And the price was?

$4,9995,000

Now listed with Becky Frey at Briggs Freeman and under contract, last asking $3,850,000.

Architectural design by David Stocker of Stocker, Hoestercy, Montenegro Architects & built by Rusty Goff in 2006 on 1.3 acres.

And I’ll bet you $100 the sales price will be “Z” d out.

OK, let the guessing games begin. How much will this fabulous home sell for — truly one of the most beautiful new homes built in Dallas in the last ten years…

Update: Erin called to remind me she sold 6506 (not 09, my dyslexia cropping up today) 5/14/2009 for $3,500,000. Which made me dig deeper to see a few interesting facts. The home was originally listed at $5.6 in 2008. Property taxes then were $28,950. Property taxes at the current appraised value ($3,209,000) are — are you sitting down?

$72,031.66.

And you wonder why this area wants to de-annex!

Nicky was sentenced in August.

“The “Had Enough? Vote Republican!” model is so popular this fall, you’d think a kind of amnesia gas is seeping out from our storm-sewer drains. But then a strong sense of the past has never been a signal feature of the Dallas psyche.”

The Fountains also live about a block from the tollway in a 1960′s era house, so the “amnesia gas” could be auto pollution.

I spent the better part of my day talking about “Z” sales with experts, because I have been concerned about them for awhile. But now I am more concerned. I received an email from my AOL HousingWatch editor asking for a story after they got Fountain’s piece through Google : what’s this Z price stuff? Is keeping low-selling prices out of the computer system building a level of unreality into Texas real estate, what Fountain calls “poisonous”?

“It’s poisonous,” my friend Mark Kreditor told me over lunch, speaking of the Z phenomenon. It might help support the market in the short term by keeping lower prices out of the system, “but it’s like a drug that keeps you pumped up — after a while it catches up with you.”

I don’t think Z sales are supporting the market at all, and neither do many of the people I spoke with. And I’m concerned that Fountain’s “reporting” has not been accurate. (Note to self: send letter to CU classmates at NYT.) Veteran appraiser DW Skelton has been talking about Z sales for years, saying they are hurting our market values, not keeping prices artificially high.  As I have told you before:  Realtors “Z” out a home’s selling price to keep it confidential, non-disclosed. The last listing price of the home goes into the computer. D.W. tells me appraisers are not permitted to use “Z” sales for a primary comparable unless the sales price is in a public data base. If “Z”d out, it’s not public. The new appraisal management companies that have come about as a result of the HVCC also do not use “Z”d sales. It can only be used on a HUD 1 secondary form. “Z” sales could, in fact, be slowing our market down.

Non-disclosure may very well be a Bible Belt leftover. It was intended, say experts, to keep the taxing authorities from knowing the price of the home for taxing purposes and also to keep homestead sellers from revealing to neighbors how much they paid for ranch land. Or, in later years, keep people at church or in the boardroom from knowing how much you paid for your mansion.

“At one time it worked, ” says Skelton. “In my opinion, it doesn’t, anymore.”

If a home sells for less than listed, MLS numbers do not reveal the actual sales price and are therefore not accurate. If the home sells for MORE than listed price, and the sale price is “Z”d, the market is also artificially, and incorrectly, low.

Bottom line: “Z”ing  is keeping appraisers from having accurate numbers, particularly in high-end sales. Would you buy a stock if you only know how much 50% of the buyers paid for it?

We looked at the MLS sales for Preston Hollow, 9/2009 to 9/2010: 27 sales over $2,000,000, 45% “Z”d out.  Park Cities, same time frame, 50 sales over $2 million, 25 or 50% “Z”d out.  The more expensive the property, the more “Z”d out sales: 8 properties $5 million and over sold in Highland Park in this time frame, 6 prices were “Z”d out.

So who cares, let the rich get screwed on their McMansions, they can afford it. The “Z” phenomenon is spreading, as Kreditor points out. Lakewood, area 12: 134 sales of homes $500,000 and above, and 18 were “Z”d sales. But of 10 homes that sold for $1,000,000 and more in Lakewood last year, half were not reported. Plano: 18 sales  over a  million last year, 7 or 40% “Z”d out.

