This blog is designed to provide basic information about buying residential property. It can be applied pretty much to any part of the U.S.

Before you can start, you need to decide what it is that you’re looking for (I will go into much more detail on this later in part 2). I would also add that you need to know why you’re looking to buy a house. Are you ready to settle down and make a long-term commitment? The days of buying and rapidly flipping property for a profit are gone (at least for now). Are you ready to give up your liquidity and your mobility? Are you prepared to fix things around your house yourself (there is no landlord to call from here on out)?

For those of you still with us, I will assume that you answered yes to most of the questions above. Now it is time to go out and find a lender. You’re Realtor or the people you bank with should be able to point you in the right direction. Going over your finances with a stranger is not fun, but it is the crucial first step in buying a house. You need to know with certainty the maximum amount you qualify for BEFORE YOU GO LOOK AT ANY HOUSES. Why would you want to go and look at $300,000 houses if the maximum you qualify for his $200,000?  This will also tell you what your monthly payment will be and how much you will need for a down payment. Any good listing agent will also require at least a letter of prequalification from your lender before they accept any offer you put forward. It also doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion from a different lender. Competition is a good way to get the best interest rate you possibly can when it comes time to lock or close your transaction.

If you don’t have a Realtor yet, now is the time to find one. Ask your friends and/or business acquaintances who they used. Where they happy with the work he or she did for them? You’re lender will undoubtedly know at least one Realtor they feel comfortable working with. Remember, if the Realtor can’t find you a house, the lender doesn’t get paid either.  Look for someone who takes the time to listen to what it is that you are looking for. A good Realtor will show you what YOU want to buy, not what they think you should buy. Do they only show you properties they themselves have listed to sell (if so, run, they are not looking after your best interests)? It is also important to remember that a Realtor can help you with both new and resale homes. If you want to go look at new homes, make sure your Realtor takes you on your first visit to the property. If you don’t, you may waive your right to have someone representing you at the negotiating table. If your a buying in Southern Nevada, I hope you would allow me the chance to represent you.

In part 2 of this Blog, I will go into more details about what to look for when buying a house. I will also go into what to do after you have found the house you want to make an offer on.

My name is Greg Hoffman. I have lived in Las Vegas since 1990 and I have been a Realtor here since 1999.

Buyers Beware! The disturbing trend of low ball listings in Las Vegas!

A disturbing practice I am seeing more and more of lately is the low ball listing of Las Vegas short sale/foreclosed properties. A low ball listing is a listing that is priced, by the Listing Agent, SUBSTANCIALLY below what a common sense comparative market analysis says the property is really worth.

I have spoke to many Las Vegas Listing Agents and asked them why they priced their listings so artificially low. They tell me they were not getting any offers at a higher (more realistic) price. OK, I understand that logic but are they really helping to sell the listing any faster with an unrealistic price.

I would argue that low balling the listing doesn’t help sell the property any quicker and in fact hurts the chances of a sale for the following reasons:

1. Buyer expectations–The Buyer sees the artificially low price and thinks they can get the house for that amount. Even after it is explained that the Seller’s Bank has the final say on what they will or will not accept, this is a difficult psychological hurdle to latter overcome.
2. Wasted Time–So the low offer is in and the waiting begins. Banks are not known for quick decisions and several weeks could go by before they respond to the offer. During this time the Listing Agent is required to place the property as Contingent in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This could lessen the chance of the property being shown since other potential Buyers could see the property as possibly being sold already. It is also against Nevada law for the Listing Agent to submit other offers while the first offer is pending review by the Bank. Many times the offer will come back from the bank 10% or more higher than what the Listing Agent had it listed for. This tends to anger the Buyer and often causes a complete breakdown of negotiations.

The best way to mitigate against this practice is to educate the Buyer in advance. Las Vegas Buyer’s Agents need to prepare their clients for the possibility of a counter offer above the listing price. If the comparative market analysis shows that the property is worth more than the asking price, share this with your client, it might be what saves the deal in the end.

