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D Open House of the Week:Mediterranean Magic on Meadowbrook, Reduced By $2 Million Dollars

Are you ready? Hope the smelling salts are handy. This home has been reduced for sale by a whopping $2,000,000. Original listing price: $6,795,000. I dropped my jaw a year ago when the price was reduced by $900,000 but the home is now selling for $4,695,000.

I watched noted builder Saad Chehabi put 10005 Meadowbrook together with love, care, exquisite finish outs and so much stone it’s like living in a quarry. The Bushes looked at this house to buy. Located one lot north of Walnut Hill Lane on the exclusive Meadowbrook cul de sac,  this home evokes a classic quality with timeless finishes and detail. Set on a huge 1.025 acre lot, it features seven bedrooms, seven baths and three half-baths. (THREE half-baths!) Thoughtfully designed to accommodate most any level of entertaining,  open to large functions, but you can still feel intimate in the family room. I believe I’ve called this the “stone house” previously because of the magnitude of what is here — inlaid stone, including lapis, hand-molded terra-cotta pavers, Italian antique marble, and onyx, onyx everywhere. The downstairs master suite is exquisite; guest bedroom down, two stairways and an elevator up to five huge bedrooms.

Open Sunday, August 1 – the first day of my very favorite month — from 3:30 to 5:30. Go, see, get “stoned”!

Dallas Real Estate News, Heard on the Street

Realtors are talking about a huge house on Walnut Hill Lane near Preston that is in foreclosure but the bank is trying to keep it very, very secretive? Any truth to that story?

Getting Ready For My Next Appraisal Hearing: The Tree Trimmers Are Lowering My Property Value

About the last thing we want to think about right now is trimming our trees, but Oncor is testing a pilot program in East Dallas that permits residents to consult with an arborist before the utility comes out and buzz-saws the trees. And if residents don’t like that arborist, they are free to hire their own as long as they trim to Oncor specifications. Oncor is no dummy: it knows that half the attorneys in North Texas live in East Dallas, so homeowners must sign a contract to participate in the program. And if the homeowner doesn’t like all those options — too bad. BUZZZZZZZ. But some homeowners, a.k.a. Rick Huber, aren’t signing:

“Huber said he didn’t sign the contract on advice of an attorney, mainly because of a stipulation that could assign liability to homeowners who had a private arborist trim the trees.”

Told you. A lawyer on every block. But the homeowners have come up with a plan totally worth stealing: they plan to protest their property values next year because Oncor has, says this Mr. Huber, butchered his trees and sawed off about ten percent of his home’s value.

I can hardly wait ’till Oncor comes to my neighborhood. I’m going to ask for 20% off.

Clauers Get Their Home Back, But HOA Power Battle Rages On in Texas

As I told you yesterday, Capt. Clauer and his family get their home back, but the debate over the power of homeowners associations in Texas continues to rage on. I now agree that HOA’s need to enforce the rules, because if nobody pays dues the properties run into disrepair and cannot qualify for financing. It’s a contractual agreement that you enter into just as you do a mortgage: your mortgage needs to be paid, your HOA dues need to be paid. First question I ask of any HOA community is how much are they, and who has the power to raise them?

That said, no HOA should be the Gestapo.

The Dallas Morning News has a nice recap of the whole story here and notes the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations is studying possible changes to state law to ensure protections for homeowners. I’ll pay close attention for you. But who knows this Mark DiSanti of Dallas (and Steeplechase Productions???) who sold the Clauer’s home  in May $135,000 to Jad Aboul-Jibin of Plano and who is Jad Aboul-Jibin? Throw me a few clues, please. And feel free to send me stories/questions of your struggles with HOAs — I’ll send them on to the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations and post them here. I’ve got a good one coming up Monday — stay tuned.

Dallas Real Estate Scout Seeks Contemporary Home

I just received a call from a location scout looking for a contemporary home in Dallas to shoot a very cool Harry Potter video game commercial for EAS. Have a contemporary home? Send me a couple photos, maybe your home will be a star!

Clauers Settle HOA Foreclosure Ordeal

You may recall the story of Captain Clauer and his family up in Frisco, the folks whose home was foreclosed on by the Heritage Lakes Home Owners Association because they didn’t pay their HOA dues.  I’ve just learned the Clauers  settled the case Monday. They get title to their house but settlement details are confidential — the court has imposed a gag order on the case. I’ve also learned that Nightline is in town and doing a segment on the ordeal which will air later in the week. That was sure a complicated case — Heritage had checked with the Department of the Army but were told that Capt. Clauer was not on active duty. I am happy that this darling family can put the HOA ordeal behind them and get on. They seem like wonderful people.

D Sale of the Week: Roy’s Organic Ju-Nel

Dallas real estate and natural food news mingle this week. This Ju-Nel mid century modern collectible is the home of Roy Beard, who you may better know as the owner of Roy’s Natural Market in Preston Royal. Unfortunately, Roy is closing his natural foods market — the first and oldest organic food store in Dallas — after more than 30 years in business. Roy introduced Dannon yogurt to Dallas.  In fact, he may have even introduced yogurt to Dallas — his late wife, Wanda, made the store’s fresh yogurt right in this home’s kitchen.

