Just Listed: 411 - 415 Grinnell Street, Key West

Just Listed: 411 - 415 Grinnell Street, Key West. This new listing of Preferred Properties Key West is a marriage of old and new, borrowed and blue. I have blogged about the historic home at 411 Grinnell Street several times over the years and featured 415 Grinnell Street while it was being built and later when completed in 2019. The original home at 411 Grinnell Street was renovated and a new residence constructed on the vacant lot next door to the north. Today they are one primary residence and a fully outfitted guest home. Now they are offered for sale  Let's take a look.

 I remember the first time I saw 411 Grinnell Street. It looked like many of the older homes in Key West - it had classic good looks and large lot next door that could be built upon. I always knew 411 Grinnell could be restored. I had no inkling how the two properties could become so grand.

411 Grinnell Street was renovated and expanded after 2012.  The original house 3/1 house with 1,403 Sq Ft of living space was totally renovated and a new pool added to the side yard. I began to photograph the construction of 415 Grinnell in 2018. It took well over a year to complete. The front and rear were landscaped with mature palms and tropical foliage to the extent passers-by would think the new house had been in place for years and years CLICK HERE to view the construction progress photos.

Today the combined properties offer 4,877 Sq Ft of living space on an 8,377 Sq Ft lot in the heart of Old Town. The new house includes a larger air conditioner garage for your Conch Cruiser, Harley, or other vehicle of choice. 

  I was awed when I entered the new house for the first time. My eyes were drawn to the blue pool at the rear. That blue pool is visible from many of the rooms in both houses. And it is that blue theme that follows everywhere as well. While I got to see the MLS photos before the house was officially listed, I had no sense of the scale of the house or how grandly it was appointed. All of the little things add up to a whole lot of WOW. Some of the interior features include oyster stone floors from Jordan and hardwood floors from Austria. They are remarkable. Most of the interior walls are painted white. The ceilings are tall and provide a sense of grandeur not often seen in most homes in the historic district.The baseboards and trim are custom.The kitchen has everything. Literally everything including a Miele 112 bottle wine cooler.

The new home has four bedrooms and four and one-half bathrooms. The first floor guest bedroom shown above is painted blue - duh! The doors inside that room open out to one of three pools at this property. That space is used by the current owner as media room. But it has a huge closet with built-ins and a large bath with all of the conveniences.

This is a rich man's house. Or rich lady's. Or couples'. Or whatever pronoun you prefer. The size and the views are remarkable. 

There is a rooftop sundeck as well. I looked off in all directions to see what I could see and determine what others might see inside the huge back yard. Nothing. It is totally private. The rear grounds include an outdoor shower and two pool side fire pits.

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 411 - 415 Grinnell Street, Key West offered at $6,500,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a private showing of this one-of-a-kind properties. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. The exteriors remind you of classic Key West. The interiors and grounds are contemporary posh and luxuriant tropical elegance. Let's look together.

 

 

1010 & 1012 Olivia Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed 1010 & 1012 Olivia Street, Key West. If these two houses look familiar to readers. they should. I blogged about them in April 2015 and again in November 2020 when I shared the folk art of these two Ronny Bailey shown below. Click the November date to read the earlier blog which contains more of Bailey's work.

The listing agent states:

"The Historic Twins'' are two historic single-family homes located on a corner lot in Old Town, Key West and ready for the new owner to restore and build their Key West dream home. Approved plans convey with sale. May also be purchased with 911 Watson Street."  

 "City has determined both structures to be unsafe. Please see documents for more information."  The seller does have plans for renovation available to prospective buyers. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS  datasheet on 1010 and 1012 Olivia Street offered at $950,000.

And CLICK HERE for more photos of 1010 and 1012 Olivia Street.
 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on at adjacent and renovated and expanded 911 Watson Street offered at $2,450,000.

The two Olivia Street houses are among the finest of the old houses let undone. It would be shame to lose them and a task to renovate. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

 

Not me!

 

1309 Catherine Street, Key West - Just Listed

If you were to walk your dog, ride your bike, or jog past the imposing concrete wall at 1309 Catherine Street, Key West you might wonder what is on the other side. But then again you might just mind your own business and go on with your life. But if you got a chance to go through the gate you would be amazed at the totally hidden and unexpectedly enchanting secluded gardens,

I remember the first time I went behind those walls. I thought I had been transported in time and place.  The gardens reminded me of Italy. Then I saw the pool and the voluminous sky. There are no two story homes nor giant mahogany trees to impinge upon the views. The views from and of the pool are intoxicating. And totally private!

