Key West Real Estate Trivial Pursuit - Part Four

Today's Trivial Pursuit is a No-Brainer because I added the address of the property in the photos.

It is nonetheless interesting to see how one property can change so much over the period of fifty years. When I was a kid I counted my age by quarter and half years. Now it is decades. I have watch Key West change over four decades. It is amazing. Nothing stays the same.

St Mary's Convent before it burned. 1109 Windsor is at the left rear corner.

I remember the garage located at the corners of Windsor Lane, Amelia Street, and Royal Street as shown in the photos above. I was a Realtor at Prudential Knight Gardner Realty in the early 2000's when a fellow agent and her husband bought the Windsor property and the adjacent house at 1117 Royal Street. Both properties were razed and two new houses were completed in 2005.

The garage that once stood at 1109 Windsor Lane now looks like this:

2012

2019

J J Fairbank Construction was the builder. Tom Pope was the architect.

Comments welcomed.

505 Noah Lane, Key West

The new listing at 505 Noah Lane, Key West merits the attention of the buyer seeking a spacious three bedroom home with pool and parking. Okay there are quite a few houses like that available, but this one is located in the highly desirable Truman Annex plus it has a Special Truman Annex Transient Rental License. 

The 2,116 Square Foot house actually faces toward Front Street where there are first and second floor porches for perfect people watching. As you step into the yard you will notice the tropical landscaping and then see the pristine Hardie Board exterior contrasted with the crisp white balusters and rails on the wrap-around porch. Look carefully and you will also see there are impact windows and doors and over  1,000 Sq Ft of Epe decks. Look up and you will notice recessed lights and ceiling fan. Details, I know, but they set the tone for what goes on inside.

I walked through the first floor in total awe. Although this home was built new in 1996, the interior had all the hallmarks of a late 19th Century home including quarter sawn oak floors and stairway. The first and only owner renovated the house in 2007 by D'Asign Source basically rebuilding the entire house. Notable features include Crown Point Cabinetry with matching floor boards, casings, and trim. There is even a fireplace for those snowy winter nights - oh, wait - we don't have those in Key West. Reclaimed NYC subway tiles frame the fireplace.

It wasn't until I stood near the glass doors at the rear of the kitchen that I realized the ceiling soared two stories high. Four large windows allow abundant light to enter the space. There is even a pantry. Everywhere you turn, there is attention to details.

The stairway which took me back to the turn of the century homes I am so familiar with back in Denver. This house has a genuine old house feel to it unlike so many of the new houses built to look old that we seen in Key West. There is a spacious guest bath at the foot of the stairway. When I arrived at the second floor I could look down into the kitchen and see how the interior flows from bottom to top and front to back.

The guest bedroom and bath are located at the front of the house where doors open out to the second floor porch. Checkout that view. Even Riley would be jealous of this place.

The owners use the second guest bedroom at the rear as a home office. The ceiling soars upward to a cupola which is locate next to the rooftop Widow's Walk. 

There are 360 degree views on the Widow's Walk. The new Truman Waterfront Park and amphitheater are located a block or so to the west. Mallory Square and the Waterfront Theater are a couple of blocks to the north. And all of the hot spots and cool little places on Duval Street and environs are two blocks east. Some people save all year long to come to Key West to enjoy the treasures of Key West which you could enjoy everyday if you lived here.

You enter the master suite through pocket doors off the second floor hallway. The ceiling soars here as well. Doors at the rear open to a balcony overlooking the pool and garden area below. There and two closets and a huge master bath.

Doors off the kitchen and dining area open out to the covered rear porches and bricked courtyard. The salt water pool has a nifty water feature. Notice the carport in the above photo. The carport is located on Noah Lane. As you can see the grounds are illuminated at night and are also irrigated. There is a generator for those snowy nights when the frozen electric lines fall down - oh, wait, it never freezes in the Florida Keys. Sometimes we lose power for a short time. This house won't. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos for 505 Noah Lane offered for sale at $3,350,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this wonderful home. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

True Tales of Key West Real Estate in the Time of Corona Virus - Part Seven

This is a true story. It occurred about ten years ago. I cannot remember their real names, so I will call them Ted and Alice. Otherwise, all is true.

Alice contacted first by email and later by phone. She and Ted had been to Key West before and decided they wanted to buy a guesthouse. I sent her MLS listings of properties then available. Alice told me she was an executive. In fact she repeated her executive status several times. I asked if they would be cash buyers and explained that, while financing is available, the financial dynamics of guest houses were such that getting a mortgage could be very difficult. Alice said they would probably finance the purchase. She made travel arrangements to arrive on a Friday and depart on Sunday. I set up a meeting with a local lender and showings for Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.

Friday arrived. Alice was supposed to call to confirm their arrival. She did not. I called her and left messages and sent a couple emails. No response. Then Alice phoned. I could barely hear her because of the noise in the background. She and Ted were in a bar having a drink and did not hear my phone calls. She asked me to pick them up at the Pilot House Guest House in fifteen minutes (guess) or so.  I called the banker, apologized for missing the appointment, and asked if we could show up a bit late. Of course, it is Key West. (That is the excuse everyone makes all the time.)

