Buying a first home: Las Vegas

[eastbay]

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This doesn't have to be such a big question mark. If OP can find a place that is close to the cost of renting then he can safely buy. If the cost of renting is a lot lower than the cost of owning, then he should wait. I think Desert Cat has gone through a couple example calculations in past threads. If you are interested in a specific property, just go through the calculation yourself to see what price should be offered on the place.

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The problem with these kinds of "calculations" is that the result is too strongly dependent on model assumptions for appreciation, rental rates, and investment returns, which have such wide bounds of uncertainty as to make the calculation mostly worthless. You can make it say anything you want it to say by choosing the numbers one way or another.

eastbay

[stephenNUTS]

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good2cu already pointed this out himself, but whenever everyone says you should wait to buy then it can't be that bad of a time to buy .

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atta boy..now you you got it.

A true contrarian like myself,as people following the herd mentality will ALWAYS lose in any market IMO,near tops OR bottoms

SF [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[jono]

SF, so you're recommending now as the time to buy in Las Vegas?

[stephenNUTS]

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SF, so you're recommending now as the time to buy in Las Vegas?

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Everybodies situation is different.

I am buying a 2nd vacation home(i already have an ocean front beach house on Ocean Beach,N.Y) in LV by years end .

I currently have a handful of LOW ridiculous bids out in which I will choose the best deal when I back out to Vegas in Nov-Dec.Not just price ...but LOCATION,and its proximity to the strip/golf,sq footage of house,condition,enemities,etc

As far as a FIRST time PRIMARY home buyer....you will not regret buying now 5+ yrs down the road IMO.

Now if you looking to speculate/flip/rent/whatever....I would def. be more cautious,as thats a whole other thread to discuss

SF [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[good2cu]

I started looking around yesterday and here are some preliminary observations:

Homes in Summerlin (on the west side of town by Red Rock) are still selling and don’t appear to have lost much value. There are some new townhouses being built right by Red Rock and a new mall that seem pretty reasonably priced (high 200s to low 300s) and are selling. This is probably the best part of town to live in but you are going to pay for it.

In the south side of town there are new developments everywhere. It seems to me that almost all of these new developments are unoccupied, The sellers/builders seem very desperate, one builder just told me that he would knock 60k (10%) off the list before I expressed any interest in the houses.

I checked out some units in the Panorama Towers (Baller high-rise near the strip) and was very impressed. This would be the ideal place for me to live from a lifestyle prospective. But in my opinion all of the units are WAY overpriced. A one-bedroom with a den + 2 baths (946sq feet) is listed at $399,000 (on only the 6th floor) and several 750sq feet one bedrooms listed from 350,00+. It appears to me that all of these condos were bought up by speculators and NO ONE is living here right now (empty parking garage, tons of units for resale etc etc.) I’m afraid this problem is going to get even worse with two more Panorama Towers (1000 units) opening soon and tons of on strip high-rises going up. I would love to live here though and am probably just going to put out a ton of lowball offers in the high 200s or perhaps even rent. What do people think about strip high-rise condos from an investment prospective?

Foreclosures, Repos etc. are found everywhere.

I’m resuming my hunt with a real estate agent today and will post some more thoughts after I’ve seen some more properties. The real estate agent I’m using claims to be a buyer’s agent and seems nice and knowledge. I just randomly met him at an open house (the agent StephenNuts recommended was booked full today as I gave him very short notice) and he is chauffeuring me around today (my last day house hunting on this trip). If I decide not to use this agent in the future what do I owe him? Should I be upfront with him that I might change agents and offer to him hourly or something? Seems dickish to me to have him chauffer me around and end up going with another agent.

All comments appreciated.

[stephenNUTS]

NO....you dont owe a R/E broker anything for showiing or spending time showing you homes.

As the BUYER...YOU are the one that should be catered to,with his time,maybe lunch/cocktails/etc.

Good2Cu...did you set up another day/date with him?

He is a very comfortable,NON salesman-like broker,and I would def give him a shot.

