prudential americana: Las Vegas – A Great Place for Retirement - 09/15/11 03:02 PM
Many retirement communities have settled in the Las Vegas valley including North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Las Vegas. Once you hit retirement, it can be a challenge on deciding where to live out the rest of your life and what you are looking for in a retirement community.
Today, with Las Vegas home prices being so low and interest rates just hitting an all-time low, there is no better time to look at the advantages of living in the valley; it is definitely a buyer’s market. 
Besides having the “fun stuff” – golfing, boating, shopping, great dining and entertainment – … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Little Things can Make a Difference When Selling Your Las Vegas Home - 09/08/11 09:40 AM
Before putting your Las Vegas house on the market, make it stand out among the others for sale in your area. Buyers feel more comfortable purchasing a home that has been well cared for because if what they can see is maintained, what they can't see has probably also been maintained. The little things can count big to make your house more salable.
 
Start at the curb, up the walk, through the inside of the house, and out the back door. Treat this walkthrough as if you have never seen this property before. Notice anything that would stand out … (0 comments)

prudential americana: Keep the Heat Out of Your Las Vegas Home - 08/18/11 01:13 PM
There are many positive aspects to living in Las Vegas; however for many, the summer heat is not one of them. Having to depend solely on your air conditioner to keep your home cool all summer is costly and energy consuming. 
Here are a few options to keep the heat out of your Las Vegas home while keeping your energy bill low:
Get that Air CirculatingA ceiling fan can be a great investment for your Las Vegas home. Fans don’t use much energy but with the air moving, it can feel much cooler – a whole 5 to 7 degrees … (3 comments)

prudential americana: Green Valley Ranch is a Great Place to Call Home - 08/11/11 01:04 PM
Looking for a place to call home where you can feel like you are living in a charming small town yet still have the glitz of Vegas just off in the distance?  Look no further than Green Valley Ranch.
Once you starting walking through The District, right in the heart of Green Valley, you will feel like you’ve walked into a small European village complete with cobblestone walkways, European-style buildings and a great park to enjoy some outdoor fun or just kick back and relax.
In the mood for shopping?  With more than 40 retail shops, including some known favorites … (2 comments)

prudential americana: The Time is Ripe for Las Vegas Investment Homes - 08/04/11 04:21 AM
If you have been looking for an investment property, consider buying a Las Vegas home.  Investors are taking advantage of the low Las Vegas home prices; why shouldn’t you? Out-of-state vacation-home buyers and investors made up a huge percentage of home sales in June. 
A whopping one-third of Vegas home sales in June were from out-of-state buyers, mainly California, buying a vacation home. Additionally, DataQuick reported that 46 percent of all homes sold in June were from absentee buyers, including investors who live in Nevada. 
With the homes' prices being so low, a large number of investors are buying … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Undervalued Las Vegas Home Prices Mean Homeownership for You - 07/28/11 05:32 PM
If you are considering buying a Las Vegas home, you’ve heard the hype – prices are low – buyer’s market – but have you seen the numbers that support the claim? In 2006, the median Las Vegas home price was $285,000. Today, the median price is extremely undervalued at $106,000, which is at an unsustainable level.
"It collapsed so hard that it overcorrected," Mark Boud of Irvine, CA-based Real Estate Economics,  told about 60 real estate professionals at the Las Vegas Midyear Builder Symposium at Alexis Park. "You pay 11 cents on the dollar in mortgage costs, which is incredible and, … (3 comments)

