628 Frances Street, Key West - Sweet Eyebrow Cottage

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West 628 Frances Street. This is a really sweet miniature eyebrow cottage complete with a white picket fence and garden. Some of the prettiest, and a couple of the most expensive, homes in town are located on this block which is within easy walking distance to the Historic Key West Seaport, Duval Street, and Sunset Celebration.

Before starting today's blog I checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and learned that this home first appeared on the the 1899 map. (This entire block was omitted from the 1889 map which does not infer the houses were not built then.) I learned the house was previously numbered 626 Frances Street but appeared as 628 Frances St. on the map which suggests to me the house was around much earlier than 1899. I then got out my shoe box and found a photo of this property taken fifty years ago. If you compare it with the color photo above you will note several structural changes including replacement of the windows and door, addition of shutters,  replacement of porch columns and addition of railing, and the replacement of the picket fence with a minor increase in height. What has not changed is the salt box shape of this small house turned on its side. The eyebrow house though not unique to Key West is rare - especially in this smaller size. There are approximately 75 of these special houses on our island. At first glance you will note the individual metal roof shingles as they rise to the gable. Then you will may notice the sawtooth addition at the rear. If you stand at the front gate you will see the house has five bays - two windows down and three windows hidden below the steep sloping roof line which creates the extended porch. These upper windows were designed to permit the windows to be open to provide ventilation even during a rain storm.

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Wonderfully maintained cottage in an absolutely superb location in Old Town. Move in ready with some nice upgrades; granite counters in kitchen, Pergo flooring on first floor, recently installed central A/C and washer and dryer. Some Dade county pine and great front porch. A well kept side yard and fencing all around. Move in now or renovate to your taste."

I had the opportunity to see the property late Friday afternoon - in the rain. I only had my Nikon pocket camera so the picture quality is not as good as I would like, but the photos I took are representative of what this home has to offer. When I stepped inside the front door the very first thing I noticed was the staircase in the left corner. The dark wood contrasted to the new blond Pergo floors. Then I noticed the compact size of the living room. I have been in many small homes before so I knew this place would not be large. The walls have wallpaper which tends to visually shrink the size of the room to the mind's eye. I am not being critical - just making an observation.

According to the listing Realtor this house has 1017 sq ft of living space which includes two bedrooms and one and one-half baths. The main floor bedroom is located just off the front entrance. A set of petite French doors provide entry to this space. You should notice that there is no closet in this bedroom. An armoire provides a place to hang one's clothes.

The second bedroom is located on the second floor. This room measures 24' X 18' from eave to eave - but not interior living space. The ceiling drops down to knee walls which provide a vertical space for placement of furniture. It appears to me that the wall unit air conditioner visible in the photo below is located in a space which most likely was a scuttle when this home was first built. A scuttle is an opening in the roof which allows hot air to rise through the house to the outdoors.

This is not the first time I have seen a toilet and sink in a place like this. A friend of mine who is a local designer totally changed a similar space and put in a real bath.

In his description of this property the listing Realtor said the house is move-in ready but opined a new owner might want to renovate. I am not being critical of this home which I think is really cute. I think it could be better. I think the Pergo floors ought to go away as should the wall paper. The enclosed porch on the side ought to be more fully integrated into the kitchen.The kitchen could be upgraded and reconfigured to provide more storage and utility. This might be accomplished by removing the half wall that separates the kitchen and dining area and creating a small island with a new quartz dining extension. The opening between living area and rear sawtooth addition might be expanded if a steel beam could be added to support the weight of the second floor. Finally, I'd try to enclose the second floor bath or remove it entirely and add a real closet in its place.

This house could work as a full time residence for a single person or couple who are minimalists. There just is not a lot storage space in this house so whoever lives here full time will need to be well organized. CLICK HERE to view more photos.

