Most Beautiful Homes in Dallas?

D Magazine just crowned the 10 most beautiful homes in Dallas.  Although I admire their curb appeal (and I congratulate their owners on a job well done), I'm an advocate of not judging a book by its cover...What do you think?  To see the magazines's picks for Dallas' most beautiful homes in 2009, click here.

FORMER COWBOY ACCUSED OF MORTGAGE FRAUD

DALLAS — A federal grand jury has indicted Eugene Lockhart, Jr., 48, a former player with the Dallas Cowboys, and eight others, on various charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme he and the others allegedly ran in the Dallas area from 2001 through 2005, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Lockhart, of Carrollton, Texas, and co-defendant Lendell Beacham, 50, of DeSoto, Texas, were arrested this morning by FBI agents, and will appear this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeff Kaplan for their initial appearance.


All nine defendants are charged in the indictment, returned by a federal grand jury earlier this week and unsealed this morning, with various offenses related to the scheme, including conspiracy, bank fraud and wire fraud. In addition to Lockhart and Beacham, the following defendants are named in the indictment: William Randolph Tisdale, Jr., 45, formerly of Dallas, but currently serving a federal sentence on unrelated charges; Hubert Jones, III, 39, of Garland, Texas; Patricia Ortega Suarez, 55, of Dallas; Suzette Switzer Hinds, 45, of Dallas; Michael Anthony Caldwell, 49, of Arlington, Texas; Donna Lois Kneeland, 45, of Grand Prairie, Texas; and Bryan J. Moorman, 67, of Mesquite, Texas. These defendants, with the exception of Tisdale, are expected to surrender to the FBI tomorrow morning, September 4, 2009.


All nine defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. In addition, Lockhart, Beacham and Moorman are each charged with one count of wire fraud; Tisdale is also charged with two counts of bank fraud; Jones is also charged with two counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud; Suarez is also charged with one count each of bank fraud and wire fraud; and Hinds is also charged with one count of bank fraud.


According to the indictment, Lockhart was involved with several real estate entities, including America’s Team Mortgage; America’s Team Realty; America’s Team Funding Group; Ace Mortgage; Cowboys Realty; Cowboys Mortgage and KLT Properties. Tisdale was involved with Pinnacle Development and Realty Corporation; Atilla Capital Corporation; and KLT Properties. Jones was the President of Pinnacle Development and Realty Corporation and Director of Atilla Capital Corporation. Beacham was the owner of Cowboys Mortgage and was involved with Ace Mortgage. Defendants Suarez, Hinds and Kneeland were escrow officers at various title companies. Caldwell was the general manager at New Land National Title and Moorman was an appraiser.


The indictment alleges that the defendants ran a scheme in which they located single-family residences for sale in the Dallas area, including distressed and pre-foreclosure properties, and negotiated a sales price with the seller. They created surplus loan proceeds by inflating the sales price to an arbitrary amount substantially more than the fair market value of the residence.


They recruited individuals to act as nominee or “straw purchasers” or “straw borrowers,” promising to pay them a bonus or commission of between $10,000 and $20,000 for their participation in a particular real estate transaction. The conspirators caused the loan applications for each straw borrower to include false financial information, often including inflated false income figures to conceal the borrower’s true financial condition so that the lender would more likely approve the loan. The conspirators concealed from the lenders the true status, financial condition and intentions of the named borrowers, knowing that loans would not likely be approved if the lender knew the true role, credit worthiness, and risk of each straw borrower. The conspirators falsely represented in loan documents that the straw purchaser intended to use the property as their primary residence, intentionally concealing from lender that each straw borrower, viewed himself as an “investor,” who never intended to occupy the home.

The indictment also alleges that the conspirators caused bogus and fraudulent “marketing fees” to be listed on loan closing documents to provide a means for the conspirators to receive surplus/excess loan proceeds.