prudential americana: Low Cost Improvements to Sell Your Las Vegas Home - 07/21/11 07:40 AM
If you must sell your Las Vegas house in the current market, be wise about making improvements before putting it on the market. You do not want to invest thousands, since when you look at comparables, there may not be a huge price difference between a good property and an excellent property.
The best return on your typical subdivision home is a fresh coat of neutral paint, de-cluttering, and some color for curb appeal to make a good first impression and draw the buyer in. 
Make it NeutralWhen you put a fresh coat of neutral paint on the walls, not … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Las Vegas Investment Properties Can Pay Off Big - 07/14/11 03:36 AM
If you are looking for Las Vegas homes to buy as investment properties, now is a great time!  Home prices have never been lower and interest rates are still relatively low. With such a great opportunity, now you just need to make sure you buy the properties that will give you the biggest return.
In finding the right properties, there are some very important rules to follow or you may be hanging on to that property longer than anticipated.
Will People Gravitate to the Neighborhood: Although it may be an older part of town, this is not always an immediate turnoff. … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Don’t Let Appraisers Undervalue Your Las Vegas Home - 07/07/11 08:56 AM
Appraisers.  An appraiser can be one big obstacle that can stand in the way of selling your Las Vegas home. Imagine that our N&Y Team has found a buyer for your home, and the one thing standing in your way of closing the deal is the appraisal. These days, appraisers are routinely undervaluing homes. Therefore, it is important when hiring an agent, that they are knowledgeable about the area and its comparable homes. Don't let that appraiser undervalue the appraisal of your home; instead arm them with a plethora of information.
 According to the The Real Deal, rule changes under the … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Avoid First-Time Home Buying Mistakes when Buying Your Las Vegas Home - 06/16/11 05:00 PM
One of life's milestones is buying your first home and with home prices in Las Vegas being at an all time low ... now is the perfect time to buy. However, it's really easy to get caught up in the excitement of buying your first home and, in that excitement, many homebuyer's make some common mistakes. 
These mistakes can easily be avoided by arming yourself with some basic knowledge before your house hunting even begins.
Don't Skip Mortgage Qualification
You may have already computed your debt-to-income ratio and you already have a good idea about how much home you can afford. … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Buy a Las Vegas Home before FHA Changes the Rules - 06/02/11 01:29 PM
If you have been toying with the idea of buying a Las Vegas home, don't wait any longer! Now is the time to buy before FHA raises the minimum down-payment requirement.It seems that the House Financial Services Committee, led by the Republicans, has drafted legislation, among other things, to raise the FHA down-payment requirement to 5 percent and prohibit borrowers from financing their closing costs.
On May 25, this draft legislation was discussed in a House Subcommittee. The draft legislation is called, "FHA-Rural Regulatory Improvement Act of 2011".  The House Financial Services Committee's Republican Chairman Spencer Bachus touted the bill as … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Now is the Time to Buy Your First Las Vegas Home - 05/26/11 01:31 PM
Las Vegas property prices are the lowest they've been in a decade or more and mortgage rates continue to remain relatively low. If you are thinking of being a first-time homebuyer, now is the time to find your perfect Las Vegas home.
They say to buy low and sell high. Well, the time is ripe to buy low! To make sure you buy low, and smart, heed these pointers:
•· Credit Check: Cash and good credit are key to snagging a bargain home and keeping it. Before you shop, make sure you have cash on hand for your down payment and good … (0 comments)

prudential americana: How fair is housing rescue? - 03/18/09 02:06 AM
In the wake of the stimulus plan and the housing recovery plan announced by the President last month, there has been a lot of discussion about what's fair in the plans.  Who was helped?  Who should have been?
The $275 billion housing stability plans seeks to help two groups of homeowners:
Diligent homeowners with little equity who have been hurt by falling home prices but who are not delinquent Homeowners who are behind on their payments, which currently represent too high a percentage of their income Refinancing is available only for those financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, up to … (0 comments)

prudential americana: Fix Housing First Plan Reaches Out to Troubled Homeowners - 02/18/09 11:07 PM
Acting on the one thing anyone agrees on about fixing our economy - "Fix housing first" - President Barack Obama just revealed his new $75 million housing relief plan.   The funds, coming from the taxpayer funded-financial rescue package, will be supplemented by a $200 billion government commitment to stabilize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by buying their stock and $50 billion more for the housing twins to buy up certain loans.  Not intended as either a quick fix or a universal one, the plan combines several different approaches to the multidimensional housing problem.
In formulating the plan, Obama faced the choice … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Think New Construction, Think Las Vegas 2009 - 02/04/09 01:52 PM

