Deal or No Deal

Nine minutes past noon yesterday, May 9th, the listing Realtor dropped the asking price to a fixed price of $415,000 on 1707 Leon Street in the east Casa Marina Area of Key West. By 4:00 PM two contracts had been submitted. I sent e-mails to potential buyers who have asked me to notify them of real bargains. Nobody responded yet, so I'm puting this out for any one else wanting a pretty good deal.

The property sold in May 2005 for $865,000. It got a new kitchen since then and received other renovations. The floors have be re-tiled, windows replaced, some of the French doors and exterior doors replace, new roof, and master bath updated. The owner must sell now. The yard is shaggy and parts of the house look raggedy. That's part of the reason for this low price. This is a short sale and the price shown is the price required by the seller to seal the deal. But if there are already two offers out there, how does some other potential buyer get a crack at it?

I have repeatedly suggested that active buyers have pre-approval letters from lenders so they can make the equivalent to an all cash offer. Second, offer to close as soon as possible after the lender approves the short sale. Third, limit the contingencies you as a buyer would require (but still require a home owners inspection, survey, and clear title). In this instance you might want to increase the offering price to ace out the competition. That's what I'd do.

The house is vacant so it is easy to show. It has three bedrooms, two baths, and sits on a large corner lot (5548 sq ft). And there is one heck of a pool to boot.
CLICK HERE for more info and photos of this listing. It will not last long so if you are looking for a deal this may be the property you have been waiting to find.

EVEN MORE PHOTOS HERE.

This is how the listing Realtor describes the property: "*FINAL PRICE* $415,000 Deal or No Deal? What a pool!! Recently renovated with granite and stainless 3BR / 2BA Key West Home on large corner lot with pool. Great corner lot location, with lots of privacy, one block to the beach and a short walk to the Casa Marina. Motivated Seller! This is a potential short sale that may be subject to third party approval."

Interested in seeing this house, call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com. This is not my listing, but I can get you inside the house anytime.

728 Love Lane Old Town Key West

The charming home at 728 Love Lane in Key West is located down a quiet lane in the heart of Old Town and is an exceptional 3 bedroom, 3 bath home. The location is an easy stroll to the center of Duval Street. This residence is a must see for anyone who desires the best in location, privacy, security, top notch construction, and superb attention to EVERY detail. Some features include: Off street parking, heated, custom reverse infinity edge pool, two zone A/C, whole house back up generator, professional chef's kitchen built by a custom furniture maker with Wolf/SubZero/Bosch Appliances, spacious loft to accommodate extra guests, extensive storage, covered veranda with wet bar, ice maker and under counter refrigerator, impact windows and skylights, floor to ceiling marble and decorative tile in all baths.

Anyone who has read my blog knows how fond I am of homes located on almost any of the Old Town lanes. This particular lane has the added pizazz of being Love Lane. Now what kind if passionless and frigid individual would not want to live on Love Lane?

The owner/renovator is also a Realtor who has done several projects in Old Town. And he uses top quality materials and lots of imagination to achieve a project that is both practical and romantic.

CLICK HERE for more photos and additional info on this cute little abode. The home is 2100 sq ft and is priced at $2,250,000 or $1.071 per sq. ft. Now that is quite a bit in any market but when you consider what you are getting for your money, this house is just plain practically magic.

Let's go take a look together. Call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing. If you have the money, this really is a house to consider. And if you can't quite afford this property, CLICK HERE to checkout the other homes available in Key West. Again, give me a call to help you find your new home in Paradise whether it be on Love Lane or some other charming street.

Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

I was full of doom and gloom yesterday as I listened to the evening news. There was a story about good people in Minneapolis who have had their electric power turned off because of past due utility bills. A Minnesota state law forbids power companies from yanking the power cord during the winter, but now that spring has sprung, the utilities are free to act. I watched a mom fretting over what had become of her life. She works for a living, and pays her bills. And this is what her life has come to. Within minutes the talking heads on MSNBC were discussing the notion that this current generation may be the first since the Depression that will not see a future any better than already exists. That really cut deep.

