from April 7, 2016
1521 Seminary Street, Key West - Affordable Home in Paradise
The newly listed home at
1521 Seminary Street in the Midtown neighborhood of
Key West just
may be the answer to the impossible dream that so many would be buyers
have. What's that - you ask. It's a cute little place with character
with a large yard that you could add to over the coming years to create
your version of the perfect place in paradise
and to do so at an
affordable price. The listing Realtor at Preferred Properties describes this unconventional delight this way:
"Lovely Mid Town Artist Home with an Old Town feel, centrally located for an easy
bike ride to Downtown or the Beach. Open floor plan with Dade County Pine
throughout and 10 foot ceilings. Large French Doors off of the Kitchen and one
of the Bedrooms open up to the back deck and screened bungalow. The tropical
foliage of mature palms surround the outdoor shower and bath."
This sweet little home is located away from Old Town which means a lot
of would-be out of town buyers won't have the foggiest idea where it is
located. GOOGLE solves that problem by providing aerial and street maps.
CLICK HERE
for an aerial view of the location and then click the toggle switch for
a street view. The street view, however, doesn't provide much help in
that the house is located behind a six foot privacy fence.
You enter the home directly from the large wood deck in the front yard.
As soon as you walk through the front door you know this is not
suburbia. While the living room may look pedestrian, the kitchen and
dining area are anything but. The kitchen has all the look and feel of a
saw tooth addition you'd see in Old Town. The exposed vaulted ceiling
adds volumes of character to this space. An arched opening between the
kitchen and dining area is repeated on the rear kitchen wall. Another
window provides a view of the perfectly picturesque artist studio to the
rear. (More about that later.)
The Property Appraiser website recognizes two bedrooms and one bath. The
red bedroom is located just off the kitchen. French doors open out to
the rear deck which will be discussed shortly. The yellow bedroom is
located at the opposite side of the house.
The rear deck provides access to the artist studio which is charming
beyond belief. When I saw this place my mind immediately raced back to
the hippie days in Boulder Canyon and Aspen and later to Old Town Key
West before all the money and HARC changed things. This place was put
together by love and creativity that a committee of architects, lawyers,
and social do-gooders could never imagine. Nor create!
There is a small "shed" located next to the artist studio. The washer
and dryer are housed in this space which also has "facilities". Please
CLICK HERE to view more photos which will reveal more than I can write.
They also show the huge rear yard which has room for a large pool. When
you walk the end of the deck and take a quick left you see the outdoor
shower which is an earthly delight.
The Monroe County Property Appraiser website shows the 912 sq ft house
as having been constructed in 1933 which would have been the Great
Depression. We know that date is not correct but was selected by members
of the WPA who recreated county records destroyed by the great fire
much of Old Town including the old court house. I checked the historic
Sanborn Fire Maps none of which showed any homes in this area. I also
looked at old aerial photos but was not able to find one that showed a
house in this area. Still I am of the belief this house existed before
1933 either at this location or that it was moved to this location
later.
CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to view more listing photos of this wonderful home which is offered at
$545,000.
A new owner could move in here and not do anything. This is the
personification of Key West casual before so much of town got renovated.
True, a new owner could renovate and if that is your preference, you
could update this place. But the point is you don't need to. That is why
the asking price makes this place affordable. 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.
Update. A couple days ago I was looking thru Instagram posts and saw an image that reminded me of how much the hippies and gays influence Key West four decades ago. They came to a town time and distance forgot and created their own little nirvana. I miss it.