If renovated correctly, I think this place could look absolutely magical. I think it would definitely work as a monthly vacation rental. I think a lot of people revel in small and charming spaces. This is already cute. I think it could become even better. There is a large side yard that might provide enough space to add a swimming pool. Our Historic Architectural Review Commission and the City Planning Department would have to approve the addition of a pool to the lot. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 628 Frances Street which is offered for sale at $899,000. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this lovely eyebrow cottage. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

521 Grinnell Street, Key West - Prime Old Town Location

  The listing broker describes 521 Grinnell Street in Key West this way:

"Just Listed in Old Town Key West! This grand corner property offers over 2000 sq. ft. of living space plus over-sized deck and balconies for entertaining. The main level has a den with classic Dade County Pine walls, spacious light-filled living and dining areas that open to front deck and the cocktail pool. The kitchen has ample cabinet space, double ovens, stainless refrigerator, and a breakfast nook. There is a full bath and bedroom on main level. Upper level offers two separate master suites. This home features hardwood floors, Mexican tile, cathedral ceilings, storage space, stained glass, central AC, and off street parking. This home in is the perfect location near fine dining, Duval Street, and the historic Seaport."

521 Grinnell Street is actually one of the very first homes I got to watch being rebuilt and expanded right after I moved to Key West. In 1993 a friend of mine bought 521 Grinnell Street and the adjacent vacant lot. The original main house and extension visible in the top black and white photo was totally remodeled. A new two story addition was added to the vacant lot which is partially visible in the black and white photo immediately above. 

 The main house is an iconic Key West Grand Conch complete with first and second floor porches that overlook historic Grinnell Street. The house is located next to Lowes Lane, a small lane that dead ends about two hundred feet or so to the east. Several small cottages are located on this lane that is among the loveliest in Old Town.

When you enter the front door you are immediately transported back to an earlier day when homes were built to last a very long time by tradesmen and craftsmen who loved their work and not by corporations that bang-out new houses like autos on an assembly line. That is why old houses like this have lasted all these years. I check the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and learned that it first appeared in the 1889 map. That means it exist by that date or earlier. The doorway into the main floor study is a bit larger than a typical doorway of that era which leads me to believe my friend modernized this space a bit.

The listing broker gave me permission to use his photos for today's blog. The room above is located to the rear of the front study. If you look carefully, you will see that the walls in this room, like most in the original house, are Dade County Pine.  A door opens from this ground floor bedroom directly into the adjacent bath which is also used as the guest bath, but which is accessed by a different door off the dining room.

The living room is located in what I referred to above as the extension of the main house. French doors at the front open out to the deck in front that spans the extension between the main house and the 1994 two story addition.  The ceiling was vaulted to give the area an expansive feeling. The space is bathed in in light. Even though the original house is now at least 116 years old, the home has a contemporary feel and flow. If you buy this home, you won't feel like you are living in a museum. The dining room is located on the ground floor of the 1994 addition. Another set of French doors at the rear open out to the cocktail pool at the rear. The first time I had dinner in the then brand newly remodeled and expanded home I asked my friend why he had not built a pool. He answered he owned several gay guest houses and could use any of those pools anytime. I sold a nearby home on Lowes Lane to a couple who live very far away. When they come to town they head to Dante's at the Historic Seaport where tourists and locals can hangout by that giant pool all day and simply buy a hamburger and a coke.

French doors at the end of the kitchen open out to the rear deck and pool. There's plenty of room to sit and watch the grand kids splash in the pool or to sit and smooch with your feet dangling in the water while sipping the bubbly. The kitchen is a part of the 1994 addition to the old house. It has a clean and contemporary look but does not have the same boxy cabinets evident is so many modern places. You can dismiss the tiles as passe, but they work here.

The second floor of the 1994 house is devoted to the guest bedroom, closet, private bath, and covered front porch. What a neat place for couples who no longer sleep in the same bedroom or the teenager who wants his or her own place but still needs to live at home. This is a big comfortable space.