I guess everyone in Key West feels a little poorer (real estate-wise) now than we did 3 or 4 years ago. Property values are down almost across the board. There are so many properties on the market that it feels like the bottom has dropped out on certain segments of the local market. And then the national news about gas prices and food prices and the threat of mega only exacerbate the matter.

My parents were old when I was born. They were young parents during the Depression and eeked out a living like so many other people did during those hard times. People my age whose parents went through the same experience probably grew up like I did and that is I learned the value of money. I learned that if you want something you have to either work for it or save for it. I knew first hand that nobody, not even your parents, can give you everything you want. So if you want it, earn it.

The current generation has had so much just given to them that I think they believe they are entitled to everything as a matter of birthright or the fact that they just exist. A year ago I was watching a reality TV on HGTV of young designers who wanted to have their own show. This 20 something girl was decimated when she got booted. She commented that she deserved the TV show because of all she had done. What? She went to college, went to some design classes, got picked to be on tv and she deserved her own show. Give me a break. But now even people who do work and save are having their lives put in total disarray. The government is not doing anything meaningful to help. Not in the short term, and certainly not in the long term. At least that I can see.

Back in the early 1990's when I worked at the RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation) we had a somewhat difficult time selling the assets from the failed savings and loans. We weren't selling houses. Instead, we were selling multi-million dollar investments in housing developments, office buildings, shopping centers, hotels, golf courses, etc. Finding buyers was hard. But it did happen. The result was the largest transfer of wealth from one segment of society to another that ever occurred in the United States. Those optimistic buyers in the 1990's who looked to the future and saw the glass as being half full reaped the benefits of their foresight. And those who sat on the sidelines and groused got nothing.

I see a corollary for what is going on now. Except this time the properties being sold are houses and condos, not shopping centers and hotels. There are some really nice homes for sale in Key West. It is sad to see so many nice people who worked hard to create some incredible properties losing their dream homes. But those loses can be a positive force for those who believe that tomorrow will be better than today. I can't wait until tomorrow, friends. Today sucks.

If you look at the photo to the above right and see the glass as being half full and you are not afraid of tomorrow and you want to buy a place in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or email me at kw1101v@aol.com.

730 Passover Lane -- Affordable & Adorable!

This little charmer at 730 Passover Lane sits directly across the street from the Key West Cemetery. The home has been on the market for some time and the price has been periodically reduced from $795,000 to $499,000. That's right, $499,000. Now it is officially affordable as well as adorable. CLICK HERE for more info and additional photos.

Click on the photos to see larger views of this quintessential Key West cottage. The living area is quite large features a vaulted ceiling. There are lots of windows and French doors so the entire living-kitchen-dining area is open and inviting. The kitchen is new, compact, and has lots of special little features.

The house has one bedroom that also has a vaulted ceiling. It, too, is bright and cheery. But there is also a second level loft with room for a queen size bed, and that floor space is not counted in the home's square footage. There rear courtyard has an outdoor shower, brick pavers, pond, and lots of foliage. The white picket fence at the front sets off the smart street appeal of this smart looking little home.

Now about the location. 730 Passover Lane is a short four blocks walk to Duval and three blocks to the Historic Key West Seaport. CLICK HERE for a Google Earth View of the location. The location across the street from the cemetery provides something most Key West homes do not have: lots of sunshine and uninterrupted views, quiet neighbors, and the assurance that the neighbors are not going to build something on their property. Ever! I won't make any bones about it, many people would not consider a house by a cemetery. But if you aren't afraid of ghosts and you want a few rooms with a great view (I'm serious), you need to see this little house.

The house does not have off street parking and there is no room for a pool. But there is plenty of room to live a very comfortable life in great style. Want to see this charmer? Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com.