The house itself is a simple and well appointed 1200 sq ft ranch that sits at the rear of the 7340 sq ft lot. The living area is located in the center of the house. The guest bedroom (used by this owner as an office) and bath are located to the west of the living room. The kitchen is located just off the living room to the east and the master suite is at the east end of the home. You will find the terrazzo floors located at poolside continue to the kitchen and living areas for a seamless transition between outdoor and indoor living areas. The ceilings in all rooms are extra tall and open so you never feel cramped inside a tiny space. Instead, the views from all interior rooms are those of the pool and gardens.

Both the master suite and the guest bedroom have sitting areas off the bedrooms where you and your guests can read a book, sip coffee or a cocktail, and enjoy the fruits of your good fortune.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet to take a photo tour of 1309 Catherine Street offered at $1,450,000. Better yet, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a personal tour. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This house is priced very well and will not last long. Do not wait!

Key West Horror Story No 20

 This is a True Story

 

Have you ever had someone in your house accused of beheading another person? I did. In Key West.

I remember the day very I met him very well. Soon after we moved here in December 1993 my partner and I began to clean up the former Eaton Lodge Guest House which had been foreclosed upon, boarded up, and the gardens left unattended for two years. We got things under control and opened on Valentine's Day weekend in 1994. Our 13 room guest house was sold out within days and remained sold out until the first of May. Soon after we moved in neighbors stopped by to introduce themselves and to welcome us to Key West including a very handsome young man named Jerry Hamlin. He told us he was the manager of the Blue Parrot Guesthouse and offered us any help he could give. 

After we got the guest house running smoothly I joined Club Body Tech in the Duval Square complex. It was a great little gym. I saw Jerry Hamlin there from time to time. He always said hello. Always had a smile on his face. He was taller and younger than me. And very handsome! Big boy! Totally straight looking but gay.

A few years later I was at the gym and got caught totally off guard when someone told me Jerry had been arrested for the grisly murder of another gay man in Key West. They lived in the same apartment complex but not together. They apparently got together one night. Something happened. According a report in the Sun Sentinel in December 1999 "Jerry Lynn Hamlin, 32, allegedly confessed after his arrest Friday in St. Petersburg to killing Jesse Ronald Childs, 29. Childs' head was found Saturday wrapped in a sheet in a Key West park. His sexually mutilated body was found by workers last Monday in Homestead canal." As I recall both the head and the body were found he day after the murder in different locations. I was shaken to my core when I heard the story.

A woman lawyer I used to work with went tt law school with Ted Bundy.  She said she never sensed anything negative about him. The thing about people is you don't know what you don't know. 

 

This

Small Guest Room

It's happened over and over again. I will be showing a house and the listing agent will take us to a room which he or she refers to as a "small guest room" upon which I will say something like "What if you have big guests?" or something equally inane. I know what the agent meant and the agent smirks. 

Were it so simple that we all have small guests. If you have read my blog for even a few months you know how fond I am of mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law. Mother-in-law is a term we Key West Realtors refer to as a place for an illegal rental inside or upon the lot of a single family residence.Look up brother-in-law in the Urban Dictionary. You'll get my point.

This is a true story only the names have been changed to protect me from my in-laws. I think it was mid September in 1986 when my partner's sister, husband, two young boys, and their dog arrived in an RV with boat in tow at our house in Denver. They decided to make a surprise visit. We had extra bedrooms so it wasn't that big of a deal - at first. The brother-in-law Freddy (not his real name) did not eat meat unless he killed it with a rifle. Neither did the sister or children except when Freddy was away. Freddy loved White Star and bought lots of it. I am not sure how he afforded all that champagne because he did not have a job. Nor did he ever have a job. 

About two weeks passed by. It was a sunny Sunday morning. Freddy announced the family was heading someplace else - I think it may have been a relative who lived in Aspen. Pretty sure that was it. They packed up the RV, put the kids and the dogs inside, and were ready to roll. I gave hugs and said Goodbye. I went inside.The doorbell range. The RV would not start. My head exploded. I grabbed a drink and ran upstairs, I kid you not. I came to my senses and decided I could not be rude. I can be, but I thought it best not to be. Luckily when I got back down stairs Freddy got the RV running. I said Goodbye again. This time they left. I remember having another drink in celebration.

A lot of potential buyers who look for second homes in Key West say they want a place with at least one or more guest bedroom. I often suggest buyers pick a smaller place and put their occasional family and friends up in a hotel. It's cheaper and easier on the nerves. They don't listen. Imagine trying to fit my four in laws and their dog in that small guest room. What a hoot!

