1212 Watson Street - Old Town - Key West

The asking prices are on the rise again, Dear Readers, for houses in Old Town Key West.  A perfect Old Town house will cost around a million dollars give or take a hundred grand or two. Off street parking, a pool, and perfect condition costs a lot in Key West.  It's no wonder then that some buyers are willing to spend less and do some renovations to get the house they want - hopefully at less than a million bucks.

I found the black and white photo above that shows how 1212 Watson Street looked back in 1965. This house is a typical vernacular style seen on many blocks in the Old Town area. Look at the photo at the very bottom of today's blog. You will see a similar home that has been updated with love and care. That is what 1212 Watson Street could look like by Christmas in 2014.

The house at 1212 Watson Street in Key West offers buyers a chance to create a perfect Key West cottage.  The asking price is $648,000 on this 1606 sq ft house that sits on a 3006 sq ft lot (39.3' x 76.5').  There is off street parking on the side.  The back yard has enough room for the addition of a pool. The backyard as it now exists is covered with brick pavers.  A side gate could be easily removed to permit a backhoe into the rear yard to dig a new pool.  If you have looked at a lot of houses in Key West, you will appreciate the value of this side gate.

A new kitchen was added and the house spruced up a few years ago.  The house currently has three bedrooms, two baths, a large second floor deck on the south and rear sides of the house.  One of the three bedrooms and one of the baths are located on the main floor. The bedroom is located at the rear of the house and the bathroom on the opposite side near the kitchen.  The two second floor bedrooms share a Jack and Jill bath. 

I have shown this house several times. I think a good designer or architect could improve the interior design (room flow, not decor).   I would eliminate or relocate the downstairs bedroom - perhaps move it to the front where the living room is currently located. The current bedroom space could become part of a new open great room with combined living, dining, and new kitchen with sets of new French doors that open out to the new poo. That would brighten up the interior and make this old house come alive.

There is no telling what an architect may be able to create with the second floor space. The two second floor bedrooms work, but they could work better if the rooms could be expanded onto the existing deck. That will not be an easy task, but it may be worth trying.  I don't think anyone could build a deck this large today because of HARC scrutiny. Notice also the decorative trim at the top of the interior stairway. This trim appears to have been copied and included as a side railing on the second floor deck. 

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1212 Watson Street. If you agree with me that this old house has some possibilities, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a showing. Thanks to Monika Turek, listing agent, for providing me with the photos and allowing me to blog about her listing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

1019 Flagler Avenue - The Casa Marina Area - Key West

Just listed by Preferred Properties Key West, that is where I work but this is not my listing, 1019 Flagler Avenue in the tony Casa Marina Area of Key West.  This is a really big property (4055 sq ft of living space) that sits on a 9160 sq ft lot (90.25' frontage X 101.5' depth).  The listing Realtor describes the property as an

"Historic Indian block home just waiting for someone to bring it back to a grand family home on the most prominent part of Flagler Avenue, just steps from the Casa Marina Hotel. Zoned residential/commercial, perfect for a doctor, who needs 4 examining rooms, office space and reception and a place to live. On this incredible property there is also a large pool, a garage that can be converted to guest house or a pool house. Enough room for 3 cars uncovered and one covered. Renovation Project!!!"

I found the above black and white aerial photo of the Casa Marina Area that was taken in the 1930s. The arrow shows 1019 Flagler Avenue.  Two blocks the the west (left) is the historic Reynolds House. Both homes were built of Indian Block, a man-made material similar to modern concrete block except that Indian Block has a finished decorative appearance. Most of the undeveloped lots shown in the color photo immediately above were built upon in the 1950s and 1960s. Unlike many of the Old Town area homes which are built on small lots, the houses in the Casa Marina Area were quite often built on lots of 5,000 sq ft or larger.  As Key West became a destination for a second home and the supply of houses in Old Town proved too costly or too small, or both, buyers looked to the Casa Marina Area.  In the 1990s and later, many of the Casa Marina houses were razed or renovated to provide larger living spaces and to add pools and gardens.  The Casa Marina Area today is an attractive alternative to smaller and often pricier abodes in the Old Town area. The color photo immediately above was taken in 1999. An arrow shows 1019 Flagler Avenue surrounded by homes.

There is a 1960s era addition to the front of 1019 Flagler where it appears the original first and second floor porches were enclosed with concrete blocks covered by stucco.  Wrought iron fences and gates were added to both side yards.  A long driveway leads to covered parking located just off the kitchen. An old garage still sits at the rear of the driveway.  It is used as a home gym but could become a pool house, cabana, or maybe expanded into a guest cottage. 

A one story addition was added on the east side presumably in the 1960s or 1970s.  There is what I call a"disco" bedroom and bath located up front. The real star of the addition is the Florida room which is located at the rear. This room has a cathedral ceiling with impressive wood trusses.  Windows on three sides provide ample light and great views of the large back yard and pool. The Florida room is the only current ground level living space. The kitchen is located at the rear of the house on the main floor. It has two smallish windows with pool views. There is a large covered patio just outside the door. An interior stairway runs from the kitchen to the second floor.

