CIRCLES

With the amazing growth Las Vegas experienced in the last fifteen years or so one problem that was ever present was the capability to keep up with the school system. We were constantly suffering from overcrowded classrooms, budget shortfalls to build new schools and not having enough teachers.

While reading a book called "Young Las Vegas" by Joan Burkhart Whitley, I came across a chapter called School Days. De Ja Vus. She talks about the problems when Las Vegas began in 1905 and the residents had to start what is now the Clark County School District. Nothing has changed about the fact that parents care about their children's education. The first school began in a tent for about twenty children. The city then found they needed this structurefor a courtroom.

Money was sparse, even then, to provide a meeting place for their children. A three person school board was organized (our first).

The second school was at a vacated hotel (The Salt Lake Hotel) which was a four room building. The townspeople spent $700.00 to move into it and renovate it. Enrollment was about 50 to sixty students with two teachers. And, then, as usual over crowding occurred when the enrollment grew to about 81 students. You see, nothing ever changes.


It is estimated that there are about 10,000 puppy mills in the United States. http://www.aspca.org/news/national/06-26-09.html. The animals live in deplorable conditions . Unfortunately this is how some choose to make a living. You would think since the owners are making money off of these animals they would at least take care of them. How much of a problem could it be to feed them properly, have clean cages without wire bottoms so they can't get injured and let them out of their cages once in awhile? Unfortunately this has been to much to expect for our poor puppy mill animals. So, please consider adoption instead of purchasing an animal. You will spare a great deal of misery, probably way beyond what I have described here.

CLUE Reports

People have become so nervous about the condition of a house they are thinking of purchasing that they sometimes feel overwhelmed. I think this seriously started when mold became such a big issue.



With so many Foreclosed homes (REO's) that have to be purchased in as is condition Buyers can rest more easily knowing they have a due diligence period when they can have inspections, approve association documents, etc. And now, with a CLUE report they can check to see if there were any homeowner insurance claims paid in the previous years.



CLUE is a national database where insurance companies report their loss payouts on homeowners insurance for about the last five years.



It is a little more tricky for a Buyer to get the information on an REO property but with a little effort they can probably obtain it from their own insurance agent or at least they can advise you on how to get it.



For more information you might like to visit http://www.choicetrust.com/

Condo Dilemma

As if Las Vegas didn't have enough problems reducing our real estate property inventory and falling prices there are now new restrictions for condo financing.



According to an article written by Chris Kissell from Bankrate.com in the reviewjournal.com (newspaper) on May 2, 2009 Fannie Mae stopped guaranteeing loans for new or newly converted condo developments if less than 70 percent of units have been sold. This is quite a change from their previous rules where the cutoff was 51 percent



I personally have seen that existing communities are not immune to these problems either. Fannie Mae guidelines seem to be putting a crimp on resale condos too.



I was showing property this week in a complex that was built in approximately 1996 The listing agent made it clear that cash buyers only need apply. I sold some units in this project when it was new, prices were higher & FHA gave the A OK for this community.


In a condo community if 15% or more owners are delinquent on their HOA dues then Fannie Mae will not guarantee a new loan either.


In July Freddie Mac will be following Fannie Mae's rules.

To see Mr. Kissell's article go to http://www.lvrj.com/real_estate/44222017.html

So, now we have all these condos for sale at amazingly low prices but are there going to be enough cash buyers out there to bring these communities back into balance?

Well, I just wrote an offer for a Buyer on a condo that is listed at $49,900 which is about 1/3 to 1/2 less the value when it was new. They are only taking cash offers. At this time they have 40 offers. It doesn't seem like there is any problem here except for the forty people competing for the same place. Of course the low price and the excellent condition of this unit is bringing people out of the woodwork. Unfortunately Buyers requiring loans to purchase are eliminated. It begs the question, that if loans were still available for these places would prices have dropped so much?


What do you think?

Please visit my website at http://www.lvhms.com/

Some Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors Stats

• Average Prices in Las Vegas, May, 2009:


• A single-family house - $241,208


• Townhouse - $116,588


• Condo - $149,867

The average price of condos being higher than town homes is probably because of our many new high rise condos. However, even those prices have severely declined. (GLVAR Summary Reports)

Real Estate Trivia:

On April 9, 1917 The Milwaukee Real Estate Association held one of the first home shows. It turned out to be a great success. It showed the Real Estate Community what could be done and how the public would respond. Everyone was eager and glad to have the opportunity to learn about home planning & building. I guess this proved to be one of the early stages of the importance of conventions. National Real Estate Journal vol. 15, No. 5 (May 1917) Source NAR archives. http://www.realtor.org/library

The Resale Packet (a must)

In a previous blog I talked about the resale packet that a Buyer is suppose to receive when they are purchasing in an association (Common Interest Community, CIC). The question is, who pays for it? The Buyer or Seller? According to NRS 116.4109 the Seller is mandated to provide this packet and they are to pay for it. The cost is usually around $200.00. http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-116.html



I've noticed recently on some listings in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in the agent to agent remarks that the Seller(usually when there is a bank involved) is requiring the Buyer to pay for the Resale Packet. Is that OK?



Unless the Buyer agrees contractually to pay for it, the Seller cannot relinquish their obligation. If the Buyer refuses to pay and there is an accepted contract without this change then it is required that the Seller give the paid for Resale Packet to the Buyer.



