315 Amelia Street - Old Town - Key West

315 Amelia Street - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, 315 Amelia Street in Old Town Key West. This two story 1280 sq ft home sits on a 1996 sq ft lot (25' x 79'). The listing Realtor describes this home like this:

"This quality constructed Old Town home was built in 2001 and is in perfect condition and shows beautifully. No detail was overlooked including tile and bamboo floors throughout, 2 zone central ac, security system and heated pool. The spacious den includes a gourmet kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances including a Viking gas stove, and French doors to the private decked rear yard with pool. Upstairs are two large light-filled bedrooms with vaulted ceilings. Additional features of the home include lots of storage space and off-street parking."

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CLICK HERE to checkout the mls datasheet and to view listing photos of this property. I took the two above photos this morning around 8:30 AM. Lots of bikes and some motor scooters just two blocks away at Blue Heaven and La Creperie. Santiago's Bodega is a block further to the west. The Southernmost Point is a couple of blocks to the south on Whitehead Street and South Beach (the beach) is one block further to the east. The entrance to Ft. Zachary Taylor State Beach and Park is a few blocks to the north. (It's a quick bike ride and a 15 minute walk.) Of course Duval Street is just a couple of blocks to the east so you can be a part of the action there at the drop of a hat.

Blue Heaven is just a couple of blocks away

Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park and Beach is a quick bike ride or nice walk

If you would like to see 315 Amelia Street please call me, Gary Thomas, 305.766.2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

Short Sale - Key West - Waterfront

Look at the view of the tiki hut and the private boat slip that await the owner of 30 Hilton Have Road (Unit 1) in Key West. The asking price on this 2 bedroom 2 bath 1136 sq ft first floor condominium was just reduced to $325,000. It is offered as a Short Sale. This is how the listing Realtor describes this property:

"Waterfront in Key West, spacious pool, beautiful private sandy beach and 20' boat slip in a secluded residential neighborhood only 2 miles from downtown. Two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Large master bedroom has private breakfast garden. Separate office. Airy, well maintained.Beautiful sandy beach. How many people in Key West have their own beach?"

CLICK HERE to checkout the mls listing datasheet and to view the listing photos. The listing agent has some very good photos that show the front (main entrance) to the building and the parking adjacent to the unit on the south. There is a rear gate that owners can use to access their homes from the rear when bringing home groceries or walking down to the waterfront pool. The agent missed one critical pic and that shows an octagonal shaped room at the southwest corner. That room is currently used as a third bedroom but it would make a great study, den or fishing trophy room.

This property was built in 1999. The unit is on the first floor so you won't have any stairs to climb. The unit is thoughtfully laid out and makes good use of the interior space. Based on the new asking price of just $325,000 this unit is offered as a short sale at just $286 per sq ft.


If you are looking for a waterfront dream home at an affordable price, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305.766.2642, to schedule a showing of this unit. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. All that is missing at that tiki hut is you.

625 Louisa Street - Old Town - Key West

Attention Snowbirds: the asking price on 625 Louisa Street, the really nice two story stand alone townhome in Gato Village, was recently reduced to just $519,000 or $360 per sq ft. This home has 1440 sq ft of living space with two bedrooms, two baths, gracious screened-in rear porch overlooking one of the most beautiful pools in Key West. This is the way the listing Realtor describes this home:

"Gato Village is a complex of 9 Single family homes with a beautifully landscaped pool area located just 2 blocks from Duval and 1 block from some of Key West best dining. This is a spacious 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath two story home with a fantastic screened in porch. The perfect property if you are looking for low maintenance and the possibility of producing some income. Complete with off street parking and hurricane shutters. This unit can be purchased with the furniture..."

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CLICK HERE to checkout the mls listing datasheet and to view listing photos. The listing photo shows this home from Louisa Street. The photos at the very top and very bottom of this blog were taken from the rear which overlooks the inviting pool.

I like to suggest that buyers compare features and locations with similarly priced units in Key West to find the place that makes the best economic sense and that provides the amenities buyers are seeking. CLICK HERE to SEARCH the Key West mls. Do your own search using features important to you as a buyer and compare the results with this property. This property is a listing of Preferred Properties. I didn't write about it until now because I thought it was priced too high. But now I think it is priced very competitively. And you must admit that pool is pretty special.


