Buying a first home: Las Vegas - Page 2

Tappy Tibbons · #1 10-13-2007, 02:44 AM

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http://macromarkets.com/csi_housing/MSA/las_vegas.asp

Check out where prices are headed in Vegas. You might want to wait awhile.

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Yes, and don't forget to chase your gutshot draws. You're long overdue hit and make a killing.

spex x · #2 10-12-2007, 09:30 AM

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I think you should hold off buying for a few more years. I have a feeling vegas RE hasnt gone down nearly as far as it will.

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FYP

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The prevailing sentiment on this board is that housing, particularly in Vegas, will continue to fall. I dont' know if thats true or not. But I disagree that waiting to buy is best because I believe that you dont' have to look at your primary residence as an investment. That is your house. Buy what you want. If you can afford it and you feel like it'll improve your quality of life, by all means, by it. I wouldn't wait to buy on some vague notion that the market MIGHT fall farther in 2 years. IMO, that is a completely RIDICULOUS way to think. Clearly you want to buy a house. So buy one.

If you have 20% to put down and a 740 credit score (which is excellent), then you'll get a loan. The only difference is that you MIGHT have to pay a bit higher of an interest rate for a NO DOC loan. NO DOC loans are loans where the bank doesn't ask for income verification. But even now banks are dying to write high quality paper, which you are, so don't fret. You shouldn't have a hard time finding financing.

stephenNUTS · #3 10-12-2007, 10:59 AM

I am a retired WS trader,and have main/vacation homes in New York.I also have an extensive R/E biulding portfolio.As shIIty as the market is...it is NEVER to late to buy your PRIMARY home,as the above poster stated,as you will always need a place to live/sleep.Trying to pick a bottom is a mistake,that has haunted many an investor,in any market!

I am buying another home LasVegas and will be there on Nov.24th -Dec? for the Venetian NPL Series to consumate a deal.

Your price range of 300-400K is perfect,as there are a TON of scared,must sellers in that range in prime areas

There are some ABOLUTE STEALS in L/V right now ,and doing some due diligence,will IMO be worth your while

PM if you want some contact info in the Real Estate market

~stephen feraca

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

pig4bill · #4 10-12-2007, 04:05 PM

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I think you should hold off buying for a few more years. I have a feeling vegas RE hasnt gone down nearly as far as it will.

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FYP

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The prevailing sentiment on this board is that housing, particularly in Vegas, will continue to fall. I dont' know if thats true or not. But I disagree that waiting to buy is best because I believe that you dont' have to look at your primary residence as an investment. That is your house. Buy what you want. If you can afford it and you feel like it'll improve your quality of life, by all means, by it. I wouldn't wait to buy on some vague notion that the market MIGHT fall farther in 2 years. IMO, that is a completely RIDICULOUS way to think. Clearly you want to buy a house. So buy one.

If you have 20% to put down and a 740 credit score (which is excellent), then you'll get a loan. The only difference is that you MIGHT have to pay a bit higher of an interest rate for a NO DOC loan. NO DOC loans are loans where the bank doesn't ask for income verification. But even now banks are dying to write high quality paper, which you are, so don't fret. You shouldn't have a hard time finding financing.

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That is just a BRILLIANT post to make on a business and finance forum. Who cares if he might be able to save fifty or a hundred grand by waiting a couple years, right? He'll be able to plant his vegetable garden NOW.

RikaKazak · #5 10-12-2007, 08:17 PM

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I think you should hold off buying for a few more years. I have a feeling vegas RE hasnt gone down nearly as far as it will.

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FYP

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I agree

The wife and I decided to buy a condo in Vegas as our "vacation home" however after researching the market I've decided that it'd be foolish to buy in this market and will "reevaluate" in 6 months (basically we will be buying one eventually just not until I think the market is "recovered/ok").

