On their Web site, brothers Braden and Craig Power -- the namesakes of 13-year-old Power Properties on Gaston Avenue -- have posted a number of complimentary newspaper stories written about their efforts to restore old Dallas homes and apartment complexes, including, perhaps most famously, their work rehabbing the formerly rundown Lakewood Apartments on Gaston Avenue. Among the pieces is a Dallas Morning News High Profile the two received a few years back, which celebrated their having "built Power Properties into a successful company that stands to generate about $6 million in revenue this year."
This story probably won't make the Web site: Today, it was announced Braden Powers has till June 4 to turn over to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department his interests in the company, which he has to surrender because of a $600,000 arbitration award in California that was enforced last week by Dallas County Judge King Fifer.
According to the release, in 2004 Power sold a $2.45 million home just outside of Los Angeles to Kathia Molina and and her husband, Fausto Zapata. According to court documents, he told them the joint had just been the recipient of a million dollars' worth of "high-end renovations." Turns out, not so much: When the couple came home from a vacation, says the press release, "They discovered that a series of rainstorms had resulted in water coming into their new house through the windows, roof and walls."
Power was ordered to pay $600,000; when he didn't, a judge ruled late last week that Power is to turn over "any and all interest" he owns in the company he co-founded, as well as "any shares of stock owner or held" in his company. He also has to pay Molina $5,000 in attorney's fees.
Power Properties also has a number of apartments outside of Lakewood -- most notably, the Paradiso Condos on Walnut Hill Lane and North Central Expressway. Here's what some locals have to say about that place -- and other Power Properties properties.
Before you go, though, don't miss this highlight from The Dallas Morning News' High Profile on Braden Power. Says the story, his "quirks are legendary among his friends. He can't sleep when the temperature is higher than 68 degrees. He must have exactly four pillows on his bed. He sometimes gets out of the car before it stops. And he routinely goes searching for his keys around his apartment when they are right in his hand." Wait, back up. He sometimes gets out of the car before it stops? That's not a quirk. --Robert Wilonsky
My ex-hubby has been living in a Power Property on Gaston for almost a year now. His carpet, couch, curtains, hell, anything that's made of cloth, stays perpetually damp due to poor insulation and improperly installed windows. The unit is so humid itsclose to unbearable and mold and mildew has becomea serious problem. Their response? No response.
Power Properties are not unlike Dallas' elite, $30,000 millionaires: Looks and flash on the surface, but absolutely no substance.
Posted at: May 7, 2007 1:13 PM