533 Petronia Street, Key West - Back on the Market

I wrote about 533 Petronia Street in Key West in July when it was listed for sale. It went under contract right away, just like I predicted. The house is in livable condition, but it is best suited for a total renovation.  Let's look at the outside and the interior. You can then appreciate the value of this location and this home.

Back on the Market 533 Petronia Street, Key West.  This is the perfect historic renovation project. It appears to be in pretty good condition suggesting that improvements made by the next owner will be more decorative than structural in nature. There is an attractive front yard, gated off street parking, and room for a pool in the rear. However, I do believe other improvements would necessarily include the upgrading of electrical, water, air conditioning, replacement of windows and doors, and the addition of a new kitchen and baths plus the addition of a pool, decking and gardens.  When completed the "old house" essentially would be new.

I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to determine the approximate age of this property. It first appeared on the 1889 map as 517 Petronia Street. The street number was changed to 529 Petronia on the 1892 map and finally changed to 533 Petronia Street on the 1899 map. This tells us the house existed as early as 1889. I then dug into my old shoebox and found the above black and white photo taken in 1965. Compare it to the present day photo at the top. You will see some gingerbread was added to the porch columns. The white picket fence was replaced by a chain link fence - usually chain link fences are the ones replaced. The charm of the visage is undeniable.

The house sits to the right of center of the 45' X 100' lot.  The entry door is centered in the middle of the house which measures 24' wide by 50'  deep according to the Property Appraiser records. In actuality, the house is longer as there is appear to be two mystery additions about which the Property Appraiser is unaware. More on that later.

This house reminds me of how so many of the houses in Old Town looked like 22 years ago when I began selling houses here.  Many of the original houses had been modernized in the 1950s or 1960s. The were plain Jane in every aspect. But they had what folks refer to as "good bones" or "potential".  As these houses were bought and renovated, the stock of houses with "potential" diminished.  This particular house has a very interesting street presence, lot size, and house size plus structural condition that suggests this would be a great candidate for renovation. The photos above and below show how the current house is laid out. Forget the the way the place looks now instead focus on the size and condition. And then open your mind as to how you might re-create the spaces into what could work for you and your family or partner or whatever.

The existing living room is located at the front and is very large. The adjacent front bedroom and bath are tiny. The room sizes and configuration make no sense for modern day life! The board and batten in the bedroom strongly suggest the walls are Dade County Pine. If the current ceiling were vaulted, the already large space would be dramatic.

A doorway at the rear of the living room flows into the kitchen. A hall on the west side has a bath and closets followed by a second bedroom. While I did not measure the space for accuracy, I am pretty sure that this is the only part of the house on the Appraiser's record which shows the house measuring 24' wide by 50' deep. In fact there are four "rooms" beyond the known structure: a closet, a bath, the TV or family room, and a third bedroom.

The rear "phantom rooms" add 312 sq feet of living space to the known 1200 sq ft. A thoughtful renovation might change the main entry from the front to the west side which would allow the master bedroom to be located at the front where the porch would be private to the master suite. Bedrooms could be located along the east side and a new open concept living and dining area placed on the west side where there is a sizeable open area which could become a tropical garden and/or deck leading to a pool at the rear.  Multiple sets of French doors might be added on the side and rear to bring light into the new open concept living area. The opportunities to create are boundless.

The rear lot has two storage rooms. The west room presently has a rooftop deck of sorts. A new owner might convert this space into a poolside bar. I would nix the space myself. The east rear storage could be kept without interfering with anything. CLICK HERE to view many additional photos of the house and yard.

This property is located about one-half block east of Duval Street. Several of the adjacent homes have transient rental licenses and others are rented as monthly vacation rentals. When renovated this house could become a very popular vacation rental given the size and location. This would be so easy to kept rented throughout the year.  The most successful vacation and transient rentals are located near Duval Street and have off street parking. Guests will love it!

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 533 Petronia Street, Key West  offered at $799,999. Call Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to set up a showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

906 Southard Street, Key West - Award Winning Eyebrow House

 

The 2009 Old Island Restoration Foundation award winning home at 906 Southard Street is a classic example of an architectural style unique to Key West referred to as "eyebrow house". A plaque at the front entrance explains the origins of the architectural name, albeit eyebrows don't really protect one's eyes - it's the eyelashes that do that. But we get the point. 

