Las Vegas: anyone looking to buy there?

[W2R]

Vegas was the last place we used a cloths line. When DW hung out the clothes, the first diaper on the line would be dry before she pinned up the last one. VERY hot dry climate in the summer! So hot we only launched aircraft early morning and late evening in the summer.

It's not for me! A lot of people simply adore dry climates and run from humidity. My skin has never been happier than it has been in the humidity of New Orleans, though. Also I will miss all of our rainfall here when we move north.

 

[Koolau]

Maybe I'm missing the obvious, but I fail to see the connection between the lack of a state income tax and the number of mentally ill or indigent begging on street corners. Are you saying they congregate in no-tax states to avoid paying taxes on their panhandling incomes?

Well, we have a state tax (up to 8 1/2%) and just about every other tax you can think of. Never saw so many homeless in my life. I will say, many of them are actually employed. Local stories suggest that they can't afford housing, even though employed - you suppose it's the taxes they pay?

 

[Orchidflower]

Before I finished college, I was working in D.C. as a secretary on Capitol Hill. The tax in DC is what? 13%. Moved to Chicago, and remember thinking like a year later that WOW! I actually was living a higher standard of life in Chicago making the same amount of money. That extra 10% savings from not having to pay such high income tax really made a difference. Illinois is only a flat 3%. Probably why I focus so much on my tax rates now that I am looking to relocate when my eldercaring is thru.

 

[RetireBy90]

Speaking of buying in Vegas, I recently made an offer for a short sale in Reno. I'm originally from Reno, but after 20 years in Army ended up in Virginia. The house I'm working on was offered at 245 and others in the area went for close to 700 at the top.

It seems that for 25% down, I'll be able to be cash flow positive from day one. So, even if there is further drop in the market, I will still be able to rent for my note. After much discussion with friends I decided that there is not much down side left. Either that or I'm way off and gonna loose it all.

We plan to retire in about 5-10 years and the default plan is to move back to Reno and move into this house.

 

[hadavi]

just bought a towhhome

My wife and i just bought a townhome in Anthem (henderson area). We almost pulled the trigger early last year on a different home in the same area. We bought a completely upgraded 1700sq ft gated home for 250k. It was going for 350 last year.

I know that you can get better deals, but with the upgrades and area and safety, we were willing to pay a bit more. We are excited !

 

[NW-Bound]

Being in Phoenix, I think L.V. weather would not be too different than our own. However, I have no desire to be near casinos or the limelight. Heck, we even got a place in the AZ high-country boonies to get away from this chaos, and maybe even retire there permanently.

However, I recently ran across this town, called Lake Las Vegas, about 20 miles from L.V. It was where Andrea Bocelli had a stop during his tour in the States a couple of years back. I have not been there. From videos and pictures, it strives for a Mediterranean look; photos of some subdivisions in fact may pass for a Southern Italian or Tuscan postcard, if they are not so upscale and so sterile.

I wonder what you Nevadans think of the place.

PS. Oops. Is Henderson part of Lake L.V.?

 

[hadavi]

Lake Las Vegas

We were looking at Lake Las Vegas too but backed off from that idea because the HOA is having some major problems. They filed for bankruptcy a few months ago and a judge ordered them to close one of the golf courses. There are tremendous deals out there, especially on home that were completed right before the market went South.


Check out Summerlin and Anthem Hills. Much more consistent and alot less foreclosures.

 

[NW-Bound]

Just surf the Web to find out that Lake Las Vegas Resort is a community inside of Henderson, not the other way around. I still see houses offered at $1M+, so am surprised to hear that the area is in trouble.

I got interested about the place, just from seeing the DVD of Bocelli's outdoor performance by the lake side, and telling myself that it looked like a nice place. I have no intention to buy there, but when going to L.V. in May will drive there to take a look, just to satisfy my curiosity.

PS. My screen name professes my love of the Puget Sound and my pipe dream of a waterfront place on Bainbridge Island with the view of the Space Needle. Henderson may be a fine place, but too much like my current corner in AZ.