The master bedroom and bath pictured above are located on the second floor of the main house. It, too, has a private covered porch that overlooks Grinnell Street. In May and June the Royal Poinciana trees in front of 521 Grinnell are ablaze in millions of little red flowers. The sight is amazing. During the rest of the year you can sit up on either porch and watch the world pass by your house. You will undoubtedly overhear tourists talking about how wonderful it would be to live in one of these grand Key West houses. Everybody dreams about it. A lucky few do it. 

This home would make a wonderful Key West vacation home. A new homeowner could enliven the space with new furnishings to show off the wonderful historic architecture and modern addition. The location is a short stroll to Duval Street and the Historic Seaport. Five Brothers Deli is half a block away at the corner of Southard Street. Most of the gyms and yoga studios are within easy walking distance from this location. 

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and all listing photos on 521 Grinnell Street which is offered for sale at $1,250,000 or $604 per sq ft for this 2069 sq ft home located on one of the best blocks in Old Town. This is a terrific location and a wonderful house complete with garage entered off Loews Lane. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. 

Walking Money - The Cost of Walking Away from a Good Deal in Key West

Most of my customers are buyers. I identify with their wants, needs, frustrations, and frugality.  I know what it is like to dream, to plan, to save, and to eventually to buy the special place to call home. Some people have a lot of money and they sometimes treat price negotiation as a bit sport while others treat it as a genuine business matter that is to be dealt with. They leave the emotion out of the equation and usually get the deal done. They know what they want and they usually get it.

I think a lot of buyers who are pursuing the dream of buying a place in Key West are often vexed by the perceived high or inflated asking prices on houses here. They often get overwhelmed by the process and the seeming intransigence of sellers who won't budge off asking price - or at lease budge enough. Some buyers draw a line in the sand. They take their stand and avow the seller can take it or leave it.

Unlike those dazzling dandies on BRAVO TV's Million Dollar Listing LA, I don't play games when I negotiate.  How can they trust me when I tell them something if I play word games with them?  They can't and they won't.  So I don't. I am straight with my buyers. I expect the same from them. When a principal tells me something, I conversely believe what he or she tells me. I have an ethical duty to be honest when dealing with my principal. Why should I expect anything less from him or her.

The line in sand becomes problematic when either side uses it as negotiating tool and really doesn't mean it. And the words line in the sand don't even need to be said to have the same affect.  Words do matter. Failure to respond to an offer or to make a counter-offer creates a sense of unease or worse on the part of a buyer who fears the seller really does not want to sell to that buyer. Likewise, when a buyer says "X dollars is my final price, he or she seemingly cuts off the ability to find a compromise. I run into this very often when buyers reach a point beyond which they are unwilling to go.

Sometimes the breaking point is a matter of a few thousand dollars. This becomes the cost of walking away from a potential purchase. Now I know every dollar in a deal matters. But some dollars are more meaningful than others. I can tell you what that cost is. It is predictable. It is the exact dollar amount amortized over thirty years. Let's say the buyer and seller reach the breaking point at $10,000.  Buyer won't spend a nickle more. Seller won't accept a dime less. Agents won't split the cost to save the deal. The deal is lost. The deal is lost over $46.31 per month (calculated at 3.75% amortized over 30 years).  A $25,000 disparity would cost $115.78 using the same amortization.  The point is the fractional issue is often a matter or pride or ego rather a genuine breaking point.

I know the price of houses houses goes up across most parts of America, but I doubt that it goes up as much as it does in Key West. We live on a little island out in the middle of the ocean. The island can't get any bigger and we can't expand the number of houses (or condo) beyond the number the State of Florida allows each year. We can't build skyscrapers and thank God we can't. So we are forced to sell the same houses over and over again. The best houses in the best locations sell for more money than inferior locations or inferior properties. And the word inferior does not mean  there is something wrong. It means the location or house is not as good as rather than there is something wrong.

To the buyer who wants to walk away from buying your dream house over $46.31 I would suggest that is about the cost of a pair of LEVI 501 jeans. How appropriate. You can have your walking jeans but not the house of your jeans.

