16 Kingfisher Lane - Key West - Bank Owned

 The recently listed two bedroom, two bath townhome at 16 Kingfisher Lane in the Key West Golf Club may just be the answer to your dream if you live for golf or at least dream of owning a very affordable home in Key West.This conch style townhome is located in a tranquil section of the golf club. The 900 sq ft home was built in 1999 and features first and second floor front decks and a large rear deck  the overlook the second hole lagoon and tee box.  The side yard has tropical landscaping which includes a sprinkler system.

16 Kingfisher Lane is Bank Owned and priced at just $289,900 or $322 per sq ft which makes it the second least least expensive townhomes on the market in the Key West golf course. (The least expensive is 42 Merganser which I previously wrote about.)  If you look at the views of the course inside and outside this home, you might just fall in love with this place. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet on this home.

Like a lot of Bank Owned houses, this one has been neglected a bit. But it was not abused. I think it needs a few of the windows replaced. The whole house needs a thorough cleaning and a paint job would make the place look even better. The landscaping has been neglected for several years. I would give the overgrown tree in the front yard a major haircut (or even cut it down). I would spruce up the front yard , side yard, and redo the back yard to add a bit of privacy but still maintain that awesome view. CLICK HERE to view photos that I took of this property.

Amenities at the Key West Golf Club Community include two pools including the pool shown below, a fitness center, beautifully designed and professionally maintained grounds,  gated and monitored security. The monthly home owner's fee is $333 which includes security, grounds and pool maintenance, cable television,

If you would like to see 16 Kingfisher Lane or any other property in Key West, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

Gobble This!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Dear Readers!

I know you are out there because I do get phone calls and emails from people from all over the United States that dream about buying a place in Key West. I am thankful for those that come to my adopted home and buy from me.  Many of us have become friends after the sale and that is a second benefit of writing this little blog.

I have told this story before, but it is worth repeating on this day when I remember things and people for whom I am thankful.  I am so thankful that I read about Key West for the very first time in my life in a cover article in a long discontinued magazine called After Dark.  The author extolled the virtues and vices of a little island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean called Key West, Florida. The article was such a good read that I had to get out my atlas to find the place. It took me several years to actually make it here. After two weeks of baking my skin in the March sun and eating and drinking into the wee hours of the night, I had to return to my forever home in Denver, Colorado.  I did not want to leave Key West, but I had to go back to the cold and snow. If only, I thought. If, only. It took me years before I did it, but I eventually managed to buy a place in Key West and it is a decision that I have never regretted. 

I am thankful that I got to see many parts of Key West before so much of our town got so gentrified.  I love the old houses that still do not have air conditioning, or stainless steel, or granite.  I miss the days when dogs could sleep in the middle of Fleming Street.  I remember walking down a sidewalk one night under big mahogany trees. I noticed big old palmetto bugs lying crushed on the sidewalk. Those bugs are almost extinct now thanks to continuing spraying by the Mosquito Control District. I guess the juice they use kills more than mosquitoes-hope its safe for humans and family pets. 

Pool was relocated to waters edge

I am thankful I got to spend hours and hours laying by the pool at the old Atlantic Shores Resort. That place was a hoot!  For those who never got to go there, I'll explain the place like this. Atlantic Shores was located on South Street just a few feet west of Simonton Street. It was an "old Florida" motel with little rooms that extended out toward the waters edge where a huge pool and bar were located. People who stayed at the motel got to use the pool, but so did locals who would buy a lounge chair for the day or who would belly up to the bar and buy drinks and tells stories for hours. There was a long pier that extended further out into the water as well. On Sunday nights Atlantic Shores would host Tea By The Sea between the hours of 8 to 11. Music would blare and guests would dance on the pool deck and smooch on the pier. You could stand out on the pier and watch the lights on shrimp boats and pleasure boats twinkle. And you'd thank God you were in Key West.

I am thankful I had the nerve to leave my comfort zone and buy a place in Key West. I lived in Colorado my entire life, most of the time within a ten mile radius of where I was born.  Some people have no roots. Mine were too deep for my own good. 

 Finally, I am thankful for having met Judge Frank Jamison and his wife Joyce many, many years ago when I was a nerdy seventeen year old kid.   Joyce was the Secretary of the Jefferson County Democratic Party. Frank was running for judgeship along with Charlie Flett and Daniel Shannon.  I started the Jeffco Teen Dems in 1964 when Lyndon Johnson was running against Barry Goldwater.  We ended up having over a hundred members who participated in many different political events. We did a lot of door knocking for the three judicial candidates in addition to LBJ. Jamison and Shannon won, Flett did not.  Five years later after I graduated college Frank offered me a job clerking for him when I started to law school. That job helped make it possible for me to pay my way through law school.  I learned more from that man about being a man than I did the law. I learned how people in stress sometimes do dumb things and live to regret it, and how a man who judges their conduct does not have to judge them as people.  I called Frank and Joyce the day after the recent election. They were very excited and we talked about the old days when they and I were much younger.  I will be forever grateful they became a part of my life because without them, I would have never achieved the things I did in life.

