Your Second Chance to Become Hemingway's Neigbor

Ernest Hemingway's House shown as it appeared in the 1930s

Arrow points to 405 Olivia Street

405 Olivia Street - Bank Owned - Key West

You don't get many second chances in life. So when one pops up, consider it and then act if you regret a previous procrastination that cost you something you truly wanted. If you are among the several potential buyers who called me about the house across the street from the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West, you just got a second chance to become Hemingway's neighbor. I am here to report that the Bank Owned house at 405 Olivia Street is back on the market and available for purchase. The asking price is $450,000.

The two story house was built around 1890. The county records show the house has 1380 sq ft of living area, however, I looked at the building map and it appears the house actually has 1740 sq ft of living area. (A proper measurement is recommend!) The lot is almost a rectangle of 89' (length) X 55' (wide) with a small cutout at the left rear. 405 Olivia Street has a big lot with room for a good sized pool, more gardens on the west, north, and east side. In my opinion the existing carport is an eyesore. The space could easily be redone and made attractive and useful.

405 Olivia Street as it appeared in 1965 - notice the porch columns

405 Olivia Street in 2011

This photo demonstrates the width of the side yard which is 89' deep

The lot is 55' wide

Whitehead Street and Olivia Streets (Duval Street is one block to east)

I was very disappointed with the inside space. It has been "updated" but poorly so in my opinion. There are saltillo tile floors down (totally WRONG!) and acoustic tile ceilings (WRONG again). There is just one bath located downstairs at the rear of the kitchen. The three bedrooms upstairs are oddly configured. The saving grace in the house is its size. Key West houses are easily (if not cheaply) renovated. There is lots of room to be creative. And the second story front porch has a view of Papa's former home. CLICK HERE to view more photos that I took.

Stuff like this makes you wonder what possessed the person that "added" this tile

Could you create a better space?

Second story front porch

Hemingway's backyard

If you buy this property your neighbors will include the Ernest Hemingway House (museum) which has thousands of visitors all year long. The entrance to the museum is on Whitehead so most of the visitors won't be passing your doorway. A parking lot is located immediately adjacent to the west and a simple Key West cottage is the neighbor to the east. The Six Towed Cat cafe is located at the rear. The Lighthouse Court guesthouse is located on the far side of Whitehead Street and a small public housing structure is on the opposite corner. See the photo below taken from the nearby Key West Lighthouse. It gives a decent perspective of the area.

Corner of Whitehead & Olivia as viewed from atop KW Lighthouse

Ft Zach Beach

The tourists normally head north to Mallory Square in the late afternoon so they can view sunset. They don't return to the area until mid morning. The area turns into a regular neighborhood to the extent possible during that time. Yes, tourists bring people walking down the sidewalks with cameras and cellphones. And lots of money, too.

Ft. Zach Taylor is just a few blocks walk. So are the restaurants, bars, shops galleries, and other hangouts on Duval Street. I can see why someone paid over a million dollars for this house and this location. Today you can buy it for less than half the recent sales price.

You don't get many second chances in real estate. If you missed this before, don't miss it now. If you are interested in this bank owned property or any other house in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

405 William Street - Old Town - Key West

405 William Street as it appeared in 1965

405 William Street - March 2011

The two story house located at 405 William Street is located on one of the very best blocks in Old Town Key West. Some of the most historic and architecturally significant homes are located on this block. And this home is one for the books. The listing Realtor (that's me!) says this about this home:

"Classic Key West bungalow with sawtooth additions in one of Old Town's best blocks. Original portion built before 1889. Currently configured as a renovated two-family with two 2-bedroom legal apartments, has HARC approved plans for conversion back to a single-family showplace. Well-maintained with off-street parking and a large lot -- plenty of room for a pool. Great opportunity in the heart of Old Town."

405 William Street is a two-story renovated duplex. That will cause half the readers to stop reading. But wait! There is more. Before it was made into a duplex it was an awesome single family home with truly unique and grand features that would lend itself to being taken back to single family. Or, the home would make a great second home with legal year round guaranteed rental income from the nicely appointed second floor two bedroom apartment.


