Home at Florida Keys

An Interesting Visitor to Key West

buyinparadise — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:43:21 +0000

The U.S. Navy’s newest asset, the USS Independence, has been at the ship basin in Key West for the last few days, departing today. Built in Mobile , Alabama, it is on its shakedown cruise, and will stop in Norfolk, Virginia next . I had the priviledge of going aboard yesterday for a tour, from the stern helopad to the bridge. It is the Navy’s only (so far) “Littoral” ship, designed especially for work in waters within 15 miles of a shoreline. The hull is constructed entirely of aluminum sheeting and the angles of the hull surfaces make the ship invisible to radar. Underway, control of the ship is either by autopilot or by officers seated at each of six very high tech stations with what resemble videogame joysticks. Key West is known for the many interesting and, sometimes, high-profile visitors that are attracted to this island city, and the Independence is just another one!!

What a place for an office!

buyinparadise — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:35:11 +0000

The real estate firm I’m with is Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. Our main office is in Key West, and the office that I work out of most of the time is on Summerland Key, just 20 miles east of Key West. I look forward every day to arriving at the Summerland office because of its terrific location overlooking a wide boating canal. A very nice residential area, Summerland Key Cove, is located behind the office, and the beautiful canal system offers great Ocean and Gulf access for boaters in the neighborhood. Not bad, looking up from your work to see a boat cruising slowly by!

Our canal

Out on the Reef

buyinparadise — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:44:49 +0000

A Great Sentinel

Recently, my son came down from Virginia to spend a week with me. He’d never been to a tropical place such as the Florida Keys, so we spent a lot of time enjoying the “American Caribean”. One of our outings was a fishing trip out to our Barrier Reef, located about five miles east of the islands known as “the Keys”, where you can just look right down at the sea bottom to see the Yellowtail Snapper, Grouper, and the many other species of local fish.

The photo shows the American Shoals Lighthouse, one of several such structures located along the Reef to keep ships from running aground. This one formerly was occupied full-time by a Light-Keeper, who would maintain the warning light. Nowdays, the light is automated and no longer requires someone being “aboard”.

To have a look at the Reef, please go to my website, www.BruceInTheKeys.com. Scroll down my homepage to the slideshow and wait until the satellite photo comes up. You will notice a long and thin ridge-like feature to the east of the Lower Keys. You’ll be looking right at our Reef!

Off Today

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:20:08 +0000

What a great day here in the Lower Keys! At 9:00 this morning, temp was 84, now, at 2:05 it is 89 degrees. Just to think-in the three other states Terri and I have lived in,Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, the leaves are turning and there have been some chilly mornings. Like a Summer day here under the palms!

Real Estate Today in the Lower Keys

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:19:19 +0000

The real estate market across the nation has, since 2005, been in quite a state of “adjustment”, and the Lower Keys market is no exception. The silver lining of this cloud, however, it that prices in the Lower Keys are “finding their level”, and the inventory of active residential listings is no longer increasing like it has over the past two years. To put it plainly, now is an EXCELLENT time to be searching for the right second home or investment property here in Florida’s Lower Keys!! Nothing communicates an idea better than an example: a lovely waterfront home on Summerland Key that sold in 2004′s heated real estate market for $950,000 just closed at $725,000. Let’s hope those owners had some deep equity! This scenario is being played out daily, now, and it is producing the perception that there are somefantastic values here. This perception is actually a reality, and market activity is responding favorably-Buyers are snatching up some terrific bargains that will perform well for them, not to mention the pleasure of having and using a home here in”Paradise.”

More GOOD NEWS is that mortgage interest rates are at near historic lows, and mortgage money is plentiful-our lenders really WANT to make those real estate loans! There are, of course, many factors driving interest rates, not the least of which is the direction in which the Federal Reserve moves. Along those lines, a just-released book titled “The Age of Turbulance: Adventures In A New World” is a must read. The book describes the life of Alan Greenspan, the 13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and includes his predictions on what will happen in the new world economy.

Today’s Featured Property: 20880 Sixth Avenue in Cudjoe Gardens has recently had a large price reduction! This water-enthusiasts’s canalfront home has an 80-foot concrete dock with davits, and is less than five minutes to the Atlantic Ocean or theGulf of Mexico. Please e-mail buyinparadise@bellsouth.net for mor information.

Have a great holiday weekend!

It’s “Friday Eve”

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:16:39 +0000

Another “Chamber of Commerce” day here in the Lower Florida Keys! Outside temp today is supposed to be 87, the tropical-looking sky is mottled with big, puffy clouds, and it rained last night. We are still in the supposedly “Rainy Season” here, but we really have not had a lot of rain this year. From the looks of the puddles this morning, we had a good amount of the wet stuff, and that was exactly what the doctor ordered for our new cashmere zoysia grass lawn-it looked beautiful this morning. Lawns are a rare sight down here on “the Rock”. Most folks just want to have a yard of coral gravel, so that they don’t have to mow, but not ME- I like the exercise of mowing and the feel of walking across that lawn barefooted is great-I probably should charge admission to the neighbors!

