826 Johnson Lane, Key West - Newly Listed

Just Listed but not by me 826 Johnson Lane, Key West. I got to see this freshly renovated Old Town home yesterday afternoon. I remember showing the property several years ago when it was marketed as a fixer-upper. Well now it's fixed! 

I dug into my old shoebox and found the black and white photo above. It was taken in 1965. Sadly the property is not located anywhere near the water and no the boat did not float to the property in a storm. I also checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps to see if I could determine when this house was built. The Monroe County Property Appraiser shows it was constructed in 1938 during the Depression. We know that is incorrect. I learn (and often forget) so much about Key West houses when I search the maps. The 1889 map did not show this area but we know houses were here because St. Mary's Cathedral is located just a block to the south and some of the Grand Dame houses on Division Street (now Truman Avenue) are located on the much larger and grander lots immediately to the south. 

Johnson Lane only runs one block between Windsor Lane to the west and Packer Street to the east. The 1899 map shows a bunch of many smaller cottages on an unidentified lane running perpendicular to Johnson Lane (then called Jane Street). That entire group of cottages were gone by the 1899 map when 826 Johnson Lane appeared. All but one of those cottages has been renovated. Some vacant lots were built upon and one larger than should-be house was built a few years ago. I don't know how that happened. Two little cottages two doors away were also recently renovated and are now part of a monthly vacation rental program. They are shown below.

 

826 Johnson Lane sits on a 2,9000 Sq Ft lot that measures 116' X 25'. The house sits about 20 feet from the set back giving this home two off street parking spaces. The current owner relocated the entry to the right rear and reconfigured the entire interior of the house. All of the piers were replaced as were all the mechanical features. There is a new metal roof, impact windows and doors, and a fire suppression system. The original wood siding has been replaced with new Novelty siding which is historically correct for the area. Let's look inside starting from the living area.

All of the interior photos are virtually staged. But the shots themselves are the actual rooms. The French doors open out to the main (side) entry where there is room for a pool. There is one large tree and an existing fish pond that need to go. The listing Realtor told me the owner decided to let the new owner decide if he,she,they,them want a pool or not.

There are two bedrooms on the first floor. The master bedroom with en-suite is located midway in the house just past the kitchen.  

The original "front" room in the house is now the guest bedroom. This is a smart reconfiguration of space many renovators use. Unlike the two adorable houses shown above, this house does not presently have a front porch. That is part of th e reason this house has parking for two cars. I don't know if HARC would permit a new owner to add a porch as that would change the historic view of the property. But it would add to the charm and give the front guest bedroom a pretty view of the house across the lane. I wrote about it years ago. It is one one of the most unique homes in Old Town. 

 A full bath plus laundry area is located just past this bedroom. Note the cherry floors, high baseboards, and crispy white trim in each of the rooms. The windows are impact glass. The roof is new metal and the house is tied to the ground. A new owner will get a 30% discount on wind insurance. The house is located in the X Flood Zone where floor insurance is not required for a mortgage.

There's more! There is a second level loft bedroom not included in the square footage shown in the MLS as access is by a ladder located off the second bathroom. This is not a space for your mother-in-law but would be perfect for your brother-in-law (as long as he is not always drunk otherwise forget that). Kids would love this space. It stretches from front to rear. It is legal space. It does benefit from the fire suppression system.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and video of 826 Johnson Lane, Key West Florida offered for sale at $1,375,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

 

The Night the Lights Went Out in Key West

I have written before that I moved to Key West to own and operate the Eaton Lodge Guest House pictured above. It was the former home Dr. William Warren and his wife Genevieve. Warren was the town doctor. They were involved in the social and political events of the day. Genevieve and her friend Peggy Mills formed the Key West Garden Club. 

I think I was the third person to own the property as a guest house. The owners that converted the property from a residence to guest house hired professional contractors to do the work. I am sure everything they did was done to code. I just don't think they ever thought what happened twenty-five years ago this month would happen. But it did.

That is a photo of Jessie Porter, Genevieve Warren, Vivian Pierce, Connie McLain who were members of the Key West Garden Club. 

Fast forward to September 1994. Eaton Lodge was a thirteen room guest house located steps away from Duval Street. All but two of the rooms had private baths. Those two rooms could accommodate six people and often did. That particular weekend was "Women's Week" later renamed Womenfest Key West. 