Everyone should know their rights. Especially about such an important matter.

Some Las Vegas Trivia:

Do you know what the first Hotel on the Strip was? Most people think it was the Flamingo(Bugsy Siegel). But it was the ElRancho Vegas. It opened April 3, 1941. Rooms started at $4.00 a day. (Fabulous Las Vegas in the 50's, Fred E.Basten & Charles Phoenix). It closed after a fire June 17, 1960. Thomas Hull, the original owner wanted a hotel/motel that was more than just an old western hangout so he built a one stop place to relax right at the corner of what is now Sahara & Las Vegas Blvd.

For more information you might try this web site http://www.onlinenevada.org/el_rancho_vegas or http://gaming.unlv.edu/ElRanchoVegas/story.html

Foreclosure Issues

We are always hearing talk about how we can & should eliminate the number of foreclosures in Nevada. After all, we are the worst state in the country for this unsolicited honor. So what is being done to accelerate this process?


Nevada Association of Realtors has put out a booklet called "The Face of Foreclosure - Nevada" There is a great deal of information in this writing. One I will discuss today are the Obama Administration's plan.


What they are saying it will do:

• Release 75$ billion from the bank bailout fund to help lenders and homeowners reach new terms on their mortgages.
  
• Help nearly 4 million homeowners who are currently behind on their mortgage payments or are in serious danger of losing their homes.


• help nearly 5 million homeowners who are not yet facing foreclosure but are struggling to make payments and need help.
  
• Will reduce a borrower's monthly payments to as little as 31% of their current income and these payments can last up to 5 years.


• Give first-time home buyers and $8,000 tax credit for purchasing a home.

Also from The Face of Foreclosure, Nevada published by NVAR we are made aware of a bill passed (AB164) in the assembly on March 11th that 1% of Nevada's revenue is to be put into a stabilization fund that will be used for future economic crisis.

(A.B. 165) is suppose to go into law July 1st which is meant to insure that lenders during loan modification hearings conducted during court-mediated hearings put forth a "good faith effort". Speaker Barbara Buckley estimates that this bill will keep nearly 17,000 homeowners from going into foreclosure.

This is a great time to purchase a home in Las Vegas. To do a property search please go to my web site www.lvhms.com. The prices are way down bringing a great deal of affordability into the picture. Don't forget the first time home buyer's tax credit.

I would love to hear from you on how this economy is affecting your home ownership and how you feel about our lawmakers efforts.

Finally, finally Nevada has passed some laws to protect our animal population. It has been a long time coming and hopefully more will be considered.



According to the Humane Society of the United States Nevada ranked the worst in the country for dog fighting. Our state did not have any laws prohibiting ownership of dogs for the purpose of dog fighting. Now, I am happy to say that Gov. Gibbons signed into law (A.B. 199) a law that prohibits dog ownership for fighting _laws/state_legislation/nevada/animal_fighting.html. Yea, it's about time.



For so long animal advocates have been fighting to get a law passed that would protect a dog from being tethered 24/7. This has been another long, arduous journey.



To their credit, our lawmakers listened to our phone calls & emails and have now passed (S.B 132) http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/state_legislation/nevada/restrictions_on_tethering.html

To do a property search, please visit my website at www.lvhms.com

PURCHASING A HOME WITHIN AN ASSOCIATION IN LAS VEGAS

Someone expressed their concern to me about association fees. She was asking if their was a cap on how much they can be raised.



Each association controls these fees, therefore it is going to depend on their CC&R's and Rules and Regulations.



The good news is that our lawmakers have taken steps to protect the public before purchasing in a community that has an association which for their puposes is known as Common Interest Communities (CIC).



One of our laws for Common Interest Communities (home owner's associations) provides that a Buyer has to be provided with association information which is known as a resale packet, within the first days of an accepted offer and usually has about five days to accept or decline the material. This data includes financial statements, CC&R's, Rules and Regulations, whether there is any legal action being pursued and more. The Buyer is given enough information to make a decision as to whether the community will be right for them.



I think our lawmakers did the right thing in passing these laws. It brings accountability, checks and balances that protect us all.http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-116.html

For a home search and other important links, please visit my web site at http://www.lvhms.com/

Foreclosure & Tenant Rights

When all these foreclosures began it was devastating to the tenants occupying many of these properties. In most cases they were given only days to vacate.

Now the "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009" prevents this punitive action against those who had no guilt for the situation they found themselves in.

With this new law, month to month tenants are given 90 days before they have to move and those with leases are allowed to stay until a one year lease expires. For more information visit http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1247&tab=summary

Prices are incredible right now so for those thinking about buying please visit my web site at www.lvhms.com

Capturing Las Vegas & Its Beginnings

Yesterday our family went to the Springs Preserve which is right in the heart of our city. In fact, it is less than a mile from where I went to high school

The Springs Preserve actually sits where Las Vegas geologically began in prehistoric times. We were once under the ocean. As the ocean began to diminish aquifers began to form. From these aquifers the water began to percolate to the surface and VOILA, Las Vegas.

They have done such a wonderful job at this preserve to bring history to life. I hope some of our tourists will go and visit this treasure.

If they do they will see botanical gardens, a wild life habitat and much more. The short story movies that have been created clearly summarize the transformation of this lush territory until it became a desert.