1521 Seminary Street, Key West - Affordalbe 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.

1218 Packer Street, Key West

New to the market is 1218 Packer Street, Key West. I checked the historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when this house was built. The 1889 and 1892 maps both showed a group of similarly sized cottages located in this immediate which were flanked the much larger Cubano Boarding House once located at the corner of Packer and United Streets. The group of small cottages totally disappeared from the 1899 map. The current house at 1218 Packer Street appeared on the 1912 map. I looked in my old shoe box and found a photo of the house taken in 1965. I then searched the mls and found the color photo (two below) that shows the same property which had been updated in 2007, but not very well in my opinion.

I must admit that I was wrong about the house at 1218 Packer Street. I'm not a politician and I can admit when I a mistake. I recently viewed the new listing and was surprised to see what I had previously missed when this house was before its recent total renovation. The prior layout was clumsy. I failed to recognize the opportunity to reconfigure spaces just a bit to achieve much more utility inside the same basic box. The current owner not only moved walls but also replaced windows and doors so that more light entered the spaces to make them much more inviting and functional. New wood floors were added and the whole house looks totally different. It appears larger and more has a more user friendly layout.

The listing Realtor describes 1218 Packer Street this way:

"Exquisite Renovated 2BD/2BA Historic Home, located in highly desirable Old Town Key West and x-flood Zone. Walking distance to both Duval St. and White St. and all the main attractions. An Eyebrow style cottage, with stunning hard wood floors throughout, Beautifully appointed Kitchen and dining area in the rear, opening up via French doors to a sun filled patio and outdoor dining. One bedroom on main floor, adjacent to laundry area with a spacious master suite located on the second floor. Being sold turnkey with designer furniture package. Excellent Vacation Rental Potential."

The 1200 sq ft house sits on a 1550 sq ft lot situated behind a cute white picket fence with two giant coconut palms in the front yard. It's a little dream house come true. When you open the front door your eyes are drawn through to the new French doors in the combined kitchen and dining area at the rear. The living and dining spaces seem to merge into one larger space. The dining area is now flooded with sunlight.

The windows and French doors are impact glass which means you won't need to put up shutters if a wind storm approaches and that your will receive a substantial discount on wind insurance. Plus there is now more light entering this home. The old house had window unit air conditioners that hogged light. Now there is central air.

The back yard area now has a Trex deck and privacy fence. The listing agent told me the back area is flooded with sunshine all the time. Except the day I took these photos.

The first floor bedroom has much more space than I imagined it would. The adjacent bath also serves as a guest bath. The laundry closet is hidden from view to the left.

The second floor bedroom and new en-suite bath look so much different than before. Dual openings into the closet provide much more utility to the closet. The new dual sinks and marble shower enclosure real doll-up this once drab space. The bath is now flooded with light. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this lovely restored home. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to view listing photos of 1218 Packer Street which is offered for sale at $895,000. The 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.

812 Windsor Lane, Key West - Now a Short Sale Buying Opportunity

Loyal Readers may recognize this beautiful home located at 812 Windsor Lane in Key West as having been featured in my little blog a couple of times during the past couple of years. The house did not sell and is now offered as a short sale. 

The simple home at 812 Windsor Lane in Key West did not always look so neat and proper.  I remember driving past that house several years ago on repeated occasions when someone would ask "How much is that house?"  I would always respond "It's not for sale" to which they would reply something like "We'll I want to buy it when it is for sale." The house looked pretty rundown back then. The front yard was over-grown. The place looked like it had been abandoned. But then in 2008 the family who had owned this house since it was first built undertook the renovation of the original house and construction of a new cottage at the rear plus the addition of a pool.

812 Windsor Lane, Key West - 1965

 Today the property is available for the very first time to the buying public at the short sale asking price of $1,350,000.  The listing Realtor describes the property thus:

"Front of main house built in 1883. Rear cottage built and entire property beautifully renovated in 2005/6. Both buildings are 2Bed/2Full Bath with connecting covered breezeway. Kit, DR and LR in main house. 442 sq.ft unfinished attic space; clean, dry and open in main house is not part of the 1892 sq.ft. Finished Living Area. Pool, brick patio, lush tropical trees and bricked off-street parking. Interior is Dade County and knotty pine. Exterior is 85% hardyboard. Same family in property since 1912. Fully and nicely furnished. Heart of Old Town. This is a potential Short Sale subject to lender approval."

The front porch is just for show these days. The formal entry to the main house is located just beyond the fence at the end of the driveway.  You enter into the great room in the new rear addition to the historic house.  The living area is at the back of this house.  It has French doors that open out to the covered rear deck and which overlook the pool with waterfall.  The two front rooms are used as bedrooms. Both bedrooms have large bathrooms. The master bedroom has access to the old front porch which as a view of the Key West cemetery across the street. The Royal Poinciana Tree located directly across the street will be full bloom with a million red flowers come May.

