307 Elizabeth Street - Old Town - Key West

 
Just listed, but not by me, 307 Elizabeth Street which was built circa 1885 according to a property appraiser record I found. The mls shows the property as having been built in 1928, however.  If I am correct, and I am pretty sure that it the case, 307 Elizabeth Street would be one of the older houses of Key West. It is located in the Historic Key West Seaport area on a street with other substantial homes that survived the great fire many years ago. The house has been made into three legal apartments plus appendages.  I think a new owner may want to restore this property to its former glory and take it back to being a single family home complete with a guest house and off street parking.

307 Elizabeth as seen in 1965

307 Elizabeth in 2012

The property has 2302 sq ft of living space that is divided between the main house, a second floor apartment with exterior side entrance, and a cottage that sits to the rear of the driveway. There is an existing pool as well.  The lot is 50' x 93' or 4650 sq ft.  307 Elizabeth Street if offered at $879,000. CLICK HERE to view the mls datasheet.

CLICK HERE to view a slideshow of photos I took of this property.  Better than that, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. Let's take a look at this old girl and figure out how you could restore her old glory.

Key West: The Opposite of Ohio

It was at the Key West Literary Seminar that poet Mark Doty said that, although “he was never actually here,” Hart Crane “loved Key West.” He loved Key West because it was, by all reports, the opposite of Ohio.*

 I watched HGTV's Urban Oasis giveaway on Friday night. I have to admit I got sucked in for a few minutes by the sleek lines of the Paramount Bay high rise condo.  I mused about winning the $900,000 condo and then thought to myself "Self, if you win, you will have to pay income tax on that thing. Do you really want to own a condo in Miami-a town where people are shot and killed daily for no reason? A place where most people don't speak English and have a culture that is alien to you? Do you really want to live up in the sky?" I admit that I filled out the online registration. I figured if I won I could sell the condo and make a few bucks because I really, truly would never want to live in Miami just as much as I would not want to live in Ohio.  

If you live in Ohio, please don't be offended. A lot of nice people live there. I sold houses to two different Ohio couples in the past couple of years.  They area really nice people who really didn't like living in Ohio in the winter when it was so cold and miserable. And they didn't like Ohio much more in the summer when it is so muggy. No, they dreamed of owning a little house in Key West where they could live a much easier environment in so many ways. One young couple bought a house I wrote about in my blog. They are raising their two little girls in a charming house in a quiet Key West neighborhood. I saw the mom and the two girls in their stroller on Sunday morning as I was taking photos for my blog. I asked how things are going, and she responded "I'll never leave Key West!" The other couple is older and don't have children. They bought a house maybe four blocks away from the first couple. A couple of months ago I saw them driving their Key West convertible with the top down.  They were in the turn lane at White and Truman. I asked how they were doing and they said something like "loving life". 

A couple from the northeast decided to buy a big lot in the Casa Marina area and build their dream home from scratch.  They hired a noted Key West architect, an accomplished landscape architect, and  very competent builder to turn their vision into reality.  The photos below show the view from their master bedroom and the new pool and gardens which are a dramatic alternative the HGTV Urban Oasis.  
 

My buyers could have bought a place in Miami and got a view similar to the one that some viewer will win in the HGTV Urban Oasis giveaway.  They chose the opposite of highrise living in a big city. I'll bet Hart Crane would agree with their decision.

If you have been dreaming of buying a place in Key West, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

*  ABOUT THE BEATS   Read this most interesting account of Hart Crane by Mark Howell of Key West.

617 Fleming Street #2 - Key West

617 Fleming Street

The Campbell Courtyard Condominiums  are located at 617 Fleming Street just a little over one block east of Duval Street. The location is close enough to Duval Street and the Historic Key West Seaport that you can be in either place in about five minutes or less. But they are far enough away from the hooting and hollering that happens from time to time. Many of the neighboring properties are among the finest examples of the grand architecture for which Key West is known. And there are still some untouched houses that make our Old Town area so appealing. The area is chic but not too chic. CLICK HERE to view a Google aerial view of the location.

The Campbell Courtyard Condos were "developed" or assembled from a group of unrelated buildings into a cluster which share an incredibly inviting pool and garden. The nine units quickly sold, and there has been a slow turnover of ownership since then. The main building shown above was built in the 1920s and the eyebrow cottage (just below) was built in the 1890s. All buildings were thoroughly renovated during the condo conversion.

Unit #2 was just listed, but not by me, at the asking price of $449,000. This two bedroom, two bath unit has 840 sq ft of living space under air plus a private semi-enclosed patio located adjacent to the inviting pool.  The unit has an assigned off street parking spot and is also offered furnished.

 I think this unit would make a wonderfull Key West getaway place or a full time residence for the person or couple who has dreamed of owning a cute little place in the Old Town area. Remember I said this place is furnished - from the furniture to the pots and pans. You need only bring  your toothbrush(s)!  The covered patio is probably where you will spend much of your time. It is located just off the living room. It has a curved lattice privacy wall that permits you to see out to the pool and garden but offers privacy as well.

