Meantime, Tamarack in Idaho is under, while Credit Suisse is fighting to hang onto first lien status with uber-exclusive Yellowstone Club, which is just a mess , bankrupt and smarting from bad press due to the nasty divorce of it’s great-looking founders, Tim Blixeth and his ex (?), Edra. Also pulled in: luxury second home big boys Discovery Land Co. Interim lender CrossHarbor Capital Partners is trumping and may end up owning the joint because Credit Suisse apparently could not cough up enough cash for a debtor-in-possession loan:

“While it is highly unusual for a major lender to be pushed out of the first lien position in a bankruptcy, Credit Suisse may turn out to be too late with its latest plan.”

About this time last year I tried phoning YC to write up  properties as Hot Props in D Home — they acted as if I needed a security clearance and was trying to find the president’s war-time bunker. We ended up in Big Sky.

But Dallas Addison, who develops second home properties in east and south central Texas, as well as Hawaii, tells me the second home market is still pretty strong. (Posting his story soon: Dallas tells me that Hawaii’s Big Island gets so crowded with residents’ private jets they have to haul them off to other islands for parking.) Glad to hear it: I haven’t been on a Lear in forever.

The National Association of Realtors does not track swap sales, but a number of house-swapping websites have popped up in the last couple of years, most reporting steady increases in online swap postings, like Craigslist, which reported a 30 percent increase in house-swap listings in 2008 over last year.

So I wish I had asked our teacher about this in school. Vitally,  what is the role of the Realtor? I would imagine it would be business as usual for Texas agents, but since out-of-state agents are considered “foreigners” here until they obtain a Texas license, wonder if you have to use an agent or an attorney if the swapper is in another state? And I imagine there are some horror stories out there — about the houses, not spouses — anyone?

PS: Another trend agents tell me we are going to be seeing more of: owner financing. Stay tuned.

His proven track record. Davis, says Allie Beth Allman’s Kyle Crews, has developed two successful condo projects with his partner for Terranova, Hines (as in Dallas Galleria), and is working on a luxury condo tower on South Padre Island. And let’s face it: given the current credit market, if you have any chance at all of obtaining financing, you’d better have a granite-solid track record.

Davis is also quick: the development team purchased the site from Chase Bank (Douglas at Weldon Howell) and will have a bank drive-through on one side of the lobby, which I told you all about in June. My concern: won’t residents have to worry about bank robbers? Davis’ response: no, that means there will be better security!

The building will be nine stories high, but still called a “high rise”. Mediterranean/Tuscan architecture and all this is standard: outdoor kitchens,  private wine room, Viking, Sub Zero, Wolf, roll-out pantries, coffered ceilings, art niches, Origami Air bathtubs, Italian porcelains, marble, granite, 10-foot ceilings, guest pied-a-terre, and private elevator entries. Sizes will range from 1400 to 4400 square feet. And Davis says he already has five deposits!

But alas, unless I sold a few dozen of my own eggs and an ovary or two, a $1.5 mil second home condo is not in the cards. That’s why I am fascinated by the option of Fractional Ownership, which would net me 21 days per year at the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, SF, plus the ability to exchange with other Ritz-Carlton properties around the globe.

A fractional ownership is a deeded title/ownership to a property for a certain percentage of time use in the property. Don’t confuse with timeshare ownership — fractional ownership has fewer owners, better resale rates and appreciation, says Daniel G. Morton, Founder and CEO of Fractional Retreats, L.L.C. At The Ritz-Carlton Club SF, a 1/12th one-bedroom Club Residence fractional sells for $239,000. You own the right to 4 weeks out of the year in that unit. (That’s $239,000 versus $1.5 million for total ownership of the same size unit.) The home is about 1300 square feet, comes with a gourmet loaded kitchen despite the fact you’ll probably only eat your morning yogurt in there, dining area, laundry closet, two baths, and living room which could accommodate two overnight guests. The master bath is huge and Ritz-luxurious, oceans of white carrera marble, soaking tub, separate shower, discreet potty. Acres of closet space. Of course the condos come fully furnished with Silicon Valley spoils such as entertainment center, at least two flat screen TVs, all the stereo and DVD gadgets, and special soundproofing so you won’t hear your neighbors. If it’s a larger unit you want, the three-bedroom residence can be yours for $399,000 for almost 4 weeks a year.

Not kidding.