If you are looking for your place in Paradise, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. Our office is the Exclusive Lower Florida Keys affiliate of Christie's Great Estates. Get over being a snowbird: become a local.

1006 -1008 Fleming Street - Old Town - Key West

1006 Fleming Street in 1965 sat right on Fleming Street

1008 Fleming Street sat further back and anchored a huge undeveloped lot

1006 Fleming Street (2010)

I remember showing the two house assemblage at 1006-1008 Fleming Street when it was offered for sale in 2001 at $899,000. I remember one particular couple who loved the property and appreciated the rarity of having two houses located on such a large lot on one of the best blocks in Old Town Key West. The were lookers-not quite ready to buy. More about them later.

The house at 1008 Fleming Street had been redone. The renovation was less than professional in my opinion. Let's just say the place had its faults. I remember urging buyers to look beyond the mistakes of that existing renovation and instead to consider buying the property because of its great location and upside potential.

1008 Fleming Street in 2001

The front door of the second home at 1006 Fleming Street was located almost on the front sidewalk. That place was then used as a long term rental. I urged buyers to consider that building as a good spot for a guest house. Although the front is only 50 feet wide, the lot is deceptively large for Old Town. (It is 150 feet deep and includes a back parcel for a second Guest Cottage. The total lot is 9108 sq ft.) But the lot did not have a coherent flow between the houses or the pool at the rear. The pool was quite large. Palm trees sheltered the pool from the adjoining properties on the east, south, and west. The rest of the garden was pea rock and a few straggler plants. The large pool and yard had the potential to become a great Key West garden.

Fast foword ten years and a couple of intervening renovations. The house at 1006 Fleming Street is now the guest house I envisioned except it is totally fabulous. Treat your guests to a stay in this place and they will not want to leave. A front door still opens onto Fleming Street, but the real entrance is located at the rear where the guest house and The Great House meet at a common elevated deck. The front facade of 1006 Fleming Street has been dramatically altered. The front porch is more gentile and refined. The facade fits the character of the compound as a whole and blends with the other homes in the area.

1006 Fleming Street in 2010 as The Guest House

The guest house living room (or library) is a large rectangular room with vaulted ceiling and bookcases on three walls. Window seats have been added as delightful perches where you can read or contemplate the art of living well. The bedroom is another delight. Large pocket doors create the illusion that the two spaces blend together as opposed to a typical door that closes one space off from the next.

The Guest House Living Room or Library

Built in window seat

The guest house bath is extra large. The walls are covered with incredible Czechoslovakian iridescent green glass tiles made in the 1950's. These tiles catapult an otherwise common space into another dimension. The glass tiles, bath fixtures, and lights make this space truly one of kind. In a town where so many styles are repeated and re-created, this is a space that will be forever unique. A Pullman kitchen rounds out the guesthouse which has a rear door that actually opens onto the welcoming raised courtyard which marks the entrance to the Great House.

The Guest House Bath
Czechoslovakian iridescent green glass tiles made in the 1950's

Recall my criticism of the original renovation and how there was no cohesive flow between the houses. That problem has been resolved by the creation of an elevated courtyard that brings the two original houses onto a common platform where residents can go from Point A to Point B without walking on ground. Moreover, the buildings now share the same simple geometric design and work in harmony with either as a compound instead of as dysfunctional seemingly unrelated buildings sitting next to each other. The lines of the original house at 1006 Fleming were totally different from 1008. The new master bedroom addition mimicked the lines of 1008 and 1006 was changed to look compatible with 1008. The Guest Cottage at the very rear adopted the architectural look. The result is a unified design made simple by geometry. Moreover, even though the houses are old, they look totally modern even from the outside. It is as if time doesn't matter when you are creating something eternal.

New Master Suite addition

The Great House was featured in Metropolitan Home Magazine a few years ago after the current owner renovated the property the first time. I mention this because the property just went through a new upgrading to make it more special and more fresh. So if you saw this home before, you must see it now.

You enter the Great House though large French doors into a very formal entry hall with a one-of-a-kind chandelier that attracts your eyes ever so briefly, that is until you look down toward the living room and then though the wall of French doors that open onto the large pool and garden beyond. A second guest cottage is secluded away at the far end of the garden.


