973 and multiple records after that date. The house appears to be a conversion of a typical mid-century home which I would date in the mid 1950s or early 1960s. A two story cabana with mini kitchen and bath are located on the south side of the property adjacent to the large pool. A second one story cottage is located on the north east corner of the lot. It too has a mini kitchen and bath. The MLS listing only refers to the original house which has three bedrooms and two baths. The house sits on a 110' X 70 ' or 7840 sq ft lot in a nice single family home neighborhood located two blocks east of the ball fields on Kennedy Drive.

I dug down in my old shoe box and found an photo of the area taken by Ty Symroski and Wendy Tucker in 1999.  Loyal readers know I love showing older photos to help explain current Key West. The commercial area at upper right is the Searstown shopping center on North Roosevelt Boulevard. The large green expanse in the middle are the baseball fields for Key West youth who are among the best baseball players in the State of Florida year after year. The original Poinciana Elementary School is shown on the right side of the middle quadrant. A brand new school was built a couple of years ago to replace the old school which was razed. One of the three new fire houses in Key West is visible on the bottom left corner of the ball fields.  A skate park is now located adjacent. The town fathers and mothers make a big deal out of providing good clean alternative things for their kids to do which are totally separated from all the goofiness of Duval Street.  The KMART shopping center is located on the upper left corner. The medical professional medical building is just below that shopping area.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of the house and lot. The house sits in the middle of the lot. The master bedroom has French doors which open out to the pool area where there is a covered bar area and a separate cabana or pool house. The cabana is a two story building with a thatched roof. The thatching is real.  There is a lot of dust on the second floor which currently has some very dirty carpet of all things. I believe this building may have been used as a rental. If it was, it would have been an illegal rental as this is a single family residential neighborhood.

The north side of the property is dominated by a huge Royal Poinciana Tree under which is a small a separate one bedroom cottage with mini kitchen and bathroom. This cottage may be 15 ft by 10 ft or so. I am sure it is illegal. I would probably tear it down if I bought the house. In fact I would take down most of the awnings and semi-enclosed spaces some former owner added to the original house. I believe the original house could be so much more if there was much less mess.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 1205 11th Street, Key West which is offered for sale at $484,700.  The please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a private showing of this home. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

If you walk out the front door of this house and walk about 35 feet to the corner at Patterson and then walk one block and turn back and walk one block south you will find this delightful little lake located mid-way between North Roosevelt Blvd to the north and Flagler Blvd to the south. There are a couple channel cuts along the way which allows small water craft to move between the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean via the Riviera Canal. This is a sweet little neighborhood that deserves a look

Bank Owned House in Key West - 920 Pohalski Lane

Today's blog is a bit of a mixed message. There really is something to cheer about - a two bedroom, two bath home in really good condition located in Old Town for under $500,000.  The not so much a thing to cheer about it that I represented a buyer that had this under contract who decided to pull out of the deal a few days before closing. The with drawl had nothing to do with the house whatsoever. I think this is a really good buy and hope readers will take a quick look at this as a possible buy.

920 Pohalski Lane was designed and built by a local architect that built this property for his personal home. Today it is Bank Owned and now offered for sale at just $463,000. Today the house has 920 sq ft of living space divided between the first and second floors. The house sits on a good sized lot of 1925 sq ft (55' X 35'). There is off street parking in front, a large decked rear yard, and a side side yard on the north side of the property. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet.

The listing Realtor describes the property as:

"Redesigned 2/2 historic home with a unique floor plan. Upper level master suite, french doors from living room and kitchen open to a private deck with an in ground spa. Fully fenced for privacy." 

I looked in my old shoebox and found a photo of 920 Polhalski Lane that was taken about fifty years ago. The house was enlarged with a two story rear addition that now contains the living room with vaulted ceiling, kitchen, laundry room, and second floor master suite with vaulted ceiling and en-suite bath. A set of pocket doors open from the master suite to reveal the spa in the decked rear garden area.

The photos above show the generous usage of wood throughout this home. This is "new" wood as opposed to historic Dade County Pine.  I have shown this house several times over the years. I appreciate the almost "cabin-like" or masculine feel of this home. The living room and guest bedroom and bath share the first floor. A full bath is located off the living room but it is not en-suite to the bedroom. French doors at the rear open out to a partially covered rear deck that leads to the separate kitchen which is separate from the living area.  Pocket doors open to reveal the kitchen tucked into a comfy rear corner of the house.

The second floor master suite is magical. The vaulted ceiling gives this space such an expansive feel. Upper level windows punctuate the lower window and pocket doors to give the interior more light and to provide a dramatic element to the otherwise understated wood room. 

