Rhonda Hunnicut, Queen of the Demolition Sale

The old Trammell Crow home in Highland Park. Photo: courtesy of The Dallas Morning News.

Take a drive through any established Dallas neighborhood and you’ll be confronted with a teardown or two. From those that tumble down without making a single wave, to the controversial demolition of iconic homes like the Trammell Crow estate, they make up part of a familiar cycle. The old gives way to the new.  Sentiment aside, unsafe wiring, outdated HVAC systems, or simply the culmination of years of neglect often make renovation of these older homes impractical if not impossible. So they meet with the wrecking ball. But before a single bulldozer revs its engine, Rhonda Hunnicut swoops in to work her magic.

Hunnicut is the founder of DFW Pre-Demolition and Estate Sales. Her job is to come into a home slated for demolition, identify items to be salvaged, and then sell them on behalf of the owner. From French doors to hardwood floors, literally anything and everything goes. Whether the prospective buyer is a builder, a rental property owner, or what Hunnicut calls a ‘weekend warrior,’ there’s something of interest for everyone. Garage doors, light fixtures, and even landscaping – it all gets fitted with a price tag. And a pretty reasonable one, at that. While an entire kitchen fetches upwards of $10,000, a single dimmer switch sells for five bucks. A pack of five can lights goes for $20. Like we said, something for everyone.

We caught up with Hunnicut during the recent pre-demolition sale at the former Willow Bend home of celebrated golfer Freddy Couples to talk about her work in this era of teardowns.

Rhonda Hunnicut

You have a very unique job. How long have you been in the business?

It’s a fun job. I love what I do. I’ve been in the estate sale business for 20 years, but the last few years I’ve really gotten pulled into this demolition side. I love it because it’s salvaging out stuff that’s not going to go to the landfill.

There have to be mixed feelings, though. Especially when it’s one of these historic homes and this is the end of an era. Can I ask you how you feel about them being torn down? I mean, I know it’s your livelihood, but at the same time, do you feel a little sad to see them go?

Oh, definitely! It’s easy to have mixed emotions about it. But here’s where I come in. On the Trammell Crow estate, the great-granddaughter of the man who built that home in 1913 found out about it and called me. She flew down, I picked her up at Love Field, and I walked through the house with her. She wanted some windows for the great-great grandchildren. So I had five windows pulled out for her. When I can, I want people to be able to have their piece of history that can be passed along. Someone involved in historical preservation called me, too, and I was able to let him come out and take pictures before we got started. So when I can, I try my hardest to help preserve history.

With a lot of emotion tied up in these well-known properties, does any of that public scorn ever fall on you when you’re doing  your job?

Oh, yeah. I took a lot of heat on the Trammell Crow house. But I also get a lot of heat on the little cottage houses that are getting torn down in the White Rock Lake area. People will come by and be upset and they’ll say really ugly stuff. I tell the homeowners, ‘Stay far away as they can, let me take the heat for you.’ The charm of the neighborhood is just changing. I hear it a lot over there. But what I say to these people is, at least I’m giving everyone a chance to come and get things out of the house. On the flipside, there are so many more nice people, but some just can’t help but to get that comment in.

Overall, though, it seems to be a positive experience.

Like I said, love what I do. I’m very passionate about it. A lot of times, it’s actually very humbling. Say it’s July, and somebody’s air conditioner went out and they can’t afford a new one, but I’ve got a decent compressor that they can use. You know, you meet those people, too. And they’re so appreciative. I’ve had someone almost in tears over it. It’s not just about money – it does a lot of good.