615 Angela Street, Old Town, Key West - a Buying Opportunity

Every now and then a reader of my little blog will call me, send me an email, or show up at an open house and even set up an appointment to me at my office just to say thanks for writing my blog and to tell me about their dream of buying a place here - someday. Many of my readers are people of normal means. They work 9:00 to 5:00 jobs and spend a part of workday doing what their company pays them to do - their job. I think some  may cheat the boss a bit by their constant presence on the internet using search engines like Realtor.com or Zillow to monitor new listings that pop up in Key West mls. It's true and you know it is. And a lot of potential buyers with big nest eggs saved up do the same thing - they watch the mls for a buying opportunity. They just don't cheat their employer.

128 days ago today (March 15th) readers got to see a new listing pop up at 615 Angela Street located in the Old Town area of Key West. It's a big house located near the crest Solaris Hill.  I had buyers in town who had rented 635 William Street for a couple of months. They loved that house so much that they wanted to buy a place like it or buy a place that they could renovate to create the same kind of serene elegance. We set out looking for properties which included a visit to 615 Angela Street. My buyers were captivated by the property but ultimately decided they wanted to buy a house that was in move-in condition. A couple of days ago I showed this home again, to another couple seeking a dream home. They have been looking for a place for a couple of years and have made offers but have so far been unable to buy the perfect place. They decided as much as they love the location and size of this house, they needed to find a place that was ready to move into.

Let me share my thoughts with you about this house, this lot, this buying opportunity.  Now it isn't fancy. It is a simple house. But that is why I personally think it is incredible. It is a blank slate upon which a new owner could create a beautiful new home, garden, and pool in a very desirable location.

When you look at the house from the street you see this big boxed-in second floor area that just does not look "right".  I have seen this look before and recognize that the space was previously a porch which was enclosed to create additional living space (usually a bedroom or sleeping area). When the listing Realtor showed the property my potential buyers, he looked up to the porch and said the  porch was originally open and then later enclosed by the family who have lived in this house for eighty years. Below you will see a photo I found in my old shoe box which was taken fifty years ago. The second floor front porch was open then. You will also see the exterior side staircase that leads to what is the second apartment in this home.  Once inside this home I got to meet the owner who grew up in this home. She had a photo of her sitting on the front porch before it was enclosed. The view looked toward Duval Street which is only a little over a block away, but far enough away not to hear the clatter. Close, but far.

The original house was built in the 1880s and was just one story tall. The second floor was added as the family grew larger and more space was needed. The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this house as having 3004 sq ft of living space (measured from exterior walls and including only areas capable of being air conditioned or stated another way not including porches or decks. The house sits near the top of Solares Hill (located about 200 feet to the east) on a lot that measures 54' X 134' or 7,169 sq ft. The old photo shows us that the house is built close to the street and that means the back yard must be immense. It is more than that - I must use that word again "incredible".

CLICK HERE to view a GOOGLE MAP AERIAL VIEW of this house and its relation to the topography as well as its nearness to Duval Street and other areas of Old Town Key West. Use the little toggle switch in the right hand corner of the map to zoom down to see not only this house but also other nearby houses like the Phillip Burton house across the street and the Coca Cola mansion at the rear on Southard Street.

We started our tour of this home by first looking at the back of the property where there is room for a pool and possible expansion of the existing garage into something else. The house itself is very large. It does not need to be expanded. But it does need to be renovated. The house and the garage are boxes. All houses and even palaces are boxes.  A good architect or designer can transform a box into something quite interesting by how he or she divides the spaces into uses and the selections he makes in materials and other building elements. This property has one big box, a smaller box in the left rear corner, and a very large open rear yard. The openness means a new owner is not stuck with a problem tree or forest of protected specimens to deal with. Not having to spend money to deal with a problem results in cost savings to a new owner. Readers probably won't appreciate what I am saying until they have to hire an arborist, an attorney, and maybe an engineer who have to explain why a tree must be removed or how to treat an issue that the city deems worthy of preserving or not disturbing. Money wasted on lawyers is better spent on pretty things, cocktails, or both.

The City of Key West recognizes this property as being a legal duplex. I think the highest and best use of the house is to make it into a single family home and renovate the garage - maybe create a second legal living unit there or convert the space into a guest house or pool cabana. The rear yard is immense and has plenty of ground on which to add a pool surrounded by lush gardens and decks. The existing rear staircase needs to be by something more architecturally interesting. Perhaps a new owner would seek permission to create a two story covered deck that looks down upon and provides a stairway to the new pool and gardens.