The scope of the conspiracy involved approximately 54 fraudulent residential property loan closings resulting in the funding of approximately $20.5 million in fraudulent loans.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted however, the conspiracy and each bank fraud counts carries a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and restitution. Each of the wire fraud counts, upon conviction, carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. In addition, the indictment includes a forfeiture allegation which would require the defendants, upon conviction, to forfeit various sums of money, totaling up to $20.4 million.

The case is being investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Jarvis is prosecuting.

Anyone for a SweeTango?

Fall is my favorite time.  School begins, leaves change, it's high fashion season, Halloween approaces, and most importantly, it's harvest time!  Corn, pumpkins, and apples aplenty.

It was only last fall that I discovered the Honeycrisp apple.  It was embarrassing.  I purchased and stuffed myself with as many as I could find while they were still available.  Fruit nirvana!  Today I learned of a new variety, the SweeTango!  Fortunately, an appointment today will place me close to Central Market to search for a SweeTango.  Here is a video introduction to the SweeTango.

My hometown in Pennsylvania is home to "Apple Castle" a tiny but wildly popular roadside attraction in the Amish community of New Wilmington.  A trip home is not complete without paying my respects to Apple Castle, the only place I know of that offers apple donuts, apple butter, applie slushies, and the greatest apple cider ever pressed.  It is the single greatest apple desination I've found yet. (Here is a photo of me trying out an Amish bonnet during my visit there in August...)

Bring home a new variety of apple this month.  After all, some of the best things in life are apples:  record labels, computers, cheeks, Siamese cats, and fruit!

Yin and Yang

Dallas is a land of extremes!  Here are two properties currently listed for sale on MLS representing lifestyles of the rich...

Take me "Strait" to the title company! 

9 bedrooms, 8 baths, 14,748 square feet

$17,500,000

...and possibly infamous!

Midnight train to "Georgia"

2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1224 square feet

$6,000

Pending Sales Up for 6th Consecutive Month

Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index is at the highest level since June 2007.

NAR estimates that about 1.8 to 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit this year, with approximately 350,000 additional sales that would not have taken place without the credit. Buyers have little time to act because they must complete the transaction by November 30, 2009, to qualify for the credit.

In the South, pending home sales activity rose 3.1% to an index of 103.8 in July and is 12.0% above July 2008.


Unless congress acts to extend the homebuyer tax credit (and I hope they do for ALL homebuyers, not just first timers), it won't be surprising to see a sales drop during the first quarter of 2010. However, the fundamentals of the housing market and the economy are trending up, so home sales are expected to pick up in the second quarter of 2010.

Source: RISMedia

Texas Tops U.S. in Housing Affordability

Texas beats the rest of the country when it comes to housing affordability, according to first quarter 2009 Texas Housing Affordability Index numbers compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The numbers reflect the ability of a median-income family to purchase a median-priced existing home in their area. Texas had a ratio of 1.95 in first quarter 2009 compared with the nation's 1.55.

"The slowdown in the housing market nationally and within Texas has led to significantly increased housing affordability everywhere, and Texas continues to maintain its place as the most affordable high-growth state in the country," said Dr. Jim Gaines, research economist with the Center.

The index is posted on the Center's website.

Don't Pay for Homestead Exemption Filing

Beware of companies who say you need to pay them to file a tax exemption on your property. This happens frequently, and many times these solicitations are specifically directed at homeowners aged 65 and above.

One such company with an official-sounding name, Property Tax Assessor Records Corp., mails homeowners an application form that can be acquired from and submitted to county appraisal districts for free, but the company charges $55 for the service.

It's been reported that the company even provides misleading information about how much the homeowner may owe in taxes, and the overstated figures may persuade many people to pay the $55 fee.

"What these folks are doing is meant as a clear deception, and they are really misleading homeowners," said Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the Texas attorney general. "If you're deceiving the public, it is a violation of the law."

If you want help filing a property tax exemption in Texas, I will help you for free. Just call or email me.

Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram