713 Emma Street #2, Key West, Florida - Just Listed

 Just Listed 713 Emma Street No. 2, Key West, Florida. This is a genuine buying opportunity for the buyer who wants a home in move-in condition and priced way below the market on the other side of Duval Street. Let's take a look.

This little compound of four homes is located just a couple of blocks east of Blue Heaven and within easy walking distance to the new Truman Waterfront Park. It has the amenities buyers want at a price real people can afford. This home has two bedrooms, two and one-half baths, a ground floor guest room which can also be used as a den or office.

When you open the front door you'll probably say "Whoa!".  Everything looks perfect. The main floor includes the living and dining area, kitchen, and guest room with pocket doors to provide privacy when needed. The cream colored walls are muted by the crisp white crown molding and trim.  The Brazilian cherry hardwood floors add the feeling of substance often missing in modern construction in Key West. Take a look at the beautiful kitchen cabinets and high end stainless steel appliances including Viking range and SubZero refrigerator. There is even a kitchen window with a western view to watch the world famous Key West sunset. Sunset Celebration takes place nightly about six blocks to the north at Mallory Square. Mom, dad, junior, or sis can watch it while doing dishes all year long without ever leaving home.

Readers from up north may not appreciate the attention to detail in the staircase to the second floor, but I do.  Buyers need to compare the quality of materials used in the construction as compared to homes priced higher just a couple of blocks north in Truman Annex. You will soon agree this home is superior. The guest bedroom has a vaulted ceiling which adds a real spacious feel to this quality space. The bathroom even has a window which opens out to the porch.  The laundry closet is located between the guest room and master bedroom.

The master suite is pretty special. Even before you enter, you'll see the vaulted ceiling. That space is accentuated by the loft. Maybe the grand kids can make use of the space.I don't know if imaginations are important like they were when I was a kid. I would have loved to play in this space. The French door open out to a second floor balcony with western views. The Atlantic Ocean is about three blocks west. The master bathroom has dual sinks. The glassed shower could accommodate two people, perhaps. There are two windows in this room as well. I mention these little details because the builder added these special features to separate this property from other lesser properties. CLICK HERE to view more photos of this home.

The Sellers tell me they love to leave the guest bedroom door open at night and fall asleep listening to the trickle of the waterfall below.  This could be your little home in Paradise.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 713 Emma Street #2, Key West. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. I am the listing Realtor on this home and I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

1109 Petronia Street, Key West - Price Reduction on Cute Legal Duplex in Old Town

Not everybody has oodles of dollars to buy a place in Key West. Some people have to find a way to  make the place help pay for itself so to speak. The legal duplex located at 1109 Petronia Street, as cute as it is, could do just that. The owner could live on the first floor and rent out the second floor for income.

This is a scenario that gets played out across the US all time. Single people, married couples, and partners find a place, get a loan, move in, and find some other person to rent the adjacent unit for a reasonable price. The difference here is, - Well, It's obvious, isn't it?  It's Key West.

The black and white photo above was taken in 1965 and shows us that this building has been used as a money maker for over fifty years. The building is approximately 1,000 sq ft divided between the first and second floor units. There is an addition at the rear which is used as the kitchen for the downstairs unit.  It adds 80 sq ft of living space to that unit and explains the difference in floor plans between the two living levels. Let's look at how the units are currently divided.

The front door enters into the living area. Two doors on either side lead back to the single bedroom. The large bathroom is on the right side while the kitchen is on the left. A door in the kitchen opens out to the garden. I think this unit would make a great owner's unit. The owner could doll-up the garden space and maybe add a spa or maybe just a sweet little patio. 

The second floor provides a nice perch to sit and watch the comings and goings of area residents and tourists who happen to find this little two block stretch of Petronia Street which runs from White Street to Frances Street where it dead-ends (appropriately!) at the cemetery. Not much happens on this little block. Four windows provide filtered light into the living room and dining nook during the daytime. There is a good sized bedroom at the rear. CLICK HERE to see more photos of this property as well as the other double gable homes in Key West.

I think this building would be a good candidate for renovation back into a single family home. I would double the height of the rear addition and create an interior stairway in that space. I would take down the exterior stairway and use the porches for sitting. If the expansion of the existing footprint could increase the total space to 1150 sq ft or so, I think an architect could create a three bed, two bath single family home. I would think a new owner could spend up to $300,000 in renovation, but the end result would be worth it.  Of course, a new owner could do what the current owner has done, rent the units out for income.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and then please call either me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, or Dan Skahen, 305-923-6524, to set up a showing. We are both full time Realtors at Preferred Properties Key West. Both units are tenant occupied. We and they request 24 hour advance showing request. Both units are on annual leases.  Ground floor lease expires in July and second floor is subject to a 60 day kick-out clause which would give the new owner the right to take possession of that unit upon vacation by the tenant.

