3222 Riviera Drive, Key West - Bank Owned - Incredible Buying Opportunity

Just Listed (but not by me) 3222 Riviera Drive, Key West. This home is new to the market this week which means few people have seen it yet. It is a Bank Owned property located on the Riviera Canal. This is a big property - 3,165 square feet of living space situated on an 8,020 square foot corner lot. Best of all, it is offered at just $1,190,000 which I think makes it an incredible buying opportunity.

Tall palms and mature landscaping frame the lot. A brick path leads to the front entry hall which opens into the living room. Multiple sets of glass panel doors open out to the side and rear allowing sun shine into the house during the daytime. The living room opens into the great room and kitchen.
All of the rooms except the master bedroom have high quality and properly installed travertine marble floors.

The kitchen has a large Wolf range, SubZero refrigerator, separate ice maker, dishwasher, coffee maker, warming drawer, and microwave. The cabinets are very high-end. This is definitely not the kind of kitchen you would expect to find in a house priced this low in Key West. There is a built-in niche for a kitchen computer. A glass panel door opens out to a gated courtyard which leads to the carport. Readers up north in America may not appreciate the fact that a house has a carport. You would if you lived here and owned an expensive car that got baked in the Key West sun every day. The house had new air conditioning, doors, shutters, and roof added in 2006.

There are two good sized bedrooms on the main level. That is important.  A family with teens or an agent parent will find these rooms offer real living space. These bedrooms share a bath. There is also a guest bath located just off the great room.

The 682 square foot master bedroom and bath (that is larger than almost every two bedroom Shipyard condo) is located on the second floor. Glass panel doors open out to a private deck which overlooks the pool and guest cottage below. I might change out the curtains! It is, however, the view of the Riviera Canal and mangroves to the south which makes the view so special. So many of the homes in Old Town are cloistered among tall houses and trees offering smidgens of sunlight and not all that much privacy.

The canal side of the lot includes a guest cottage with mini-kitchen, bath, and bedroom. (The main house has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths. The guest cottage is a forth bedroom with bath.) This is the perfect place for a teenage boy to rock out or a brother-in-law who won't leave.  You won't have to hear or see them except during feeding time.

The 62 foot sea wall has davits in place. Tall palms, mature tropical foliage (okay, it needs updated), and the guest cottage provide privacy from the watercraft that may pass on their way out to the ocean which is located about eight blocks to the east. That's another feature that makes this house so appealing, especially to readers who have a life and enjoy boating. Easy access to open water and not having to pay for a place to store your boat is a dream-come-true for many. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this house.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and really good listing photos of 3222 Riviera Drive, Key West, offered for sale at $1,129,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a showing of this home. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. The house is vacant and easy to see. Don't wait. This will not last long. It really is a good buy!

Tales From Key West - Early Arrival

A few weeks ago a fellow agent in my office asked me to show a pocket listing that may be available for purchase but that is not yet on the market. I called the owner and asked if I might be able to show his home later that day at 2:00 PM. He said yes and told me how to get inside when I arrived.  I notified the other agent to meet me promptly at 2:00 and not before.

I arrived at 1:45, went inside, and started to turn on the lights. This particular house is what we call a cigar makers cottage - small single story houses with one or two bedrooms and one bathroom. Other areas of the south call the same homes "shotguns" as the entry hall is located on the side and all rooms are to the opposite - you could shoot a bullet from the front door straight out the back door. This house had been remodeled and had the master bedroom at the rear. An addition was built on the side where the living room was located.

I made may way to the rear by turning on lights in each room along the way. As I neared the bathroom door I heard water running in the shower. I had been mumbling something to myself and then uttered something like "Oh, God!" I looked to my right toward the living room where I saw the owner sitting in his swim shorts typing on his laptop. "Oh, God!", I said again.

At the exact moment I said "On, God!" for the second time the bathroom door slammed - the owners' wife had been taking a shower, heard me calling the Lord's name, got out and shut the door. The owner stood up and glared at me. I turned bright red.  Well, I couldn't see myself turn red but I know it happened. The owner said I had set up the showing for 4:00 PM. I confessed I must have made a mistake and explained the other Realtor and her buyer would be arriving in fifteen minutes. He said he and his wife could leave but it might be a few minutes after 2:00. I went to the front porch and waited for the potential buyer and her agent to arrive. They arrived on time and waited until the all clear was given. They looked but did not buy. Next time I text to confirm my appointment. 