So it looks like even homes in the $500K range can be ripped off by this non-disclosure. Another agent had more good points:

“As for the non-disclosure issue that this author brings up, with so few sales out there, it could cut both ways. If you don’t disclose because you’re trying to hide what you paid, you potentially could end up hurting your own value if you had to sell within a year or two. As an agent, I do use prior sales of a potential listing in order to get a feel for what it should expect to sell for now, depending on how long someone has owned it, that’s a helpful tool for the seller and myself. As an agent, it’s very hard to guide a seller if the best sales out there were not disclosed and obviously, when the appraisal is done, the appraiser can’t use those sales, either. I think as agents, we shouldn’t be encouraging this but as a buyer, it is your right.

I do take issue with the author saying that Dallas is “not a normal market”. I’d ask him to describe a “normal” market right now. Are Las Vegas or Phoenix where prices have plummeted, “normal”? None of the country is experiencing normalcy at the moment.

I also happen to think it makes a huge difference in the part of Dallas you’re investing in…in every city there are better parts of town to make an investment than others. I’m curious, if this is such a bad city to own rental properties in, why do it? Why hasn’t this person-Mark Kreditor (kinda a funny name considering the subject at hand)-sold his Dallas investments and gotten out of this “cesspool”? I assume there is some sort of upside or he wouldn’t own anything here at all. I mean, he’s had 20+ years owning property here according to the article, which one would think, is more than enough time to get a feel for the rental climate and practices of renters.

Another point is-do we want Dallas crawling with investors? I say-No. That’s how so many of these markets were so adversely affected by the downturn in the housing market. I don’t think we want speculators flocking here and buying everything in sight up. That might help temporarily but it isn’t a recipe for long term health.”

And this: I’m told that Realtor now must report ALL  sales figures in the North Texas MLS, or suffer a $1000 fine? Anyone know if this is actually happening?

On the other hand. Mr. Fountain, and again, I know of your legal background but do not know your real estate expertise and if you spoke with more than two people to write this piece, but I know of several homes that have sold recently when priced realistically. That is, when priced in line with what other area homes are selling for. Matters not that you put 24 kt gold plated fixtures in the powder room.

(Also, Mr. Fountain, we were taught in journalism school that three sources are better then two. But with all your publishing success, I shut my mouth.)

Mr. Fountain also brought up something I have long preached: “Z sales” are making sales price reports essentially ineffective. Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning buyers can opt to keep what they actually paid for the house confidential. (Our MLS chooses to non-disclose.) In this case, the last known listing price of the home goes into the computers for the world to see. The refrain from one of my old favorite commercials, only her hairdresser knows for sure, holds true. (Substitute Realtor for hairdresser.) My theory is, of course, that we will ultimately know the sales prices. The new owners will get their tax bills — like they did last week — and they or their agents will march closing documents right down to DCAD with proof the home did not sell for $360,000 and they want their appraisal lowered, dammit.

That is why I have my eye on several significant property sales around town because those new lowered appraisal values will tell us quite a story.

Honestly, I am almost not paying attention these days when I see Case-Shiller or one of the multitude of reports on “Dallas home values up .6789%”.

Am I advocating for undoing non-disclosure? No way. Not as long as we pay some of the highest property taxes in the country and fund our schools that way.

But what do you think about us being deadbeats?

“It’s poisonous,” my friend Mark Kreditor told me over lunch, speaking of the Z phenomenon. It might help support the market in the short term by keeping lower prices out of the system, “but it’s like a drug that keeps you pumped up — after a while it catches up with you.” Mark, another veteran of the ’80s bust, manages more than 1,500 rental properties in the Dallas area, and he has his own blunt take on the local market: a bubbling cesspool — not quite his actual words! — of bad credit and tenant noncompliance.

“From the outside, Dallas looks great to investors — strong population growth, relatively strong employment, great weather, a transportation hub and so on, but you scratch away that veneer, it gets ugly pretty fast,” he said. Dallas has one of the lowest consumer credit scores of any major American city. Tenants will skip at the drop of a hat, and shrug off nuclear threats to their credit rating. “Property code by Smith & Wesson,” is how Mark describes it. In any given year his company files more than 500 eviction proceedings, and can expect fully 20 percent of tenants to fail to fulfill their leases.

