Author Archives: Dean

About Dean

Keith first moved to Key West in the 1990’s, after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Mississippi University for Women. Key West’s unique combination of tropical small-town life and generous cultural activities ignited his imagination. Among the island’s colorful characters and regal palms, Keith brought his dream of becoming a successful art dealer and gallery owner to fruition. Although career opportunities eventually took him away from his beloved island home, he made a commitment to come back to Key West once he made his entrepreneurial dreams come true. In 2010, Keith joyfully returned to Key West. After teaming up with veteran real estate agent Dean Townsend in life, the two made the decision to team up as Realtors® in 2013. With the creation of The Townsend Team, a dynamic real estate partnership was born. Decades spent selling one-of-a-kind artistic treasures, proved to be a fertile training ground for selling Key West’s real estate gems. Keith consistently attends to the smallest detail, offers superior customer service and builds lasting relationships. Mastering the art of matching buyers with their dream homes is Keith’s primary focus. Experience, Creativity, Knowledge: qualities that make Keith Miller and Dean Townsend, The Townsend Team, your Realtors® of choice.

STUNNING KEY WEST HOME RENOVATION

Backyard After

“We immediately loved the potential of the property—from the moment we walked in the door and saw the direct view of the ponds behind the property, we knew we could make everything in the middle exactly what we wanted. The view from the back, framed in palm trees, was a little piece of paradise we wanted to claim as our own.”
—Brandon Jones

The Exterior Pic

In the summer of 2015 we were invited to help Robert Jensen and Brandon Jones discover their Key West dream home. At the end of a productive morning of showings—and with much anticipation—we introduced them to a property a bit outside of their stated parameters. With fingers crossed, we hoped that the unpolished gem that had recently captured our imaginations, would do the same for them. It was love at first sight.

Shortly after closing on the property Brandon and Robert assembled their renovation “A” team and began a two-year recreation of their two bedroom and two bath mid-century home. With stunning results, they have polished their Key West diamond in the rough to perfection.

Front Before

Front After

Brandon and Robert feel very lucky to have collaborated on their project with top notch Key West professionals. Jordan Holtkamp of Holtkamp Construction did outstanding work as their General Contractor and Rob DeLaune, Architect, brought his skill and talent to the remarkable home transformation.

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Feeling that Key West is the perfect place to experiment with bold color choices, the owners had the front door painted their favorite shade of orange and carried the color theme throughout.

Interior Before

Linda WetBar

By beautifully combining her creative and artistic expressions with her clients’ personalities, Debra Butler, of Debra Butler Design Studio, fashioned a bright and open modern design for the interior.

Interior

All the art and accessories were chosen by Robert and Brandon—with each treasure holding a special meaning for them.

Kitchen Before

Linda Kitchen

The outdated and tiny original kitchen was reconceived as a sleek and stylish chef’s delight.

Linda Livingroom

Robert and Brandon love the décor of the Florida room. Its varied hues of blues and blue-greens take them to the alluring waters of Key West.

Linda Living 2

The Luke armchairs in Flagstaff Deep Water, by custom furniture maker American Leather, are special favorites.

Linda Master

Outdoor Shower

The tranquil master suite opens to an unforgettable private oasis. Surrounded by lush tropical landscaping, the serene outdoor shower and intimate seating area provide the perfect setting for surrendering to island life.

Front Garden

A master of his craft, Mark Harris with Diggin Key West, created the home’s spectacular gardens.

Master Bath Before

Linda Master Bath

The things about the home that really make the owners happy are the simple architectural and design aspects—even down to the faucets and fixtures chosen for the new bathrooms.

Linda Guest Bedroom

The resort-worthy guest accommodations are a welcomed retreat after a day of sun, sand, and sea.

Linda Office

With its peaceful water views, the custom-built office almost makes working from home a treat.

Backyard Before

Amazing Pool

The awe-inspiring transformation of the home’s backyard is undoubtedly the renovation’s crown jewel.

Outdoor Kitchen After

Having a top-of-the-line outdoor kitchen makes hosting friends and family a pleasure.

Back Before 2

Outdoor Room

Brandon and Robert’s favorite “room” of the house is the outdoor sitting and dining area beside the pool and ponds. They spend most of their time there, kicking back, watching the water and the visitors it brings.

