232 Golf Club Drive - Bank Owned - Key West

232 Golf Club Drive - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, a really attractive spa home located inside the cloistered Sanctuary at the Key West Golf Club community.  I got a chance to visit this new Bank Owned listing this morning, took some photos which you may view if you CLICK HERE.  This 1120 Sq Ft home has two bedrooms, two and one-half baths, a spa pool, covered off street parking, and it is offered at only $384,900.  I challenge you bargain hunters to find anything comparable as far as age, amenities, or price in the Key West area. I don't think you can do it.

The listing Realtor describes 232 Golf Club Drive thus:

"Island Style Living At Its Best In This Private Community The Sanctuary, A Gated Community Within Key West Golf Club. Spacious Living Area On The First Floor With French Doors Leads You Outside To Enjoy The Dip Pool. Second Floor Has 2 Bedrooms Each With Their Own Bath, A Laundry Closet, And A Large Balcony Off The Master Bedroom. Needs Your Personal Touches." 

I liked this place. Most of the rooms are painted green which I find to be a little "wrong", but that's an easy thing to fix. The kitchen appliances are dated and are relatively an inexpensive fix as well. The main floor is tiled and looks to be in good shape. I did not notice any damaged tiles. The stairway and second floor bedrooms are carpeted. The carpet needs replaced. Again, that is an easy fix. 

The master bedroom with en-suite bath is located on the second floor. The bedroom has a vaulted ceiling which adds a spacious feel to the room that has windows on two sides plus access to the front second floor balcony which spans the house.  The second bedroom has a good sized en-suite bath as well, bu tit does not have access to the balcony. Speaking of the balcony: the view is killer! Wow! This view here belies the inexpensive price tag. Your friends and family will be so jelly!

I also looked at the outside. I did not see any rotted framing on the window trim which is sometimes seen on some houses there. This home looks like it has been well maintained. The front facade almost looked like it had been freshly painted. It wasn't, but it looked to be in excellent condition.  That to me means a new buyer will not need to be doing many exterior "fit-it" jobs.

The back area is where us Key Westers spend much of our life. The outdoor area here has a "spa" or mini-pool.  You can't do laps in that pool, but you can relax and enjoy your Key West home.  The little garden could use a little fixing. It doesn't look bad; it just doesn't look as cute as it could. Again, this is an easy and inexexpensive fix.

Even though this home is unattached to any other property, it is classified as a town home.  As such the homeowner is responsible for exterior maintenance, insurance, etc. 

 The covered parking spot is located 46 paces from the front entrance to 232 Golf Club Drive. That's sixty seconds or less. More if you are old. But it's convenient no matter what.

The Key West Golf Club Community has two pools, one of which quite large. There is also a fitness center available to homeowners at no extra fee. And of course the homes are all located next to the golf course. The community grounds are meticulously maintained.  The home owner association fees are $333 per month. This fee includes cable tv, common area maintenance, security, and management.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls database and listing photos.  If you would like to see this property, or any other property in Key West, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.

205 Golf Club Drive - Bank Owned - Key West

205 Golf Club Drive - Key West

The Sanctuary at the Key West Golf Course is that special section reserved for primarily grand homes with great golf course views amid lush tropical foliage. Large iron gates separate The Sanctuary from the rest of the development. Once you pass the entrance you will see small lakes to the left and links to the right. Then the great houses come into view. Large homes line Golf Club Drive as it loops around to return to the gated entrance. Homes on the inside of the loop are referred to as spa homes. Those homes are a bit smaller in size, sit on smaller lots, and have a spa type pool. No matter the size of the house, you know you are in a very special place that is just so relaxed and inviting. The street and the houses are picture post card perfect. Even if you are not a golfer you will say to yourself "I could live here!".


The house at 205 Golf Club Drive is Bank Owned provides an affordable opportunity as it is priced to sell at $452,000. (This house was initially listed at $499,900 and it has been periodically reduced to the new price. The house was taken off the market and offered for sale in a national auction. The home did not sell and was returned to the market on June 6th) The house has 1600 sq ft of living space divided between two floors. Downstairs you will find a large open living area with a bank of French doors at the rear that open out to the terrace and pool below. And beyond that is the golf course view that is just "killer". The kitchen is located up front. It opens onto the living area so the cook can be a part of whatever is going on in the living area . A "bump out" addition with a pyramid ceiling is at the left rear. That space would make a great study, den, or guest room. (There is a guest bath on the main level as well.)

