Las Vegas, Nevada Homes and Condos for Sale

Short Sales, Foreclosures, HUD Homes and Fixer-uppers

Buying regular Las Vegas homes for sale
Buying Las Vegas foreclosure homes for sale
Buying Las Vegas short sale homes for sale
Buying Las Vegas HUD homes for sale
Buying Las Vegas fixer-upper homes for sale

This article applies to all types of Greater Las Vegas residential real estate like homes, condos, high-rise condos and condo conversions, however, we are using "homes or condos" as an example.

Different options for Las Vegas resale home or condo buyers

Las Vegas has became a hub of master-planned communities which are dotted with conforming sub-divisions or condo projects where buyers can find multiple homes or condos with the same floor plans and priced similarly. The difference is upgrades and elevation and location in regards to neighbors (ex: do you have a private backyard?). Resale homes or condos can come in different flavors.

Buying regular Las Vegas homes or condos for sale

The buyer can take advantage of all protections that are required by law. The seller is required to provide you with all kinds of disclosures and is usually represented by a Realtor. Regular home or condo transactions are straight forward and If you have followed our road map to a successful Las Vegas real estate transaction and obtained the necessary property inspections, you move into a good home or condo.

Buying Las Vegas foreclosure homes or condos for sale

In stable economic periods, especially economically booming Las Vegas, foreclosures are the result of home buyer's getting in trouble due to ignorance of the fundamentals of the real estate transaction.

Everyone loses on deals which end up in foreclosure, especially the poor home owner. In troubled times, foreclosure sales offer bargains, but one has to tread the mine fields in most instances.

The lenders (usually banks) are not required to submit property disclosures, and the home or condo is sold as is. This doesn't mean that you have to buy the property as is, ask us how.
Inspections are needed to verify the property condition.
The lender is the seller and it usually takes a long time ( a week or longer in some instances) for the buyer to get an answer on their offer. Sometimes the seller refuses to sign the contract until the close of escrow. You don't have a contract until you have a signed acceptance from the seller. Delay on getting an answer from the seller can cost you by losing other opportunities.
People who are evicted from their home often leave it a mess. In many instances extensive cleaning and repair to the property is required.
Great agents don't go work for a bank's REO department and those brokers that represent a great many listings from these banks are not well organized or staffed with knowledgeable employees. A lot of patience is a must.
We have devised ways to reduce the inherent risks in buying a foreclosure home or condo.

Buying Las Vegas short sale homes or condos for sale

The seller (mortgagee) has little or no equity in the house and to save their credit the seller or his real estate agent negotiates with the mortgage holder to accept less money than they are owed. The seller has to prove to the lender that he can't pay the mortgage payments, fill out many pages of required forms and provide the lender with many documents. This is time consuming and and has to be done prior to listing the property in the Greater Las Vegas MLS. The seller is still on the hook for all disclosures and exercising due diligence moves you into a good home.

A good home or condo short sale listing comes with the term "approved", which means the seller has reached an understanding with the mortgage holder and all that is needed is an offer. The bank has to still approve the deal and it may take a few days.
Avoid agents or sellers that have not finished the short sale negotiations with the lender and are waiting for an offer to start the negotiations. The listing agent usually asks for a long period time(weeks) to answer your offer. The chances are that you will waste your time and your offer will be rejected.
Caveat, the lender has to approve buyer's offer. Lenders (often banks) are very slow to act and at times they open escrow without signing the accepted contract. The problem is that without a signed acceptance you have no contract. If you decide to buy a short sale make sure your agent forces the lender to sign the accepted contract prior to the opening of escrow or shortly thereafter.
We can help you buy short sales.

Las Vegas HUD homes for sale

HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) homes are sold through an online house auction.

A realtor or real estate agent must represent you
HUD Homes and condos are sold as is
You have to be pre-qualified
Government employees such as police, fire fighters and teachers get the first shot to bid on many homes
First time home buyer's take precedence over investors
Competition is fierce for HUD properties and it is hard to get a good bargain
We can help you with the HUD homes auction.

Las Vegas fixer-upper homes and condos for sale

The hardest but best way to make money on fixer-uppers is to take advantage of recent zone changes or multiple zoning to find a property that qualifies for a higher zoning and is in need of repair.

For a simplified example, a horse property that is re-zoned from 1 dwelling (homes) per acre to two dwellings per acre. You could buy it and sell half of the land to recoup some of your investment. This could not be done without a zone change.

Do it yourselfers can save by not paying for labor
Many HUD homes are fixer-uppers
Extreme care is required to make sure there are no clouds on the title
Cosmetic problems are easier to fix than structural problems
Fixer-upper foreclosed or short sale homes or condos offer the best bargains. The buyer can completely fix the residence and be way ahead of those who bought a similar property.