Key West Real Estate Horror Story No. 9

Nearly a decade a go an author and screenplay writer purchased a full time residence from me. A few years later while our real estate market was in the dumps he decided it was a good time to buy an investment property.  I showed him a soon-to-be-listed little duplex which he instantly fell for.  He purchased the above pictured cute little duplex located on a lovely Key West lane before anybody else got to see it.   The place was in good condition such that the new owner was not required to make any repairs.  In fact is was tenant occupied when the buyer took possession.

A few months later I received a telephone call from the owner. He said he had just arrived in San Francisco to teach a writing class when he received a phone call advising him the duplex had been severely damaged in a fire very early that morning hours. He asked me to take a look, take some photos, and let him know what I thought.  Someone from the Key West Fire Department had contacted him and advised that both tenants were okay but that the woman tenant's dog died in the fire from smoke inhalation.

As I drove over to the property I expected to see the place burned down to the ground. When I got there I thought my buyer had exaggerated the magnitude of the event. The place had a crime scene tape out front. I couldn't see any fire damage from the street. It wasn't until I entered the side yard and walked to the rear when I saw some charred wood over the rear patio deck.

However, all of my assumptions about exaggeration abruptly ended when I looked inside the burned out windows to the interior. The place must have been a raging inferno.  The building was so severely damaged that the city condemned the property which made it possible for the owner to take down the structure and build new duplex. Our Historic Architectural Review Commission required the owner to retain the three front walls and front roof line as shown in the two photos above. An entirely new house was built in the space using building impact windows and doors and Hardiboard siding which in turn made the house less expensive to insure and also less expensive to cool. Most owners in Old Town are not permitted to use these construction materials as they are not approved by the historic commission. .

The owner built a new duplex on the lot, added a second story which was a new and larger master bedroom with en-suite bath. The front three walls were incorporated into a totally new studio apartment. The few people who had seen the duplex both before the fire and after rebuilding were amazed at the difference. I sold the place the next year. I think the two humans who lived in this place were very lucky to have made it out alive.

I was told the lady tenant in the rear came home very late on Friday night or early Saturday morning, lit a cigarette, and and may have fallen asleep. She and the young man who lived in the front apartment made it out without injury. He had just moved into the front apartment on Friday. He lost everything he had. The lady lost all of her property but more importantly lost her pooch. In the end that was the biggest loss for all three parties involved.

The owner sold the duplex the next year.  He sort of broke even in the transaction. Even so, there is a huge emotional cost one incurs in going through something this devastating. I am not a firm believer in wind insurance or flood insurance in most cases, but I absolutely believe in fire and liability insurance. Every investor and every homeowner must have fire and liability insurance sufficient to cover a loss of property and or life.  

712 Ashe Street, Key West Florida - All New Home in a Charming Old Town Location

712 Ashe Street in 1965

I have written a couple of blogs about the former house that used to sit at 712 Ashe Street in Key West. The old house was a tragic mess from front to back and side to side. The floors and ceiling were literally falling down. The place was not a safe place to live, but it was occupied until the very end when the sellers moved away. You can't tell it from the photos, but the old house is completely gone. The house could not be salvaged except for some members of the original porch which itself had been bastardized by the addition of siding and windows to create more interior living space.  The new owner kept the porch and built the new house in place retaining the porch element which will be restored as a porch.  The architectural rendering at the top shows the facade after it is completed.

Metal shed at the back of the 93' deep lot was taken down and all the tropical rubbish removed

I was at the property last week and took some photos of the house and pool area as it exists.  Below are several photos which show the exterior as it exists today. The house had "Novelty Siding" which is a tongue and grove with a bevel to add a bit of drama to the clapboard. This siding appears on many of the homes in Old Town. That siding is still available today and will wrap the front and both sides of the master bedroom which is at the front of the new structure.  The new entry door will be located on the right side of the house about 20 ft from the front sidewalk. Hardiboard siding will wrap the remainder of the house. Hardiboard is a concrete based material that looks like traditional wood siding. It resists the sun, heat, humidity, and rain. It is said to be 99% fire resistant and it is termite resistant - what stupid termite would eat concrete?  New wind impact resistant windows and doors will be added throughout the house as well.