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Unbelievable family home (now a legal duplex) atop of Solaris Hill in Old Town. Living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, wide covered front porch and rear wooden deck leading to huge backyard on ground floor. Living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms with Jack n Jill bathroom, plus office and additional room (has been used as a bedroom in the past), rear enclosed porch and outside rear wooden sundeck leading down to the same huge backyard. There is an outside utility room and a detached garage/workshop. Over 3,000 SF in main house. Pull down stairs in upstairs bedroom leads to a full attic. Surprisingly good condition inside."

First Floor Living Room. Note the very tall ceiling height.

Second Floor Living Room - About Eight Foot Ceiling Height

CLICK HERE to view the listing photos of this property. I took pics on my small pocket camera not intending to blog about this house. But after I saw the house I realized readers must see this place. The listing photos are great. Consider the height throughout the first floor. It is impressive. The height on the second floor is  closer to 8'. All interior walls and ceilings are Dade County Pine. There is a huge attic with wood floor. There is room in the attic and under the house to install central air conditioning.  

The house is so big that I think it might make sense to restore the original by removing exterior walls that currently enclose what used to be the second floor front porch. The house is built with balloon framing which I believe would allow a new owner to reconfigure the rooms into a more modern living mode that works with the way we live today. Walls can be moved, an interior stairway added, central air conditioning would be introduced into the home, and a modern kitchen and new baths added to create a superb new home. The second floor porch might be restored to its original design or maybe even modified with covered second floor porch. The house would be painted and the house would present itself in totally different manner.

615 Angela Street is offered at $1,195,000. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a personal showing of this (I gotta say it again) incredible house.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

1309 Grinnell Street - The Casa Marina Area - Key West

JUST LISTED by Preferred Properties Key West, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 1309 Grinnell Street which is located in the Casa Marina Area. This 1724 sq ft home is hidden behind large privacy fence. When you open the gate, you are genuinely surprised to see a lagoon pool and tropical garden upon entering the property. A winding path leads through the bricked terrace and up the steps to the home.

I fished around in my old shoebox and found a photo taken of this house in 1965, see below.  I have included a new color photo that shows the house from about the same angle taken in 2015.  

The aerial photo above was taken in 1930.  I added a white arrow that indicates the location of 1309 Grinnell Street. The house was not built then, but its next door neighbor existed then. The Monroe County Property Appraiser website shows this house was built in 1958.  I think the actual construction may actually have been sometime earlier - probably right after World War II.  I believe the original house was a one story bungalow style house. There are many nearby bungalow style houses located in this immediate area. The second floor addition appears in the 1965 photo so we know it existed as of that date or earlier.

I often speculate about how a house might look like if a new owner did a few things to tweak the exterior a bit. While parts of the Casa Marina Area are now subject to review by our Historic Architectural Review Commission, this house might get a "pass" since it is not a contributing structure and since prior additions totally changed the original view.

I would suggest the creation of a new two story front porch that would overlook the pool. I would replace the T-111 siding with Novelty siding that already exists on the main floor. I would replace the aluminum windows with wood windows to give the house a more traditional home appearance. I would gut the first and second floor interiors and rearrange the room layouts and functionality. The living room, dining area, kitchen, laundry, and a bedroom and full bath are located on the main level.  I think the current configuration is both  dated and also no longer fits the way we live today. The second floor layout is equally outdated and impractical. The second floor landing is way too large. The spaces could be reconfigured to enlarge the bedrooms and perhaps add another bath. Another scenario would be to eliminate one of the existing three upper bedrooms and to reconfigure the space to have just one guest bedroom and to create a larger new master bedroom with en-suite, The new master bedroom would have French doors that open out to the second floor front porch which would overlook the pool. If you take down the existing walls, you can create any new space you want.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of the house and yard. According to the Monroe County Property Appraiser the yard is an irregular 4555 sq ft lot (about 43.25' X 92'5'). The house sits to the rear of the lot, and the pool is located up front. There is a good sized deck on the south side of the house. The north side lot is about six feet wide.

A new owner would not have to make any structural changes to this house. It needs existing carpet removed and replaced.  Interiors need to be cleaned and painted. My suggestions are offered only to spark the Reader's imagination as to what they might do if this house were theirs.  A 1960s vintage house located in the next block was a couple of years ago and was featured in Architectural Digest. It was a simple house before it became glamorous. It was recently offered for sale at $2,499,000. Our office sold a similar contemporary renovation in the same block in 2012 for $1,950,000. I think any money spent on this house will ultimately make the house worth much more. Most of the homes in  this area are priced over one million dollars and prices are trending much higher. The Atlantic Ocean and beaches are just a few blocks to the south. Duval Street is a five block walk to the west. Most of the gyms and yoga studios are located within a four block walk to the north or east. You can be in most places you want to go within a matter of minutes. I believe the current "condition" and location make this property worthy of serious consideration.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1309 Grinnell Street that is offered for sale at $675,000. 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.

