806 Southard Street, Key West

The asking price on 806 Southard Street, Key West was just reduced  from $949,000 to $799,000 and that makes this house worth serious consideration. This sweet home is located a little over one block from the top of Solares Hill -  the highest point in Old Town.  The immediate neighborhood is a mix of Grand Conch houses, eyebrow homes, cigar maker cottages, several churches, two restaurants, a few apartments, and the most expensive home currently listed for sale - the Albury Mansion located about 100 feet west and offered at $15,850,000 (not a typo).   I mention the location for two reasons: (1) this home is located in the heart of Old Town and surrounded by multi-million dollar homes and (2) this home is in the X Zone which a new lender will not require the buyer to purchase flood insurance.

This is a fixer-upper by Key West standards not because it is in bad shape but because it will be worth so much more money after it is renovated. The listing Realtor describes the property this home this way: 

"MAJOR PRICE REDUCTION: Endless potential. 2br/1 bath with 575 sq ft half story bonus room waiting your imagination. Stairwell removed. Here is your opportunity to own an old town treasure. Some upgrade in kitchen in bath. Needs TLC and imagination to make this your old town Jewel. Truly a prime location in a fantastic neighborhood. Home has off street parking and plenty of room for a pool."

I dug into my old shoebox and found a black and white photo of 806 Southard Street taken half a century ago - before the carport and white picket fence were added.  I checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and learned that this house existed as of the 1892 map when it was then identified as 706 Southard Street. By the time the 1889 map was published, the addressed had changed to 806 Southard Street. 

The above photos show the location of the house in relation to the street and the large neighbor to the east - the Historic Harris School site which includes the school and the immense lot which will eventually be developed in some way. The school site will be a multi-million dollar project the development of which will be a major community concern. Whatever is done with the site will require a major infusion of money to preserve the old school and require any other development to compliment the other homes in this neighborhood. 

The black and white photos above show the school yard in 1955 (and 1962) but also show 806 Southard Street. When you stand back at a distance you can actually see how large the lot is. The house sits on an irregular lot measuring about 34.27' X 100'  or 3153 sq ft.  The current house has off street parking and more than enough room to install a pool. If you look at the photo of the driveway you may realize a pool contractor could take a small backhoe through the driveway to removed debris thereby cutting constructions costs a bit. 

The two above photos show the rear addition to the house - one from the outside and one from the inside. If you are a long time reader of my blog you will remember I often state that houses are only boxes. It is how you arrange the box that gives the space meaning and purpose. A new homeowner will likely rearrange about everything inside the box including changing the possible relocation of the primary living area to the rear. I would imagine a new owner might remove the existing ceiling and vault the space and to add two or more French doors to the rear which would look out to the new pool area. The reconfigured room may accommodate part of the kitchen and dining area as well.  Privacy fencing and tropical foliage would be added at the rear to make the neighbors on all sides disappear from view. 

The front portion of the original house has two attic rooms bisected down the middle which are not currently accessible because the old exterior stairway was removed. The first floor ceiling height is about eight feet tall when the current acoustic tile ceiling is removed. This will give a new owner immense opportunity to reconfigure all living spaces. The 1955 black and white school yard photo shows the exterior staircase that was removed which would give a new owner the right to ask to create new living space in that area. If the main entry door was move to one side, the current living area could be reconfigured with two large bedrooms and baths on the east side of the first floor where the current living room and second bedroom plus bonus room are now located. I would relocate the front door to the west side. That would allow the new owner to create a whole new bedroom and bath on the second floor. Just because the house looks and functions the way it does today does not mean it could not become something extraordinary in a few months to come. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 806 Southard Street which is now offered for sale at $799,000. 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. This is truly an exciting buying opportunity for someone seeking a fixer-upper in a great Old Town location. Remember, it does not need fixed. It would be worth so much more if it were.

1404 South Street, Key West

I am a buyers agent in Key West. You may have heard of Key West - it's a small island city located at the end of America.  It often takes a couple of plane rides, a very long car ride, or a boat ride to get here from "there".  I often meet my buyers for the first time when I pick them up at their hotel as we begin our tour of homes.

