Maybe It's Cream of Curried Cat...

I recently showed several homes to a couple seeking a second home - a place their family could enjoy and which they could also rent as a vacation rental a few times during the year. They found two houses they wanted to look at for a second time. We went to their favorite house first. They loved the location. They loved the pool. It had a small guest cottage at the rear which the young teen daughter quickly claimed as her room. The buyers were a bit confused with the layout and thought they might need to hire a contractor to make some changes to suit their needs. The second house was located a bit a couple of blocks outside their preferred location and priced a bit beyond what they wanted to pay. But it did not need to be fixed.

After looking at several homes my buyers wanted to take second looks at both houses mentioned above. Not surprisingly, the  house they liked the most was the least expensive. They went through room after room and talked between themselves about the positive and negative points. I sat off to the side and let them do their thing. The listing Realtor sat by the pool and conducted business on her iPhone. After fifteen or twenty minutes they approached me and asked "Is that cat I smell?"  The other said "I think it's curry! Do you think it's curry? Can we get rid of curry? CAN WE EVER GET RID OF CURRY?"  I suggest they check the internet. I told them I don't know the answer and again said to check the internet.

It took me about four minutes to drive to the second house. As I recall we just got out of my car when my iPhone rang. It was the agent from the house of odd smells.  She said she called the owner and asked what the odor was.  She was told the owners had cooked curry the night before and heated the leftovers for lunch.  The agent dismissed the odor as inconsequential cooking.

I am a doubting Thomas. My last name is Thomas and I doubted that it would be that easy to get rid of such an intense odor. I remember a very beautiful Old Town house which I showed years ago. The owner loved cats. He had 21 of them in fact. He had remodeled his house and engaged on the best architects in Key West to design his house. It was perfect in all aspects except that it reeked of cat. A few years later I learned that a fellow realtor purchased that same home. She and her husband were new to Key West when they bought the cat house. They discussed the cat odor and felt they could make it go away. They were wrong. The lady Realtor told me they tried every way to clean the floors. They sanded and refinished the floors.  That did not do the trick. Finally, they had to replace the wood floors.

I did a simple GOOGLE search asking "can you get rid of curry smell" and found varying answer most of which suggested that it was nearly impossible to get rid of.  One person said "I was told by a real estate agent that it's actually the smell from frying food and essential oils lingering in the kitchen and it's not possible to remove it. Perhaps if you think of it in terms of grease molecules instead of curry, you will find a new approach to solving the problem."  Another wrote "I had rented my condo and the tenants cooked with curry. After 13 months the cabinets were saturated with cooking grease and I could not rent the unit as the smell would drive prospective tenants away. I finally used turpentine to break down the grease from all surfaces in the kitchen, appliances, hardwood floors, everything. Then we had the place painted with Kilz and then final paint. This helped considerably, but the smell was still there and the unit unrentable. The final step was to have a company come in. They applied some type of microbial solution to all the walls and floor and appliances. Then ran an ozone generator for 5 days. We then aired out the unit for a day. It has been a month now and the unit smells brand new. The entire process cost almost $2300 between paint, cleansers and the ozone treatment.The microwave had to be replaced as you could not get into the workings of the unit to clear the grease. But the smell is gone. Companies that do fire restorations will be familiar with treating curry smells in homes. Its expensive to get rid of, but if you don't do the cleaning and painting, ozone alone will not work, you need to remove the source. Ozone is the final process that makes it all come together."

It is amazing to me how many sellers are oblivious to the smells they or their animals create. My buyers did not buy the cat or curry house. Hopefully they will find a place in the future they want to call their Key West home.

514 Elizabeth St Key West - New Lower Price

The asking price on 514 Elizabeth Street in Key West was just reduced to $1,350,000. I have written about this historic Old Town home a few times over the ten years I have written my blog, not because it has been offered for sale but rather to share with my Dear Readers that this is the first house I sold in Key West.  It has been owned by the same people these many years. As I recall there were three factors that influenced their decision to buy this place. First, the house really is historic - it is one of the very oldest homes in Key West. Second, it has a great location equal distance to Duval Street and the Historic Seaport. Third it had off street parking and a deep back yard with room for a pool. The owners built a pool and created a lovely rear deck and garden.  The perfect location and the charming home remain.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe famously said, "Less is more."  The simplicity of design and original construction make this home a stand out among the many homes in Old Town that have been over-renovated. My research shows the house as having been built circa 1855. The photo directly below shows the house in 1965. Below that is a photo I took  about ten years ago. The bottom photo was taken in 2013 from the second floor of the house across the street at 517 Elizabeth.  The current told me  that 514 Elizabeth is "is typical of the conch or Bahamian house built in the Bahamas from the 1780s and in Key West prior to the Civil War. The original architectural moldings that survive are typical of the 1835-1860 period."

The facade is so simple. The front porch is meant for sitting. The front door opens into a wide hallway with the formal parlor on the right and the ground floor bedroom on the left. There is a main floor bath at the left rear. The stairway to the second floor bedrooms is located on the right. The original Dade County Pine walls and floors are still intact throughout the house. The only noticeable thing I saw that has changed is the front scuttle no long is visible inside the second floor bedrooms. The house now has central air conditioning and that vitiated the need to use the scuttle for ventilation.

You probably can't tell it from the photos but the wood walls also help us date the house. The wood planks are much wider than typical houses from the 1890s and later. That means the Dade County Pine walls were "old growth lumber" which means earlier construction. The floors and walls have settled a bit with age. Purists who want a genuine old house will appreciate this. People who want something is all perfect will not. I remember staying at the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds many years ago. We stayed in the room that Oliver Cromwell stayed in the night before the Battle of Hastings in 1620. The room tilted a bit. The hotel had a fancy new addition. I preferred historic room with the tilt. And that is why I find this house so utterly charming.

 The previous owner added a new kitchen and dining area more than twenty years ago. It is showing its age a bit. A new owner might update it. 

One of the joys of living in Key West is the ability to open the doors in the winter and allow the sunshine inside and merge the inside with the outside at night. Two separate spaces become one environment to share with family and friends. It's meals on heels instead of meals on wheels here.

During the daytime the pool is the perfect place to get than Key West tan that will make your friends from the frozen north green with envy.  The deck are perfect entertaining spots at night as well. French doors open from the kitchen and the family room area out to the deck.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 514 Elizabeth Street which is a Pre-Civil War home in Key West offered by Preferred Properties at $1,350,000. Then call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. This is a great location and a precious home in our community.

903 Eaton Street, Key West - OPEN HOUSE

OPEN HOUSE - Today

11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

903 Eaton Street, Key West

Development Potential 50 foot X 106 foot deep lot - 5300 sq ft

Existing two bedroom one bath home is in move-in condition.

The existing house can be razed!  

Walk the Lot. Admire the neighboring homes. 

Imagine what you create.

Someone is going to buy this place and create something new.

Could that someone be you?

CLICK HERE to view the KEY WEST MLS datasheet on 903 Eaton Street offered at $795,000 by Gary Thomas at Preferred Properties Key West. Phone 305-766-2642 Email kw1101v@aol.com

1509 Pine Street, Key West - Price Reduction

1509 Pine Street is located in the quiet Meadows Area of Key West. It is located a couple of blocks north of Bayview Park, the main city park in our little town. Many of the homes in this area were built around the turn of the Twentieth Century. While 1509 Pine may look like one of the historic older homes, it was built in 2008. It was built to the State of Florida's rigid building code and offers substantial reduced costs for insurance, maintenance, and power consumption. The asking price was just reduced to $1,299,000 or $797 per sq ft.  Read on and compare the price and features to other much higher priced and less affordable to maintain homes in Old Town. I am certain when any potential buyer sits on the front porch they will immediately and deeply fall in love with this location and this home because it is the epitome of what a Key West house ought to be. 

The listing Realtor describes 1509 Pine Street, Key West, as

"Built in 2008 resembling the charming historic architecture of Old Town Key West, this 3 bedroom 3 1/2 bath is all new. With 11 foot ceilings and 8 foot doors, the spacious rooms are filled with light. The gourmet kitchen has granite counters, high end stainless appliances and an incredible amount of storage. The sunny heated pool and spa with water feature are controlled by mobile app. Each
bedroom is en suite and the master has a vaulted ceiling plus a private balcony. There is two zone central air, hard wood and travertine floors, solid wood doors, high ceilings on both floors, crown molding and high end fixtures used throughout the home. This home is in pristine move in condition and will delight the most discerning buyer. Private parking is accessed through electric gates at both ends of the driveway. Plenty of street parking for guests. Great Meadows location near everything Key West has to offer. Easy to see!"

The Meadows of Key West was designed to be and is the epitome of design and high-end construction in Key West. The homes were built to withstand the challenges of our sub-tropical climate and sunny days. The Hardiboard siding and impact windows and doors will keep long term maintenance and insurance costs down as opposed to other stick built homes in our area. Each home has a private pool and carport which is accessed via private rear driveway. The home owner association maintains the driveway and water retention area on Eisenhower Drive keeping the HOA fees to a minimum. Homeowners are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of their individual homes and yards.

Like many of the Grand Conch Houses of Old Town, this home has a covered front porch located off the master suite.  The ceiling in the master bedroom is vaulted which really adds dimension to this space that includes a large walk-in closet and en-suite bath. Readers should study the architectural detain in the second floor porch. You just won't find this kind of detailed architecture and quality in similarly sized historic home in Old Town at this price.

There are two additional bedrooms on the second floor both of which have private en-suite baths and ample closets. The rear bedroom (pictured above) is located above the carport. I guess you could refer to it as a carriage house of sorts. Note that both guest bedrooms have tray ceilings, crown molding, recessed lighting, and many more design feature.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and to view more listing photos of 1509 Pine Street offered at $1,299,000.  Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a Private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.