Don't Buy a House in Key West from a Mr. POTATO HEAD!

One of the very best Christmas gifts I ever received was given to me by my big sister back in the early 1950's - it was a Mr. POTATO HEAD. Unlike the Mr. Potato Head OF today, you needed a real potato to make this toy work. Today's version is made out of plastic and to me that is just wrong.

The thing I liked about Mr. Potato Head was that I could make him become whoever I wanted him to be. He could look happy, for sure. But I could put his ears or nose in a funny place or move his eyebrows or smile to an odd location and create my own chameleon of sorts. The 1950's was much different from 2015. I was a nerd that was easily amused.

I was talking to another local real estate agent about an experience he had at an open house a few days earlier. I want to relate that episode to my readers because it is a bit instructive about how real estate is sometimes marketed and sold in Key West.

Here is the set-up and the cast of characters. The names and places have been changed to provide a bit of amusement. Location a lovely old Conch House on a nice street in Old Town Key West. An OPEN HOUSE sign invites passers-by to enter the house that is for sale. The Asking Price is over a million bucks (isn't everything in Key West?). Inside is Mr. Green Jeans, an affable real estate agent seeking a buyer for his listing. Mr. Potato Head is another local real estate agent at a different real estate company. Mr. and Mrs. Offput are/were customers of Mr. Potato Head.

The house itself has many of the attributes first and second home buyers want in a place in Key West: three bedrooms, three baths, a pool, and a great location. The place is old but very well cared for. There are no major issues effecting the value of the house other than it is probably priced too high.

Mr. Green Jeans placed an OPEN HOUSE ad in the Key West Citizen, our local newspaper. He placed an Open House sign on the street as well. Dozens of tourists entered the house to see what they might possibly buy if were they in the market. Several actual lookers showed up to see the house. The potential real buyers seemed excited about the property which pleased Mr. Green Jeans. As is often the case, some neighbors also stopped by to see what their fellow neighbors house looks like and how much it might cost. A favorite past time of many Key Westers is to go house shopping on Sunday afternoons even though they have absolutely no intention of buying anything. They get to see how well-off their neighbor is and compare their home to his to see develop a price comparison. Everybody does it.

Mr. Green Jeans allowed lookers to move freely about the house and offered information to anyone who had questions. One couple announced that they had recently purchased another house on the same block. They just wanted to see this particular house because they had not done so when they were looking. The couple moved from room to room. They went out to the pool and talked to each other about various features. Then they went upstairs where they were alone, whereupon Mr. Green Jeans overheard the following exchange:

Mrs. Offput said "Why didn't we see this when we were looking?"

Mr. Offput replied "Mr. Potato Head said it wasn't what we were looking for".

Mrs. Offput countered "We could have bought this house for a hundred thousand dollars more than we paid for that piece of sh*t house we bought across the street!"

"Mr. Potato Head said it wasn't what we wanted," Mr. Offput said in defense.

Mrs. Offput cried "We could have had this house that is so much larger and so much nicer than the one we bought. If only you hadn't put me on that damned budget!"

Mr. Offput lamented "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

When Mr. Green Jeans related the story of the dueling duo I reminded him that Mr. Potato Head had actually listed the same house a couple of years earlier for a couple of hundred thousand dollars more than the current asking price. I searched the old mls records and looked up the words Mr. Potato Head used to describe the same house. Mr. Potato Head only used glowing terms when it was his listing. He made it sound like anyone would fall in love with the place.

When Mr. Green Jeans told me that Mr. Potato Head had listed and sold the house that the Offputs purchased everything fell into place.

The Key West Association of Realtors mls website is open for all potential buyers to view active listings. Buyers tend to shop online by price, location, and somewhat by photos. The Offputs are responsible for not insisting on at least looking at the house they later regretted not buying. You can't really blame any agent for wanting to sell his or her own listing.

If you are looking for a place in Key West and are not working with a Realtor, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. I am no potato head.

720 Simonton Street rear, Key West, Florida

There's a little cottage located at the far end of a private lane located just south of the swank Gardens Hotel. The street address of this place is 720 Simonton Street (Rear). I dug into the old shoebox and found a photo taken half a century ago. The cottage sits at the rear of the deeded private. You'll probably recognize the contemporary house located next to the driveway. I found a photo of the old commercial building that occupied the same location years ago.

