1005 Seminary Street - The Casa Marina Area - Key West

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 1005 Seminary Street which is located in the Casa Marina Area of Key West.  This is definitely not a 'drive by' listing, because you can't see anything from the street.  The house and gardens are hidden behind a white picket fence with trellis entrance flanked by flora and fauna.

I looked in the old shoebox and found a photo of 1005 Seminary Street that dates back to 1965. It shows the house before it was renovated into the house it is today. The Monroe County Property Appraiser says the house actually dates back to the 1920s which I think is accurate. Other houses in the three block stretch from White to Reynolds Street appear to share similar bungalow style architectural features. This was and still is a simple house - a house without a lot of ornamentation.  The original front door evident in the black and white photo is gone. The entrance is now on the side where the two windows are located. A bank of windows replaced the entrance to what is now the living room. The windows on the side are now French doors that open out to the extra large covered deck and gardens.

When you pass through the trellis entrance you enter into the garden area that includes a pond at the front. You cannot miss the massive covered deck that leads to the entrance into the home. Just off the back of the deck you'll see an addition to the  house. This is where the master suite is located. French doors open from the master suite out to the salt water pool hidden away at the back of the property. French doors lead from the covered deck into the extra large and quite comfortable living area. Windows and French doors bathe the living area in subdued light filtered by the palm trees in this mini-paradise. The kitchen opens into the dining area so whoever the chef may be is a part of the action and not isolated from it.

Three bedrooms and both baths are located on the main living level. Another large room with French doors is used as a study or office. That room includes a mural painted by local artist Rick Worth. The master bedroom with French doors opens out to the bricked grounds which leads to to salt water pool.

The door seen in the above photo leads to the rear deck that traverses the back side of this home. The is a large tool shed on one side plus a 210 sq ft building that is air conditioned. This space provides superior storage for the current owner who rents this home as a monthly vacation renal. A new owner might want to convert the storage use to some other use.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this property. 1005 Seminary Street is offered at $1,450,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing. Imagine how you might put that seductive pool to use. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

The Best Real Estate Deals in Key West - 2014

I remember Christmas 1955 very well, because I got a typewriter just like the one pictured above that year. I still have a poem I wrote on that machine. It goes "Good by past year of 55, I hate to see you go. I wish you could stay a little longer before you go." The typewriter wasn't really a typewriter. The keys did not type. Instead I had to turn the wheel next to the carriage to display each letter then press the red lever to make the wheel ring strike the paper. As you can tell I wasn't a poet either. Thank God I got a real typewriter in high school. I would never made it out of college with that knucklehead machine.

I did a quick look back to see what I wrote on January 1, 2014 and saw this: "the pickings are slim and the prices are rising".  That's the same message today. It just may be the continual message for houses in Key West for some years to come. Although we have a large number of hopeful buyers, we have a limited supply of houses for sale. That dynamic tends discourage a lot of potential buyers from becoming new owners.

I went through the single family home sales for the period January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2015 and came up with  a list of the top twenty home sales that are illustrative of home sales on our little island. These sales teach us a bit of a lesson about what types of houses have sold, the location of the properties, and perhaps the physical condition or amenities that help explain the price paid. Best deals does not mean the least price paid nor the highest price paid. To me it means a fair price given the location, condition, and potential for future use and enjoyment. Some people believe in the stock market. You can't sleep with your stock portfolio, but on December 31st you could lay by your pool in Key West when it was 82 degrees and sunny as it could be. The pool could be a dip pool or an Olympic pool. The sun and temperature are the same. The trees and breeze are the same. The price a man or woman pays for their slice of Paradise is relative to them, not to you or me. But it is, as I say, illustrative of why properties have sold for the prices paid in 2014.

713 Galveston Lane is a cute little two bedroom one bath house located on Solares Hill. It was totally renovated and has room in the back for a pool. And it had a valuable off street parking spot.  It sold for $407,500. Solares Hill is the highest point on the island. Lenders do not require flood insurance for homes in what is called the X zone. This gives some buyers a sense of security knowing they won't be flooded. Others see the cost savings as having long term value for money not having to be paid for flood insurance.

721 Windsor Lane is another cute little two bedroom single family home. It is located in the Key West Writer's Compound just a block away from the Galveston Lane house. The adult compound is a group of charming cottage style homes that share a common pool glorious trees and tropical flora. There's no parking here and that puts off some potential buyers.  Other potential buyers appreciate this beautiful little compound knowing that they can "lock and leave" their home and that friendly neighbors will there. This little doozie sold for $467,125.

1028 James Street is located near the old seaport. I represented the buyers, a young local couple looking to buy their first home. The house needed a little cosmetic work but not that much. It has room for a pool - some day. It sold for $495,000.Other houses in the immediate area that have been remodeled have sold for much more money. This home offers a lot of upside potential. In the meantime, it offers a good sized house with a nice backyard.