Off street parking for two cars and a picture perfect front entrance

Bump out den or extra bedroom above

Beautifully landscaped rear yard with pool overlooking the golf course

Upstairs you will find two bedrooms each of which has a door to the front second level porch. They share a bath. The master bedroom is at the rear and it has an en-suite bath. The master bedroom also has a vaulted ceiling and a set of French doors that open onto its own large second floor rear porch with views of the pool below and the golf course beyond. I can imagine sitting out there in the early morning drinking coffee and watching the birds wake up as the sun rises and the sky turns from gray to orange and eventually to blue.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this Bank Owned property.

Both bedrooms share this second floor front porch

Master bedroom suite is at the rear

Enclosed rear porch overlooks the pool and golf course beyond

The Key West golf club community has two pools, a fitness center, and lush landscaping. While the houses here are relatively new (205 Golf Club Drive was built in 2000), the densely landscaped streets and Conch style homes give this community the appearance as being of an earlier era.

Everybody wants a bargain these days. Some people think they can get a bargain by buying a bank owned property where they can work and spend money to fix it up and make it livable. Some bargain. Some fun! This home needs a new refrigerator and a washer and dryer. This house has so much to offer and the price is competitive with two bedroom one bath condos at the Shipyard in Truman Annex which the same developer built. Those condos are about 1000 sq ft less in size. This property is a bargain in my opinion. It is close to Key West but it is far enough away to appreciate the distinction.


If you would like to see this Bank Owned home or any other property in Key West, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.

51 Spoonbill Way - Key West Golf Club - Bank Owned

Scott Forman at Key West Royal Palms just listed a Bank Owned three bedroom, two and one-half bath at 51 Spoonbill Way in the Key West Golf Club Community for $306,900 or $232 per sq ft for this 1320 sq ft townhome.

51 Spoonbill Way is set off in the park-like setting with a huge front lawn and large trees that give this home an extra special visage that most of the other homes in the community simply do not have. The unit is one of two in the building, both of which look in very condition on the outside. We have had a nasty two years of white fly infestation and those critters have left their mess on many houses and trees in Key West. This house needs a good power washing to get rid of the white fly residue but otherwise, it looks pretty good to me.

The house has a welcoming front porch where you can sit and watch the kids play on the front lawn.  There is a second floor balcony off the guest (second) bedroom. The view up there is pretty nifty.  The back of the house has first and second floor porches as well.

The inside of the home is in very good condition. The floors are nicely tiled which ought to work with any decor. The walls, fixtures, cabinets all look in very good condition. That will make it easier for a new homeowner on a budget to move in and not have to 'fix' a lot of little things. I did notice that the refrigerator is missing. And the listing Realtor advises the air conditioner is AWOL. But the range, dishwasher, and washer and dryer are all in place.

This home is set up like just about every other home at the Golf Course with the kitchen up front and dining and living at the rear. The third bedroom (or den/office) is located off the kitchen. And there is a full bath on this level as well.

The master bedroom is located on the second floor. It has a balcony which overlooks a sparsely wooded section. The fairway is locate about 40 feet away from the house. The master bedroom has an en suite bath. The second bedroom, also with en suite bath, is located at the front. It too has a balcony with an absolutely beautiful view. (Your guests will never leave!)

Master Bedroom

Rear Balcony off Master Bedroom

The front yard and back yard of this unit are rather small which means you won't be doing a lot of gardening or paying for someone to tend your yard as muc as some owners must do But the views up front compensate for those who want a great view. This place is pretty special.

And the larger of two community pools is located about three minutes from the house (just across the street and down a cul de sac). There is a fitness center there as well. No charge to stay fit.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. Monthly hoa fees are $333 and include cable, common area maintenance, security, pool maintenance, and management. The common areas are beautifully maintained. The pools are sparkling clear and the security gate has always been manned whenever I drive there.

I took a lot of photos of this unit which you can see in slide show format if you CLICK HERE.  Better yet, 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 is a lot of house for not a lot of money.

But I Don't Play Golf - Key West

There are two types of buyers for houses in  Key West: people with money and people who wish they had money to buy what they want.  I have found that people with money often get what they want because they know how to buy what they want. They are decisive and go after the house. If they can't get what they want, they walk away and find something equally nice or they buy something less than what they want and spend the money to create exactly the house they desire. Since not even the rich can move locations, rich folks need to be flexible in setting their priorities. In short rich buyers are often decisive, flexible, and adaptive.

