FINDING NEIGHBORHOODS IN LAS VEGAS THAT FIT YOUR WISH LIST
There’s a lot you can change about a house. You can repaint it, renovate the interior, landscape the yard. The one thing you can’t change is its location—and there’s abundant truth in the familiar list with the three most important words in real estate: location, location, location… That’s why getting to know as much as possible about the neighborhoods in Las Vegas is so important when you are searching for the right Las Vegas home. The characteristics of your choice of neighborhood will affect the quality of life your family enjoys—as well as the capital appreciation and resale value of your property (a good example is the strong positive correlation between house prices and school quality). Begin with a Plan A good place to start is by making your personal list of what you think will make a great neighborhood for you and your family. Ideally, one of the Las Vegas neighborhoods will check off all the requirements. In any case, you do want to make sure that your highest priority needs are met. For some, that might mean access to quality schools. For others, it might be the availability of public transportation—the kind that makes the commute to work a breeze. For still others, it’s ready access to indoor or outdoor social and recreational activities. Know before you start looking what you’re willing to compromise on—and what’s a deal-breaker! Make the Most of Your Budget There are desirable neighborhoods in Las Vegas that almost everyone wants to live in. But for some buyers, budget constraints put these neighborhoods out of reach—for now. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t find a great buy! Try looking for neighborhoods in Las Vegas that are on the periphery of more popular areas—neighborhoods that are showing signs that the homeowners are upgrading their properties. Targeting adjacent neighborhoods on the way up is more than just a way to get a better deal on a home today. Ideally, it means investing in a property that stands to increase in value as its neighborhood improves through the years. Use Online Tools Thanks to the Internet, finding information about neighborhoods in Las Vegas is only a mouse click away. Sites like ours www.NVDreamHomes.com allow you to research the profiles of individual neighborhoods. You can find overviews of schools in the area with ratings from parents, graphs which list all sorts of characteristics—even violent crime in the area. Another useful online tool is Google Maps, which shows proximity to shops, schools, transportation and other facilities. After you have researched the area neighborhoods that look most promising, plan to devote enough time to exploring them in person—weekdays and weekends, daytime and nighttime. Make sure the actual places measure up to their reputations, and find out which ones feel like places you’d like to live. If you’re looking for in-depth Las Vegas neighborhood advice, give me a call or stop in to go over your wish list. Whether you are relocating from afar or across town, I’m here to help my clients make smart long-term real estate moves. Call me today!
THE ACTUAL COST OF AN LAS VEGAS HOME BEYOND THE LISTING PRICE
When you begin scouring the Las Vegas listings for a new home, the cost of the home appears to be right there at the top: the asking price. All the other details about the property are there, too, but they usually get close attention only after that dollar amount at the top falls within (well, is at least close to) your target number. But as soon as the shopping starts to narrow the field, the financial implications of those other details begin to reveal themselves. Good thing! In fact, the true bottom line cost of your new Las Vegas home will be greatly affected by them. Many buyers work with the details exactly as presented—but as a purchase grows more likely, they should consider them simply as starting points. Back when home prices were racing steadily upward, it may have been okay to assume that price appreciation would make up for any exaggerations or oversights about the property (whether inadvertent or not), but today’s more cautious buyers appreciate how the disclosures impact the real cost of a property. They know how expensive it can be to correct inaccuracies later on. When comparing properties, it’s time well spent to confirm as much of the information as practical. It will give you confidence that you aren’t missing potential expenses or devaluing factors when figuring the cost of a home versus its true value. Some relevant factors: · Even when there are laws requiring sellers to disclose obvious repairs, those that are less obvious can come as a surprise after the keys are handed over. Some may not even be known to the seller; for example, mold in walls caused from earlier flooding may not be visible, or termites that are just starting to colonize the structure might not be obvious. That’s why consulting with a home inspector is so important. The best ones know the places to look for the telltale signs it takes an expert to uncover. If the property you are considering belongs to a homeowner’s association or is subject to any kind of maintenance fees, be sure to factor in those costs. Ask for copies of receipts for the last few payments—then find out what plans have been announced that might mean future increases. Las Vegas property taxes will obviously figure in your home cost calculations, but it’s good to know the basis upon which the property is taxed. Unrecorded improvements could raise that figure: so have a look at the recent bills. If you have questions, a check with the assessor’s office should settle them. Don’t just have a chat about the cost of utilities—you should request copies of the utility bills for at least the last full year. Water and power (and sometimes sewer and other utility expenses) can be more substantial than you’d expect, significantly increasing the cost of your Las Vegas home’s annual operation. These factors all play parts in determining the true cost of a home in Las Vegas —its current purchase price and a sound projection of the cost of living in it. Accurate estimates of both are what you need to guide your decision about whether to make an offer—and what that offer should be. If you are thinking of buying in Las Vegas this summer or fall, do contact me today. I’ll help you to be sure the right questions are asked!
LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE AGENT ON THE FOR SALE BY OWNER ROUTE
Even though nearly 9 out of 10 homeowners ultimately enlist a real estate agent to sell their properties, let’s face it: the thought of going it alone does go through many minds. And surveys confirm the primary motivation, which is, of course, saving the agent’s fee. Pocketing that cash would add that much more to the bottom line—that’s just common sense! Isn’t it…? What makes sense in theory doesn’t always work out that way in the actual marketplace—in fact, the probabilities actually point in the opposite direction. The verified financial analyses tell the tale—the average sales price for real estate agent-assisted sales are so much higher than “For Sale by Owner” sales that the percentages favor the real estate agent choice: last month’s updated statistics listed the difference at more than $40,000. Going it alone can be even more costly in other ways. Selling a house yourself is a time-consuming affair—particularly if you are having to organize all the processes from the ground up. Not only do you have to do all the initial legwork to create and manage the entire marketing and sales efforts, there winds up being no guarantee of a final sale. To anyone who has ended up after months and months of work with nothing to show for it, the time lost is a major source of dissatisfaction. However, if you are retired or for any other reason aren’t worried about devoting the needed time to the effort, attempting to sell your home without a Las Vegas real estate agent could be a reasonable option for you…if the next two considerations don’t apply— a) Sometimes the most valuable asset a Las Vegas real estate agent conveys is timely, accurate knowledge of the market. Having an asking price that’s too high or low can have a devastating effects on your bottom line. If it’s too high, the property can languish on the market for far too long, losing value and appeal to ensuing waves of prospective buyers. If it’s too low—lower than what would have attracted qualified buyers—you just lost the single reason you chose to do all the work yourself! IOW, if you don’t feel confident about your knowledge of market trends and recent movement, working with an active Las Vegasreal estate agent is clearly the prudent choice. b) Buyers frequently choose to protect their interests by being represented by a buyers’ agent, in which case the seller is responsible for paying the buyers’ agent a fee. If you are planning to sell the house yourself, make sure you feel comfortable working with the buyer or buyer’s agent and handling negotiations yourself. This requires having working knowledge of real estate contracts and real estate laws (and everything else involved in the sale of a home). If you aren’t inclined to master 50+ pages of paperwork, it’s a pretty good reason why a real estate agent is probably for you! If you are getting serious about selling your own home this fall, you needn’t have decided to use a Las Vegasreal estate agent to give me a call. Whatever your ultimate choice, I guarantee you will benefit from my no-pressure, obligation-free consultation!
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