Compare the above photo taken in 1965 to the color photo at the top of this page. You will notice many significant changes including new windows with shutters, new front door, and the addition of a gated covered parking structure - that is unheard of in Old Town. The house was extensively renovated and expanded in 2008-2009. Today the house has 2188 sq ft of living space divided between the two floors and rear additions. The home has three bedrooms, three baths, a large kitchen and family room with multiple doors which open out to the covered rear porch, pool, and garden.

You enter this home through a formal entryway which alternatively leads to the primary living areas to the right and rear or, alternatively, to the first floor study with adjacent bath, which is currently used as a study. Beautiful wood floors are set off by the wood trim and crown moldings painted crisp white. The kitchen will delight the cook in the family - it has two refrigerators, wine coolers, Viking Range, and Carrera marble counter-tops. There is a small informal dining space just off the kitchen. An owner who may want a dedicated dining area could use the family room at the rear of the kitchen (last photo above).

The study could be used as a third bedroom. It works just fine for the current owner. The bathroom has a second door which opens into the living area for guest usage.  Note the custom built cabinets which are also featured in other parts of the house. There is attention to detail everywhere.

Both second floor bedrooms have large private en-suite marble baths. This place just rocks!  It's formal, but not stuffy - elegant, but not prissy.

The 2008-2009 renovation and expansion included the kitchen and family room additions plus wrap around rear porch and pool. A new owner will find the covered porch a perfect alternative to stuffy indoor dining, especially on our mild winter nights when folks up north are stoking their fires and fumbling with thermostats trying to warm up their houses.

 

I recalled having taken a photo of this home several years ago. It seemed like it took me forever to sort through my old shoebox before I found the 2010 photo of the dogs standing sentry on the front steps. At Christmas the current owner dresses them up to charm passersby.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I have sold several eyebrow houses in Key West. Let me open your eyes to the possibility of owning of of the prettiest of the eyebrow homes in our little town.

17156 West Bonita Lane, Sugarloaf Key Florida

I broke one of my real estate rules this past week and I am pleased to say I am glad I did.  I did not do anything inappropriate.  Instead I only left the island of Key West and ventured up to Sugarloaf Key to show houses to a potential buyer. I consider it a big no-no to go outside my sphere of knowledge because I am just not familiar with all of what goes on just 17 miles from Old Town Key West.

Readers in New York or New Jersey probably would not consider a seventeen mile drive anything at all. I am sure most are used to daily commutes on a train of seventeen minutes or longer. I consider having to drive three miles to the grocery store a hardship. The drive to this house took us about twenty minutes from the time we crossed Cow Key Channel, the waterway that separates Key West for Stock Island Key.

We met the listing agent at the front of 17156 West Bonita Lane and then walked the property before going inside and later returned to the water's edge. I was just captivated by the beauty of this lot and the setting.  I don't boat nor fish, but I can completely understand why people would want to own a place like this. Let's look some photos of the inside and then I will discuss the property further.

This 1320 square foot home has been recently renovated. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a new kitchen and two new bathrooms. It sits on 12,500 square foot lot on a canal that leads directly to the deep fishing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. There is a tiki hut and outdoor shower located at the water side plus a ladder for getting back onto the dock after swimming in the canal. People come to Key West from all over the country to tickle lobsters and grab stone crabs during the limited season this is permitted. As owner of this home you could go out back, grad your dinner, and have an al fresco seafood feast.

There is covered parking under the house. There is a partial enclosure under the house. This area has knock away walls and is not usable for living space. During the renovation new wind impact resistant windows were added to the house. That means you won't have to put up or close shutters, and more importantly, your wind storm insurance will be much lower. There is plenty of room for a pool at rear or side of the lot.

Imagine sitting in the hammock at waters' edge looking up to the sky. This could be your casa bonita.
CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and to view more photos of 17156 West Bonita Lane on Sugarloaf Key, Florida. Offered at $739,000.  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. Let's take that hammock for a test ride.

Key West Horror Story No 12

Unlike my other real estate horror stories that related to houses in Key West, this true story occurred one day several years ago while my buyer and I had a quick bite to eat at a Key West eatery that is no longer in business - Thank God!  The photo above was borrowed from the internet and is not the place about which I am going to write.

The building where we "dined" is now owned by a totally different party. The current occupant is a lessee and not in any way related to my story. But to avoid getting sued, I posted a photo of a totally different joint in some place that is not Key West.

We went inside the eatery and stood in line to order quick fix sandwiches and a Coke which we took to our table. I had eaten at this place several times before and thought the sandwiches were not only really tasty but also a good value. And we could get in and out within about 15 to 20 minutes.