 

[haha]

PS. My screen name professes my love of the Puget Sound and my pipe dream of a waterfront place on Bainbridge Island with the view of the Space Needle. Henderson may be a fine place, but too much like my current corner in AZ.

You know, if you want to come here but feel that Bainbridge is out of your league, look at Bremerton. You can't see the Space Needle from downtown, though there may be other spots where you can. The very nice ferry ride lands you downtown Seattle just like the Bainbridge Ferry, and though I liked the funky old Navy Bemerton best there are some nice new condo developments right downtown by the ferry dock. My old barber used to live there and he biked and ferried to work on lower Queen Anne.

Ha

 

[JPatrick]

If you like living in an insane asylum, it's great, but you have to take your meds everyday.

Just think, you roll out of bed at 2 am, belch loudly, look at your spouse snoring, hop into your car, go to casino, order some cawfee and a roll, whatever, belch loudly again, then go over and play some cards or video game while some nice young thing with a string up her butt is serving you drinks, not so bad.

Jug
like the strings in de thing

I must say, a life style like that would be hard to turn down

Jug/s, I'm shocked you are not doing promotionals for the Chamber of Commerce

 

[hadavi]

Lake Las Vegas is nice. I actually proposed to my there five years ago. It is part of Old Henderson. Just letting you know what I found out and why I didn't buy there. If the markets turn soon, then obviously it will be a great place to live.

 

[NW-Bound]

You know, if you want to come here but feel that Bainbridge is out of your league, look at Bremerton. You can't see the Space Needle from downtown, though there may be other spots where you can. The very nice ferry ride lands you downtown Seattle just like the Bainbridge Ferry, and though I liked the funky old Navy Bemerton best there are some nice new condo developments right downtown by the ferry dock. My old barber used to live there and he biked and ferried to work on lower Queen Anne.

Ha

Perhaps that could work. I actually did not mean the Space Needle per se, but to have a large window with the view of the water and the Seattle skyline. Ah! On cold days, I can see myself warming up with a cup of coffee laced with rum, or in the evening sipping some cognac by the fire, while taking in the view. I need to see some water, hence my interest in the Lake Las Vegas subdivision. However, for the money that they ask (>$1M), I could have the "real thing" on Bainbridge.

PS. I can also see myself taking a bike to the ferry, then to ride to the Asian part of town for some ethnic food, when I feel like it. Can't do that from my house in the AZ boonies, though it is a pretty nice house (I posted exterior picture recently), on a hill top with the view of the forest.

 

[haha]

Perhaps that could work. I actually did not mean the Space Needle per se, but to have a large window with the view of the water and the Seattle skyline. Ah! On cold days, I can see myself warming up with a cup of coffee laced with rum, or in the evening sipping some cognac by the fire, while taking in the view. I need to see some water, hence my interest in the Lake Las Vegas subdivision. However, for the money that they ask (>$1M), I could have the "real thing" on Bainbridge.

PS. I can also see myself taking a bike to the ferry, then to ride to the Asian part of town for some ethnic food, when I feel like it. Can't do that from my house in the AZ boonies, though it is a pretty nice house (I posted exterior picture recently), on a hill top with the view of the forest.

Used to be a guy who posted here (a few name changes along the way) who had two Bainbridge Houses, As I remember he sold the biggest more formal one at the RE peak, and kept a very nice one right on the beach.

I think he swings a pretty heavy bat.

Ha

 

[jug]

My wife and i just bought a townhome in Anthem (henderson area). We almost pulled the trigger early last year on a different home in the same area. We bought a completely upgraded 1700sq ft gated home for 250k. It was going for 350 last year.

I know that you can get better deals, but with the upgrades and area and safety, we were willing to pay a bit more. We are excited !

I'm pretty familiar with anthem, where are you at, you can backchannel me if you don't want to be so public.

jug

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

If you like living in an insane asylum, it's great, but you have to take your meds everyday.

