The Plaza Brand might be coming to Las Vegas very soon. Elad Properties which purchased the New York Plaze Hotel in 2004 is planning on building Plaza Hotels around the world, including in London, Shanghai and Las Vegas. It appears that the first Plaza Hotel that will be built outside of New York will be in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Plaza Hotel will be built on the site of where the Frontier Hotel and Casino used to sit before it was imploded on November 13th, 2007. The Frontier Hotel and Casino used to sit across the street from the Wynn Hotel and Casino.

The Las Vegas Plaza Hotel is expected to have over 3,000 hotel rooms and is projected to have a price tag of over $4 Billion.

Currently a trial is under way between Tamares Group, the owners of the Plaza Hotel and Casino, a 37-year-old hotel in downtown Las Vegas, sued Elad, alleging trademark infringement.

Elad Properties has a few hurdles to overcome in order to build the first Plaza Hotel brand in Las Vegas!

Last week there was some very HUGE news in the mortgage industry with the U.S. Government bailing out both Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac as they were facing financial issues in today’s hurting mortgage industry.

Short Term - This was a must for the mortgage industry. If the government wouldn’t have stepped in and bailed out these two giants, what could have happened otherwise would have been catastrophic. High fives should be going around the house with this news. This is going to give our conforming industry back the stability it needs to continue funding loans and driving in new business. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a drop in interest rates down to the 5.500% range and rally back and forth for some time because of this huge take over.

Folks, please also note that this is not the end of the mortgage crisis. All this is really going to do is allow us to still continue to move forward with the same crisis we were already facing in our mortgage and economic economy. Why is this good news then? Because if what could have happened if the government would not have bailed these giants out would of destroyed or us. Imagine for just a bit if the conforming lending had just the same if not worse restrictions on it as the jumbo loans do now. This could have and would of shut us down and caused worldwide effects.

So Short term, this is great news because we can continue to move forward. What we have to keep our eye on is the long term effects. There are still major companies in economic shambles and the government can’t help them all out. What will happen to these companies, and how will that continue to affect our economy?

Regards,

Fred D. Williams, Jr.
Mortgage Advisor
Mid Valley Financial Service
(559) 256-3645

Are you currently in the process of looking to purchase a home for the 1st time? Do you have clients that may be struggling to come up with the down payment to purchase a home? If so, you need to be aware of one of the many benefits that will take effect due to the H.R. 3221 Bill that was singed by President Bush on July 30, 2008.

Within the H.R. 3221 Bill there is a provision that allows first time home buyers to have up to $7,500 as a tax credit for purchasing a house. The max is $7,500 or 10% of the purchase price, which ever is less. So as long as you have a purchase price over $75,000 your tax credit will be $7,500. This $7,500 tax credit is looked at as a loan and will need to be paid back over a period of 5 years. The exciting part is it is less than $42 a day and it is interest free money.

There are income restrictions on this money if you are single or married. If you are single you will not qualify for the full $7,500 if you make more than $75,000 a year. If you are married your combined income can not exceed $150,000. If for any reason your income does exceed these amounts when filed, your tax credit will be reduced from the full possible amount of $7,500.

You will need to pay your tax credit back in full if you decide to rent out the property while you still owe on your tax credit. They only way to get out of not paying this money back is if your number expires and you were to pass way.

Take advantage of your tax credit today by getting a loan from a family member! If you can’t wait until tax time to get your tax credit Perhaps a family member would be willing to gift you a down payment for your purchase today (with possible interest) and pay them back in full once the tax credit is recieved at tax time. If this is a plan that they decide to go with, please make sure to talk to a CPA who has possibly filed there taxes in the past. If they are an individual that usually has to pay on there taxes, they better be prepared to not get the entire $7,500 tax credit or what ever is due to them (Uncle Sam gets his slice of the cake before anyone). So if you were to file your taxes in 08′ and it turns out that you owe $1,500 and you were also expecting a tax credit  of $7,500. Your amount due to you will drop to $6,000. 

So if you are going to borrow from a family member with the anticipation to pay back at tax time, be sure that you know where you stand with your CPA.

I hope that this has shed some light on the new tax credit that is coming our way from the H.R. 3221 bill. 

Regards,

Fred D. Williams, Jr
Mortgage Advisor
Mid Valley Financial Services

The St. Regis Residences, a planned 632 foot tower at the Venetian Palazzo will have 398 residences and willl be situated between The Venetian and Palazzo on the famous Las Vegas Strip.  The $600 million condominium project is expected to be completed in 2010.  According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, “Residences will range from 1,700 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet for a duplex villa with private pool. Total sales for all units could reach as much as $2 billion.”

I will be following this project and will keep this blog updated with the progress of The St. Regis Residence.

Las Vegas living is just as exciting as visiting. If you enjoy living in the fast lane, Las Vegas is the place for you. With any kind of entertainment that you could ask for, this is a great place to call home.  The Las Vegas Strip is not only a place to play but a great place to work. 

 With many job opportunites in the near future with the opening of Encore, Project City Center and the M Resort to name a few, it’s time to make a move.  Las Vegas Home prices are at lows we haven’t seen since 2003 and 2004, interest rates are still at all time lows and the abundant amount of foreclosures makes this a dream market for any buyer looking to relocate to Las Vegas.

There are homes available of all sizes and in all price ranges, with many luxeries included. These luxeries may include swimming pools, hot tubs, jetted bathtubs, and so much more. If you are looking for a nice place to live, and the perfect climate, Vegas is the hot spot. The community has grown in recent years, and the real estate market will also continue to grow throughout the years.

Home sales in Las Vegas increased for the seventh straight month to 2,592 in July, the most since September 2005, and inventory remained stable at 23,423 units, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Thursday.  This is great news for the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.  With all the negative publicity Las Vegas has been receiving over the last few weeks with the temporary shut down of Echelon, Project City Center financing issues and layoffs at Trump, it was much needed good news.

With President Bush passing the Federal Housing Bill, the Las Vegas Real Estate Market should continue  to do well and inventory should gradually decline.

The country is in a recession, Las Vegas Casinos are seeing earnings drop from years past, but yet MGM MIrage is still moving forward with their 8 billion dollar project, City Center!  Las Vegas continues to reinvent itself even during economic downturns.  Project City Center is a project that consists of condos, hotels, casinos and retail district sitting within a 76 acre area.  You can easily say that Project City Center is a city within a city!

According to City Center’s website, “CityCenter is a cutting-edge destination, with an urban core that will blend world-class residential, hospitality, retail, gaming and entertainment elements into a synergistic hub of distinctive character.  The $8 billion CityCenter – the largest single privately funded development in U.S. history – will catapult Las Vegas to new status among the most sophisticated cities of the world.”

Project City Center will be the ulitimate destination in Las Vegas and all future projects will be compared to City Center!