 

 

That Was The Year That Was in Key West Real Estate - 2020

 

At the beginning of each new year I like to look back to share what I consider to be the best real estate sales in Key West for the prior year. Given the year we just had, we are all lucky to be here. I am serious about that. Things could be much worse - there could be more deal people, stores could have been overrun by hoarders and normal everyday citizens could have taken up arms against each other. Well, I guess that did happen to some extent. 

I am old enough to know that life really does go on no matter how desperate some things may seem at any given moment. The other day I tried to remember the trauma I went through at age 16. I couldn't. I know it happened, but I cannot remember it now. I do remember not having electricity or potable drinking water for over a week after Hurricane Irma slapped Key West in 2017. The tree canopy in Key West was decimated. My island looked like a war zone. Today Key West is as gorgeous as ever. We will get through this pandemic and the political insanity playing out in Washington. It will all go away.

Let's look at some of the best real estate deals in Key West for 2020.

2400 Linda Avenue

I cannot believe my own eyes. I missed this house when it sat on the market for seven months. I only found it as I was going through sold homes this past year. The 1,506 Sq Ft CBS home was home built in 1950. The pics show a well cared for house sitting on a 6,472 Sq Ft lot overlooking the Salt Ponds. Both house to the east (same vintage and lot sizes) have been spectacularly renovated in the past two years. The house sold for only $525,000.

1221 Royal Street

The house at 1221 Royal Street isn't all that much to look at right now. It's only 882 Sq Ft in size but it sits on a large 3,278 Sq Ft lot in the Old Town area north of Truman Avenue. Workers have cleared the lot and gutted most of the interior. The new owner paid $649,000 for this fixer. He has done several very nice renovation projects. I expect the same of him here. So why this house? Because the buyer got a good sized lot near Duval Street. He paid a little more than what he would have had to pay in Bahama Village or Mid-Town for a fixer, but this location gives potential for a much larger profit on completion of whatever he builds. 

Many first time buyers in Key West only look at the price they paid as the determining "value" for a property. It's not. In my opinion getting the property is the prize in itself. Not every property will appreciate but most do. And some increase beyond imagination. Read to the bottom of today's blog. You would not have anticipated such a price increase. A lot of people would not have even considered that property because of location or cost of renovation.  

1809 Seidenberg Avenue

I specifically remember the first and only time I saw this house. It was during Realtor caravan in January 2020. It was offered at $900,000 which I thought was aggressively high for the neighborhood, not the house. The house had been thoroughly renovated and it looked great. I remember other Realtors giving it a thumbs up as well. That does not always happen during caravan. We can be pretty opinionated. I also remember being surprised to see it sold very quickly after the price was reduced to $860,000. It sold for was $840,000 or $495 Per Sq Ft which is a real value in Key West. I selected this home for another reason. It is an indicator for house values in Mid Town which have dramatically increased in the past couple of years. There are many renovations and tear-downs and rebuilds going on in this area.

908 Washington Street

I wrote about this brand new Casa Marina Area listing the first full day it was on the market: 

"Just Listed - 908 Washington Street Key West. This 1.988 Sq Ft three bedroom, two bath mid-century home located in the Casa Marina Area will like sell this week. It is in original condition and might benefit from a good update - but not in need of anything substantial in cost or scope. A buyer seeking a renovation property should take a look immediately. I saw it this morning and two potential buyers were to look after I left."

908 Washington St was listed for $925,000 and sold at $931,000 or $6,000 over asking in two days on the market. This was one time waits for no one houses. 1420 Whalton Street, located one block to the east, sold for $1,118,747 in March 2020. That new owner then bulldozed that house to the ground and "banked" the lot. That is the value of land in the Casa Marina Area. It is no wonder that 908 Washington sold so quick in December 2020. 

1609 Sunshine Drive

This house is one of 14 homes built around 2013 in the Casa Marina East neighborhood near Higg's Beach. All but one of the houses are three bedroom, three bath and about 1,695 Sq Ft in size. All have private pools. The landscaping is maturing nicely as the neighborhood feel emerges. These homes are less expensive to maintain and to insure. That makes them more desirable to a good portion of the buying public.

