Real Estate Taxes
I spoke to MetroTex Association of Realtors MLS Director Cathy Faulkner yesterday about “Z sales” coming to an end. In the luxury market, “Z sales” gave lofty sales prices a sense of anonymity.
I won’t bore you with the technical details of what a “Z sale” is exactly. Check out this site for a primer on the practice. The gist is this: sellers who were gun shy about disclosing what they paid for a home listed on MLS put a “Z” instead of a big number followed by a lot of zeroes.
Dallas Realtor Jeff Duffey says the death of the practice “will never affect approximately 99% of the real estate market areas throughout North Texas.” However, he estimates roughly 20 percent of the sales in high-end neighborhoods such as the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and Turtle Creek are “Z sales.”
Read MoreIt’s something that Candy is working hard to ingrain upon me, but I’m sure you all know this by heart: Real estate is a local story.
So when I read the newest Housing Price Index report from CoreLogic yesterday, I’ll be honest, I kind of yawned.
Read MoreIt looks like Kenneth Robinson will NOT be getting a house for $16 after all. This morning, in the tiny metropolis of Roanoke, Texas, at Justice of the Peace Precint #4, JP J. W. Hand ruled in favor of Bank of America, the lender who apparently acquired the note on the abandoned house from Accredited Home Lending, who held the original mortgage. It was that financial failure glitch that gave Robinson the chance to live scot-free — or for $16 — for more than six months in a beautiful Flower Mound neighborhood not too far from the sprawling million dollar estates of Argyle. Robinson was given until Feb. 13 to move, but he is now out of the house. The swimming pool is back to green. Neighbors say he started moving out last Thursday at about 11:20 p.m. and had a van in front of the house this weekend. (And my stalking turned up an empty house Saturday night.) In a phone interview with reporters, Robinson said he was gone and leaving behind a futon and a TV — the futon, he said, belongs to someone else anyhow. (Neighbors say a lot of people have been staying at the house.) He has moved on and is not saying where he has moved. If he wants to appeal the case, he must put up an $8900 bond, which he says he will not do. And a check with Denton County shows Robinson also did not pay the property taxes on 2205 Waterford which were due January 31. He also did not pay the annual $300ish HOA dues.
Read Moreby Tiffany Hamil Each year in Texas, January 31 brings death to savings and escrow accounts to anyone who owns property in the Lone Star state. It is on this day that property taxes in Texas are due. We may feel the pain now, but the time to fight is actually this May. To help…
Read MoreNew York City, of course, is first with 53 billionaires who collectively are worth $1.53 trillion. But Forbes Magazine says Dallas came in right behind the Big Apple with 17 of the wealthiest, beating out San Francisco at 16. Of course, a lot of billionaires are scattered along the Peninsula south of San Fran. But…
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