Good Luck,
Stephen Feraca [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

BTW..buying a NEW townhome is something I would stay clear of at this time.They are ALWAYS overpriced and not in synch with current market conditions

[eastbay]

[ QUOTE ]
I started looking around yesterday and here are some preliminary observations:

Homes in Summerlin (on the west side of town by Red Rock) are still selling and don’t appear to have lost much value. There are some new townhouses being built right by Red Rock and a new mall that seem pretty reasonably priced (high 200s to low 300s) and are selling. This is probably the best part of town to live in but you are going to pay for it.


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How do you know they're still selling at a pace that doesn't put the screws to the developers?

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In the south side of town there are new developments everywhere. It seems to me that almost all of these new developments are unoccupied, The sellers/builders seem very desperate, one builder just told me that he would knock 60k (10%) off the list before I expressed any interest in the houses.


[/ QUOTE ]

That's nothing, just a teaser. Look for the deep pocketed homebuilders who can take a loss to get inventory off the books and move on.

Get prequalified at the sales office. Once they see good credit and 20% cash, they will be your love slaves. Play them off each other, like when buying a new car. Nothing is too much to ask: to close the sale, you need granite, high end wood and carpet throughout, included. You need appliances, included. You need backyard landscaping, included. You need a pool, included. Not to mention a *deep* discount off the asking price. Like 1/3rd.

Don't come out firing with these offers, but let them think they might have you, then reel them in over a period of days as the competing offers start to come in. Make them sweat.

But only do this in a place in which you see potential and that you want to live. Truly dead neighborhoods are never a good place to buy.

[ QUOTE ]

I checked out some units in the Panorama Towers (Baller high-rise near the strip) and was very impressed. This would be the ideal place for me to live from a lifestyle prospective. But in my opinion all of the units are WAY overpriced. A one-bedroom with a den + 2 baths (946sq feet) is listed at $399,000 (on only the 6th floor) and several 750sq feet one bedrooms listed from 350,00+.


[/ QUOTE ]

The $/sq ft on that sounds truly terrible, especially considering the supply coming online soon.

What can you rent those for?

eastbay

[NapoleonDolemite]

Good2CU-

You may want to take a look around Henderson near Green Valley Ranch. The area is nice and the traffic isn't as bad as it is in Summerlin. It's not too far from the strip- can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes depending on the traffic.

[laserboy]

I am not in favor of purchasing real estate right now. But if I were, I would certainly be employing fiercer negotiating tactics. Don't be afraid to really put the screws to them. You gotta think of it as a war.

How about gathering quotes from every condo developer in town and then having them bid for your money in a "reverse auction"? The lowest bidders get the right to negotiate with you.

When you get an offer that you think is acceptable, set up a meeting to sign all the papers and whatnot. Show up like you are all ready to close the deal... then offer 25% less.

[TJ Eckleburg]

[ QUOTE ]

I’m resuming my hunt with a real estate agent today and will post some more thoughts after I’ve seen some more properties. The real estate agent I’m using claims to be a buyer’s agent and seems nice and knowledge. I just randomly met him at an open house (the agent StephenNuts recommended was booked full today as I gave him very short notice) and he is chauffeuring me around today (my last day house hunting on this trip). If I decide not to use this agent in the future what do I owe him? Should I be upfront with him that I might change agents and offer to him hourly or something? Seems dickish to me to have him chauffer me around and end up going with another agent.

All comments appreciated.

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I'm 22 years old, and I've been a licensed Realtor [in Atlanta] since the summer after my senior year of high school. I'm currently taking my broker's course, and will probably be a licensed real estate broker by the end of the year.

There are SOOOOOO many incompetent, unprofessional, and outright LYING real estate agents in the industry it's mind-boggling. Consider that to get a real estate license here in Georgia, you need:

a) high school diploma
b) no felonies
c) $300 for an online 75 hour course
d) Two 100 question multiple choice tests which is just about entirely definitions...

And you're an AGENT!

And, like most fish in poker, most agents learn the wrong lessons from what little real-life experiences they have in buying/selling real estate... so they give all kinds of horrible advice.

Experience matters. Ask your agent how many homes he sold last year. And seriously consider calling back the guy that was booked full... a busy Realtor sells lots of homes... and knows what the hell he's doing.