The main living level is totally unique to Key West and any other house I have ever seen. You enter through a formal entry hall that leads to either of the two bedrooms or two baths or to the living room, dining area and kitchen beyond. The master bedroom has larger than normal crown molding that set off the high ceilings and formality of the room. Two sets of French doors provide passage to the front porch to watch the denizens of Key West pass by. There is a large master closet and en-suite bath. The second bedroom is also large so you do not get that squeezed in feeling so typical in many older Old Town homes. Another set of French doors opens to the front porch as well. But it is the living room with its arched ceiling that will make you stop and look in awe. The petite French doors in the dining area lead to the exterior porch that overlooks the bricked courtyard and spa area. The recently updated kitchen is at the far end of the house in a saw tooth addition so familiar to Key Westers. The vaulted ceiling and designer touches yank the kitchen right into the 21st Century.

Master and second bedrooms open onto front porch for great people watching

If you are seriously considering buying a large home in Old Town, you really must look at this property. It is a large 1982 sq ft home on a very large 4642 sq ft lot. The existing rooms are good sized and efficiently laid out. If you were to convert the property back into a single family home, the renovation would eat up part of the existing space configuration, but the location of the house and the size of the house could justify such a renovation. There is room for a substantial swimming pool in the lightly landscaped rear and fenced yard. I like to tell prospective buyers that you cannot "grow" property. You normally have to try to buy land from a neighbor. That can be tricky and expensive. But 405 William Street has this huge unused space behind the kitchen waiting to have a pool added. And there is off street parking for two cars to boot. Finally, the roof is new and ready for several more decades of Key West sun. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos on this property. The asking price is the best part, just $995,000.

Off street parking for two cars

This is one of the sweetest homes in Key West. The location is about a two minute walk to the historic Key West Seaport and perhaps five minutes to Duval Street. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule an appointment to see this property. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

1327 White Street - Bank Owned - Key West

The Bank Owned property at 1327 White Street just go a lot more affordable: the asking price has been reduced to $995,500. This is a very large house (2414 sq ft) on a pretty big lot (4678 sq ft) by Key West standards.


1327 White Street is a listing of Preferred Properties (that's where I work, but this is not my listing). The listing broker describes the property this way:

"This beautiful conch style home offers wonderful architectural features such as gracious front porch, polished hardwood floors, exposed wood walls and ceilings, multiple sets of tall doors and windows and custom crown moldings. This home has a den plus four bedrooms and four baths including a third story bedroom with it's own 350 sq. ft. terrace offering treetop views of the island. The kitchen has solid wood cabinetry and a separate laundry room. The grounds feature gated off street parking and a beautiful pool and spa surrounded by lush foliage and adjoining pool house. This charming home offers a lot of sq. footage."

The house is large when viewed from the street. When you open the front door the sense of "family" immediately enters your mind. This is a family home for sure. The interior rooms while large are not cavernous. The interiors have Dade County Pine walls and ceilings and the darkly finished real hardwood floors with bright white trim and crown moldings everywhere. A set of new French doors open onto the large rear deck complete with pool and spa. (A new owner might want to turn that space into a pool bar.) There are three large bedrooms on the second floor. The third floor is configured as a very open bedroom complete with private bath and doors that open to a very large roof top deck where you can scan much of the Casa Marina area. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls database and more listing photos.

1327 White Street is located at the beginning of the Casa Marina area of Key West, that's where I live. The old Key West High School is a couple of blocks to the north. The new high school is out of Flagler Avenue, within walking distance if you have teens that actually walk. The house is about a five minute walk to Rest Beach and Higg's Beach. A couple of blocks to the north you will find Mo's Restaurant, Sandy's Cafe, and Fausto's Food Palace. Bayview Park is a couple of blocks to the east - that's where the city and various charities hold festivals throughout the year. When you live in a neighborhood like the Casa Marina area, you experience a real sense of community that you do not witness as a casual tourist. The longer you live here, the more you appreciate having taken the step to move here.