The guest cottage at the rear has two very large bedrooms and baths. Both bedrooms have vaulted ceilings and ample closets. Each room has a loft inside for the grand kids to play or sleep.  A covered breezeway connects the guest cottage to the main house. 

The two houses have a combined living space of 1892 sq ft under air conditioning. This does not include any of the covered or non-covered deck areas or interior lofts. The lot is 5880 sq ft lot which  is quite large for the Old Town area. There is bricked off street parking for 2 cars. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet.

The house needs a fresh coat of paint and some minor repairs which will make it all pretty again. I think a bit of fairy dust would do a heck of a lot of good myself. If I bought this home I might splurge and re-tile the baths and replace the dark granite counter tops with quartz or some more contemporary hard surface. The color schemes are okay but I think a new owner could pick colors that are less Caribbean and more chic. The pool, rear decks, and grounds need some new plantings which would make the spaces more welcoming.  None of the things I have suggested are expensive.  I believe they would make this property show so much better.

This home has a successful rental history as a vacation rental.  The property is located just a few short blocks to Duval Street. The historic Key West seaport is located six blocks to the north. Most of the gyms and yoga studios are within an easy walk as well. Repeat vacation renters love being within walking distance to the gym or yoga studio. Returning guests follow patterns of behavior by going to their favorite haunts year after year. This is an area of family homes with no nearby commercial activity. There is no parking on the opposite side of the street - ever. This location is central to just about everything. Guest and owners will always get a sound nights sleep here.

I view this property as a real buying opportunity because of the location, historic and contemporary architecture, the successful rental history as a monthly vacation rental, and the new pricing which is much lower than previously offered.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took.  After you've viewed the photos and the mls datasheet, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a showing of this Key West home with lots of potential.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

Key West Real Estate - Gravity Lessons

I always loved watching Road Runner cartoons. I always hoped against hope that Wile E. Coyote would smarten up and not get done in by the smarter Road Runner. But Wile E. Coyote never got it. He never learned from his prior run-ins with the Road Runner. He always broke the cardinal rule:
"You can only not fall before you run off the edge of the cliff, not after."

Something is going on in Key West real estate and it does not look good. I did a couple of quick searches of Key West real estate sales and learned the following.

1.  There are 209 single family homes listed for sale in our market priced under $3 million. The current average asking price is $1,207,268 or $651 per sq ft for a 1871 sq ft home.  Key West has a permanent population of around 25,704. The median annual income in Key West in 2014 was $53,796. I don't think a lot of our local population can afford the asking price for many of the homes for sale in Key West.  But we have a thriving tourist market which brought over 4.5 million visitors to Key West in 2014. Many of those guests fall in love with our town and set out to buy a second home here.

(There are 15 homes priced over $3 million at prices per sq ft that skew the price per sq ft so I eliminated those for consideration.)

2. As of March 29, 2016 there are just 50 single family homes under contract. The average asking price is $884,348 or $571 for a 1661 sq ft home. It seems like the public is willing to settle for less than is offered by the current market.

3. Between March 1, 2016 and March 29, 2016 116 single family homes have had price reductions. The current adjusted asking prices of this select group is now $1,204,925 or $561 for a 1852 sq ft home. That statistic tells me there were way too many homes priced way too high. 

4.  Today there are 40 single family homes listed for sale at an asking price of $2 million or higher. During the calendar year 2015 there were just 11 sales at $2 million or higher. I realize we are just three months into the 2016 selling season, but that season is 3/4 over. I honestly wonder how many $2 million buyers are out there. There were 57 single family home sales in 2015 for homes priced between $1 million to $2 million. As of today there 71 single family homes offered in this same price range. It looks to me like we have an over supply of really high priced homes that only folks from outside of Key West can afford to buy. I know from experience many of the would-be buyers are looking for a place they can rent out part of the time to help pay for the house. These are not home purchases, these are investments.

There are some wacko sellers out there - sellers with huge edifice complexes. They are people who did some creative things to their properties like updating a kitchen or redoing baths. Maybe they added expensive kitchen appliances or installed imported light fixtures or added some other feature that sets their property apart from the rest of the market. I don't know that a Viking range or SubZero refrigerator adds that much more value to a home in any one's mind more than the seller. I am sure that some sellers think their design sense justifies a premium price far in excess of what other houses in the same area have actually sold for.  I know from experience some swell-headed sellers will not accept the fact that a new lender will not loan new money on a house that will not appraise for the asking price no matter how chic it may be.

And then there are the heirs - the heirs of the dearly departed former Conchs. These are the sons and daughters, the grand children, and the nieces and nephews who want their share of the ancestral home no matter the condition. They have all witnessed or heard tales about how much some other friend or cuz received from the sale of a some other departed soul's home. They want what is theirs by birthright. The more heirs, the more the price goes up. It seems there is never enough cash to go around to console one's loss for the departed.

If you are looking for a second home or a new primary residence in Key West, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. You can also contact me via e-mail at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I'll do my best to keep you from falling off the cliff.