It's a basic yet often overlooked ingredient for success in the real estate business...previewing and knowing the inventory. In this fast-paced, immediate gratification world, many real estate agents have simply gotten away from previewing available listings and really knowing what's happening in the market. Excuses abound, "There's not enough time in the day"; "It's not the best use of my time"; "Isn't that what the MLS, the Listing portals, photos and Virtual Tours are for?" The bottom line is you can't afford to not know the inventory. It is after all the product you are selling! Take the time to... Read more →

Buying a HUD home in the Las Vegas area is definitely another primary residen ce or investment alternative. FHA loans have increased dramatically over the past couple of years due to the decreasing prices of Las Vegas Homes. Therefore, expect to see the number of HUD homes available to increase. What is a HUD Home? When a homeowner with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured mortgage can't meet the payments, the lender forecloses on the home; FHA pays the lender what is owed; and then the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) takes ownership of the home.... Read more →

Please Join Us in Celebrating our GRAND OPENING of the new Green Valley Branch location! FALL IN LOVE WITH REALTY ONE GROUP WHEN: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 WHERE: Green Valley Office 2831 St. Rose Pkwy. #100 Henderson, NV 89052 TIME: 12pm - 6pm (Lunch at 12pm followed by Ribbon Cutting at 1pm) View Larger Map Join us for a meet & greet from 2pm - 4pm and cocktail party from 4pm - 6pm. Come celebrate as we all toast to Realty ONE Group's newest luxurious 12,000 sq. ft. office. This Valentine's Day mark your calendar to attend this Grand Opening... Read more →

Image via Wikipedia In the state of Nevada, is a a seller of real property and/or the real estate agent required to disclose a death that occurred in a property? Is the fact that a death, suicide, or homicide occurred in a property considered a material fact? The simple answer is NO, it is not a requirement nor is it considered material to the transaction according to NRS 40.770. The statute is excerpted below with noted exceptions. Be aware that the law varies from state to state. That being said, it is my opinion that if, as the listing agent,... Read more →

The 76th Nevada Legislative Session adjourned June 7, 2011 with several new bills... now law... that will impact the real estate industry and in particular foreclosures and short sales. Here is a summary of those bills: AB273 AB 273 prevents banks from “double-dipping” and going after borrowers for the full amount of the deficiency they owe on their mortgage loan when lenders have received compensation from other sources. It will cap the amount a third party can be awarded if they bought the right to the deficiency for pennies on the dollar. Finally, it will reduce the amount of time... Read more →

Inman News recently released a special and comprehensive report "10 Best Markets for Real Estate Investors." In compiling the "10 Best Markets for Real Estate Investors" report, Inman News reached out to a range of data providers and online real estate sites that supplied statistics and charts to identify real estate markets that may be well-suited for investors. The following chart was provided by online real estate and valuation site Zillow.com. Read Zillows methodology and contribution for the Inman News report. Real Estate Professionals - Don't Miss the Next Las Vegas Live Short Sale Training Learn more about the CFAC... Read more →

Image via Wikipedia As a Broker-Manager with over 18 years experience, I would have to say that the one issue I deal with most often is earnest money disputes. The challenge with earnest money being released after a cancellation of escrow, is that the Escrow Company will not release the funds without mutual, written agreement by both parties. Many times after a cancellation of escrow, one or both parties are upset and disagree as to who should have the earnest money. The purchase agreement may contain language stating the earnest money to be refunded to the buyer in the event... Read more →

Image via Wikipedia When Congress created the VA Home Loan Guaranty program in 1944, Las Vegas would have been unrecognizable compared to the city it has become today. Now, thanks to the federal government’s generous subsidized home loan program, military homebuyers have the ability to use a Nevada VA loan to purchase a home in Nevada. Because of their great terms, VA loans are popular among military members and have aided more than 19 million Vets in purchasing a home. After picking out a home in Las Vegas, buyers must consider their financing options. Two things that are central to... Read more →

Attention Nevada Realtors! In case you missed it... Here is the information from GLVAR: Beginning January 1, 2011, the seller of residential property must provide the purchaser with an evaluation of the energy consumption of the home on a form provided by the Nevada Energy Commissioner. The form must be provided prior to closing the sale, and certain exemptions apply. SELLER'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION EVALUATION FORM Download Nevada Revised Statutes ("NRS") 701.250 Download How To Complete The Seller's Energy Consumption Evaluation Form Download The new requirements are found in NRS 113.115, which was passed by the Nevada Legislature in 2007 and... Read more →

The Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® has an excellent tool to use for staying in touch with your current, past and prospective clients - an HTML Consumer Newsletter. The Association will collect, compile and distribute statistics, news and events pertinent to the consumer and forward the information to each REALTOR® member each month. When forwarding the Newsletter, remember to perform the following steps: Click the [Forward] button to generate a new email. Change the [Subject] line of the email to your choosing. Delete ALL content from the top of the email to the specified line (Delete the line too!).... Read more →

