That's Asolo, Italy. It is one of the prettiest little towns I have been to. I wish I could go back. I wish I could go anywhere. We all do. I digress. I was showing a house a few days ago. The listing agent met us at the street and previewed what we would see upon entering the home. She said the owner was inside along with his dog. We entered the house and ascended the first flight of stairs to the living area. I was the last of the group going up the stairs. When I arrived at the turn-around I noticed what I determined to be a three tiered shrine holding two cremation urns with a light on the top tier. I said to my self "Be Careful". My mind raced back in time to that afternoon in Asolo when we were ascending the stairs to a second floor Mama Mia Italian restaurant to eat lunch.  The s... 01/27/2021

 The three year renovation and expansion of 1109 Fleming Street, Key West has just been completed. The eyebrow house in the front has been preserved in form and re-imagined in functionality. In his book The Houses of Key West  Alex Cammerer wrote about his first visit to Key West which turned into a love affair with the architecture of Old Town. He referred to eyebrow houses simply stating "with their front porch roofs extending demurely over the second-story windows, hence the term eyebrows. I have discovered that they are unique to Key West and are not found anywhere else in the country." 1109 Fleming Street is demur perhaps in front and astounding to the rear. Let's take a look. Think of this eyebrow house as a salt box laid on its side with two rooms on the first floor intersected b... 01/26/2021

I knew the name Fran Lebowitz but really don't know that much about her. All that changed when I began to watch Pretend It's a City on NETFLIX. It is worth watching. I had to stop in the middle of the fourth episode to begin to write this blog.Fran explained why writers cannot get mortgages.She was talking to her Merrill Lynch financial advisor about getting a mortgage to buy an apartment in New York City.Advisor: "May I ask you a question?"Fran: "May you ask me a question?" she thought - You’ve been looking at my tax returns for the last five minutes. You’re my sock drawer. You know more about me than I do. "Yes, you may ask me a question."Advisor: "Why is your income so erratic?"  Fran: And I said well, I’m a writer. She said “A writer?" Scoffs. And that’s why you never get a loan if ... 01/23/2021

 I have considered myself as a buyers agent for most of my real estate career. This year my sales were divided equally between listing and selling agent. These are my solds for 2020.1003 Seminary StreetSold for $591,600Ninth sale with this customer  527 Fleming StreetSold for $2,400,000Fifth sale for this customer744 Windsor LaneSold for $4.700,000Sixth sale for this customer 619 Virginia StreetSold for $863.000Sixth sale for this customer 1213 Grinnell StreetSold for $1,075,000Fifth sale for this customer  912 Fleming StreetSold for $2,060,000Third sale for this customer 265 Golf Club Drive Sold for $789,000Second Sale for this customer 1116 Seminary StreetSold for $1,075,000Third sale for this customer  1120 Johnson Street Sold for $2,645,000Second sale for this customerI am so blesse... 01/22/2021

  I met Dunkin Dave at Club Body Tech in the Duval Square center perhaps twenty years ago. We would often speak to each other during our early morning workouts. He was a very personable guy, very  outgoing, and super friendly to everybody. He almost always had a smile on his face and certainly all conversations started out on a high note.  He told me he owned the Dunkin Donuts franchise in Key West. The principal store was at the Overseas Market in the same building that now houses DOMINO'S PIZZA. I recall there was a second Dunkin Donuts at 502 Southard Street - just a couple hundred feet from my office. You remember the saying "You can't eat just one?" It's true when it comes to Dunkin Donuts.  I said our conversations would start out on a high note, but they often regressed. Dave sha... 01/21/2021

I have written about this Legal Duplex before and I am using an older photograph as the lead photo in today's blog. See if you notice any difference in the current photo below. I sold 1022 Fleming Street five years ago to a customer who looked at it once and said this is it. No hesitation. I had shown it earlier to another potential buyer who hemmed and hawed and procrastinated too long. He lost it. I had second potential buyer who ruminated too long and as recently as this past month reminded me about her sorrowful mistake in not buying at a lower price.  It will be interesting to see how long it takes the current owner to sell this beautiful home that sits on one of the very best blocks in Old Town Key West. Let's take a look at the property from front to back, bottom to top.  The lis... 01/20/2021

