Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No 34 with a Twist

from October 15, 2010

901 Packer St - Old Town - Key West  

The Twist Part follows the original post.

The Key West Cemetery as viewed from 901 Packer Street

 

901 Packer Street in Old Town Key West is located directly across the street from the Key West Cemetery and is in desperate need of The Re-Animator. The listing Realtor describes this property thus:

"Great Old Town Key West location within walking distance to Duval Street and all of the Key West attractions. Perfect renovation project on a corner lot with off street parking. Located in an X500 flood zone, this is one of the highest elevations on the island."

This house was built in 1948 or 1953 (there are two different dates in county records). The relative newness means the house is not a contributing structure and that means a new owner could tear down this property and build all new. A caveat to tearing down and building new is that the current building codes and set backs will control what can be built and the lot coverage area. "Re-animating" or renovating this house would permit the new owner to keep the existing lot coverage and setbacks in place. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls data sheet and listing photos. Let me share my thoughts about the house. Unlike The Aadams' Family mansion, this house is no museum. The house itself is ooky and the layout is kinda kooky. I don't know that I'd say its mysterious and spooky, but it surely ain't imperious.

"it surely ain't imperious"

This place will need lots of work. These are things I think it needs: new doors and windows, a new roof, new electric and plumbing, new interior layout which means all new interior framing and drywall, a new kitchen and one or two new bathrooms. The existing covered parking is nice but it looks like the roof may collapse. There is an old homemade addition to the Olivia Street side of the house that looks awful from the outside and it looks terrible from the inside. There is spauling across the north side of the kitchen. (Spauling is prevalent in many Key West houses of that vintage. It's repairable but the cost depends on the condition of the house and how much area has been compromised.) While the house is capable of re-animation (lol), it is a better candidate for demolition in my opinion. A good architect or contractor could help a potential new buyer determine what could be done on the 27' x 58' lot. 

I personally think a new owner could build a nice two story Conch style home on this lot. The 1566 sq ft lot may sound small compared to the big sized lots you readers who live up north in America have, but down here a lot this size in Old Town is quite common. What is less common is the view across the street. I recently took photos of the property. It was a gloomy day in Paradise, that day. CLICK HERE to view. A lot of potential buyers absolutely refuse to consider a property that overlooks the cemetery. Some would see that location as gloomy forever. I think not so. That refusal to consider the location is their loss in my opinion. Of course the area is quiet at night. No pun intended. It really is. And that is a great feature in any neighborhood. Having quiet neighbors that do not party all the time is a blessing compared to those that do. 

Olivia Street is a small one-way street that runs parallel to the south boundary of the cemetery. That street is primarily used by locals and is not normally used by commercial vehicles or Conch Trains. That keeps street noise to a minimum. More than the quietness of the location is all the sunshine one normally gets. If you love Old Town houses as much as I, you know that most houses are built so close to each other that there often is little space between properties. Since most houses are densely landscaped and typically have trees on all sides, natural light is often minimalized. The result is that many homes only have direct sunshine for a few hours a day. And most Old Town homes do not have clear open views of the beautiful Key West skies. The house at 901 Packer Street has a vast sweeping view looking north across the Key West Cemetery. Locals appreciate such views because so few in Old Town have them. 

The house at 901 Packer Street was originally priced at $249,000 and recently reduced to $219,000. I have my own opinion of what it will sell for, and that price is nowhere near the asking price. If you would like to see 901 Packer Street please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or contact me by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. I believe in Re-Animation, Renovation, and Innovation. But I am not a witch!

The above post is 11 years old. The house is NOT FOR SALE. Don't go bothering anybody about this. 

A couple of years ago I noticed some fixing-up going on and started to photograph the progress. Progress in Key West takes months if not years to complete whether it is a home handyman or a licensed contractor. Perfection takes time and a lot of money. This is how it looked midway through the project.

I drove by this house for months. Something was always going on but nothing substantial until just recently. Now it looks great! Congrats to the homeowner for a classy re-animation.

Taco Tuesday - The Value of Location

Last week while photographing some ongoing construction for my blog I suddenly got a whiff of garlic. It wasn't totally am unpleasant smell but not the kind of smell I normally encounter in Old Town. A few days earlier I picked up my completed federal income tax returns from my accountant. His office is  located on North Roosevelt Blvd in one of our shopping netters. As soon as I opened the door I got a whiff of the Subway Sandwich shop located next door. The smell made me think of food. It was both pleasant ad distracting. I commented on it to my CPA. He said you get used to it. Why should anyone have to get used to the smell of somebody else's business?

A few years ago a woman who reads my blog called me to talk about looking for a new house. I knew where she lived. I blogged her house before she bought it. Her house is located about 75 feet from the back door of a Key West eatery. The woman told me she gets awakened every morning as the cleaning crew scrubs pans out side the back door of the restauand. She said she hears the workers speaking, the pot and pans clonking, and chickens screeching - EVERY DAY. When the cooks arrive she starts to smell the aroma of garlic and onions as it hovers over the nearby homes. EVERY DAY.

A few days into the new year I got a phone call from a man who GOGGLED an address and up popped a blog I wrote. He called me to discuss the place. I pointed out the pros and cons of the place. I had shown it a few weeks earlier so I had a fairly clear recall of the place. I liked the house and felt the price was reasonable but pointed out that it was located perilously close to a restaurant and warned of the smells, noise, and foot traffic he might expect. He said he liked the place. I told him a lot of people buy places they like. But there comes a time to sell and selling difficult locations is, well, difficult. 

