1226 Seminary - Key West - Bank Owned

New listing last week and it will not last long: 1226 Seminary Street, Key West. This is how the listing Realtor describes this really sharp "condo":

"Bank Owned. Conch Style Cottage In Compound Setting. Tropical Landscape, Pool, Decked Yard. Open Floor Plan Updated Bathroom. One Block From White Street. Close To Old Town. Seller Will Credit Buyer Up To A Maximum 3% Of Sales Price Towards Closing Costs If Negotiated In Final Signed Counter Offer."

This cottage and the adjacent cottage directly behind share a common front yard entry, a common area in the rear and a pool. It's a mini-compound of sorts. The price is down right affordable at just $167,400 or $191 per sq ft. The house has vaulted ceilings, interesting architectural features throughout, upgraded fixtures, and a very serene location just across the street from the National Weather Service facility in Key West. The grounds are manicured and very attractive. The adjoining homes are very attractive as well.

The "cottage" as the listing Realtor calls it has 877 sq ft of living space made up of the great room (entry, living, dining and kitchen) plus the bedroom and bath. The place is sharp appearing from the street and even sharper when you enter. Your eyes are drawn to the ceiling and various architectural elements you just do not see in a home priced at $167,400. CLICK HERE to see the mls listing info and more photos.

The drawback is obvious: you share a lot of common space with another property owner. This place will not work for everyone. But if you have people skills, this may work for you.

And there is one other thing: there is one big assed tree in the rear that has huge limbs that are kissing the roof of the cottage. The tree might even be lip-locked in a spot of too. I have no idea if the Key West Tree Commission will let the owner do anything about that tree.

There you have it. Close neighbors and a tree that could destroy your house that you may not be able to cut because of the Tree Commission. But you can buy the house for a great price and take your chances.

The listing Realtor told me on Friday she will submit all offers as soon as the property has been in the mls for three days. That probably means offers will be submitted on Monday May 10th. This really will be one of those "As Is, Where Is" deals. Lots of potential risk and potentially lots of reward.

If you follow me on TWITTER you can see more photos I took of this property last Friday.

The Best Buy in Old Town - Key West !

I have written several times about the house at 916 Fleming Street on Millionaire's Row in Old Town Key West. I wrote about this house before when it was offered pre-foreclosure at the original asking price of $3.4 million. This property is now Bank Owned. The local "bank" is in fact a local credit union that is itself in a "Conservatorship". The bank must sell this REO asset quickly. This property was reduced to just $1,550,000 on Friday. That is not a typo. That is why I say this is the Best Buy in Old Town.

This is how the listing Broker describes this truly beautiful Old Town renovation:

"Bank owned & Drastically reduced! Designer Old Town Home with 4 bedrooms plus an office and 4 full bathrooms & 2 half baths. State of the art amenities include beautiful coffered ceilings, wood walls, sophisticated gourmet kitchen, wet bar, detached pool house/office & a full finished attic. Enjoy your pool & waterfall from your Indoor/outdoor living room finished in rich Ipe wood. Unsurpassed craftsmanship & custom designer materials grace this home including walnut countertops, built in's galore, bamboo & sea grass treatments, plantation shutters & wired for a generator. Home is currently vacant, not as photographed."

The house has got everything a discriminating owner could dream of owning. The former owner spared no cost in renovating this "ultimate" home. (Perhaps that was his downfall.) I can tell you this, you would have to spend a lot more today to replicate this house. But it would be very, very difficult to find a better location in Old Town. CLICK HERE to read the mls listing data and to see more photos of the house.

You may recall that I previously wrote about two of the estate homes located on this block that sold a couple of years back. The house across the street sold in 2007 for $4,340 million. The house two doors to the west sold for $3.6 million in 2006. All of the houses on this block are million dollar babies. Make no mistake about that!

If you follow me on TWITTER you can see some photos I took a couple of months ago that reflect the current condition of the house, except that the pool is nice and sparkly clean again. The lights and air conditioning are on and the place looks superior to just about any house in Key West.