Backyard Detail

“It’s a great place to entertain, or just soak in paradise without distraction,” Brandon said.

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Key West’s salt ponds are a hidden treasure, largely undiscovered by tourists and locals. Alive with crabs, shrimp, fish, herons and other birds that visit daily, the engaging ponds at the back of the property have not fallen from the top of the list of reasons why Robert and Brandon purchased the home.

Nothing is more gratifying than seeing friends and clients bring their vision for their new home into reality. Simply put, Robert Jensen and Brandon Jones have created a Key West dream home to die for. We could not be more delighted for them both.

THE TOWNSEND TEAM
Dean & Keith Townsend, REALTORS®
Keller Williams Key West Compass Realty
333 Fleming Street, Key West, FL 33040
305-942-1369, www.DeanTownsend.com
www.Facebook.com/DeanTownsendSellsKeyWest

End Of Blog

THIS CLASSIC KEY WEST COTTAGE CHECKS ALL THE BOXES!

Whitehead Front

1019 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040—$1,099,000.

While enjoying a quiet morning stroll along Whitehead Street, on your way to the world famous Southernmost Point, you will certainly savor the splendor of the Ernest Hemingway House and the Key West Lighthouse. Just a few steps beyond, the classic island cottage at 1019 Whitehead Street is bound to catch your eye and capture your imagination.

Built in the early years of the twentieth century, this three bedroom, two and a half bath, historic sawtooth cottage has been beautifully renovated for contemporary living. On our list of THE TOP 10 FEATURES KEY WEST BUYERS ARE LOOKING FOR IN THEIR DREAM HOME, 1019 Whitehead Street checks all the boxes!

THE TOP 10 FEATURES KEY WEST BUYERS ARE LOOKING FOR IN THEIR DREAM HOME1019
WHITEHEAD STREET HAS THEM ALL!

Whitehead Back

10. OLD TOWN LOCATION
It’s no wonder that the Key West neighborhood topping the lists of home buyers is our unforgettable, historic Old Town. Amid picturesque Victorian era streets and a lifestyle lived visiting on front porches and walking to dinner at favorite neighborhood eateries, Old Town is the authentic version of classic small-town America that the New Urbanism movement has been trying to successfully recreate across the country.

Whitehead Palm Trees

9. PALM TREES
Key West buyers simply can’t imagine purchasing a home without palm trees in its yard. With a subtropical climate offering an eternal growing season, and over 2,500 species of palms to choose from, palm trees abound in our island’s gardens.

Whitehead Living Dining

8. OUTSTANDING RENTAL POTENTIAL
Even though we get rental number for a great many of our buyers, most of them grow to love their Key West homes so much, they never offer them for rent. With its dynamite location (close to best of Uptown Duval Street), two living areas, ground floor master bedroom, upstairs guest accommodations, and so much more, 1019 Whitehead Street has the potential to garner a strong rental income.

Whitehead Drive

7. OFF-STREET PARKING
Although they will likely find themselves walking and biking most of the time, buyers are looking for a home with a parking spot for their vehicle. In our historic neighborhoods that were densely built before the introduction of cars, off-street parking can be elusive.

Whitehead High & Dry

6. HIGH & DRY
With images of Hurricane Irma lingering in the minds of many buyers, the desire for homes that did not take on water during the storm is strong. A flood zone “X” certification eliminates most lenders’ requirements for flood insurance. Luckily, the majority of Old Town—and 1019 Whitehead Street—sits high and dry.

Whitehead Family and Kitchen

5. MOVE-IN READY
There will always be those looking for a cigar maker’s cottage to renovate, or a neglected Classical Revival mansion to restore, but most buyers are in search of their move-in ready corner of paradise. 1019 Whitehead Street is ready for you to schedule your movers.

Whitehead Family Room

4. INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING
With an abundance of great weather to enjoy, our buyers want to be able to open their windows and doors and live a lifestyle that flows seamlessly from the indoors to the outdoors—especially if they have just endured a Chicago winter.

Whitehead Master

3. FIRST FLOOR MASTER SUITE
Let’s face it, Key West is not an inexpensive place to live. Most of our buyers have reached a stage in life where they can afford to buy their island dream home. With the possibility of mobility issues looming down the road, a ground floor master suite is an important feature for many baby boomers, retirees, and those with elderly parents.