Just think, you roll out of bed at 2 am, belch loudly, look at your spouse snoring, hop into your car, go to casino, order some cawfee and a roll, whatever, belch loudly again, then go over and play some cards or video game while some nice young thing with a string up her butt is serving you drinks, not so bad.

Jug
like the strings in de thing

I don't think Vegas is for me because I know I will have to this uncontrollable urge to move that dental floss up her butt to ease her discomfort.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

I must say, a life style like that would be hard to turn down

Jug/s, I'm shocked you are not doing promotionals for the Chamber of Commerce

I find that a lifestyle like that is much more possible out West than out East. There just isn't much a of a cycling or non-car commute culture here.

 

[Grizz]

A close friend just bought a 2 bed, 1.5 bath condo in Henderson last week. He paid $78K with original asking price of $84900. It's in excellent move in cond. He said that he was amazed at how much "junk" he saw even with the relatively new construction.

 

[NW-Bound]

We are currently in LV. Two days ago, we took a drive to Lake Las Vegas to take a look, just out of curiosity. It looked like very nice development. Picking up a pamplet at a local RE office, I saw some 1200 sqft condos listed for $120K. The ad said such condos went for $500K originally. While I don't understand the mania that drove the price to the half-million mark, the current price is very attractive.

It would make a good 2nd home for people from colder climate, or a nice retirement home for people who do not mind the summer heat. Not wanting to go with a realtor, we could not see the interior of these condos, only the exterior and then from a distance as they are all in gated-off communities. In all, it's a very nice area, though I wonder what the HOA fee would be.

Elsewhere, judging from a free brochure picked up at a grocery store, I saw that foreclosed houses could be had really cheap, such as the low $100K for a house of 2500-3000 sqft. However, these appeared to be further away from the city (I am not familiar with this area). Closer to LV, foreclosed houses still had asking prices of around $1 per sq.ft.

Seeing house prices like this makes me reluctant to plow more into the stock market beyond my current 55% equity - was 50% two weeks ago but the market god had been giving, and today he is taking.

 

[ziggy29]

Closer to LV, foreclosed houses still had asking prices of around $1 per sq.ft.

I assume this is in error? One dollar per square foot? Even Detroit isn't usually that cheap.

Do you mean $100 per square foot, maybe?

 

[NW-Bound]

I assume this is in error? One dollar per square foot? Even Detroit isn't usually that cheap.

Do you mean $100 per square foot, maybe?

Yes, my error. Thanks.

 

[TromboneAl]

We spent one night in Las Vegas on our current trip. So, being an expert, here are my thoughts:

This place is out of control with regard to growth, building, and traffic. At one point I wanted to go one mile to pick something up, but was told it would take 45 minutes by car due to traffic.

Also, I wouldn't want to live somewhere where the climate is less hospitable than that of many planets.

But that's just me.

 

[FUEGO]

Also, I wouldn't want to live somewhere where the climate is less hospitable than that of many planets.

But is is a dry heat. I was amazed at how much more comfortable 95 degrees in the shade out there feels versus 80 degrees and high humidity in the southeast US.

 

[clifp]

But is is a dry heat. I was amazed at how much more comfortable 95 degrees in the shade out there feels versus 80 degrees and high humidity in the southeast US.

True but a 105-110 doesn't feel comfortable no matter what the humidity.

After my trip last week, I am toying with the idea of buying a timeshare on the secondary market. They can be picked up pretty inexpensively $1,500 -$2,000. Of course the killer is the $500-$600 annual feel. Anybody have experience with Vegas timeshares, or perhaps just as importantly could I actually trade a week in Vegas for another timeshare in another desirable location?

 

[FUEGO]

No clue about timeshares. I have heard you can rent them very cheaply and not be on the hook for annual fees and have flexibility to use as you like.

Definitely go secondary market and not new sale though if you do it.

 

[Orchidflower]

However, the Sun City areas are not very reduced at all considering the whoppi'n discounts in the rest of the LV area.
The biggest drawback of that area to me is the lack of medical care. Physicians have been flocking away from LV like lemmings going to the sea. Not good if you get sick or have a major accident...not good at all.