529 William Street was a 3 bedroom bank owned property with a pool located on one of the best blocks in Old Town. The house needed some TLC. The new owner paid $500,000 and got a valuable property in a great Old Town location. I heard there were multiple offers on this property.

530 Catherine Street was a somewhat neglected house with a large lot and a valuable (but unused) transient rental license. Some buyers talk about wanting to buy a place like this, but when they actually see the real thing, they get cold feet. They may think they don't like the location (a block from Duval), or they may think renovation will cost too much - it will. But other potential buyers act immediately to seize an opportunity before someone else buys a hidden gem. The new owner did an incredible renovation and has already put the transient license into use. Sales price was $500,000.

1233 South Street is located one block east of White Street near the Casa Marina area. Many of the surrounding homes in this area are priced over one million dollars or more. There are no Conch trains and tourists usually end up here whilst getting lost on bike rides. It's a nice area where pride in ownership is abundant. This house was in good but dated condition and sat on a large lot. The rear garden offered a wonderful space for a new pool. This house sold for $636,000.

506 Elizabeth Street appeared in my blog a couple of times. I really liked the superior Old Town location of this "legal duplex" which could be made back into a single family house. The house had some challenges that are not rare in our older homes - the upper floors sagged, there was no room for a pool nor parking. Now, the place worked just fine the way it was. But it seems new buyers always want to tinker and fix things. I will be writing about this property in the near future as the new owner appears to have gutted the place and is doing a major renovation. I cannot stress how not every homeowner needs or wants a pool. They are costly to maintain. People from all over the world come to Key West and go to our beaches. They are free.  This house sold for $640,000.

923 Southard Street is a picture perfect house in a great Old Town location. Houses don't get much cuter than this, and especially when the sell for just $774,000. This two story gem had a great main level living area that included the ability to convert one room into a full time bedroom if necessary. There were two more bedrooms on the second floor. There was even a small pool in the beautiful back yard. The house was typical of many houses in the Old Town area. Some renovations were made within the last twenty years or so. A new owner might feel a need to "fix" something or replace something. That's what buyers do even in really big and very expensive houses. Buyers who look at houses like this sometimes let the cost of potential fixes and replacements interfere in their quest to buy a house in Key West. Few things in life are perfect. And those that are not perfect usually require the expenditure of money and time to make them closer to perfect.

 1501 Washington Street is an example of an almost perfect house that went under contract just after it was listed. Like the house at 1233 South Street, this home is located just east of the Casa Marina area. For some potential buyers it's located "too far" away from Duval Street. For locals, it's a great location because it is not near the noise and hoopla associated with Duval area homes. This home was totally renovated and showed like something you'd see in an interior design magazine. It sold for $775,000.

818 Olivia Street was in my blog a couple of times. The old house was located opposite the Key West Cemetery and that fact scarred away a lot of potential buyers who would have otherwise snapped up this utterly charming three bedroom home with a pool and parking. It sold for $855,000. This same house would have sold for over a million dollars if it had been located on William or Frances Street.

2 Fletchers Lane was a great two story home plus guest cottage and pool tucked away on a hidden little lane just off the corner of Grinnell and Eaton Street. While you could drive a car to the house to unload groceries or baggage, there was no parking space. That "killed" the house for many potential buyers who believe they must own a car in Key West. The folks who owned this home actually parked on Eaton Street for the many years they owned the house. It worked fine for them. I know that people I showed the house too fretted over not having a parking space. Potential second home buyers ought to do the math on what a parking space actually costs them. I am not talking about land value (although that really is a consideration). Instead, I am referring to the cost of car ownership that include price of the car, insurance, maintenance, depreciation from being exposed to our ever present sun and weather. I think it might be less expensive for a second homeowner to rent a car for the month or two they spend here than to buy a car that sits idle for several months each year. The not having a parking space is a deal killer in many home sales. Buyers really ought to reconsider what they want more a house or a car! 2 Fletchers Lane was sold fully furnished (everything) for just
$880,000. This was such a great deal!

1023 Johnson Street is a project property. It is a big old house on a great block in the Casa Marina area. It's an historic old house which means it cannot be razed but instead must be preserved. Many buyers talk about wanting to buy a renovation project, but when they find a great property they get cold feet. They see the prospect of pumping hundreds of thousands of new dollars into what some view as an overpriced fixer. I saw this house as being money in the bank. Now, not every buyer is gong to love the facade of the house. It cannot change. But the inside and rear can become something really special. And I am sure it will. This house sold for $1,050,000. It will be worth more than $2,000,000 even before the renovations are over. The trend in the Casa Marina area is for housing prices to increase upward.

