Tom Foolery in Key West

I actually cursed at myself on Monday when I saw a new MLS listing in the 1600 block on Johnson Street in Key West. I thought it was a joke. Tomfoolery. But it wasn't. I am not really familiar with that block. I have driven it but do not recall anything memorable about homes located there other than they are normal 1960s houses. Some have been renovated but that specific area has not been upgraded. Period. I have no prior history with the specific property, the owner, or the out of area Realtor. Nothing. But the listing stirred genuine passion in me. See for yourself below.

Asking Price: $1,100,000.00 for the fixer. I drove by on Tuesday afternoon, got out of my car, and took the photos above and below. 

The Key West Real Estate market has gone MAD. $1,110,000 for  tear down house on a 41' X 88' sq ft lot in an area with known flooding issues. The price $282 per sq ft plus cost to demolish and cart of the old concrete block house. That's another $50,000 or so since cost of trash removal on on island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Add in $1,000,000 to build a new house. You may end up $2.2 million home with a modular house located next door and a basketball hoop in the street. No thanks.

Maybe the out of are agent got things confused. The empty lot located at 1127 Flagler Avenue has been sought after for years. It sold last week for $1,200,000 and never even on the market. Sold SNAP - just like that. While this 6700 sq ft lot is located about six blocks away from the Johnson listing, it is located in the Casa Marina Area surrounded by multi-million dollar homes.  If you get your internet expertise from Zillow, you miss the point. Location is key.

Look at the Johnson property a bit differently. I searched for homes in the $1,100,000 price range on my favorite site - ZILLOW. Look what $1.1 million can buy you elsewhere.

The four houses above are all active MLS listings. If I had $1.1 million to spend on a nice house I would buy one of them and take a plane ridge to Key West once a year. Makes more sense to me. 

Happy Easter 2022 from Key West

A photo I took not too long ago, but long enough that the store is no more. 

Memories now.

 

Sometimes we do not appreciate what we had until it is gone.

Dressing for Success

It's the day before Easter and my mind takes me back more than half a century to Christmas 1957. I was ten years old. (That's not me in the photo, but that is what I looked like. Poor kid. There is another one out there.)

I started this piece several times and erased everything. I will go for the punchline instead.

My mother made me wear my Christmas outfit to go to downtown Denver to watch Old Yeller which was playig at the Paramount Theater of 16th Street. 

My mother and dad were supposedly going to watch Raintree County which was playing across the street at the Denver Theater. My parents were supposed to pick me up, otherwise I would have never worn that outfit in public. They gave me money for candy and popcorn. I was always thrifty. I did not spend it all.

 

If you ever watched Old Yeller you know it did not end well. 

I don't remember if I had stopped crying as I walked out of the move theater to wait for my mother and dad. I do remember walking around in that ridiculous outfit trying to blend in with the other kids who were with their actual parents. They all disbursed quickly and I stood outside in the cold December night wondering when they would come.  I walked and waited and fretted and fretted even more. I decided they were never going to come and get me. I had taken the bus downtown with a friend one time. I knew to take the No. 10 line home. I waited and waited until it come. I felt like a dork, got on, warmed up, and took the bus back to the corner of 38th and Sheridan where I got off and ran all the way home wearing my Christmas outfit. 

I got home. My mother and dad were inside the house watching television. I went to my room. I can't remember if I ever talked to them again. 

I did grow up to sell houses in Key West. I wonder what happened to that other kid. 

 

Rabbit Reducks (He He)

from April 19, 2019

Another Easter Story

 It was Good Friday 1957. I was ten years old. I lived with my mother, dad, and big brother in a two bedroom house in one of the first Denver suburbs just west of the Denver County line. My dad came home from work. I remember it was dark. He had a box with two Easter presets for me. I approached and spied a wee bunny and a tiny little duck. I don't think my mother was in on this gift. She did not like any of my dogs and would not let them inside of the house.

I actually remember the first few days of my new pets. My dad and I created a place for them to live in the garage. It was still cold outside. Although Spring had sprung it was still too cold to let the little guys like these live outdoors.

