Finish the Castle, Man

25 comments to "Finish the Castle, Man"

1. really @ August 9, 2010 at 12:57 pm
   Could be they are using a pay-as-you-go system. Taking on no debt. I know that is unique to most people in the country.

2. Jk @ August 9, 2010 at 1:06 pm
   Ha!! Before I even read your article I knew the house you were referring to! Apparently they are living there as evidenced by the makeshift sign on the front door. But yes, finish it!! It’s actually an eyesore, if you ask me!

3. QM @ August 9, 2010 at 3:57 pm
   Nice landscaping.

4. Pigskinnie @ August 9, 2010 at 4:55 pm
   Living in the garage quarters. Apparently the resident is also the homebuilder… a very slow one, from what I can tell.

5. GMOM @ August 9, 2010 at 5:10 pm
   Yea, Merritt and I agree, finally. There should be a limit on how long it takes to build a house to completion. Don’t know how you would enforce it. Bring it up @ UP council meeting, I guess they could be fined each month it runs over. HP tried to make it a 2 year maximum for building, don’t know what happened to that. Anyhoo, good job! Really………….

6. QM @ August 9, 2010 at 6:36 pm
   I looked it up on DCAD. Owner/Homebuiler is Mr.Rip Van Winkle. His website said, “Home Building That Lasts An Eternity” Someone might want to go over there and wake him up.

7. sandy @ August 9, 2010 at 8:21 pm
   The house on the north east corner of Bryn Mawr and Boedeker has neared completion finally – that one has been going on almost as long as the castle house. There was always a ton of construction vehicles parked there, bet the neighbors are glad to have it finally finished.

8. AD @ August 9, 2010 at 9:18 pm
   So why didn’t anyone complaining about the gerald ford house? That monstrosity was under construction forever and now it looks like an office building. Oh but he’s really rich so it’s ok.

   Who cares? Why doesn’t somebody drive up and down every street in UP and write down all the houses whose lawn isn’t perfect or paint is peeling or doesn’t have the requisite 2 fancy lawn chairs in front that no one uses.

9. Neal @ August 9, 2010 at 9:35 pm
   At LEAST three years. In UP, I believe building permits become void automatically if work stops for more than 60 days. But of course that assumes someone from the city is paying attention – and that someone in the neighborhood complains. (Not sure if the 60 day rule applies to a house where someone is living, as these people apparently are, or just to new construction). I hope this isn’t one of those houses that seem to carry a curse – you know, the ones that take forever to build and end up for sale or in foreclosure just a few months later, with a second foreclosure following within a year.

   Last year I called the city about a half-finished house around the corner – apparently the contractor had ditched the developer and no work was done for at least two months. The house had broken windows and I’m sure rain got inside. The owners had to apply for a new permit. They finished the house on the cheap but the lender foreclosed and some unfortunate sap finally bought the place a few months ago.

10. Snarkoleptic @ August 10, 2010 at 12:12 am
    We should count our blessings, folks. Makeshift signs I’ll take any day over the hideosity (granted, I’m being charitable) on Southwestern at the northeast corner of Southwestern and . . . I’ve tried to forget. Is it Turtle Creek?

    No doubt, it’s their dream house, but oh, dear God. Someone help them!

    Anyone in for an impromptu prayer group?

11. Max Fuqua @ August 10, 2010 at 11:39 am
    Take it up with the Dallas City Council since the house is in that city. Good luck with that…

12. Sharpay @ August 10, 2010 at 11:43 am
    My understanding is that both of these houses have stories have caused big delays in construction.

    First, the Rip Van Winkle house is not in UP, it’s in Dallas, so going to the UP City Council won’t do anything. My understanding is that the owner/resident is a homebuilder financing it in cash. He began construction when homebuilding was doing well. As we all know homebuilding has been a tough market the last couple of years so his build out has taken longer than he anticipated when he started building the house.

    The owners of the house at Bryn Mawr and Boedeker have had two contractors take their money and run, leaving them to handle subcontractor liens and fix construcion issues. They are on their third contractor who is close to completing the project.

    I think both of the homeowners deserve some sympathy, the construction of for their dream houses haven’t turned out the way they planned. But we will all be relieved when the houses are complete.

13. AD @ August 10, 2010 at 12:30 pm
    But it’s so much more fun to complain about our neighbors who may not do what we want them to do. It’s more fun to take a ridiculous photograph of the planter in front and then post it on this web site. Of course all the rich people that participate and post on and START these threads have never had financial problems in this depressed economy. Maybe they all work for AIG, Goldman Sachs or one of the other financial institutions bailed out by the government.

    Some people, possibly like this home owner, have had to power through on their own, but of course with no sympathy from the pompous rich. Maybe the next time someone passes in their European luxury car they could toss out a bag of money instead of taking a photo.

14. Sharpay @ August 10, 2010 at 1:02 pm
    and Grammarian, ignore my typos. I was in a rush to post.

15. Merritt Patterson @ August 10, 2010 at 1:13 pm
    @AD- I’m just thinkin’ maybe he could mow or something. Construction is easier to look at if there’s not major weed footage.

16. wcm @ August 10, 2010 at 1:52 pm
    @ Snarkoleptic – Yes it’s the NE corner of Southwestern and Turtle Creek by Caruth Park. I call it “the double wide”.

17. Mom of Boys @ August 10, 2010 at 2:51 pm
    @AD – did you really say “rich guy toss out a bag of money” to help someone start finishing a house that they started? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds to most people? It’s called living within your means. Build a house that you can afford to finish in a reasonable amount of time or buy a lot in the country and take as long as you would like to finish it. This is a community. I am sure the people building the house are very nice, but if my car broke down I don’t think I could park it on blocks in my front yard and wait for the “rich guy to toss me a bag of money” to fix it. People live in the Park Cities because it’s nice. It’s nice because we have rules. Lots and lots of rules. I don’t like all of the rules either, but that’s what makes it nice. Play by the rules or play somewhere else.

18. Jerry @ August 10, 2010 at 9:01 pm
    AD,

    You have some kind of a chip on your shoulder about these “rich people” and in regards to the Gerald Ford House the construction NEVER stopped, it just took that long.

19. Jerry @ August 10, 2010 at 9:03 pm
    Hey GMOM,

    Study your city limits, the house is in DALLAS!

20. Snarkoleptic @ August 10, 2010 at 9:05 pm
    @wcm: Sorry, guys, but I’ve got to weigh in again.

    Sure, construction delayed is usually aesthetics denied.

    But in the case of the up and comer at Southwestern @ Turtle Creek? Delay, delay, delay, is what I say. There needs to be a neighborhood intervention for those folks. Or a massive uprising. Or both.

    And then, therapy.

21. AD @ August 10, 2010 at 9:24 pm
    @mom of boys. Permits are renewable whether you’re in the lovely park cities or city of Dallas. And it’s not clear any rule has been broken. Sometimes a home owner runs into problems as it was reported on this blog. Again these are unusual times given the depressed economy. Maybe cut the family some slack. Isn’t that sometimes the neighborly thing to do? Sometimes that’s more important than having things look nice. And by the way this is a nice new house. I’ve seen houses on every street that could use a trim of their trees or some paint touch up. Maybe you could take a drive, make a list and turn them in for violating your “nice rules”.

    And by the way, I was being facetious when I suggested the whole bag of money thing. I thought most people would get it.

22. Sharpay @ August 11, 2010 at 6:55 am
    I agree that some regular yard maintenance would make the occupied one on Lovers look less like an abandoned house.

23. T-Bone @ August 11, 2010 at 10:11 pm
    AD: You are so helpful. You just reminded me I need to just go ahead and fire someone tomorrow just like you. I’ve heard enough of his Obamaish whining & crying………………what a relief it will be.

24. AD @ August 12, 2010 at 7:16 pm
    little t-bone. Nice response. Will you be firing him or firing at him? Or maybe just nudging him with your german car? I wonder if you work for me or do business with me? Maybe. If you do, well the t-bone might end up on the grill and eaten by the AD.

25. Steve @ August 23, 2010 at 12:18 am
    At least there aren’t HOAs in the PC, like most of our northern suburbs. We have to “police” ourselves.

    The house at SW/TC is crazy. Modern is one thing but…. It’ll be interesting to see how it looks in 10 years. There’s another huge house at TC and Bryn Mawr (?) that looks like a college. I think it’s 7000 sf.

Leave a Reply