A year ago I wrote a blog about a customer of mine who had to endure the suicide of a tenant. It was gruesome. For some people giving up on life is easier than dealing with it. Today's blog is a true story with a better ending.
Some people move to Key West to start of a brand new life. Others come because it is the end of the road. Moving to Key West works out very well for some. And it ends tragically wrong for others. Key West is not the fault. People bring their angles and demons with them to this Isle of Bones.
While some Key West transplants are content with salaried or hourly pay, others aspire to buy a business or to create wealth in real estate. Some have big visions and take moderate to big risks. Some end up very successful. Others do not. A chap I will call "Frank" was a good looking gay man in his early forties. He moved here from a mid-west state and got a real estate license. He paired up in business with another gay realtor I will call "Calvin". They started a real estate company and began selling houses in the mid 2000s when the Key West real estate market was booming. They were successful from the start. Later Frank bought a big fixer-upper in a great location and began to renovate it. Some people think gay men have taste and talent. That is absolutely false. But some gay men have great taste and great talent. Frank was one of those - to a point. He had great vision and undertook a superior renovation project. He overbuilt the house. He ran out of money to complete the project. He tried to sell the unfinished house. The price was too high for the time and location.
Frank borrowed money to purchase his property from Countrywide Mortgage. Countrywide recklessly loaned millions of dollars to home buyers in Key West in the mid 2000s when the real estate market was booming. A lot of houses were renovated and flipped at a nice profit. Countrywide also loaned millions to locals who bought investment properties like the transient licensed condos at Beachside Resort and the four story condos at Seaside Residences. When the real estate market tanked in 2008 many of the investor wannabes became the has-beens. There were foreclosures and short sales everywhere. Frank and Calvin split-up as business partners. Frank did not have enough money to complete his renovation project. He attempted suicide. He failed at that as well. Countrywide collapsed and was acquired by Bank of America which foreclosed on Frank's property. I sold Frank's house the day after it was listed for sale as a bank owned property. My buyer out-bid an offer made by one of Calvin's customers.
Frank left Key West and went back up north. I don't know what happened to Calvin. He disappeared as well.
The pandemic has opened my horizons to so many places I never ventured before. With a click of a button I can find beautiful images on Instagram, stupid people tricks on TikTok, and a lot of interesting stuff on Twitter including a new account I follow Crappy Cheapo Architecture
Followers can chime in and comment on the author's postings as they did on the house above. I looked at it and thought it looks like Denver where I grew up. The snow was clue number one. There is a tag at bottom right which also says it is from Colorado.
this house's geometry contains shapes i cannot comprehend from this angle. does anything in the blue area touch or does that tower just poke up for no reason independent of the second porch
Another added:
Half the time I see these things, it's holding the hvac ducts and/or air handler because there was nowhere else to put it with that screwed up roofline and randomly placed cathedral ceilings all over the house
The best:
I love it! it's like a bad layer cake!
Another property
I have resisted shaming some of the crap I see in Key West. I did post a pic a few months ago. Nobody picked up on it. Maybe I am a snob. Confirmed. I am.
This was added so I must ad it.
Open House
Sunday
March 7th
12:00 to 2:00 PM
724 Windsor Lane, Key West
Directions from the Key West MLS: "From Simonton Street Go East on Angela, Proceed to Right on Windsor Lane. Located at Corner of Galveston Lane. If you reach the cemetery, turn around. You do not want to go in there."
I got to preview the house the day after it was listed for a buyer coming to Key West this weekend. I parked on Grinnell Street and walked down Cornish Lane. I could not believe my eyes. I had not been down the lane in a couple of years. The vegetation on either side of the narrow lane had grown so tall and lush. I met the listing Realtor and a fellow agent who had just toured the property for his customer. I sort of did a spin around the front yard taking in the splendor of the setting. Bougainvillea was blooming, the sky was cloudless, the trees lush and leafy. I stepped up the front porch to take it all in. There was so much to see. That does not happen all that often - stopping to look around the outside before going inside - this was going to be something special.