1108 Fleming Street appeared in my blog several times. This house had three bedrooms (one in the cottage at the rear where the off street parking was also located). The facade was picture perfect but the interiors were a bit difficult for some buyers. What some buyers don't really appreciate is the fact that many of our old houses have been manipulated into being something much more important or grander than intended when they were built. This house is a great example of a common cottage growing into a three bedroom house with a pool and parking. In this instance function does not follow form. That's not a bad thing. It's just an explanation that you can get three usable bedroom spaces in cute houses like this. The interior layout may not be perfect. Buyers who are willing to accept pretty and quaint often overlook having to take an extra step or two to go to the bathroom. This home sold for $1,140,000.

814 Carey Lane is an example of a house with a lot of potential. The house is located at the far end of one of the prettiest Old Town lanes. This particular house and guest cottage sit on a huge lot. The main house is a bit dated. The kitchen and baths were redone a couple of decades ago. In real estate years that's eons. I don't understand why everything has to be new. It's like kitchens and baths have become "fashion" instead of "function".  But that is the state of how we view our homes and the rooms inside the homes. The house, cottage, existing pool and gardens and the overall size of the lot offered so much potential for future development. The house itself was not historic and could be razed and a new house built. I saw this property as being an incredible buy. It sold for $1,150,000. 

I wrote about 1109 Fleming Street a few short months ago when it was listed for sale as a bank owned property. I went over and took photos within the first hour after it hit the mls. There were other agents there when I got there and when I left. I went back the next day with potential buyers. Different agents were there with their buyers. None of my buyers submitted an offer but many others did. This house with rear cottage and parking in the rear was listed for sale at $995,900 but sold for $1,300,600. (Not a typo.) This home and lot has immense potential. Yes, it will cost a lot of money to renovate. The size of the two houses and lot offer so much potential reward in the future.

1126 Washington Street is a renovation success  story. The former house sat on a large Casa Marina area lot. Houses on either side and to the rear were much more valuable. The former bank owned property sold for $369,000 in 2011. The new owner did an incredible job in transforming hodge podge into a gracious home. This home sold for $1,350,000.

1025 Von Phister Street was my listing. It sold to a local buyer for $1,465,000. The house was built in 2000 and I considered the house to be just about perfect. I held an open house on Easter Sunday. I had about 80 lookers. They walked inside and their jaws dropped when they saw the awe inspiring living room and pool beyond. The new owners are doing a major renovation to the property. Homes in the Casa Marina offer buyers more land and fewer neighbors than we see in Old Town.

635 William Street appears to be a sweet little cigar maker's cottage from the street. A new addition at the rear expanded the living areas and added new bedrooms plus a pool, spa, and loggia amid beautifully manicured gardens. Many potential buyers look just with their eyes and don't read the details of a mls listing. The other thing I have noticed is that many would-be buyers who do read the fine print and who go to the Property Appraiser's website or who rely on a Zillow zestimate believe they "know" all there is to know about any listing.  They think they know the value of a given property. Real estate does not work like that in Key West. What you see is not always what you get. This charmer sold for $1,605,000. 

718 Eisenhower Drive is a truly grand old home. It's bigger and grander than most folks want or certainly need. The main house reminds me of something out of The Great Gatsby. There's a rear guest cottage that needed some updating. The once epic gardens looked good but could be made better. This incredible property sold for $2,000,000. I chose this house not for the price but for the challenge large homes offer to owners - both old and new. 

415 Margaret Street completes the list of the best real estate deals in Key West for 2014. I showed this home several times over the past couple of years. The original house was updated and expanded several years ago when a new master wing plus a guest cottage added.  The rear grounds include a 40ft pool and extensive grounds. This is another example of what you see from the street fails to portend what lies beyond the facade. This sophisticated home sold for $2,200,000. There were seven other houses that sold for more than this house in 2014. I think this was the prettiest of the bunch of $2,000,000 plus houses.

I urge buyers to not be locked into a certain mindset when considering the purchase of a house. Houses that need renovated can be costly but they don't necessarily have to be bank-breakers. Houses that are perfect may not be perfect for the new owner. Locations can be difficult, but no location is perfect. Idiot neighbors are not restricted to any one part of the island. Houses on busy streets and those located by the cemetery or some other scary site may offer tremendous buying opportunities.

1709 Washington Street, Key West

The listing agent at Preferred Properties Key West, that's where I work but this is not my listing, describes 1709 Washington Street this way:

"You will fall in love with this beautiful conch house located on Washington Street. From the wraparound porch to the the 16' ceilings, Dade County pine and stunning original crown molding, this house is full of historic character but also virtually brand new inside. The floors are wide plank Hickory and the roof, windows, kitchen and baths all brand new. There are 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, including a master-suite and a guest bath with claw-foot tub. Glass doors open onto the large lanai perfect for outdoor entertaining and swimming pool. For the tinkerers,there is a detached small workshop with A/C. Pets will be happy here too as there is a lot of yard space,fenced and secure. This home offers indoor/outdoor living at it's finest."

