Is it time to own a home with a pool in Las Vegas?

I know it’s cold right now. my phone says it’s only 36 degrees. However this summer, wouldn’t it be nice to go for a dip in your own back yard? If you said yes, here are some houses for sale with pools in a mid-price range;

http://goo.gl/GL87Is

You know what aggravates me about Realtors®?

Realtors® agree to abide by a “Code of Ethics” as part of the process of becoming a Realtor. Specifically it says “Realtors® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction”. Let’s face it, we (Realtors®) are regularly involved in what is the largest financial transaction that a person has ever been a part of, and to quote Spiderman, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” When I consult with a potential seller, I sit with them, show them how much I believe their house will sell for, and explain to them why they should hire me to sell their house, instead of the next agent they interview. Then, (sometimes) another agent makes an outrageous promise, that they either can’t keep, or don’t put in writing (or both), and that agent get’s hired, instead of me, because of that promise.

As an example, I had a seller once tell me that the reason he signed with “Jill” was because she told him she could sell it
for about 20% more than research showed it was worth, and she agreed to prove it by making the contract good for only 30 days. At first glance I was impressed with her approach; basically, she was saying “if I can’t deliver what I promise, quickly, you are free to hire someone else”. The reason I was impressed with that is because I offer my clients similar promises (actually mine can fire me any time if they are not happy because I am not delivering what I promise). However, “Jill” did not put her promise in writing. The reason I know this is that the seller invited me to call him in 31 days and if the house had not sold, he would hire me. He believed that the information I gave him about marketing and the value of the property, made a lot of sense, but he would be a fool to pass up “Jill’s” offer to get 20% more in only 30 days. 31 days later, I called the seller as I promised. As it turned out, the house was still listed with “Jill”.  I asked if he had signed an extension with “Jill”. He told me he had not heard from “Jill” since signing the paperwork (which is a horrible practice of many agents) and that he did not know why it was still listed. He sent me a copy of the agreement he had with Jill so I could tell him what it said – it said he had hired her for a year and there was nothing that allowed him to get out of it! I wished him luck and hung up the phone (because I am not allowed to continue to speak with him if he is actively under contract with another agent).

I seem to run up against this kind of agent a few times every year. Is it all of them? No way! Many of them take their code
of ethics very seriously. Unfortunately, it’s those that lie, or exaggerate that often end up getting a listing that they have no business taking. So how do you avoid those people (and what do you do if one of them already duped you)?

If you have already been duped, and you believe that person was unethical, you have the opportunity file a complaint against them with the Nevada Real Estate Division here; www.red.state.nv.us/compliance.htm
The RED takes these complaints very seriously.

If you just want to hire someone who will sell your house quickly, for top dollar, and not lie, deceive or mislead you along the way, you could hire me – but, let’s pretend that I am unavailable. What questions can you ask when interviewing an agent to ensure you are hiring the kind of agent that will look out for your best interests?

1. Ask the agent for references/testimonials. They should have plenty (maybe online). They should also have at least a few of those clients who wrote the testimonials that are also willing to be contacted to verify the testimonial (you probably have to ask for that separately). And yes, you should verify no less than 3 of them.

2. Ask the agent to put a provision in the contract that allows you to fire them any time you feel they are not doing their job. Most agents will not do this. They will tell you it costs a lot of money to list your house and that provision is not fair. They are correct. It is also not fair to force someone to continue to employ you when you are operating at a substandard level. Then, BEFORE you sign the contract, ask them to show you specifically where it says that.

3. Ask them how often they intend to contact you during the process. If you don’t like the answer they give, have them make a better commitment (even write it in the contract), and if they don’t stick to it, you can rely on #2 and fire them. Seriously. This is a big deal and you have the right to regular communication. If they don’t have any showings to report, they should at least be reporting what steps they are taking to get you showings and get your house sold.

4. Ask them their policy about photos and video. You probably don’t realize this, but buyer’s have become sophisticated and demanding consumers. Buyers expect to see no less than 25 photos and 83% of buyer’s last year said that they want to see video, yet less than 5% of agents are providing video.

Is that everything you should be concerned about when you put your house up for sale? No, it’s the big stuff though, and #2 will pretty much help you with the rest.

If you don’t beleive in Christmas miracles, read this

‘Twas the night before Christmas and down at the bank, Santa’s elves were dipping a negotiator in a tank (yes waterboarding) until we got what we needed. That would be short sale approval after only 14 days!  Seriously, it was delivered to me today, December 24th!  Merry Christmas to my clients, the buyer and the bank . . . and to all a good night!

Downtown houses are going through a revitalization too.