“Don’t,” he tells prospective out-of-town investors. “Dallas is not a normal market.”

Walking through the front door and past an elegant aquarium filled with exotic tropical fish and coral, you’ll be reminded of Miami. Continue through the sweeping dining room, past the kitchen decked out in Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances and granite-slab counters, and into the dramatic great room floating above the trees, and you’ll get a sense of New York City design coupled with an upstate New York countryside view. A board conference room and library overlook the pool and forest beyond, perfect for those who prefer to work from home. In fact, with a movie theater, gym, and saltwater infinity “floating” pool just steps away, you never really have to leave the grounds.

Quality infuses every detail of this home: the silent, automated window coverings; the exquisite wood cabinets; the wood-lined elevator complete with a state-of-the-art phone system. In the master suite, which along with an adjacent patio is suspended above the trees, the blinds move with the touch of a finger, and the artfully rendered light fixtures provide peaceful illumination.

But for all its ethereal beauty, Oak Mount Place has rock-solid vitals: built in 2009, the home has 6026 square feet, four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, and three decks overlooking the woods and that gorgeous pool and spa. Walls of glass surround the kitchen, family and living areas, but the area is so secluded, those automatic window coverings might not even be necessary.

This house—designed by Mark Domiteaux, built by Ron Smith of Quorum Design + Construct, and expertly decorated by Ron’s wife, interior designer Abby Smith—would be right at home in Malibu. Lucky for you its owners chose North Dallas, where it’s available for a mere $2,750,000 (in Preston Hollow it could easily fetch $5 million). Before you sneeze at the price, go see it. Very motivated sellers who have put their heart and soul into this home are ready to say goodbye, and I have to tell you, the interior rivals that of a certain famous white house on Northaven Road.

Listed with Suzy Hotchkiss of Ebby Halliday.

Sales price: what’s your guess?

It’s going to be tough, and you have a choice: either redo the bath and then sell the home, or lower your price because you have a second class master bath. But you can implement some quick, fairly cheap tricks to make that second class bath look like it might be able to fly business class, at least in photographs. Then, my dears, you can go all out and call it a SPA BATH.

1. Use light colors. Got icky dark wallpaper from another century on the walls? Spend some money here getting it off and getting the walls glazed and painted a light color palette — whites, creamy beige, yellow or light seafoam green. (No hospital greens here, please.)

2. Add simple black and white photographs of ocean waves on the walls. (Yes, you should have art in the bathroom.)

3. Use all white towels and fabrics, white bath mats and rugs. Gives it that clean, crisp, super sanitary feel. It goes without saying to replace the shower curtain if you have one.

4. Play calming music in the master bath at all showings,

5. Accessorize: fill clear glass cylinders from a florist with seashells or river rock. Roll towels and arrange in a pretty hemp basket. Don’t over-do the towels. You can also roll towels into open shelves to conceal bathroom clutter. The only color you need on the towels should be the monogramming on hand towels.

I know what you are thinking. I have a husband, yes. I keep a roll of paper towels under every bathroom sink and have trained him to use those rather than soil my $50 hand towels.

6. Slick trick: invest in a towel warmer — all you need is an outlet. Adds an extra oomph to your bath verbiage: “Spa Bath with towel warmer!”

7. Buy a new toilet seat. What are they, $20 at Loews? Like a face-lift for your commode.

I’m heading downtown…

1. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. (99.9)
2. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (99.9)
3. Ft. Lauderdale-Pompano-Deerfield, Fla. (99.9)
4. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (99.9)
5. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (99.9)
6. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (99.9)
7. Jacksonville, Fla. (99.9)
8. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (99.9)
9. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. (99.7)
10. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (99.4)
11. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. (98.8)
12. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (98.7)
13. Sacramento-Arden-Rovesville, Calif. (98)
14. Newark-Union, N.J.-Penn. (94.7)
15. Edison-New Brunswick, N.J. (94.7)
16. Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, R.I.-Mass. (93.6)
17. Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (91.9)
18. Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (91.5)
19. New York-White Plains-Wayne N.Y.-N.J. (90.4)
20. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. (90)

and you are thinking of buying, I’d sure wait. Of course, that’s what everyone will do and well, yes, prices will go down — self-fulfilling prophecy. PMI’s latest Economic and Real estate Trends report found that:

“… despite the improvements in many markets, slightly more than half of all metros tracked — 198 — still faced an elevated or high risk of price declines.