I am not saying buying a house located near a restaurant is bad. It is, but I am not saying that. I believe in the value of location as a key reason to buy a place. Or to not buy a place. Taco Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, all day, all night, everyday without pause can get annoying. It may prevent an owner or his or her heirs from selling what may be their biggest investment of their lives. Think before you buy. Consider who will buy what you "settled" to buy.

Gary Thomas, Realtor, Preferred Properties Key West, 520 Southard Street, Key West, Fl 33040

419 Grinnell Street, Key West - A Blank Slate

The listing broker describes 419 Grinnell Street, Key West, listed for the first time on Saturday as a "blank slate". Previously this 4,086 Sq Ft irregular "L-shaped" shaped lot was to be included in the sale of the adjacent Grand Conch style (temple style) home at 421 Grinnell Street. That changed by offering this lot separately. The listing broker told me he had immediate interest from several potential buyers. This property won't last a week on the market. This is how the broker describes 419 Grinnell Street:

"A rare opportunity for development or renovation of a huge lot in the heart of Old Town Key West. The small un-renovated 1 BD 1 BA house at the rear corner of the lot could be renovated as a guest cottage or possibly razed and redeveloped. The lot is a blank slate for the creation of a lush tropical garden with pool and parking. Any plans would require HARC and City approval. This property can also be purchased with the lovely 2-story Conch House next door at 421 Grinnell St."

I noticed this big old lot taking up valuable space for years. The yard had stuff in it. Lots of stuff. I always thought it would come up for sale some day and someone would buy it and do something with it. (Some story.) Years ago it would have sold at a much lower price because there were many big old houses and smaller cigar maker cottages that folks were buying and renovating. And there all the rules that HARC imposes on owners as to what may be done and not done. The rules still exist but now there are only a few un-renovated properties and even fewer big empty lots. Now this comes up. There is a cottage at the back. The Property Appraiser shows that 419 Grinnell was built in 1919. The 1889 through 1912 Sanborn Fire Maps showed a larger house similar in size s to 421 Grinnell Street was sat at on the 419 Grinnell lot. CLICK HERE for more photos.)

A few weeks ago I bogged about our new listing at 411-415 Grinnell Street. It is located next door to 419 Grinnell. I photographed 411 Grinnell Street (above photos) in July 2012. Workers were just starting to renovate it. A few years later a new owner built a second house on the vacant lot to create an incredible island retreat. But before that, the empty lot was equally bleak as 419 Grinnell.

411-415 Grinnell Street looks totally different just a few years later. (It is offered for sale at $6,500,000.) And that is why the listing at 419 Grinnell Street is so appealing. Empty lots get bought. Creative minds and bank accounts combine to create new properties. Buyers, architects, lawyers, and city planners figure out what is possible and permissible. Eventually, new houses get built. A buyer could short circuit a lot of the process by buying both 419 and 421 Grinnell Street and simply renovate the existing cottage, add a pool and off street parking. It would be more complicated but you get the point. There is  lot of development opportunity.

Click either MLS link for more information on the lot and 419 Grinnell Street, Key West offered for sale at $995,000 or the existing house at 421 Grinnell Street, Key West offered for sale at $1,125,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Get creative. Play with that blank slate in your mind. Figure out what you could do. Somebody will do it. That is for sure!

1104 South Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West: 1104 South Street, Key West. $2,395,000. If it were only that simple. 

What first looks like a simple two story home located over a garage suddenly becomes more complex when first floor glass doors open into the entry with water trickling down the flagstone walls. Turn right and enter into this home. Turn left and head over to the pool. It only gets better in either direction.

Who would have thought with such a simple front facade that the living area would be so profound. I cease to be amazed each time I see this space. It could be Bali or some place on the South Seas. But no, it is located at 1104 South Street in Key West. Years ago Ernest Hemingway lived in the house next door at 1102 South Street where he wrote A Farewell to Arms.

There's an office located just off the living area. How could any serious individual get any real work done with views of the pool so close? Really. The kitchen has all the necessities including windows over the kitchen sink. More on that later on.

The dining pavilion is located just off the kitchen. In th e real world a lot of people eat meals in the living room watching BRAVO or whatever. Serious meals requires serious dining space. This home has it. What a great space to impress your friends and curse your frenemies. The photo two above shows the view from the front entry hall looking toward the pool. The photo immediately above shows the living room. Look up to see the rear sun deck located off the guest room also shown below.

The spiral staircase leads to the guest room on the second level. It has both a front porch and a rear such deck. The  ceiling is vaulted and gives the room a very spacious feel. Long time readers know how fond I am of guests. This is a good place for guests or teenagers. 

Another guest bedroom and bath are located on the first floor.

The master bedroom is located on the second floor above the the "carriage house" front facade. This space is both expansive and dramatic. French doors open from the bedroom and bathroom out to two separate covered second floor balconies. I can imagine sitting out there sipping coffee in the morning and nursing a nightcap under the stars.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and lots of listing photos of 1104 South Street offered at $2,395,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I live two blocks from this house. I have lived in this area for 25 years. Forget the south seas. It takes forever to get there. The south side of Key West is the place to be.

 

912 Fleming Street, Key West - Sunday Open House

Are you looking for a home big enough for all your little'uns with separate bedrooms for each and a beautiful garden and pool?  Head over to the Open House at 912 Fleming Street Key West between 12 to 2. Please remember to wear your face mask.

The 3,228 Square Foot House has 6 bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms, a 30 Ft Heated Pool and Spa situated on 113' X 50' Sq Ft lot in the Heart of Old Town. The pool is totally private - no prying eyes and it has a multi-million dollar view. You really need to check it out. CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS.

CLICK HERE  to view the Key West MLS data sheet for more information.  Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, is the listing agent at Preferred Properties Key West will be hosting the open house.