Disabled South Edgefield Resident’s Plight Shows How Shady Investors Are Harassing Homeowners

A disabled South Edgefield resident whose parents died recently has a title and a will deeding their homes to him but fights a daily battle with real estate investors who want to buy the properties for less than market value. 

Sometimes they claim that Durwood “Woody” Brodie Jr.’s homes were signed over to them by another family member. Sometimes they threaten a long, expensive legal battle unless he gets out. Sometimes they just serve him papers and drive away.

To complicate matters, Brodie was injured in an accident many years ago and suffered traumatic brain injuries. He can’t verbally communicate or afford an attorney.

This is just one story in a saga of many.

Investors Constantly Harass South Edgefield Homeowners

We heard from many legacy residents of the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood during a zoning battle last year, saying they, too, got daily calls from investors. In fact, they still do. They can’t afford to move and they can’t afford to stay in the homes they grew up in. 

Meanwhile, some Dallas homeowners choose to stop fighting the battle against investors. When they eventually sell, their homes are demolished, quickly eroding the character and charm of older neighborhoods as developers bulldoze and rebuild, sometimes without proper permitting. 

At a meeting of the South Edgefield Neighborhood Association last week, a CandysDirt.com reporter talked to three residents who each independently said they receive calls and text messages daily from people wanting to buy their homes. 

The investors got the addresses of the area encompassed by and adjacent to the West Oak Cliff Area Plan, which advocates for duplexes, fourplexes, and accessory dwelling units, the neighbors said.

District 1 Dallas City Councilman Chad West, who represents North Oak Cliff, also has been contacted by people wanting to buy his house.

“There is certainly merit to investors knocking on doors, but that is occurring all over Oak Cliff,” he said. “I personally receive at least three calls a week, sometimes as many as one a day, from people trying to buy my home in Kidd Springs. Several neighbors in this particular neighborhood have been suspicious ever since the WOCAP discussions started, and I don’t think anything will change that.”

Financially, it doesn’t make sense for a developer to buy a home in any neighborhood in Oak Cliff for $300,000 or more and then tear it down to build a duplex, a triplex, or even a fourplex, West added.

“Missing middle only pencils out when someone acquires a vacant lot,” he said.

This raises a lot of questions, but the most pressing is this: Who can help residents like Brodie who can’t help themselves? Is there a Realtor, an attorney, an activist, or a well-meaning neighbor who can offer a solution? Is there any existing housing authority or city service that assists with matters of titles, wills, and deeds? 

Additionally, do area plans create more problems than they solve?  Is there any protection for neighborhoods where developers are buying homes and replacing them with incompatible structures? Have people been forgotten in the planning process? 

This is the first in a series of stories through which CandysDirt.com will attempt to answer those questions. 

Fighting For Woody And The South Edgefield Neighborhood

Our first call was to West Clarendon Drive resident Suzanne Felber, the author of this article published in December 2022 about Brodie and his dilemma. 

Felber circled the wagons to get Brodie some assistance but said last week the situation hasn’t changed much over the past several months. 

Felber has known Brodie since she moved into the South Edgefield neighborhood more than 20 years ago. 

“When one of my trees fell down into the street, one of my other neighbors who owns a tree-trimming service came and took care of all of that. He wouldn’t take a penny. That’s just the way our neighborhood is,” Felber said. “He introduced me to Woody, who would come over and mow my yard and landscape everything.” 

Brodie owns the homes at 1126 and 1137 Nolte Drive and lives on Social Security. 

Years ago, when Brodie’s parents were still alive, at least one of the homes was in disrepair.

“You could see the sky through the ceiling,” Felber said. “The roof was, like, gone. I was like, ‘You guys can’t live like this.’ A flipper came by and told [Brodie’s mother] that they were going to turn her into the city if she didn’t sell the house and the 250-foot-deep lot to them for $14,000.”

Brodie’s late mother “freaked out and signed the papers.” 

Felber intervened and got them out of the contract. At the time, the city had a program for rebuilding homes for those in need and did so at almost no cost, Felber said. 

“Everything was great,” she said. “Ms. Brodie had a great place to live until she passed away.”

But Brodie remained in his mother’s house and eventually, one of his brothers moved in. After Brodie’s father passed away and both homes were left to Brodie in a will, the brother — who didn’t own the homes — allegedly sold both properties to an investor for $8,000. 

The late father’s house is a five-bedroom Austin stone home on a triple lot, worth at least $600,000, Felber said. 

“These people are just predators,” Felber said of the investors. “You have every right to sell your house. I just want them to get fair market value.” 

The buyer apparently changed the deeds on both houses. 

“Since Woody’s father passed away I’ve tried to get the wills taken care of,” Felber said. “Nobody would help him. I’ve spent money on attorneys. They just took the money and ran. It’s been unbelievable.”

We heard from another South Edgefield neighbor, Lisa Miller, who took Brodie to the Northwest Texas Legal Aid office, filled out paperwork, and was told six weeks later they couldn’t find anyone to help him. 

The “lovely Realtor/lawyer/flipper/thief,” as Felber refers to the investor, sends letters to Brodie on a regular basis claiming Brodie needs to get out or pay rent. 

We have the name of the investor but have not yet heard his side of the story.

A Realtor With a White Hat

The South Edgefield Neighborhood Association was formed during the WOCAP development process. The neighbors care about each other and gather once a month to get to know each other better and talk about the challenges they face. 

Frances Estelle said she wants to grow old in her home on Nolte Drive.

“I came here to live,” she said. “This is where I want to retire, because of the character of the neighborhood.”

David Dockery has lived on Polk Street since 2001 and just paid off his home. 

“I probably get about 20 calls or texts in a week asking me to sell it,” he said. 

While Brodie’s predicament is far from over, and a positive resolution seems out of reach, there are people who want to help and may be in a position to do so. 

One such person is Pamela Robison Mullins, an agent with Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate. 

Mullins has lived at Tyler Street and Thomasson Drive for 25 years. She’s one of the good gals, and she told CandysDirt.com on Friday that while she’s not been closely involved with Brodie’s situation, she’s heard about it and hopes she can open her Rolodex to find someone who can help.

“It’s really important in our neighborhood that [residents] understand the value of their homes,” she said. “I do get calls from churches, and I try to take a proactive approach and be an advocate for the community. I canvass the neighborhood and when I see a run-down property I try to find out who lives there. My role is to let people know that there is somebody they can reach out to. As a Realtor, I do a lot of research and have a lot of connections to find out the true value of a home. I just try to make sure the process is streamlined for them so they understand what is going on.” 

She advocates for her neighbors by connecting them with a corporate attorney, advising them on reverse mortgages, or showing them how to access resources online. Not everyone in the neighborhood has internet access or speaks English, she explained. 

Mullins recently split the cost of an air-conditioning unit with a friend and had it installed in the home of an elderly neighbor who was feeling ill from the heat. 

Is there a simple way to help Brodie? Mullins said she’s not sure. 

“It’s heartbreaking to think that people can be so callous as to take advantage of people in such a horrific manner,” she said. 

Felber said most of her neighbors are proud, hard-working people who don’t like to ask for help.

“But they will be the first ones to help their neighbors and others,” she said. “We as a city, and as neighbors, need to find a better way to give these hard-working citizens the hand up they deserve.”

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This is the first in a series on housing and development issues in the Elmwood and South Edgefield neighborhoods of Oak Cliff.