The last time I showed this home to potential buyers I said something like it is located in the country.  Up north in America the term country evokes visions of wheat fields, farm animals, and a pastoral lifestyle.  Down here in Key West country conjures up an older Key West conch style house located outside of Old Town - out in the boonies where the lot sizes are larger and where there are fewer homes and more open spaces. This particular property is located six blocks east of White Street and two blocks north of Flagler Avenue in an area where most of the neighboring houses were built in the middle part of the last century.  It's an extra minute drive from the higher priced homes in the Casa Marina area. This home sticks out not like a sore thumb but more like a wonderful reminder of what once was. It's a quiet reminder of diverse historic Key West architecture that makes our island home so appealing to folks from around the world.

The single story home at 1709 Washington Street has 1017 sq ft of living space under air. It sits on a 52' x 94' (4862 sq ft) lot near the corner of Ashby Street. (That's about the same size lot as you will find in the Casa Marina area and twice the size you'd expect in Old Town.)  This is the general area where Mid Town Key West begins. Most of the homes in this area are single family residences and most of these homes are owner occupied.You won't find many vacation rentals in this area as vacationers tend to prefer to be closed to Duval.

The front porch wraps around this home on either side. You will really appreciate the joy of having a covered porch on any day we have a huge rainstorm. If you have ever stayed in a Shipyard condo and have had to run from your care to your condo through the maze of  gravel walkways, you'll appreciate what I mean. Plus the covered porch looks great the rest of the time. Not all houses have these porches but those that do usually look terrific. The formal entry is actually located midway on the east side of the house which opens into the newly renovated kitchen. A hallway leads to the living room at the front of the house. A crisply updated Dade County Pine wall is set off by three pastel walls.  White trim on the windows, door, and crown molding punctuate the simple architectural elements.

I had shown this home a few years ago before the current owner purchased it. I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautifully this house had been renovated. Each room looks freshly updated. The colors and architectural elements are all crisp and clean as if poised for a new owner to take over the property. 

This home has a really nice semi-enclosed covered deck area located just off the newly renovated kitchen.  As a new owner you will probably spend most of your time in this area where there is a mini-fridge and wine cooler and television.  The pool is located just steps away from the covered deck. The pool ought to stay sunny during most of the day. Buyers who like to actually swim will love this pool. And there is even an outdoor shower. Move to Key West and you will love taking showers under the sun or moon. Or even in the rain - you just turn up the temperature a little bit to get the shower of your life. Also note the small adjacent building. The listing agent told me the space is large enough to be used as a small office or studio. I have not been inside so I don't know from personal knowledge how large a space exists.

1709 Washington Street is offered for sale at $899,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to view more listing photos.  Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this move-in ready home. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your home in Paradise. 

Merry Christmas 2014

The Interview is coming to the Tropic in Key West

The lead story in today's KEY WEST CITIZEN reads 'The Interview' coming to Tropic.  That headline got me so excited I had to go down to the Tropic Cinema in the wee hours of this morning to take a photo of the theater, the Marilyn Monroe statute, and "The Interview' movie poster, each of which is symbolic of what is right with America.

I often write about Key West being located out in the middle of the ocean far from the mainland. You have to fly, sail, or intentionally drive three hours or more to get here. Key West is so far removed from the mainland that people unfamiliar with Key West often wonder how we survive. As far removed from civilization as we may seem, we are an incredibly connected society nonetheless. So it came as no surprise that the Tropic Cinema joined other independent theaters across America that petitioned Sony Pictures to let them show the movie the big chains were afraid to show.

While being interviewed by The Citizen Matthew Helmerich, executive director the non-profit theater, said the decision to show the controversial movie is really a matter of "free speech". And it is. Like many Americans I was outraged that a group of hackers made SONY seemingly walk away from a multimillion dollar investment over threats by mad man.  Helmerich said "The Tropic Cinema has a long history of speaking our minds." 

Marilyn Monroe is an icon - maybe the biggest icon of the 20th Century. She became not only a sex symbol but also a symbol of America. We export culture to the rest of the world. What better a model of what is right about America than a beautiful and talented woman. And in Key West we will celebrate our right to free speech by watching a comedy about an evil man.

Just over Marilyn's right shoulder is the movie poster for "The Interview'.  I don't recall having ever paid money to watch a Seth Rogen or James Franco movie, but I'm gonna watch this movie. The thing I appreciate about living in my adopted hometown is that you can be whoever you want to be in Key West. You can live the life you want to live here. Most of us that came here left someplace else that wasn't where we want to spend the rest of our lives. I for one have never taken well to having some other person tell me what I had to do or what I could not do. I hope people from all across America show up at their hometown theaters to give notice to the hackers and the North Koreans that we are free to decide for ourselves whether to watch a silly movie.