The unit has two full bedrooms and two full baths. The master bedroom has a wrap around windows of a sort that permits diffused light from the east into the bedroom. The kitchen has windows that look out to the pool. What a pleasant view that is. CLICK HERE to view a slideshow of photos of this unit and the compound.

 
Notable Neighbors include:  Cafe Marquesa at 600 Fleming Street, Sarabeth's at 530 Simonton Street, Eaton Street Seafood Company at 801 Eaton Street, and Monroe County Library at 700 Fleming Street.

600 Fleming Street

530 Simonton Street

801 Eaton Street

Monroe County Library on Fleming Street

If you would like to see Campbell Courtyard Unit #2 or any other property in Key West please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.

Naked Man Walking - Key West

There are two things I love about Key West: our wonderful weather and that life never is predictable. Take for example an incident that occurred a few years back when I was riding my bike to the gym. It was very dark at about 6:00 A.M. I was riding on Washington Street just west of the El Patio Motel when I saw a young man in his early 20s walking down the street. He was totally nude. He walked to my left. I looked back. Yep, he was buck naked.. No doubt about it. I thought to myself that's too odd even for Key West. I circled the block and found a public phone at the youth hostel on South Street where I called the police. The officer asked me to describe the naked man. How was I supposed to answer that?

I got back on my bike and rode over to the corner of Reynolds and Washington which was the area where the nude dude should have reached by that point.  I saw a young woman at the bus stop and asked if she had seen the nude man. She had.  She said he disappeared behind some houses and asked me to wait with her until her bus came or the police arrived. I did.

About 5 to 10 minutes elapsed before the police finally arrived. The nude man had totally vanished at this point. I flagged the cops' attention  He got out of his car to ask why I called the police. I started to describe what  I had seen earlier then saw the unclad lad emerge from between two apartment buildings. As I write this I just recalled the guy was then carrying a baseball bat. He did not have that before.  The cop saw him and walked toward him with his fleshlight drawn and said "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He took the kid to the poky. Later that day I looked at the Monroe County Sheriff's office website. The naked bat boy was being held on a mental health hold.

You never know what you will see in Key West. That's just part of the fun about living in Paradise.

2434 Linda Avenue - Bank Owned - Key West

 
The recently listed Bank Owned house at 2434 Linda Avenue in the Mid Town area of Key West ought to appeal to Key Westers looking for a large family home in a nice neighborhood.  The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this home has 1476 sq ft of living space. It looks as though a garage was enclosed to create living space for a mother-in-law or an out of work uncle.

Mother in law entrance is shown above

The listing Realtors describes the property:
"Nice family home conveniently located close to everything. This property consists of 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and sits on a large corner lot. Home is moving in ready and waiting for you."

This ranch style house was built in 1952 is CBS construction with an asphalt single roof. Most of the other homes in the immediate area were built around the same time and were of similar design and construction. I walked the block and noted how the yards are all different and how individual owners have added onto the homes.  Many of the neighboring properties have metal roofs, privacy fences in front and rear, and lushly landscaped yards. CLICK HERE to view the mls datasheet and to view listing photos. 

2434 Linda Avenue sits on an enormous 7566 sq ft lot. The corner lot is located at the intersection of Linda Avenue and Government Road which leads to the back side of the mangroves and salt ponds to the south.  Click GOOGLE MAP for an aerial perspective of the location and then click the toggle switch for a street view. Walk the street and checkout the neighborhood. There are some very nice homes in this area.

In 2010 this home benefited of over $37,000 in the airport noise abatement program that included the replacement of windows, doors, addition of insulation, and new new split system air conditioning.  Electiric system upgrades included "INSTALL BRANCH CIRCUITRY AND AHH, CU AND 3 SPLIT DUCTLESS A/C SYSTEM, SMOKE DETECTORS WITH ASSOC BOXES AND OVER-CURRENT PROTECTION; EXTEND EXISTING SUB-FEED PANEL TO ENW 100 AMP LOAD CENTER WITH ASSOC CONDUIT AND FEEDERS". This, Dear Reader, is money well spent and it is something a new homeowner will benefit from for years.

The house was in an area that flooded during Wilma. It looked to me as though everything was was replaced on the inside including drywall, kitchen, and bath.  There is new tile and wood flooring throughout. 

In my opinion there is an overly large and obtrusive patio type roof that overwhelms the back of this home. I think a former owner might have used the area as a covered work space. A new owner could rip that sucker off and take advantage of the really large yard. There is an existing small building that a new owner might convert to a pool house or bar overlooking the new pool.  The back area is huge. Use it! The front, side, and back yards would look so much more attractive and provide much more privacy if a nice fence was installed around the property. Finally, a new owner should do some much needed landscaping. This home would look so much better if the hard edges were honed with some soft-scaping.

 I took some additional photos which you can view if you CLICK HERE.  Better than that why don't you call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 and schedule a showing for this nice family sized home that is affordably priced. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida.