1202 Seminary Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 1202 Seminary Street, Key West.I showed this home this past week and was taken by value offered. Let's take a look.

This home was renovated about twenty years ago. The entry was relocated from the front of the house through a gated portico that opens into the pool area. Multiple sets of French doors on both sides of  the living room allow abundant daytime light to bathe the area with ambient light. This place is cheerie. The kitchen was recently updated and new floors added. 

French doors from the family room (located center) and both bedrooms open out to the rear deck with recently added Trex decking. The two bedroom, three bath home has 1,502 Sq Ft of living space under air conditioning and sits on a large 4,698 Sq Ft lot.The home was built in 1928, nearly one hundred years ago. The renovations give the place a much more contemporary feel.

The house sits across the street from the National Weather Service Building located at the Corner of United and White Street. I remember the old trailer park in the same location until after 2000. The top photo shows the Ruth Hargrove Methodist Seminary and below its well groomed and behaved Methodist children. The black and white photo with trailers is dated 1963. Seminary Street runs west to Reynolds Street and east to First Street. The MARC House is located one block to the east.That is where we all go to buy tropical plants and Christmas trees. This is a very quiet location except Saturday morning when people to to the MARC House to buy plants.

There is a real benefit from having the National Weather Service as the neighbor across the street - no pool or house parties and the yard is always well maintained. 

Fausto's and the DQ are located one block to the north.

 

The White Street Pier and Higg's Beach are located a short stroll or bike ride to the south.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 1202 Seminary Street, Key West offered for sale at $1,149,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. i am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I have lived in this area for 25 years and love it. Let me introduce you to the neighborhood.

831 Georgia Street, Key West - New Home in The Meadows

Just Listed, but not by me, 831 Georgia Street, Key West. This is a brand new home located in The Meadows area of Key West. I was surprised to learn that the lot was the side yard to an adjacent home and  had never been built upon before. While I have been photographing the exterior for several months during construction, this past weekend was the first time I got to see the inside. I was impressed. The black and white photo below shows the empty lot in 1965.

The front porch is the perfect perch to people watch in this single family home neighborhood. There are not any guest houses or commercial businesses in the area. A few of the large older homes were converted to condominiums several years ago, but the character remains single family. I don't think this house is on the Conch Train route, but you should expect to see an eager tourist on bike every once in a while. 

The listing Realtor describes the home this way:

"Brand New Construction Now Complete. Nestled on the Corner of Georgia & Olivia, this Meadows Stunner offers Pure Luxury and is sure to please the most discerning buyer. Designed with a Coastal Flair with Nickel Grooved Walls, stunning hard wood floors. coffered Ceilings featuring Dade County Pine & Impact Windows and Doors. Spectacular Chef's Kitchen with Quartz countertops & Viking Appliance Package expands out to exquisite Pool with waterfall and Separate Guest Cottage through Large Pocket Sliders. All 4 Bedrooms are en-suite with custom walk in closets and stunning bathrooms finished with Marble, Quartz and iridescent tile. Exterior is finished with decorative shutters, irrigation, lighting, tropical landscaping, composite decking, Chicago Brick Walkways & Off Street Parking. X-Zone."

While the house may look old on the outside, everything on the inside looks and smells like new - brand new. Of course the interiors pay homage to yesteryear but are planned for modern living.

Just to the right off the front entry is a good sized guest bedroom with en-suite bath. Note the stylish new Nickle Grooved Walls contrasted by Dade County Pine walls and clear hardwood flooring.There are window views to the front and side. Unlike some of the renovated houses in Old Town, the ceilings are high, the room size is actual comfortable living space.

I am presenting this house to my reders the same way I saw it. I checked out the first floor buest bedroom and moved toward the open living area. I sensed how large the house is, then notice the coffered ceilings in the living room, a feature I did not recall from the MLS. Two competing features called for my attention - the pool and bright white kitchen, I confess I walked out side, looked at the pool, parking, and guest cottage. I stood at the edge of gthe pool and looked at the side and rear of thehouse. I was impressed more than before. Viking Kitchen Package include. The real range is on the way.

Looking at the photos of the front and rear rooflines I think I can see some HARC interference in the design of this home. HARC likes builders to contrast renovations and new construction from historic so that the public is not tricked into thinking a property is historic when it is not. HARC also does not want to introduce a full two story house in an area where there were none. The dormer look achieves the second story to a point. The photos show the ease oc moving  between indoor and outdoor living. 

The fourth bedroom and bath are located in the guest cottage. While the guest bath is on the wee side, it has all the facilities.The second floor guest bedroom continues the use of modern design materials. Look closely and you will see the implied recess to this room being a dormer. It is not. It was placed and gracefully executed. En-suite bath too. The windows and doors throughout the house are wind resistant impact glass. Ajd the house is located in the X-Zone. Both features will greatly reduce insurance rates.

The second guest bedroom with en-suite is located at the front of the second floor. HARC has this disposition to disallow full two story homes in area where they are not predominate. Here, the allowed the designed to create the fiction this new house looks like a house where front and rear dormers were added to increase living space. This bedroom is located iin the front fake dormer. The height and size are not effected.

The master suite takes up more than half  of the second floor, or so it appears. The bedroom is huge. the two chairs seem dwarfed in real life. Imagine that space with lush rugs on the floors and art on the walls. The ceiling height in all rooms, but especially here, is welcoming to a tall man. So many of the renovations in Old Town require tall men to duck when moving about and to kneel a bit when taking a shower. Not so here. The bath is located in the "rear" dormer. It is huge. Dual sinks, WC, shower, bath, and outfitted closet plus windows to let the light of the outside world in.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more listing photos of 831 Georgia Street, offered at $2,295,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No. 4

From October 14, 2016 (Just Before Fantasy Fest)

Key West Horror Story No. 5

A few years ago I represented a buyer who found me via my blog. He lived up north in New York City and was looking to buy a cute Key West cottage where he planned to move. He came to town on several visits to find that perfect place. This was during that terrible time soon after the Great Recession.  Many buyers lost faith in our economy and believed we would never be as good as we once were. I know he expected prices would be lower than they were. He quickly learned he couldn't afford as much house as he thought.

This particular buyer was self-employed. He lived from project to project. He would get paid a lot of money upon the completion of each project. But there was no steady income for the times in between. I hooked him up with a local lender who figured out a way to get him approved for a mortgage. We started looking in areas other than Old Town where prices were lower. We found such a place in Mid Town.

The particular house was an estate sale. The previous owner had passed away. The man was single and died alone except for his dog. His body wasn't discovered for quite some time. The body of his large dog was found as well. The dog apparently survived for a while after the owner passed. You can figure out what happened.

The deceased had two male siblings who lived in the northeast. They engaged a local real estate agent who was a stay-at-home-mom and part-time agent. She told me the place was a mess when she first saw it and offered to fix it up for the far-away brothers. She hired local contractors to do some repairs, install new bathrooms including plumbing and tile installation, painting, and so on. She purchased new kitchen cabinets, appliances, light fixtures, fans, etc. The place looked as next to new as a fifty year old house could look. She was a real estate agent mind you, not a licensed contractor. 

The finished house was priced the equivalent of a fixer house in Old Town except it was already fixed. My buyer was willing to forgo the cuteness in favor of the up to date renovation at an affordable price.  He made an offer. We negotiated the price a bit and put the place under contract.

I was a bit concerned that the agent had done a lot of work which may or may not have been permitted. I included a couple of safe guards in the contract which later proved useful when the renovations she  authorized did not pass final building inspection. The brothers had to come out of pocket to bring the sub-standard work up to meet building code. 

I totally sympathized with the situation those brothers went through. Losing a family member is never easy. Losing a family member in such a harsh way is awful. But then having to pay for something twice compounds the loss even more.

Added September 2020. The original agent is out there still selling houses to the unsuspecting. I should have filed a complaint with the Key West board. I did not. I should have.

Karen Komments on September Sales in Key West

 

I have been spending too much time on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM over the past six months. My business has been slower than I would like, but better than I expected. I decided to do a quick comparison of Single Family Home Sale in Key West for the first 15 days of September from 2017 thru 2020. 

Remember Key West was hit by Hurricane IRMA on September 10 2017 and that Puerto Rico was devastated by MARIA a week later. The  entire country watched countless hours of television coverage of both storms. Key West missed the devastation that destroyed so many homes only a few miles to the north. Not much else happened in Key West for the month of September 2017 which is the starting point of my inquiry.