I found more photos of other surrounding houses that all appear to have been built around the same time. They all share that tree lined drive from Simonton Street to where it ends in a large gravel parking area for the homes located there. I recently showed 720 Simonton Street Rear and remembered that I had been back in this hidden area years ago but did not return because I had no need to go there. I get amazed at how hidden some places are. This is one of them.

 The listing Realtor describes 720 Simonton Street Rear this way:

"Live In The Heart Of Key West Just Steps From All The Attractions On Duval Street! Cozy Cottage Located Off A Quiet Lane In Old Town With Deeded Off-street Parking. One Bedroom, One Bathroom, Living-dining Area, And Galley Kitchen. Sliders Open On Front And Back Of Home To Two Separate Privacy Fenced Decks."

As soon as you pass the gated entry you realize this cottage is no cigar maker cottage. Instead, it is slice of life of mid-century American architecture complete with glass slider doors that provide ample daytime illumination of the living area located on the other side of the wide deck.

 The four room house is easy to understand. The living room and dining area are located in front. The galley kitchen and bathroom are located in the middle of the house. The spacious bedroom is located at the rear where there is another set of sliders that open out to a rear deck.  Notice all the closet space in the bedroom. This place just seems to offer so much living space as compared to some cigar maker cottages where sometimes rooms are cramped. If you are reaching your 'golden years' you'll appreciate that all rooms are located on one level. There are no stairs, no spiral staircase, and no ship's ladder or other contraption to complicate your life or mobility. And your off street parking spot it located right outside your front door. CLICK HERE to see more photos.

720 Simonton Street rear is zoned  HNC (1-3) which may allow for future transient rental which would require the purchase of a transient rental license at additional expense. This property does not have a transient license and may not be rented transiently at this time. Most abutting properties have transient licenses. Just because it is zoned to accept a transient license does not mean that the City of Key West would consent to such a use. The city has a policy against displacing existing residential use with transient use. 720 Simonton Street rear could be rented as a monthly vacation rental. I think this would make an excellent vacation rental property.. You cannot ask for a better location. It is close to everything but it is serenely quiet.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 720 Simonton Street rear which is offered for sale at $519,000. 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.

Where Have All the Houses Gone? - The Lack of Houses For Sale in Key West

I just returned to my desk after showing homes to a couple who are looking to purchase a home in Key West. I sat down at my desk and brought up my mls website. Eight properties went under contract since last night. I just checked the mls again and learned that we have 136 houses under contract of which 99 went under contract since January 1 of this year. Here's the kicker: 39 of the 99 went under contract during the past seven days. (Within thirty minutes of writing the above, another property went under contract. I did not change the data.)

If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for prices to "fall", you may have made a faulty assumption about the direction the housing market is going in Key West.  If you have been waiting for more inventory to hit the market, it will. People are always dieing, getting divorced, getting fired or voluntarily leaving their jobs and moving to some other location. These are predictable life events. It's just that we can't predict when these events will occur in the future.

The supply of houses is rapidly diminishing. CLICK HERE to search the Key West mls database for homes that are still available.  There are 322 condos, single family homes, duplexes, and multiple family houses available. The least expensive place is a 12' X 12' condo priced at $130,000 located in Bahama Village. There are 149 properties priced between $500,000 to $999,000. 102 properties are priced at $1,000,0000 or higher which are still available. The most expensive home is offered at $9,000,000 - it will probably be on the market for a while. I don't think I can make that prediction about the rest of the market.

If you are looking to buy a place in Key West and need a buyer's agent please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise. 

1112 Varela Street, Key West - Old Town South of Truman

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 1112 Varela Street in the South of Truman section of Old Town Key West.  A lot of would-be buyers may not realize there is more to Old Town than those few blocks between the Key West cemetery and Duval Street. There are more houses of the same approximate age and construction in the area South of Truman. Many of the streets have different names and this confuses both tourists and locals. The new listing on Varela Street would be Frances Street if Frances Street continued on the south side of Truman. I dug into the old shoebox and found an old photo that shows this property fifty years ago in a time before all the white picket fences, palm trees, and tropical foliage that started to adorn our homes and yards. The photo helps to explain the current configuration as well. The front porch with tile floor is now a cozy place to watch the world pass by only less visible from the street. The front door opens into the living room which then becomes the dining area which then leads into the kitchen. The kitchen flows into the Florida room complete with wood louvers look out to the rear orchid garden and pool. The two bedrooms with baths are located on the left side of the house. The original metal louvers shown in the black and white photo have been replaced. In fact the house has been updated and made into an inviting 1065 sq ft single level home that will capture your fancy.

