D Sale of the Week: Posh and Perfect Perch on Princess
God knows I love houses, and there are many in the Naked City that make me want to chain myself to the bedpost. Forever. But 3757 Princess Ln. just won my heart. This home is so gorgeous that I’ve heard even the appraisers are fanning themselves. It’s a pristine, 4,092-square-foot, post mid-century ranch built in 1972. Last year it was gutted by a dynamic design/contractor duo who have it finished to perfection, with careful attention to detail and smooth, clean design. The formica-worshipping kitchen was completely removed; stone taken from around the great room fireplace (replaced with granite) lines a tree in the lush backyard. The east wing offers three large bedrooms and two full baths; the west wing has two bedrooms, including an enormous master with sitting room, formerly bedroom No. 6. In between formals, kitchen with mammoth granite slab, glassed-in sun room with stained concrete floor—it is light and airy everywhere. $624,900. Agent: Alice Simonton for Ebby Halliday: 972.380.3202
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Thank you, Candy! I am so thrilled you got to experience the glory of it all at 3757 Princess Lane!
Beautiful House! They did everything right!
Hi, Candy, My wife and I read Dallas Dirt all the time…We may be moving there from North Carolina sometime in the not-too-distant future. We love what the design/contractor duo did to this house. Can you share their names & company names with us…we might want to get in touch with them when we get there. Thanks, and keep up the good work on your website. It’s always fun to read.
I will be happy to, and will not even charge you a 30% referral fee! Email me…
loved it
We were pleased, but not overly shocked, to see this house on the top page of D Magazine website; it is worthy of this spotlight and beyond! My husband and I viewed the residence on an open house and were astonished by how well the beautiful and timeless materials all worked together. We met one of the owners who was well-spoken and talented (oh, and very easy on the eyes…sorry Paul)! His ideas are unconventional, yet refreshing and liveable. He claimed to not be in the trade, but it was better than what I see from other designers. We are downsizing our house and would buy this house in a heartbeat if the timing is right. In a city full of half-hearted contractor redos, the owners had a vision and people need to take notes!
I just renovated my house in the same neighborhood, but this makes mine look like crap!
BTW, this is the best unheard of neighborhood in the metroplex. Nice, quiet, 20 mins to airport, 20 mins to downtown…
Dallas Dirt, are there any other photos of the house out there, maybe before photos? Would also be interested in any other projects the owners have completed. This article got me and my hubby excited all over again!
Here are the pics from ebby, just click to enlarge: http://www.ebby.com/m/property/4969325
This property is on the tax rolls for $400,800. If it sells anywhere near its asking price and the sale price is not disclosed, that means that the owners (new and old) are paying 1/3 less property taxes than they should. That means that every other taxpayer in Dallas County is subsidizing these folks by paying higher taxes. This is just another example of why we need sales price disclosure in Texas.
And there are the “Bobs” of the world who do not appreciate good design and the premium it commands. Plus, your comments are irrelevant to the intent of this article. Bob, there are a lot of factors that go into determining the tax role value. Amateurs like yourself seldom realize there is a gap between tax role value and the actual value of the home. Home prices are an art and a science. Some clearly miss the art. I bet your home is boring.
Brent, speaking for all of the “Bobs” of the world who pay taxes, I did not comment on the design of the home, merely on the discrepancy in valuation that causes all the “Bobs” of the world to have to subsidize the “Brents” of the world when it comes to paying taxes. Whatever it is that increases the value of the home–design, location, history, whatever intangible you wish to mention–that should be reflected in the tax appraisal upon which taxes are levied and paid. If you pay $600,000 for a house, then your tax appraisal shoud reflect that. Equality of taxation–is that such a difficult concept for you to understand? Home prices may be an art and a science, but when a home sells, that sales price is the BEST indicator of fair market value, and the tax appraisal should be based on that. In your snide comment, you have stated (1) that I do not appreciate good design, (2) that I am an amateur (but at what?), and (3) that my home is boring. Since you do not know me, and since my post reveals nothing regarding these three points, I have to ask: do you just make stuff up just because you can?
