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Searcy, AR Real Estate News

By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
I ran this ad because I was so impressed with one family's help in giving support to the children in their house search.  Grandparents had to advance the earnest money for the children but got it all back minus 94 cents.  The children got into a great house for 94 cents and will now get an $8000 tax credit! *************************************************************************************************** Mom and Dad, how'd you like to give your kid a house for a gift?  But no money required from you?  You need to be thinking of this $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that your kid can receive.  So you support them in their quest to find a house.  We give them excellent advice on the kind of loan to get (USDA RD can be obtained with no money down) and if their credit is good an...
Comments 17
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
As I drive by this house very often I usually notice the roof again.  It appears to be in terrible shape.  In fact, you can see a roof under the roof and there may even be another one under that one. There is also a TV antennae probably left over from the 50's.  There is also asbestos siding which must have been the big thing in the 50's. I once had a house listed with this style roof and asked a roofer about it.  He said, "Well, it might look bad, Barb, but it ain't never gone leak." "Will never leak??" The roofer said the roof was too steep, therefore eliminating the leak problem.  I think about this statement and wonder if that's why this roof on an old house has still not been replaced.  What kind of statement could I give a potential buyer and feel guilt-free?  Perhaps some of our ...
Comments 23
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
We wrote a blog yesterday with pictures of the Searcy Arkansas band members traveling, having fun and hopefully not getting into any mischief.  Summer rolled around and it became time to cool off so more pictures were taken.  Our photographer from the past, Paula, now shares these pictures.  She calls them the Des Arc boys and she's in two of the pictures with a couple of the boys.  I think she may have been sorta sweet on these guys.  Des Arc is a small town several miles from Searcy so whether Paula went there to swim with these guys she doesn't remember.   I like the idea that it may have been a camp. These are from the 50's and we do not recall where the swimming spot was.  Help us if you recogize the people or the spot.  Girls, remember the swimming caps.  They were supposed to kee...
Comments 14
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
My friend Paula shares these pictures of some of the band members from old Searcy Arkansas on trips to outings.  She took these in the 50's and they are fascinating today.  We see in these photos the way they dressed then, the activities they participated in and their love of life.  They seemed to love eating, drinking (I hope they were not really drinking beer in the restaurant picture), bobby sox and short shorts.  I don't know what school buses look like today but I do remember riding on the buses that looked like this inside. If any of you readers see yourself in these pictures speak up and tell us which is you.  We promise to let the identification go no further.  Paula herself, because she was working the camera, probably doesn't appear.  But Paula, thanks for saving these gems.  ...
Comments 21
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
My blog yesterday asked about whether this listed house was half a house.  Here's my proof.   The two houses are beside each other but face different streets.  Note on the blue house the old type windows that are the same as the white house.  You can also see the rock foundation in this picture. Also note the trim around the entrance door which once probably matched.   Now lets compare the sides of the houses.   They both have the same type rock foundation. The rock foundation on the white house is visible here. Look also at the windows on these sides.  Looks as if the windows matched then as now.  I guess this is where the house was split apart. My information came from Jessica Hawkins and she reported that the Lightle House on the corner of Race and Oak was built in the 1920's and in ...
Comments 17
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
This delightful house on a close-to-town street in Searcy Arkansas is for sale.  It's a charmer.  It was built in 1876 and has been well maintained since then.  It was an antique store for a few years. Rumors, however, have always floated around that it is half a house.  That is not a derogatory remark about the house but a true statement, if true.  It was once connected to another house and the house was split.  So you Searcy sleuths need to let me in on the validity of this rumor.  And where is the other half??
Comments 18
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
All of the above is true for once.  This is not advertising puffery!  It is truly one of a kind.  It is going rapidly even as we speak.  BUT with temperatures below freezing here it may be around for a few more days. I must admit that I've never even seen an igloo before.  Or an ice house.  Or a snow castle.  So when I drove by this one, I circled the block and came back with my trusty camera.  It is located on North Main Street in Searcy Arkansas.
