Dallas real estate news
I have just returned from the “Mile-High City” where they have altitude, medicinal marijuana and a pretty decent real estate market. I was at the annual National Association of Real Estate Editors conference where, for four days, we nutcakes who obsess about real estate lived and breathed it 24/7, consuming information. And alcohol. The main take-away: enjoy that drink. Significant declines in the number of homes for sale in many U.S. markets, and fewer foreclosures (or foreclosures on hold) are boosting the country’s battered housing market. I spoke at length to two of my favorite economists, Stan Humphries of Zillow, and Mark Fleming from CoreLogic, who gave me this zippy summary up in the hospitality suite of the Brown Palace Hotel:
Let’s say you’re tired of the hustle and bustle of city life and you want your own spot in the country to relax, raise a few kids, all while conveniently close to Lake Lewisville. Oh, and you want a waterfall in your backyard.
You are in luck.
Every time I talk to my husband about gutting our master bathroom, he groans. Unlike you, dear reader, he doesn’t realize that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses.
This same conversation must’ve happened at 9002 Maguires Bridge Drive, where you’ll find an amazing kitchen for this price range and a master bath with tons of storage and a beautiful shower.
This dilapidated, once elegant mansion has been the focal point of poignant legal battles since the death of the owner, Mary Ellen Bendtsen, in 2005. Agents tell me it may have the messiest title in Texas. This week, legal justice may be coming. Three men, including two Dallas antique dealers who prosecutors claim conspired to take advantage of Bendtsen’s mental state and her kindness right at her deathbed, go to trial in Dallas County.
Yesterday was day one in court for Mark McCay, age 50, who is accused of attempted theft. Prosecutors say he weaseled power of attorney from 88-year-old Bendtsen after alienating her from her family, and persuaded her to leave the Swiss Ave. house to him and his partner. Bendtsen signed her will in her hospital bed at Baylor. The defense says no, McCay and “the boys” befriended and entertained Bendtsen ten years before her death.
Let’s face it: living in Oak Lawn is just fun. Oak Lawn was the first place we ever lived in Dallas, and you get a kind of free swinging singles vibe that can be fun at 25 or 65. And of course, you have the best entertainment in town come Friday night there on Cedar…