 If you are a long time reader of my blog you know I frequently remind readers that we keep selling the same houses over and over year after year on the Island of Key West. First and foremost there is a limited supply of land upon which to build new homes on this island. There are lots of state statues, city ordinances, and HARC guidelines that control what may be built and how exiting properties may be renovated. I also remind readers the most frequent source of real estate listings are death, divorce, relocation, foreclosure, and/or greed.This is a true story involving an unpleasant divorce. Are there any pleasant types? A youngish Key West couple with two small children decided to split. They sold their house to a buyer who wanted to fix it up and flip it. There are a lot of flipper ... 01/19/2021

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West: 1104 South Street, Key West. $2,395,000. If it were only that simple.   What first looks like a simple two story home located over a garage suddenly becomes more complex when first floor glass doors open into the entry with water trickling down the flagstone walls. Turn right and enter into this home. Turn left and head over to the pool. It only gets better in either direction. Who would have thought with such a simple front facade that the living area would be so profound. I cease to be amazed each time I see this space. It could be Bali or some place on the South Seas. But no, it is located at 1104 South Street in Key West. Years ago Ernest Hemingway lived in the house next door at 1102 South Street where he wrote A Farewell to Arms.  Ther... 01/18/2021

Some Key West Doors                                      Most of these homes have appeared in my blog over the years. At least one of the houses was torn down. Others have been renovated to the extent you would not recognize them today. The last house was featured twice. It was totally renovated and had a pool added. It has been torn apart a second time and is being re-renovated. This is the story of Key West. When one door is shut another one will open.  Are you looking to purchase one? Give me a call. I have been inside most and sold many.    01/17/2021

  I remember the first time I stepped inside the doors of the Seafoam Condominiums at 812 Fleming Street in Key West. I stopped. Looked up. And saw a three stories  atrium bounded by Dade County Pine wood walls trimmed out by stark white wood railings. I think I called it plane geometry. It is so simple and so perfect. It is genius you can touch and feel and appreciate every time you see it.   Back in the days before civic groups and city planning gurus who know what's best for everybody, Key West had a more hands-off approach. Owners and re-modelers were permitted to do things to uplift the old homes and buildings in what was becoming the Historic District or Old Town Key West. The former mercantile building at 812-814 Fleming Street was in 1984. The original covered walkway was extend... 01/16/2021

 The new listing at 713 Windsor Lane may appeal to buyers looking for a Key West getaway in a great Old Town location. It's a lock-and-leave with added income potential to help defray part of the cost of ownership which does not require sharing personal living space with strangers on rotating basis. The listing Realtor describes the property this way: "In the perfect Old Town location (X Flood zone) combined with a secluded community of 11 homes, this quiet Cigar Maker's cottage is reserved for those who enjoy peaceful living and are 55 years of age and older. Completely renovated in 2003, the main home is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cottage with porches in the front and rear. Upstairs is a beautiful 1 bedroom,1 bathroom apartment rented annually at $1800/month with tree top views of the wo... 01/15/2021

from June 7, 2015Atlantic Shores, Key West - Seems Like Only Yesterday   The Key West of 2015 is much different today than it was on my first visit in 1984. Back then most of the Conch Houses in Old Town had not been renovated and most of the cars on the streets were old and rusty - they were called Conch Cruisers.Thirty-one years later I would estimate that more than half of the houses in Old Town have been renovated to some degree. Some of the best blocks in town like the 600 block of William Street still have a couple of straggler properties that will someday be renovated. Their lingering dereliction probably pains the neighbors who have spend a couple of million dollars on their homes. But I am confident that greed will out and either the current owner or more probably an heir will ... 01/14/2021

This is another Just Listed but not by me posts. This legal duplex is located in in the very heart of Old Town at 810 Fleming Street, Key West. It has the favored revival style architecture Key Westers refer to as Grand Conch. The house has 2,016 Sq Ft of living space and sits on a large rectangular lot that measures 24.7' X 113' deep. I dug down into my old shoebox and found three prior photos of the property that will help you appreciate its status and location on this very important block in Key West.  The black and white photos was taken in 1965 and shows better than any other the classic revival style architecture of this lovely home. Note the pediments above the three bays on each floor. For those not familiar with the location, 810 Fleming Street is located next to the Sea Foam C... 01/13/2021

