1019 South Street, Key West - Just Listed

One of the joys of living in the Casa Marina Area of Key West is driving streets lined with swaying palms and giant mahogany trees. I often see my neighbors walking their dogs or tourists biking thru the area pointing out houses they dream of calling home someday. While Casa Marina Court, Johnson Street, and Flagler Avenue seem refined with curbs and gutters, the rest of the area retains its original rural charm with yards extending to the street. The architecture varies from a few original Conch houses, mid-century modern, and 21st Century contemporary. Most of the lots are 5,0000 square feet or larger many of which are hidden behind six foot tall privacy walls.

Each block in the Casa Marina area is different - there's nothing cookie cutter about this part of town. The new listing at 1019 South  Street is located one block from where I live. I walked over there a couple days ago while the photographer was taking photos for the new listing. This house is located caddy-corner across from 1100 South Street, the bungalow where Ernest Hemingway lived when he completed A Farewell to Arms. The two houses could not be any more different in style or construction. 1100 South Street is a stick built bungalow to which an earlier owner added a brick veneer that now covers the original wood siding of that single story home.

1019 South Street was built new in 2008 to replace one story CBS home that previously sat on the lot. The new house has 2,928 SqFt of interior living space plus covered and uncovered decks plus pool, loggia, and privacy fencing. I have lived a block away for 25 years. I cannot remember the lot before the new house was built. That is why I do my Projects of Key West series. Memories fail. Let's take a look at the house and pool.

The house is fenced for total privacy. You enter the yard thru gated entry into the foyer and then the great room. There is an informal sitting area on the right where glass sliders open out to the pool and loggia. The kitchen is a show stopper. The upper cabinets are illuminated to showcase china and glassware. There are gadgets galore. I don't they could have spent anymore. Really! The kitchen rocks. The family room is set back behind glass panel doors. There is a dining area nook off the side plus a guest bath. The above photos shows the large master suite at the rear.

There are four bedrooms and three and one-half baths. The master suite is located on the first floor which should make seniors excited. The master bath includes a big tub and shower. All closets are outfitted with closet systems for convenient storage. All rooms have high baseboards, crown molding, impress wood trim, recessed lighting, Plantation Shutters, and hardwood floors.

Two of the second floor guest bedrooms share a huge Jack and Jill bath while the other has an en-suite. The master and two of the guest bedrooms have doors that open out to private balconies or decks.

The loggia is located steps from the house and offers shade and protection from our seemingly ever-present sun. You will love the loggia this time of the year. It's getting hot and normal people cannot take as much sun as they think they can. Look at the above photo: you will see a pass through into the kitchen so that drinks can be exchanged without going inside. (Rich people think of everything.)

The current owners have not rented this home. It looks brand new on the inside. There is nothing for a new owner to do but bring cloths and a toothbrush. And booze. If you buy from me, I'll supply the booze.

Louie's Backyard, Higg's Beach, Fausto's Food Palace and the DQ are each located within easy walking distance. There are numerous nearby eateries, salons, gyms, and yoga studios. Upper Duval Street is a five block walk. The airport is seven minutes away. (I counted it.) What more could you ask for?

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet for 1019 South Street, Key West offered for sale at $2,939,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-755-2642, to schedule a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties. I live in this neighborhood and love it. If you like Old Town, you'll love the Casa Marina. Let me take you on a genuine tour.

413 Julia Street, Key West - Just Listed

Just Listed, but not by me, 413 Julia Street, Key West. This charming little house dates to before 1892 but it is beginning to look brand new all over again. The house was recently purchased by a local developer who had done multiple restorations and new builds in Key West. I dug around in my old shoebox and found a photo taken 55 years ago showing the house as it looked then. See the same house as it appears today from the same angle.  The was renovated several years ago and even won a coveted Florida Keys Ceramic Star for the prior renovation. The house fell into a bit of disrepair which is by it is being updated again.

413 Julia Street - 2009

The listing agent describes this 944 Sq Ft cottage (the square footage does not include the loft) this way:

"Simply Stunning-The Trifecta of Old Town Key West. A Remarkable Renovation with a projected completed date of August 01st. resulting in the Quintessential Key West Cottage. Located on a quiet one way street, steps from Duval St. award winning restaurants, Key West Lighthouse, beaches and so much more. Home features an abundance of Dade County Pine, with two bedrooms, two baths and additional sleeping loft, all finished with highest quality materials and superior craftsmanship. Impressive new Kitchen overlooks spacious living area with stunning new floors, soaring ceilings and two sets of french doors opening to private dipping pool and patio. Finished with New Siding, Floors, plumbing, electrical and AC resulting in a beautiful historic cottage in the heart of Old Town Key."

