3322 Flagler Avenue, Key West - Freshly Updated New Town Home

Just Listed, but not by me, 3322 Flagler Avenue in Key West, Florida. The listing real estate agent describes this home this way:

"Centrally located and beautifully well maintained home. Full 3 bedroom 2 bath with dinning alcove. Large fenced yard that is wonderfully landscape, with covered back patio, out door shower, storage shed and plenty of room for a pool. Off street parking for 2 cars, one spot covered. This is a must see, easy to show, currently owner occupied."

I've got news for you.

This home was built in 1958 and is pretty typical of many homes of that era. It's just been updated with a new metal roof, new windows with approved storm shutters for wind insurance mitigation credit, new kitchen cabinets, new light fixtures and ceiling fans, plus sundries like curtain rods and drapes. The house is freshly painted and is in basic move in condition. The terrazzo floor is in really good condition as well.That means someone moving to Key West from far away won't need to arrive in Key West and start to clean and redo a property before they can move in.  If you think a quick "update" or a "freshening" is quick I've got news for you: it isn't. Let me show you what's been done.

This home is a bachelor pad right now. The bumper pool table is confirmation of that. But the living area is large enough for a real family. The living room is quite spacious. Note the dining alcove. Muted sunlight provides a cheery place for daytime meals. It is large enough possibly to become a fourth bedroom. And the new kitchen gleams. A door at the rear exits out to the west side yard which leads to the front covered parking or to the rear garden where there is abundant room for a pool.

The front bedroom has three windows which adds a bit of drama to what often-times is a boring space in many mid century homes. This house is an upgrade from could be mundane. The color choices used between the various bedrooms works as well. The colors play off the whites, blacks, and grays of the terrazzo floors.

The windows of the left rear bedroom look out to the rear garden. This room is quite spacious. While it is used as an office by the current owner, it has ample space for a king, queen, or bunk beds plus bedroom furniture. Both the front and rear bedrooms share the use of the hallway bath that has also been updated.

The master bedroom has an en-suite full bath. A sliding door opens out the very large rear yard where there is ample room for a large pool. The lot measures 60' X 114' or 6840 sq ft total. That is much larger than a typical lot in Mid Town or New Town and even larger than many lots in the Casa Marina Area.

I took a lot of photos of this home which you can see if you CLICK HERE. They provide many angles of each space plus photos of the building exterior and garden area. I don't want potential buyers to miss the genuine money saving opportunities this house provides as it sits for immediate move-in plus potential to add a pool later on. This is a clean house where the drudge work has been done. Nothing new needs done to the inside or to the house. The yard is nicely landscaped. There is room for a large pool if that is something that a new owner wants. But the place is perfectly fine as it sits. The yard is a safe place for the kids to play.

3322 Flagler Avenue is not shown in the Key West mls. But you can see if if you call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let's go take a look. I think you will be genuinely impressed by this home which is offered for sale at $569,000 or $405 per sq ft.

210-2 Southard Street, Key West - Transient Licensed Shipyard Condo in the Truman Annex

 

Just listed by Preferred Properties, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 210-2 Southard Street in the Shipyard Condominiums at Truman Annex. Truman Annex is located just two blocks from historic Duval Street and all of the attractions that make Key West a world class destination. This is a unique one bedroom unit with a valuable Truman Annex Transient License which permits 25 weekly rentals throughout the year. The unit may also be rented monthly or used by the owner or the owner's family throughout the year.

The listing Realtor describes the new listing this way:

"This bright and breezy second floor Shipyard unit has a spacious rear deck, assigned parking and a special Truman Annex transient license. The management company calls this unit Treetops because of the lovely poinciana trees front and rear. This unit is being sold turn-key with attractive tropical furnishings and assumable advance bookings."

If you have been watching Key West real estate sales for the past few years and are waiting for a price dip to get the house you didn't get when prices were lower, don't hold your breath. A dip might occur, but if it does it probably won't last long and when the market returns, there will be slew of buyers chomping at the bit to buy what they should have bought before prices increased after the 2008 market down turn. For the past several years those same type of buyers have gobbled up Shipyard Condos because renters favor this development over just about any place in town. Read about why in the next paragraph. I did a quick search to determine the number of sales since 2013 and the price paid on a per square foot basis for each year. Numbers speak louder than words.

YEAR     NUMBER UNITS SOLD     PRICE PER SQ FT
2013        5                                             $666
2014        9                                             $741
2015        13                                           $857 
2016        7                                             $862

There are now only four units available in the Shipyard which are priced on an average price per sq ft of $895.  As you link at the mls link below consider what is included in this unit that is not often included in most other Shipyard listings by the company that sells most of the Shipyard units: furnishings and advance bookings. Most sellers make buyers pay for the furnishings and require a buyer to take over the bookings with a specific property management company to get them. They are offered in this listing without qualification.