Salute on the Beach is located at Higg's Beach - great food, affordably priced and what a view!

A 'different' kind of restaurant

Walk or ride your bike - old fashioned butcher shop inside

If you have a large family and want lots of space for everyday life or space for lots of guests, you owe it to yourself to take a look at 1327 White Street. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.

Sitting Pretty in Key West

I remember being in the house at 727 Eaton Street years ago. A friend rented an apartment there, and I vaguely remember being inside. The black and white photo below shows the house in 1965. I think that is pretty much how it looked like when I was there in 1987. Twenty four years later it looks amazingly different.

The listing agent recently invited me to take a look at the property. As I walked past the front garden gate and eyed the grand facade, my eyes were drawn to the old fashioned swing on the front porch. When I got to the front door I looked directly at the swing and thought how wonderful it must be to own such a magnificent old house, a Grande Dame if there ever was one. Sitting pretty in Key West.

The listing Realtor describes 727 Eaton Street this way:

"Amazing price! This grand historic home on large corner lot in the heart of Old Town just a block from the waterfront in the Historic Seaport District is now a wonderful opportunity as well as a beautiful home. Lovingly restored and meticulously maintained, this house is graceful,elegant,spacious & full of light, with the traditional millwork & high ceilings of the era. Formal parlor, grand dining room & wrap around porches complete this true historic beauty. Main floor: foyer, formal dining room, powder room, parlor, kitchen & small office with laundry. Second floor: three generous bedrooms with two full baths, one ensuite. Third floor: separate Mother-in-Law apartment which was previously accessed from an exterior stair."

This house dominates the corner at Eaton and William Streets. A white picket fence and mature trees frame the view. There is a bricked driveway on William that accommodates two cars. Your attention is drawn to the detail in the immediate area. This is not a normal driveway. Somebody important lives here. Then you see the wraparound veranda veranda and your suspicion of importance is confirmed. This is no normal big old house. This is a very special Key West property.


The house is painted a bright, crisp white with green shutters. I looked for flaws but found none. Every part of this place is pristine.

Upon entry I was overwhelmed by the dramatic decor that continued from room to room throughout the three floors. The parlor, living and dining areas hark back to another era with a richness that we no longer see in most properties. The kitchen and laundry areas look like late 19th century except they have modern conveniences that thoughtfully blend in.

Formal entry

Living room looking toward the kitchen

Opposite view

This kitchen is magazine center-fold material

There are three bedrooms and two baths on the second floor. One bedroom is used as an office and dressing area; a second is decorated much like it might have been in the 1930's or so, and the master has north facing windows that let in late afternoon light. I noticed a giant bent Norfolk Pine. What a wonderful view.

The 1930's vintage bedroom

The Master Suite

The third floor is a true mother-in-law apartment with living room, bedroom, mini-kitchen, and bath. The place is stunning in its design. It would make a great space for mom or a live-in. Or perhaps you might want to claim the space as the master suite. The bathroom even has a view of the Historic Key West Seaport. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls database and to view lots of listing photos.

Nearness to the Historic Seaport is a selling point for many houses in Key West. This place has a water view from the third floor.


This house is dramatically furnished. Underneath the decor is a solidly built Key West home that has been thoughtfully restored for our modern living needs. I have a lot of photos that I took which which you can view if you CLICK HERE.

727 Eaton Street is offered at $1,950,000. If you are looking for a substantial Key West property, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. Let's schedule an afternoon visit to take in an incredible property. Imagine yourself sitting pretty in one of the most beautiful homes in all of Key West. I am a buyers' agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

A Modest Proposal to Require Short Sale Owners to Pay Before They "Delay"

Some very nice and truly decent people got hurt by the decline of the housing market in Key West. While the number of new foreclosures has reduced dramatically over the last two years, the fact is that there are still many pending foreclosures winding their way through the courts. Foreclosures occur when borrowers stop making their mortgage payments. Most lenders collect a portion of the annual insurance and property tax liability as a part of the monthly mortgage payment to the lender. When borrowers stop paying, the property owner is no longer paying for insurance or property taxes.