Whitehead Front Porch

2. FRONT PORCH
What is more quintessentially Key West than kicking back on an old fashioned front porch and watching the world meander by?

Whitehead Pool

★ 1. SPARKLING POOL
A pool and Key West go together like rum and Ernest Hemingway. Is it any wonder that a sparkling pool tops the list of the features our buyers are looking for in their dream home?

We bet you will love 1019 Whitehead Street as much as we do! Call us today to schedule your private tour of this charming Key West cottage. It might just check all your boxes too!

THE TOWNSEND TEAM
Dean & Keith Townsend, REALTORS®
Keller Williams Key West Compass Realty
333 Fleming Street, Key West, FL 33040
305-942-1369
www.DeanTownsend.com
www.Facebook.com/DeanTownsendSellsKeyWest

SELL YOUR KEY WEST HOME THIS SUMMER!

If you were to ask most Key West real estate professionals what’s the best time of the year to sell your charming Victorian cottage, historic Old Town estate, or turnkey oceanfront condominium, one definitive answer would prevail. Almost every REALTOR® would declare that high season (Christmas through the middle of April) is the best time to list your home for sale. If you ask us, we would tell you that summer is the most opportune season to market and sell your Key West home.

Before the internet changed the way that people shop for real estate, winter and early spring were unquestionably Key West’s premier home buying seasons. In the not-so-distant past, tourists and snowbirds flocking to our tropical paradise in the winter and early spring could only shop for the Key West home of their dreams while they were on the island. Images of shoppers and dreamers peering at the FOR SALE flyers taped to the window panes of Duval Street’s realty offices still linger in the minds of long-time island REALTORS®. Visiting buyers once combed through a plethora of real estate ads in every edition of the Key West Citizen and showed up at Sunday open houses in droves. The job of matching buyers with properties fell primarily to real estate professionals working from printed listing books. REALTORS® took their clients on showings to introduce them to properties. Today’s technology has certainly changed the Key West buying and selling real estate equation.

With the proliferation of smart phones and real estate websites like Zillow.com and Realtor.com, buyers now have a real estate assistant in their pocket. Armed with the ability to keep up with Key West’s real estate market in real time—with a touch of the finger—our clients become educated on our market and have a list of properties that strike their fancy before we ever set up the first showing appointment. Current technology has opened the Key West real estate market to buyers around the country and around the world: 365 days a year.

Home buying culture in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Georgia is not firing on all cylinders during the winter and early spring. In most cities and towns across the United States, buyers are accustomed to searching for homes in the late spring and summer months when residential sales kick into high gear. They bring this engrained home buying behavior to their quests to purchase their Key West dream homes, looking to buy outside of our traditional buying season.

It is not as if Key West boards up its windows for the summer. From Hemingway Days, to the Key Lime Festival, to Bone Island, to Lobsterfest, numerous festivals and events keep people coming to the island throughout the summer months. For most Americans, escaping to the beach is not a winter activity. These summer visitors to Key West are summer home buyers.

Throughout the year, Island Hunters, Caribbean Life, This Old House and other extraordinarily popular real estate and home improvement shows are keeping Key West in the mind’s eye of those looking to invest in an island home. NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his designing wife Amy are shining the spotlight on Key West with their new four-episode home renovation series, Renovation Realities: Dale Jr. & Amy, currently airing on the DIY Network. These television series are undoubtedly building Key West’s summer real estate market.

The Key West real estate industry has been slow to respond to the evolution of its market. Clinging to the past like the yellow kitten on the 70’s Hang in There Baby poster, many of the island’s 350 REALTORS® have been slow to embrace the changing real estate environment. Many of them council their sellers to take their properties off the market at the end of the traditional selling season or to wait to offer their homes for sale until high season rolls around—sticking to the outdated model that no one buys in the summer. We often ponder if these real estate professionals simply do not see the new reality, or are they just reluctant to give up the extended vacation lifestyles, that the slower summers of days gone by, allotted them. Their loss is our gain.