1 Nassau Lane, Key West - Newly Renovated Cottage in Old Town

I have written and rewritten the true story about the time sixteen years ago when a couple walked into my office one morning and told me they wanted to buy a small house in Old Town Key West.  I showed them several properties on my computer. They selected a few to see that afternoon including one located on Nassau Lane which was owned by a fellow agent. I called him and asked if we could see it before noon. He said "Yes", and we drove over soon thereafter. We parked on Fleming Street and started to walk up the lane. As we neared the house the lady started to gush and said something like "Gary, I love this! This is exactly what we were thinking about." As we approached the house she said "That's it!  We are going to buy this house." I suggested she wait until we see the inside. But she had already made up her mind and that of her husband. We did not look at any of the other houses I had lined up for the afternoon. We were under contract within a couple of hours. Such was the charm of Nassau Lane.

Loyal readers of my blog may recall that I listed and sold the house they purchased (11 Nassau Lane)  it in early 2017. They owned that little treasure for over fifteen years.

1 Nassau Lane, Key West

Yesterday another little charmer, 1 Nassau Lane, appeared as a new listing in the Key West MLS.  The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

Recently Renovated! Charmingly quaint and cozy 1BR/1BA Key West Cottage stands tasteful & modest on rare & quiet lane located just off of Fleming Street & conveniently close to the Historic Seaport & many more fun attractions & activities Key West has to offer such as restaurants, parks & local art galleries. More... The one story home includes a great sized kitchen with built-in cabinets, cathedral ceilings, laundry/utility room & hardwood/tile floors. Curtained by mature tropical foliage rests the perfect home for any young bachelor or retired couple seeking a tranquil island life setting.

I wrote about this cottage style home last year when it had potential. It didn't sell, so the property was taken off the market and updated. The most visible changes are the new kitchen and updated bath.. The interior and exterior were painted and the laundry was relocated to the rear.

One of the things you quickly learn about small cottage homes like this is that you pretty much see most of the house when you open the front door. Here, the front door opens into the living, dining, and kitchen area. Notice the door at the back of the kitchen and also the door off to the right with a spiral staircase.

The remodeled kitchen includes popular new white cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The last photo show a door opening into another room - the one and only bedroom.

If you watch a lot of those House Hunter TV shows have heard so many of the potential buyers make comments about wanting to buy a place for their family and friends to come and stay. If you buy any place in Key West, they will do that. And stay, and stay, and eat you food and drink you booze, and stay for as long as they can. They will return year after year as long as you permit. If you have a lot of money, an extra bedroom in Old Town will probably add at least $150,000 to the purchase price of any home. The thing is, you cannot add an extra bedroom onto this house. The lot is too small. But there is a really charming guest house at the foot of Nassau Lane and the famous Eden House is located across the street. Both offer nice accommodations at affordable pricing. So if you want to foot the bill for your guests, you can put them up in style for a few hundred bucks as opposed to many thousands of dollars.

This little rooftop deck couldn't get built today. Our Historic Architectural Review Commission would not allow it. But it is grandfathered and protected. A new owner could take it down. But with a sweet view of the Key West sunset so alluring as that shown, maybe it would be best to keep it right where it is.

1 Nassau Lane abuts a home which fronts onto Fleming Street. This cottage first appeared on the 1912 Sanborn Fire Maps.  The 1889 Sanborn Map identified this same lane as "Cologne Lane" at which time a structure two lots to the south was identified as being a horse shed. Maybe nobody wanted to live next to a horse shed and maybe that explains the lane change after the horse shed went away. I looked through my old shoebox and found the black and white photo below which was taken 53 years ago. The color photo was taken two days ago. Imagine how cute this will look after the new owner dolls it up just a bit. The hard part is over. The decorating and accessorizing can begin.

The chief axiom of real estate is "Location, Location, Location" and 1 Nassau Lane has it. The mansions on Fleming Street are located forty feet from the front door of 1 Nassau Lane. You can walk to Duval Street or the historic seaport in a matter of minutes. There are two incredible bakeries located about three minutes away by foot. There are two nearby convenience stores on White Street also located within a five minute walk. There are several gyms and yoga studios about seven minutes to the south. CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos on 1 Nassau Lane which is offered at $599,000. 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.  http://www.preferredpropertieskeywest.com/.