Among the nation’s 50 most populous metros, the percentage of markets at risk was even higher — 70 percent, up from 68 percent in fourth-quarter 2009.”

I’m looking to buy a home in a 1031 Exchange, and the only place I’d even think of buying — Texas.

“We are doing essentially what Dave Perry Miller and Ellen Terry did with Ebby,” David told me. “And this feels more than natural — I started my real estate career working for Virginia at Henry S. Miller.”

Ellen Terry became a division of Ebby Halliday back in the 90′s; Dave Perry-Miller & Associates became the luxury division of Ebby a little over a year ago, expanding his brand into Highland Park and, recently, Uptown. Virginia Cook Realtors was founded by Virginia Cook and Sheila Rice in 1999. Virginia Cook, an outstanding broker as well as one of the most caring real estate executives I have ever met, enjoyed a distinguished 28-year career as president of Henry S. Miller, Realtors — she founded the residential division to sell homes to Dallas-bound executives who were utilizing Miller’s commercial services. Henry S. Miller Residential sold to Coldwell Banker in 2001.Founded in 1919, Henry S. Miller Company remains one of the largest independent brokerage and property management firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Mr. Miller, who died at the age of 95 last December, was named one of the leading 20 Dallasites of the 20th Century, and is widely known as “the master of real estate brokerage.”

Today, Virginia Cook Realtors is one of the largest independently owned real estate firms in North Texas, with full-service offices in a multi-county region from the Park Cities to Sherman, Denison and Fort Worth. Virginia Cook has global relocation services utilized by hundreds of corporations.

David Griffin & Company Realtors was founded by David Griffin in 1982, and is known as a stellar niche boutique firm for buying and selling homes in Uptown, the Park Cities, Lakewood and Kessler Park. During the most difficult real estate market since the Great Depression, David has marketed landmark properties, such as The House by Phillip Starck, The W at Victory,  and Kessler Woods.

In a press release, Virginia Cook said “our firms have complementary strengths.”

“The opportunity to bring together the agent talent, marketing resources, industry and community connections of our two firms is very exciting,” said Virginia.

This is a brilliant strategic move: David will bring his Uptown, Dallas urban and Kessler Park contacts to VC, helping VC expand seamlessly into those close-in areas areas.  VC’s ready-made management, multiple offices, relocation and corporate resource structure will free David from the daily chore of managing his company, allowing him to spend more time on sales and in his role as a community leader.  David was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from SMU.

Together, Virginia Cook, Realtors and David Griffin & Company Realtors will have almost 500 residential sales agents in the North Texas area. Virginia Cook  headquarters office on Sherry Lane will include storefront galleries for each of the firm’s two brands. David Griffin will retain his offices in Uptown.

The sentencing came in a Federal courtroom on the 13th floor where Nicky showed up alone — no Eleanor, no children, no former associates there for support. (Lisa LeMaster, the couples’  last publicist, came in later.) When I walked in, Nicky was sitting confidently on a front bench, arms stretched out, dressed in a handsome beige tone jacket, blue shirt with monogrammed cuffs, wedding band, beard and mustache neatly trimmed. He looked good. Eleanor’s attorneys sat behind him. Later, he joined his attorney, Reed W. Prospere, who made small talk with Rick Alan Calvert, the natty lead U.S. attorney on the government’s case.

At one point, they even were talking real estate.

The process was surprisingly swift. Nicky was respectful and contrite. Judge Boyle took an extra ten minutes to read four or five letters of character that she had not read along with the 25 letters Reed Prospere had dropped off two weeks ago, promising to take them into consideration. When Nicky spoke to the court, he apologized. This is my doing, he said, and I accept full responsibility for it. I apologize for the time and money it has cost the federal government — and I apologize for what this did to my wife and family.

