Key West Trivia - 1

This is what Key West might look like if it were up to homeowners or apartment owners. I criticize our Historic Architectural Review Commission from time to time. but it has saved Key West from the untrained and the greedy. Take a look and see the different additions someone made to this one time Conch House or revival style home. I don't have picture of the front but I can distinguish the original house from all of the additions. Let's look.

Key West has always been a naval and military town. Always. During World War II many home owners enclosed front porches to create bedrooms and living spaces for military and others. It was an easy and inexpensive fix to a housing shortage. Over the years the enclosures were removed from many of the buildings. 

Some of the original houses did have dormers, despite what HARC believes (508 William Street* has six dormers). But the dormer at this place is awful. 

This is an abomination. What would have been the fourth window was made into a doorway with exterior entrance or emergency exit. The door is out of character with the other elements of the house. If you look closely you will see exterior plumbing supply and sewer lines and electric lines to various parts of the house.

This is clearly an addition. It does not even try to emulate the style of the original house. Only the shutters and unpainted clapboards match other parts of this house. 

Where is this house? Does it still exit? Give me the address and I will edit this post and add a current photo. Go!

* 508 William Street 

 

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. 

True Key West Real Estate Related Stories in the Time of Covid-19 - The Eyes Have It

The above photo is from the internet and was not taken in Key West - you can tell that by the trees in the background. Nor is the broken fence typical of a white picket fence one would see in Key West. 

Late yesterday afternoon I received a telephone call from a customer of mine. We discussed the Key West real estate market in general and the state of affairs on his street in particular. He mentioned a new neighbor bought a nearby house who has been making an upgrading an already beautiful home into an even better one. That goes on all the time here. Some people buy perfectly fine homes, take them a part, and remake them in their own image. 

And then he mentioned his neighbor Lacy. He said Lacy has a driving problem - she keeps driving her car into his fence. He opined Lacy's driving problem may be related to her drinking problem. He hesitated to lay total blame on the booze, however. He suggested that Lacy's vision problem may be  affected by all of the plastic surgery she has had - maybe she could not see because of all the sutures.
 

Nanny Cams in Key West

The first time I encountered a Nanny cam was ten years ago. I remember seeing various cameras throughout the house. I "knew" the owners socially.  They bought the house when it was a bank owned property and the renovated it. They furnished the place and rented it as a monthly vacation rental. As I looked around the house I thought it very odd that there were Nanny cams located everywhere. I immediately determined that I would feel violated if I rented a house like this and knew that someone could be watching and or listening to what I did and said. I did not sell that house so my personal suspicions ended that day. Except I remembered them ten years later. In fact I recall them ever so often as I see new versions of hidden cams on television photographing home invasions, thefts, child abuse, senior abuse, dog antics, and more.

Some readers may know that Key West has a lot of seasonal owners. Some people call them snow birds. Many arrive in late October or early November and stay until the end of April or May. A couple of years ago I was showing the house of a snowbird to prospective buyers. The house as quite impressive. Grand in fact. Maybe even over-the-top. I trailed my customers as they went from room to room, floor by floor. I kept noticing cameras everywhere. At the same time I was befuddled by the some of the design elements in the house. It looked like some mad queen from Hollywood played a trick on the owner and got him to do some very gay things. While my customers were looking around on the second floor I asked the listing agent it the seller was "gay". He got a look of horror on his face and said NO. And no thanks for asking. Later I asked other people about that owner. They all told me he was married to a woman as if that is proof of something. I still had my suspicions. But thinking back on the moment I asked the gay question, I wondered if the microphone was engaged. Did the owner hear my inquiry?

I have been seeing more Nanny cams in houses in Key West. I can usually spot them. I don't blame owners wanting to keep an eye on their place. Before I decided to write today's blog I did a quick Google to see if spy cams and recordings are legal in Florida. Cameras may be as long as notice is given. I am not so sure that audio recordings are. I think I taught my self a lesson when I questioned the challenged the style of that homeowners haven. From now on I am keeping my mouth shut and will advise the potential buyer to do so as well. And if I were to represent a seller with such a system, I would suggest they purposefully never watch or listen to someone viewing their home with a Realtor. Hearing what someone has to say about your drapes or lawn is not worth the cost of a lawsuit.

 

719 Petronia Street, Key West - GONE

One of the many things that makes Key West so much different than other small towns across America is the fact that we have so many of our original houses still in place. On my first trip to Key West I did what most tourists do, I looked around at the old houses and noticed many were in a deplorable state of repair or disrepair. I remember the houseboy at the guest house telling us that old houses were protected and could not be torn down - they could only be rebuilt. I thought that was a waste of money. I thought new could be made to look old, but function like new. I know I am still right on that part. But over the years I have come to appreciate the old house more than I ever imagined. 

The little house at 719 Petronia Street (also known as719 Petronia Lane and also 719 Poorhouse Lane) is/was located at the corner of Poorhouse Lane and Petronia Lane.

 

If you are a longtime reader of my blog you know I have written several blogs about houses shown on the 1912 Sanborn Fire Map above. I added some graphics to give this old map modern day reference points. Petronia Lane later became Poorhouse Lane.  Earlier editions of the maps did not even show the exist of defined "lane" or "street". The map shows a large building that no longer exists. I think this may have been the actual poor house for which the lane got its name. That lot is now a public parking area and is located across the street from the newly refurbished Bill Butler Park.

Around 9:00 AM on April 26, 2021 a crane arrived at 719 Petronia Lane and started pecking away at the bones of the old house. I returned around 6:30 PM/ The house that stood at that spot during three centuries was gone.

 

Key West - The Difference Between HERE and THERE

 

Several weeks ago I was sitting on the far chair of this front porch on Elizabeth Street waiting to start a Facetime video with potential buyers. We had to delay the start because we can't always do what we want when we want. I sat there looking across the street. At this location Elizabeth is a quite narrow one-way street with parking on the west side. The highest point in Key West is located across the street and to the north - maybe 150 feet. The area was called Buzzards Roost on the old Sanborn Fire Map. That day I could hear birds just singing their hearts out. What a sweet serenade. I sat there thinking how fortunate I am to live in this place.

The photo above is symbolic of many suburban American communities. I've read people who live there sometimes have to drive around with garage door openers in hand clicking away hoping the door opener will direct the car to the correct house. I must confess I do the same thing at the grocery store. There are too many gray SUVs - they all look the same. Mine flashes its lights and beeps out "I'm Here! I'm Here!" to me.

This is Key West. This is home to about 25,000 odd people. I meant that. Who wants to live normal? Normal is the second photo from the top. Not normal is living a life on a island at the end of America in town that is less predictable in a place that is just about perfect. That is the difference between here and there. 

724 Windsor Lane Key West - Open House

 Hey Pardner, follow us down Truman Avenue to Windsor Lane. Head North and go about Two Blocks. Turn Left and Walk Up Solrais Hill. That's the highest location on the Island of Key West.

 724 Windsor Lane 

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

$649,000 

PARKING

PATIO

PORCH

Palace for two small people and Bullseye too

 CLICK HERE for more information. Better yet, show up.