If you have the cash to make a deal happen quickly, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. This is a genuine buying opportunity for a cash buyer that wants the best house at the best price in Old Town Key West. Don't wait until Monday because Monday may be too late. Gossip and give-away prices on great houses spread like wildfire in Key West.

712 Southard Street - Old Town - Key West

712 Southard Street is the kind of property so many would-be buyers want. Now it is priced to sell. The asking price has been reduced to $699,000.

I have been selling houses in Key West since late 1996. Almost every buyer I have met with or corresponded with says the same thing "I want a place that I can eventually retire to. In the meantime, I would like to be able to rent the house and have it help pay for itself." Most potential buyers are realistic enough to realize that most properties will not totally cash flow and make them money. They just don't want the drain to be excessive. The house at 712 Southard Street has been recently updated. The house has 1026 sq ft of living space which includes two bedrooms, two baths, a new kitchen in the sawtooth addition at the rear. The icing on the cake is the absolutely beautiful pool. CLICK HERE for more detailed information and to view photos of this charming home.

The house at 712 Southard Street would make a great monthly vacation rental. You can't beat the location. It is near everything but it is not next door to all the noise and commotion. People that return to Key West year after year know exactly what they want and how much they want to spend. There are many cute little houses in Old Town that get rented year after year by the same people. This property is a listing of Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. (That's where I work.) I have held open houses at this property on several different occasions. Everybody raves about the pool. I think that pool is the chief reason this house would be a smash hit as a vacation rental. The pool exudes what people dream about in a Key West home.

If you are among the people that saw 712 Southard Street before or if you are just starting your search to find the perfect Key West dream house, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to help you find your new home in Paradise. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. Our office is the Lower Florida Keys exclusive affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.

1305 Reynolds Street - Short Sale - Casa Marina Area - Key West

1305 Reynolds Street in the Casa Marina Area of Key West

I have written before about the house at 1305 Reynolds Street in the Casa Marina Area of Key West. I have shown the house several times. The property is now being offered as a short sale and the new asking price is $649,000 or $382 per sq ft. The new asking price seems like a bit of a deal to me. Read on.

The listing Realtor describes this house this way:

"Very spacious 2 story home located in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Key West - the Casa Marina. The open floor plan of this home includes an entrance foyer, very spacious living/dining room with french doors to a large covered porch, a galley style kitchen, half bath and a laundry room. Originally the second floor was three bedrooms and two baths but is currently a master bedroom with private bath and walk-in closet and a large second bedroom and hall bath. The upstairs can easily be converted to 3 bedrooms if desired. Both bedrooms open through french doors to an oversized porch. Outdoors is a tropical garden with meandering pathway and a large pool and deck plus a separate storage building. There also is covered parking."

I think I have figured out why the house has not yet sold, and I have some suggestions as how a new owner might overcome some of the objections to the property. What I say is opinion. I may be wrong. I could be right. I am not trying to say anything negative about the property.

The house at 1305 Reynolds Street was built in 1976. The house is a CBS (concrete block structure) with what appears to be a stucco finish. There is a bit of gingerbread trim on the first floor deck and second floor balcony. The house does not seem to have any cohesive architectural style. It is part Conch-cute and the other part is late mid-century modern. In short, it doesn't know what it is.

The house has 1697 sq ft of living space with two bedrooms and two and one-half baths. The kitchen and baths are a bit dated. There is a little storage building by the pool that might make a a cute pool house. The remember the pool as being quite large and very deep. But I also recall that there is an abundance of concrete decking that seems blah and most uninteresting or inviting. The area gets quite a bit of sun. But there is also a shaded deck area to protect from getting too much sun. The rear area is just as ripe for renovation as is the inside and the exterior. CLICK HERE for more detailed information on this property and to view more photos.

The lower part of the house is hardly visible from the street. There is an old fashioned chain link fence in the front yard that is overwhelmed by tall greeny just behind it. A white picket fence flanks the front driveway. The two fences clash in style and function and both mimic the same dis-function elsewhere.