Comments 14
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
This photo was loaned to me by my friend Sherry, whose mother was Frances Hall Quattlebaum.  Frances was a colorful lady who was admired by the folks who lived in Searcy.  Frances passed away on Sept 15, 1999 and upon hearing of her death the newspaper editor received a call from a lady who called herself Georgia Holt. She was calling just to say how much she'd loved her friend Frances and how they'd played together as teenagers.  Georgia was born Jackie Jean Crouch near Searcy Arkansas. She came to live with her Aunt Zela Croom during the late 1930's when her parents separated.  She worked in the Croom Cafe, reportedly the only restaurant in Searcy at the time.  During that time she met Frances and they became good friends.  A quote by Georgia from the Daily Citizen Jan 1 1991 says,  ...
Comments 14
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
An assignment for the 4-H Club in the 70's, if you took photography as a project, was to do a photographic sequence of events, wordless.  Here's one that is even funnier now than it was then.  It was done by my son using his friend as a model. Here's the young man unhappy with home life.  He grabs a suitcase and tries to get a ride.  That is Samsonite luggage which cost a lot of money then and weighed a ton.  No wheels were on luggage then. Remember walking through an airport with luggage like this?  Kids went barefoot a lot back then and wore really short  cutoff jeans that were cool in the hot summer.   Hey, he got a ride!  He's excited and runs for the ride.  It's probably "yours truly" driving that car in the peaceful country around Searcy Arkansas. If the tag says anything about a ...
Comments 28
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
This old picture of a bridge just says that it is near Searcy Arkansas.  I'm thinking that it is the bridge that connected Judsonia with Kensett without folks having to drive miles around.  If so, it is the bridge that is now closed with the county trying to find the money to make repairs.  Being in Judsonia the other day, I took this next picture. I can't tell for sure if they're the same.  But here's the greatest photo of the bridge that connects.  It is a professional photo taken by Fred Garcia and is on First Security Bank's calendar this year.  The calendar features bridges across the state.  This reads Judsonia Bridge - White County.  Through truss bridge with center swing span over Little Red River on CR 66 at Judsonia in White County.  Built 1924 by the R. L. Gaster Constructio...
Comments 15
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
We once had filling stations/service stations on every corner of Searcy Arkansas and other towns across the country.  They're dwindling. Here's one that is gone.  I'll let you see if you know where it was, Searcy readers, and report back to me.  A hint.  The house in the picture is still there.  It looks like one of the old Sears Roebuck houses that was a mail order house.  I did a blog on another one or two in Searcy and this one is similar.  This photo was taken by my son back in the 70's when he took photography for a project in 4-H.  I'm not taking a picture of what's there now because.......well, you can tell me..... While you're refreshing your memory, you might as well see if you remember this sign, a picture that he also took.  Yep, gone now.....  
Comments 21
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
  I wrote a blog about a spooky voice saying to me, "Have a nice dinner.  I will call you tomorrow."  It was from a landline text.  The voice is robotic and mysterious sounding because you don't know who it is from. A blogging buddy sent me this fantastic web link and you need to visit it just as I did. Click here.  You'll meet Julie who will say whatever you type in.  She'll say it in different languages and different speeds.  (I had to do slow for Southern speak, of course.)  If you get tired of Julie you can choose other characters and they will say what you type in.  There's a pretty handsome guy if you choose a boy's name. The eyes follow the cursor and my buddy says you can play with the cursor and make the eyes cross.  I can see parents using this to teach their kids a language.....
Comments 38
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
This picture is so interesting.  This was loaned to me by Bob and Anita Fuller.  It shows a wrecker pulling in a wrecked car and dates around the 1930's.  In the background is First Methodist Church.  The filling station was called Pershing Service Station and is no longer there.  I have another picture of Pershing Filling Station on this blog. I need some of the Searcy experts to tell us what the two story building in the background was.  And is that a man back there in front of the church?  I do love this picture!
Comments 19
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
They say you can't safely walk the streets of New York in a fur coat or you might get violated in some way. Wonder what New York would think of this remnant of the past.  Look at these fashionable Searcy ladies walking in Hot Springs Arkansas.  Two of them have their fur collar pieces which consisted of whole skins. Now this was a long, long time ago.  I put the picture on my blog a few weeks back and said to note the gloves and hats and heels.  They were dressed perfectly for the time.  I have just discovered one of these fur collars.  It consists of four skins that includes eyes, nose, feet, ears. The special features are getting a little beat up or moth eaten but the skin is still pretty. It has a nice little clasp to fasten around the shoulders. I wonder if they even make and sell t...
