622 United Street - Old Town - Key West

Just Listed, but not by me, 622 United Street in Key West.This house dates back to World War II when it was used as an Army barracks and then located at Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West. At the end of the war the Army sold off these barracks at $100 each. Each buyer had to relocate the barracks to a different location. The photo below shows the approximate location where Army barracks similar to the one that was relocated to 622 United Street once sat. The wide open street on the right side of the photo below is United Street. Moving the house would have been pretty easy back then because there were fewer trees and no historic body that regulated who could build what. I am not saying it was better. It was different. And it worked.

The black and white two photo above was taken nearly fifty years ago. The color photo was taken in November 2014. The exterior of the house looks pretty much the same today as it did then. A small shed addition was added to the right (west) side of the house which is where the laundry room is photo located. A larger shed addition was added to the left (east) side of  the house which was previously a semi-enclosed porch with numerous louvered windows which had views of the rear, east side, and front yards. If you do a quick comparison you will see that the trees have certainly grown and wall unit air conditioner was added. The original asbestos siding is still intact.

I recently showed this property to a prospective buyer. It looks to me as though the original interior walls were removed and new studs installed to create a new layout. Some insulation has been placed between stud walls. I'm not sure about the direction the current owner has taken on renovation.  I'm not saying it is wrong, but instead suggesting a new owner might go another direction.  I don't think scrapping the existing layout or "improvements" would be wasteful because so much finish work needs to be done. It makes more sense to get the layout and finishes done which would result in a superior property. A new owner might completely redo this simple 904 sq ft house.  If I owned this house I would remove the asbestos siding and replace with traditional clapboard siding.  I would take out the old "picture window" and all other windows and replace with new wood windows. If I could afford impact windows, I'd do that in a New York minute. That would save on windstorm insurance year after year and it would eliminate the need for ugly metal panels.  The roof is looking a bit worn. It should probably be replaced as well.  This house is located on United Street which is the second highest elevation in town. The original piers looked to me to be in very good condition. A home inspector would need to verify my assumption. But if I am correct, the piers do not need to be redone and that would result in costs savings to a new owner seeking a project property.

The current owner started to enclose the east side porch shown below. I would remove all drywall and rethink how I could use this space. The drywall that was installed blocked the only access from the house to the back yard. That should be undone pronto because you have to have easy access to your outdoor space. There is not enough room for a pool, but there is room for a spa and patio. The room is not large enough to be used as a bedroom, but it might be large enough to be used as a kitchen if some of  window area was enclosed to provide upper cabinets. There would not be any space for dining, however. That's why the used needs to be thought out before building continues.

This property is located on a well traveled street during the daytime. Traffic on this street really diminishes after 6:00 PM. The house is located next to a motel and across the street from single family homes to the east and low impact offices to the west. South Beach is located one block to the south and west. Duval Street is two blocks west. I view 622 United Street as being an excellent location for a vacation rental which is what I think this property ought to become.

622 United Street sits on a quite irregularly shaped lot of 3103 sq ft.  While the front and side lot lines are easily understood, the back property line is a hodgepodge. The asking price on this fixer is $390,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. Please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to show you this Key West house. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This house has a great location and a lot of upside for the right buyer.

1317-A Catherine Street, Key West

I was looking through the old shoebox and found this photo of 1317-A Catherine Street in Key West that was taken in 1965. I offer this picture to you so that you can get a sense of how this home has evolved into the property that is currently listed for sale at $639,000 which the listing Realtor describes as

"Great little 2/2 Conch cottage with a private pool, comfortable deck area and very lush privacy planting. Nice location for walking to the beach and the White Street restaurants and markets. Parking is on street but generally no problem. It was currently being used as a non-transient vacation rental and has a good history of rentals. Very private with almost no street visibility."
Today a six foot privacy fence hides the house from street view and the open space to the right shown in the black and white photo is where you will find a swimming pool and deck.

The seemingly vacant lot of yore is now filled with the pool, deck, palm trees, and tropical foliage. Though I wasn't in the house fifty years ago, it's safe to say the inside is totally different today than it was then. This house has been recently been used as a vacation rental. Let's take a look at the inside.