Everyone tells you to stop renting and purchase a home. It’s a sound, financial decision, they tell you. It’s a great investment, they cry. Wanting to buy a home and being prepared to buy a home are completely independent of one another, however.

Your desire to purchase a piece of Las Vegas real estate can easily become overshadowed by your inability to purchase one. Before calling a real estate agent, there are a few, important questions to ask yourself:

• Do I have a steady job? This is one of the first things a lender will want to know when you apply for a mortgage. Keeping a job for at least two years, or staying in a similar field for the same length of time, shows a lender that you are a good credit risk and that you’ll be able to pay your bills with a steady source of income.

Bottom line: if you’re in the market to purchase a home, now is not the time to change jobs. And if you haven’t achieved a steady work history, you’ll need to work on that before applying for a mortgage.

• How is my history of paying bills? A good credit history is a must when applying for a mortgage, as a lender needs to see a steady history of paying bills. And that doesn’t just mean your car and credit card payments. What about utility bills? Medical bills? Student loan bills? If any of these have fallen by the waist side, immediately get them up to date and establish at least six months worth of on-time payments before applying for a mortgage.
• How much debt am I carrying? Although you may be managing your debt and paying your bills on time, a lender will look at your “debt ratio,” which is essentially the ratio of money going out on loans and credit cards and money coming in through your salary. If your debt ratio exceeds a certain percentage (lenders vary on this), you’ll need to pay down some of your debt before applying for a mortgage.
• Do I have enough money saved for a down payment? Gone are the days of no-money-down mortgages. With the current credit crisis, most lenders require at least 10 to 20 percent down. Once again, if you haven’t achieved this, take another six months or so and continue to save money toward a healthy down payment.

Provided by the writing team of Richard Soto. Richard is a real estate broker who works in the Dallas Texas real estate, Alamo Heights real estate & Bexar County real estate markets.

Las Vegas has been named one of five “mega-politan” areas. These places are considered newly recognized super regions that combine two or more metropolitan areas into a single economic, social, and urban system.

Many experts predict that Las Vegas will continue to grow but will have to come up with solutions for water resources, education and infrastructure.  Las Vegas is already experiencing a construction boom on the Las Vegas Strip.  There are numerous projects under construction but none come close to the massive project on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip called City Center.  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!

Even though home prices are still dropping in the Las Vegas Valley, you can rest assured that home prices will begin to stabilize very soon.  The reason I say that is because many foreclosures that are placed on the market for sale are receiving multiple offers.  When homes receive multiple offers, it usually means the property is priced below market value.  You can see why Las Vegas real estate is a great investment!

Las Vegas is poised for a strong come back in the years to come!  If you are looking to buy your first home or an investment property, you can’t go wrong with choosing a home in Las Vegas!

We have been seeing a trend of foreign nationals investing in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market.  With the dollar at an all time low, foreclosures at an all time highand Las Vegas Real Estate prices at levels we haven’t seen since 2003-2004, foreign nationals are finding great investment opportunities in Las Vegas.  The majority of the foreign nationals that we have been working with of late are from Canada.

I was speaking with a Canadian client the other day and it appears that there is alot of media coverage in Canada about the which real estate markets are ripe for investing in the United States and Las Vegas is at the top of the list.

According to Dan Green with “The Mortgage Report,”

Foreign national mortgages are still available in the United States

Downpayment requirements are low — 10 or 20 percent, depending

Interest rates are reasonable and are not “monthly adjusting”

There’s no forbidden property types — condo, condotels, and multi-units are all okay

Even though Dan Green has stated that there are some programs that require as little as 10% down, I haven’t seen or heard of these programs.  The best I have found for any of my clients was 25% down.  But with lender guidelines changing almost daily, I would recommend that you speak with a local Las Vegas Loan Officer like Mark Madsen.

If you are thinking of investing in Las Vegas Real Estate, take advantage of the home prices while you can as we all know, home prices will eventually rise!  You can begin your search for homes for sale in Las Vegas by clicking on the link below:

Las Vegas Homes for Sale