A few weeks passed. The weather got warmer. My dad and I built a place in the backyard for the pets. We lived on a corner lot with a white picket fence encasing the back yard. We used galvanized chicken coop wire to build pen.  My dad placed a small sheet of plywood over a part of the space to provide shelter from the sun and rain. I called my bunny "Bugs" and the duck "Sweet Pea". "Swee Pea" was the foundling that Popeye and his girl friend Olive Oyl cared for. Sweet Peas was my foundling.

Bugs and Sweet Pea shared the same space. They got along fine. I decided to build a pond so that Sweet Pea could swim. I dug a hole which I filled with water. The water seeped into the earth. Later  I took my wagon up to the lumber yard on 38th Avenue and bought a bag of cement which I brought back home.  I mixed the cement and put it around the hole. After the cement dried I filled the pond with water. That did not work either. In the end I would use the garden hose to give Sweet Pea a good hose down. She would flap her wings and quack her little head off. She loved that.

I let the guys out of the pen so they could run free in the back yard. Bugs hopped around exploring. We had three gooseberry bushes, an apple and cherry tree, a rock garden with rocks collected from every place we went. My dad had a vegetable garden located opposite the incinerator. My mother made the very best pies ever. I remember her making a cherry pie and a gooseberry cobbler. She also canned vegetable from that garden later that year. My parents were survivors of the Great Depression. They savored the bounty of their little back yard.

Bugs proved to be a rascal and escaped through a hole in the white picket fence. I remember walking the nearby streets and alleys looking for him and calling out his name, as if he would respond like a lost dog. That didn't work out. Sweet Pea on the other hand seemed to love her life at our house. She even worked her way into my mother's heart, if there was one. She actually let me bring Sweet Pea into the house - a duck. I remember the day Sweet Pea was standing on a dining room chair when the call of Nature occurred.  I freaked out and cleaned up the mess. Surprisingly my mother did not create a scene.

It was around this time my dad told me about his youth. He grew up in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. He told me was a long distance runner in school which I found inspiring. Later I remember going outside to run around the block. I have a weak heart and that did not work. I couldn't make it to the end of the block without gasping for breath.

Instead of running I decided a different form of exercise for me and Sweet Pea. I put one of my mother's old red aprons on Sweet Pea and placed a string around her neck and then walked her around the block. I did this several times in fact. I'm sure the neighbors had a laugh.

Fall arrived. I knew it was time for Sweet Pea to find a better place to live. I asked my best friend if his grand parents would let Sweet Pea move to their farm and to live with other animals. It seems strange to refer to her as an animal. I would cuddle with her and she would coo. She was as dear as a dog.  She really was a Sweet Pea.  

It was a gray Friday afternoon when Bruce's grand parents showed up at my house to pick up Sweet Pea. Bruce was there. I didn't cry. I loved my duck but I knew this was best for her (or him). I didn't know about sex back then. Maybe Sweet Pea was a he and not a she. Who cares?  Sweet Pea was a treasured part of my little life! 

Julia

 

A few weeks ago I saw the trailer of Julia on HBO. I knew in an instant it would be must see tv for me. I binged the first two episodes and have been seen all four as of now. 

I was a Publix on Friday afternoon. I was waiting for the bagger to load groceries. The clerk asked "What are your plans this afternoon? " I played along. I said I would probably watch something on Netflix. He said something and then I asked "Do you have HBO?"and suggested he watch Julia. He had a puzzled look on his face. I said Julia Child. He still did not get it. Of course he didn't. He is too young to get anything before the iPhone. 

Julia Child introduced French cooking to American television audiences in the1960s and offered us a classy alternative to diners, drive-ins, and dives  

A few months ago I had dinner at Prime Steakhouse. The server was a beautiful girl with flowing blonde hair. She was so sweet - I told her she reminded me of Phoebe. She, too, had a puzzled look on her face. I said Phoebe from Friends. I was binge watching Friends at the time. That show ran from 1994 to 2004. My server was in her twenties. Of course she didn't know Phoebe or Friends

 

 

Tales of Covid 19 - Middle Aged Men on Scooters in Key West

A couple of months ago my broker and I drove to look at a potential listing. We left the parking lot behind our office at the same time. I got there in less than four minutes.She arrived about five minutes later. She said she saw someone she knew across the street and decided to drive around the block so she would not be seen going inside our potential listing. It is a known fact if you see a realtor going inside a house something is about to happen. 