The guy behind the counter was an older guy - probably in his fifties. He was rather large both in height and belly. He looked like Mel Sharples.  Older readers may remember Mel from the TV show Alice.  But this guy was no lovable Mel Sharples.

We sat down and began to eat our sandwiches. We were situated ten feet or so from where we ordered our meals. The Mel look-a-like left his post as the order taker and sandwich maker for a couple of minutes. He picked up the trash can behind the counter and lugged it outside whereupon he threw the contents into a big green dumpster.  He stopped for a moment to savor the cigar he had in his mouth. As I recall there was another person working there that day. I remember wondering why that person didn't take the trash outside.

Then the Mel guy came back inside and placed a new black plastic trash bag in the trash can. He then went back to the counter to take orders and prepare sandwiches for newly arriving customers. The cigar was still in his mouth and he did not wash his hands. I was disgusted. I never went back there.

I have never gotten over this incident. I know bad things happen in restaurants. I rarely send anything back to the kitchen in fear of what some other Mel might do to the meal. I didn't complain at the time. Maybe this incident didn't really happen. Maybe. 

Latch Key Dogs in Key West

Unlike many places across the United States, most houses and condos in Key West are shown by the listing agent instead of by accessing a lock box. This is both a tradition and a necessity as Key West many if not most listings here are viewed as both special and may also be tenant occupied. Special listings can be either very expensive homes that require strict control as to who goes inside or making sure that a potential buyer does not get injured while viewing a house in need of repair.

But all rules have exceptions including the house on Watson Street I showed several years ago. I remember the day and circumstance quite well. The listing agent told me she could not be present. The house was on lock box. She gave me the combination and said the tenant's dog would be in the house. The dog was tame and would not be a problem. It was probably winter as I noticed the light in the living room was turned on. I knocked on the door thinking the tenant was home. No answer. I opened the lock box, retrieved the key, and unlocked the door. I announced myself "Realtor".  No answer. I beckoned my customer to follow me inside whereupon I saw a big done sitting on the sofa watching her afternoon soap opera (or Oprah or whatever) on the television. The dog did some cute dog thing. The buyer probably gushed and talked baby talk.  We moved from room to room and then let the dog go back to its television. (I borrowed the black and white photo above, but it clearly represents what happened on the day I showed the house on Watson.)

This was not a one-time phenomenon. Another time the listing agent who was also the owner of the property I was showing gave me the lock box to his house. He said his two dogs would be present and not to mind them - they were harmless despite their size. Sure enough they were home guarding the bedroom.  I couldn't get them to move. They sniffed and checked us out then plopped their big behinds in front of the door just to make sure we behaved. 

The exception occurred a few years earlier while I was showing a tenant occupied condo on the eastern end of Key West. My buyers and I went inside a two story condo without incident. The tenant's dog yipped as we walked about. My buyers descending the stairs without incident.  I trailed behind, locked the door, and headed toward my car when my buyer said "Gary, you're bleeding". Apparently the little dog snapped at me and bit my ankle. I am glad he was small and not a German
Shepherd - that would have hurt.

I am Back in Key West

 

My Key West Properties Real Estate Blog is up and running once again. I spent the last couple of weeks in Paris where my spirits were rejuvenated to a level I have not experienced in several years. The skies were sunny and the temperature warm but cooler and less humid than my Key West. I walked the streets to various restaurants and felt safe all the time. The food ranged from very good to memorable. (I had been on a diet the last few months and lost thirty pounds. I feared all pate would add the pounds back. But the walking kept me and my friend at our same body weight - mildly plump.) The Parisians could not have been any nicer. They are thinner and better looking than Americans even though many of them seem to sit at the little sidewalk cafes for hours on end drinking coffee and eating incredible pastries.

 I stayed in a beautiful fifteenth century apartment located across the street from a park in the Marais.  The area was dotted with little cafes and upscale shops including a patisserie a couple of blocks away where I bought baguettes and pastries each day. (By the way, the French pay less for their food than what we pay in Key West.) The sidewalks were more narrow than our in Key West - this kept me looking up and down and all around - dodging and stepping into the street and out of the way. I managed to see this little piece of art which made me stop, smile, and take a picture to remember how important little things are in life.