Ripe for the Picking Casa Marina Oceanfront Key West

Sometimes I think I sound too pessimistic about what is going on in the Key West real estate market. I talk about prices going down instead of up. I talk about short sales where sellers potentially (Ha!) owe more money to the bank than the property will fetch at sale. I mention bank foreclosures as sometimes being buying opportunities but I know many readers are scared of a market where there are so many foreclosures already and some dumbass like me predicts there will be more. Why a only a fool would buy into that market. Or is it.

I remember Christmas 2004 and the beginning of 2005. People in Key West were giddy about real estate. Everything was selling, especially things that were not even built yet. It seemed like everybody wanted in on the action. I had this dufus that lived somewhere in the middle of the state call me incessantly about buying in to the Key West Beachside project, the Seaside Townhomes, and the Santa Marina Condominiums. He didn't have any money, however. He wanted to finance everything. I had an appointment to meet him and his wife around 3:00 PM on a Sunday right after Christmas to look at properties. We met in the parking lot behind my office. They had camped there in their camper the night before. But they were in Key West to buy property priced over a million dollars. They both wore cheap grey fleece suits from K-Mart or Target. I did not write any deals for the couple, but he later did tell me he bought two units at Seaside with no money of his own.

Around that same time I started working with a sailor at the Key West Naval Air Station. His mother had just passed away, and he inherited just under $500,000. He wanted to buy some income property in Key West. We looked and found a couple of places that really interested him on Northside Drive. He made a reasonable offer on a legal duplex, but the seller turned him down and demanded full price. I told him not to do it. I said it was priced too high. He said he was thinking of looking in Pensacola as well because some of his buddies had bought a couple of brand new condos up there for what one place would cost here. I told him that there is a huge difference between Key West and Pensacola--mainly that there are thousands of units up there whereas there is a limited supply of properties in Key West. I told him that area will continue to build even more units in the future whereas Key West has a mandated limited growth forced on us by the nature of the island and the restrictions imposed by the State of Florida. He found some realtor up in Pensacola to sell him 3 units. I really, really liked that guy. We went out to lunch a few times (his treat). He even bought me a toy replica of a 1959 Mercedes 300SL Roadster that I used to own and foolishly sold.

Several of the units at Seaside have been foreclosed upon or have been offered as short sales. Many of the units on Northside Drive have also been foreclosed upon or are being offered as short sales. I just visited Realtrac dot com's website to see how many foreclosures they have in Pensacola: 1,817. Pensacola has a population of 56,255. There are 629 foreclosures in Key West with a population of 25,478. The worst place for foreclosures in the US in just north of us in Lee County (Ft. Myers area) where there are 21,137 foreclosures.

The couple in the grey fleece outfits did not lose a dime, probably. They didn't have much more than that invested anyway. The sailor did not lose any money in Key West because I cautioned him not to buy at the top end of the market. I hope he did okay up in Pensacola. But there are a lot of other people who did buy into the exuberant Key West real estate market and the 1,817 foreclosures are proof of it.

CLICK HERE to checkout an ocean view property in the Casa Marina Area. It sits on the corner of Grinnell and Casa Marina Court directly across the street from tennis courts and just beyond the courts is the Atlantic Ocean. The property is being offered as a short sale at $899,000. The seller purchased the property in early 2005 for $1,100,000 and the property is mortgaged. It's a short sale. It will sell for lower than the asking price to someone who has some vision; someone who wants to perhaps build a new house to compliment the other multi-million dollar homes in the area. I see this transaction like buying a building lot with the right to build a new house on a 6455 sq ft lot. We don't have many ocean view properties in Key West. This one is ripe for the picking.


CLICK HERE to perform your own personal search of the Key West mls database. Remember, it is maintained in real time so all information is current as of the time you look at it. If you see something that interests you, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or e-mail at kw1101v@aol.com. Maybe you'll find yourself in Key West sooner than you think.

April 2008 Real Estate Sales Report for Key West

There were 23 single family homes that sold in April 2008 for a total of $16,442,000. The one an only short sale was at 1119 Oliva Street that I reported earlier this week. But there were three bank foreclosures that sold. All three sold for about one half of the original mortgage amount. Interesting!