The new home will have 1325 square feet of living space. The master bedroom with ensuite bath is located at the front. That room has a vaulted wood ceiling which will add dimension and character to the space. Two guest bedrooms share a Jack-and-Jill bath. There is also a guest bath and laundry area. The balance of the home is located at the rear. That room will have a 14 foot vaulted ceiling which is fairly dramatic in itself, especially for Old Town. More dramatic is the new rear wall which will be all glass. Windows on either side of the living space will allow additional light.

The rear wall opens onto an Ipe deck and pool area which will be lushly landscaped for the new owner as part of the final property. This home is scheduled to be completed for move-in by November. The house is being painted white throughout. If it is purchase now, a new owner could have some choices in the final touches to be added to the property prior to completion.  CLICK HERE to view more photos of this property. Don't let the mess confuse you. This is a Class A project. it will look great when completed. The owner showed me this and I could see the pride in his eyes as he described how he planned this project and how it will function for the new homeowner.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 712 Ashe Street, Key West which is offered at $1,350,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

Key West Summer Doldrums - Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House?

Key West is in the summer doldrums. The weather is really hot. A lot of the locals are away on vacation, including a lot of local real estate agents. The Key West MLS has had only a few entries in the past couple of weeks - a couple of new listings, a couple of sales, a few properties change to under contract, and a few listing expirations or extensions. Most seller will be waiting until late October or November before they put their properties on the market.

A couple of weeks ago I reported the actual sales we experienced in Key West from January 1st to June 30th. I thought it would be interesting to see how may properties we currently have under contract.  I did this is part because potential buyers often quiz me or relate concern about the state of our market because of all the For Sale signs visible throughout Old Town and the Casa Marina. What they often do not see are "riders" attached to the sign letting the public know that particular house or condo is under contract.

I sat down at my computer and did a quick search of the MLS to see how many properties are under contract. My search revealed that there 44 single family homes under contract in Key West.  A 462 sq ft cottage in Bahama Village offered at $389,000 is the lowest priced house in Key West. While the price is low the price per sq ft $841.99 which is pretty high considering the "bedroom" is really a loft accessed by a ladder.

The Key West real estate haters are going to hate this: there are four homes under contract with an asking price of over $1,000 per sq ft.  Three of these homes are located in Old Town and 1026 Von Phister St is located in the Casa Marina Area 

Address                                           Ask Price        Sq Ft                   Price Per Sq Ft

719 Fleming St                                 $2,495,000       2488                     $1003

620 Olivia St                                   $2,275,000       2093                      $1087

1026 Von Phister St                         $3,425,000      2693                      $1170

623 William St                                 $2,175,000      1825                      $1192

There are 12 single family homes located in Old Town under contract where all but 3 are priced over $600 per sq ft.  At least one of the three is definitely a fixer in my book. The other two would benefit from a renovation. When renovated each of these houses would appreciate greatly in value as is the long term pattern for homes located in the Old Town district. My experience has been that houses in Key West tend to appreciate at 10% or greater year over year. Houses in better locations appreciate at higher rates and less well located properties appreciate at the lower end of the trend line. I know the stock market has appreciated at a higher pace over the past couple of years. The thing is some sinister force or could wreak havoc on the stock market at any time and many people could lose their nest eggs. People who buy real estate might see their asset devalued in a crash, but they would still own the asset. And if there is no crash, homeowners and their children, grandchildren, and friends could enjoy the use of the house for years.