It sometime happens that the buyer had too many cocktails the previous night - really. So today's blog is a cautionary warning to potential buyers who may want to look at 1404 South Street, in Key West.  Don't drink the night before because you may think your in Bali or some Polynesian location. I am not being flip. I can just imagine someone becoming disoriented when seeing this place.I was awed as soon as I passed through the gated entry and viewed the tropical gardens and pool.

If you are a longtime Reader of my blog you know that I often remark about opening the front door of house and looking through the house to see the pool and gardens to the rear. That is how most homes are laid out. Not this place. Here the pool, veranda, and principal garden are located at the front of the house. The garden continues on either side and wraps around to the rear. Garden views appear from every window.

The great room has two large glass panel doors which retract and merge the covered outdoor living space with the interior. Your eyes may be drawn to the hand painted mural which wraps around the side wall to the central hallway. You will also notice the pass through from the kitchen into the dining area which opens the entire space to comfortable living environment. As walked through the kitchen I had to stop and look into the living area. I had to admire the view out to the pool - it's just reverse of what I normally experience, but the view itself is just captivating. Then I turned to the left and found a huge butler's pantry with more window and a glass panel door opening out to the west side yard with more lush garden area.

This 1861 sq ft home has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths. One of the guest bedrooms located on the first floor is being used by the current owner as an office. The master suite shown above. Very large room with expansive doors that open out to covered rear deck. Lexan panels keep the occasional rain off but always allow the sun to brighten this area. The rear gardens include sprinkler system and lighting.

The second floor bedroom is almost like a tree top doll house. It is so romantic. The stripped walls may look like wallpaper, but they are hand painted.  Windows on either end of this room not only brighten the space but tie in with the vaulted ceiling to give the room a sense of spaciousness but still keeping the room human-sized.

I showed this new listing last week and sat down by the pool as my buyers walked around the house. I was captivated by the pool area.  Some homes have tiny cocktail pools, some have big sunny pools, others are tucked into a corner wherever space could be found to place a pool. Here the pool is the center of attention. There is both covered and open sitting spaces plus a beautiful outdoor dining area. New Trex decking was added and the gardens were also recently refreshed. This place looks so nice.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 1404 South Street, Key West offered at $1,329,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this tropical dream house. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

The Direction Not Taken

"What’s in store for me in the direction I don’t take?" Jack Kerouac


People with good intentions tell me that I should not dwell on decisions I made in the past. You can't change what you did, so leave it alone - they say. I wish it was that easy. I ended up not having a couple of relationships that I wish I have given the chance to succeed. And I had other relationships that, had they not occurred, had I not done that one thing, my entire life story would have been written differently. The regrets of choices made and directions not taken is not limited to love or romance, or jobs, but also involves decisions on investments made or not made and years of regrets over how I let little things screw up big dreams and plans for the future. And I bet a lot of my dear readers have gone through the same agony of regretting what you did and what you did not do.

In 1982 I made a cash offer on the above home located on Crestmore Drive in Denver. I offered a lot less than the seller wanted. The seller refused to respond to my offer. I went around my Realtor (nobody should do that!) and called the seller up myself. I told the seller I would pay full price. The seller yelled at me and said he would never sell to me. I had pissed him off so bad that I could never buy it. I learned not to insult a seller by making a low-ball offer.

I went back to Denver two years ago  and drove past that house and took the above photo. The place is still perfect. I don't know what course my life would have taken had I purchased that home. It certainly would have been different than the life I ended up having. I have made offers on other properties that I did not get, but this house was different. This loss stuck with me. I not only learned a valuable lesson in negotiation, but also feeling a self-inflicted wound of not getting something I really wanted and having the lingering regret over what I did to myself. 


If you are looking to take your life in a different direction by purchasing a place in Key West, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-76-2642 or contact me by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. The only regret I have about moving to Key West is that it took me so long to do it.

903 Eaton Street, Key West - Open House Today

You are looking at the front yard of 903 Eaton Street located in the Old Town area of Key West. A big front yard is not that big of a deal in many parts of the United States, but in Key West it is a mighty big deal especially when the lot is 50 feet wide by 106 feet deep or 5300 square feet.

The existing CBS home is a 2/1 with 761 square feet of move-in ready living space. Everything is nice and clean. The lot is so large you cannot see the house from the street. During previous open houses passers-by have commented "I did not know there was a house here."    

