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Showing posts with label key west real estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label key west real estate. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2022

Mid Town Queen - Key West


Attention buyers lurking on the Internet in all the wrong places for a piece of Key West that you can call your own.

There is more to Key West than the high priced houses in Old Town and Casa Marina. You need to venture out. Open your eyes. Go places you have never been before. 

Take a walk on the wild side. Or ride your bike or drive your car. But do not go at night. Just sayin!

This is the before photo. Before it got reshaped and resided. Gypsies lived here or whatever they called themselves. It got queened up, ... Er cleaned up. And made all aesthetic.

This Sea Side Special won't last long. Priced at just $599,000. That's what a house like this sold for ten years ago. That's a steal. Call me, Gary Thomas, the Mid Town Queen Realtor.


 






Thursday, April 1, 2021

In Honor of April Fools Day I Present

 

This is a real photo taken in Key West way back when - when there were not as many tourists as there are today. Speaking of today, the Island of Key West has been invaded by thousands of people seeking a few days away from the reality of the pandemic. Singles, couples, families, and herds of spring breakers are here. Some are wearing masks and others are oblivious to anyone but themselves. The Key West International Airport has planes jammed up with no place to park.  Go to Bookings.com to see what one night in Key West will cost you today.  You will be shocked.

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Friday the 13th as a Predictor of Successful Real Estate Location


We all know how this story will end. You know the ending within a few minutes after the movie starts - you just do not know how it will occur. There is always a pretty girl or dog or maybe an idealistic home when something suddenly happens. 

This a true story of Key West real estate. But the story could play out anywhere because the primary dynamic of real estate sales are universal and unforgiving - location. But this story is also very particular  as to Key West. 

Even though Key West a lot of very fun things to do on Sunday afternoon, watching polo matches and bowling are not among the many.  Locals and tourists seeking cheap alternatives turn to Open Houses pretending to be buyers. Seasoned locals often opine on the value of the properties demonstrating their superior knowledge of the Key West real estate market. 

I like holding open houses which sometimes lead to a sale. But they also get other Realtors to see my listing which may lead to a showing.

I remember open house I hosted in Old Town a couple of years ago. U was there more than three hours. I arrived early and closed late. The house still had two or three late arriving older couples taking self-tours. I went to the street to retrieve my Open House signs. When I arrived back at the house one of the couples was just exising. I asked them if they had any questions. We went back inside and I showed some of the things they missted. And that is when the gent said they did not come to look at my lising, They came to interview me as one of the top Realtors in Key West. (I know there was gonna be a catch.) 

The gent told me they were completing the total renovation of their house on a X street. They asked if I would be interested in listing it. I told them I knew the house and that I did not want to waste my money on a photographer nor my time hosting opnen houses and showing the house whici I said would take a couple of years. I told them of anogther neraby house on X street that was on the market for nearly three years. They looked aghast. Then she or he said they got permission to change the street from X to Y. I quickly said when buyers arrive they will know it is located on X , Virtually nobody wants to buy a house on X street I wished them well.

One by one the pretty girl, the nerd. the jock, the camp couselor, the other pretty girl, the gay boy - all go outside., do foolish things, and get killed. They could all be alive today if they had only not done something foolish. The End.


The house still has not sold.

Friday, October 30, 2020

1300 Sunset Blvd, Summerland Key, Florida is Now Under Contract


This waterfront estate in Summerland Key went under contract yesterday - $11,900,000. It is listed by Terri Spottswood and Team Spottswood/Vazquez. CLICK HERE to see what you missed. 

The Key West market has been very busy all fall. Buyers from other areas such as California, Michigan, and the northeast are actively looking relocate to Key West. Most blame high tases and too many people and cite the new found ability to work from home as the attraction to Key West.


 

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursay - No. 7

From May 2, 2015

The New Key West Fire Department is Finally Complete - The Torture is Over!

