519 Frances Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed but not be me 519 Frances Street, Key West. I had the opportunity to see this historic home on Sunday afternoon. Locals and tourists were poking around trying to decide if this once lovely home with wrap-around porch could be their perfect little place in paradise. 

I found a photo of the house taken in 1965. I walked around the house yesterday checking the place out. It does not look much different from the 1965 photo The wood siding and windows were in good shape. The columns and trim on the porch have been really well cared for. The wood ceiling of the porch did not show signs of leaking or damage. All but one of the original piers looked to be in very good condition. I noted also the house seemed to elevated a bit higher than I am accustomed to seeing. The house is in the AE flood zone but the higher elevation may make it compliant for X flood zone insurance savings. 

I do not know if the louvers are original to the house. I suspect they are. They provided natural ventilation, light control, and privacy in former days. They still do today. Insurance companies would not give an owner "credit" for them, but they work as they were designed to do. What do bean counters know about heat, wind, rain anyway? These original structures worked well and survived over three centuries till some insurance company actuary came up with a justification for charging more money than is necessary. I digress. 

The Monroe County Property Appraiser records show the house as having 950 square feet of living space a 250 square foot metal garage that sits at the right rear of the property. There is a small building on the opposite at the rear. The listing agent said there is a wood floor in the attic. Some might see that as a potential space to expand the house. I considered it and then decided different. You'd have to use up a lot of first floor space to add a staircase. Not worth it in my opinion. The lot is an irregular rectangle that measures 44.5 ' across and 99' deep or 4,335 square feet in total. I am going to show you the inside and the rear. 

The current house has two bedrooms, one bath, updated kitchen, entry hall, and living room. They are single purpose rooms and probably not what a buyer seeking a place in paradise would envision.

This was never a grand house. I don't think a new owner could make it grand. But he or she could play on the simple lines and create a very beautiful space to call home. Instead of going up, I would open up the the house. I would make the front room the master suite. I would take out existing walls and re-frame the back area has wrap-around porch continues around the rear but with more usable sitting area under the new porch roof. The metal "garage" adds value to the lot because it exists on old maps and it is capable of being renovated. I would create two en-suite bedrooms plus laundry room in this building. I would convert the small stand alone building into a cabana bath with outdoor shower. And I would add a pool and decking in the middle. This has the makings of a pretty swell place.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 519 Frances Street offered at $1,200,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find you home in Paradise. 

419 Grinnell Street, Key West - A Blank Slate

The listing broker describes 419 Grinnell Street, Key West, listed for the first time on Saturday as a "blank slate". Previously this 4,086 Sq Ft irregular "L-shaped" shaped lot was to be included in the sale of the adjacent Grand Conch style (temple style) home at 421 Grinnell Street. That changed by offering this lot separately. The listing broker told me he had immediate interest from several potential buyers. This property won't last a week on the market. This is how the broker describes 419 Grinnell Street:

"A rare opportunity for development or renovation of a huge lot in the heart of Old Town Key West. The small un-renovated 1 BD 1 BA house at the rear corner of the lot could be renovated as a guest cottage or possibly razed and redeveloped. The lot is a blank slate for the creation of a lush tropical garden with pool and parking. Any plans would require HARC and City approval. This property can also be purchased with the lovely 2-story Conch House next door at 421 Grinnell St."

I noticed this big old lot taking up valuable space for years. The yard had stuff in it. Lots of stuff. I always thought it would come up for sale some day and someone would buy it and do something with it. (Some story.) Years ago it would have sold at a much lower price because there were many big old houses and smaller cigar maker cottages that folks were buying and renovating. And there all the rules that HARC imposes on owners as to what may be done and not done. The rules still exist but now there are only a few un-renovated properties and even fewer big empty lots. Now this comes up. There is a cottage at the back. The Property Appraiser shows that 419 Grinnell was built in 1919. The 1889 through 1912 Sanborn Fire Maps showed a larger house similar in size s to 421 Grinnell Street was sat at on the 419 Grinnell lot. CLICK HERE for more photos.)

A few weeks ago I bogged about our new listing at 411-415 Grinnell Street. It is located next door to 419 Grinnell. I photographed 411 Grinnell Street (above photos) in July 2012. Workers were just starting to renovate it. A few years later a new owner built a second house on the vacant lot to create an incredible island retreat. But before that, the empty lot was equally bleak as 419 Grinnell.

411-415 Grinnell Street looks totally different just a few years later. (It is offered for sale at $6,500,000.) And that is why the listing at 419 Grinnell Street is so appealing. Empty lots get bought. Creative minds and bank accounts combine to create new properties. Buyers, architects, lawyers, and city planners figure out what is possible and permissible. Eventually, new houses get built. A buyer could short circuit a lot of the process by buying both 419 and 421 Grinnell Street and simply renovate the existing cottage, add a pool and off street parking. It would be more complicated but you get the point. There is  lot of development opportunity.

Click either MLS link for more information on the lot and 419 Grinnell Street, Key West offered for sale at $995,000 or the existing house at 421 Grinnell Street, Key West offered for sale at $1,125,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Get creative. Play with that blank slate in your mind. Figure out what you could do. Somebody will do it. That is for sure!

Key West Renovation Inspiration

Earlier today I was clicking through Instagram photos until I saw the photo above. I stopped and took notice. I thought to myself "Self, this could work in Key West".  I clicked  back through the link and found the Instagram feed for the designers of this property. CLICK HERE to view more photos of this property and other projects of chensuchartstudio.

I borrowed a few photos from the designers which show the concept, framing, wrapping, and finally the completed addition.  This home was built in Arizona which is high desert and does not have the heavily seasonal rains we get in Key West. The house has no gutters nor water diversion that I can see. It is the concept of twin-like additions with a combination of wall to wall and floor to ceiling glasss doors and windows that just that awed me. 

The first photo shows the framing of the addition at the rear of a twentieth century bungalow that looks to be about 900 square feet in size. The original gabled roof  off the living room was extended to provide a large covered patio. The new wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling doors and windows were added at the rear of the living room. The new master bedroom addition was similarly framed and has a wall of windows and door opening to a private covered rear patio. A separate large window has views out toward the common area. 

In Key West a pool would be placed where the dog in the photos is napping. A pool or fire pit would require a lot deep enough to comply with building code setbacks. Many Old Town lots are too small to allow a pool of any size. Lots in other parts of the city are often 5,000 sq ft and larger and might work well with this kind of renovation. Fixer houses on lots large enough to do a project like this would be over $500,000. Add the cost of renovation and pool installation the finished property would be around a million dollars. That's not bad for Old Town or Casa Marina. But the renovated house would be over-priced in other parts of Key West. Regardless, I would love to see someone do a project like this. It looks awesome.

Looking for  a project house? Consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

617 Frances Street, Key West - Price Reduction

The asking price was reduced $100,000 on 617 Frances Street, Key West. I had the opportunity to see this Old Town home just before it was listed and want to share some photos and thoughts with my readers - especially those looking for a fixer-upper.

I love how much the houses of Old Town have changed so little over the years. I found the above photo of 617 Frances St in my old shoe box. Take a look. When I found the photo I presumed the owner at that time had replaced original wood columns and balusters with wrought iron. That was a common practice across Mid-Century America. Chain link fences were equally popular and required less maintenance than painted white picket fences.

I then searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when the house was built. The lot where 617 Frances Street sat vacant up to and after the 1912 Map. I went to the Monroe County Property Appraiser website which shows the property to the rear at 618 Ashe Street had a house on that lot. I compared the Sanborn Map to current Property Appraiser Map which shows 617 Frances and 618 Ashe perfectly aligned. There was a small cottage sitting mid distance at what would become 617 Frances. I am confident that the current house did not exist as of 1912. I decided 615 Frances must have been split to create the new 617 Frances Street after the 1912 Map. A small building sat at the rear which I believe was incorporated into the building which is now 617 Frances.  The Property Appraiser records show the house as having been built in 1933 which we know is not correct as that was during the Great Depression which slammed Key West. This suggest the house was built after 1912 and before the WPA reconstructed the property records. My guess.

The house sits on a 3,060 sq ft lot (34' X 90') on one of the best blocks in Old Town. Most but not all of the houses on this block have been extensively renovated. 614 Frances Street was totally renovated when it sold in 2016 for $1,825,000. 620 Frances St sold in 2018 for $1,825,000.  The house to the rear and immediately south of  at 620 Ashe Street sold at $1,900,000 in 2019. I mention these sales as they indicate the price trend for renovated homes in this immediate area.

617 Frances Street is a place of possibilities. It is a true renovation project. I walked the entire lot and all around the inside of the house. The exterior needs work. The interior has been pretty much gutted so that a potential buyer can see what exists and what does not. Don't let the interior or exterior condition intimidate you. Most interior walls will be removed and re-situated to meet modern day needs. The exteriors will be scraped, sanded, and repainted. The decks will be removed and replaced and maybe a pool will be added.

There are five foot side yards on the north and south sides of the house. There is a small shed at the rear which abuts the property line. Existing set backs are grandfathered. Some people expand these sheds to create pool cabanas.

The long narrow building at the rear may have been the "Dwelling" unit sited on the 1912 Map. The French doors painted black and the elevated wood deck were probably added in the 1970's or 1980's. They were not used in Key West houses before then. The windows in the front part of the house appear to be original. They have the old fashioned rope sashes.

This is  one and one-half story vernacular house found in many parts of Old Town and The Meadows area. The Property Appraiser says the house has 1,300 sq ft of living space. You enter into a hallway that passes an original parlor which has been opened and pass by what is now the kitchen. A door at the end of the hall opens into what I presume may have been the original Dwelling. It is long an narrow and has a high pitched roof that has been partially exposed at the entry. I can envision this room being made into an open living area with kitchen and dinging space included. I am familiar with another house on Grinnell Street that had this same size room and in just about the same condition that became a truly wonderful living space. I think the current deck could be replaced by a pool and that the rear cottage could become the laundry and storage room. Don't see what exists. Imagine what you could create. I think the parlor and kitchen could become first floor master bedroom and bath room. CLICK HERE to see all the photos I took.

The original chain link fence still wraps the entire lot including the front white picket fence which is attached to the chain link. I think there is adequate ground to comply with pool setback requirements.

There are two bedrooms on the second floor which share the only bathroom in the house.T here used to be a bathroom on the first floor but the current owner removed it.

This is a wonderful block in Old Town with appreciating prices on restored homes. I blogged about the newly renovated house across the street at 614 Frances. It quickly sold at  $,1,825,000. I found photos I took from the porches of 617 and 614 Frances looking opposite.They contrast potential with perfection.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 617 Frances Street, Key West now offered for sale at $895.000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. I am  buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.