Most guest houses have a required length of stay policy during Fantasy Fest, Chirstmas, New Years, boat races, and Women's Week. I can't recall if we require five or seven nights stay but we did have such a requirement. I do recall we were sold out for the duration of the event. All of the guests were women most of whom were probably in their late twenties to late thirties - except there was one man and wife staying who were not a part of the festivities. 

We hosted a cocktail party every night of the year which ran from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Most guests would go to view sunset at Mallory Square and return to clean up before they go out to dinner. That particular Friday night something odd happened. All the lights, televisions, fans, air condditioning went out something between 5:00 to 7:00. I remember running out to the street to see if the traffic lights were out. They were not. It appeared the electric outage was confined to the property. I went to the breaker box and got the power back on. I remember one woman guest being pretty feisty about being unable to dry her hair or iron her clothes. I appologized for the inconvenience and assured her it was a one tme affair.

It wasn't. The next night around the same time all the power went off again. This time I went straight to the breaker box and got power back on. We quickly deduced that the guest house though wired for all the lights and gadgets was not equipped to have everything being operated at the same time. 

 

 

Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday No. 31

from January 8, 2018

Fire and Fury & Fatbutt

Today's blog has nothing to do with Key West real estate except that if you want to buy a place or sell a place and you want an agent with life experiences beyond self-aggrandizement and self-promotion, you may want to call me. Info below on that.

I want to share a small true tale that may explain why so may people in the White House seem to have made derogatory statements about the boss, Mr. Trump. I think what might have happened was quite insignificant at the time. I did something similar about forty years ago and it changed the course of my life to some extent.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about negotiating with bullies where I mentioned traveling to Omaha to meet with other creditors of a farmer borrower I called "King". In the late 1970s I was a commercial loan workout guy at a big Denver bank. It was my job to correct the ill advised and unsecuredloan by getting security. The problem was there were other lenders who had also given King money, most of whom were also unsecured lenders.

We (my bank) worked out a plan to take liens on various assets of King including his homestead located in Kansas. We thought the passage of time and a good crop season would put King in a better position to repay a portion of our loan. Our short term goal was to perfect our security interest in each of King's assets against the claim of other unsecured creditors.

I went to Omaha with our bank's new ag lender to attend a creditors meeting to discuss our mutual bad boy borrower. I sat quiet throughout the morning meeting as all to the other lender reps were discussing throwing King into involuntary bankruptcy. Just before we broke for lunch one of the other creditors said something like "Gary, you have been quite all morning long and have not said a thing" (which anyone who knows me is an improbable thing).  He asked if I had an opinion at which time I said I thought we should give King time to take his crops to market to see how much cash he generate to pay to the creditors. What I was really recommending was that they do nothing which would give us the necessary time to perfect our recently recorded mortgages and financing statements.  In a contest between secured an unsecured lenders, we would then prevail over most of the other lenders. We broke for lunch and later that afternoon the group of lenders agreed to do nothing.

That night Howard Fatbutt, the ag lender, and I went to Gorat's world famous steakhouse in Omaha to celebrate our diversion tactics. For those not familiar with the name Gorat's, it is Warren Buffett's favorite steak house. I remember having a couple of drinks and eating a great steak. I have eaten there several times since that night, but that night had consequence for me because I told Fairbutt that my boss was an "***hole". I thought what I said was both a joke and more importantly private.  I assumed that most people think their their bosses are "***holes" to some extent. In point of fact I really liked my boss and respected him greatly. He was a former US government attorney and very smart.   I said something stupid that I should not have said.

The following week my boss invited me into his office and told me Fairbutt reported that I had called him an "***hole". My boss was genuinely pissed and did not care for any defense on my part.  A couple of weeks earlier he had told me about an upcoming promotion. On that day he said the promotion would not happen.  He wouldn't fire me, but he would not promote me either. I couldn't figure out why Fatbutt had told my boss anything except perhaps to recommend a bonus for pulling off a win for our bank. We worked in different areas of the bank and had not had any prior business or personal meetings before. 

I can imagine a scenario where Micheal Wolff, the seemingly ever-present bald guy hanging around the White House, would get a lot of people to make ill advised remarks about President Trump. I can't imagine anyone would have envisioned their quips would have been repeated in a tell all book about the boss. Howard Fatbutt was my Micheal Wolff. 

If you are looking for a Realtor in Key West and want someone with life learning experiences, please consider calling me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

724 Windsor Lane, Key West - Sold - A Very Little Slice of Heaven

 

I finally sold 724 Windsor Lane a few weeks ago. This was several months after being listed in the Key West MLS during the hottest real estate market in the country. There was nothing wrong with the house nor the location. We offered several price reductions to get to the sweet spot which coincided with the house being the third least expensive house in all of Key West.