There are only two houses under contract in the Casa Marina. 1100 Johnson Street which was built in 1959 went under contract within three days of being listed at $1,500,000. A similar mid-century home located and down a couple of houses was purchased for $1,500,000 a few years ago. It was totally razed and replaced with a new grand contemporary house that is probably worth $3.5 million of greater in our current market. 1026 Von Phister was purchased in April 2015 for $1.8 million. It was thoroughly renovated and is under contract. The asking price on it is $3,150,000. Most but not all of the lots in the Casa Marina Area are 5000 sq ft or larger. Most of the existing homes in the area do not come under the purview of our Historical Architectural Review Commission which gives owners or builders a wider latitude of what they may build and materials they may use to create their dream home. This is important as newer homes often are less expensive to operate and less expensive to insure. These cost savings occur year over year and make the long term price of a Casa Marina home a better value as compared to homes in Old Town where innovation in construction is not always permitted.

1100 Johnson St (potential tear down or renovation project) under contract in 3 days at $1,500,000 asking

1026 Von Phister St under contract - $3,150,000 asking price

The remaining sales are scattered among these Key West neighborhoods:  Bahama Village - 2; Old Town north of Truman - 2. The Meadows Area - 3; Midtown and Newtown - 26; Golf Club -1. The average offer price among all 44 listings is a whopping $1,079,643 with a per sq ft price of $602.   There is a large inventory of unsold houses at the Golf Club. I think prices there may have appreciated beyond present perceived value. I think the houses are actually a very good value as compared to other parts of town. However, most second home buyers continue to want to be near Old Town and do not want to drive that extra five to ten minutes to get to Old Town.

If I actually knew anything about housing located in the other Lower Keys I would write about it because the MLS is very active for this part of real estate market. I can report that market appears to be very brisk as compared to Key West. 

I have been an active Realtor in Key West since 1996.  I have seen the highs and the very lowest of lows of our market. I believe we still have a lot of over-priced inventory for sale.  Buyers who are looking for a deal ought to consider making a quick trip to the Keys to see if there is something available in their price range that might be worth a wrestling match with a seller who has not sold his property. Buyers should take advantage of the doldrums. They might end up getting a good deal in the end.

If you are thinking of buying a place in Key West please consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 

1101 Southard Street, Key West - Guest House For Sale

Just listed by Preferred Properties Key West, the Frances Street Bottle Inn located at 1101 Southard Street in Old Town.  The listing Broker, not me, describes this guesthouse this way:

"The Frances Street Bottle Inn is a well established guest house in the heart of old town Key West. The house has been lovingly restored and is a beautiful example of historic Key West architecture. There are eight lovely rooms, seven which are transient. In addition to the guest rooms there is a spacious lounge/dining room, an office/reception area and a wide porch where guests relax in the mornings and evenings and watch the world go by. Two of the guest room suites have living rooms and kitchenettes, one has a large balcony. Two of the guest rooms have a brick outdoor patio. The guest house is perfectly located in the heart of old town within walking distance to everything."

 The Frances Street Bottle Inn is nestled behind a gorgeous Royal Poinciana Tree. During May and June that tree bursts into millions of tiny red flowers attracting passers-by to take a look.  The immediate area encompassing Fleming Street to the north to Angela Street at the south and from White Street to the east to Grinnell at the west have some of the prettiest and most expensive homes in Old Town.  The Inn is located within an easy walking distance to Duval Street and the Historic Key West Seaport. It is also within an easy walking distance to many of the gyms and yoga studios. Guests love the convenient location because of its proximity to all the Old Town has to offer but it is not so close as to be bothered by all the craziness of Duval Street.  

 I searched the Sanborn Fire Map for 1889 and found what I believe to be the main part of the current building now known as 1011 Southard Street.  I dug into the old shoebox and found a photo taken from the Frances Street side in 1965 with a notation that the building was built in the 1920s.  I think that may be when the one story addition at the rear on the Frances Street side was built because the 1912 Sanborn Map did not show the addition.

The building's current structure has 2920 sq ft of living area under air conditioning. This does not include any of the deck areas.  The building sits on a 3445 sq ft lot (53' on Frances Street opposite Cafe Sole by 65' on Southard Street). There is no pool but there is space to add a pool on the east side of the lot where there is a large bricked terrace.

