4445 College Park Drive in Preston Hollow

Surround yourself in sleek modern design! This ultra-contemporary single level home in the Hockaday Square neighborhood is located on a private lot with shade trees and tasteful landscaping. It was completely remodeled and expanded in 1995 with clean lines, lots of natural light, an open floor plan, and all the details and finishes of the finest contemporary architecture.

To see more photos and read the entire post on UpdateDallas.org, click here.

To view the complete Photo Gallery, click here.

Samantha: “Lucky for us (and by us I mean you and I) Melissa Woody is a good friend of Becky Frey. I wrote about one of her stunning mineral lamps in FD last year and since she has opened a store called The Lamp Shoppe in the Design District. She can make a lamp out of anything. Minerals, driftwood, antiques, you name it, she can make it – oh, and it will be exquisite. Add on options of tons of finials, lucite bases, custom shades and even cord options (did you even know there was such a thing?). So when Becky told me she was going to partner with “Woody” to make a lamp for the giveaway you bet I was excited.”

Read full post here

How to enter to win: Send an email to sam{at}styleswoon.com with RE: STUFF THE STOCKING as the subject, in the body of the email please put your full name and the city in which you live (US and Canada only please – so sorry friends!) and I will announce the LUCKY winner Christmas Day! xo, S

“There are those of us who love homes but hate grass. What the heck is so wonderful about it anyhow? It sucks up water we need to preserve, it burns up in August, it gets muddy, soggy, chiggers and collects dog poop. Grass, who needs it?

But I like homes, so this one might really be my dream home. 9011 Prominence is basically a 6,000 square foot patio home built in 1993, hence the great pricing: $499,000. (Today I saved you a dollar, don’t ever say I don’t give you anything.)  But in five years when we won’t be able to water our lawns, you will see more homes like 9011.

“The story here is families who want good schools and a big house don’t need to move to Plano to find one,” says listing agent Becky Frey. Big? The house is enormous: six bedrooms, four and a half baths. “And you are a hop or short walk from White Rock Lake.”

You get the updated kitchen, formals, a den, and that private, lush master on the first floor. Bye, kiddos, go upstairs and STAY upstairs unless someone is bleeding. Master has access to back patio and splash pool — yes, there is a pool! Upstairs you find a game room with wet bar and a balcony which is great for entertaining. There is a great view of the church steeple next door which is very soothing and church bells! Reminds me of Dartmouth! You also have many rooms for offices, media or playrooms. Great closets, big comfy kitchen, three fireplaces, workbench, mature rose bushes to fill you vase. Just. No. Grass.”

Go to CandysDirt.com to see more photos.

For all the details, click here to see the listing.

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“Haven’t heard of Patina? Neither had we. The new retail flooring store offers not only top quality ceramic tile, natural stone, wood flooring, carpet, and rugs but also interior design and installation services as well as in-store interactive, electronic displays that help you visualize the installed appearance of your new flooring.” – D Magazine

From time to time the IRS releases tips designed to help people with their taxes. Some of these are quite useful.

As a real estate agent or broker, it is not your job to give home sellers tax advice. Instead, refer sellers to this list of IRS tips. It’s a good starting place for them to begin to understand this often complex area of tax law. You could even print it out and hand it to anyone who asks you about these issues.

Here are the IRS’s top 10 tax tips for home sellers:

1. In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.

2. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).

3. You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.

4. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.

5. If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.

6. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.

7. Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude.

8. If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.

9. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year’s tax return.

10. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.

These tips can be found on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/content/0,,id=104608,00.html

Stephen Fishman is a tax expert, attorney and author who has published 18 books, including “Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Contractors, Freelancers and Consultants,” “Deduct It,” “Working as an Independent Contractor,” and “Working with Independent Contractors.” He welcomes your questions for this weekly column.

The Next Big Boom Towns In The U.S. – Joel Kotkin – New Geographer – Forbes

What cities are best positioned to grow and prosper in the coming decade?

To determine the next boom towns in the U.S., Forbes, with the help of Mark Schill at the Praxis Strategy Group, took the 52 largest metro areas in the country (those with populations exceeding 1 million) and ranked them based on various data indicating past, present and future vitality.

We started with job growth, not only looking at performance over the past decade but also focusing on growth in the past two years, to account for the possible long-term effects of the Great Recession. That accounted for roughly one-third of the score.  The other two-thirds were made up of a a broad range of demographic factors, all weighted equally. These included rates of family formation (percentage growth in children 5-17), growth in educated migration, population growth and, finally, a broad measurement of attractiveness to immigrants — as places to settle, make money and start businesses.