Murphy Davis at 724 Windsor Lane in 2009

The 485 square foot house had only one bedroom which limited the universe of potential buyers. All of a sudden I had a lot of "buyers". One couple got to buy 724 Windsor Lane described in THE NEW YORK TIMES as A Very Little Slice of Heaven. CLICK HERE to read the article - it is a fun three minute read.

While working on yesterday's blog entitled HOUSE BUILDING, Google took me to the article in THE TIMES. The article written in 2009 by Donna Paul told the story of when Murphy Davis owned 724 Windsor Lane. Murphy, his former partner, and playwright Terrance McNally bought their first home in Key West in 1997. Later Murphy Davis and his friend Bobbie Watson purchased 724 Windsor Lane which Murphy "renovated".  The piece tells the love story of living small in a fabulous location.

 

 

 

 

House Building

 

Opening Montage - 1895 brick Victorian situated by a lake in upstate New York.

Interior - owner speaks:

I love my house.

Everybody does.

It was built in 1895 and still has most of the original roof.

The wallpaper in the dining room is original too.

So's a lot of the original woodwork.

You'd have to be a fool to change it.

I hope you appreciate detail.

The marble fireplace is hand carved.

The main stairs have a very gentle rise.

Everyone comments how easy it is to climb them.

I like to fill it with my friends.

Over the years we've become more like a family.

It makes me happy to have us all together in our home,

Mine and Bobby's.

They don't build house like this anymore.

The Golden Age of American House-building.

Not architecture mind you House-building.

This house was meant to stand.

Make yourself at home.

Love!, Valour!, Compassion! by Terrance McNally author, seasonal resident and home owner in Key West.

I watched the 1997 movie version of Love! Valour! Compassion! last night and played and replayed the opening monologue too many times. The words rang so true to me especially "They don't build houses like this anymore." That is the attraction of Key West its houses. They don't build houses like this anymore. The fact they were built in Paradise makes extra special.

 

630 Caroline Street, Key West - Not For Sale

I was taking photos for my blog a couple of days ago and passed by 630 Caroline Street, Key West. It was listed for sale a couple of years ago but did not sell and it is not for sale now. I think it is an interesting property and will sell when it is once again offered. The property records show this house as being a 2/2 with 1,176 square feet of living space (including second floor) situated on a 1,774 square foot lot (32.5 X 55') at the corner of Caroline and Elizabeth Street.

I dug down into my old shoebox and found the 1965 photo of the house with a tree in front. The City of Key West recently completed the multi-year restoration of the seaport which now wraps the waterfront to the west to the Truman Annex Park. The rebuilding of the seaport infrastructure not only revitalized businesses in that area, but also spurred the restoration of many of the original homes in the area. The house at 630 Caroline Street is one of the few remaining historic homes that have not been restored or renovated.

I searched the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and found 630 Caroline Street existed as early as 1889 when it was identified as a "dwelling" at 336 Caroline. The 1889 map shows the house then had a covered front porch and an addition at the rear. The stone veneer is fake and was probably added in the 1950s and certainly before the 1965 photo was taken. Jalousie windows were probably added at the same time. They are definitely not original to this house. The front and rear dormers were likely not original either. The rear addition is much smaller than the addition shown on the Sanborn maps

As I walked back to my car I noticed the fake brick (manufactured in Key West and known here as Indian Stone) was falling off the exterior wall. The close up shot shows the original exterior featured Novelty siding. That type of siding is still visible on the rear shed addition. I look forward to the day when the fake stone, jalousie windows, and air conditioners are removed and this little house is restored. It will happen. Not sure when. But it will.

The Tower of Terror - Not the one at Disney World

As I look back on the eight decades of my life I have memories of some events that never go away. There are some I cannot forgive, some I wish I could relive, and a few that changed the way we all live - forever. On August 1, 1966 I attended a Viet Nam teach-in at the University of Colorado at Boulder . That same afternoon one of those life altering events occurred 900 miles away in Austin Texas at the University of Texas. Later that evening the nation sat transfixed watching newsreel footage of the random cold blooded murder of 14 students by a lone sniper. Nothing like that ever happened in America like that. 