The above photo shows Julia Street as it dead-ends onto Duval Street - about 100 feet from 413 Julia Street. The house is near to the action but it far enough away not hear it. Julia is a narrow street in the neighborhood. There won't be any Conch Trains and only minimal auto traffic because it dead-ends. There is off street parking in front of the house and it has a pool. This home should sell quickly given the newness of the renovation and excellent location.  Owners who want a charming getaway and who also want to rent as a monthly vacation rental should anticipate a brisk business.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more listing photos of 413 Julia Street offered for sale at $1,099,000. 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.

910 Elizabeth Street, Key West - Transient Licensed Property

910 Elizabeth Street, Key West, is listed by Preferred Properties Key West. That is where I work, but this is not my listing. The listing Realtor describes the property thus:

"This unique opportunity in old town Key West includes three units and three parking spaces. The first unit is a gated 2/2 transient home with den with a large heated private pool surrounded by a sunny porch, deck, patio and lush foliage. There are also two residential units with separate entrances and their own parking. Unit 2 has loft bedrooms/1 bath and unit 3 has a den with loft bedrooms/1 bath. The long term units are accessed through a gate into a beautiful orchid laden garden. The property has been a successful transient rental for many years and the other units are owner occupied and provide exceptional opportunity for rentals or owner use. Located in the X zone on a pretty tree lined street just two blocks off Duval this is a rare offering."

If you are looking for an investment property in Key West, this may be the property you have been seeking to find.  It has the features that should make it an ideal investment.  They include prime location just two blocks from Duval Street - about a five minute walk.. Elizabeth Street is a one-way street  one-half block from St. Mary's Basilica on Truman Ave. The Old Town Gym is a couple blocks east of the church. There are numerous spas, eateries (fine dining and el cheapo) within
easy walking distance.

The property has three off street parking spaces including one covered space. That's a rarity indeed. Since Elizabeth Street is a small one-way residential street, you won't have much traffic to disturb your peace. The lot measures 50' by 154' or 7,700 sq ft.  What looks so small in the above photos is actually two separate homes with a beautiful sunny pool separating them.

910 Elizabeth Street, Key West is offered for sale at $2,800,000 including the Transient License.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS database and Listing Photos of this incredible property. 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 property is licensed to make money.

Another Knock Knock Story. No Joke.

About twenty years ago I was working with working with a gay couple who lived in the Virgin Islands and wanted to relocate to Key West to purchase a guest house.  There were only a few properties listed for sale at that time.

The listing Realtor was also the owner. He operated the business as a passive investor and was not involved in the day to day operations. He told me his manager would show the property. I set up showings for my customers and mentioned to a woman agent in my office that I would be showing Newton Street Station, an all gay male guest house. She had first hand knowledge about the place because she lived across the street and was intimately aware of it as she had watched the manager greet new guests in the nude for years. She had shown the property to prospective buyers and  said the manager conducted showings in the nude.

I searched our kegacy MLS files but could not find any listing photos from when the guest house was offered for sale. The photo below dates back to 1970 and appears to show some renovations underway. The property was located in The Meadows Area of Key West and about as far away from the excitement of Duval Street as one can get. The property looked pretty much the same in the late 1990s when I showed it. 

I told my customers what to expect. They took it in stride. I do not recall much of anything about the property as I avoided looking at the obvious. (I don't know why some men feel the need to show off - especially if they are too old to do so.) Over the following months I showed the guest house several more times to both gay and straight buyers. The manager always opened the door in the nude and always conducted the showings.

During that same time period I had a listing on a different guest house. I remember showing it afternoon when the buyers' agent mentioned he was going to show Newton Street Station right after leaving my listing. I warned to expect the manger to greet him and his customers in the nude. He was shocked but appreciated the warning. A few days later that agent and I ran into each other. He thanked me for the warning. He said had warned his straight buyers from the Midwest so they were not shocked.

Doubting Thomas

I may have shared this little story with my readers before.  I bears repeating nonethless.