As if the residences themselves are not perfect, the Ritz-Carlton staff is beyond amazing. They will fetch you from the airport in a beautiful BMW limo, email you for food preferences so your fridge is stocked upon your arrival, and greet you at the door every time you enter or leave the building. Need a rental car or nail appointment? Done. It is really like having a personal assistant. Fresh baked cookies fatten you up in the lobby (ask them for a route to run uphill in the city) and if you don’t want to take breakfast in your condo, pop up to the rooftop terrace for a lovely continental breakfast as well as evening cocktails. You can even store items in the building to lighten your luggage schlep.

If you are going to live the jet-setting lifestyle, chances are you’ll be in Dallas, then Santa Fe, then off to Europe for a week or two, then at a beach or ranch somewhere. Go visit some relatives. Then back to home to work. This is my thinking: will I really spend more than 4 weeks a year in one vacation home? Fractional ownership means I will share property-related expenses such as maintenance fees and insurance with other fractional owners. Talk about green, fractional ownership shares resources — how wasteful is it to have a home and let it sit empty week upon week? Why buy the whole cow if you just want a little fillet?

Why, said one skeptic, don’t you just go get a hotel room whenever you want to visit a city and forget this fractional ownership deal? Good point. But I’m getting weird about the beds I sleep in and where I land my tootsies when not in my own self-sanitized baino. As I snooped the halls of this Ritz-Carlton property, I actually saw how compulsively each unit was cleaned between guests: carpets steamed, draperies changed, even the air was exchanged and freshened. We’ve all seen the Sixty Minutes stories on how some maids “clean” hotel rooms — yuck. I take Lysol wipes to the Four Seasons.

Mrs. McDill’s tender story reminded me to remind my family that all I want for Christmas is a fractional ownership at the Ritz-Carlton Club in San Francisco. Many moons from now, they can leave me there to enjoy my final days and… if they are really nice to mama… I may just leave them that deed in my will!

Since I have investment properties, I am going to try SimplifyEm.com and will soon offer a review.

Try Highland Gates on Katy Trail. Buyers are flocking to the open town homes at 4608 Abbott Avenue at Knox Street, 2400 to 3200 perfect square feet priced from $850,000 to $995,000. And they are selling. I know they are selling. Each unit is a three-story town home with soundproof firewall in-between, 26 units planned for the corner property that backs right up to the Katy Trail and Toulouse, which will undoubtedly be happy to deliver a few orders of those famous fries toute suite! Run up the stairs, run on the Katy, and eat as many pomme frites as your heart desires: life at Highland Gates is healthy. Marketed by Kyle Crews & The Urban Team for Allie Beth Allman.

But alas, Crescent Plaza Residential, L.P., has sprung to action. First they researched the problem — the water discoloration is a result of oxidation of iron in the lining of the galvanized steel piping in the building. Some level of oxidation in steel pipe is “normal and expected, but not to the degree you are experiencing” says Crescent.

And yippee, they have a solution: The pipe interiors will be flushed with a citric-base rinse approved for potable water systems. Then they will install a central water treatment system, which will treat Dallas’ higher PH level water and form a barrier against future oxidation. This has apparently been successful in similar situations across the country, and Ritz will keep on top of it monitoring the water scrupulously.

Bad news is that this process requires a two-day hot water shut off beginning September 2 to 4. I mean, you can stay in your condo, the commodes are fully function able. Just no hot water. Which means frigid showers and baths. Many residents who, like me, would rather take an Italian shower than plunge in water below 85 degrees, plan to find alternate accommodations for the two days. Or, at least, go shower with friends who have hot water.

I’m told the hotel is not affected by any of this as it is on a completely different water system. So I’m wondering how many residents might be checking into the Ritz Hotel for a couple nights.

My hardship was that I lived in a dorm at college, shared a bathroom with umpteen other women with antiquated sinks that had cold water/hot water taps. (Doubt any of you know what I am talking about. Check an antique store.) I don’t drink beer today because the Dartmouth and Brown boys used to roll kegs in the halls. Those were the days of The Night Of The Seven Fires. 

So when my son started his freshman year at Trinity University in San Antonio, I was amazed to see he shared a bath with only his suitemates. He had his own toiletry drawer. (We had cubbies and the guys would put Everclear in our Listerine bottles.) He had a fridge and microwave in his room. This was sheer luxury. Kids today are so spoiled.

Still, he moved off campus to a house I bought as an investment and am trying to sell this minute. Thus I found this article very interesting amid reports that many SMU parents are doing the same thing, especially over at the Palomar. What have you heard?