1200 Whitehead Street, Key West - Buying Oppotunity!

Just Listed, but not by me, 1200 Whitehead Street, Key West. I saw and photographed this classic eyebrow house yesterday afternoon on one of the few "gray days" we get in the Florida Keys. I apologize for the lack of color.  I also did not use a tripod so the photos are less than perfect.  Half of this home has been renovated and the other half remains to be completed. Use the photos and your imagination to see in your mind's eye what the property could become.

I dug into my old shoebox and found a photo of 1200 Whitehead Street that was taken more than fifty years ago. I took a similar photo yesterday. The architecture of the original house still reigns supreme on this ample 7496 sq ft (74. 58' X 100.5') lot at the corner of Whitehead and Catherine Streets.  Two large Royal Poinciana trees anchor the lot from either side.

Eyebrow houses are particularly unique to Key West. They are two story homes which vary in height, width, and size. These houses get the name "eyebrow" because the second floor windows are sheltered by the front roof eave which extends out over the house and supported by columns or posts.  Before electric fans and later air conditioning, shade and natural air flow cooled homes. The windows of an eyebrow house can be left open during rain storms which allows air to flow to cool the rooms.

The MLS datasheet shows this house was built in 1948. This information is drawn directly from the Monroe County Property Appraiser records which we know are sometimes (often!) misleading or downright incorrect. 1200 Whitehead Street first appeared on the 1892 Sanborn Fire Map. A substantial two story addition was added to the property after 2005. That addition was never completed. Let's take a brief look at the original house.

The original eyebrow house is 1,617 sq ft consisting of living room, two bedrooms with en-suite bath rooms, a bonus room (theater) with adjacent bath outfitted in travertine marble. The original portion is in move-in condition except that there is no complete functioning kitchen.

The addition has 2,242 sq ft of new unfinished space under air. While I am not a contractor nor inspector, I can attest the framing impressive both in size, dimension, and craftsmanship.

I understand the concept behind the addition was to create large living spaces for the owners. The roughed-in second floor master suite is one of the largest I have seen in Key West. The listing agent told me a new owner could remove the wall at the rear of the great room to expand the space. The addition includes a ground level sitting room space plus two story stairway to the master suite. The agent suggested an alternate use might be to add a floor in the two story space which would then allow for the creation of another bedroom and bath. CLICK HERE to view photos of the property.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 1200 Whitehead Street, Key West. 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 a lot of house for the money. I do think there are ways to deal with the size of the house to make renovation economical sensible even for Key West. 

Key West Open Houses - St Patty's Day

If you're out and about after church and before the St Patty's Day festivities begin stop by

409 Grinnell Street, Key West $1,249,000

1413 Von Phister Street, Key West  $1,499,000

"Jungle Gem" - The Tropical Oasis at 744 Windsor Lane, Key West

744 Windsor Lane, Key West

Offered by Gary Thomas, Cory Held, and Jeffery Grosky

Preferred Properties Key West

$5,750,000

26 Evergreen Terrace, Key Haven

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West, that's where I work but this is not my listing, 26 Evergreen Terrace which is located on a canal in the Key Haven area of Key West.

This 2831 square foot home was built in 1998 on an 8,759 square foot corner lot. Readers not familiar with newer Key West housing will be pleasantly surprised to see how spacious and well planned this home is.

The listing Realtor describes this home this way:

"Located on a large corner lot on Key Haven this home is on a pristine canal with easy open water access. Features include very high ceilings, three bedrooms, three & a half baths including a large master suite with a walk in closet, an office and a private balcony with great views. The main level has an open floor plan with a gourmet kitchen with top of the line appliances, two guest bedrooms en suite and an expansive screened porch. The home has a park like yard with a covered living area. This home is great for indoor and outdoor entertaining and enjoying life on the water. Upgrades include a relatively new 15,000 lb. boat lift and a new roof."

The second floor rear deck runs the length of the back of the home and expands the practical living space by leaps and bounds (but don't leap over the deck which looks down to the canal) with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. I know guys like to keep an eye on their boats - easily done here.

The ground level lanai and third floor deck off the master bedroom also provide different views of the canal. There are many reasons people move the the Florida Keys. The warm days, blue skies, and the lure of the sea are a few of the reasons why people decide to make the Keys their home. Can you blame them?

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more listing photos of 26 Key Haven Terrace. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this impeccable home offered for sale at $1,700,000. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. You will love this home.

The Realtor Waltz

Every night when I was a little boy my dad would take me to my room to get ready for bed. We would kneel beside my bed where I would say my prayers. I blessed my entire family - Mommy, Daddy, Ronnie, Shirley and Joe, Grandmother, Granddaddy, and my dog - Blacky and later Mickey. I didn't know what "if I should die before I wake" meant, but I said it and meant it. Then I would get in bed and my dad would either tell me a story, whistle a gentle tune, or sing me to sleep with either "Red River Valley" or his favorite "Tennessee Waltz". The lyrics go like this:

I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
I introduced her to my loved one
And while they were dancin'
My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

Looking back I wonder why this song had such an impact on my dad. I know my mother never, ever cheated on my dad. The thought would have never crossed her mind. The melancholy in his voice rang just too true when he sang that sad song, even to a little boy who knew nothing of the world.



As a little kid and later as a teenage my world centered on me and not my parents. I wish I would have cared more. Maybe I would have learned something. My dad died the week before I graduated from high school.  You can't fix things like that.

I remember the time I met with another Realtor to take photos of her new listing for my buyer. I don't recall exactly how it happened, but she unburdened herself about receiving a phone call or email from a buyer for whom she had been working for several months. It seems her buyer bought a house using a different Realtor in Key West. Key West is a small place with maybe 300 Realtors. She told me how much time she had spent on this buyer. How many different places she had gone to take photos for him. How many emails and phone calls she had made. And then to find out the buyer actually consummated a deal with somebody else was so hurtful.

She said she felt like such a fool. She complained that this same thing had happened before. She said she trusted people too much. And then she complained that she will have to see this other agent for maybe 20 more years, each time remembering that he stole her buyer. Frustrating. Hurtful. Maddening.

I have experienced the same experience as my friend plus multiple instances when people tell me they read about a property in my blog, called their Realtor, and then bought the property. It's like a "Thank you very much for the info, Gary!" and **** ***! It happened again a couple of weeks ago during an open house I was hosting. The person walked up, introduced himself or herself (don't remember for sure), and said we read about our house in your blog and bought it from ***** *****. "Gee, thanks for telling me. That's why I write my blog, so that buyers go to other agents to buy houses I write about."

I am sure most Realtors have experienced the loss of a customer to another agent and felt a sense of betrayal. To me it's akin to finding out your sweetheart has been cheating on you, like in the song, and has run away with your best friend.