1109 Olivia Street

This home was one of the very best deals last year. It was thoroughly updated by the designer/owner who does high end projects. To me his design was akin to buying the personal residence of a master contractor. Most regular buyers can't afford to pay for that talent especially at this price point.  This house had an existing pool. New landscaping enhanced the street appeal in a great Old Town location. This Mid Century Modern home with 1,124 Sq Ft of designer living space sold in less than one month for $965,000 or $859 Per Sq Ft. 

1213 Grinnell Street

This 1,506 Sq Ft 3/3 home with a private pool sits on a large lot at the rear of Grinnell Gardens in Old Town. The owner renovated the interiors during the prior four or five years. The house looked great. It went under contract the first week on the market and sold for $1,075,000 or $778 Per Sq Ft. 

714 Passover Lane

This was a fixer home located on a large but odd-shaped lot located across the street from the Key West cemetery. It was initially offered at $1,536,000 which way way too high a price, The price was later reduced to $1,249,000. It sold at $1,080,000. That was a bargain considering the lot size and location. I was inside this house a couple of weeks ago. It is incredible.

711 Elizabeth Street

Picture Perfect. This 2/2 home with a pool and off street parking sits on the top of Solaris Hill in Old Town just two blocks from Duval Street. It sold was totally renovated - very sleek contemporary design. It sold for $1,175,000 or $901 Per Sq Ft. This home is both a leader and a follower of a recent design trend in Old Town. The historic facade betrays the totally radical interior where original walls and layout were removed and re-invented with big open spaces and ultra- current interiors. I liked this house but wonder how the interior will be viewed in fifty years.

616 Ashe Street

Ashe Street is one of those streets you can't find unless you are looking for it. It is just three blocks long and run between Southard on the north and Olivia on the south. It's narrow and not much happens there. And that is what makes it so charming. It functions like a lane, but is called a street. The house was in good condition when it was purchased in 2017 for a flip. The renovator sellers received a Ceramic Gold Star for their efforts. I selected this house because it represents a trend of renovators who are buying houses in very desirable locations and doing superior renovations using fixtures, appliances, and materials of the 21st Century. This 1,776 Sq Ft houses and guest cottage sold for $1,750,000 or $994 Per Sq Ft.

As I scanned the solds to make my selections I realized the very large number of sales over $2,000,000. It was just a couple of years ago I was complaining about all of the houses priced above $2 million saying there just were not that many buyers. I was wrong about that. There were in fact 23 such buyers in 2020. All but two of the sales were for houses in Old Town or the Casa Marina Areas. (I did not include Sunset Key in the searches.) The average house was 3,125 Sq Ft in size, listed at $3,018,674 and sold at $2,843,59. Those numbers in the abstract are not all that helpful.

Nine homes located in the Casa Marina Area sold in excess of $2,000,000 with the average home listing at $2,693,611 and selling at $2,591,111 or $899.17 Per Sq Ft. That is why when I write about a home in the Casa Marina being offered for sale in the low $1,000,000 price range I suggest buyers run to buy it because someone else will and quickly.

1019 South Street

I don't have a favorite among the nine houses Casa Marina solds but feel 1019 South Street is a good representation of all. It was built new in 2008. It has big rooms, large bedrooms and ample baths, a beautiful pool, and sits amid a grove of palms and other tropical plantings. It is the type of home buyers seek in the Casa Marina Area - a large well built home on a large lot with pool. Casa Marina is an alternative to the historic homes of Old Town which some view as too congested. This home quickly sold for $2,850,000.

744 Windsor Lane

Twelve homes in Old Town sold for in excess of $2,000,000. I sold two of those including 744 Windsor Lane which sold for $4,700,000 on March 2nd just a short time before the City of  Key West and Monroe County shut down. The sales prices on this group of homes reflect the size of the homes, lot size, amenities, and location. Of course in Key West you can find a castle located next door to a taco stand. The average home listed for $3,164,000 and sold for $2,937,715 or $912.72 Per Sq Ft. (Casa Marina average price was $899.17 Per Sq Ft.)

707 South Street

I wrote about 707 South Street a couple of times over the years. It located on the very edge of Old Town and Casa Marina across the street. The street can be busy in the daytime but it is very quiet at night. It is the house where scenes from the James Bond film License to Kill were filmed. That house sold in March 2014 for $1,100,000. This past week it topped off the sales for 2020 at $5.312.007. The house was totally rebuilt and new landscaping designed by Craig Reynolds. Craig did the landscaping at 744 Windsor Lane as well. 

The good thing about Key West real estate is that it continues to be in demand. The bad thing about Key West real estate is that it continues to be in demand. Prices go up and that makes prices go up for everything and everybody.

 

Happy New Year!

Barely!