421 Catherine Street in Old Town Key West was built circa 1899. The above black and white photo shows how the house looked back in 1965. Now take a look at the old girl as she appears in November 2012 in the color photo below.  She's gotten bigger and probably looks even better than her former self. Too bad that doesn't work for humans.

 I got a chance to show this home a few days ago. I must tell you that I was impressed by three very important and very apparent factors that were readily evident when I entered the front door: quality construction, style, and attention to detail. You don't always see all three in renovations.

This property is a cigar maker cottage that has been enlarged from the original building with a two story addition at the rear. The addition provide me interior living space and allowed the builder to remover old interior walls to create larger living spaces in the historic house. The historic entry was retained and the classic 'shot gun' style entry hallway is still present. The hallway, however, is now vaulted.  Additionally, the hallway was enhanced by the addition of wainscoting and decorative wall sconces.  Pocket doors were added to provide privacy when needed to the first floor bedroom. That space is quite large compared to many of the bedrooms in similar cigar maker cottages. An adjacent bath doubles as guest bath as well.

Note the 'pocket doors' to the main level bedroom

Main floor bedroom

The kitchen is located midway in the house. This space is very welcoming and radiates warmth. Rich wood trim was added throughout the house during the renovation. The main floor ceilings are now enhanced by wood slats that give the house a sense of immense strength - at least in my mind.  Custom kitchen cabinets and the mini-bar at the rear add style to substance in these areas.

The stairway leads to master suite that takes up the entire second floor whereupon you enter through a property doorway into the bedroom chamber.  The master bath and adjacent huge closet are extraordinary in comparison to other cigar maker renovations I have seen.  There is a rear second floor balcony that overlooks the back yard.

The owner obtained permission to build a pool but never did so. A new owner may decide this would complete the house.  Whatever the case, the space is available.

This is where the pool would be located

I think 421 Catherine Street would make a great vacation rental.  The property is located about 1/2 block off Duval Street.  South Beach is a five minute walk to the south. LaTeDa and lots of nearby restaurants, bars, galleries, shops, and more are minutes away in either direction on Duval Street.  Vacationers will love the convenient location and the beautiful spaces, large bedrooms, and private baths.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and listing photos.  If you would like to see this lovely little home in person, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

17029 Bonefish Lane West - Sugarloaf Key - Florida

WOW!  The views from 17029 Bonefish Lane West on Sugarloaf Key are just spectacular. The large lot has an incredible 180 degree open water view that runs the 150 foot frontage of the lot.  Click GOOGLE MAP for an aerial perspective of the property which sits at the end of the lane and which has the very best views.

The listing Realtor at Preferred Properties (that's where I work, but this is not my listing) describes the new listing like this:

"Outstanding waterfront home on the end of the cul-de-sac with 180 degree views of the open water. This custom modern home was built to withstand 160 mph winds. Immediately you are awed by the unique design where every room is open yet defined by its features luring you to the view. In the main area, there is a library, dining, living room and a fantastic cook's kitchen with all the state of the art appliances and a 30inch soapstone island. Down the hall is a 1/2 bath laundry room and oversized master suite. Detached from the main living area are two private guests' suites with a unique blue glass tiled bathroom. On the ground level there is great storage and an abundance of covered space for entertaining,surrounded by tropical landscaping."

I cannot overstate how awesome the views from this home are.  The owner bought the lot and then engaged an architect who he brought to the Keys to design this home to take advantage of the expansive lot  (15,000 sq ft ).  The architect designed a unique structure with a total of 2018 sq ft of living space divided between the main house and a separate guest wing.

The main house has a formal entry, extra large living room and adjoining library, a spacious dining room with built-in niches and storage, a large kitchen with custom cabinetry, and the extra large master bedroom with an extra spacious bath, and laundry.The dining room and living room ceilings play with the geometry of the house and create visually exciting spaces. The milled woodwork and rich floors create a continuity throughout the home.

 The guest house is located in a separate building. Each bedroom has water views and use of the private deck area just off each bedroom. You can't help but be mesmerized by the views. During the time I was at the house taking photos the sky changed from gray to cloudy to sunny.  The water color changed as the clouds and sky turned from gray to blue. And I then got it why so many people prefer a location and view like this one. So no matter which room you are located in, you can peek out to the sea and get swept away by nature doing its thing.

 I sell houses in Key West and I am used to the cute cigar maker cottages and grand conch houses. I am equally familiar with the CBS (concrete block structures) that populate much of the mid town and new town areas. I know that most of the homes built in the Florida Keys since Hurricane Andrew are built on stilts. They have to be because of possible flooding.  I will come off as a snob when I write this. Please don't judge me too harshly.  Most of the stilt built homes I have been built it are pedestrian. Many are copies of each other.  Some of the newer homes are Florida Keys reinterpretation of McMansions.  You know what I mean: soaring ceilings, huge rooms with no purpose and no character. Please CLICK HERE to view a slideshow of photos I took of this property.

The owner has obtained county approval for the addition of a pool and pavilion. I took the photo just below which shows what the approved pool and pavilion would like like if the new owner decides to build it.

I gotta tell you that I fell in love with this place the day I was there. A guy motored past me as I was taking photos. I thought to myself "This is the life!"

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and to view listing photos. If you would like to see this wonderful home with me, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.  Let me help you find your home in Paradise.