Roy is closing his store, and now he’s selling his pride and joy home,  a Ju-Nel jewel built in 1966. Roy and Wanda were probably only the second owners; he has the original construction drawings by revered Ju-Nel architect Jack Wilson. The 2912 square foot home in Lochwood Meadows offers three bedrooms, three bathrooms on two levels with huge expanses of glass.  The carport was remodeled into a den, and the second level master suite was extended over the carport area, creating a private deck and sunroom. The Beards did match all materials of the original house. Roy is relocating to Nebraska to live near his daughter, Alice Hillhouse, closing the doors of his well-known, well-loved Preston Royal store in early August.  Wanda died back in October. Roy brought his natural foods market to Dallas in the 1960’s as the natural food movement was gaining momentum in San Francisco and Berkley.

About the house: don’t be surprised if you find anything organic in the corners. Jackie Stewart, daughter of Dallas real estate icon Henry S. Miller, recalls grumbling over an organic discovery in her food:

Stewart recalls testily showing Beard a dead caterpillar she found in a small bag of dried fruit. “He looked at me and said, ‘Well, that is why they call it organic. It is part of the natural way of things.’ I was struck by this profound but simple truth.”

10909 Fernald Avenue, $329,900.

Dallas Real Estate: Preston Forest Getting A Natural Grocers

Get ready for granola wars up at Preston Forest, where Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is settling into the southwestern corner of Preston Forest, next to CVS, in the same spot vacated by Whole Foods, when that natural grocer moved across the street and expanded. What with Whole Earth Provisions, Whole Foods and now Natural Grocer, this intersection is getting the Crunchiest Neighborhood Award!  (New location in this i-phone photo is behind the trees.) Kinda always has been Birkenstock Central there. Tell you what: I’ll send the first person who can tell me what other natural grocer used to be in that same spot in the late 1980s… a free copy of D Home Magazine. My treat.

Thank GOD I can still get TaTa tamers and peroxide at Ulta.

Ask Candy: HELP My Home Office Is A Mess

Dear Candy:

Help — my husband and I both office at home, and now our house is on the market for a serious sale. How can we keep it neat and tidy for showings when we need to work everyday? We need to show the space because it is a third bedroom, but keeping it together is just impossible — we have two kids and hundreds of emails, well, you know the drill. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks!

I feel ashamed even posting this question because I have the very same problem: my office is a shambles. The shoemaker’s kid always goes barefoot, right? But my house is not on the market. If it were, I’d be in trouble. I welcome suggestions from the DallasDirt nation on this — and am thinking, should you get a temp office space just while you sell your home?

Dallas Real Estate: What Is It About Lakewood and Pit Bull Attacks?

Is it just me, or does it seem that every time we hear about a dog attack, usually a pit bull, it seems to be coming out of either East Dallas or Lakewood or northeast Dallas. Are there more stray dogs (or more pit bulls) in those neighborhoods than anywhere else in Dallas proper? Not being mean, just curious.

Rick Perry’s Most Profitable Real Estate Deal: Sometimes You Just Get Lucky

Personally, I am not a huge Rick Perry fan. That said, I am still trying to figure out the validity of this article in The Dallas Morning News about how  “a series of professional courtesies and favors helped Perry buy his lot (at the toney Peninsula at Horseshoe Bay) for $139,000 below market value and sell it for $350,000 above market value.”

The guv made a good real estate deal, probably based on some info from his friends,  no different than any other rich guy. And as for that commission business, commission rates are always negotiable between the parties in Texas.

I know how this stuff works:  the developer, Troy Fraser, probably gave Perry a good deal at $300,000 for the “cheapest” lot so he could flaunt Perry’s name to influence other buyers to sign on the dotted. That’s the way the game is played. I was at a presentation not so long ago for a new development in South America where I was told, off the record, that Tina Fey had bought a lot there. Guess why the developer dropped Fey’s name?  Buyers tend to flock to where the rich and famous roost. Sometimes developers even give them special deals and freebies — it’s all marketing.

We have friends with homes st Horseshoe Bay, and it is indeed the Pebble Beach of Texas. The Hill Country is right there and Lake Lyndon B. Johnson is loaded with boats and jet skies and mega million dollar homes. Horseshoe Bay is one of the reasons why Ilano County is one of the top five U.S. places listed by Forbes magazine where, based on IRS data, the rich are moving.

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Dallas Real Estate On A Budget or Dump of the Month Club?

Oh my. I like the name of the street — Ravinia Drive. You must see the interiors, what were the creators thinking? Described as “a unique and colorful home” — I’ll say. And what were they thinking with that kitchen floor? And the steamed-up atrium window? But it’s also a little sad: this home needs love, and lots of it — look at that pool potential. Apparently went to auction, so maybe she’ll get the love she deserves. Price: $199,900.

This Blog Is NOT For Millionaires Only: House Porn on a Budget

Cute cute cute, south of LBJ, and proof you can have your home close in and not spend a million. Or even half a million. Or even three quarters of a million. This 2435 square foot pup has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, built in 1969, and a spa for $199,000.

House Porn For The Budget Minded: What $250,000 Buys in Dallas Real Estate

You can buy La Perla or Victoria’s Secret. You can also shop the racks at Marshals. This cutie pie is somewhere in-between the last two and has beautiful original stone embellishments, stone fireplace surround, hardwood floors, original Art-Deco tile in hall bath, built in hutch with stained glass, walk in closet in Master (now that’s not original), 10ft vaulted ceiling with original molding in living room and of all things, a cedar closet. Reduced to $250K. I’m seriously thinking of this an an investment; I LOVE that charm!

Dallas Real Estate: 6506 Northaven, Texas Modern With Wabi Sabi On The Side

$3,850,000 and such a bargain — I’ve told you so before!