We focused on these demographic factors because college-educated migrants (who also tend to be under 30), new families and immigrants will be critical in shaping the future.  Areas that are rapidly losing young families and low rates of migration among educated migrants are the American equivalents of rapidly aging countries like Japan; those with more sprightly demographics are akin to up and coming countries such as Vietnam.

Many of our top performers are not surprising. No. 1 Austin, Texas, and No. 2 Raleigh, N.C., have it all demographically: high rates of immigration and migration of educated workers and healthy increases in population and number of children. They are also economic superstars, with job-creation records among the best in the nation.

Perhaps less expected is the No. 3 ranking for Nashville, Tenn. The country music capital, with its low housing prices and pro-business environment, has experienced rapid growth in educated migrants, where it ranks an impressive fourth in terms of percentage growth. New ethnic groups, such as Latinos and Asians, have doubled in size over the past decade.

Two advantages Nashville and other rising Southern cities like No. 8 Charlotte, N.C., possess are a mild climate and smaller scale. Even with population growth, they do not suffer the persistent transportation bottlenecks that strangle the older growth hubs. At the same time, these cities are building the infrastructure — roads, cultural institutions and airports — critical to future growth. Charlotte’s bustling airport may never be as big as Atlanta’s Hartsfield, but it serves both major national and international routes.

Of course, Texas metropolitan areas feature prominently on our list of future boom towns, including No. 4 San Antonio, No. 5 Houston and No. 7 Dallas, which over the past years boasted the biggest jump in new jobs, over 83,000. Aided by relatively low housing prices and buoyant economies, these Lone Star cities have become major hubs for jobs and families.

And there’s more growth to come. With its strategically located airport, Dallas is emerging as the ideal place for corporate relocations. And Houston, with its burgeoning port and dominance of the world energy business, seems destined to become ever more influential in the coming decade. Both cities have emerged as major immigrant hubs, attracting on newcomers at a rate far higher than old immigrant hubs like Chicago, Boston and Seattle.

To read the full article, click here.

Click to read full article at SecondShelters.com

Inside Dallas Real Estate News:
One Down in 36 Hours (Becky Frey) and Doris Does Beverly Drive
Written by Candy Evans on June 3, 2011

“Then I hit the high ground where everything’s coming up roses, particularly in the high end. I’m talking below $500,000, if it’s a really great house. Becky Frey put a Disney Streets property on just this past weekend and got six offers in 36 hours. They accepted one that was even OVER asking. (Just writing that gave me deja vue. Chilling!) She’s got a house down the street from me under option – gorgeous home, listed in January. The good stuff, good location, priced right, is going out the door.“

Click here to read full article at SecondShelters.com

Thanks to James A. Clutch Jr., at EchoPoint Mortgage, for delivering this information. James also adds: The interest rate a typical 30-year mortgage loan would currently bear (say, 4.50%*) is less than one-half of what it was in 1991 (roughly 10.125% back then), and less than one-third of what it was in 1982 (about 17.25% at that time).

Based on responses to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), here are some ways in which builders can expect homes to change by as early as 2015:

• Single-family homes will get smaller (74 percent of respondents said).

• Homes will have more “green” features (68 percent).

• Homes will have more technology features (29 percent).

• Homes will have more universal access features (20 percent).

• Homes will have more outdoor living features, such as kitchens and fireplaces (10 percent).

• The average home size will be roughly 2,150 sf.

• Living rooms will merge with other spaces in the home (52 percent), vanish to save on square footage (30 percent), or become a parlor/retreat/library or music room (13 percent).

• If the living room doesn’t vanish, it will likely decrease in size (76 percent).

• Also downsizing are the entry foyer (66 percent) and dining room (63 percent).

• Features “very likely” to be included in a new home in 2015 include a kitchen-living room combo, walk-in closet in master bedroom, laundry room and two-car garage.

• Homebuyers are “somewhat likely” to want design features such as stepless entries, three-foot-wide doorways and four-foot-wide hallways, stepless showers that have seating, non-slip floor surfaces and grab bars in bathrooms.

• People seem likely to lavish more attention on the kitchen, ensuring that room will retain its status as the home’s social center.

• Survey respondents said they are “very likely” to want double sinks, recessed lighting, table space for eating and breakfast bars. They’re “somewhat likely” to want a central island, walk-in pantry, recycling center and desk/computer area.