BILL CHERRY'S GREATEST DALLAS PARK CITIES REAL ESTATE BLOG: June 2007

From the early-1800s, the north side of the entrance to Galveston (Broadway) was owned by those who were in the cotton packing and shipping business.

In 1841, a Galveston import merchant named Joseph Osterman brought a small oleander bush from the Mediterranean to his sister. She planted it in her yard, and before long it was a plush bush covered from head to toe with small pink flowers.

George Sealy, owner the Cotton Concentration Company, and his wife lived just up the street from Joseph Osterman's sister.  If you've been to Galveston, you know the Sealy's home.  It's the imposing mansion called Open Gates, and it is on the northeast corner of 25th and Broadway across from the massive Texas Heroes' Monument.

Mrs. Sealy asked Mr. Osterman's sister for some cuttings for her yard, and before long they were giving cuttings from their bushes to their neighbors.

Then the Sealys decided that Galveston's long boulevards would be unique if they were lined with oleanders. So they hired a horticulturist named Eddie Barr, and on the 14 city blocks behind the Cotton Concentration Co. he propagated 60 different varieties.

From them, the Sealys gave away almost a million cuttings.

Working with the Galveston Civic League they planted so many oleanders throughout Galveston, that it became officially known as the Oleander City.  And visitors took cuttings and these great flowering bushes ended up decorating the landscaping of southern climate homes all over the U.S.

Because I have long been one of the most prolific chroniclers of Galveston's rich history, five years ago agronomist Robert Newding propagated a new variety of oleander, and it is officially named after me.  It's the Bill Cherry oleander.  And what an honor!

                                                       THE BILL CHERRY OLEANDER

Je veux une note!

Translation:  Why don't I ever hear from you?  I want a note!

Someone needs to explain to me why it has apparently become socially acceptable to ignore writing handwritten notes to friends, clients, thoughtful people, and those who have done something special for you.

Years ago, when I decided I was going to open a real estate office, from Galveston I phoned Ebby Halliday to ask for her advice.  Why Ebby Halliday?  I had known her since my college days (Note: I was a student and she had already been in business for twenty years), and had long concluded that any woman who could kick the socks off of the almost all-male competition in a big town like Dallas, when women were not yet liberalized, had to know all of the answers to all of the questions.

                                                    Realtor Ebby Halliday at 96-Years  

Miss Ebby told me that she would help me get my business off of the ground.  And it was in a town where for many years no new real estate agency had been able to keep its doors open for more than a year or so.  She said, "You follow my lead, and you'll soon be Number 1."

The first thing she told me was to handwrite notes, at least ten of them every day.  Thank someone for their kindness to you, tell someone you enjoyed reading about them in the paper, attach an article from a magazine that you know a particular person will be interested in, and send it along with a handwritten note.

I've been doing that for more than forty years.  And ironically, I had already learned that lesson from my mom and dad when I was growing up.  It was one of the rules of etiquette they taught me.  Just like which fork to use, how to shake hands...you know.

Miss Ebby, on the other hand, has been doing it for at least 70 years, probably more, because she has passed her 96th birthday.  And still, everyday, she handwrites her notes.  I get at least one a month from her.  Always a compliment because frankly we admire each other.

So tell me how it is alright for you to do something thoughtful for someone, and you never hear from them?  How is it that some think a jotted email is on the same social plane as a handwritten thank you note, put in an envelope with a stamp on it, and then put in the mailbox?  How can they say they don't have the time to do it when a 96-year old lady has built the 8th largest sole proprietorship real estate company in the United States, with annual sales of $4.7 billion, and she finds time to do it?

So I know you want to know if Miss Ebby's advice worked....did we get to be Number 1?  Yup, the first year and we stayed there, and even though I later sold the company, I hear it's still Number 1.

Commencer ainsi à envoyer les notes manuscrites à vos clients et amis, si vous svp!

Meet me on the web at www.billcherrybroker.com

                                   20 elements, 2005, Joel Shapiro, Nordstrom Court 

Dallas' famous NorthPark shopping center is the largest indoor mall in Texas and it's no less than the fifth largest in the United States.

It was built on leased land and opened in 1965, and that might not have happened had Raymond Nasher, an apartment developer with no experience whatsoever with developing shopping malls, not convinced Stanley Marcus and the Marcus family to relocate their Neiman-Marcus satellite store there.

    {=====Raymond Nasher, Developer of Dallas' NorthPark

Over the years, I've searched and found my heroes.  Raymond Nasher and his wife Patsy, now both deceased, were two of them.  Although we never met, Mr. Nasher and I did exchange letters now and then, and the last one I got from him was no more than three weeks before he became ill and died recently after a trip to Europe.  He was 85, but up to and including the end was still very much the brilliant gentleman he had always been.

No one with an interest in retailing, marketing, developing, art, flowers and plants, window dressing, store facade design, and store placement should pass up the opportunity to study NorthPark.  And no shopper should bypass this unique shopping experience.

Please stay with me.  I'm now going to tell you why, and at the end, you'll be able to read the remarkable story of Raymond Nasher.

NorthPark is located in Dallas where Central Expressway (US 75/I-45) and Northwest Highway (Loop 12) intersect.

Throughout the mall is a valuable hanging art and sculpture collection by notable artists, and it belongs to the mall.  Pieces are continually being bought and added.  There are huge pots of exotic plants and flowers...unimaginable exotic plants and flowers...here, there, and everywhere in the common areas.  And they are changed out probably as frequently as once a month.  Who knows what they are?  There are no identifying signs in the pots.  And I doubt most botanists could identify them all.

See how these features keep the common areas from being static? The vibrancy that's created is noticeable even to the children.  They learn and experience tasteful excellence, the ingredients that are missing at the common mega-malls -- even the Galleria -- throughout the city.  As an aside, it shows how close the mind sets of Raymond Nasher and Stanley Marcus were.  Odd, really, if you think about it.  Both felt they were obligated to display, share and teach good taste to those around them, most of whom they would never personally know.

Study the store exterior and interior designs of these shops:  Ted Baker, Billy Reid, Janie and Jack, kate spade, Lacome Boutique, Mavado, CH Carolina Herrera, Bottega Veneta and Ralph Lauren.  This is architectural merchandising genius.

Now look at the desolate two floors of Barney's New York, and by comparison you will understand how once again they have totally missed the retailing mark, as hundreds, perhaps thousands,  of shoppers pass their doors without even so much as considering turning in to see what's there much less to make a purchase.

Notice the dressed windows of Neiman-Marcus, Ted Baker and Billy Reid. Contrast with them the strange window dressings of Barney's. Theirs is a look that makes little sense to anyone other than the creaters.  Another Barney's missed mark.

See the future of retail store design: Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Anthropologie. 

While food is everywhere and the restaurants and bistros are good, when you're at NorthPark, you must return to its roots, and eat in the place where the ladies used to wear hats and gloves, among the blond wood furnishings of Old Hollywood.  It's Neiman's The Zodiac on the third floor.  (The fillet at about twenty bucks has to be a money loser for the store.  It's definitely a winner for you!)  The antithesis is the modern and hip Bistro I N on the third level of Nordstrom.

Finally, look how the stores are properly yet imaginatively clustered.  This is the hardest thing for a leasing agent and owner to achieve, yet here at NorthPark it's just a smidgen less than perfect; only a smidgen.

Now please click on this http://www.bu.edu/alumni/bostonia/2000/spring/nasher/

You'll read the very interesting story of Raymond Nasher.               

BILL CHERRY, DALLAS BROKER-REALTOR. MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS. 972 380-7347

                                        Meet me on the web at http://www.billcherrybroker.com/

                                                                                 THE TEST

Take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.  Here are some examples of prior submissions:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, lasting until you realize it was your money to start with.

2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

4. Bozone: The biological substance surrounding stupid people keeping bright ideas from penetrating.

6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is, like, sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's, like, a serious bummer..

12. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit: The frantic dance you perform just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

BILL CHERRY, BROKER-REALTOR. MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS. 972 380-7347

                                   Meet me on the web at www.billcherrybroker.com

                                       KATHRYN TAUBERT

UPDATE:  Two songs from Kathryn's new CD, SOMEWHERE IN TIME, broke the magic 100 mark on the IAC (Independent Artist Charts), with "When October Goes" up to Number 17 and "The Boy From Ipanema" has riesn to the 70's  so far!