Here is the best part: this is the largest lot in Old Town currently listed for sale which may be legally torn down and where a new home may be constructed using new building materials such as impact windows and doors and Hardiboard siding which are typically not permitted in renovations in the historic district.

You can't beat the location. Two of the best bakeries in town are located within two blocks,  the historic seaport is a three minute walk, numerous neighborhood gyms, yoga studios, and even fine dining restaurants are also located within easy walking distance.World famous Duval Street is a short four blocks to the west.

OPEN HOUSE

903 Eaton Street

12:00 to 2:00 PM

5 Brothers Key West - An Homage

My friend Ronny Bailey dropped by my office a few days ago to show me his latest piece of folk art, a wood cutting depicting 5 Brothers Grocery and Sandwich Shop located at 930 Southard Street in Key West. Ronny is a native Key Wester, a multi-generation Conch. He was a carpenter by trade until he retired a few years ago. He hung up his saw, stowed the hammer, and began the second phase of his life as a folk artist. I don't think he started out to become an artist as much as he used his skills as a carpenter to create miniature versions of the facades of the old houses of Key West - the way they used to be - before the gentrification that is forever erasing memory of the past imperfect houses and their conversion into perfect tiny million dollar cottages. Later Ronny depicted larger homes and then added some commercial buildings. Most recently Ronny added added wood carving to his repertoire.

The 5 Brothers piece is Ronny's homage to the place and the people that go there each morning. If you drive by this place on any weekday morning you will invariably see a couple of cops, several healthy looking men who obviously work for a living (as opposed to guys who sit at a computer or who sell houses), some older guys who look like retirees, and some tourists. There are a couple of benches which are usually occupied. Many others stand and swap stories. A former neighbor of mine (who I will call "Norm")  told me what really goes on at 5 Brothers. Norm was also a general contractor. He said he and other contractors would meet there to discuss what projects they were working on or going to be making bids on that day or that week. He told me the same guys would meet after work at a bar and discuss the projects and prices they would quote so that they could distribute the work among each other and not get into bidding wars. I have to live here and can't tell the rest. Imagine "collusion".

Notice the three officers inside the store, two sitting on the bench, and the guy in the patrol car. Look carefully at the license plate which reads "SWEET H2O". The cop driving the car is Officer Sweetwater. Ronny chcukled with glee at his cleverness.

Ronny's depiction is more generous than Norm's narrative description. The wood cutting is three boards made into one larger piece which was then painted black. Ronny carved out layer after layer to create the building, the streetscape, the sky with helicopter, and the Key West people - each a real life Key West character.  Ronny referred to each person with the word "mister" before each person's name followed by some descriptive sentence about who that person was and why he is on that piece of art. You will notice the helicopter on the upper right side. The wood cutting depicts the real life helicopter pilot "back in the day" on a special ops mission for his Cuban coffee and cheese toast! When I saw the helicopter I was reminded of the scene in the the 1989 James Bond movie License to Kill which was filmed in Key West when Bond and his pal parachuted from a helicopter down to St. Mary's Catholic Church on Truman Avenue to attend Bond's pal's wedding. Ronny told me about the many "stories" that the pilot described from his life. I added an arrow directing your attention to the word Peace on the helicopter. Ronny adds the words Love, Peace, and Joy each piece of art he creates.

The building at 930 Southard Street has remained pretty much the same since the black and white photo below was taken in 1965. Note the cutout police figure in the lower right hand corner. The prop-cop was used to alert drivers to the Harris School located at the next corner. I found a similar roadside cop in a photo taken at 1200 White Street which warned drivers to slow down for the old Key West high school one block to the south.(Look at the far left side of the road to see the policeman) In today's Key West there are real life cops standing guard at every school in town, each adorned with bright neon yellow vests and whistles. I personally like the less expensive and more clever cutout cops. I'd slow down if I came upon one and smile for a block or two.

I looked through my old shoebox and found some photos I took over the years of 5 Brothers. I rarely go there myself. I drink way too much coffee when I get up. But I know a lot of people who do go there regularly. I stopped by 5 Brothers on my way to the office to snap a couple of photos of 5 Brothers. Those pics are at the bottom of this blog. Stop by the next time you are in town. Go inside where you will find the original Ronny Bailey wood carving. Smile to yourself as you see the Key West characters and the place that made them famous.

Photos taken May 26, 2017 below. The scene never changes. The characters do.