Eleven condos and town homes sold during the same time period with sales totaling $7,612,900. Two of those were bank foreclosures, and both were at 1800 Atlantic Condominiums. The same bank that foreclosed on one unit financed the repurchase by a new buyer. (It was my customer and he got a great deal.)

There are a total of 59 homes, condos and town homes currently listed as contingent or pending. That means there are binding contracts between seller and buyer that may either have some condition that needs to be satisfied or that is just waiting to close. Interestingly, 46 of the properties are listed as contingent/continue to show or contingent/kick out. The Key West Association of Realtors requires that property listings be changed from "active" to "contingent" once a short sale contract has been accepted by the seller and is pending approval by a lender. It looks to me like a significant number of the contingent sales are short sales awaiting lender approval.

Our mls system does not automatically sort short sale or bank foreclosure listings. So it is necessary for a Realtor to make a search of all listings for language that denotes short sale or bank foreclosure. And some Realtors are entering erroneous information into the mls database. So our database is not exactly 100% correct. We did a manual search of the 1154 active residential listings and of those about 250 are listed as short sales. That is scary.

There are way too many properties on the market right now. Many of the pre-foreclosure properties are condos or town homes and are being listed as short sales. Many of those properties were purchased in the past three or four years and most of those were purchased with little or no money down. That means the "owner" has no money invested and no commitment to the property. Many of those same properties have declined in value and are not worth what they owe. It is no wonder that owners are walking away. That exodus is driving down the value of other similar units. Home owners who purchased their properties years earlier are unaffected by the price decline as long as their basis is at par with the current market value. They just missed the opportunity to gain from the huge price increases that occurred prior to the bubble burst.

I think we will see continued downward movement on prices overall until the remaining homes condos - town homes are foreclosed upon. I know there are many more properties that will be foreclosed upon and I anticipate more downward pressure on prices as a result.

The banks are keenly aware of what is transpiring. They are playing a numbers game. They do not have an emotional tie to their real estate assets. Their only commitment to Key West is that they either own or will potentially own a foreclosed home or condo. The goal of the banks is to recover as much on the sale of their assets as quickly as possible. That is is. A good Realtor can help a buyer find a short sale or bank foreclosure and turn a bad deal into a good deal. Not all short sale properties are good deals. And certainly not all foreclosures are good deals. Low price does not equate in any way to some piece of real estate being a "deal".

I still think that there are some very good buying opportunities in Key West, especially in the Old Town area, Casa Marina, and Meadows areas. The topsy-turvy market is driving down the asking prices of properties that are not under distress. And that creates opportunities for prospective buyers. If you are interested in buying a home or condo in Key West please consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com.

Casa Marina Short Sales

Last week I cautioned that Short Sales may not be all they are cracked-up to be. So today I am touting two Casa Marina Short Sales just to tease you. But who knows, you may be in the 18% of buyers lucky enough to actually close a short sale. Read on and you may be enticed to give it a try.

1712 Laird Street is a wonderful renovation of a concrete block house with high open ceilings, open floor plan and French doors that lead to a large deck and beautifully landscaped gardens. There are 2 bedrooms, 2 beautiful baths with a study that can be used as a third bedroom. Shell stone floors through out, walk-in closets and plentiful storage, central air, stainless steel appliances, beautiful hardwood counter tops and a good sized laundry room. Handsome privacy fencing, off street parking and plenty of room for a pool. The asking price has been reduced to $629,000 or $419 per sq ft. I suspect the sales price will be lower indeed.

CLICK HERE for more info and photos of 1712 Laird Street.

I have written before at 1116 Seminary. The asking price is $1,000,000 but I suspect the seller will accommodate any reasonable offer. The seller has no equity to preserve. Renovated three bedroom two bath home in Casa Marina area close to beaches and Old Town. Amenities include bamboo wood floors, cherry cabinets, granite counter tops, tumbled marble baths, heated pool and off-street parking. CLICK HERE for more info and photos.