I picked up Ted and Alice at their guest house. I did not consider Alice's selection of the Pilot House Guest House as her lodging selection at that time. It was a clothing optional all adult property. She was wearing an executive dress. Ted was dressed like an executive as well. They were both dressed for success compared to most of the tourists and potential house buyers we normally see in Key West. After exchanging hellos I headed to the bank which was located two blocks away. I asked where they had been when she called. Alice said The Bull which is located one block from the guest house and one block from the bank. What a coincidence. I had never been inside The Bull but had seen photos and heard stories about what goes on there. It is legendary adult bar. We met the banker and then saw two guest houses. We looked at another two or three places the next day. I never saw Ted and Alice after that - except I did.

Bahama Lane

Alice and I either talked or shared emails a few days after their visit. I sort of recall her saying that while they had the money to make a purchase, Key West was much more expensive than they expected. So they would pass. I hear that a lot from executive types (and regular people as well).

A week after their visit, I saw a couple of photos of Alice posted on FLICKR which hosts photos for my blog. I routinely search for photos of Key West on FLICKR. She was posing at the rear of the Pilot House guest house on Bahama Lane. She was wearing very short shorts with her butt cheeks fully exposed and a bra-thing with boobs falling out. I did a nosey and saw many more revealing photos of Alice. Alice was a very attractive woman her age. And Ted was equally handsome. They were probably big hits at The Bull which is also known as The Garden of Eden.

September 11th. One Photo. We Will Never Forget!

I cannot forget the horror of that day. Not knowing what was going to happen next. Nothing this terrifying had ever happened in America. 

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Key West Throwback Thursday #2

From December 22, 2018

Key West - A Couple of Days Before Christmas Story

This is true. I don't make stuff up. Sometimes my memory plays tricks on me and I get things a little screwy, or I can't add correctly, but for the most part if I write it in my blog soon after I experience something, it will come out true. This is the case here. And it should make my Dear Readers laugh or at least chuckle. We all need to chuckle.

I recently met with a couple that I sold a place to a few years ago. I was sitting in their living room petting the family dog and swapping stories about Key West real estate - what else? We were discussing all the changes they made to their home. Then the man's eyes darted to the left as if looking through the bedroom wall - the one with the Comcast box.

He mentioned the time when the contractors were working on the house.  He recited a laundry list of little changes they made to their Key West getaway. I perked up when he started to talk about the porn bill.  It seems that the contractor or one of his workers had racked up a $300 Comcast bill for  porn videos that were viewed the month the contractor was supposed to be remodeling the house. I think that's when the Mrs. remarked there was one day someone watched three porn movies. I think porn movies last about two hours so that means somebody (or somebodies) charged the owners a lot of money to watch the porn the owners had to pay for. Talk about over-billing.

I then asked who the contractor was. The man said the contractor's name. I'll call the guy "Mort" because I might get sued if I said the real name. I know Mort. I may have recommended Mort to this couple. I have recommended Mort to other people who wanted a contractor who would take on smaller projects. I said "He's so old, I didn't know he still had a dick!" The lady looked at me like what did you just say?

923 Southard Street, Key West is Back on the Market

923 Southard Street in Old Town Key West is back on the market. The original cigar maker's style cottage was built circa 1889. I found an old photo that shows pretty much the original structure as it appeared 50 some years ago (see the black and white photo below). If you look carefully you can see traditional clapboard siding at the front but board and batten siding (vertical siding) on the side.  You also will see a "sawtooth" addition at the rear. I suspect that was the kitchen at the time the photo was taken. A later owner expanded that space to include a second floor addition.  The resultant house today has 1476 sq ft of living space under air. The house sits on a large 2700 sq ft lot (approximately 27' x 100') lot located in the heart to Old Town.

Today this storybook cottage rests behind a picturesque white picket. The front porch provides the perfect perch for people watching.  Inside, you are greeted by a traditional long hallway on the right which leads to the kitchen and dining at the rear. The current owner removed a previously existing wall that separated a small front office from the adjacent living room. The newly expanded living room is a delight. The floors were refinished and look like new. Windows from the hallway on the east which filter into the living area.  Windows at the front and west side light the living room during the daytime. The Dade County Pine Walls are punctuated by the baseboards, trim, and crown molding all painted a crisp white.

There is a full bathroom plus closets closets located at the rear of the living room. This space will come in handy as the second bathroom on the second floor is en-suite to the master bedroom.

The kitchen is a compact place to cook when the owner is dining at home versus going out to one of the nearby restaurants including Mangia Mangia, Azur, or Cafe Sole. Five Brothers is located down on the corner of Grinnell. The turf is not real, but the sunshine, the trees, the singing birds are very real, and they are very much a part of the appeal of this magical back yard located in the heart of Old Town.

The roof top balcony is the perfect spot to take an all-over Key West tan. It's also a great place to sit in the morning drinking your coffee or late at night as the warm breezes move across the island. The last couple of nights have been incredible as the full moon migrated across the sky with slow winds moving lots of clouds about. It was quite the show. When the conch trains, delivery vans, scooters, and cars stop the real noises of the island begin: the dog scratching off fleas, the occasional cat screeching, the gecko on the wall chirping, the fountain in the garden gurgling, the palms swishing. These are the sounds of Key West us locals love to hear.

923 Southard Street is offered at $1,074,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this treasure. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.