Biden family sells Florida island vacation home
NAPLES, Fla. — The Keewaydin Island vacation home of Joe Biden’s brother, known as the “Biden Bungalow,” sold quietly for $1.35 million in February to the owners of a Florida-based architecture and design firm. Collier County property records show the buyer of the 4,000-square-foot home as a limited liability company titled, SC-Keewaydin, registered to John Cooney with Randall Stofft as an authorized agent. The six-bed, seven-bath resort-like home that sits on five acres near the southern end of the island went on the market in early 2016 with an asking price of $5.9 million. The home was not in the MLS at the time of the sale. “Out of respect for the family, I made an agreement with the Biden family and their attorney that I would not discuss the sale of the home,” said Lori Young, Naples-based broker at Young Realty Group. However, Young did mention she believes the partners of Stofft and Cooney plan to use the island home for entertainment for their clients and personal use. “It was an arms-length transaction,” Young said.
Stofft and Cooney design high-end, luxury homes throughout Florida, including several Port Royal homes. Attempts to reach Stofft and Cooney were unsuccessful as of Tuesday. The vacation home on stilts which includes a one-bedroom, one-bath guesthouse was purchased by James Biden Jr. and his wife Sara in 2013 for $2.5 million. The Bidens spent more than $1 million to upgrade the home that was built in 1996. Renovations included adding water cisterns, solar panels, new air conditioning units, and other cosmetic improvements. In 2013, shortly after the Bidens purchased the home, Vice President Joe Biden, arrived to the island retreat to spend the Christmas holiday with the family. Three years later, the Biden family decided they wanted to spend their vacations closer to home — preferably in the Chesapeake Bay region. "It's a magical place, and I love it and come out often,” said Sara Biden in a past interview with the Naples Daily News. “But right now it's not ideal for all of us together."
Keewaydin Island, a barrier island off the coast of Naples, spans about eight miles from the Gulf of Mexico to Rookery Bay and is accessible only by boat. The island's pristine beach attracts several tourists year-round but those who are island shopping for homes on Keewaydin is a much smaller crowd. There are 12 homes on the exclusive island and 50 lots, with seven properties now on the market, according to Realty of Naples website. But, properties on Keewaydin take some time to sell, especially after recent hurricanes have made potential buyers skeptical to invest. “Some buyers are a little skittish because you’ve got the bay right there and the Gulf,” Young said. “There was a lot of shore line erosion from hurricane Irma and that’s affected how quickly houses are going to sell in the future.” Hurricane Irma hit Southwest Florida as a category five hurricane last September and several homes on Keewaydin are still recovering. “It still is a highly desirable island and it takes a certain kind of buyer to live out there,” Young said. “It’s paradise out there."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/06/27/biden-familys-keewaydin-vacation-home-sold/740011002/
This entire deal has a rancid smell to it..these pics don't suggest renovations as early as 2013. The images won't allow for posting here for some reason they won't cap. Briefly is this home is very dark with the patina on the wood looking original. Not seeing where the renovations may have been, with one possible exception would be the outdoor bathroom which doesn't justify 1 million in renovations. Pay close attention to how the sale of this house was crafted, as it appears they would have taken a huge hit financially on this deal with over 2mill in deficit, based on where they are in this location..it would have made moar sense to make it a vacation rental rather then the loss. Thinking this was a deal made where they didn't actually lose anything at all off paper.