730 Windsor Lane, Key West Florida

The listing Realtor describes 730 Windsor Lane this way:

"Have your morning con leches on the large front porch of this sweet two bedroom and two bath conch house located on Solares Hill. Many recent improvements including new kitchen, updated bathroom, sliding “barn” doors, bamboo flooring, and landscaping. Cute front yard and private rear deck. Home is currently configured with a mother-in-law suite but is easily converted back to a large first floor open floor plan."

I got to see this home a few weeks ago during Realtor caravan and realized I had not only been inside before but had also written a prior blog about this home. (That was in April 2011.) The current owner made many changes to the interior and exterior which is near picture perfect.  Those are Cuban tile floors on the front porch.

The listing Realtor mentioned that the current mother-in-law suite at the front of the house could easily be converted back into part of the first floor living space. See photo below which shows mom's place as it is at current. Mom should be paying about $1400 or $1500 per month for this place in this location. I'd make her pay it. A few years ago I took a photo from the front porch looking across Windsor Lane. (Below.) The view has not changed that much except that the trees are taller and more fully grown. A couple of houses on this section of Windsor Lane have been recently updated. The Key West Writer's Compound is still across the street. There is a plaque in front of 719 Windsor Lane, the former home of John Hersey.  I sold that charming little place several years ago. It was adorable. Charlie's Grocery is located down on the corner. That is the only commercial spot in this part of Old Town. You can get get your con leches there each morning or buy a lottery ticket or a loaf of bread.

Mother-in-law suite

730 Windsor Lane is offered for sale at $665,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more photos. Then call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. This house is located three blocks from Duval Street and within easy walking distance to the Key West Seaport and several gyms and yoga studios.

Half-Price in Key West

I've noticed several "For Sale By Owner" signs in the area near the gym I go to. One caught my eye the other day and I decided to share two photos with you. See above.

My purpose is not to try to find a buyer for this property or to dissuade anyone from looking at it. I will tell you this much: the asking price on this 1254 sq ft house that sits on a large 7830 sq ft lot (90' x 87') is now $750,000 or one half the original price of $1,500,000.

I just did a quick search of other houses listed for sale in the Old Town, the Meadows, and the Casa Marina areas that are priced up to $750,000. CLICK HERE to view the list. (I did some "heavy" editing. There were 82 houses in this price range.)

You will note that there are two houses on the list (529 Olivia and 726 Fleming) that have valuable transient rental licenses. I wrote earlier at 715 Ashe Street. I think it could be a great house for somebody who wants a small project house. 407 Catherine is adorable and the owner is looking to sell it. 706 Chapman Lane is as cute as a button and has room for a pool. 1016 James Street is an eyebrow house that needs total renovation, but it has an existing out building and a large backyard which means this could be a great project house if you get it for a good price. 618 Petronia Street has a huge rear yard which opens the property to potential development possibilities. 723 Southard Street is a real sleeping beauty. 825 Southard Street is a great big old place that needs total redo, but it has strong bones and great curb appeal.

1009 Watson Rear sits behind other houses located on Watson Street. You cannot see the property. So it is really hidden. Livable as is, but it is not a protected house so it can be demolished and a new house built on this incredible lot. Easy to show and worth looking at. The house next door at 1007 Watson is a short sale. I think we should look at both houses at the same time. Bring your imagination.

719 Windsor Lane is the former home of writer John Hersey and is located in the Writer's Compound. I wrote about this house last year. CLICK HERE. I've shown the property several times, mostly to writers want to soak in the atmosphere that populates this compound. The owner sold the small cottage I mentioned in my earlier blog. So it is now time to sell the main house.

If any of these properties appeals to you, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing. I don't think a property has be offered at half price to be considered a good deal.

1401 Pine Street - Key West - Former Home of a Literary Giant

"John Dos Passos, author of the U.S.A. trilogy and many other works, first visited Key West in the 1920s and told his friend Ernest Hemingway about the place. During the winter of 1934, Dos Passos and his wife lived in this house at 1401 Pine St., then the outskirts of town." So says the Key West Literary Seminar. And author J. Willis Burke reports in 'The Streets of Key West' "No doubt, John dos Passos, who lived at 1401 Pine during the 1930s, made the fifteen minute walk (to downtown Key West)often. After one nocturnal amble, he arrived at Hemingway's house and met his future wife, Kate, for the first time. Perhaps it was kismet: "Dos" had, after all, been the one to suggest to "ole Hem" give Key West a try if he was looking for a warm place "to dry out his bones."

Last year I wrote about the home at 719 Windsor Lane that another literary giant, John Hersey owned with his wife. I have shown it to two published authors, both of whom loved the place. It is still for sale. CLICK HERE for information on 719 Windsor Lane. It is a simple little house the likes of which almost does not exist anymore.

This is how the listing Realtor describes 1401 Pine Street "Charming conch home in quiet Old Town neighborhood. French doors look out to private pool area. Original fresco murals. Wood floors and Dade County Pine walls through out. 3 bedrooms plus large attic sleeping area." CLICK HERE to read more info on this house but you really have to look at the incredible photos of the interior and pool. This is the kind of place that might inspire you to become a literary giant in your own right.

There is something about a simple Conch House that brings most people down from their lofty perches to appreciate the everyday life in Key West.

The house at 1401 Pine Street has 1868 sq ft of living space consisting of 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and is offered at $995,000 or $533 per sq ft.

Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com if you would like to see 1401 Pine or any other house in the Old Town Key West area. Writers welcome. But you are not allowed to critique my writing. Please.

Key West Writer's Compound Cottages For Sale -- Historic Property

Just Listed: two individual properties classified as "condos" that are actually stand alone cottages in the Windsor Lane Compound which was established in 1976. The assortment of restored shacks, shanties, and cottages, were once winter homes for writers such as Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Richard Wilbur, poet, lecturer and "Divine Comedy" translator John Ciardi, John Hersey author of "A Bell for Adano" and "Hiroshima", and Ralph Ellison, john ciardi, who wrote "The Invisible Man."
The compound is located on Windsor Lane near the top of Solares Hill, the highest point in Key West.

719 Windsor Lane is the cottage where the John Hersey and his wife lived until his death in Key West in 1993. The property has generous rooms for the Historic District. The unit has two bedrooms and one bath in a space of 930 sq ft. The cottage sits on its own 3451 sq ft lot inside the compound. There is a right-sized private garden as well. The cottages share a lovely pool and mature gardens, all of which are located in an X zone! Each unit is owned fee simple but shares the common areas. This a 55 and over community and offers the right to quiet enjoyment in terms rarely found in downtown Old Town Key West. CLICK HERE for more detailed information and photos.

717 Windsor Lane is a separate cottage of 504 sq ft that sits on a 2121 sq ft lot. The property is marked by its simplicity. Perhaps that simplicity is what inspired the poets and writers that populated the compound. CLICK HERE for more info on this particular property.

Don't expect granite or marble counter tops or stainless steel designer kitchens or vessel sinks. Both cottages are classic Key West. And that ain't bad.

If you would like to checkout either property please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com. You might even be a poet and not know it. Perhaps the proximity to the greatness of the former owners will rub off on you.