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to view listing photos of this really cute Key West cottage with an enchanting rear garden and pool. This is the kind of place would-be buyers dream of owning. It's offered at $879,000. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a visit. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

809 Eaton Street Key West - Bank Owned - Buying Opportunity

809 Eaton Street in Key West just became a Bank Owned Property. It is an historic house. It is a very large house with 6 bedrooms 5 1/2 baths, a pool, a guest cottage, two off street parking places, and an incredible street presence. It is priced beyond the means of most potential buyers. But it is an incredible buying opportunity for the buyer who wants to own a significant home in a great Old Town Key West location. It is offered for sale at $1,995,000.

The front section of the house stands three stories tall and appears to resemble an eyebrow house in construction except that it has wrap-around balconies on the first and second levels. The front portion of the house dates back to circa 1840.  I found a photo of the property taken in 1965 which shows the front portion, a sawtooth addition, and an extension. The building was meticulously restored in the early 2000s and was was featured in the Old Island Foundation House Tour in 2005.

The house is typical of other Bahamian styled homes of that era located in the immediate neighborhood. Many of the Key West's founding fathers were expatriates from the Bahamas. They brought with them the architectural style and construction techniques with which they were familiar.  Bahamian styled houses were placed on piers and had wood frames and had tall ceilings and large windows with Bahama shutters which permitted air to circulate through the house to provide natural cooling. The houses were built with wood clapboard siding. I stood on the front porch of this home a couple of days ago and noted the extra wide siding which suggested to me that the wood used was quite old when the house was built around 1840. That suggested that the trees used in construction must have dated back to the founding of our country or even before. Old growth lumber only comes from old trees.  The wood inside the house is Dade County Pine and would be of similar age. Dade County Pine is as tough as petrified lumber.  This house is about as solidly built as any you are apt to find.  Look at the photo immediately below and notice the tiny window just under the roof as it slopes downward. That window is located at floor level on the third floor. In the time before central air conditioning the windows and doors could remain open to ventilate the house. The architecture was not only graceful but also functional. The graceful style survives.

I believe that the original main floor wood walls were removed to provide a grand open space. The configuration today provides a semi-formal dining room on one side and a large living area on the other. Large posts and beams appear to have been added to support the weight of this massive building. An elegant stairway at the rear provides access to the second floor.

I have been inside numerous eyebrow houses in Key West. They all have a similar interior layout which includes a center hallway with rooms on either side on the ground floor. Rooms on the second floor vary depending on the size of the house. Smaller houses have one bedroom on either side and perhaps a narrow passage on one side of the second floor stairway landing which might lead to the rear where a bathroom has been added. Some larger homes have a larger bathroom addition with doors leading from the bedrooms on either side. This home has  two large bedrooms on the second floor each of which has private baths and a large hallway with a set of stairs that goes up to the third floor where there are two more bedrooms which share a bath at the rear. A dormer with a bank of windows looks off to the Gulf of Mexico just a couple of blocks to the north. A few years ago you could see the water from the window. Today trees have grown so tall that the water views are pretty much obscured. But the blue skies and white clouds still illuminate that room in the daytime.

The two additions seen in the old black and white photo were reconfigured to provide an open living and kitchen area with high vaulted ceilings. A bank of French doors at the rear open out to the covered rear deck that looks down toward the rear gardens, pool, and guest cottage.

The kitchen is even larger than the photos suggest. There is a butler's pantry at the rear of the kitchen where there is a side door that leads to the off street parking spot on the lane. This makes delivery of groceries and beverages a breeze. Your caterer will love this! There is a main level bedroom with en-suite bath located just off the great room. It has a set of French doors that open out to the covered rear elevated veranda. The guest cottage at the rear expanded the total living area to 4712 sq ft (per Monroe County Property Appraiser records). The irregularly lot runs 57' X 125' or around 7079 sq ft. The house sits at the corner of picturesque Caraballo Lane where one of the two off street parking spots is located.

If you look carefully you'll see a whole house generator tucked away at the end of the pool. There's plenty of space to get a famous Key West tan here. The guest cottage can be accessed via gate and pathway from the Eaton Street entrance or off the lane entrance. Guests can come and go without disturbing anyone.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing or to provide more information on this exciting new bank owned property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This property is owned by a local bank. Decisions will be made locally and will be made promptly. Don't miss out on this exciting buying opportunity of an important historic home.