The year 2008 will go down in Las Vegas housing history as the year affordability came back to the marketplace.  With a 33 % price drop over the course of the year, median prices for existing homes averaged $157,250 in December, while new homes averaged $243,254. 
Attendees at the quarterly Crystal Ball presentation hosted by SalesTraq, a Las Vegas-based research firm, evaluated 2008 statistics and offered various scenarios for 2009.  New home builders suffered a 49.1% decline in home sales and 53.2% decline new home building permits the lowest since 1990 when figures were first tracked.  Sales Trac President Larry … (2 comments)

prudential americana: Rethinking Needed on Loan Modification - 01/28/09 09:51 AM
Fixing the housing problem in Las Vegas and elsewhere throughout the nation is high on the growing list of priorities for new President Barrack Obama.  Recent piecemeal attempts by banks and the government to modify loans or delay foreclosure for specific groups of homeowners have not uncovered a way that will work for everyone - or a way that will satisfy every interest in the loans.
Investment bankers Credit Suisse reports that since the housing bubble burst, over 3 million homes have been lost to foreclosure while another 8 to 10 million more are headed that way over the next four … (26 comments)

prudential americana: Help for Underwater Mortgages - 12/07/08 10:45 PM
While many mortgage holders are finally being offered relief to prevent foreclosure, two groups of borrowers are often left out.  Those who can pay (even with difficulty) get little sympathy, as well as little thanks for doing what they agreed to do when they signed the loan.  The other group, those with negative equity or "underwater mortgages" have gotten attention, some sympathy, but little help.  Fortunately, this is changing.
Here's the scenario.  Joe Homeowner bought a home for $300,000, maybe during the boom years from 2004-2006 and maybe for no money down.  Or maybe he bought it earlier, but seeing that … (0 comments)

prudential americana: Trash or Cash - 12/04/08 09:08 PM
The pride that people feel when they move into a new home is often nowhere in sight when their circumstances change and the bank forecloses on the home.  In fact, banks who try to reclaim foreclosed homes often find them vandalized by the former owners, so consumed with anger and frustration that they lash out at their once-beloved property.  A recent survey of real estate agents done by Campbell Communications of Washington, D.C. conjectures that half of the foreclosed properties owned by banks have substantial damage by the time the banks get possession.  When "house love" turns to "house rage," the … (0 comments)

prudential americana: Big Paydays for CEOs - 12/01/08 09:01 AM
Amidst bailouts to AIG, WAMU, and other corporate entities, there is always the fear that executives will be richly compensated as workers, stockholders, and now taxpayers foot the bill.  As GM and other automakers hover on the brink of bankruptcy, one concern in any bailout talk is that executives who made bad decisions will be rewarded.
We have precedent for this in recent history, as former president of Countrywide Bank Angelo Mozilo walked away with $45 million in pensions and retirement plus deferred compensation when Bank of America rescued the biggest player in the subprime mortgage game.  Bailout stories of other … (5 comments)

prudential americana: Casinos Roll Dice on New Luxuries as Job Cuts Mount - 11/18/08 08:53 PM
These are not be the best of times even for Las Vegas resort and casino owners, as high gas and airfare prices and an economy that offers less discretionary income keep patrons away.  Earrings for Harrahs, MGM's Mirage , and other casinos are down 20% this year.  As a result, job losses to date in casino employment are surpassing 2001 when the 9/11 attacks paralyzed the industry for several months and put about 10,000 out of work for several months.  In addition, major players in the Las Vegas entertainment world are scrutinizing all levels of their operation to see where personnel cuts can … (2 comments)