A short sale generally occurs when the Seller's net sale proceeds after payment of customary closing costs from the sale of real property are insufficient to pay outstanding mortgage and /or other lien(s) in full at closing. Typically, a short sale seller is in default of loan or lien obligations and is able to document the financial inability to meet ongoing repayment obligations. A short sale is not a sale that occurs quickly. Short sales take a lot of time because the third party lender must go through a series of exercises to determine whether the price is reasonable and whether the borrower is financially unable to repay the mortgage. But for those aspiring buyers willing to spend the time and effort to go through the process the reward can be fruitful.

Want to see either of these homes? Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642.

A Short Sale that Worked

I made several entries in my blog suggesting would-be buyers to consider purchasing 1119 Olivia Street in Old Town Key West. The legal two story duplex had been throughly remodeled within the past couple of years and had evolved into short sale opportunity. The original asking price was $1,275,000 in March 2007, but finally ended up at a paltry $570,000. The property sold yesterday at $550,000. CLICK HERE to see what you could have purchased in Old Town if only you had heeded my suggestion. I did show the property to several prospects that were looking for a bargain. The same seller (who is also Realtor but not a personal friend or colleague) has other short sale properties on the market.

I just did an mls search of Active Single Family Homes in the Old Town, Meadows, and Casa Marina Areas priced under $1.8 million. CLICK HERE to see the homes that I think are either bargains or good buys. A couple are short sales, a couple are bank owned, and a few are owned by sellers who just want or need to sell. A few of the latter may seem priced high on a per sq ft basis, but I suggest that an active buyer look at what the properties have to offer in evaluating the asking price.

CLICK HERE to perform your own search of the Key West mls. If you see something that interests you please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com to schedule a showing.

8 Passover Lane Old Town Key West, Fl

I have often written about the virtues of living life on one of the slow lanes of Key West. Well, 8 Passover Lane is about the slowest of the slow lanes as possible. It is so slow that it is really just walkway about 6' wide that provides access to the three cottages on the lane. I can see some readers thinking I must be nuts. But read on.

This is how the listing Realtor describes the home: "Absolutely perfect story book cottage in one of the most desirable locations in Old Town. Step onto the rocking chair front porch and open the front door to the main level open floor plan with a large living/dining room and beautiful kitchen with custom cabinetry, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Also on the first floor is the master suite w/vaulted ceiling, master bath and French doors to the rear deck,a cozy study/bedroom with built-in day bed and adjoining full bath with French door to private outdoor shower. Upstairs is a large guest bedroom with sitting area and half bath. Outdoors is a nice sized yard with heated small dipping pool and tropical landscaping. Beautiful turnkey property in absolute pristine condition."

Every once in a while a listing Realtor will refer to a new listing as a "quintessential Key West cottage" and that is exactly what this property is: the most perfect embodiment of the Key West cottage. I guess I'd describe it this way: you walk down the little lane and spy the mystical mailbox notifying you that you have arrived at 8 Passover Lane. You look to the front porch where you see the sign that you have indeed arrived "Paradise Found". Then you see the rocker on the front porch inviting you to seat yourself. Then you open the front door and enter into another world. A world far from the madness that has become the daily life up north in America. The place is done to a Tee, but not over-done. You just feel at ease. At home. In fact there is a sweet little sign over one of the doors that says it all Home Sweet Home. There isn't anything cookie cutter about this cottage. Everything, every view, every last detail is unique.

This two story dream house can be yours for $799,000. It is 1120 sq ft and sits on a lot that is 2349 sq ft. So the asking price equates to $713 per sq ft. They didn't make a lot of these cottages. In fact this is the only one. That's why it is so special. So desirable.
CLICK HERE for more detailed information on this charming two story cottage and additional photos. But understand you must see this living doll house to appreciate it. There is not another like it in Key West. Not at this price, anyway. There are some equally charming homes, but they are all priced much, much higher.

