Yes, this is a real estate blog, but I feel compelled to explain something to newcomers who might not get it (like I didn’t get it) when they first move here. Dallas is very serious about hair — women’s hair, men’s hair, kid’s hair, everyone’s hair. Like food is to Chicago, hair is to Dallas. That means you’d better make sure your hair looks good even when you are sitting around, cleaning house, moving in, moving out, painting, cooking. When painting, either protect your hair or use Latex paint that will wash out. This is the kind of info you won’t get from national RE web sites or EveryBlock. Inside stuff here, OK. We are a town where salon openings, like gallery openings with champagne, clipboard Nazi’s, and occasionally, fireworks, foster a sense of community. Dallas salons have publicists and send out press releases.
Guess what comes right under hair? Your home.
Not only did the Dallas design community come out of the proverbial woodwork for last night’s fabulous party at Mecox on Cole, so did the Realtors: I saw my buddies Erin Mathews, David Nichols, Charles Gregory and Dave Perry-Miller, who LOVE Mecox, DPM may soon be showing Palm Springs homes to owner Mac Hoak. Though Mac told Peggy Levinson that the Dallas store is one of the lone bright spots in the country — he told me the rent on the NYC store is astronomical — he also said that the LA store tops sales. So the next time the Southampton resident is in LA, he just may pop down to meet Dave in Palm Springs and check out the bargains. Can you imagine what Mecox could do to this?
1851 Turbeville Road has now come full circle: Briggs Freeman actually had the very first shot at selling Champs D’ Or, when it was listed for $48 million, the home plus the same 25 acres now listed by Joan Eleazer for $27m. But in the words of Robbie Briggs, the world of real estate has changed, as has the way agents market properties. An interesting side story of this mega manse is the marketing costs to the various brokers who have tried to get it sold. Briggs had it first — and shelled out at least $100,000 in marketing/advertising costs. Next up: Doris Jacobs and Allie Beth Allman: another $100,000. About three years ago, Greg Cagle at Ebby tried to sell it, hosting one of the be$t partie$ I’ve ever been to, then it hopped across the office aisle to Elaine Whitfield and Matthew Edwards of Dave Perry-Miller, an Ebby company. Off the record sources have told me Ebby dished out almost $150,000 trying to sell the Goldfield’s field of dreams. Three of the creme de la creme of Dallas’ top brokers, $350,000 to try and sell a mega mansion.
This time, however, the marketing campaign at Briggs will be far less slick.
“We’re going to keep it simple,” says Robbie Briggs, “marketing it through the internet and ingenuity. The buyer for this property will be a rare person, likely international.”
Or a consortium looking to turn the Dream manse into a spa or resort/surgery center where, for example, celebs could jet into Dallas (D/FW is only 30 minutes) get nipped, tucked, have fat removed or replenished, and recoup at Champs D’ Or in 35,000 French-inspired square feet, meander up to the Hall of Mirrors-inspired ballroom and check out your eye-lift, sip healing tea in the Tavern-On-The-Green inspired tea room, sit under the hair dryer in the salon off the Chanel closet and master bedroom where, for top dollar, you can sleep off the Vicodan.
Goldfield has more than $36 million in the house. At least one sharp agent told him years ago to dump the whole place for under $30 million. But no.
“I think the timing is right,” says Robbie, “We can’t fix a man’s dream, we cannot transport this home to a different location.”
Not to Beverly Drive, because then buyers would not be getting quite such a bargain: at $27 million, the buyer will be getting 2/3rds of the home, and all 25 acres, for free.
Such a deal!