Returning visitors to Key West love the location, comfort, and security that Truman Annex provides. Guest who stay in this unit will especially love this location because it's hard to get lost when the place you are staying is located about 100 feet west of the gated parking entry and next to a park-like space between the next row of condos. People do get lost, especially people who have had the extra cocktail. The location itself is within walking distance to Ft Zach Taylor State Park and Beach.  The pool is only a minute or so walk, but I'll bet you more guests will head off to the beach to enjoy the sun and ocean.  At night the Green Parrot and other nearby establishments provide music, food, and cocktails.  During season the Waterfront Playhouse at Mallory Square and the Red Barn Theater offer live performances that feature many local talents. Day or night, there's always something to do and whatever it is, it is within easy walking distance of Truman Annex. Duval Street is two blocks to the east. Sunset Celebration is held nightly - just a five minute walk to the north through the ever beautiful Emma Street in the Truman Annex.

CLICK HERE  to view the Key West mls datasheet and listing photos.  Better than that, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a showing of this unit.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

 

1122 Southard Street, Key West - Price Reduced on Investment Property

The asking price on 1122 Southard Street in Key West was just reduced from $995,000 to $875,000. This is the really interesting property with upside potential. The listing Realtor describes this investment property this way:

"This historic building includes 5 licensed apartments. There is a large 2BR/2BA, two story unit at the rear ideal for an owner, a 1 Bedroom, an efficiency and 2 studio units. Lot's of the original Dade County Pine and architectural details including the original staircase are intact. Excellent Old Town location. The property is currently owned by a non profit organization for their use and so rents are currently well below market value"

Frequent readers of my blog know that I have a shoe box where I sometimes find old photos of actively listed properties. I found just such a photo of 1122 Southard Street that was taken five decades ago when this property was a laundry of all things.  I searched the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when 1122 Southard Street was built. The 1889 Map ignored this area entirely but I know for a fact that there were multiple homes and businesses in existence in the immediate area at that time. then. It was not until the 1892 map that a building was cited on the lot and the address given at that time was 1018 Southard St. The address of 1018 Southard was changed to 1122 Southard Street on the 1899 map.  That map indicated a small cut-out a the right rear of the lot where a water tower was located. That cut-out exists today which is now a part of a large adjacent property to the rear. My conclusion is that 1122 Southard Street existed at least as of 1892 and probably earlier which I will explain later.

 The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows this building as having 2515 sq ft of living space plus porches. The irregular lot measures 40 ft wide by 82 ft deep minus the cut-out for the old water tower in the rear which I mentioned earlier. The building is located next door to the historic Key West Armory which is now owned by the State of Florida. This suggests to me that the Armory will always be maintained and not become a nuisance neighbor. In fact local painting contractors are just finishing the front facade of this historic building. Southard Street has three of the most expensive listings in town. Most of the single family homes on Southard are priced over the one million dollar mark.

As the listing Realtor indicates this property currently is owned by a non-profit organization which was providing housing to local artists and temporary artists-in-residence. Today the building is vacant except for two tenants. I think whoever buys this building has several options to take advantage of the low occupancy by re-renting the vacant units at market rate without spending any money.  These units are small and ideal for single occupancy tenants. There is a real housing shortage in Key West. These would be rented in a heartbeat.  A buyer who wants to do some "fix-up" could do some improvements to the units. I  am not sure the updated units would rent for a lot more money but a fix-up may make the buyer feel  better about the building itself. The building has been well maintained. I just know that many buyers feel compelled to spend new money whenever they buy something. Below are a few photos of the four units in front.

These apartments would be easily rented to new people moving to the area or to people who have lost their long time residences to be displaced by someone who bought a home that they plan to renovate.  This building is located within easy walking distance to Duval Street and the seaport where many locals are employed. There is adequate on street parking, but the fact of life in Key West is that many locals do not own cars. Instead many locals walk or ride bikes or scooters as primary means of getting around.

The two story unit at the rear has so much potential for either an owner-landlord or as a place to actually spend some money to increase the rental on this particular apartment. I think any money spent on the rear unit is money well spent. This space is worth the price of the building in itself. The income from the apartments in front would pay all taxes, insurance, and upkeep on the building.

CLICK HERE to view some not-so-good photos I took with my small pocket camera on a recent showing of this property. They provide some simple views of the units and the grounds.

The asking price on 1122 Southard Street was just reduced from $995,000 to $875,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule an appointment to see this property. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.