The Case of the One Legged Drag Queen

Loyal readers know that I live in the Casa Marina Area of Key West. My little spot on the island is just about the best place in the world on most days. My house sits on a big corner lot with lots of tropical foliage that insulates my house from the two intersecting streets. A big privacy fence surrounds the lot. My house and several more on my street and the next block have very tall Mahogany trees. In addition I have one of the tallest Date Palms on the island and a variety of very tall palms including a Washingtonian Palm, a Royal Palm, and several Coconut Palms interspersed with shorter tropical foliage that give my yard quite the tropical feel.

After returning from the gym one morning, I decided to do some yard work before going in to the office. I put on some grubby shorts and t-shirt, grabbed my rake, and started to attack the scrub under the foliage out on the right of way.

As I worked my way to the corner I noticed something sparkling through the bushes just on top of the pea rock. I bent down and saw a single fuchsia colored high heel shoe. The heel and base of the shoe had sparkles.Then I noticed a small multi colored clutch or purse.  I chuckled with delight. I pulled the shoe and purse out from under the bush. I searched for a second shoe but found none. I opened the purse: it was filled several lipsticks, rouges, and eyeliners but no ID.  I decided to grab a camera to record my find for posterity.

A neighbor walked by (actually, I think he came out of his house after he heard me laughing so loudly).  I showed him my find.  I laughed and told him that I had found the shoe and purse of a one legged drag queen. He laughed and said it's stuff like this that makes life in Key West so damned interesting.

812 Simonton Street Rear, Key West - The Affordable Escape to Key West

When I was a kid my mom and dad had this dream of buying a camping trailer to drag behind our 1952 Studebaker. We would take it up into the Colorado Rockies where we would fish and live the Life of Riley. We got the trailer but things didn't work out exactly as planned. The reality of Twenty First Century America is that you can no longer stop your car along the roadside or beachfront and set up camp for a few days of camping. There are just too many people and too many rules to allow that anymore. In fact there are too many people and too many rules - period.  For many people the dream to getaway from the job, the city, the job, the day-to-day life and all those damned rules is just that - a dream. People have expectations of what they want and how much they can reasonably afford to spend. When they start checking out prices on the internet or meeting with a Realtor they often decide that the cost of fulfilling the dream is, well, too costly! I have watched the price of Key West properties rise higher and higher year after year for decade after decade. Prices always go up, or so it seems - until now.

812 Simonton Rear sits behind the front cottage. Access is via deeded path to the right of the building.

The listing Realtor describes this 480 sq ft stand alone one bedroom fully equipped cottage this way:
"Lovely Old Town rear cottage for under $400K! This private one bedroom / one bath cottage with additional outdoor bathroom has all the amenities of home. Wood flooring throughout and additional loft space for storage. Spacious outdoor space to enjoy the Key West breezes."

The cottage is a fully contained small home. You enter the small home from the side entry and walk into the living room which has a vaulted ceiling. This gives even this small space a sense of being much larger than it is. The point is the place doesn't feel small. The bedroom is adjacent at the rear. It, too, has a vaulted ceiling. French doors open from the bedroom out to a private rear terrace. The back side of the St. Peter's Episcopal Church is the neighbor. I can imagine going to bed at night with the doors opened. It's that private. The kitchen has been revamped and has all the comforts of home stainless steel range,microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator. The kitchen door opens out to a covered porch which houses the covered laundry and another bathroom and out door shower. 

For those buyers who want to have a place where their friends can come and stay, you can either plan on spending a lot more money for a larger home or pay for a couple of nights lodging at a nearby guesthouse or hotel. The price will be a lot less and you won't have to babysit your friends.

The asking price on this little charmer has just been reduced to $399,995. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and many listing photos that show each aspect of this home. Once you've looked online, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 and ask me to schedule a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  This could be your great escape to Key West place.