The downstairs front portion of the house is now used as a doctor's office. I was not able to photography any of that space. The second floor space includes a sitting room, bedroom, large bath, nanny suite, and an office. Again, this space appears to have been created when the first and second floor porches were enclosed. The rooms have high ceilings and are a hodgepodge of sizes that beg for some creativity. When showing houses like this I tell my buyers that they should not focus on what exists now because what is will probably removed leaving four outer walls from which a new home will emerge.  This house appears very solid. I guess you could say it has "good bones".

This property is located less than two blocks from the Casa Marina Hotel and two blocks from Higg's Beach. Most of the larger homes in the Casa Marina Area are priced above $2,000,000. 1019 Flagler Avenue is offered for sale at $995,000. A buyer who wants a renovation project ought to hop on this property immediately.  I will bet this house sells in less than a week. CLICK HERE to view more photos that I took of the house and grounds. Remember that what you see now is not what you can create.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet.

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 Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.  If you buy 1019 Flagler Avenue, you could have a Key West home by Christmas in 2014!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gary Thomas, Realtor 

Preferred Properties Key West

305-766-2642

627-629 Eaton Street - Key West Historic Landmark Property For Sale

My friends at Prudential Knight and Gardner Realty in Key West recently listed one of the last untouched Old Town landmarks in Key West. Dear Readers, this property located at 627-629 Eaton Street might just be your dream property. Think I'm a little wacko?  Read on.

I searched the old Sanborn Fire Maps for Key West and found this building on the 1889 map which means it was built some time prior to that date. The Monroe County Property Appraiser's official records show the construction date as being 1929. (I think the Sanborn Map is more correct, but the official record is the official record.)  In any case, the building is ancient and has the crow's feet and wrinkles to prove it.  I dug deep into the old shoe box and found a photo taken back in 1965 shown immediately below. The back of the photo shows the downstairs as being a launderette and dentist's office. The upstairs presumably were apartments. I took a similar photo to compare the old versus current facades. I think the old girl looked a bit better back in the day, but this is one solid building which ought to respond to a keen renovation. 

 The listing Realtor describes 627-629 Eaton Street this way:

"This historic concrete block building consists of two commercial spaces downstairs and two residential units upstairs. One commercial space is empty, the other tenant is a laundromat. Each residential unit has it's own staircase and entrance. One unit is a one bedroom, one bath, the other unit is a two bedroom, one bath."

The listing Realtor shows the building as having 3627 sq ft of interior space divided between the two floors. The building sets on a rectangular lot of 2201 sq ft (55.5' X 39.67') at the corner of Eaton and Elizabeth Streets. The building itself measures 50' X 38' plus the covered ground floor walkway and second floor porch that run 50' X 38' to the east rear. The building is built literally to the rear and side lot lines. There is no room for a pool, hot tub, or parking.

The downstairs east commercial space has been a self-service laundry ever since I moved to Key West in 1993. The writing on the 1965 photo suggests that it has been a laundry for a much longer time period. The adjacent space is not currently rented which creates lots of possibilities for a new owner. There are several small ante-rooms behind both spaces. The vacant space was previously a dentist's office and most recently was rented as a floral shop.  The tropically painted wall shown below is either poured concrete or cinder block.  The listing Realtor told me the wall extends up through the second floor above and provides support for the building. I think it would be possible to merge the ground floor spaces into one larger commercial space or alternatively create a new living space in the former dentist's office. A new owner would need to obtain permission from the City of Key West to do this or merge the ground floor space into the second floor space via the adjacent stairway.

There are two apartments on the second floor. Both are currently rented under market value and both are on a month to month rental agreement.  Both tenants have been in place for some time. The tenant in the east apartment has been in the space for 20 years.  The landlord has not made any substantial improvements to this building over recent years. Below are some photos that provide a basic image of how the properties look today.

The above photos are of the west second floor apartment or the one above the former dentist's office.  One alternative for renovating this space might be to combine the first and second floor west spaces into one two story living unit. I think a new owner could do the same for the east spaces as well, but I will discuss an alternate proposal for that space below.  Part of the allure of this building is the second floor balcony which extends nine feet over the city sidewalk. Construction like this would likely not be permitted today. But since it is in place and since this is such a recognized property that it has achieved 'landmark' status, I seriously doubt anyone would consider allowing the removal of the balcony.

The east second floor apartment is filled with tenant owned pieces that make this space shine. A new owner might move some interior walls to create more modern spaces, replace the kitchen and bath, and so on. I would replace the existing metal louvers with real windows.  As an alternative to keeping this space an apartment, a new owner might consider combining the two upstairs units into one large loft type living space. The interior floor to ceiling cinder block or poured concrete wall will need to be addressed in any renovation. Almost anything is possible if you have a talented engineer, architect, designer, and money. Both the ground floor spaces and the second floor apartments have very tall ceilings. This opens all spaces to imaginative renovation possibilities not available in most existing properties.  I took more photos which you can view if you CLICK HERE. Please do so and consider what kind of new property you could create in these spaces.

627-629 Eaton Street is offered for sale at $775,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. But better than looking at photos online, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this unique Key West property.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. The buyers are returning to Key West in droves. Don't miss the opportunity to create something stunning.