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Dallas Real Estate: About That LEED Certification

An article in the New York Times relays what many of us have been wondering: how reliably green is that LEED label? Is it window dressing for sales and marketing, or a sincere effort to save our planet? Coincidentally, I had lunch with Marc Kleinmann of EGC Dallas today and will have much more to tell you about this.

Dallas Real Estate News: Sawbucks Debuts in Dallas

The coming out party was last week, and somehow I plumb forgot to tell you. This is the deal that riled a lot of local agents and brokers when they found out that A.H. Belo has invested two million in a company that offers on-line real estate search and hefty consumer discounts. Here’s what they are telling me:

“Home buyers can search the site for homes for sale as well as research areas they might want to live. We’re different in that we partner with top local agents, and then when it’s time to buy the home we subsidize the deal so the buyer gets a below-rate mortgage from a reputable lender and the lowest closing costs (we’re the only brokerage to offer a subsidy to lower costs for buyers). We also have a service for homesellers where we refund 20% of the listing agent’s commission at closing.”

TWENTY % OF THE COMMISSION????

“We save buyers thousands up front and hundreds more every year. We did a study and found that in July 2009 our rates on average were .325% better. It might not sound like much, but on a $400,000 mortgage, that’s a savings of about $80 per month and ~$29k over the life of the loan. In June the difference was .41%.”

So… is Sawbucks going to kick some proverbial real estate butt in Dallas and make Belo rich? Oh do go to the site and see if my eyes are playing tricks on me: they rate the Dallas area with a 67 — barely healthy.

If we are so sick, then why are they here?

Neighborhood News To Use: Landmark Snags Contract to Manage Highland Park Village Theatre

Next May, Landmark Theaters will operate the HPV theatre that closed August 13 for renovations. Landmark, as PCP’s Sarah Scott reports, is partially owned by Mark Cuban and operates The Magnolia and Inwood Theatres.

Disney Week: Great Pinocchio Listing— And We’re Not Lying!

Wonderful listing in the storied Disney Streets, where things are Goofy these days over a proposed Conservation District. Disney is the closest thing you can get to Leave It To Beaver living in Dallas. My favorite things about this home: it’s on a huge corner lot, and has just been reduced by $10,000 to $359,000. (Even so, I still think it’s a wee bit pricey.) Check it out: pool, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, try to forget the fact that the third bedroom is now a pool hall and the home’s updating lacks an overall sense of cohesiveness. Oh — almost forgot: the sellers are excluding the wine fridge, fireplace screens (???) and the sauna. Hope they’re calling Curtiss.

Dallas Deal Estate: This House Just Keeps Getting Cheaper…

OK, I know it’s a little quirky — the architect was trying to be all New Orleans style — but surely some Tulane grad wants 4214 Manning. It’s now down to $2,050,000 from $2.5 and something tells me note holders just might entertain an offer. In fact, I’d go in at $1.5 — what do you think?

Dallas House Porn: Reduced For Sale On Meadow Road — And Gorgeous

We love trees, but they sometimes shield perfectly beautiful homes from full view. Like this one, reduced for sale, on Meadow Road just west of Hillcrest. (Yes, it’s in the “good part”.) In fact, when we were looking for the most beautiful homes in Dallas, we couldn’t use many gorgeous numbers because of the trees. (Do not, repeat, do not go out and chop any trees just to be a most beautiful candidate!) Behind the kind of porte-cochere arch, this home has a lovely open floor plan, the bedrooms are downstairs, and there’s room for growth upstairs. Four bedrooms, four and a half baths. Only $755,000. I kid you not.

Update: I’m now told that this house has been leased. See, you were too late. But I’ll be the agents have a few more up their sleeves.