Dear Negative Nancy, I mean Bob…I do make stuff up because I can, yes. Now, moving past that, my hypothesis is the current owner(s) did not pay $600K plus for this house. My bet is the tax value closely reflects what they paid for it, not what they’re selling. Granted, they may Z it out, but even if they do, who isn’t looking to pay the least amount of taxes possible?
I know it’s a game, but unfortunately, I think that if we had sales disclosure, real estate values would plummet. That would hurt our market. Governments are always looking for money. I remember when the lottery was going to be the financial savior of Texas. We don’t have a state income tax and we don’t want one. If we require sales disclosure, and if more tax money did flow into the coffers as a result, they’d just spend it and come back to us for more. If the buyer gets a $200,000 value break on taxes, my guess is that you, Bob, are gettign a break too. Or at least I certainly hope you are.
As a proud owner in the 75229, I say to everyone, come north a bit! We’re inside 635, close to all private schools, most of our homes are single story (people are going to get tired of traipsing up & down stairs), well laid out and on lots large enough for a pool. Step outside the Cities and see what $600,000 can buy!
We bought our home last year (moved from another in 75229) and paid the taxes on the lower tax value. You just know they reevaluated this year and now it’s right at what we paid for it? I think DCAD does some research.
LOVED the house. It should be gone in a snap!
Even if the sales price is not disclosed, DCAD has a copy of the MLS listing. They can look at other similar homes, get a sense of the cost per square foot and come up with a reasonable estimate of the sales price. If they come in under what you pay, you get lucky. For recent sales, it’s hard to beat the system too much. Over time, the discrepancy between sales price and valuation can grow wider.
Candy, the more owners whose appraisals are significantly less than their market values, the greater the subsidy by those owners who are close to their market values. This IS a zero-sum game, and the honest (and innocent) property owners are being gamed by the seriously under-appraised. It is not a question of governments looking for more money–it is a question of everybody paying fairly based on the same valuation criteria. For every dollar you are under-appraised, somebody else is making up that difference. It does not come out of the government’s pocket–it comes out of pocket of your accurately-appraised neighbor. And if that person is you, you should be angry–not at the governments, but at the person who is underpaying.
And, by the way, why would fair and accurate appraisals cause real estate values to plummet? Please explain.
I could be wrong. My fear is that the gubmint would go hog-wild and load up the taxes to the highest appraisals. Take the little old couple, not quite retirement age, struggling to balance it all. (Well, I guess everyone struggles to balance it all. There’s no Nirvana.) McMansion goes up next door, those flush new folks spike up their neighbor’s real estate values. Now the struggling older couple can not afford the property taxes, too young for the over-65 exemption, they are forced to sell their home.
Where do they go?
I have to say that in a perfect world, you are right. The sales prices should all be disclosed, hands down. I would support that only after our governing entities came to terms with our budget and had other means of support rather than just counting on property taxes alone. Did I say “state income tax”? (Gulp!) No, but maybe…
I would love to discuss this further and welcome comments/discussion because I do believe we always need to learn and question what we think — and that begins with moi.
Rumor is (per my realtor contacts) this house is showing under contract in MLS…not too shabby in this market.
Both in Midway Hills and Sparkman we have sent out an APB – Gay guys move to the Northwest, fix up the houses, & sell for a nice profit. There are great deals to be made! And, if the house isn’t worth fixing up, our friends at Anderson Homes will take the lot and build a brand new home. Preston Hollow is over priced, and the taxes will go up and up as Dallas City Hall hurts. And look at the number of foreclosures in PH Vs NW Dallas. It’s highly skewed. It’s so much fun to see those that overextended folks now pay the fiddler. Most middle class households see this sliver of Nwest Dallas as the best true value inside the loop. Moving to this area makes fiscal sense. You are making many of us rich in an otherwise depressed market. And, thanks DART-when the green line opens, we’ll be 1.5 miles from the train station and an easy commute downtown. This area offers more quality for the money than anywhere else in Dallas. Besides no one wants to move to Oak Cliff anymore, it will never be cleaned up, and White Rock is in a world of hurt, not to mention no easy acccess roads in and out. The NW quadrant will be the fastest growing market for the next 3-5 years easily.