Prospere tried to convince the judge that keeping Nicky out of prison would get the government paid off faster — this is not your typical tax fraud case, he said. Nicky Sheets made bad business decisions but he also got bad advice, which compounded the problems along the way. Prospere pointed out that Nicky has been working even as the IRS put liens on his home, working to re-pay the governmnet though he made zero income. During the past 18 months, Nicky has, said his attorney, paid more than $200,000 towards his federal government debt. He has a strong desire to pay everything back to the government. His mindset, said Prospere, was that he was always one or two deals away from hitting a deal that would make all this right. He won’t be able to pay back the government, said Prospere,  if he loses his real estate license.

Will he lose his license, asked Judge Boyle? Probably, said Prospere, upon conviction. Either Prospere or Judge Boyle tossed out the notion of asking the Texas Real Estate Commission to allow him to keep a license and work while on probation. If he could work, said Prospere, he could make a serious dent in what he owes the government because what Nicky does — sell real estate –  he does very well.

Judge Boyle commented on the strength of Nicky’s character as reflected in the pile of letters she read.

Then it was Calvert’s turn.

Nicky Sheets was not an unsophisticated defendant, he said. He reiterated that Nicky and Eleanor spent $382,553 at Neiman Marcus and Escada while owing the federal government. They bought an interest in an airplane, fancy cars, took trips, all the while knowing they owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the feds, and all this over a decade. It almost has an egregious nature to it, said Calvert, as if the Sheets were living a lavish lifestyle and flaunting it in the face of the IRS.

Then he said he wanted Nicky’s case to be a deterrent for other successful real estate agents, doctors, and lawyers who need to realize there are consequences for not paying your taxes. This message was repeated throughout the hour: the government clearly wanted to make an impression and use Sheets as a deterrent against other scofflaws.

Then Judge Boyle spoke: it was clear, she said, that Nicky had led a life of kindness, making contributions to many people, helped family and siblings, and was an effective businessman. Lots of people love you, said the Judge, and look up to you.

But you gotta pay your taxes. She agreed the case was unique from most tax fraud schemes, but also said it was a lot of money owed the government over a long period of time. And you’re a smart man, she said; at least, you were reckless in your behavior living a high on the hog lifestyle while owing taxes. Many people struggle over their tax forms each year, she said, and she needed to send out a message of deterrence: 40 months.

She listed all the rules  for supervised release, and advised him he has ten days to file an appeal. Nicky never wavered. Maybe his face reddened a bit more, but he stood tall through it all. He asked if he could be present for his wife’s sentencing October 12, to which Judge Boyle and Rick Calvert agreed. After court, he left the courthouse quickly with his attorney.

Next up: Eleanor’s sentencing. She is up for four counts of failure to pay income taxes, Nicky was up for one count of tax evasion. He faced five years and got three years plus four months. Eleanor faces four years and appears before  Judge Stickney. Meantime, I did notice today that Eleanor’s photo is listed at Keller Williams Elite Park Cities, the broker where she and Nicky now hang their licenses.

I have several questions for the U.S. Attorney’s office — stay tuned. Next up, Eleanor’s sentencing October 19.

DALLAS REALTOR SENTENCED TO 40 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR TAX EVASION

John Nicholas Sheets Also Ordered to Pay Approximately $2.4 Million in Back Taxes

DALLAS – John Nicholas Sheets, a.k.a. “Nicky,” was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,408,662 in back taxes, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Sheets pleaded guilty in March to one count of tax evasion.

According to documents filed, Sheets is a licensed realtor who has worked in North Texas for several years. Since 1996, Sheets and his wife have successfully worked as real estate agents and have established multiple closely-held businesses including Eleanor Mowery Sheets, Inc.; Dallas EMS, LLC; and E-Residential, LLC.

According to court records, Eleanor Mowery Sheets pleaded guilty last month to four counts of failing to pay income taxes. Her sentencing is set for October 12, 2010.

In the filed documents, John Nicholas Sheets stipulates that he has substantial unpaid individual and corporate tax debts from 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 totaling approximately $2.7 million, including penalties and interest.

The documents further state that beginning in 1998, rather than pay his substantial tax debts, Sheets used various business entities to conceal the nature and extent of his assets. Sheets admitted to transacting personal business and paying personal creditors with these funds, rather than paying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Using these businesses, Sheets commingled funds to pay approximately $435,988 in mortgage interest to three lenders so that he and his wife could live in a home whose market value exceeded $1.3 million during that period. Sheets also stipulated that he used commingled funds to buy personal items (including an interest in a private airplane and vehicles) and pay numerous personal creditors.