Last week I was headed to my office when I noticed real estate photographer Nick Doll taking photos of house on Reynolds Street. An agent in my office sold that house less than a year ago. I knew in an instant the place was going to be for sale soon. It was. It appeared in the Key West MLS the next day.

One of the things that surprised me so much about the pandemic was that people could recognize me even though I was wearing a mask. Sometimes I was dumbfounded. How did they do that? I am coming to m point - soon.

Key West is a very small town. No matter where you go or at what time you are bound to be seen by someone who knows you. If you are a star that can feed you ego. If you are a middle aged man cheating on your wife, it's probably not so good. 

A former customer of mine called me to discuss listing his house. He and the wife had done an admirable job in fixing up an already nice home. We wee standing in the living room discussing the house when he started to tremble and blubber at which time he confessed he had been cheating on his wife and that his marriage was in ruins. 

I don't know how he did it, but he saved the marriage, bought a new place, and lived happily ever after. Except one day I was taking photos for my blog when I saw him exiting Lowe's Lane on his scooter with a woman (not his wife) clutching his ripped middle aged torso (he wished). 

I remember another time I had to shut down an open house I was hosting on Nassau Lane a bit early so that I could meet potential buyers at a nearby house that just came on the market. My buyers spent about an hour looking at the other house. Later I walked back to my car which was parked near Nassau Lane when I saw another former customer exiting Nassau Lane with a woman (not his wife) clutching his rippled torso (he wished). He averted his eyes and tore off!!! 

There is no end to this story. Middle aged me on scooters are dangerous. Especially in small towns like Key West Florida on days when the wives are not home. 

317 Whitehead Street, Key West - Dream Small

Robert F. Kennedy said "Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not."

Senator Kennedy was not talking about houses. I know that. Nor was Martin Luther King Jr when he said "I have a dream."

Neither was talking about real estate. They were exploring what might be, what could be, what should be. Aspirations. 

I applied for a job one time. The lady interviewing me asked me why I was not involved in more civic activities. I told her I was doing the best I could taking care of myself and my house. I thought making a nice home with a nice yard was a good contribution to society. Wouldn't the world be better off if we all did that? And keep out noses out of other peoples business (or what they do with their houses).

I have two old movies that really inspired me over the years. They both focus on giving new life to old and abandoned buildings - which in turn gives meaning to the lives of the people involved in the change and their progeny for years to come. 

The first is Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House. I have blogged about this movie a couple of times. It is as inspirational as almost any world War II movie. You must watch - thee are so many sub plots.

The second is The Egg and I. It is the forerunner of Green Acres only with real stars, real humor, real sense of family, and areal sense of accomplishment.

Enough talking. I want to sell you 317 Whitehead Street, Key West. I have often written here that houses are just boxes. I think about those boxes when watching movies or TV shows and even more so when I see new homes or buildings in real life. I sometimes marvel at the genius of artisans who create wonderful boxes in their minds and the craftsmen who turn dreams into realities.  

Some people who have looked at 317 Whitehead Street can't figure out what to do with it. They ask me the price and cringe when they hear it. $2,000,000. I show them all the info, discuss the lot, and so on. They think I am daft or that my Seller is Mad Greedy or all of the above. I am not nor is my Seller. 

Consider 317 Whitehead Street as a box. The owner has obtained permission from our Historic Architectural Review Commission tear down the large concrete block appendage on the south and to build a new structure there. That is a big deal in itself. That does not mean a buyer must do that or anything. It means a new can take down that hideous building and must renovate the wood building.

I know the building looks like hell right now. It won't when it is renovated. And it won't cost an Arm and a Leg to do the renovation I am suggesting. 

 

This is the concrete block building after it was constructed. It had a wood clapboard facade added. 

I say take it down. Focus on the actual small wood cottage that measures 38 feet by 25 feet. It has 10 foot ceilings and can be made into a really wonderful two bedroom house with pool and parking on a lot that measures 67 feet by 100 feet. 

This is a post card from a hundred years ago showing the houses across the street. They are still there and look like - let's say more than a few million dollars today. Imagine how much they will be worth in ten or twenty years. Imagine what 317 Whitehead will be worth.

 "Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not."