Before and After Martin Luther King

I don't know what it is about white old men (I am one), but I'll bet they look at the picture of Andy, Barney, Opie, and Aunt Bea and recall that time as the "good old days". Well, I guess, I agree to part of that. I still watch the reruns - they are on TV everyday.  The Andy Griffith Show began in 1960 and reflected life in Mayberry, North Carolina. Well, reflected a vision of a fictional town with very nice white folks.

I was thirteen years old in 1960 and remember watching Andy and loving it. I never thought too much about there never (in the beginning) seeing any black characters. I guess they didn't have any black characters (or black actors) in the 1960s. Oh wait, they did have black actors. My mistake. 

I grew up in the western suburbs of Denver in the 1950s. I remember watching another Andy. He was the chubby black man with the cigar in the Amos 'N' Andy TV program. The show took place in Harlem and had the funniest characters and lines. I howled with delight when I watched these guys. I never thought of the show as black stereo-typing. There were no other black characters on TV back in the 1950s that I remember. I would see a black performer on the Ed Sullivan Show or maybe in a movie, but they were few. 

There were no black people in my suburb or in my grade school, junior high, or high school.  Blacks were not allowed to live in Jefferson County, Colorado back then. It was the law. Subdivisions had restrictive covenants that did not allow certain races or ethnic groups to live in specific places. There weren't any Mexicans either - well, one. A boy names Lupe was in my high school. Years later when I was a young gay adult lawyer in Denver, my realtor told me I could not buy a house in the Hilltop area because of restrictive covenants which disallowed non-married single people to buy houses together. This was in the early 1980s. I did not test it. It made me mad as hell. I had always been privileged. Now I was a victim of profiling.

During the late fifties I watched the evening news on TV.  Douglas Edwards at CBS was my main source for news. Walter Cronkite replaced Edwards in 1962.The news wasn't any better then than it is now. In fact the news back then really rattled my forming brain as I was disturbed when I saw grainy black and white film of racial violence. Later videotape replaced the film. The violence was delivered to TV more quickly, but it was the same. It was always white government or white protesters assaulting black people or black people marching with signs. Or little black girls getting murdered in Sunday School. That kind of violence. 

Two years later in Selma, Alabama this happened. I was in high school and could not imagine cops in Denver beating anybody up with  a baton for marching for Civil Rights. The march was peaceful. It was the government out of control.  America saw this on the nightly news.

Martin Luther King, Jr. became the leading Civil Rights figure of the twentieth century. He gave a voice and a presence that no other person has achieved - before or since. I got a chance to see him in person in Chicago in 1967 at the National. I wrote an entire blog about that night CLICK HERE.

On Monday night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the speaker at a large but old auditorium far away from the Palmer House Hotel. We had heard rumors all day long about some serious threats having been made against Dr. King.  It was feared Stokely Carmichael would disrupt the speech.  Carmichael was the leader of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and was also a part of the NCNP, but he was not supposed to be a part of King's speech.  My buddy and I arrived very early so we could sit up close to the stage. I think we were in the first or second row. I will never forget that night.  The internet is a repository of all kinds of information.  I found that speech which you can listen to if you CLICK HERE.

The speech lasted about forty minutes. Dr. King referred to his "I Have a Dream" speech.  He spoke of racism, militarism, poverty, the unending War in Viet Nam. The speech I heard was not memorable in itself. But it was memorable because of it being made by Martin Luther King, Jr.s and the look on his face when and particularly his eyes when all hell broke loose at the back of the auditorium. He had been looking around the room as if he was expecting trouble.  About thirty minutes or so into the speech there was a clamor at the rear of the auditorium. I said the hall was old. It had panic doors with glass windows with wire to protect against breakage. The doors had those metal push bars to permit quit exit.  The doors were thrust open and people at the rear made a lot of noise. I looked back but could not see what was going on. I could tell some people tried to force their way inside. But they were forced back and not allowed to enter. That was the end of it.  Dr. King continued with his speech - unphased except that he looked grateful that nothing more serious happened.  Of course, we all now what happened a year later.

And after King's death, President Lyndon Johnson got the Congress to enact the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act along with other legislation that established a lot of entitlement programs designed to help the all persons. 

During the following fifty years (yes fifty plus years) various politicians and groups (you know who you are, I won't mention you by name) have been doing their best to undo what King inspired and what Johnson achieved. 

I am very disturbed by what is going on in Washington DC at this time in our history. Maybe the people in power in Washington think we need to take the country back to the days of Andy, Barney, Opie, and Aunt Bea. They sure as hell are not comfortable with the America that we have become. I am afraid of where they will take us.