Sheets further admitted that on April 5, 2006, he used a local check-cashing business to conceal the nature of his assets so as to avoid paying federal income taxes. Specifically, he took a $123,000 settlement check to the local check-cashing business to conceal the existence of the funds, and rather than deposit the check into his personal bank account for free, he paid more than $2000 to cash that check. None of the cash he obtained on this date was used to pay the IRS; he used the funds to pay for personal expenses and pay other creditors. The factual resume goes on to state that Sheets negotiated the check in this manner upon the advice, recommendation and suggestion of his attorney at the time.

“Lawyers and other representatives for the owner/developer and lender declined to comment.”

(Note: sometimes if an attorney refuses to talk to a journalist, we assume the client, in this case, Crescent, won’t talk either.)

Pitchford and Allie Beth Allman’s Kyle Crews, who is marketing the Tower Residences, also disagree with statements made in the article by Mike Puls, a well-known and respected Dallas condo consultant, that one of the biggest hurdles facing condo sales at the Ritz and elsewhere are appraisals:

“Part of the problem is that the Ritz-Carlton condos, like other $1-million-and-up condos in Dallas, are priced substantially higher than they’ll appraise for, which prevents buyers from getting loans and gives pause to wealthy buyers who don’t need loans but still don’t want to overpay, Puls said.”

Appraisals are one of the dirty little secrets of this turmoiled market, as one local appraiser has told me. What once took 30 days is now taking 90 or more, delaying sales, though many Realtors don’t like to talk about it. Even so, Pitchford tells me that the Ritz is having ZERO PROBLEMS with appraisals, averaging $720 a square foot, but some — gulp — even higher!

“We have closed 15 Ritz Carlton Residences so far in 2010, valued at over $24 million….we are off to a great start,” says Pitchford. “The second half of the year looks even stronger and we really feel great despite the challenges of 2009.”

Thirty-five units have closed in The Ritz Carlton Tower Residences, and 18 of those buyers obtained mortgages on the homes. (The rest were cash sales.) Pitchford tells me all 18 appraised at or above contract price.  Comps are coming from cash sales, the first phase of the development, which is now sold out, and from surrounding areas such as Highland Park, making adjustments for land. Not to diminish phase I, but Ritz Carlton Tower Residences is a costlier animal, says Pitchford; units were build when costs were higher, the project came on later in the boom cycle and features more amenities, such as it’s own pool. The average size of RCTR units are smaller, 2000 square feet,  versus 3000 square feet in phase I.

As for the lawsuits, Pitchford could not comment — the first one has been settled, second pending, but he wonders whether DBJ’s Hethcock even read Crescent’s response to the De La Cruz petition.

A source who wishes to remain anonymous because she sometimes works with Crescent/Ritz tells me that Crescent and the Allie marketing team are 100% cooperative on supplying all information for appraisals — other condo units are not as cooperative. Still, she says, it is hard to apply 2008 values in 2010. Both Pitchford and Crews claim appraisals are not problematic at The Ritz, but that’s not the case elsewhere.  The  Home Valuation Code of Conduct, or HVCC, implemented last May, was designed to “enhance the integrity of the home valuation process”.  Agents and appraisers tell me it is, in reality, a huge backwards swing of the pendulum to counter all the loose-goosey lending and appraisals that went on during the boom. (What agents hate: you get stuck with “impartial” appraisers from Nebraska appraising local properties, like the guy in a turban who went over to the Mayfair recently and didn’t know that the counters in the kitchen were made of granite because he had never seen granite in Garland.) It applies only to FHA financed properties, which are well below even the cheapest unit at The Ritz. But private investors lending out jumbo money are even tougher than the feds — if you cannot provide investors with all information, solidly fresh comps, it is very, very difficult to make value on these properties, especially condos. The culprit is the market: in order for it to get healthier, buyers need to be able to obtain mortgages on properties. Washington is window dressing and shouting that  it wants to help, but in reality, current federal policy is making home financing harder than ever, which I think is going to crimp the market even more.  Sayōnara.