Single Family Homes SOLD    YEAR    Number   Avg Price    Avg Price Per Sq Ft

                                                     2017        1               $680,000     $267

                                                     2018        15             $1,119          $731

                                                     2019        9                $955            $587

                                                     2020        12              $973            $613

All of these numbers relate back at least a month earlier than September of the year and more likely relate back two months or longer. Labor Day 2017 fell on Monday September 4th. Nobody I know works on the Friday before Labor Day Weekend. Hurricane Irma had been churning around in the Atlantic for the couple of weeks prior. It was predicted to hit somewhere in south Florida on Sunday September 10. About half of the locals evacuated. I stayed in Key West. I saw no use fleeing north along with 20,000,000 other Floridians. Almost all businesses including title companies and real estate closing attorneys closed. Most bars and liquor stores stayed open. Hurricane Irma made actual landfall on Sunday morning September 10th. Key West was without water or electricity for a least the follow week. That explains why there was only one closing during that fifteen day time period.

While the national media painted a bleak portrayal of Hurricane Irma damage to the Florida Keys, when tourists returned to Key West they saw a different reality. Town was spared significant damage. Sales picked up throughout 2018 including three high end sales that closed in early September 2018 which explains the higher average sales price.

There were only nine closings in same time period solds in 2019 - three less than 2018. Both the average sold price and sold price per square foot were down as compared to 2018. 

The year 2020 is probably the worst year of most of our lives. Most of us, no matter where we live, have been cooped up inside our homes for over half this year. Tourists were kicked out of the Keys during in March during our busiest time of the year. But the buyers came back as soon as the gates were opened. They started to buy houses once again. The closings for the first two weeks in September reflect an optimistic outlook for the future. There are 55 current contingent or pending single family homes shown in the Key West MLS with an average listing price of $1,084,940. I believe this reflects an optimism about the future of Key West. What happens in the national real economy will prove the correctness of my belief.  

I will stop right here and not going to become a Karen. There are enough of them.

Gary Thomas, Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 305-766-2642. Representing buyers and sellers.  And an occasional Karen.

                                       

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

This is a true story. It occurred about ten years ago. I cannot remember their real names, so I will call them Ted and Alice. Otherwise, all is true.

Alice contacted first by email and later by phone. She and Ted had been to Key West before and decided they wanted to buy a guesthouse. I sent her MLS listings of properties then available. Alice told me she was an executive. In fact she repeated her executive status several times. I asked if they would be cash buyers and explained that, while financing is available, the financial dynamics of guest houses were such that getting a mortgage could be very difficult. Alice said they would probably finance the purchase. She made travel arrangements to arrive on a Friday and depart on Sunday. I set up a meeting with a local lender and showings for Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.

Friday arrived. Alice was supposed to call to confirm their arrival. She did not. I called her and left messages and sent a couple emails. No response. Then Alice phoned. I could barely hear her because of the noise in the background. She and Ted were in a bar having a drink and did not hear my phone calls. She asked me to pick them up at the Pilot House Guest House in fifteen minutes (guess) or so.  I called the banker, apologized for missing the appointment, and asked if we could show up a bit late. Of course, it is Key West. (That is the excuse everyone makes all the time.)

I picked up Ted and Alice at their guest house. I did not consider Alice's selection of the Pilot House Guest House as her lodging selection at that time. It was a clothing optional all adult property. She was wearing an executive dress. Ted was dressed like an executive as well. They were both dressed for success compared to most of the tourists and potential house buyers we normally see in Key West. After exchanging hellos I headed to the bank which was located two blocks away. I asked where they had been when she called. Alice said The Bull which is located one block from the guest house and one block from the bank. What a coincidence. I had never been inside The Bull but had seen photos and heard stories about what goes on there. It is legendary adult bar. We met the banker and then saw two guest houses. We looked at another two or three places the next day. I never saw Ted and Alice after that - except I did.

Bahama Lane

Alice and I either talked or shared emails a few days after their visit. I sort of recall her saying that while they had the money to make a purchase, Key West was much more expensive than they expected. So they would pass. I hear that a lot from executive types (and regular people as well).

A week after their visit, I saw a couple of photos of Alice posted on FLICKR which hosts photos for my blog. I routinely search for photos of Key West on FLICKR. She was posing at the rear of the Pilot House guest house on Bahama Lane. She was wearing very short shorts with her butt cheeks fully exposed and a bra-thing with boobs falling out. I did a nosey and saw many more revealing photos of Alice. Alice was a very attractive woman her age. And Ted was equally handsome. They were probably big hits at The Bull which is also known as The Garden of Eden.