While I had been to Paris many times over the years, I saw the city as if this were my very first visit. I walked everywhere taking in each sight as if for the very first time. I stopped to check out the real estate listings on numerous occasions in different neighborhoods. While I don't read French, I could figure out how large the apartments were and how much they cost. The asking prices made me rethink the pessimism I have been having about housings prices in Key West.  I particularly admired a building a couple of doors away from our apartment at 12 Parc Royal. Then I saw unit in that building which was offered at $1,650,000 Euros or $1,937,574 US Dollars. Later that day I was walking in the Rive Gauche area and found an apartment with a great view - it was listed in the $6 million Euro range. I also compared less expensive one bedroom and studio apartments in both areas. They were priced higher than Key West and offered less space and practical or comfortable living spaces. At least that is my opinion. I'm pretty sure it is the location that drives prices in Paris just like it does in Key West. Even if I had the money to buy Rive Gauche apartment, I wouldn't feel comfortable in that area just like I wouldn't feel comfortable on the upper East Side of New York. The Marais fit my needs both as to price and area in which I would like to live. Comfort level as to price and desirable location is transferable to Key West, Los Angeles, or Omaha. It is universal.  

The architecture awed me on nearly every street. The palaces and pied-à-terres just overwhelmed me. I kept trying to figure out how architects and builders from centuries before modern engineering and mechanical equipment were able to build the subways, cathedrals, palaces and everyday apartment buildings. Almost every building I saw was grand beyond what I am used to in Key West. And that grandness, that boldness of design and execution, made me appreciate the simplicity of our little houses in Key West and the little lanes on which so many of our houses are located. I remembered that it was the simplicity of our little island out in the middle of the ocean that lured so many of us non-Conchs to move here - along with the simple life we all desired to live. 

If you are looking to buy a house or pied-à-terre 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. I don't speak French, but I do speak plane English. 

The Case of the Traveling Sofas in Key West

I moved to Key West Christmas week in 1993. I had purchased the former Eaton Lodge guesthouse located at 511 Eaton Street. The building had been shut down for about two years while the property was being foreclosed upon by the Small Business Administration.  The windows and doors were boarded up to keep thieves and the homeless out.  The former owners left all of the furnishings including antique pieces of furniture acquired by their predecessors plus two white slip covered sofas of recent origin which were located  in the living room of the house once  owned William Warren, the town doctor. After we took possession we decided to keep the Eastlake pieces and all of the wood furniture but opted to put the two sofas out on the street. We knew someone would want those sofas even if we didn't.

We had barely got the second sofa placed on the sidewalk when this older man stopped and asked what we were doing and inquired if he might have the sofas. We had not had time to put the cushions on the sofas. He was delighted to learn that the sofas had cushions as well. Then he asked if we could hold the sofas until he could get a friend to help him move the sofas. I said yes. My partner and I moved the sofas back inside until the man returned with a younger man in his late thirties or early forties. I helped the younger man put thes sofas in his aged Toyota. He made several trips carrying the sofas and cushions to some other location. The older man introduced himself as David Wolkowsky.

A year or so later my partner and I started to look at houses in Key West including a a newly built spec house on Admirals Lane in Truman Annex. I recall the asking price was $500,000.  The builder was David Wolkowsky. My two former sofas were located in the living room of this house. I laughed. I did not buy the house. I should have. That house is now worth around $2,000,000.

A few years later I saw the same two sofas inside a house David Wolkowsky had renovated on Washington Street in the Casa Marina East area,

I saw those same two sofas for the very last time on March 15, 2015 during an early evening Realtors Open House. This time they were located poolside near the giraffe. David Wolkowsky was hosting this open house to attract agents to sell another of his renovation projects.

I got a phone call a couple of years ago from David. He had just finished a renovation on property which abutted a house I had listed. He called me to discuss the outrageous price I had on my listing. I told him the seller set the price, not me. He sounded genuinely angry at the price. He said "Do you know who I am?" I said I did. He sold his house. My listing did not sell and has still not sold.

David Wolkowsky

David Wolkowsky died Sunday night. He was 99 years old. An article in the Miami Herald included this passage:

"He had celebrated his birthday on Aug. 25 in true Wolkowsky style: a house full of free-spirited guests, clouds of white orchids, popping champagne corks and his sister, Ruth Greenfield of Miami, a classically trained concert pianist and civil rights pioneer, playing happy birthday on the grand piano as the crowd sang along. He presided from the white couch, dressed in linen, his trademark Panama hats stacked nearby. And instead of receiving gifts, he gave them: a black pearl necklace in a jeweler’s box for each of the several dozen women who attended."

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article218928945.html#storylink=cpy