1122 Whitehead Street, Key West

1122 Whitehead Street, Key West has an interesting history in usage. The building was built in 1880 when it was the Jos. Reves Cigar Factory and numbered 129 Whitehead Street on the 1889 Historic Sanborn Fire Map. The street number 1122 Whitehead Street appeared on the 1912 Map. It was the same property but it was then designated as a dwelling. For years and years the property was a legal duplex. The property has been renovated twice in the past ten years. When it sold in 2014 it had been awarded a certificate for excellence in historic preservation by the Historic Florida Keys Foundation when it was still a legal duplex. The current owners converted the two story classic revival building into a single family home with the intention of making this their permanent residence. Along came a child and now another is on the way. Now this beautiful three bedroom, two bath home awaits its next owner.

The new owners added the new interior staircase shown above. Previously, the second floor was only accessible via exterior staircase. That staircase still exists and will be discussed later. The first floor is laid out in quadrants with the living room on the left (south) front and bedroom left rear. The dining area is in the left (north) front and the kitchen in the rear.

The house is in move-in ready condition. And it is beautiful in every detail, of which there are many details. Architectural plans have been drawn for the construction of a pool where the exterior staircase now exists.

The master bedroom with loft office occupies the south front side of the house. That room also has access to the second floor front porch. A new internal staircase leads up to the loft office. A second bedroom is located on the north front but it does not have access to the porch. The laundry room is located at the north rear while the second floor bath is at the south rear. It is such a bright and beautiful room. Both bedrooms share the use of the second floor rear deck that offers lots of space for getting a key west tan with no neighbors having a view.

While I couldn't find an historic photo of the house itself, I did find the above aerial photo taken of the area in 1999. The Douglas Pool is located one block west. South Beach is located five minutes away except when the corner of South Street is clogged by people taking selfies. Ft Zach is ten minutes by bike. Thanks to the Saudis you must use the Southard Street entrance to go to Ft Zach. In 1999 you could ride your bike on the first straight road and be there in two or three minutes. A lot of things have changed since 1999.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 1122 Whitehead Street and then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This home has a lot of potential and is well worth looking at.

819 Terry Lane - Short Sale - Key West

819 Terry Lane - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, 819 Terry Lane in the Bahama Village section of Key West. The listing agent describes this charming cottage home this way:

"Classic conch style house on a lane in Old Town Key West, new roof, new tankless water heater and a Viking stove. It is a 2 bed/1 bath with room for a pool. Short walk to dinning, shopping and Fort Zachary Taylor beach."

View from front porch

The 700 sq ft cottage was updated in 2005 including the installation of a new metal roof. The house sits on a decent sized lot for this area (21' x 96' or 1907 sq ft). The rear portion of the lot has a lot of unused space which means a new owner could install a pool. There is a small cottage already in existence. That cottage might make a nice poolside bar.

Garden needs tended but that is part of the fun of buying a new place.

The property does have HARC approved plans for adding a second floor at the rear . As currently configured, the house has a living room at front followed by two bedrooms, a bath, and the kitchen at the rear. The house needs a deep cleaning, a fresh coat of paint, some new window treatments, and an owner with a green thumb to restore the garden. This property is offered as a Short Sale at the asking price of $280,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet.

Across the lane

Nearby Terry Lane cottages

Food, beverages, and nightlife are located a block away

Ft. Zach Beach is about a ten minute walk

If you would like to see this house or any other property for sale in Key West, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. This cute cottage will sell quickly. Don't wait - this Key West Short Sale will be under contract within a couple of days.

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719 Chapman Lane - Bank Owned - Key West

719 Chapman Lane - Key West - May 2011

The newly listed Bank Owned single family house at 719 Chapman Lane in the Bahama Village area of Old Town Key West was just listed for $499,100 or $237 per sq ft. The house has been bank owned since since September 30, 2010 but was just listed in the Key West mls on Friday.

The same house was listed for sale in the go-go years at $1,200,000 (2005) and later $1,099,000 in 2006. It did not sell. The house was built new (not renovated) in 1999. It has 2108 sq ft of living space on three floors. It sits on a 27' x 98' (2646 sq ft) lot. See the diagram and photo below that show the house layout and how it it looked in 2006.

2006

Above is a current listing photo of the same area

The Monroe County Property Appraiser took the above photo in 1965 but notes the house at 719 Chapman Lane was razed in 1967. Proof that the new house really is a new house.

For comparison purposes the house next door to the south (721 Chapman Lane) SOLD on March 29, 2011 for $370,000 or $195 per sq ft. (It sold 18 days after being listed at $425,000.) I wrote about that house when it was also a bank owned property. I even did a broker's price opinion on that property and pegged the probable sales price at $375,000. My estimate was pretty close. That house was livable but I felt it needed some work. It certainly needed cleaned and painted. It had a pool, but the front yard had a pretty white picket fence instead of parking.

Two years ago I wrote about the then short sale at 710 Chapman Lane. I loved that house. It was a renovated single family with 1200 sq ft of living space, a white picket fence, and room for a pool. It ended up selling for $385,000 or $321 per sq ft.

710 Chapman Lane is located across the street. It sold last year.

This Chapman Lane house did not sell and is not for sale.
It is just damned beautiful!

All three houses are located on Chapman Lane which is three blocks from Duval between Petronia Street to the south and Angela Street to the north. One block long and most of the houses have been renovated. If that block were located three blocks east of Duval, we would not be writing about any of these houses at selling or being offered for sale as such low prices.

The City of Key West is nearing final approval on the redevelopment of the Truman Annex marina and park. It is located just a couple of blocks further west of Chapman Lane. Angela Street is supposed to provide a walking lane type entrance into that area. When the redevelopment is completed, I believe that property values in the immediate area will increase dramatically.

Breakfast at La Creperie

Dinner in Heaven

Spend the day at Ft Zach

In the meantime if you owned the house at 719 Chapman Lane you could walk a little over one block to have breakfast at La Creperie or dinner at Blue Heaven or maybe do tapas at Santiago's La Bodega. You could ride your bike over to Ft Zach Taylor beach and work on that Key West tan. Or you could do any manner of things people in Key West do every day. This block is populated mostly by full time homeowners but there are a few second homes located here as well. After the Truman Annex is completed I expect there will be a shift between full time and second home ownership.

If you are looking for a newer home in Key West and want the convenience of being located near major Key West attractions but don't want to pay the high cost of ownership by being located on the supposed best street, you should really take a serious look at 719 Chapman Lane. Understand that a similar house on a more sought after block in Old Town will cost about $500,000 more. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule your visit. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.