The bricked terrace extends another fifteen feet or so on beyond the wood fence at the rear.  In reality most guests will probably out sight seeing rather than hanging by the pool. But having a pool or spa would enhance marketability a bit. Having been a guesthouse owner myself, I know the things new guests ask for when they check in "Where's the bathroom?"; "Where can I get a drink"; and "How far is the beach?"

The breakfast nook is located just off the front porch. The doors open out to that porch which wraps around the Frances Street side. Guests may dine inside or outside. They can sit and share their Key West experiences with others guests and perhaps checkout a restaurant or gallery for later that day.  Guest houses are different from hotels. People feel like they are in a home, not in a hotel. They like pretend this is their home. They will sit on a porch or a balcony and watch the people go by imagining how wonderful their lives might be if they could live in Key West in a home like this and experience the relaxed environment of our island paradise. CLICK HERE for more photos.

Let's Pretend!

This guest room includes a private sitting area and a mini-bar. Guests could really "play house" in this special room. It is individual rooms like these (as opposed to standard rooms and junior suites) in hotels) that motivates guests to return to guest houses year after year.  If the guests like the guest house and the guest house owner and staff, they will likely book the same room for the same time in the year to come. People are creatures of habit. If they like their experience, they will return.    


CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on this property. But better than looking at the mls, let's schedule a personal viewing of this money making opportunity. This property will give a chance to move to Key West, operate a profitable business, and change your life.  Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule an appointment.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.  Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

The Projects of Key West - July 2017 Update

Today's blog is an update on the projects of Key West which I wrote way too long ago - January 2015. I have been taking pictures all along and will share those photos and add my comments on the various properties. I kept holding back posting this update, all the while waiting for a couple of places to finish. One of the reasons why Key West housing is so expensive is the fact that it takes so damned long to get jobs completed.  Later in today's blog you will see a few examples of extra long construction projects that are taking forever. I am a firm believer that some builders drag the construction time out as long as possible to make the owner believe it particulary diffficult and therefore should cost more than expected. We have some very good general contractors in Key West that are totally legitimate and very reliable. And we have others who may take on too many projects who hire inexperienced helpers and/or illegal workers.They show up when it fits their schedule, do a little work, and disappear.

1016 Varela Street
I wrote about this cigar make style cottage a couple of times and showed it several times. I was a big proponent of buying this place, expanding it, and making out like a bandit. The house did not look good from the street, but it had a huge rear yard that wrapped around the rear to the left which would give the new owner a lot of possibilities for varying uses. I remember having to show at limited hours of the day. There were closed circuit TV cameras to see who was at the door. The place was always tenant occupied which made showings even harder and they had to be present for all showings. They always watched who entered and what they looked at. Buyers found it diffiecult to think about the future when the present was looming over them like a hawk. But somebody bought the play, hired a good local contractor, and the place got a new lease on life in very quick order. I have not been inside and don't know what happended in the rear, but I am sure it includes a pool.

The sign states "Before and After 50 Days" That was on May 31, 2017


920 Eisenhower Drive
920 Eisenhower Drive is a big hulk of a house.  It looked abandoned for the past few years. It was once owned by the owner of Sloppy Joe. The house was elevated to add a new pier foundation,  The house was totally renovated which included re-framing much of the building, siding, and new interiors throughout the house. 

CLICK HERE for more photos of 920 Eisenhower Drive.

1116 Packer Street 
1116 Packer St is located in the South of Truman area of Old Town. This area has become a hotbed for renovation during the past couple of years. This was a small house and the renovation got completed fairly quickly by Key West standards.

CLICK HERE for more photos. Start to finish in less than a year.


716 Ashe Street
I wrote a blog about this property a couple of years ago.  It was a sad little house. It was lived in but very neglected. I will be writing a new blog about this property in the near future. Until then look at the photos of the front of the old house as that is all that remains. A whole new house has been built to replace what used to be. It supposed to be finished in less than thirty days.