TOWER (2016 directed and produced by Keith Maitland) on Amazon Prime) is a documentary about the unidentified gunman who climbed to the top of the University of Texas tower where he shot 45 people and became the largest mass murderer in American history as of that time. The documentary used newsreel footage supplemented with interviews of survivors and heroes of that day to retell the story. The method of the retelling was novel to me. Animated re-enactments were interspersed with newsreel footage to show the stories of the people in real time - what they did and what they thought at that time. Age appropriate voice actors spoke words of the survivors as youthful participants during the day of terror. Near the end of the documentary the real life survivors appeared and completed the retelling of that awful day.

The first victims were Claire Wilson James (pictured immediately above and depicted in the top animation cell), her unborn child, and boyfriend Tom Eckman. They were walking to feed a parking meter when they were both hit by a snipers bullet from the 27th floor of the Tower. Eckman and the baby died immediately. Claire laid on the sizzling pavement for about 96 minutes while others watched in horror as the sniper continued to shoot 43 more people. She laid there dying. Nobody helped her. Nobody. All cowered in fear. After what seemed forever another college girl emerged and walked to comfort Claire. They did not know each other. She laid on the hot pavement with Claire as gunshots continued to pelt everywhere. 

The police were slow to respond and were ill equipped and not trained for such an event. One cop brought tear gas. No one brought rifle capable of shooting the sniper 27 stories above. Eventually two policeman and a citizen made it to the top and killed the lone sniper. 

After the shooting stopped bystanders emerged out of nowhere and gathered in the plaza where Claire and the others had laid. Claire was whisked away by ambulance. A bystander carried Tom's lifeless body to another ambulance. The girl walked away. I watched the crowd and remembered that was how we dressed at my college.That was the way we looked like. This was not some movies directors version of college kids and vintage cars. This was real life. And death. The students were looking at an walking upon globs of blood. Staring at the remains. Shock on their faces. Nothing like this had ever happened before in America. Everything was so innocent then.  

This documentary is well worth your time. You can see for yourself without my help how much our lives were change on that fateful day.

. 

1315 Grinnell Street, Key West - Casa Marina Fixer with Huge Upside Potential

I have been waiting for years for this pretty little house in Casa Marina to be listed for sale. 1315 Grinnell Street, Key West is now offered for sale at $749,000. The is a modest 1,191 Sq Ft home located on a large 4,715 Sq Ft Lot (51.25' X 93'). The simplicity of design, the size and location of the lot, and the opportunity to renovate into some marvelous little house that makes this particular property so appealing.

I added a check mark indicating the location of what I believe to be 1315 Grinnell Street in the above aerial photograph of the area taken in 1920. If I am correct the date would conflict with the Property Appraiser who says the house was built in 1943 during World War II. I searched the 1912 Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and discovered that the large vacant land mass across the street was the M.P. CURRY'S DAIRY. That site later became Key West High School which was subsequently renovated and is now Key West City Hall.

 

This house is located at the corner of Seminary and Grinnell Streets. Most of the streets in the area do not have curbs and gutters so the area has somewhat retained it's country feel. Perhaps as many as 50% of the homes in this area sit behind large six foot privacy fences with tricked-out entry gates and ornamental shrubs that make each property unique. 1315 Grinnell Street is open to the street on two sides. I guess one could say that it has "No curb appeal" and get away with that being a genuine compliment. I disagree. The house next door to the south at 1317 Grinnell Street was the cover feature article in Architectural Digest a few years back. CLICK HERE to read. That owner recently replanted palms in the front right of way. I suspect it may be going on the market soon and I would anticipate an asking price around $4 million. That's a guess on all aspects. The value of the location is not a guess. It is superb. This house will not last the weekend. 

The interiors feature Dade County Pine and "updated" acoustic tile ceiling which I believe was dropped from a higher original height. A new home owner can move the interior walls and create a totally different living area.

1315 Grinnell Street is a two minute bike ride south to Higgs Beach, the Casa Marina Resort, and Louie's Backyard. Old Town Gym is a two minute bike ride to the east where you can get fit and trim. Fausto's Grocery is located nearby on White Street as are a bunch of neighborhood coffee shops, restaurants, and the Dairy Queen. I can usually drive to the airport in about seven minutes from my house. Old Town is a quick bike ride and maybe a 10-15 minute walk depending on where you want to go.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos that show the interior of 1315 Grinnell Street, Key West offered at $749,000. The please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. I have lived in this area for over 25 years. This fixer has a huge upside potential.  Don't miss it.

 

Key West Real Estate Throwback Thursday - No. 30

from August 17, 2017

My Life as a Clown

That's not me in the pic.  I looked as cute, but nobody took a photo of me back in summer of 1962 when I spent many-a-day as a clown.

I was fifteen years old and had a job at a furniture store in Denver where I made $1.00 an hour. Minimum wage was $1.15 back in 1962. I guess my employer thought that since I was young I didn't have the right to be paid as much as an adult. I didn't care. It was money and the work wasn't hard.

I worked at a furniture store on West Alameda Avenue in Denver. This was an area of town where nearby Morrison Road led to the home a couple of miles west where Jack Kerouac once lived. During the 1950s and 1960s this part of town was populated by lower middle to middle class families who would shop for furniture that fit their modest budgets. Back in the 1960s the furniture store sold three rooms of furniture for a few hundred dollars - total. I remember the furniture "suites" were offered in various styles including "Early American", "Danish Modern", "French Provincial", and "Italian Provincial".  The furniture was pretty cheap in retrospect, but it was what people of modest means could afford and it offered a bit of style plus utility.

There was a large parking lot adjacent to the store where the owner set up a huge green Army surplus tent to expand showroom space beyond the building walls. The tent was crammed with new and used furniture. Strings of bare light bulbs illuminated the space at night for shoppers. There was a night watchman that stayed in the tent to make sure nobody stole anything. Looking back I can't imagine anyone would want to steal anything there.

I would work from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM five or six days a week.  In the early morning I would dust the furniture, sweep the floors, and assemble new pieces for display in the store. Sometimes I would help deliver furniture when one of the truck drivers was not present. Just before noon I would go to the bathroom and put on my clown costume, make-up and red wig with a flip-top mop that would raise a front patch of the wig to startle people. I would then go out to the front sidewalk and wave at passing cars.  There were many occasions when cars would stop and I would walk up to the car to say "Hi" to kids in the car. One day a car filled with teens stopped. One guy grabbed my arm and tried to put out a cigarette on my hand. I pulled it away quick enough not to get burned. It never occurred to me that someone would try to hurt me.  I am not wired that way. But I never extended my hand that way again.

After being a clown for a couple of years while in high school,  I went to college and later law school. I became a lawyer and later went into banking. I worked for the federal government where I worked on selling complex assets owned by the Resolution Trust Corporation until 1993 when I moved to Key West to own and operate a guest house. For the past twenty years I have been selling houses in Key West. Unlike a lot of agents with real estate licenses, that is the only thing I do.  I like to make buying a home fun but I no longer act the clown.  If you are thinking about buying a place in Key West, please consider using me as your Realtor.

Be Careful

 

Imagine the revulsion the owner experienced when she learned her home in Martha's Vineyard was used to film more than 30 “gay porn” films over a 7-month period. She did not take it well. In fact she made a federal case over it.

The lady owner of the cottage rented her home for seven months beginning in October 2014 to one person.  The lease was “for use as a personal residence, excluding all other uses.” The lease also provided that the residence was to be “used and occupied only by the members of the Tenant’s family.” The tenant later lost his job and notified the owner he would be unable to complete the lease.He sublet the property to a gay pornographic film maker which filmed sexually explicit films. 

The lawsuit alleged ten counts including breach of contract, trespass, negligence, civil conspiracy, civil fraud, infliction of emotional distress, interference with advantageous business relations, copyright infringement, and civil RICO violations inn 2018. The suit later added ab allegation of  defamation. She sued everybody including the lessee, the sub-lessee, the production company, the director, and 25 gay porn stars. The lady owner had personally created several paintings that appeared on the walls of the cottage where pornographic films were made. The owner after the fact of the lease allegedly correctly registered the copyright on several of her pieces of art. That copyright is the sole surviving claim of the original complaint. It was set for jury trial in the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS beginning August 5th.

Lawyers did what lawyers do - they litigated and ran up the billable hours and fees on both sides. Boy did they. All of the claims except the copyright infringement were dismissed. But the copyright case was set for a jury trial beginning August 5th. The federal case was dismissed on July 23, 2021 after the parties reached a settlement agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed. I am betting she got paid. A lot!

I read portions of the complaint and several other online treatments of this matter. The language in the lease was clear as to who was entitled to use the property. It was unclear to me whether she used a Realtor, lawyer, or a legal form to create the lease. I don't care that the film crew filmed gay videos. I do care that any kind of activity like that took place there without the owner's prior knowledge and consent. Imagine how you would fee. Imagine how the jury would feel!

A lot of property owners rent their homes in Key West to perfect strangers.  Be careful.