Rewarded With Awards
January 31, 2025
A month has already passed since the holiday season wrapped up and the typically wild and crazy New Years celebrations dropped on Key West. 2025 is off to an exciting start with the Key West real estate market setting up for another strong year and the Bascom Grooms team already pulling down awards.
A Real Winning Team
The Key West Association of Realtors held their annual officer installation and awards Gala on the evening of Friday January 24 at the Beachside Resort here in Key West. Among those honored with awards, Bascom Groom Real Estate team member Ed Salazar received the 2025 KWAR Edward B. Knight Legacy Award in recognition of his years of dedication to serving the Key West community and the local real estate industry.
After our January 11 Bascom Grooms Real Estate Annual Awards & New Year Kickoff Dinner, Ed was already in possession of half of the Bascom Grooms Real Estate in-house trophy for 2024 1st Place Closed Sales Volume. Ed and his daughter Tamarah Salazar Hill (aka Team Salazar) put up some fantastic numbers last year—$7,790,000 in closed sales—to take home that win.
Team Salazar is indeed a force to be reckoned with in the world of Keys real estate and on to points north including Gainesville and St. Augustine. Ed’s nearly 30 years of real estate expertise combined with Tamarah’s forward-thinking approach is proving to be a very effective matchup. The KWAR award was certainly some sweet icing on the cake for Ed, and our hearty congratulations go out for a win that pairs nicely with Bascom’s own 2019 receipt of the Knight Legacy Award.
A Uniquely Key West Award
For a little background and local color on the prestigious Edward B. Knight Legacy Award, we can go back to the post-WWII era in Key West. That is when former U. S. Navy pilot Edward B. Knight and his wife Joan Knight (née Thompson) began making their many important contributions to the Key West community and Monroe County at large as influential Key West business people, Florida Keys real estate entrepreneurs, and very active philanthropists.
Joan was raised in Key West as the daughter of one of the island’s most influential, wealthy, and powerful families. Her father, Norberg Thompson owned several companies and became a major Florida Keys real estate investor during the depression years of the 1930s. In 1949, the Thompson Fish Company pioneered the local shrimp fishery with the discovery of huge schools of the delicious pink crustaceans off the Dry Tortugas; this launched the booming industry that transformed Key West.
After his marriage to Joan, Edward Knight worked in the family shrimp business, then went on to partner with his brother-in-law in opening a VW/Porsche/Audi dealership in Key West. Joan and Edward later spotted opportunity in Key West real estate, got their licenses and opened an office downtown for what soon became the largest real estate firm in the Keys.
The Knights consistently lived by the philosophy of always giving back, and firmly believed in the power of charity to change lives and transform organizations and communities. Today, the Edward B. and Joan T. Knight foundation carries forward the couple’s legacy of contributing to change for the better by supporting multiple community development efforts via grants, scholarships, and charitable giving with a mission “to support charitable, religious, educational and medical facilities that encourage the development of strong, moral, educated youth in Florida, with an emphasis on the Florida Keys and on supporting organizations that promote strong family values.”
It is quite an honor for Bascom Grooms Real Estate to have two Edward B. Knight Legacy Award winners on the team, and it is indicative of our firm’s strong ties to our island community and dedication to maintaining a community-service orientation in all the work we do both in and beyond the Key West property market.
Another Seasonal Reminder
The Florida Homestead Exemption has been discussed multiple times in these pages, but it is a topic that should be top-of-mind at this time of year with property taxes coming due on March 31. The Homestead Exemption along with a range of additional potential exemptions (e.g. Senior Exemption, Widow/Widower Exemption, Disabled Veterans’ Exemptions, Civilian Disability Exemptions) offer significant savings for qualified Key West and Florida Keys property owners, so a return to the subject is always worthwhile.
Among several state and local laws that provide for exemptions to reduce the taxable value of certain properties, the Florida Homestead Exemption is the most common and can offer up to $50,000 off the assessed value of a property used by a bona fide Florida resident as a primary residence. Homestead status also confers eligibility for the 1995 Save Our Homes law (Florida State Statute 193.155) that caps annual increases in the assessed value of residential property. Homesteaded property cannot increase more than 3% annually in assessed value unless there are changes made to the property or Homestead status is removed.
You qualify for the Florida Homestead Exemption if, as of January 1 in the year of application: You are a US Citizen or Permanent Resident; You have established Monroe County as your legal domicile and reside on the property for which you seek exemption; and You have legal title to the home (If filing for a Trust, you must provide a copy of the Trust document). Timely filing for your exemptions is critical, as all exemption and classification applications are due by March 1 for applicability to the following Tax Roll year. Applications received after the deadline will be considered as pre-filings for exemption in the subsequent Tax Roll Year.
Your foundational resource for Homestead Exemption information is the Monroe County Property Appraiser Office. Their website links to a new online portal that makes it easier than ever to file for your Homestead Exemption, and you will also find a comprehensive FAQ section on the website. Click the Exemptions and Benefits tab for access to everything needed to apply for the full variety of property tax exemptions you may be entitled to. Alternatively, you can always stop by the Monroe County Property Appraiser Office at 500 Whitehead Street in downtown Key West or call 305-292-3420 for more information.
Go With the Award-Winning Team
As the perennial and still undefeated Key West People’s Choice Award winner for Best Key West Realtor, Bascom Grooms leverages deep island roots and unmatched local expertise in leading the team at Bascom Grooms Real Estate and keeping our firm in the top ranks of independent real estate companies in Key West and throughout the Keys. Whether you are a long-time Key West property owner, a newcomer looking for your place in the island sun, or an investor interested in expanding your real estate portfolio with a truly unique property, you will find an unsurpassed level of personalized and expertly efficient service here at Bascom Grooms Real Estate.
Buyers can take a look at some of the amazing homes available right now in Key West and along the Lower Keys, then contact us for virtual and in-person tours of their favorites. Sellers can count on us for accurate guidance in today’s changing markets and ultimate efficiency and professionalism when it is time to close the deal. Bascom Grooms Real Estate is your award-winning local resource when it comes to Key West real estate.
Bascom Grooms Real Estate—1110 Truman Avenue, Key West Florida—(305) 295-7511—info@bascomgrooms.com
