811 Washington Street #102, Key West

Just Listed 811 Washington Street #102, Key West, Florida. The listing agent, not me, describes this home this way:

"Luxurious Casa Marina Estates townhouse with cathedral ceilings, high end tiles and hardwood floors throughout. Beautiful open living room with French doors opening to the pool and tranquil outdoor space. The gourmet kitchen features stainless steel Viking appliances and granite counter tops. Each bedroom is spacious and bright with en-suite bathrooms. French doors in the Master bedroom open up to a private balcony overlooking the pool and mature landscaping. X-500 flood zone means no flood insurance required. Perfectly located within walking distance of the world renowned Casa Marina Resort and close to beaches, shops, restaurants, and Duval Street."

As soon as you open the front door of this home your eyes are drawn through the interior toward the pool at the rear. But then you notice all of the sophisticated living space between the entry and the exit. Then you realize this is no ordinary living space. The fixtures and finishes are all high end and meant to appeal to the discerning buyer. Notice the over-sized travertine marble floor tiles, crown molding, high baseboards, and decorative trim. The Viking kitchen was a standard feature when this home was built because "standard" was superior to this developer builder.

This home has a formal entry way with a beautiful staircase to the left. The first floor powder room is located under the staircase.  Two sets of French doors open out to the rear garden with private swimming pool.

The gate at the rear is where the pool boy or other service people can enter the property from a rear alley.  The property on the far side of the alley is South Park Condominiums.

The master bedroom is located at the second floor rear. It has a large en-suite bath and two closets. here are two closets. French doors open out to the covered rear balcony that overlooks the pool below. This is a good spot to catch the famous Key West sunset without leaving the comforts of home.

The second floor front bedroom has a private bath plus its own covered balcony. The third floor bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and lots of living space plus its own private bath.The third floor bedroom runs the length of the house. Besides the private bath, this room has extra space for the kids or hobbyist.

I have sold four homes in this development. My buyers love the quality workmanship that went into the homes and the convenient Casa Marina location. They can walk a couple of blocks over to the Casa Marina Club where they purchased annual memberships which includes the gym, private beach, and discounts of food and beverages. Within minutes they can go to Louie's Backyard or Salute on the Beach. They can walk to upper Duval Street in about seven to ten minutes and take a cab back home at night.  For these buyers its almost like living in a resort.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 811 Washington Street No. 102. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to set up a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  I live in the Casa Marina Area and I love it!

614 Frances Street, Key West - Sophisticaed Renovation

Just Listed, but not by me, 614 Frances Street, Key West. This freshly renovated home is located on one of the very best blocks in Old Town. The former top selling Realtor in Key West dubbed Frances Street "the Park Avenue of Key West". When you sit on the front porch and look across the street at the two large homes that extend one entire block to the rear, you may agree this is a high society location.

The listing Realtor, not me, describes this 1700 sq ft home this way:

"A stunning combination of classic Old Town charm with a head-to-toe remodeling gives you the best of both worlds all on coveted Frances Street. Every benefit of renovated living - from new floors, electric, plumbing, roof, windows, doors, air conditioning to everything in between - including vaulted ceilings, fully insulated walls and impact-resistant Euro-designer folding doors that open to a newly constructed pool and private covered patio. 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths - including a spacious master suite with in-suite bath - provide ample comfort all on one level. Stay high and dry in the heart of Old Town in the desirable X-flood zone. The home also features 2-car off-street parking and a lovely guest cottage. It's the total package for anyone seeking the best in Key West living on a corner lot (off of a quiet lane) in a sophisticated neighborhood."

1965

2009

2009

2016

I dug into my old shoe box and found a photo dated 1965 that shows how 614 Frances Street looked then. If you look carefully you may agree with me that the base of the front porch appears to be cement which suggests the porch was not original because the porches on most historic homes were wood. The flat and boxy roof looks more like a 1950s addition than something that would have been a part of the original house. I then checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and determined the house first appeared on the 1892 Map. The 1889 map did not show any houses on Frances Street between Southard  to Olivia. I am confident many houses did exist but were omitted from the map. The two color photos dated 2009 show a different styled roof with pseudo-Victorian thingamajigs added. The 2016 photo shows the freshly renovated home with a crisp white facade, new roof with historically correct metal shingles, and a white picket fence. There is off street parking located to the left. The main entry is tucked on the right side just off Roberts Lane. This little lane adds separation and privacy from the small enclave of houses located there.

As a practical matter an owner would probably park the car and enter the house on the south or kitchen side. Guests would likely enter from the Roberts Lane entrance on the north whereupon they would walk into the large living area with vaulted ceiling. Most of the ceilings in the home are vaulted and have recessed lighting. New wood floors were added to all of the house except the bathrooms. The historic Dade County Pine wall boards were removed from the living room and master bedroom. New insulation was added throughout the house together with all new electric service, plumbing, and air conditioning. The Dade County Pine was planed and reinstalled creating what I like to call "drama walls". I think a new owner could use very contemporary furnishings or look backward and use over-stuffed furniture as well. The kitchen cabinetry, counter tops, and back splash are uber chic. There are abundant windows and doors that bring lots of light into the communal living spaces.

The listing Realtor describes the impact glass doors as Euro. They look like Nano door systems to me. Whatever they are, they look great - especially the folding living room doors that fold back and let the outdoors merge with the indoors. The waterfall pool is a new addition to this home. Newly planted tropical foliage will soon fill in and provide more privacy for the pool area. The little cottage to the south was totally updated. It has a separate bath and closet. It would definitely work well as a writer's cottage, private gym or yoga studio, or a bedroom for a teen who like to listen to loud music.