The inside of the house is very neat and clean but it comes across as very dated. The front garden hides the front facade and the rear pool area shows potential but potential always translates into the expenditure of money.

My suggestion is for a new buyer to develop a simple but current "theme" for the property. Since Casa Marina area has a mix of modern, traditional Conch homes, and arts and crafts styled homes, the house and gardens at 1305 Reynolds could probably go in any architectural direction a new buyer would want. I'm pretty sure a new owner would want to rip out the current kitchen and baths. The current bedroom and bathroom layout on the second floor is dated as well. The rooms are laid out in a linear fashion that is no longer "in fashion". Reconfiguring the bed and bath layout would do wonders for this house.

Finally, I would rework the whole exterior of the house. Nothing would be sacred. The pool is very large-perhaps too large. The concrete deck area is too big and unattractive.The rear needs to be redesigned to give the house a cooler and more intimate feel. The little storage building could become quite a pool bar. Maybe the concrete could be replaced with more garden area. The front of the property could be equally improved by removing all of the overgrown trees, shrubs, and chain link fence. The facade of the house could go modern or it could go "Conch" by adding Hardy Board siding to replicate the traditional lap siding we are familiar with in Old Town. The new owner could install a new CBS fence to insulate the house from street noise or go the opposite direction and put in a white picket fence to show off the clean new facade of the restored house. This would be set off with new and smaller shrubs and trees.

Of course all of the things I mention cost money. I don't do construction but I think a 1700 sq ft remodel ought not cost more than $200 per sq ft. That would be $340,000 added to the purchase price. The total price would be around one million dollars plus or minus. A good architect, designer, or contractor could give a better estimate of real construction costs.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced home in the Casa Marina area that has upside potential, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a showing on this property. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

Affordable, Adorable, Doable! Southpark Condo - Key West

Southpark Condominiums pool is shared by just 16 owners

The super sweet one bedroom condo at 808 South Street in the Casa Marina area of Key West is affordable, adorable, and doable. It is not a distress sale, not a foreclosure, nor is it bank owned. It is however priced to sell: the condo is priced to sell quickly at $349,000. The listing broker describes Unit 201 this way:

" This beautiful Southpark condo has been totally renovated with all new kitchen, gorgeous cabinets and countertops, all new wood/tile floors, a lovely bathroom, cedar closet and 3 ductless AC/heat units. Off Street parking. Rarely available."

Beautiful new floors throughout the unit

CLICK HERE to locate the Southpark Condos on the Map. You will soon see that the condo is located just a short walk or bike ride to both Duval Street and the beaches near the Casa Marina Resort.

The newly listed Southpark condo has 640 sq ft of very livable space. The owner recently updated the kitchen and baths and installed new hardwood floors (real wood not the fake stuff) and new tile in the kitchen and bath. A floor to ceiling mirror in the dining room enhance the spacious feeling of the combined living and dining area. This unit is almost equal in size to the two bedroom units at Shipyard. I think this place has a lot to offer someone who respects mid century architecture and construction. This development has a feeling of solid construction that has weathered the test of time. CLICK HERE for more info on this unit and to view more photos of the unit and the complex.



There are only 16 units at Southpark condos and each has a designated off-street parking space. The four building complex has four units in each building with two units on the ground floor (such as Unit 201) and two on the second floor. The front garden is always superbly maintained. And the rear gardens and inviting pool are just too beautiful. I showed this unit on Saturday afternoon and that pool looked so tempting that I sped home right away and jumped into my own pool. This unit has its own private rear deck that is just so compfy. CLICK HERE.

For comparison purposes I created a shopping list of similarly priced units for sale in the Old Town, Casa Marina, Meadows, and near Mid Town areas. CLICK HERE to do some comparison shopping. There are some nice units in the above list. None are short sales and two have transient licenses.