The old screened porch is now the dining area which has French doors that open out to the porch where you can sit and watch the kids frolic in the pool. The modern kitchen has a comfortable breakfast bar.  Notice there is room for more than one chef in this kitchen. The two bedrooms are located on the far side of the living room.  CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this home.

The 843 sq ft house sits on a 2483 sq ft lot in the Arts District just a couple of blocks east of the White Street corridor.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos. After you've done that, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this two bedroom, two bath home with a private pool and an outdoor shower. I am a buyers agent and a full time realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This home has a good vacation rental history that may appeal to a buyer who wants someone else to help pay part of the costs of purchasing a home in Key West. 

522 Petronia Street - Key West

I recently showed 522 Petronia Street which is actually two Key West cottage style homes that were joined together to create one larger home as well as a larger plot of ground. If you have been reading my blog for a few years (there are some who have), you may remember other blogs I have written where two houses have been made into one. Those blogs include 1315 Eliza Street, not to be confused with 1319 Eliza Street, and 704 William Street.  Several years ago before housing prices became so high, it made economic and practical sense for a home owner to purchase an adjoining property so that two houses could be made into a larger property. This wedding of properties often provided additional living quarters and increased the lot size so that a pool and or parking could be added. In the case of 522 Petronia Street the resultant lot measures an approximate 95' X 57' or 5288 sq ft. The combined houses measure 1696 under air conditioning. (This does not include covered deck areas.)

I dug into my old shoebox and found photos of  522 Petronia and 524 Petronia as they appeared in 1965. The shed addition to 524 Petronia Street is gone. Today, that space provides off street parking.  Today the two houses are fenced and gated. Tall foliage almost hides the homes from view. Once you enter the yard you see an additon that joins the two houses.

When I stepped through the front door for the very first time my eyes were immediately drawn past the living space to the pool and gardens beyond. The sight is just inspiring. It is the kind of view would-be buyers aspire to have. My potential buyers wasted no time looking at bedrooms but instead headed straight out to the pool, deck, and gardens.

What I soon realized was that the backyard was truly something special to behold. Not only is the lot especially large, it also seems to extend far beyond the fenced boundary. The property to the immediate south is the side garden at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church. That garden is less densely populated with threes and shrubs than the Petronia house. The striking architecture of the church came into better view as I started to climb a stairway up to the rooftop sun deck. The deck is totally private and away from the view of any neighboring property.

When I returned to the house I immediately understood the house layout. The master suite is located in the east house which is the smaller of the two buildings. The original front porch is now a place to sit and watch the occasional pedestrian, bike, or car go by. But there is no access from inside the house. (The door is still in place but it is blocked from the inside.) The bedroom space is quite large. Notice that the ceiling is vaulted. A full bath and closet make up the balance of this house.

A future renovation might relocate the closet and bath to the front part of the house and move the sleeping area to the rear so that the owner would have pool and garden views. This is certainly not something that would be necessary, but I know I'd love to lay in bed and watch the plastic duck bobbing in the pool.

The foyer is extra large and takes up a lot of valuable real estate. Sliding glass doors from another generation look out to the pool while doorways open in to other parts of the larger house on the west side where the living room, kitchen and dining area, and guest bedroom and bath are located.

The west side of the house has one bedroom at the front and a second at the rear. The living room, dining area, and kitchen and sandwiched in between. This house is configured the way we used to build and design homes with separate rooms for separate purposes. A new renovation might reconfigure the usages just a bit. Perhaps a new great room with shared living, dining, and kitchen might be located in the spaces closest to poolside with two bedrooms located toward the front of the west side. The yard is extra large. A new owner might even consider adding a second story and perhaps reducing the ground floor area a bit to provide even more exterior landscaping. I do think the yard is a bit overgrown. I for one would give the trees a well deserved haircut. That would allow much more light to enter into this magical space. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this home.

522 Petronia Street if offered for sale at $1,195,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to see listing photos. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.