704 Eaton Street
Renovation has just started at 704 Eaton Street. I understand it is going to be featured in an upcoming TV show. That should be interesting to watch. I wrote about the house before and compared it to the place where Boo Radley lived. The house used to sit on a huge lot which included space for an additional house next door. That parcel was sold off and a brand new structure is being built now. It will appear in the post immediately below.

It will be really interesting to see how town responds to the new house on the corner compared to 704 Eaton Street. One will be all new and the other will be renewed. I hope the renewal preserves the character and gets rid of the quirkiness of the past. It was odd, almost inhabited.  CLICK HERE for more photos of 704 Eaton Street.

700 Eaton Street
I dug into my old shoebox and found a photo of the dapper owner of the Curry Drug Store once located at the corner of Elizabeth and Eaton. That building was razed years ago and the lot sat vacant for decades. The lot was recently sold and the lot cleared. A new structure is being built in compliance with Florida's strict new building codes. A cement pad was laid upon which a concrete block building was erected. Fir strips were attached to CBS structure and then plywood was attached. A vapor barrier wrapped the plywood after which Hardiboard siding was hung. The city fathers in their wisdom gave the new owners permission to sell expensive wine at this place. Neighbors fought the proposed use, but lost. Don't we have enough joints that sell booze in this town?

The old garden and giant Royal Poinciana Tree were cleared to make room for the new CBS building.

Four homes on Johnson Lane are undergoing varying degrees of renovation. Each one is being undertaken independent of the other. The lead house and biggest undertaking is actually located at 820 Olivia Street. That house sits on a large L-shaped lot upon which a huge rear structure is being built that includes a pool and a covered structure that looks similar to a carport.

 826 Johnson Lane
The backyard was thick with trees and foliage. It looks like most of the debris on the outside has been removed. There interior was a separate mess. I am sure all of that is gone or will be soon so the the builders can redo the interiors.  Remember, this and the other little houses on Johnson Lane are simple little boxes.

830 Johnson Lane

 832 Johnson Lane

1 Nassau Lane
This little cottage is located on a picturesque slow lane of Key West which abruptly ends about 300 feet to the south. There are several drop dead gorgeous smaller homes on this lane. I wrote about this house a couple of months ago when it was for sale. I showed it a few times. I thought it would be a good buy for someone. It came off the market. Then a couple of weeks ago I was showing a neighboring property when I noticed the house had been painted and work was being done.

421 Simonton Street
Just about everybody in town has driven or walked by 421 Simonton Street at sometime. The 1912 Historic Sanborn Fire Map shows two nearly identical buildings situated next to each other and identified as A and B located at what is now 421 Simonton Street.  The 1899 Sanborn Fire Map showed a single totally different which had existed for at least ten years earlier. So the two twin buildings were built sometime between 1899 and 1912.  A narrow concrete block addition was added to the buildings replacing the original front porches. This concrete addition was used as commercial space for decades until March 2017 when the concrete block facade was removed and renovation of the historic buildings began.

CLICK HERE or progress photos of the ongoing renovation of 421 Simonton Street which will have five transiently licensed apartments sometime in the future.  Don't get all excited folks. The owner has had the transient licenses for several years. They did not materialize out of nowhere and there is no inside plot to put those licenses here.

419 Simonton Street

A construction permit box appeared at the front of 419 Simonton Street a couple of weeks ago. CLICK HERE for progress photos that may appear if something starts to happen at this location. I wrote about this property a few years ago when it was for sale. I thought then and believe now this is an incredible property. The rear yard extends 142 feet. 

1500 Albury Street
1500 Albury Street shows that construction can be completed if the project is managed properly. The owner acted as the general contractor on this project, but he engaged a licensed contractor to build the structure. The owner interviewed and engaged all the subcontractors ahead of construction and had each subcontractorcommitted to being on site at specific benchmark dates. The result was the house was completed by year end 2016. The finished home is available for purchase today. See me for details.

CLICK HERE for construction photos.