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The main house has three bedrooms. A center hallway leads from the living area to the master bedroom which is located in the front building of this saw tooth home. The original front door opens out to what is now a private porch looking out to Frances Street. What a delightful little area this is.  I must add that I was really impressed by the quality of the workmanship and the materials used in this renovation. There is a lot of attention to detail throughout this house.

Both guest bedrooms have vaulted ceilings which reflect the soaring heights of the saw tooth construction. You'd never think the bedroom space above is located in an house that is perhaps 125 years old. But it is. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this home.

614 Frances Street is offered for sale at $1,950,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet. Then 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.  This old house may the home to our new future.

I was a Sputdnut Man

Remember when you were a kid and you marked your age by half years or even quarter years? I just turned 69 and now I mark my age by decades.

The good side of growing older is the wisdom that comes with it. My life experiences help me gauge the present by things I remember from the past. I grew up in Denver in the 1950s. My mom and dad got married in 1929. My sister was born in 1930 and my brother in 1935. My parents raised two kids in the Great Depression. My mom never got over the Depression. I was raised as a child of the Depression even though I was born in 1947 at the very start of the Baby Boom.

Even as a kid I had several odd jobs to make spending money. I got an allowance, but not enough to meet my needs. Back then my needs consisted of candy and model cars and airplanes. I used to build a lot of models. In 1957 a friend and I talked the owner of the Spudnut Shop in the nearby Lakeside Mall into letting us go door to door to sell fresh Spudnuts.  (I found the photo of a very similar Spudnut shop online. It is eerily similar to what I remember.) Spudnuts were donuts made with potato flour. My friend and I made 75 cents each for selling a dozen bags of Spudnuts. One day I rang a doorbell and a woman's voice from the inside rang out "Whose there?" And I answered "The Spudnut Man." I swear this is true: she came to the door in a bra looking for a man and saw only a little ten year old boy. She bought a bag from me. I never saw a woman other than my mother in a bra before. It was amazing.

Sometime either before or soon after my Spudnut days I learned a valuable lesson about the value of my time and my work. We had a horrible snow storm. On a cold and snowy Sunday I went outside with my snow shovel and set out to shovel sidewalks. I think I charged 25 cents. The lesson came when I shoveled a particularly large sidewalk. It must have been a corner property. I remember being exhausted. When I was done I went to the house to collect my money. The man asked "How much?"  I said something like "However much you think it is worth." The bastard only gave me 50 cents. I had shoveled my little tail off for this guy. And all I got was 50 cents. I wasn't so mad at him as I was mad at myself.

I put myself through college and law school. I paid for everything with money I earned plus a couple scholarships. I had to pinch pennies to get by. My college dorm did not serve a Sunday evening meal. I often made soup in my popcorn popper at a cost of ten cents.  I went to the University of Denver College of Law where the tuition was very expensive. I worked at the courthouse in Golden, Colorado during the daytime and attended law school at night. I got a part time job as an assistant to Professor Jamison which helped pay part of my tuition. I managed to have all my college loans repaid within a year or so after graduating. 

The following are some of the benchmarks I used to determine if I am paying too much for something today as compared to what it used to cost. Way back in 1957 I was in the 5th grade.  I went on my first day with Karen S. (my "steady") which lasted one week. We double-dated with another couple and saw a movie at the Oriental Theater located on 44th and Tennyson Street. The "show" cost 25 cents. We bought a long paper bag of popcorn for a dime at the drugstore next door and Green Rivers in the theatre for another dime. Total cost for a Saturday afternoon date was $.45 each. Today the Regal Cinema in Key West charges $10.09 for a matinee ticket. Popcorn and drink would be another $6 or so.

I had to buy a new car just as I started law school. I chose a 1970 VW which cost me $2000. A 2016 Beetle starts at $19,588. My first studio apartment cost $125 per month. A comparable studio apartment in Key West would cost over $1500.

You could buy a Coke for a nickel when I was a kid. Later Coke came out with a King Size bottle for a dime. Today in Key West a can of Coke costs $1.50. I have had to pay $3 for a Coke in restaurants.  I remember we used to have Crestridge Dairy deliver two gallons of milk twice a week to our house. Milk cost $.45 a gallon back then. Today in Key West the price is about $4.50. And nobody delivers milk. Way back in the 50s bread cost $.19. Last week I paid $4.29.

The summer before I started college I had a job at the Jefferson County Airport where I refueled small airplanes. I was paid minimum wage - $1 per hour. A fellow employee who just got out of the Air Force made $1.10. He was a man, and I was still a boy. The minimum wage in Florida today is $8.05. (That's pre-tax earnings.)

Can you imagine getting out of the military and earning minimum wage and having to pay $4.29 for a loaf of bread or $4.50 for a gallon of milk? Or paying some ridiculous amount for rent?  If you lived in Key West your motivation factor would be pretty low. Mine would. In fact I would be pretty angry - like when I felt the man short-changed me on the hard work I put in to shovel his sidewalks while he stayed inside his warm home.

None of this has a thing to do with buying or selling a home in Key West or elsewhere. I do think that my life experiences have given me a genuine appreciation for the value of money and how much time and often times how much hard work it takes to earn money. This in turn helps me be a better Realtor.

If you want to buy a house in Key West please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com.