According to GLVAR, sales of existing homes in Las Vegas were up 64% in 2009. GLVAR reported 46,879 local housing sales in 2009. That represents a huge spike from 28,618 total sales in 2008 and trails only the 71,963 homes sold during the record year of 2004. The increasing sales continue to be driven by low prices. GLVAR reports that the average single family home sold in the area in December 2008 was $204,000 in December 2008. By December of 2009, that number had fallen to $165,000. Read more →

I was in New York City, when this "sensationalized, let's write about the seedier side of life and Las Vegas because that's what sells"... cover story in TIME MAGAZINE hit the news stands. I read it and have been meaning to comment on it and set the record straight. If you missed the article - here is a link to it on Time's website : Less Vegas: The Casino Town Bets on a Comeback Today, I read Paul Francis's blog and brilliant review of the story - so I highly recommend checking it out! Las Vegas Real Estate Agent Creates... Read more →

The Residential Purchase Agreement from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors added the CLUE report as a due diligence option for buyers to request in 2009. Here is some more information about the CLUE report and how to obtain one. What is a CLUE report? The C.L.U.E.® (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) Report. CLUE is a report of claims information generated by ChoicePoint, a consumer-reporting agency. Insurance companies report claim information to ChoicePoint, such as the type of claim and how much they paid on a claim. In exchange, insurance companies can access the claims history of a specific consumer... Read more →

Attorney Darren Welsh of Prudential Americana Group, has posted a series of Nevada Legislative Updates on his blog. Stay informed on all the latest leagal news and information affecting your Nevada real estate business by subscribing to his blog at: http://ameglegal.wordpress.com/ The Rules on BPO, Effective July 1, 2009 Changes to the Nevada CIC Resale Package Nevada Domestic Partnerships / Civil Unions Eviction of Tenants In the Event of Foreclosure Discover the power of business coaching – Book a Free 30-minute consultation with Jan Read more →

For homebuyers interested in learning more about how the federal government’s Housing Recovery Act can help them, Prudential Americana Group and Housing For Nevada are providing a solution. The Nancy Storey Team of Prudential Americana has partnered with the statewide homeownership program to teach HUD-approved education courses. The courses, led by Housing for Nevada president John Smith, are a prerequisite for homebuyers to apply for HUD’s down-payment assistance programs. “In May, the federal government will release nearly $19 million in Southern Nevadato launch the Neighborhood Stabilization Program,” said Mark Stark, CEO of Prudential Americana Group. “The grants will be given... Read more →

Debbie Huber of Huber Appraisaland Home Pride Insectionsin Las Vegas is today's featured guest blogger. Debbie has been appraising residential homes in Las Vegas for over 20 years and holds the SRA designation (Senior Residential Appraiser). She is also a Past President of the Appraisal Commission for the State of Nevada. Virtually any subdivision or extended market area can be studied using MLS to determine what changes (if any) have occurred in overall prices. To do this type of analysis in an abbreviated format, you can take the following steps: Search the subdivision or area you wish to study, and... Read more →

Kathryn Bovard wrote an excellent post yesterday on her Zen Real Estate blog, reporting on NAR's chief economist Dr. Lawrence Yun's prediction that Las Vegas would lead the country out of the housing crisis. Dr. Yun cited to key reasons... 1.The Las Vegas home prices are under market and 2. The Stimulus Plan Read Kathryn's full post for more.. Today Chief Economist Predicts Las Vegas Real Estate Market to Lead the Nation Out of Housing Crisis Read more →

Nevada continues to have the highest number or foreclosure filings for all US states according to www.Realtytrac.com. Realtytrac records and defines foreclosure filings as: ".... documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank)." "Nevada foreclosure activity in January decreased 4 percent from the previous month, but the state continued to register the nation’s No. 1 foreclosure rate, with one... Read more →

January 2009 Las Vegas Real Estate Fast Facts Courtesy of Larry Murphy, www.Salestraq.com SALES: Existing home sales reached 2,737 - a 71.1% increase over last January. Unfortunately, that was an 11.7% decline from December's totals. New homes fared far worse. The average number of sales per subdivision totaled 0.81 - the lowest in this century. The total of 284 new home sales is a number not seen in decades in this market. It is a 66% decline from last January and a drop of 55.1% from December. There were only 10 closings in the vertical market (hi-rise/mid-rise). PRICES: While the... Read more →

Las Vegas Real Estate Market Report: 02/11/09 This is the latest Las Vegas Real Estate Market Report from www.NARREIA.com (National Association of Residential Real Estate Investment Advisors). For the week of February 11, 2009, data is obtained from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors MLS. Single Family Residence (SFR) Available – 15,937 (-171 , Last Week 16,108) Under Contract – 5,976 (+365 , Last Week 5,611) Days of Supply – 80 (-6 , Last Week 86) Short Sales – 7,349 (+117 , Last Week 7,232) Condominiums and Town Homes (CONDO/TH) Available – 4,537 (+2 , Last Week 4,535) Under... Read more →