In the past several years, Downtown Las Vegas has seen many positive changes. When I moved to the city in 1993, downtown was not desirable place to hang out at all. Slowly, over the years, and beginning with the Freemont Street Experience, the downtown has seen a ton of positive changes. So many, that now the houses built in that area the 1940’s-1960’s have been slowly being renovated. In the John S Park region and the historic Huntridge neighborhood, there are some really charming houses and plenty of fixer-uppers too. It’s a great for a first-time homebuyer or just someone who doesn’t want all of the houses to look the same. Check out what’s for sale down there;

http://goo.gl/IjU3Ra

To short sale, or not to short sale? That is the question.

About a year after I posted this originally, the Las Vegas Market became so inundated by short sales (more than 1/3 of available inventory – and not much total supply), you had to consider buying them. Now that we have returned to reasonable inventory levels again (over 4 months) and short sales are just 13.4% of the homes on the market today, I would suggest that most people looking for a home, avoid them. Let the investors wait for 3-8 months (or more) to get a short sale approval.

Great news for those who have completed a short sale in 2014

“The Debt Forgiveness Act” has been extended to the end of 2014 by the House and Senate and is now headed to the Presidents Desk (He is expected to sign it).  This is great news for Short Sales that have closed (or will close) this year.

Do you owe more than your house is worth? We have helped dozens of families successfully short sale their house, and we can help you. Read some of the testimonials here; http://www.HowardTeam.com/Testimonials

It’s always sunny in Sun City – and there are homes for sale

There are many Sun City communities by Del Web in the Las Vegas valley designed specifically for the over 55 homeowner. I actually call them “summer camp for seniors”, as they are more than just a place to live, they are a place for seniors to thrive socially. They have community centers with a full schedule of activities from various card games to exercise programs to day trips to crafts to book clubs and on and on.

Want to see some homes in Sun City that are for sale right now? Click here for the Sun City Summerlin community;
http://goo.gl/1ZlHzp

High Rise condos on the Las Vegas Strip have made a comeback

At the height of the Las Vegas Real Estate market in 2006, high rises were sought after from people from all walks of life who wanted to own a piece of that luxury lifestyle, and when the market began to fall, our high rises may have suffered the most. The plans for a second Trump Tower were scrapped and the 3rd Panorama Tower fell into bankruptcy. That 3rd tower was later purchased and renamed “The Martin”.

Well I just attended a closeout event at “The Martin” and they only have 5 original brand new residences left to sell. That’s quite a turnaround, considering where we were. There are several brand new units available in buildings with at least 5 stories, and of course there are hundreds available in the resale market . . . ranging from under $70,000 up to $38,000,000 currently.

Take a look;
http://goo.gl/44z1nJ

The Las Vegas valley has a balanced real estate market for the first time in years.

It’s one of the oldest laws in history – the “Law of Supply and Demand”.  And in residential real estate, there are some very specific measurements, that tell you most of what you need to know about any given market.

Take any specific territory (one zip code, or several), then we refer to “supply” as the number of available houses on the market today, and we call the demand, the number of houses that sold in the previous 30 days. Next, divide the former, by the latter, and that gives us “months of inventory”.  (to be clear, if there are 400 houses on the market today, and 100 houses have sold in the past 30 days, 400/100=4 “months of inventory”). What we have learned in modern real estate history, is that when “months of inventory” is less than 4, seller’s are pretty much “in charge” of the negotiations and the buyer is just grateful for the opportunity to (hopefully) buy.  Under these circumstances, we regularly see properties receive multiple offers, and buyers are often prone to paying more than the appraised value for a house. That’s the way it has been in the Las Vegas Valley for quite some time. I, personally started tracking inventory levels in September of 2012, when inventory was a paltry 1.34 months of inventory. I did this because I had learned that people who tracked these kind of numbers, saw what was coming, long before the typical consumer. A lot of people were blindsided in Las Vegas in 2006, and I did not want that to happen to me or my clients in the future. We just recently broke the 4 barrier and today we have 4.12 months of inventory.

What is next? That depends. Of course, historically less houses sell in the winter months, however, last December, we never broke the “4” mark; and inventory levels ranged between 3.29-3.38 months. What I hope this means is that we will continue for a long time to see “months of inventory” between 4-6 in our valley? What happens after 6?, well then the buyer’s kind of become “in charge” and the seller’s are just happy to have someone (hopefully) buy their property.

Would you like to see the supply of homes available in 89135 (Summerlin South)? 43 residential properties sold last month, and this link will show you what is what is available right now;
http://goo.gl/L8uwhb

(The Las Vegas valley is considered balanced, as a whole, however sellers are still “in charge” in this zip code)