Dick Robinson's "American Standards by the Sea" syndicated radio/tv program has also been featuring a tune from "Somewhere in Time" in his broadcasts.

              The dedication on the front of the CD I received in the mail reads, "Dear Bill, You were there from the beginning...always encouraging...thank you, Love, Kathryn."

          Many years ago when I came off of the road from playing hotel restaurants throughout the United States, I discovered the sister of one of my school friends was occasionally singing a number or two in the Lookout Room at the famous over-the-gulf hotel in Galveston, The Flagship.  The Johnny Garcia Trio was the perfect match for her.

          My ear told me that Kathryn had the feelings of a musician and the talent of a singer.  What an unusual combination.  So I found myself trying to help her find her musical niche -- that very special place that makes it obvious you're not only different from all the rest, but so perfect at it that your audience is sure it forever needs you in their lives. 

          I have seen Kathryn once or twice over the past many years, although we have always kept up with each other even though periods of unintentional silence were thrown in from time to time.

          This CD, "Kathryn Taubert: Where Can I Go Without You?" has a lot of things in it that are perfect.  Let me tell you a few of them that make me happy.  Kathryn has a perfect vibrato. You've never heard one quite this good.  She knows how to express a song.  And this is the first time in I can't remember when that I've heard a three musician combo that actually knows the art of accompaniment.  (I'm better than a fair solo pianist, and I can't stand the way I accompany others.  Bill's accompaniment talent, ZERO. I admire those who can.)

          Here are the tunes on "Kathryn Taubert: Where Can I Go Without You:"

• When October Goes
• Someone to Light Up My Life
• One Note Samba
• The Boy from Ipanema,
• Where Can I go Without You
• Skylark
• Without You
• You Turned the Tables on Me
• Body and Soul
• Sunday in New York

          My favorite by a wide margin is the first cut, "When October Goes"  Four and a half minutes of greatness. And then I can't leave out "Someone to Light Up My Life."  I'm not very fond of the verse, but when she cranks up the Latin beat chorus, you quickly get in the beat and are sorry when it comes to an end some five minutes later.

          If you are a light jazz fan, this is one you should have in your collection.  And it's a great client thank you gift.  The profits go to charity.  Go to www.kathryntaubert.com for more information.

      Bill Cherry, Dallas Broker-Realtor.  My 43rd Year Selling Texas. 972 380-7347

      Meet me on the web at www.billcherrybroker.com

I have an excellent source for commercial real estate loans/business loans up to $100 million.  Tuck this information in the back of your mind somewhere.  It may be a big help if you have a deal together and all that is needed is the right loan.

My source is a major US lender who asked me to assist in finding magna-loans.  There's no magic here.  If your deal qualifies, the check is written.  If you need more details, email me. cherrysells@aol.com or call 972 380-7347.

MEET ME ON THE WEB: www.billcherrybroker.com

BILL CHERRY DALLAS BROKER-REALTOR.  MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS. 972 380-7347.

DON'T.                                                                                 

BILL CHERRY, DALLAS BROKER-REALTOR. MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS. 972 380-7347

MEET ME ON THE WEB AT WWW.BILLCHERRYBROKER.COM  

MEET ME ON THE WEB AT WWW.BILLCHERRYBROKER.COM 

In Texas, when you borrow money to buy real estate, the lender and you (with your downpayment and his loan) buy the property.  The lender agrees to give his part all to you when you finish making all of your payments to him.  You agree to keep the property in good repair and to make all of your payments.

You and the lender join in a document called a deed of trust.  The actual ownership of the property is transferred to the trust.  A third person is appointed by you and the lender to be the trustee, and it is his job to hold that property in the trust's name until you have completed making all of your payments.  When you do, the lender signs a document telling the trustee to release the deed to you.

(This particular process, i.e., the deed of trust or deed held in trust, started after the Big Depression.  Lenders had terrible reputations because they had thrown so many of their customers out of their property.  And it was public knowledge since the lender's name was on everything.  So some bright guy came up with the deed of trust idea.  The lender's name is nowhere on the document if it is posted for foreclosure.  Instead, it's the trustee who's taking the property away.  No more mountains of bad press for the lender.)