Just Listed: 411 - 415 Grinnell Street, Key West. This new listing of Preferred Properties Key West is a marriage of old and new, borrowed and blue. I have blogged about the historic home at 411 Grinnell Street several times over the years and featured 415 Grinnell Street while it was being built and later when completed in 2019. The original home at 411 Grinnell Street was renovated and a new residence constructed on the vacant lot next door to the north. Today they are one primary residence and a fully outfitted guest home. Now they are offered for sale  Let's take a look.   I remember the first time I saw 411 Grinnell Street. It looked like many of the older homes in Key West - it had classic good looks and large lot next door that could be built upon. I always knew 411 Grinnell coul... 01/12/2021

Just Listed 1010 & 1012 Olivia Street, Key West. If these two houses look familiar to readers. they should. I blogged about them in April 2015 and again in November 2020 when I shared the folk art of these two Ronny Bailey shown below. Click the November date to read the earlier blog which contains more of Bailey's work.  The listing agent states:"The Historic Twins'' are two historic single-family homes located on a corner lot in Old Town, Key West and ready for the new owner to restore and build their Key West dream home. Approved plans convey with sale. May also be purchased with 911 Watson Street."   "City has determined both structures to be unsafe. Please see documents for more information."  The seller does have plans for renovation available to prospective buyers.  CLICK HERE to... 01/11/2021

If you were to walk your dog, ride your bike, or jog past the imposing concrete wall at 1309 Catherine Street, Key West you might wonder what is on the other side. But then again you might just mind your own business and go on with your life. But if you got a chance to go through the gate you would be amazed at the totally hidden and unexpectedly enchanting secluded gardens,   I remember the first time I went behind those walls. I thought I had been transported in time and place.  The gardens reminded me of Italy. Then I saw the pool and the voluminous sky. There are no two story homes nor giant mahogany trees to impinge upon the views. The views from and of the pool are intoxicating. And totally private! The house itself is a simple and well appointed 1200 sq ft ranch that sits at the ... 01/10/2021

 This is a True Story   Have you ever had someone in your house accused of beheading another person? I did. In Key West.I remember the day very I met him very well. Soon after we moved here in December 1993 my partner and I began to clean up the former Eaton Lodge Guest House which had been foreclosed upon, boarded up, and the gardens left unattended for two years. We got things under control and opened on Valentine's Day weekend in 1994. Our 13 room guest house was sold out within days and remained sold out until the first of May. Soon after we moved in neighbors stopped by to introduce themselves and to welcome us to Key West including a very handsome young man named Jerry Hamlin. He told us he was the manager of the Blue Parrot Guesthouse and offered us any help he could give. After ... 01/09/2021

It's happened over and over again. I will be showing a house and the listing agent will take us to a room which he or she refers to as a "small guest room" upon which I will say something like "What if you have big guests?" or something equally inane. I know what the agent meant and the agent smirks. Were it so simple that we all have small guests. If you have read my blog for even a few months you know how fond I am of mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law. Mother-in-law is a term we Key West Realtors refer to as a place for an illegal rental inside or upon the lot of a single family residence.Look up brother-in-law in the Urban Dictionary. You'll get my point.This is a true story only the names have been changed to protect me from my in-laws. I think it was mid September in 1986 when my ... 01/05/2021

At the beginning of each new year I like to look back to share what I consider to be the best real estate sales in Key West for the prior year. Given the year we just had, we are all lucky to be here. I am serious about that. Things could be much worse - there could be more deal people, stores could have been overrun by hoarders and normal everyday citizens could have taken up arms against each other. Well, I guess that did happen to some extent. I am old enough to know that life really does go on no matter how desperate some things may seem at any given moment. The other day I tried to remember the trauma I went through at age 16. I couldn't. I know it happened, but I cannot remember it now. I do remember not having electricity or potable drinking water for over a week after Hurricane ... 01/04/2021

Most people see the same place day after day and fail to appreciate changes to it over the years. Little things or big additions may go unnoticed. What once was often gets forgotten. With the advent of Photoshop even "historic" photos found in one's shoebox can get doctored to the point of the absurd. FAKE VIEWS.  I took all but a few of the historic photos that will appear in today's blog. Do you recognize the above property? This photo was taken in 1991 while the Overseas Market shopping center was under construction in 1991.  Notice the upside down small airplane and Key West Fire Department equipment. The entire shopping center facade was renovated in the 2010 era. Today the tower section is DENNY'S. Before that it was TGI Fridays. I can't remember what that space was before that. S... 12/31/2020