I just finished my daily mid-morning fruit snack–a peach. The little label says that it was produced in the USA, but I have to wonder-where in this country are peaches harvested this time of the year? The peach was, nevertheless, pretty tasty.

Fantasy Fest is coming!! For the uninitiated, this is an annual week long Mardis Gras-like festival in the city of Key West, not the least part of which is not knowing what state of dress (or undress) you are likely to encounter at any time! This year’s theme is “Gnomes, Toads, & White Rabbit Tea Parties”, and the many events kick off on Friday, October 19th with the ROYAL CORONATION BALL. Other events throughout the week include GOOMBAY, featuring the sights and sounds of the Caribbean in theBahama Village section of Key West, the CELEBRITY LOOK-A-LIKE CONTEST, the HOMEMADE BIKINA CONTEST, the GIT-R-WET T-SHIRT CONTEST, the truly wild and crazy SLOPPY JOE’S BAR 24th ANNUAL TOGA PARTY, and much, much more!

For questions or more information, contact: buyinparadise@bellsouth.net

Please visit my website for Florida Keys Real Estate–it’s a great resource!!

“In Town” Today

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:36:10 +0000

“In town” is how we often refer to being in Key West. The Preferred Properties main office is in Key West, and I am here today doing “floor duty”, waiting for all those walk-ins and phone calls on our advertised listings! This office is one street back fromDuval Street, which is where you find the “heartbeat” of Key West. Duval is pretty quiet this afternoon, but in a few days the Fantasy Fest revelers will start to trickle in for this year’s event, which begins next Friday, and Key West will be full of excited visitors.

Its a nice day-tropical sky, 90 degrees, wind swaying the palm trees. This evening, toward sunset, a crowd will be assembling, as it does every evening, to enjoy the sunset and the vendors and performers who will be assembled there. This is kind of the cap-off to the day in a little tropical city where there is so much going on!

OOPs-got a walk-in-gotta go!

Cool stuff in the Keys

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:34:24 +0000

For over a year, Monroe County, Florida (the Florida Keys) has been working toward acquiring a de-commissioned U.S. Navy ship, the USS Gen Hoyt S. Vandenberg, to be sunk about six miles south of Key West to serve as an artificial reef, augmenting our living Coral Reef. Much work on the vessel is necessary to prepare for it’s sinking, and progress toward this exciting event is moving along nicely.

Salvage crews working on the ship in a Norfolk, Virginia shipyard have removed most of the fuel tanks, some 700,000 feet of aging wiring, and all of the large hydraulic turning knuckles full of oil, and will be bringing the ship into dry dock in November to finish readying the vessel to be sunk.

Next month, worker will clean the hull, block through-hull fittings, remove brass, copper, nickel, and electric motors from the engine room, and will cut holes in the hull of the 520-foot former troop transport vessel, which also served as an Air Force tracking ship that once tracked Mercury and Gemini spacecraft. Additionally, crews will pour concrete in the hull.

Project officials project that, once in place as an artificial reef, the Vandenberg will generate some $80 million in tourism-related sales over the next 10 years-an enormous positive impact on our local economy. Visitors to the artificial reef, some portions of which will be within 40 feet of the surface, will be able to dive it, snorkel it, fish it, and view it from glass-bottom boats. The expected cost to clean, tow, and sink the Vandenberg is $5 million.

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:33:35 +0000

Early this morning on my drive to the office, I noticed an unusual message on the marquee in front of Mote Marine Laboratory here on Summerland Key. It read “Welcome, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Aquarium”. Also, late last week, as I was driving over the nearby Kemp Channel Bridge, I noticed a nice-looking boat about 30 feet long which was filled with people and equipment. On the hull was boldly painted “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not”.

Mote Marine Laboratory is an outfit that does studies and research on dolphin, shark, porpoise, and other marine species. They also monitor the health of our precious, protected Living Reef. Check them out at www.mote.org.

This morning I phoned Mote’s office here, and was told that once a year Ripley’s comes to our area of the Lower Florida Keys to collect unusual tropical fish for the aquariums in their museums all across the country, one of which is located nearby inKey West. Mote accomodates them by providing the use of the Lab’s salt-water fish tanks for storing and caring for the captured fish until they are shipped out to Ripley’s aquariums. That’s just one of the unusual and interesting things that go on around here-I’m glad I called!

A New Financing Possibility?

buyinparadise — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:31:34 +0000

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages may soom be a more viable financing option for many more prospective homeowners. A current proposal, already passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, would allow the FHA loan limit to rise to $417,000 in “high cost” areas, it would reduce the minimum required down payment to 1.5 percent of the home’s purchase price, and it would allow the elective of a 40-year amortization term to keep monthly payments low. An amendment, however, would modify FHA loan limits to permit loans up to the lower of 125 percent of the local median home price, or 175 percent of the national conforming loan limit.

In addition to financing being more affordable, some of those who are having difficulty in making their payments on their subprime loans, thus facing possible foreclosure , may have the opportunity to refinance into a “friendlier” FHA loan. Let’s keep our eye on this one!