The freshly renovated kitchen is located to the left. The kitchen is bright and modern and is almost too pretty to cook in. (Why cook when you can walk for a few minutes and get great food and won't have to clean up after yourself later?)


A custom fireplace and entertainment cabinet anchor one end of the living room. A wall of French doors frame the pool and garden area but also help to create the special feeling you get being "inside" this incredible living space. Huge architectural columns are almost dwarfed by the soaring height of the fifteen foot ceiling in this truly great room.



The main house has two bedrooms. The master bedroom is quite large and has traditional Key West six over six paneled windows framed with bright white trim and crown molding. The master bath is larger than many master bedrooms in other homes. A second bedroom(with en-suite bath) is located in the front portion of the original 1008 Fleming Street house. This space has a subtle opulence.

The Master Bedroom

A second smaller Guest Cottage is located at the back end of the property. A private porch provides sitting space where you can watch the people in the pool or the goings-on in the main house. But sitting there, you are away from the to do up front. This is a private space for the lucky duo who get to use this special space. The extra bedroom has a sitting area and dining area plus high vaulted ceiling. This cottage has another special bathroom and an outdoor shower. In my opinion, it is the view out onto the garden and pool that make this little retreat so neat.

The Guest Cottage adopted the same lines as the Great House and the Guest House

View from the secluded Guest Cottage toward the pool and the Great House

This incredible Key West home is offered for sale at $2,999,999. CLICK HERE to view the mls datasheet and to view listing photos.

If you read my blog often you know that I like to remind readers about the importance of location in Key West. This property is within a few minute walk to the Historic Key West Seaport or Duval Street. There are neigbhorood eateries like Azur and Cafe Sole. Michael's is a Key West favorite and it is located just around the corner. The A&B Lobster House is a few minutes walk. The new Old Town Bakery is down on the corner of Eaton and Grinell. The Monroe County Library is only three blocks away. The Tropic Cinema, The Red Barn Theatre, the San Carlos Institute, and The Waterfront Theatre are less than a ten minute walk. Various pubs and watering holes are nearby. Music is free most nights in many Old Town venues. And you can walk to almost every place you really need to go.

I took photos of this property that you may want to view. CLICK HERE to see more photos of this incredible Key West Property. Better yet, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule your private showing. This home is listed by Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. Our office is the Exclusive Lower Florida Keys affiliate of Christie's Great Estates. Remember the couple that I showed this home to ten years ago. I run into them from time to time. Their kids are almost out of college. Maybe they've sold that investment property in Connecticut and now have the money to buy their Key West dream house. This place will cost them more today than it would have ten years ago. But it was worth the wait, and it is well worth the price.

1505 Pine Street - Bank Owned - Key West - Do the Math

Do the Math

The local bank that owns the three remaining homes for sale at The Meadows just dropped the asking price. Two of the Bank Owned homes are three bedroom models and those are the properties I want to discuss with you today. I think they are a real deal and you may feel the same after you do the math.

1505 Pine Street is a 3 bedroom 3 1/2 bath home that was built in 2008. The bank foreclosed on the entire development (except the model which was financed by another lender). The units have not been lived in. This three bedroom unit is a two story 1629 sq ft home that sits on a 2503 sq ft lot. It is now priced at $825,000 or $506 per sq ft. The listing Realtor describes this home like this:

"...Built with quality materials and craftsmanship, this home offers everything one expects in a luxury residence. The first level features marble floors, soaring 11' ceilings, a wall of glass doors leading to the private pool and spa. A gourmet kitchen provides solid wood cabinets, high-end stainless steel appliances, luxurious granite countertops & lots of storage space. The living room features a wet bar and is great for entertaining. The bedrooms are en suite and feature high ceilings & sumptuous baths plus a second floor laundry. A private carport has an entry through a gated drive. Lush landscaping provides a tropical backdrop for this spectacular home."

If you have walked inside as many Key West houses as I have you would be impressed by the quality of the materials used and craftsmanship that went into the design and construction of this home. Light fixtures, fans, toilets, kitchen cabinets, etcetera all have functions but life teaches us that some things are made to last and some things are made cheap. Sometimes cheap lasts a long time. Usually not. These homes were designed and built to sell in the $1,700,000 and higher price range. The developer built quality and long term value. The developer obviously missed the market: these homes came onto market after the decline had begun and failed to price the homes into the market quickly enough. But the developer did succeed in building quality homes.