1500 Albury Street, Key West

1410 Washington Street
I began snapping photos of this Casa Marina East home in June 2016 just before the mid-century house was razed.  I sold the property on the back side of this lot. That owner just razed that house and began construction of a new home. I will share those pictures in the next Projects of Key West update. There are numerous projects underway where mid-century houses are being taken down and new houses being built. Most of these projects are being built in areas other than Old Town and the parts of Casa Marina and The Meadows where homes are not designated as being of historical importance, Most of the redevelopment lots are selling around $500,000. One new lot in the Casa Marina is under contract for $1.5 million. A 4200 sq ft lot at 417 Agnela Street sold for $450,000 in September 2016.  A big new houses is being built there right now. It faces public housing across the street. Naysayers who think town is over-priced don't get it. The bargain prices are history. New houses are replacing the old places and prices are on the rise.

CLICK HERE to view more photos of this home which has many of the same structural construction features used in 700 Eaton Street.

1100 White Street 
They say FIRE never strikes twice in the same place. But they are sometimes wrong. The commercial building located at the busy corner of White and Virginia Streets burned twice. The last time the fire was so severe that the concrete block building had to be demolished. The lot sat vacant for several years except when it was briefly used as a place where tourists could build sand sculptures. An ambitious project the original footprint was undertaken. Under theory this would involve less interference by the city and various citizen boards The new building has three separate units as did the original structure. The building is now completed.

January 2011

CLICK HERE to the construction photos of 1100 White Street and also renovation photos of 1018 White Street shown below.

1018 White Street 
Several years ago I wrote a blog about the falling down house formally located at 1018 White Street which the city fathers allowed to be razed. (First photo below.) It was beyond repair. The city wanted to add a new mausoleum at the cemetery and identified another house located  at 819 Olivia Street which the city allowed to be moved to the 1018 White location. There was an existing property already located at the rear of the lot which looks like it was updated in the process.

819 Olivia Street on wheels and ready to move to new location.

819 Olivia St as it looked in 1965

1401 Grinnell Street
It's not all that often that a relatively new house (built new in 2003) gets a thorough make-over, but that is what has been going on (and on and on) since mid July 2016.  The house is located on the corner of Grinnell at South Street in the Casa Marina Area amid homes priced in the low one million dollar to $3.5 million range. I live nearby and as snooty as I am, I was really upset when the house was built. It made no sense for the area given the value of homes here. Let's look at what has been accomplished in the one year since the trees were removed from the perimeter.

September 30, 2016

Photographed Sunday July 16, 2017

CLICK HERE for "progress photos".

1010 Whitehead Street
I wrote a blog about this modest little cottage a couple of years ago. It was once the home of one the really great men of Key West - Lawrence Formica, the entrepreneur who created LaTeDa. His house changed hands after his passing and later became a bank owned property that was priced very low. The new owner has begun to renovate.

221 Petronia Street
I wrote a blog about this fire damaged (then a bank owned property) building in January 1015. It went under contract immediately after it was listed and for good reason. The place is very well located just two blocks from Duval Street and near several popular restaurants. The new Truman Waterfront Park is two blocks to the west. 

828 Elizabeth Street
I wrote about 828 Elizabeth Street three years ago just before Christmas. The house was a duplex where an exterior stair provided access to the upper apartment. The lower level apartment was a warren of rooms where the tenants shared refrigerator and cooking privileges. The interiors were gutted and work started on giving the old girl a sturdy new foundation. Work has been stalled for the past couple of months.

903 Eaton Street
I have a nice little project site available for purchase which is located at 903 Eaton Street. This happened to be the largest lot in Old Town where the existing concrete block structure may be taken down and a brand new house can be built. The lot measures 50 feet wide and 103 deep or 5300 sq ft. CLICK HERE. If you consider what has been built and what is being built, you may just appreciate the size fo the lot and ability to take down a non-historic existing building.  

There are a lot of other projects underway. I will add a new update in the not too distant future to let my loyal readers see what is going on.  In the meantime, if you are looking to buy a place in Key West where you can create your own dream home, please consider contacting me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.