Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Realtor Tip - What Not To Do When Showing a Property

That's Asolo, Italy. It is one of the prettiest little towns I have been to. I wish I could go back. I wish I could go anywhere. We all do. I digress.

I was showing a house a few days ago. The listing agent met us at the street and previewed what we would see upon entering the home. She said the owner was inside along with his dog. We entered the house and ascended the first flight of stairs to the living area. I was the last of the group going up the stairs.

When I arrived at the turn-around I noticed what I determined to be a three tiered shrine holding two cremation urns with a light on the top tier. I said to my self "Be Careful". My mind raced back in time to that afternoon in Asolo when we were ascending the stairs to a second floor Mama Mia Italian restaurant to eat lunch.

The stairway was a little narrow and a little dark as I recall. I could hear people mumbling at the top of the stairs where light from the room bathed a tall Chinese urn resting on a table at the doorway landing. I somehow lost my balance at the last step and fell into the urn which started to teeter then totter. I must have yelled something because I remember everyone looking at me as I grasped the urn before it smashed into a thousand pieces. It did not do that. I grabbed it before that happened.

And that is why I took my time on the turn around in the house. I could not imagine the grief I would have caused had I spilled Mama on the floor.

P.S. I wish I could remember the name of that place. The hostess put us in a corner away from sharp objects. I had the best Fettuccine Alfredo ever. We could see the old Italian women in the kitchen making the food. It was like watching an Italian painting coming alive - but with real wonderful food at the end.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

1109 Fleming Street, Key West Florida

The three year renovation and expansion of 1109 Fleming Street, Key West has just been completed. The eyebrow house in the front has been preserved in form and re-imagined in functionality. In his book The Houses of Key West Alex Cammerer wrote about his first visit to Key West which turned into a love affair with the architecture of Old Town. He referred to eyebrow houses simply stating "with their front porch roofs extending demurely over the second-story windows, hence the term eyebrows. I have discovered that they are unique to Key West and are not found anywhere else in the country." 1109 Fleming Street is demur perhaps in front and astounding to the rear. Let's take a look.

Think of this eyebrow house as a salt box laid on its side with two rooms on the first floor intersected by an interior staircase. The main living area is on the left.

Years of paint were removed from the original Dade County Pine walls and ceiling. New wind impact windows and doors as well as all new flooring were added throughout. Other new additions include high baseboard, crown molding, recessed ceiling lights, and HVAC. A window at the rear of the living room was replaced by new French doors which open out to the new wrap-around covered rear porch. All of a sudden the perceived living space expanded.

The owners us the first floor right side as a sitting room. But it has a full bath
and could easily become a first floor bedroom should the day come the staircase becomes difficult.

I was invited to preview this house a couple of months ago. I stood in the kitchen discussing all of the improvements they added to the property. I remember eyeing details in the kitchen. The cabinets, the appliances, the thick sculpted marble counters - everything - EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!

I looked through to the dining room and recalled that time several years earlier when this house was bank owned. I showed it several times then including to one guy who drove down to Key West in his red Corvette with his lady friend. I set up an appointment to show and was given the lockbox code. I could not get the key out of the lockbox. I went around back and climbed thorough wind in what is now the dining room. I almost killed myself. I was too old for such nonsense. This owner replaced the windows with French doors and added the wrap-around deck, French doors, and the stunning kitchen. The potential view was there. This owner Knocked the ball out of the park in maximizing the potential.

This bedroom is located second floor front on the left side. Another bedroom is located on the right side. Note the high hitched roof which dramatically expands the perceived living area in the room. Eyebrow houses were built before Key West had interior bathrooms. Most eyebrows had two bedrooms at the top of the stairs and no bathroom. The bathroom for this bedroom has size, height, and pizazz - all the best in tile and decor. You would need to see several eyebrow houses to appreciate how well done this home is.

A previous owner added a two story addition to the original eyebrow house years ago. The current owner maintained the footprint of the addition but took that thing apart and rebuilt it. My simple words are worthless. The difference is easily perceived by everyone.

I walked into the master bedroom located at the back of the second floor and was awestruck. I remembered the original back yard with overgrown trees and a highly dysfunctional cottage at the rear. What I was a cozy and inviting bedroom with windows opened out to a Garden of Eden. The master bath is typical of all in the house. Subway tiles and high-end fixtures are used everywhere. They are period correct. They are timeless and will not go out of style in fifteen years.

French doors at the rear of the dining room open out to the new wrap-around covered porch with pool, gardens, and guest house beyond. Again my words are useless.

The current owner took down the previously existing two story guest house. It was a functional (or dysfunctional) mess. The pool and gardens were designed by Craig Reynolds, Key West's premiere landscape architect.

The guest cottage is a fully functionally two bedroom home with loft. There is an outdoor shower on the side. The front porch of the cottage has a bit of tropical foliage so the guests can smooch without everyone sitting by the pool watching.

Click the YOUTUBE VIDEO for a short tour of the house which includes moonlight and aerial views of the home and area. It's worth your time even if you are not a buyer. This home will inspire you to do good things with your home.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos on 1109 Fleming Street, Key West offered for sale at $7,500,000 with furniture negotiable. 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 one-of-a-kind home.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Key West Real Estate Horror Story No. 21

I wrote a blog several years ago about a just listed fixer-upper. The long time owners had passed and a family member listed the property for sale. I showed the house several times. I liked it and the location. Somebody bought it and later renovated it.

That house was on a lock box, not typical for Key West. I got to the house a bit early, turned on the lights, opened the doors to make the place as inviting as possible. The entire house was dusty and smelly. I don't know how long it had been since anyone lived there. I remember it felt like the place had been vacant for years. My customers had bought a couple houses from me before and seemed interested in this place. I left them alone to explore and talk. I noticed several dusty photo albums in the room upstairs. I did a nosey. There were family photos of the kids playing ball on the street in front of the house and other photos of the neighborhood. I loved that. Then there were photos of some of the family members in New York City taken during or just after World War II.

Then I saw something odd - many (not a few or several) photos of what I assume were family members sleeping - in a hotel room in New York City and later back in Key West. Lots and lots of candid sleeping photos. The above pic is an example and not of the photos I saw. I thought these were beyond quirky - more like fetish photos. This just was not normal. That's all. There is no point to this tale of Key West other than I should not have opened the photo album. I know that.

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Fran Lebowitz Explains It All

I knew" the name Fran Lebowitz but really don't know that much about her. All that changed when I began to watch Pretend It's a City on NETFLIX. It is worth watching. I had to stop in the middle of the fourth episode to begin to write this blog.

Fran explained why writers cannot get mortgages.

She was talking to her Merrill Lynch financial advisor about getting a mortgage to buy an apartment in New York City.

Advisor: "May I ask you a question?"

Fran: "May you ask me a question?" she thought - You’ve been looking at my tax returns for the last five minutes. You’re my sock drawer. You know more about me than I do. "Yes, you may ask me a question."

Advisor: "Why is your income so erratic?"

Fran: And I said well, I’m a writer. She said “A writer?" Scoffs. And that’s why you never get a loan if you’re a writer.

I have a writer customer with the same erratic income problem. He went through mortgage broker hell but eventually got two mortgages to buy a house and later an investment property in Key West.

Watch Martin Scorsese's Pretend It's a City on NETFLIX. Totally entertaining.

Friday, January 22, 2021

My 2020 Sales in Key West

I have considered myself as a buyers agent for most of my real estate career. This year my sales were divided equally between listing and selling agent. These are my solds for 2020.

1003 Seminary Street

Sold for $591,600

Ninth sale with this customer