Comments 35
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
This photo was loaned to me by Anita Hart Fuller, one of our blogger queens.  Anita has a vast knowledge of Searcy as it was before it got so big.  She loves Searcy but lives 40 minutes away.  I ask her why she does not move back and she says, "Searcy has changed too much."  Hubby says this is an International truck and the numbers means something about the allowed weight of the truck and contents.  She is great at explaining the old photos and I'm going to expect her to tell us all about this one.  Go, Anita!!!  
Comments 10
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
Sometime last year Charles Buell's Raven came to Searcy Arkansas with devious intent. Charles, known as Charlie B, is a home inspector in Washington state. My cat took Raven out with a few scrunches.   Nutsy, who is a certifried home inspector trained by Steven Smith in Washinton state, has become my godson, vindicated my cat from having done anything wrong. Look who has come back, doubled!  We've had another snowed-in few days and some people may call us wimps but life comes to a standstill in the South when we have ice and snow.  We're smart, though, and could probably learn how to handle it.  But we're also too smart to want to learn. So having nothing else to do, I saw him stalking around the back yard.  For proof that he was here, I snapped this picture and plan to send off for Nut...
Comments 21
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
When folks went out to eat 45 or 50 years ago they went to Bill's Grill on East Race Street in Searcy Arkansas.  I found this old post card showing it as it was when it was so popular.  I remember going there when I arrived in Searcy in the late 60's.  They had a manager out there named Earnestine who made you feel so welcome.  She had a special dessert that was warm chocolate cake with chocolate syrup and ice cream.  Ummm!  If my memory is right, she became owner of the property.  Later she was a very successful manager of Searcy Country Club. Note this tiny little two lane highway in front of the restaurant.  Now the highway in front is a 5 lane "danger strip" and you take your life in your hands if you try to get a picture.  So I went to Googlemaps and found this one.  I think this i...
Comments 13
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
I have driven by these structures so many times but not with a blogger's mind.  Now with a blogger's mind, as you drive along your vehicle comes to a screeching halt and you make a fool of yourself snapping a picture of something that appeals to no one.  Except possibly someone out in blog-land. That's what happened two days ago.  Look at these house treasures.  Why put these up? For home inspectors to practice their skills?  For builders to see the real wood that went into old houses?  For the new tin roof folks to see what original tin roofs looked like? (Do the new ones make the rain sound as loud as the old ones?)  For the artists to blow up a detail and see a magnificent idea for an abstract painting?  And finally, for my Searcy-familiar friends to tell me if they know where they a...
Comments 29
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
A TRIBUTE TO A LOVELY MOTHER-IN-LAW. When I first met my future husband he kinda liked me, as he said, because I reminded him of his mother.  What!  That didn't seem to be much of a compliment to me.  After having been in the Duncan family for over 40 years now I can say with assurance that it was probably the nicest compliment he ever gave me. His mother, Wyndelene Holmes Duncan, peacefully passed away January 26, 2010.  She was a lovely person and just as her son, my husband, says... she was a kind and gentle person who didn't have a mean bone in her body....ever.  So I'm using my real estate blog today to pay tribute to her.....a very fine lady who made my life and many other lives happier.   
Comments 17
By Barbara S. Duncan, GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
(RE/MAX Advantage)
Notice the brick and rock work on this house.  There are hundreds of houses in our area of Arkansas with this finish.  You see them on the side of the highway, on older streets in Searcy, on the main streets of Searcy if they haven't been torn down, and in surrounding towns. The construction looks complex to me.  Someone once said there was a rock man who did this as his specialty.  If my blog buddies know who he was, give him credit.  I have looked and looked for this house and can't find it in Searcy Arkansas.  I have discovered this light writing on the back. Oran James - Heber Springs Ark.  It is not my writing and it is on the back of the floor plan which matches this house.  
Comments 15