Want to see this property? Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com. This is the place everybody dreams about. But only one person gets to own it. Maybe that person will be you.

Recognizing a Real Estate Bargain In Key West

I just Googled "recognize a bargain" and up comes this incredible blog written by fellow Realtor Dan Melson from San Diego. CLICK HERE to read the item in full. It is worth your while, especially since I agree with what he says. lol!!!

The premise of his treatise is that his services as a Realtor are valuable because he has years of experience that enable him to help a buyer find a genuine bargain.

Melson says "The ability to recognize a bargain property is a valuable skill. If you disagree with this, what reason do you have for looking at properties before you buy them? Why don't you simply pick out the cheapest property that meets your specifications on MLS, make an offer, come to an agreement, and pay the price, all sight unseen? Remember, you're claiming that the ability to recognize a bargain does not have value. Why would you want to take the time to look if there's no value in it?When there are ten thousand identical items in a warehouse or on the grocery store shelves, you grab one and get on with your life. You might look at the label to make certain it was manufactured to fill the need you have. You don't bother opening the box - if it's defective, you can just exchange it for another. They're all interchangeable."

Then he comes up with a terrific and easily understandable exposition: "But that isn't the case even on everything in the grocery stone. There's a reason they wrap meat in transparent plastic - so you can see the piece of meat you're buying. To view the cut, how much fat is on it, how large a piece of meat it really is, how fresh it is - in short, the value of the meat. If you know what good meat looks like, you've seen people that have no clue as to what to look for choosing crummy meat that you've just rejected. It happens most of the times when I'm at the meat counter, as a matter of fact. It's why the grocery stores keep putting out bad cuts of bad meat. Somebody who doesn't know any better will buy it."

Public access to the Key West Association of Realtors' mls database is open and free to the public. No need to get sign up with a Realtor to get access. Simply CLICK HERE and you can search all real estate listings from Key West to Key Largo. But using the database only gets you a list of properties.

I often add tags like "bargain", "value", or "locational value" to attract readers looking to find great buys. But I agree with Dan Melson that bargain and cheap price are not the one and the same. Tags only attract attention. I try to provide an explanation of why a particular property is a bargain or why one location is better than some other location so that a potential buyer will see the merit of my position and appreciate the value of my experience. I know I have written on several occasions that everybody in Key West is an expert on real estate, because everybody knows what every piece of property costs or sold for, and now who is losing his home in foreclosure. But knowing the price of a piece of property is only the start.

I've written before about one of my best (or worst) learning experiences that occurred almost 30 years ago. I had a bunch of cash and wanted to buy a new (actually old) house on Clermont St. Parkway in Denver. The house looked like something out of a storybook. I made a low bid, all cash offer which went down with a thud. The seller refused to even respond. I went around my Realtor and called the seller up. I offered to pay full price. He said I was an idiot and said he would refuse to sell even at full price. I got the message. And ever since then I have counseled buyers from making the same mistake. If you see something you really like and want to own, make a good faith offer. Low ball offers are fine on run of the mill condos, but if you want to buy something that is really special, treat the seller with respect or you run the risk of losing the ability to buy the property like I did.

There is a lot of junk for sale in the Key West real estate market. A few years ago people were fighting to buy that junk. Now many properties sit vacant--either foreclosed upon or even abandoned knowing they will be foreclosed. There are some good deals to be made on these types of properties. For the most part they are functional. They are not the types of houses that people up in America dream about owning as a second home in Key West. But they can provide good, decent shelter and now at a more affordable price. And there are the occasional properties that come up that are very well located, or have all the bells and whistles, or maybe circumstances require that they be sold quickly and at a huge discount. Both types of properties can be bargains. But it takes experience and knowledge to know the difference between a cheap house that costs too much and an expensive property that is being offered at a very reasonable price.

I encourage would-be buyers to checkout the mls listings CLICK HERE. Get a feel for what is available and what the asking prices are. If you see something that interests you please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com.