It's over!  Thank God, it's over! I won't have to deal with big burly guys pushing me around anymore. I won't have to endure being bullied and having to walk a couple blocks out to way to go to my office. They didn't demand my lunch money - no they just made life a living hell for the last year. They blocked the little lane that leads to the parking lot behind my office. They erected barriers and diverted traffic so that I could not get into my parking lot. For several weeks I didn't know which street to take to work. I had to call a friend at local hotel to ask if I could park there. And when I could park in our lot, my car got thoroughly dusted with this mixture of concrete and dust that mixed with the moisture in the air to create a tough coat of goo to cover my car.   Local politicians do what all politicians do - they invited photographers over to the construction site, smiled for the cameras, and took credit for the new fire station that was built to replace the old one.

For many, many years the old fire station was also the police station and city hall for Key West. The building located at the corners of Simonton and Angela Street was built in the 1950s and worked just fine for decades. But as the City of Key West prospered and as local government grew (governments always grow - they never contract!), the governing officials decided they needed to build more buildings to house the bulging bureaucracy.  Several years ago the police department was relocated to North Roosevelt Boulevard. And after years of debating, a new city hall is being constructed inside the walls of the former Key West high school at the corners of White and United Streets. I'll write about that some day soon. But for now I'd like to share some photos that show the history of the old building and the new one.
The aerial photo above show the former city hall, police station, and fire department located at the corner of Simonton and Angela Streets. The two story parking garage and city hall annex are located adjacent to the north. The phone company building is at the corner of Simonton at Southard.
The above photo shows the building in 1962.  There were two bays for fire department vehicles. The police department entrance was at the rear. City hall entrance was at the Angela Street doorway.
The above photo shows the back side of the building in 1965.  The parking garage had not been built yet. The city hall annex is to the left. The larger building at the rear is the phone company building.
The decidedly ugly city parking structure is shown above. City fathers tore down this eyesore several years ago. Later the city hall annex seen to the right was taken down. The photo below shows the demolition of that building in August 2011. For readers who care about governmental efficiency, please note that the current batch of city fathers are now considering tearing up the newly built parking lot to build a new parking garage where the old one once existed. I think this is how politicians work in most places. It's probably not something specific to Key West. Of course, if they had to build buildings with their own money, other decisions might be made.
The big trucks and construction equipment moved into my neighborhood in March 2014. I took this photo from the back door at Preferred Properties parking lot looking to the south. The old fire station remained active in place while the construction of the new building took place. Within a matter of a couple of weeks pre-stressed concrete slabs were put together like LEGO blocks. However, it took months of work by various trades to complete the mechanical, electrical, HVAC, roof, and interiors.
I walked over to take photos of the project last August 13th. The old fire station was still in use. As I passed by I looked over to the picnic table where fireman sometimes sat to eat lunch and noticed this bent over figure which I first though was a fireman.
I looked closer. I laughed out loud. Even the firemen were exhausted by all the commotion.
If you are familiar with the location, you know that this particular corner floods like crazy every time there is a rain storm in Key West. City fathers (the city dollars) have tried to fix the flooding at various times over the years. Part of the redevelopment of this site included new sewer and water service and a new attempt to take storm runoff water away from the site. The one storm I witnessed moved the water from the intersection about forty feet west - just about where the yellow vehicle is shown above or in front of the entrance to the Garden Hotel.
It took about three weeks to bring down the old fire station. She was a tough old broad to be sure. As she finally succumbed to the heavy equipment the visage of the new building began to emerge. Of course I could "see" the building but I was trying to figure out what it would actually look like. Now I had given a brief glance to the plans as they appeared in the paper. That was useless. I needed to look at it myself. 
The parking lot was paved. Sprinkler systems and light poles were installed throughout the space. Palm trees and ground cover appeared like magic. One day the place was barren. A couple of days later it was like Samatha Stevens had twitched her nose to dumbfound Mrs. Kravitz. CLICK HERE to see more photos I took and some that I borrowed of our old city hall, police station, and fire station and of our new Old Town Fire House.
I live a couple of blocks away from the new city hall is being built.  It's gonna be like Déjà vu all over again.

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The information on this site is for discussion purposes only. Under no circumstances does this information constitute a recommendation to buy or sell securities, assets, real estate, or otherwise. Information has not been verified, is not guaranteed, and is subject to change.
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