Well, in my head he did. Through his music. (Full disclosure: I emailed Live Nation last week to get an interview with Paul, never heard back. Told them we could talk “flats”.) But I think he liked Dallas, our energy, and our insistence at last night’s concert that he give three encores, which he ever so graciously did. But if Paul McCartney ever decided to move to Dallas, I think  Braden Power’s sexy home at 3816 Turtle Creek Drive would be the one. The two kitchens would be quite helpful for partying and late night, post-concert snacks, he’d think about Linda in the spa off the sweet master suite, write songs on the piano in the library, lyrics inspired by the black swans on Turtle Creek, and that gigunda master closet would hold all the guitars and the ukulele George Harrison gave him. But best of all, that pool in the foyer would sure keep Heather Mills out of his house and might even deter requests for increased alimony. Oh by the way, 3816 Turtle Creek is listed this week with Dave Perry-Miller at $7,900,000.

D Sale this week is a lease deal so good I just had to spill the beans. The home is a trumped and tricked unit at The Vendome on Turtle Creek Blvd., just under 2,000 square feet, on the 15th floor with glorious views of the city overlooking Lee Park. The two bedroom, three and a half bath sky home is currently being leased by uber radio personality Ron Chapman and beautiful wife, Nance. (No, you don’t get to move in with the Chapmans.) The Chapmans have purchased a home in Dallas, have one year left on their lease and want to sublease this unit. And here’s the great deal: they are willing to take a major hit on their lease, offering this baby up for $4500 per month for a year. That includes all HOA dues and tips — the Vendome has a no-tipping policy for it’s beyond superb valet and delivery services. You cannot get a better address on Turtle Creek. You get quite simply everything — even, for those who need them, “mistress elevators” or so urban legend claims.

Now about that 50-yard bonus. The Chapmans own seats at the new Cowboys Stadium on the 50 yard line. They are offering two tickets to one Cowboys game to the realtor or agent who brings them a qualified tenant who fulfills the terms of the lease. Other stipulations also apply. Like the exclusion of the Cowboys season opener with the New York Giants — the Chapman already have plans to attend that game.

There you have it — would have been criminal to hold this in. Someone out there must need a chi chi home for a year and for $4,500 a month — well, the deal itself is so good it’s almost criminal. Your contact is Mike Kelly in Judy Pittman’s office at: 214.871.1110.

To get a better taste of Lake Highlands, check out this article I wrote for D Home: Neighborhood Spotlight: Lake Highlands

Saw this sign on the back of a pick-up truck while driving. Which can mean only one thing —Baby, it’s back!

Indeed!

A.H. Belo Corporation, publisher of The Dallas Morning News, is investing in Sawbuck Realty, an online real estate broker that will bring its services this year into A.H. Belo’s territories in Southern California, Rhode Island and North Texas.

Sawbuck is expected to announce today that A.H. Belo has joined Sawbuck’s two co-founders, Guy Wolcott and Steve Barnes, in a $2 million round of investment in the young company. The individual contributions were not disclosed.

I’m in a conference call with A.H. Belo and Sawbuck Realty right now. As soon as it’s done we’ll get you audio from that call. Until then, jump for the interesting part of the DMN story:

As a real estate broker, Sawbuck will be able to list all Multiple Listing Service properties, [Chewy] Redding said. At present, visitors who go to dallasnews.com may see only 70 to 80 percent of the listings, he said.

He described the reaction from Dallas-Fort Worth area brokers briefed on the new arrangements as mixed.

Sawbuck refers any sales leads to agents or brokers locally in exchange for a 30 percent share of the commission. The Dallas Morning News will not share directly in that commission, although it would benefit indirectly from its investment in Sawbuck, Redding said.

The News will continue to sell advertising to local brokers and agents who want to enhance their listings with logos and contact information. In those cases, customers would contact that agent or broker directly, and Sawbuck would be bypassed.

“Our advertisers won’t see a lot of change when Sawbuck is on our site,” Redding said.

David R. Ellett, A.H. Belo senior vice president and president and general manager of Belo Interactive Media, said A.H. Belo’s investment is not huge, “but I think it is a strong signal that we believe that this is an enhancement to the real estate solution we bring to the market.”

In addition to search and referral, Sawbuck also touts lower mortgage rates and closing fees as part of its package of services.

$2,049,000

Becky Frey for Briggs Freeman

972.380.7787

I have to say, we told you so back in February. Dave Perry-Miller gave me the low-down on the Portuguese Water Dog, since he has one, and we knew that pup would be perfect for the First Family. Now comes word that this is the official First Dog and the First Daughters have a precious new Portuguese Water puppy named Bo,  bred by Art and Martha Stern, long-time PWD breeders who live near Dallas and call their kennel Amigo Portuguese Water Dogs. The pup is six months old.  I can’t help but wonder if Dave PM had advance knowledge on this deal: apparently Bo is a gift to the First Family from Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, who owns Bo’s litter-mate and is fond of the PWD. I know Dave is rather fond of New England, and spends time in Nantucket when he’s not selling Dallas mega mansions. Could there be a connection? (That’s Edith Wharton, right, and Henry James, Dave’s PWD — white dog on the left.)

I have never seen this before and quite frankly, I’ve seen it all. Specialized bars for beer, wine, cocktails, spices, baby food, dog food, cosmetics, but never a bar for shaving your legs. My Brazilian bikini line has never been so delighted and wants to move into  4436 Brookview Drive.

The money quote:

“The ways brokers were paid created a conflict of interest and really meant that the broker to a very large extent was financially rewarded by betraying the trust of the borrower,” said Representative Brad Miller, a Democrat from North Carolina.

The article also goes on to provide some helpful tips for shopping home loans.

But DallasDirt has done some serious digging and hears the buyers may be Roger and Sue Linquist, formerly of 6508 Turtle Creek Blvd. Mr. Linquist is the CEO, Chairman of the Board, Director Founder and President of MetroPCS Communications, Inc. I hear that the price wasn’t all that negotiable — Elm Hollow sold for about $500,000 under asking price, give or take some change. Fabulous deal. I believe this is the second sale in The Creeks, and I bet the champagne corks are popping right now at Hillwood, not to mention Briggs Freeman and Allie Beth Allman — the closing was on Allie Beth’s birthday. Great gift!

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Newby couldn’t give me any numbers to back the trend, but he did have a pretty solid argument.

“You have good projects because you have the best architects and contractors available, but it also stops the bad stuff or the generic,” said Newby referring to the slowdown in tear downs that followed the economic downturn. “The last two or three years there has been a steady build in interest of architecturally significant homes and a shortage. The pool of buyers looking for an architecturally significant home far outnumbers the amount of architecturally significant homes for sale.”

For a more detailed look at Newby’s theory you can read his blog post on the subject here.

Is it just me being paranoid, but are we seeing a lot of folks returning to the mothership(s)?   

Ms. Tatum was previously with Briggs Freeman, which you probably already knew. Bet you didn’t know that Betty Tatum was the first woman to graduate with an MBA from what is now the SMU Cox School of Business. Then she went on to develop appraisals for apartment complexes and office buildings as well as performing market analyses for banks on trust portfolio properties. At the time, she was the youngest member of the North Dallas Realtors Group.

Ms. Tatum is married to commercial broker John Tatum; the couple has three daughters. Avidly dedicated to the community, she had chaired fund-raising events and volunteered for Southern Methodist University, TACA, The 500, Inc., Girl Scouts of America, The Episcopal School of Dallas, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League and The Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society.