11 Hutchinson Lane #4, Key West - Just Listed

The newly listed two bedroom home at 11 Hutchinson Lane, Key West, will appeal to a tiny few people among the hundreds who dream about buying a place here someday.  And that is because they are the ones who can actually find it. If you do a Google search you can find the location but not actually see the house and that is because it sits behind a gated entrance.  There is nobody to keep out. The fence just keeps what's called "The Hutchinson Lane Hamlet" private for the four homes located there. This home is the largest of the four and it is just 1123 Square Feet.

Hutchinson Lane is located in the Bahama Village section of Old Town. It is two and one-half blocks west of Duval Street and about one and one-half from the new Truman Annex Park. You enter from Emma Street which is a one-way heading east. The lane dead ends at the Hamlet Compound.  I searched my old shoebox and found some rather scary photos that show what the property looked like many years ago before it was renovated. See the two black and white below. Don't fret, most of what was there was taken down and totally rebuilt.

Two small houses were bridged together to make a larger home. We have seen this done in many small homes in town over the years.  I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps from 1889 thru 1912 and could not find the lane even identified. Instead, there were a few tiny cottages and a vast open area between Thomas Street to the east and Emma Street to the west. In current day Key West the house to the rear of 11 Hutchinson Lane #4 is 916 Thomas Street which co-incidentally was listed for sale on the same day as this house but at $1,695,000.

The above photos demonstrate how the two cottages were bridged (or joined together by a new structure at the rear from which the photo immediately above is taken). The master bedroom is the
structure seen from the same photo. 

This set of photos show the living room and master bedroom connection. French doors from both rooms open out to the large sunny deck. Tropical foliage on this site and around the other homes provides privacy for each home which shares the common pool. There are parking spaces for seven cars on the property.

There is a lot of new construction and renovation of older buildings going on in Bahama Village today. This home is located within easy walking distance to South Beach at the end of Duval Street or the much larger beach at Ft Zachary Taylor State Park. The new Truman Annex Park and amphitheater are just a couple of blocks to the west. All of the attractions of Duval are three blocks east. Blue Heaven, Firefly, and Santiago's Bodega are a block to the north. You can be anywhere on foot or bike within a matter of minutes. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos for 11 Hutchinson Lane #4 offered for sale at $965,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, buyers agent at Preferred Properties Key West, to show you this property.

1409 12th Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West, 1409 12th Street, Key West, Florida. Longtime readers of my blog know I am a nut for old photos of our little town. I remembered an aerial photo taken in 1999 by Ty Symroski and Wendy Tucker to which I added a couple of notes showing today's property and its location. Today the big green fields are a bit more developed. The big open green space in the middle is now the site of the recently relocated Poinciana Elementary School. The old school buildings behind the open space were razed after the new school was built and are now a part of the huge baseball field complex. I mention this for good reason: if you have a kid, school is one block away. If you shop, our three shopping centers are within a two minute car drive excluding times when Roosevelt Boulevard is clogged with tourists coming to town to spend gobs of money. If you're into working out, the new Anytime Fitness is just three blocks away.

The listing Realtors describe 1409 12th Street, Key West this way:

"Meticulous craftsmanship runs throughout this 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home. The kitchen has gorgeous cherry wood cabinets, stainless appliances, granite counter tops and a pantry. Triple glass sliding doors off the living room and master with high ceilings and sky lights throughout bring the outdoors in! A rich wood decked porch overlooks the large in ground pool which has heat and a waterfall. Lots of privacy and lots of storage! Off street covered parking for two cars."

As soon as I entered this home I was taken by how clean and fresh it felt. I don't say that often. I have been in too many houses with the odors of dogs, cats, and exotic cuisines.  Bring to this house whatever it is you love. But you won't have to clean and paint this place before you move.

The living areas are on the right side of the house. The two guest bedrooms are on the left followed by a wet bar with skylight above. The middle bedroom has a Murphy Bed and desk niche.  The master bedroom and bath are at the rear where sliding glass doors open out to the rear deck and pool below.

The house has 1511 square feet of living space on one floor. The interiors and exterior are clean as can be. There is no work to be done. This is the kind of place a buyer seeking a second home for the winter ought to consider. You could lock and leave it.  We have plenty of pool people to take care of pools. The front and rear "landscaping" will require minimal attention.

Compare the size and quality of this home to condos or townhomes in the Truman Annex where the current least expensive property is a 513 square foot one bedroom one bath condo priced at $590,000 or $1,150 per square foot. 1409 12th Street is offered at $430 per square foot. You could take a lot of Ubers to Old Town with all the money you would be saving and you wouldn't have to share the pool with people staying in the 170 other condos.

CLICK HERE to view 1409 12 Street, Key West. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. A showing takes twenty or so minutes from start to finish. You might just find the home of your dreams.