1503 Washington Street, Key West

Dear Reader, I planned to write a new blog on our listing at 1503 Washington Street. But when I looked through what I previously penned I decided not to change it. While the references to the Christmas in Connecticut movie may be corny, they are real nonetheless.  This home has lots of personality and plenty of space for family living and gracious entertaining. Below: a reprise.

Shortly after I arrived at 1503 Washington Street to take photos for today's blog, I fell in love with this home and garden that was decorated to the nines to celebrate the Christmas season.  At first I wandered through the front, side, and rear yards checking out the gardens, fountains, ponds, and babbling brook that make this Key West home like no other. At the rear I spotted St Nick peeking inside the house alongside a 13 foot tall Christmas tree.  I took a peek as well and saw a home decked out for a Christmas party. I went inside and recognized this home was designed for both entertaining and easy family living.  When I saw the wraparound piano bar, I remembered a scene from my favorite Christmas movie - Christmas in Connecticut - where Barbara Stanwyck and her beau sang while she trimmed the Christmas tree.  I thought to myself about buyers who could choose between freezing their rears off in Connecticut or tanning their backsides in Key West.  Key West wins every time.

Barbara and her little stole have been replaced by a silent butler with fur wrap that sets the mood for Christmas cheer at 1503 Washington Street. The main level of this home includes the formal entry, the removable piano bar - living area, dining area, guest bath, kitchen, den, and informal dining area. The Connecticut home has a grand two story entry.  The Key West home has an equally impressive entry which features Brazilian walnut entry doors.

 

The den or family room opens into the informal dining area and kitchen.  These spaces are the way modern families live as opposed to boxed in spaces like we see the Connecticut home, grand as it was, it is a relic in time. The Key West home even has a modern day fireplace. Personally, I like the fireplace in the Connecticut house a bit more, but at least this home has fireplace. The Connecticut house has a bar whereas the Key West house has a wine storage closet. And the Key West home an outdoor kitchen - something unheard of in Connecticut in the wintertime.  Many homes in Key West have outdoor living spaces and kitchens.  This is how we live no matter the season. At Christmastime when our relatives up north are wearing sweaters and wraps and wallowing in the snow, we can go to the beach in the daytime and dine outside at night.  

 

The pool, gardens, and pond wrap the house like Christmas wrapping paper. Everything is tied up with a cute bow. This home has a carport that is currently used as a semi-office. The second and third photos below show the inside of the "carport".  (There is a second garage on the opposite side of the front.) You can hear the babbling brook through the louvers at the front of the enclosure. You would be amazed at this space. 

The second floor includes a large master suite at the rear, a guest bedroom, an office which could easily become a bedroom, guest bath, a library, a laundry room, an ironing room, and a library. You won't find many houses in Key West that have this much attention to detail as this home.

Real work gets done in the office at 1503 Washington Street. A buyer who wants a home office won't need to be too creative to move right in and set up shop.  Maybe mergers and acquisitions got done in Connecticut. I will bet people who live in the cold north will jump at the chance to move their home office to Key West.

CLICK HERE to view more photos of 1503 Washington Street.

1503 Washington Street is listed by Preferred Properties Key West. That is where I work but this is not my listing.  This home has 2845 sq ft of living space situated on a 4698 sq ft lot. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet on this home that is offered at $1,999,999.  Better than looking at photos, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing of this wonderful Key West property.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. If you buy this home, you will have a Key West home by Christmas this year.

1013 Packer Street, Key West - Old Town at a Bargain Price

 Just Listed by Preferred Properties, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 1013 Packer Street in Old Town. This little house is offered at just $399,000 which is pretty inexpensive for Key West.

I looked in my old shoe box and found a couple of photos which show the house as it appeared in 1965 and an even older photo that shows Mr. Edward Heil who lived here back around the turn of the twentieth century when locals needed identification cards to show who they were and where they worked. These cards were necessary to protect the Key West waterfront. Mr. Heil worked for Armour & Company - I assume that was the same company that sells hot dogs today. He probably delivered what back then were called "provisions".

I then looked in the Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine the approximate time this house was built. Since all four houses are so close together, it is safe to assume they were all built at the same time. They all have similarly sized lots (1.6' wide X 93.5 deep).  The houses first appeared in the 1899 Sanborn Map which showed 1013 Packer as having been previously numbered as 909 Packer. Since this block was eliminated in the online Sanborn Maps that I can view, I can only assume that this property was built prior to 1899.  All four houses look pretty much the same, so it is a good bet they were all built at the same time.

I borrowed some of the listing photos which appear below. I think it is probable that a new owner will renovate this house - either now or in the future. I add the future aspect as it might make sense to buy this place and rent it out as a long term rental until such time as you could buy an adjacent house which could then be combined with this to make a larger house. If you look at the photo immediately below you'll see that the house to the north has a second floor addition. A new owner might be able to add an addition to 1013 Packer. You have probably seen other instances in my blog of two small houses being combined to create more interior space simply by bridging the space between two houses. I think once this house sells one of the neighbors will decide its time to sell and take the cash. Or a new owner could simply go in, gut the interior, and create exactly what he or she or they want. There is nothing but upside for this property.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West  mls datasheet for this house that is offered at just $399,000. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

Bank Owned - 107 Front Street #317 - Harbour Place Condominium - Key West Waterfront

Just Listed, but not by me, Units # 317 and #318 at Harbour Place Condominium in Key West. This property is actually two units which were combined to create this quite large top floor residence with direct ocean views of the Key West waterfront.  Even though Key West is a small island, you simply don't get views like this. And rarely do you get this much quality space and construction for the asking price of this Bank Owned property.  The listing Realtor describes this unit this way:

"Enjoy Spectacular Key West Sunsets From Your Own Rare 4 Bedroom 3.5 Bath Condo With Unobstructed Waterview In The Prized Truman Annex. Wood floors and carpet throughout unit. Large kitchen, marbled bathrooms w/ Jacuzzi tub, walk in closets and spacious bedrooms."

This home has 2580 sq ft of living space divided between the principal living areas which face the ocean and the bedroom areas on the rear side. Two large windows and a door with Plantation Shutters provide water views from the kitchen and the living area. The door opens out to the top floor terrace which has great views looking out toward the "outer mole", Sunset Key, and Ft Zach Taylor in the distance. There will never be a day when you won't have something new to see.  I took the photos below on Friday afternoon when the port was empty and the sky was a bit murky. In the not too distant future the City of Key West is going to create a new waterfront park in the open space viewed below. There will be some more trees and tropical foliage but no buildings to impede the view.

Two units were combined to create this top floor unit with 2580 sq ft of living space. The dining area sits in an alcove at the far end of the living area where there is a bar or serving area.

The kitchen opens out to the living room so the chef, be it a man or woman, will always have both a view and can be a part of what is going on in the living area. The combined laundry room and walk-in pantry are quite large. I noted extensive use of copper piping in this area.

Two of the three bedrooms on the city side of this unit have terraces. You will note that all rooms except the have crown molding. The living, dining, and kitchen have wood floors and the bedrooms are carpeted. The baths have marble and tile. All windows and doors have Plantation Shutters. CLICK HERE to view more photos that I took of this bank owned unit.

This unit has a valuable special Truman Annex Transient Rental License which allows for 25 weekly rentals at any time throughout the year.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property which is offered for sale at $1,326,000 or $513 per sq ft. I showed a different unit in this same building a few weeks ago. It had only a city view and was priced at $750 per sq ft.

Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a private showing or to assist you in writing an offer on this buying opportunity. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This bank owned unit will not last long.  It sold for $2.8 million in 2005.  Somebody is going to snatch this property.