627-629 Eaton Street - Key West Historic Landmark Property For Sale

My friends at Prudential Knight and Gardner Realty in Key West recently listed one of the last untouched Old Town landmarks in Key West. Dear Readers, this property located at 627-629 Eaton Street might just be your dream property. Think I'm a little wacko?  Read on.

I searched the old Sanborn Fire Maps for Key West and found this building on the 1889 map which means it was built some time prior to that date. The Monroe County Property Appraiser's official records show the construction date as being 1929. (I think the Sanborn Map is more correct, but the official record is the official record.)  In any case, the building is ancient and has the crow's feet and wrinkles to prove it.  I dug deep into the old shoe box and found a photo taken back in 1965 shown immediately below. The back of the photo shows the downstairs as being a launderette and dentist's office. The upstairs presumably were apartments. I took a similar photo to compare the old versus current facades. I think the old girl looked a bit better back in the day, but this is one solid building which ought to respond to a keen renovation. 

 The listing Realtor describes 627-629 Eaton Street this way:

"This historic concrete block building consists of two commercial spaces downstairs and two residential units upstairs. One commercial space is empty, the other tenant is a laundromat. Each residential unit has it's own staircase and entrance. One unit is a one bedroom, one bath, the other unit is a two bedroom, one bath."

The listing Realtor shows the building as having 3627 sq ft of interior space divided between the two floors. The building sets on a rectangular lot of 2201 sq ft (55.5' X 39.67') at the corner of Eaton and Elizabeth Streets. The building itself measures 50' X 38' plus the covered ground floor walkway and second floor porch that run 50' X 38' to the east rear. The building is built literally to the rear and side lot lines. There is no room for a pool, hot tub, or parking.

The downstairs east commercial space has been a self-service laundry ever since I moved to Key West in 1993. The writing on the 1965 photo suggests that it has been a laundry for a much longer time period. The adjacent space is not currently rented which creates lots of possibilities for a new owner. There are several small ante-rooms behind both spaces. The vacant space was previously a dentist's office and most recently was rented as a floral shop.  The tropically painted wall shown below is either poured concrete or cinder block.  The listing Realtor told me the wall extends up through the second floor above and provides support for the building. I think it would be possible to merge the ground floor spaces into one larger commercial space or alternatively create a new living space in the former dentist's office. A new owner would need to obtain permission from the City of Key West to do this or merge the ground floor space into the second floor space via the adjacent stairway.

There are two apartments on the second floor. Both are currently rented under market value and both are on a month to month rental agreement.  Both tenants have been in place for some time. The tenant in the east apartment has been in the space for 20 years.  The landlord has not made any substantial improvements to this building over recent years. Below are some photos that provide a basic image of how the properties look today.

The above photos are of the west second floor apartment or the one above the former dentist's office.  One alternative for renovating this space might be to combine the first and second floor west spaces into one two story living unit. I think a new owner could do the same for the east spaces as well, but I will discuss an alternate proposal for that space below.  Part of the allure of this building is the second floor balcony which extends nine feet over the city sidewalk. Construction like this would likely not be permitted today. But since it is in place and since this is such a recognized property that it has achieved 'landmark' status, I seriously doubt anyone would consider allowing the removal of the balcony.

The east second floor apartment is filled with tenant owned pieces that make this space shine. A new owner might move some interior walls to create more modern spaces, replace the kitchen and bath, and so on. I would replace the existing metal louvers with real windows.  As an alternative to keeping this space an apartment, a new owner might consider combining the two upstairs units into one large loft type living space. The interior floor to ceiling cinder block or poured concrete wall will need to be addressed in any renovation. Almost anything is possible if you have a talented engineer, architect, designer, and money. Both the ground floor spaces and the second floor apartments have very tall ceilings. This opens all spaces to imaginative renovation possibilities not available in most existing properties.  I took more photos which you can view if you CLICK HERE. Please do so and consider what kind of new property you could create in these spaces.

627-629 Eaton Street is offered for sale at $775,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. But better than looking at photos online, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this unique Key West property.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. The buyers are returning to Key West in droves. Don't miss the opportunity to create something stunning.