If you think I am nuts, you should see what some recent buyers are spending for houses all over Key West. They are the nut jobs. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 317 Whitehead Street, Key West. Then click on the DOCUMENTS tab which includes the HARC approved plans, Survey, Flood Elevation Certificate, and Warranty Deed which includes permissible residential and commercial zoning uses for this site. The tab does not work on Zillow or Realtordotcom. Give me, Gary Thomas, Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West a call. Have a Dream. 

Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No. 45

from May 26, 2017

5 Brothers Key West - An Homage

My friend Ronny Bailey dropped by my office a few days ago to show me his latest piece of folk art, a wood cutting depicting 5 Brothers Grocery and Sandwich Shop located at 930 Southard Street in Key West. Ronny is a native Key Wester, a multi-generation Conch. He was a carpenter by trade until he retired a few years ago. He hung up his saw, stowed the hammer, and began the second phase of his life as a folk artist. I don't think he started out to become an artist as much as he used his skills as a carpenter to create miniature versions of the facades of the old houses of Key West - the way they used to be - before the gentrification that is forever erasing memory of the past imperfect houses and their conversion into perfect tiny million dollar cottages. Later Ronny depicted larger homes and then added some commercial buildings. Most recently Ronny added added wood carving to his repertoire.

The 5 Brothers piece is Ronny's homage to the place and the people that go there each morning. If you drive by this place on any weekday morning you will invariably see a couple of cops, several healthy looking men who obviously work for a living (as opposed to guys who sit at a computer or who sell houses), some older guys who look like retirees, and some tourists. There are a couple of benches which are usually occupied. Many others stand and swap stories. A former neighbor of mine (who I will call "Norm")  told me what really goes on at 5 Brothers. Norm was also a general contractor. He said he and other contractors would meet there to discuss what projects they were working on or going to be making bids on that day or that week. He told me the same guys would meet after work at a bar and discuss the projects and prices they would quote so that they could distribute the work among each other and not get into bidding wars. I have to live here and can't tell the rest. Imagine "collusion".

Notice the three officers inside the store, two sitting on the bench, and the guy in the patrol car. Look carefully at the license plate which reads "SWEET H2O". The cop driving the car is Officer Sweetwater. Ronny chuckled with glee at his cleverness.

Ronny's depiction is more generous than Norm's narrative description. The wood cutting is three boards made into one larger piece which was then painted black. Ronny carved out layer after layer to create the building, the streetscape, the sky with helicopter, and the Key West people - each a real life Key West character.  Ronny referred to each person with the word "mister" before each person's name followed by some descriptive sentence about who that person was and why he is on that piece of art. You will notice the helicopter on the upper right side. The wood cutting depicts the real life helicopter pilot "back in the day" on a special ops mission for his Cuban coffee and cheese toast! When I saw the helicopter I was reminded of the scene in the the 1989 James Bond movie License to Kill which was filmed in Key West when Bond and his pal parachuted from a helicopter down to St. Mary's Catholic Church on Truman Avenue to attend Bond's pal's wedding. Ronny told me about the many "stories" that the pilot described from his life. I added an arrow directing your attention to the word Peace on the helicopter. Ronny adds the words Love, Peace, and Joy each piece of art he creates.

The building at 930 Southard Street has remained pretty much the same since the black and white photo below was taken in 1965. Note the cutout police figure in the lower right hand corner. The prop-cop was used to alert drivers to the Harris School located at the next corner. I found a similar roadside cop in a photo taken at 1200 White Street which warned drivers to slow down for the old Key West high school one block to the south.(Look at the far left side of the road to see the policeman) In today's Key West there are real life cops standing guard at every school in town, each adorned with bright neon yellow vests and whistles. I personally like the less expensive and more clever cutout cops. I'd slow down if I came upon one and smile for a block or two.

I looked through my old shoebox and found some photos I took over the years of 5 Brothers. I rarely go there myself. I drink way too much coffee when I get up. But I know a lot of people who do go there regularly. I stopped by 5 Brothers on my way to the office to snap a couple of photos of 5 Brothers. Those pics are at the bottom of this blog. Stop by the next time you are in town. Go inside where you will find the original Ronny Bailey wood carving. Smile to yourself as you see the Key West characters and the place that made them famous.

Photos taken May 26, 2017 below. The scene never changes. The characters do.