I have found that the second group of potential buyers is made up of people who are flexible as to the size, location, and amenities they may require. Most say they have a definite budget.  Some buyers indicate they might spend a bit more if they were to find a property that they really like. Many potential buyers are hoping to spend less in the purchase price and plan to use sweat equity to improve the property by upgrading the existing property. I have watched that show too many times on television. I am not so sure it plays out quite like that in real life in Key West.

There is a sub-section of the second group of buyers for Key West houses that has a definite price range.  This sub-section may include locals on a real life budget or potential second home owners who know exactly how much they can realistically spend on a second home in the Florida Keys.  It is to this group I am writing today.

I recently sent a group of golf course properties to a potential buyer to view. He sent me back an email stating "But I don't play golf."  Yeah, but you want a nice house with a pool and parking for under $300,000. You don't have to play golf to live at the golf course. You can't get a comparable value in any other part of Key West in my opinion.


I think the best potential bargain properties in Key West at the townhomes at the Key West Golf Club.  I spent some time and looked over the last six years sales history at the golf course and found the highs and lows.  I have previously written about the spike in sales and how prices escalated. Lots of new buyers purchased at the top of the market and then abandoned their properties after prices started to decline. That led to more declines as other owners started to walk away from houses that were worth less than what they paid. There were dozens of bank foreclosures and short sales that whittled away at the golf course.

But there was a core base of owners who bought early whose lives and fortunes were not turned upside down by the Topsy-Turvy real estate market. They maintained their homes and their home owners association continued to function even though challenged by other owners who stopped paying their home owner association fees. Good triumphed over greed as more and more homes were sold, the association coffers were replenished.  The home owners association is solid.

I decide to look at the recent history of golf course sales and compare the sales of cottages and smaller town homes as group one, spa homes in The Sanctuary as group two, and Grand Homes in The Sanctuary as group three.  All units in the golf course are legally referred to as 'townhomes' because of the way they were constructed based on lot size and setbacks, even the largest of the Grand Houses are town homes by definition.  The smallest units are referred to as 'cottages' even though they are attached to other units. So the nomenclature may seem a bit off base. But it works.

In 2006 only one cottage sold. It was a two bedroom one and one-half bath with 797 sq ft of living space that went for $475,000 or $596 per sq ft. The buying public was scared.


In 2007 the were six sales where the average price was $376,850 or $424 per sq ft.


In 2008 fourteen cottage homes sold at an average price of $349,050 or $354 per sq ft. and one Grand House sold at $735,500 or $389 per sq ft.

The market was recovering by the end of 2009 when 29 cottages sold at an average price of $248,248 (I checked, not a typo) or $242 per sq ft. and one spa home sold for $379,000 of $338 per sq ft.


In 2010 31 cottages sold at an average price of $263,345 or $267 per sq ft.  Four spa homes sold that year at an average of $349,250 or 325 per sq ft. And four Grand Homes sold for an average of $561,325. 

The year 2011 saw sales retreat a bit. Twenty-two cottages sold at an average price of $261,864 or $281 per sq ft. This is a slight decline in price per unit but the price per sq ft upped just a bit.  One spa home sold for $300,000 or $268per sq ft. That was a decline of $79,000 and $38 per sq ft from the previous spa home that sold in 2009. Two Grand Houses sold at an average of $561,250 or $325 per sq ft. This is important for what happened in 2012.

During the first four months of 2012 there have been 7 cottage sales at an average price of $302,429 or $280 per sq ft. That is an improvement over the past three years. And  there were five Grand House sales at an average of $462,800 or $299 per sq ft. This number would have been better except for a short sale that drug the other numbers down. That's the problem with statistics: they can give an impression that all properties are fairing badly when in fact some are fairing quite well.  The Grand House sales did decline in 2012 as compared to all prior years. Two of the houses were bank owned and I think that helped drag the other sales prices down.

I think we are at or very near the end of the real estate slump. I think the townhomes and Grand Houses at the Key West golf club are great buying opportunities for locals and potential second home buyers. Not all units are in great condition. Some units have been mistreated and neglected. Some may need some work to address years of abuse. Others have been lovingly maintained and are being offered for sale among a group where not all units are equal. Buyers address those issues in determining what they will pay by comparing condition and location. 

CLICK HERE to search the Key West mls. If you see something you like, please contact me, Gary Thomas, to arrange a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  Take advantage of our still fragile market.  You don't have to play golf to get a bargain in Key West real estate.