Sixteen years ago the Key West real estate market was soaring to new heights. Previous sales prices were replaced by even higher prices throughout the city.  Sellers were giddy.  My pest control guy was a multi-generation Conch. In addition to his business and family home, he had purchased two or three small houses which had appreciated. He sold everything and moved to Ocala with a wad of money in his pocket.  A lot of other Conchs did the same. Many left Key West with over a million dollars in cash. Others just waited to sell their houses for a whole lot of money. They were sure someone would pay their price.

I was working at Prudential Knight Gardner Realty on Duval Street and had floor duty one day when a really nice woman and her friend walked in. The woman and her male cousin had inherited a house from their grandparents who had no adult children. The woman and cousin were the sole heirs. She wanted to list the property and asked me to take a look. I did and eventually listed it for around $775,00.

The house was an unassuming mid-century in the New Town area of Key West. The owners had updated it with a Home Depot kitchen and baths. The updates were cheap and looked cheap. The house was clean and showed okay. There was no pool. The 1,600 sq ft house sat on a nearly 6,000 sq ft lot covered with pea rock. It was fugly. But that was fixable. I held many open houses. I had many showings. Fugly is always hard to sell unless priced low enough for it to be perceived as a value.

One day I showed the house to a part time Realtor who was also a CPA. His customer (a widow spending her late husband's life insurance proceeds) made a cash offer of $750,000 to buy the house which had been on the market for about half a year (during a soaring market). While the dollar amount was an almost ten per cent discount to the asking price, the house had no other offers.  My sellers asked my advice. The woman had seen the house and knew it was fugly. Her cousin had not. They thought they might get more money if they waited. I urged them to take the cash offer. I didn't know if the house would appraise. I really doubted we would get any higher offer. I told them that you never know what tomorrow will bring. Nobody does. Ever.

The sellers accepted the $750,000 cash offer. We closed a few weeks later. The sellers inherited the property free and clear of any mortgage. They were the beneficiaries of a big cash payout. They had questioned the deal. But they accepted my advice and agreed to move on.

Seven months later Hurricane Wilma struck Key West in October 2005 and flooded that house and just about every other house in the New Town area. I drove by my former listing a few days after the hurricane. Everything from the inside had been dragged to the street. I felt sorry for the buyer who bought the place as an investment and for her tenants. The house sat empty for months. The same house has been on the market for over two years priced significantly below the price my sellers obtained. It is still fugly only more so!

I think a lot of sellers over think real estate deals. Of course there may be a better outcome if you wait long enough. But if you wait too long, something else like a hurricane or pandemic, or war or whatever could also happen. A known outcome may outweigh a lot of what-ifs. 

Laurel Canyon

If you have not returned back to work and have viewed everything on NETFLIX and AMAZON PRIME and are completely over the hourly chaos on MSNBC and CNN,  I suggest you check out epix two-part documentary LAUREL CANYON.

If you are a child of the 50s, 60s, of 70s you will easily recall the music and the musicians who took over the Los Angeles hillside area known as Laurel Canyon. The houses where they lived were constantly referred to as "cheap" and their environment as "paradise".

Frank Zappa's Cabin

I have started this blog several times and deleted it. I decided I have been too wordy because I really want people to watch this. When you hear the first few cords of a song or see Jim Morrison's face, you are pulled back to that moment of time. You will be hooked.

The second and final episode aired a few days ago just as all hell was breaking loose across America - in real time.  That episode dealt with the social issues of  the 1960s and 1970s and how the music evolved. Just as my generation was horrified by the Kent State massacre, the world has been horrified by police misconduct across America.  Neil Young's music galvanized a generation.  History repeating itself can be really scary or can inspire change. Watch Laurel Canyon.

912 Fleming Street, Key West - Sunday Open House

Are you looking for a home big enough for all your little'uns with separate bedrooms for each and a beautiful garden and pool?  Head over to the Open House at 912 Fleming Street Key West between 12 to 2. Please remember to wear your face mask.

The 3,228 Square Foot House has 6 bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms, a 30 Ft Heated Pool and Spa situated on 113' X 50' Sq Ft lot in the Heart of Old Town. The pool is totally private - no prying eyes and it has a multi-million dollar view. You really need to check it out. CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS.

CLICK HERE  to view the Key West MLS data sheet for more information.  Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, is the listing agent at Preferred Properties Key West will be hosting the open house.