Some borrowers accept their fate and do not respond to the Complaint in Foreclosure that is filed in the courts. When a Complaint in Foreclosure is not contested, the real property is normally sold at public auction within a few months after the original complaint is filed. However, if a borrower contests the foreclosure the process can be extended for months or years. That is not a typo. A lawyer can delay the day of reckoning by filing motion after dilatory motion with the singular purpose of delaying the date the case gets in front of the judge. The result is the borrower either stays in the house without paying anything or perhaps rents the property and collects rent - again, without paying anything.

Property taxes pay for police and fire protection, school teachers, public street maintenance, and those ladies and gents at city hall or the county clerk's office. Somebody has to pay all of those salaries and costs to run local (city and county) government. Failure to pay one's fair share of taxes means the rest of the taxpayers must pick up the difference.

Failure to pay insurance may seem not such a big deal until you consider what happens if a house burns down or someone is seriously injure or killed because a building is not maintained. Insurance exists to protect not only the insured, but also those who are lawfully on the premises of the owner.

Property owners in foreclosure who continue to rent their properties and collect rent, typically do not pay any property taxes or pay for any insurance. I recently got a phone call from a woman who complained about living in a house I wrote that was offered for sale as short sale. That property is in foreclosure. The air conditioner had stopped working and the landlord refused to fix it. The rental agent (not a licensed Realtor but a friend of the owner - itself a violation of Florida law) said the owner will eventually lose the house in foreclosure and will not spend any money to fix the air conditioner. The owner refused to give the lady any price concession on rent. I suggested she contact Key West Code Enforcement. But I question whether Code Enforcement has the legal tools necessary to make a scumbag landlord fix the air conditioner or any other part of a house that is in disrepair.

If the real property happens to be located in a condominium or townhome association, the delinquent borrower normally does not pay association fees as well. The effect on other property owners in those associations is to increase how much money they must pay to cover annual budget expense or to cut services. My proposal can't fix this problem, but enactment could diminish scumbag borrowers from profiting at the expense of other owners. There is nothing like a neighbor scorned. Illegal rentals will get shut down. Pronto.

I propose the City of Key West add two mandatory provisions to its existing criteria for an owner to obtain or to renew a non-transient rental occupational license. One, an owner must provide proof of fire and general liability insurance and, two, provide proof of payment of real property taxes for the subject property for the prior year. Any owner that cannot provide proof of either should have the occupational license immediately suspended and any tenants should be required to vacate.

Property owners who are in foreclosure and who continue to rent property and collect rent but who do not insure the property or pay property taxes are scumbags. They only want money to enrich their lives while they take advantage of a court system over-whelmed by too many cases that require due process trials. While we can't change the system, we can prevent scumbag owners and their sleazy lawyers from profiting from the delays they cause.

Driving a car is not a constitutional right. The government requires that drivers be licensed and most states require that drivers have mandatory insurance coverage of some sort. Renting real property is also not a constitutional right. States and local government routinely impose rules that govern how a property owner may rent real property.

The City of Key West currently requires street performers to provide proof of insurance before issuing an occupational license. I see no difference in requiring an owner (landlord) to produce proof of insurance and payment of real property taxes as a condition precedent to granting a non-transient occupational license or to renewing such a license. It is a requirement all property owners should have to fulfill both now and in the future.

If you think this idea has merit, you may want to contact any or all the Key West City Commissioners or the Mayor listed below. Click any link below.

Jimmy Weekley District One

Mark Rossi District Two

Billy Wardlow District Three

Barry Gibson District Four

Teri Johnston District Five

Clayton Lopez District Six

Craig Cates Mayor

My proposal is modest but adoption of a new ordinance embracing the spirit could be beneficial to all members of our community.