But, if you stop paying before the lender has been paid back, he tells the trustee that he wants the property so that he can sell it and apply the proceeds of the sale to your loan.  The trustee notifies you that the lender wants the property and that he will hold an auction sale on the courthouse steps on a certain day.  You can go there and bid to purchase the property, but you must be able to pay for it in cash or certified check as soon as the auction is over, should you have the highest bid.

Or, others who are interested in the property might also come and they can bid as well.  And the company that made you the loan also has someone there to bid if necessary.  The lender's person will bid if 1) no one shows up to bid or 2) one or more people bid but they don't bid enough to pay off the loan.  Then the lender's person bids that approximate loan payoff amount plus some expenses, wins the auction, and the trustee signs a deed, deeding the property to the lender, and that deed is recorded with the county clerk.

At that time, the lender can sell the property on the open market.  If the property does not bring in enough from the foreclosure sale to pay off the borrower's obligation to the lender, then the lender files a Deficiency Judgment for that amount that the sale proceeds are short.  The Deficiency Judgment gives the lender the right to take other property -- bank accounts, real estate and the like that are not legally considered exempt property -- away from you to make up the difference.

There are a number of states that use the deed of trust system.  Their foreclosure procedures are similar because there has to be a mechanism to get the property from the trust's ownership to the lender.

BILL CHERRY, BROKER-REALTOR.  MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS.  972 380-7347

MEET ME ON THE WEB AT WWW.BILLCHERRYBROKER.COM

                                    MEET ME ON THE WEB AT WWW.BILLCHERRYBROKER.COM

                  Our boutique real estate firm has always specialized in quietly negotiating the listing and sale of estates and one-of-a-kind homes.  For us, it should be a gentele transaction, not one of flags, banners, big signs and mail-outs to everyone in site, qualified or not.

                   We are please to report the following sales for the month of May, as accumulated and verified by the Metrotex Multiple Listing Service.

                    In Dallas, exclusive of Highland Park, during the month of May, thirty-one homes sold where the price paid was in excess of $1 million.  The least expensive was $1,025,000 and the most expensive was $3,100,540.

                     In Highland Park, during the month of May there were twelve sales where the price paid was in excess of $1 million.  The least expensive was $1,070,000 and the most expensive was $5,135,000.

                     If you wish to buy or sell a Dallas area home in this price range, please give us the opportunity to represent you and your family's interest.  Our credentials are impressive, our list of prior clients are among the very best.

                      BILL CHERRY, REALTORS. MY 43RD YEAR SELLING TEXAS. 972 380-7347

Say you live in Dallas.  You're undoubtedly either an up and coming exec or you arrived at that status a long time ago.  This is Texas afterall, the land of the REAL opportunities.  Home to big medical practices and larger than life attorneys negotiating big settlements.  And there are all of you tech wizards.  And don't forget the huge charitable foundations you trust people are running.  And you're one of those who is making it all happen.

Let me let you in on a secret.  Your friends and clients are wondering why you aren't living in a home that has at least a value of a million dollars.  Everyone, including you, knows you can afford it and that you deserve it.  So they expect you to live like you should.

Afterall, this isn't 1950.  It's 2007.  Even the Beaver and the rest of the Cleavers' home would be worth more than a million today.  And they were your average Americans.

Today we have a selection of 437 million-buck-plus homes in Dallas ready for you to look at.  They range from $1,100,000 to $4,950,000.  And in prestigious Highland Park there are an additional 74, and they start at $1,050,000 and go up to $11,995,000.

So what's the monthly mortgage payment if you borrow 100%, you ask?  Well, if your excellent credit affords you a 5.75% mortgage for thirty years, on the $1,050,000 home it'll run you $6,127.51 a month for principal and interest.  The $11,995,000 estate comes in at $69,999.56 a month.  See, you can afford it!

Call me and let's get started.  972 380-7347

Meet me on the web:  www.billcherrybroker.com

     BILL CHERRY, DALLAS BROKER-REALTOR.  SELLING TEXAS FOR 43 YEARS.  972 380-7347