The first of three bedrooms is located just off the front entry. The ceiling is vaulted. A wood ladder leads to a loft that runs fifteen feet or so. That area is air conditioned and it works well. I tested it. There is a full bath located on the other side of the hall. Cypress pocket doors slip into the wall recesses as needed. Cypress shutters are used in both bathroom storage areas.
The master bedroom and bath follow. The bedroom is quite large and unlike the front bedroom has painted walls which soften the area. Both bathrooms have marble baths with inlaid basket weave floors.
The living and dining area span thirty feet or so. Two sets of French doors open out to the rear deck, pool, and garden. Windows on the right bath the living room with soft light from the west garden. The right, rear, and left sides of the house are totally private and unseen by neighboring homes. It's almost like a cottage in the woods except it's not in the woods.
The listing Realtor and I walked into the dining area when she pointed out the curve-shaped Bahama wood ceilings the renovator added to the house. The same ceiling flows into the kitchen which adds height and drama to the space. A big old fashioned farmer's sink sets off the kitchen. Three windows fill the kitchen with daytime light including a small stained glass window at the side. Not visible is a good sized pantry for additional storage.
The pool and decking were added to the property by the current owner. The pool has built-in seating around the edge. Ipe decking lines the pool and wraps around the small cottage which has an outdoor shower just off the side door. I referenced the property as having three bedrooms. This would be the third or as used now, an artist studio. There is room for a full sized bed. But if you add a bed, you'll probably have a brother-in-law move in. I checked both sides of the house. Everything is immaculate. I saw no deferred maintenance.
CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 920 Cornish Lane, Key West offered for sale at $1,369,000. 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. You will really like this house.
I told this tale before and won't belabor it today. A customer of mine who has a real estate license in another state routinely sought the real estate advice of her Key West hairdresser. This was not just casual conversation as I recall. She is a smart lady and a trusting person. He ended up giving her some bad tips, and I don't mean split-ends or bad dye jobs.
Just Listed 1500 Atlantic Boulevard Unit 314 also know as Key West Beach Club Condominiums. While every single unit has a direct ocean view, only a few have front and side views like this one which has views to the east from the living room and rear bedroom. Equally important, the property to the east is a nature preserve where no buildings will ever be built. I'll show you later. The center hall foyer deliviers guest to midpoint to the open living space.Master and guest bedrooms are to the wet, kitchen and medial room to the east. The Atlantic Ocean ir right outside your front window.
Readers familiar with the Beach Club Condominiums may recall all units enter from a north facing walkway with elevator and stairs on each level. This unit is located at the far end of the west building. About half the walkway was captured and became a part of the inter living space and is see at the rear of the kitchen photo and the third bedroom (media room) below.
A large guest bedroom and bath are located on the opposite side of the central hallway. This is a spacious room. The windows at the rear look out to the enclosed entry balcony. Nobody other than owners and guests have access to that area. You won't hear tourists dragging luggage or toasting spring break outside your window. Will not happen.
The master bedroom has an ocean view and access to the balcony. There is a large en-suite bath and large walk-in closet. But most of all there is that view.The Beach Club Condominiums have two water front pools located on the east and west side of the development. There is space for sunbathing, outdoor dining, a gym, tennis courts, under building storage and parking.
Whenever I show units at the Beach Club I point out that our annual Fourth of July firework display takes place at the White Street Pier - about six blocks to the west. The fireworks are easy to see as are the shrimpers bobbing in the ocean at night. Day or Night, Holiday and any day, you'll never tire of the changing sky or ocean views from or of Beach Club.
CLICK HERE to vie w the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 1500 Atlantic Blvd Unit 314 offered for sale by Preferred Properties Key West at $2,300,000. The unit may be purchased furnished. 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. Our real estate market is on fire. Do not wait on this one. It will sell quickly.