Architectural details including crown molding, high ceilings, porches and solid wood doors. The wood doors on the first and second floor front are massive and of the highest quality. The 8' sliding doors that separate the living area from the pool are hurricane impact resistant to 155 mph that open wide to let the outside become part of the inside. The exterior features Hardiboard siding which is pest resistant and easy to maintain. The roof is a tradition Key West metal. While the home looks old on the outside, it is built to the highest building standards in the State of Florida. This means long term costs of maintenance and insurance should be lower than a similarly sized stick built older home in Old Town. A private, gated drive leads to the carport and a separate entry to the private pool and spa area. Each home is completely fenced and beautifully landscaped.



One of the biggest challenges to selling these homes is the fact that they are not "old". Buyers in the sub million dollar price range seem to prefer the original Key West homes with the Dade County Pine walls and profess a willingness to buy a fixer at a better price than to pay for a house that has had all the flaws of age fixed. Some will be willing to accept a home without a pool or parking or both if they can get a good deal. Yes, folks will settle for less to save money. I get it. I accept it. If a buyer wants old, buying new that looks old is not an option. Saving a few thousand dollars now (especially at today's historic cheap interest rates)

Here is the math quiz: 1505 Pine Street is offered at $825,000 or $506 per sq ft. CLICK HERE to review the mls listing info sheet on this property. I did a search of other 3 bedroom homes in the Old Town area (I even added a bank owned property on Atlantic Drive) priced at or under $825,000. CLICK HERE to see the mls datasheets on each comparison property. I have written about some of these homes previously. I have shown them. I know what they feature and what "issues" they may have. The average asking price on the comparison homes is $774,555 and the average price per sq ft is $396. It looks to me like the price difference is about $50,000 or so. The question is which is the better value. You do the math.

If you are looking for a quality Key West home priced below a million dollars, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. Let's go house hunting. Let's look at some of the homes shown above and do your own comparison shopping. Let's compare age, features, amenities, presence or absence of pool, parking and landscaping, quality of construction, location, and cost of insurance. I'm not saying that 1505 Pine Street is the best deal. But I do think it is a very good property that ought to be given very serious consideration. Do the math. You may agree.

1431 12th Street - Mid Town - Key West

1431 12th Street - Bank Owned - Key West

There is a Bank Owned townhome in the Mid Town area of Key West with bank financing that might make you want to take a look. In fact, the new financing offered seems like old times to me. This is how the listing Realtor describes this property and potential financing:

"Bank Owned Home!no Short Sale Hassles!special Financing Available. Zero Down,100% Financing With Rates Starting At 4.99%,No Bank Fees,No Points,No Appraisal Fee Required.No Income Verification To Qualified Buyers With As Little As 10% Down,Seller Financing Incentives."

Nothing in life (or banking) is free. Every time you deal with a bank there are strings attached. But like I said, you might want to take a look at this Bank Owned townhome which is located at 1431 12th Street. CLICK HERE to checkout the mls datasheet and the listing photos. Note the nice kitchen and in-ground pool. Also note the asking price of $350,000 or $190 per sq ft for this 1844 sq ft two story two bedro0om two bath home.

I have not been inside this place. The prior listing agent described the property this way:

"Huge 2 Story Townhome.1800+ Sq Ft.20' High Ceilings.Pool With Outside Covered Bar. Awesome Remodeled Kitchen With A Gigantic Granite Bar That Seats 8 Comfortably.Sound System Throughout.Entire Upstairs Is A Master Bedroom Loft With A Master Bath And Walk In Closet.2 Car Off Street Private Parking."

These townhomes are connected but there is no community association of common amenities. This property is located one block from Kennedy Drive and the baseball fields that run from Flagler Avenue to North Roosevelt. The three large Key West shopping centers are all within a three to five minute drive. For out of town buyers looking for a property you can rent as a vacation rental-this is not the property. But for buyers looking a good sized home with private pool at an affordable price, this may be what you have been hoping to find.

12th Street looking northeast

Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a showing of this property. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Property Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.

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