The equally nice thing about this unit is that it is not bank owned so we won't have to go through hell trying to buy it. It is not a short sale so it can be purchased right away. There is nothing broken, so you won't have to fix something. All you need to do is make the offer, seal the deal, and move on in. That's why I say this property is "doable".

If you are looking to purchase a property in Key West, please consider using me as your agent. Call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or send me an e-mailat kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. Our office is the Lower Florida Keys exclusive affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.

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1012 Southard Street - Old Town Premier Location - Key West

1012 Southard Street - Old Town - Key West - Short Sale

I have previously written about 1012 Southard Street extolling the many reasons why I think this property is a great buy. Now there is an additional reason: the asking price has been reduced to just $699,000 and the property is now offered as a short sale. The three bedroom and three bath home has the makings of true wish fulfillment for those who are willing to do a little work in exchange for getting a lot in return.

Just below you will see photos of 1012 and 1014 Southard Street as they appeared when photographed in 1965 with new photos taken this week.

1012 Southard Street was built in 1899

1012 Southard Street - December 2011

1014 Southard Street built in 1895 - 1012 Southard St is adjacent to right

The same location in December 2011

The listing broker at Preferred Properties, that is where I work but this is not my listing, describes the property this way:

"Renovation project in a most sought after location in historic old town! This charming property features a 3/2 home that could be a show place plus a move in ready 1/1 guest cottage. Both houses open to the covered lanai and spacious, sunny decked pool area. The large lot features off-street parking. This is a great opportunity!"

Doors from the living room open out to the covered veranda

The main house at 1012 Southard Street was built in 1899. The home was renovated sometime after 1981 and has remained pretty much unchanged since then. The renovations of that era now seem a bit dated, but the house is perfectly livable as is. The house currently has three bedrooms, two baths, a small sleeping loft which would be great for the grand kids. The kitchen and the wonderful covered veranda overlook the large and inviting pool. The adjacent guest cottage with a mini kitchen and bath was added was built a few years ago.

Guest Cottage Exterior

Guest Cottage Interior

Main home living room

Main home kitchen

The Property Appraiser's records show the house has 1676 sq ft of living space situated on a 5,000 sq ft lot (50' x `100') on one of the very best blocks in Old Town Key West. I have included photos of the cottage and the pool area. I always tell potential buyers to use their imaginations and plan to reconfigure existing spaces inside the big empty box that are the initial start of any renovation project. Existing interior walls, cabinets, and fixtures are often moved, sometimes replaced, and typically improve what was in the property for years. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property.

I held an open house at this property a couple of years ago. I remember a lady from Miami with a large family studied every aspect of the property. She then told me that if she bought the property she would paint the interiors but would then live with the house the way it is for several months. She said she could then figure out how what really needed to be renovated. I think that makes sense with a lot of houses, but it makes a huge amount of sense with this property. We have become so accustomed to granite, marble, and stainless steel that we often miss the simple elements of good design that make some spaces so very comfortable and inviting.

The Gingerbread Man house is located at 1020 Southard Street

1022 Southard Street has been totally dolled up for Christmas

Notice 1022 has the same basic design and roof line as 1012 Southard St

Jan George Design is located at the corner of Southard & Frances Sts.

Cafe Sole is on the opposite corner

1013 Southard St is directly across the street

1015 Southard Street - one of the great homes of Key West

Every time I have shown 1012 Southard Street I have tried to get buyers to sit down and take in the pure beauty of the pool and garden area. The house next door at 1014 Southard Street was the cover feature in Architectural Digest a few years back and it shares the same excellent location. I also walk potential buyers down Southard Street to see similar one story houses like 1016 and 1020 Southard Street that have undergone some magical transformations of their own.

Now that 1012 Southard Street is priced at just $699,000, someone will snap up this short sale in a snap. The real estate maximum "location, location, location" was never more true than it is with 1012 Southard Street in Old Town Key West.

Time waits for no one. Act quick before this Key West short sale is snapped up by someone else. Please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 and let me you buy your place in Paradise. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.