With summer’s arrival, we are geared up for our busiest time of the year. We wholeheartedly embrace the opportunities that Key West’s hot summer selling season presents. Each year, fifty percent of our annual business is generated from June through September. Knowing that summer buyers are actively in the market to find their own corner of paradise, we encourage our sellers to offer their properties for sale. With significantly fewer homes on the market, competition is significantly reduced. While listings may not see the number of on-site lookers, the tally of potential buyers viewing their homes online will be much greater. When summer buyers schedule a private tour of a property, more than likely, they will be serious prospects. With the number of listings at historic lows, this summer will undoubtedly prove to be a strong seller’s market in Key West.

Don’t buy the line that the summer season is not the time to market and sell your Key West property. The exploding online marketplace for our island’s real estate attracts qualified buyers outside of the traditional selling season. With less competition, more exposure, serious buyers, and low inventory we believe this summer is an excellent time to sell.

Call on us to sell your property for the highest price, in the shortest amount of time, and with the least amount of hassle. We don’t just list properties, we market and sell homes.

THE TOWNSEND TEAM
Dean & Keith Townsend, REALTORS®
Keller Williams Key West Compass Realty
333 Fleming Street, Key West, FL 33040
305-942-1369
www.deantownsend.com
www.Facebook.com/DeanTownsendSellsKeyWest

1334 Duncan Street, Key West, Florida 33040—OFF THE MARKET

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Our great new listing at 1334 Duncan Street, in Key West’s historic district, is an inviting alternative to traditional condo living. The 817 square foot, half duplex condominium lives like a stand-alone home. Occupied by a single owner since its complete renovation in 2004, the move-in ready, ground level charmer features open plan living, a spacious kitchen, two bedrooms, one bath, a laundry room, off-street parking, a carport, and a front garden.

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The light-filled open layout welcomes you home.

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Beautifully designed, the kitchen features custom cabinets and granite countertops.

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Easy to maintain, neutral floor tile flows throughout the home.

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The spacious master bedroom offers room for a king size bed.

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Lovely traditional details adorn the home’s bathroom.

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Both of the home’s bedrooms feature generous closet space.

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Scarce as hen’s teeth in Old Town Key West, off-street parking and a carport add to the home’s appeal.

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Conveniently located two blocks from White Street, many of the island’s dining, entertainment, and recreational offerings are a stroll or bike ride away.

With easy maintenance, low insurances, and no condo fees this wallet-friendly home might be your ideal new beginning or island getaway.

Call on us to schedule your private tour of this wonderful Key West home today.

_F3A5891THE TOWNSEND TEAM
Dean & Keith Townsend, REALTORS®
Keller Williams Key West Compass Realty
333 Fleming Street, Key West, FL 33040
305-942-1369, www.DeanTownsend.com

THAT’S OUTRAGEOUS! CAPTAIN OUTRAGEOUS RETROSPECTIVE

Photo of Captain Outrageous courtesy of Rob O'Neal.

Captain 2On Friday evening, April 13th, we were delighted to be a part of Key West’s Custom House Museum’s opening night preview of That’s Outrageous! the first major exhibition to examine the pop art style artwork of one of Key West’s most beloved artists, Captain Outrageous.

An unforgettable Key West character, Captain Outrageous, was a financial analyst by trade, who relocated to our island in the 1970s. He picked up his paintbrush and painted thousands of items: bicycles, scooters, furniture, cars, camper vans, sinks, musical instruments, toilet seats, and telephones. During his thirty-three years in Key West, Captain ran for mayor, operated a restaurant called The Last Straw, participated in several Fantasy Fest parades, and opened his own art gallery on Caroline Street. Suffering an almost simultaneous stroke and heart attack on the steps of his gallery, Captain Outrageous passed away, leaving a legacy of stories and artwork that embody the true spirit of Key West.

Captain 1

Captain 5

Captain 4

Captain 3We were thrilled to see our George Lee Crosby painting of Captain’s gallery included in the beautifully curated retrospective. George was represented by Captain Outrageous’ galley and was the featured artist of the gallery’s inaugural exhibition. Captain Outrageous Galley on Caroline Street features Captain painting on the front porch, his dog Rommel in the doorway, and his two cats on the sidewalk.

That’s Outrageous! is on display in Key West’s Customs House Museum’s Bryan Gallery through June 24, 2018. Don’t miss this delightful retrospective.

THE TOWNSEND TEAM, Dean & Keith Townsend, REALTORS®

Captain 7

Photo of Captain Outrageous courtesy of Rob O’Neal.