920 Pohalksi Lane is located less than half a block north of Truman Avenue and across the way from the Truman and White Chevron Station. The Coffee Mill dance studio and Zumba fitness is located next door to the north. The best fried chicken in town is sold 24 hours a day at the Citgo gas station opposite the Chevron station. Most of the gyms and yoga studios are located within two blocks of this location. The location will appeal to a hip buyer that appreciates being able to be close to most of Old Town and who wants to buy a place in good condition at an affordable price.The house needs a good cleaning, but otherwise looks to be in good condition. The home inspector that inspected the property for the previous buyer told that buyer that the house was "dry" meaning no moisture or mold and in superior condition.  I took more photos which you can see if you CLICK HERE .

If you would like to see 920 Pohalski Lane, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

809 Eaton Street Key West - Bank Owned - Buying Opportunity

809 Eaton Street in Key West just became a Bank Owned Property. It is an historic house. It is a very large house with 6 bedrooms 5 1/2 baths, a pool, a guest cottage, two off street parking places, and an incredible street presence. It is priced beyond the means of most potential buyers. But it is an incredible buying opportunity for the buyer who wants to own a significant home in a great Old Town Key West location. It is offered for sale at $1,995,000.

The front section of the house stands three stories tall and appears to resemble an eyebrow house in construction except that it has wrap-around balconies on the first and second levels. The front portion of the house dates back to circa 1840.  I found a photo of the property taken in 1965 which shows the front portion, a sawtooth addition, and an extension. The building was meticulously restored in the early 2000s and was was featured in the Old Island Foundation House Tour in 2005.

The house is typical of other Bahamian styled homes of that era located in the immediate neighborhood. Many of the Key West's founding fathers were expatriates from the Bahamas. They brought with them the architectural style and construction techniques with which they were familiar.  Bahamian styled houses were placed on piers and had wood frames and had tall ceilings and large windows with Bahama shutters which permitted air to circulate through the house to provide natural cooling. The houses were built with wood clapboard siding. I stood on the front porch of this home a couple of days ago and noted the extra wide siding which suggested to me that the wood used was quite old when the house was built around 1840. That suggested that the trees used in construction must have dated back to the founding of our country or even before. Old growth lumber only comes from old trees.  The wood inside the house is Dade County Pine and would be of similar age. Dade County Pine is as tough as petrified lumber.  This house is about as solidly built as any you are apt to find.  Look at the photo immediately below and notice the tiny window just under the roof as it slopes downward. That window is located at floor level on the third floor. In the time before central air conditioning the windows and doors could remain open to ventilate the house. The architecture was not only graceful but also functional. The graceful style survives.

I believe that the original main floor wood walls were removed to provide a grand open space. The configuration today provides a semi-formal dining room on one side and a large living area on the other. Large posts and beams appear to have been added to support the weight of this massive building. An elegant stairway at the rear provides access to the second floor.

I have been inside numerous eyebrow houses in Key West. They all have a similar interior layout which includes a center hallway with rooms on either side on the ground floor. Rooms on the second floor vary depending on the size of the house. Smaller houses have one bedroom on either side and perhaps a narrow passage on one side of the second floor stairway landing which might lead to the rear where a bathroom has been added. Some larger homes have a larger bathroom addition with doors leading from the bedrooms on either side. This home has  two large bedrooms on the second floor each of which has private baths and a large hallway with a set of stairs that goes up to the third floor where there are two more bedrooms which share a bath at the rear. A dormer with a bank of windows looks off to the Gulf of Mexico just a couple of blocks to the north. A few years ago you could see the water from the window. Today trees have grown so tall that the water views are pretty much obscured. But the blue skies and white clouds still illuminate that room in the daytime.

The two additions seen in the old black and white photo were reconfigured to provide an open living and kitchen area with high vaulted ceilings. A bank of French doors at the rear open out to the covered rear deck that looks down toward the rear gardens, pool, and guest cottage.

The kitchen is even larger than the photos suggest. There is a butler's pantry at the rear of the kitchen where there is a side door that leads to the off street parking spot on the lane. This makes delivery of groceries and beverages a breeze. Your caterer will love this! There is a main level bedroom with en-suite bath located just off the great room. It has a set of French doors that open out to the covered rear elevated veranda. The guest cottage at the rear expanded the total living area to 4712 sq ft (per Monroe County Property Appraiser records). The irregularly lot runs 57' X 125' or around 7079 sq ft. The house sits at the corner of picturesque Caraballo Lane where one of the two off street parking spots is located.

If you look carefully you'll see a whole house generator tucked away at the end of the pool. There's plenty of space to get a famous Key West tan here. The guest cottage can be accessed via gate and pathway from the Eaton Street entrance or off the lane entrance. Guests can come and go without disturbing anyone.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing or to provide more information on this exciting new bank owned property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This property is owned by a local bank. Decisions will be made locally and will be made promptly. Don't miss out on this exciting buying opportunity of an important historic home.