It's ultimately up to you though, so with that said.... with your credit score, and % you're putting down, if you do choose to buy a home in Vegas you will not have a problem getting a loan. And there will be no need for your parents to cosign. However if they do cosign (I'm assuming good credit scores and good job history etc. etc.) you'll get better rates, but it's not necessary at all.

hope that helps

kamana · #6 10-12-2007, 07:49 AM

wait at LEAST a year

eastbay · #7 10-12-2007, 11:25 AM

Now is precarious time, but you might want to look at new homebuilders who have inventory that has fallen through because of the financing turmoil. You may be able to find incentive packages topping $250k or more than 1/3 of the price they were selling less than a year ago, and $/sq ft that are otherwise untouchable, going back five or six years in valuation. I just don't see how deals like that can be a bad entry point for the long term as a primary residence. I think the notion that you have to wait another year is nonsense, given some of the valuations that are out there. Not ubiquitous, but out there.

eastbay

SteveOMS · #8 10-12-2007, 11:56 AM

I'll echo alot of the sentimate above. Aggressivly negitoate any deal you make in LV. Bargains are to be had today if you search and try and cut prices see if you find a seller just ready to go right now and you can get next years price declines today. I wouldn't do this as an investment, but if your sure your ready to settle and live in one place in LV you'll be fine. I'd just caution when looking at new homebuilders with lots of inventory, I wouldn't buy in 'failed communities' with lots of vacancy's unsold homes and the like for quality of life issues and future values will hurt more in communites that never got off the ground and never should have been built. If looking at new home homebuilders I'd stick to communites that have high sales % overall and high occupancy rates and they are just looking to clear out the last inventory there.

Steve

Taylor Caby · #9 10-12-2007, 03:09 PM

good2cu,

i would be very, very careful about this. let me preface this by saying i am not an expert, but i've done some reading on the subject, taken a few RE courses in college, etc.

the prices look great now, compared to how they were at the peak of the biggest real estate bubble in our countries history just a year ago.

the way i see it, things aren't THAT bad right now. yeah, prices are certainly cheaper than they were, but i'd wait till we started to see the decline in prices in Vegas flatten a little bit before jumping back in. Prices are significantly lower than they were 6 or even 3 months ago, and I don't think anyone really knows when that is going to stop. i read about quite a few people saying "my house lost X value, but it will bounce back so I'm just going to ride it out for another 6-12 months." Assuming this doesn't happen, there's going to be another surge of motivated sellers, selling at much cheaper prices than you can find today, in another year+.

I am going to look to buy in Las Vegas in 18-24 months if the market continues to soften and I can get a summer home for 40-50% cheaper than they were in 2006.

tc

SlowHabit · #10 10-12-2007, 03:33 PM

Waiting to buy a home cheaply is great but there are a few things we must consider.

Good2cu is currently a professional poker player who claimed he has won a lot (we'll take his word for it). Considering that he's also an online player, it's also important for him to operate in an environment where he feels fresh. Here are the advantages of him buying right now.

1. Tax deductible off his mortgage interest to lower some of his income.
2. His home office, which can be 1/5th or 1/6th of the mortgage payment if he choose to operate in a large room.
3. The rent for WSOP.
4. No state income taxes.

The above advantages are monetary and are obvious. Here are the intangibles of owning a Vegas home.

1. Raise his street cred and feel good about himself.
2. Can you imagine the opportunities for boning girls at this house? It's freaking Vegas.
3. Friends visiting him all the time. Ok, maybe not this one.

Lastly, the market outlook. We do not know how much the Vegas RE will go down. The majority consensus is that it will go down with a range of 2 years. I'm going to go ahead and stick my neck out and say no one know whether this range is correct. 2 years is just a number that "seems" right and since everyone is saying it, it must be correct.

But look at the upside, we are saving a lot of taxes. Our quality of life will probably increase. We get to bang more girls. Mostly importantly, OP gets to learn to make a big financial decision at an early age. And this is assuming that the Vegas RE is in deep shiet and will continue to plummet. Now imagine if the Vegas RE manage to depreciate at a lower rate. Compare this amount to the amount that Good2cu saves from taxes, it might be a good investment. That is, assuming Good2cu makes over 150k [an educated random number]. My reasoning is obviously flawed if he makes less than 150k.