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Old 10-26-2010, 11:17 PM
 
31 posts, read 91,299 times
Reputation: 18

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Hello all,



Wanted to gauge your opinion please....

Found 2 homes that I like and are priced the same.



1st home
Is older (1998 built) and is located in the Silverado Ranch
section of town. Has layout that I like, with the most sq footage
(approximately 1800 sf). Great bones basically.

However the curb appeal is not that great, and neighborhood "Just
feels a little old". And for every neighbor who manicures his lawn, their
are others who seem not to care. But at least their were no "broken
down" cars in driveways..lol.

2nd home Is newer (2006 built) and is located @ Blue diamond & Decatur.
Your typical Trac home house amongst many. It also has layout that
I like, with approximately 1350 sf.

The curb appeal is great, and the neighborhood feels "New" (by default
i'm assuming). New landscaping, along with newer model cars in
driveways. However it definitely has that 'sandwiched' feeling, as well as
no individual home identity.


So I would like to get the forums opinion if I could? Keep in mind I will
be in this house for a long time to come. Not necessarily looking
for a resale investment. And I commute via I-15 to the Strip daily.



Thanks in advance,

Firm
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Old 10-26-2010, 11:44 PM
 
848 posts, read 1,721,604 times
Reputation: 221
Post some photos but if I have to choose between the two neighborhoods, I'll take the Blue Diamond area.
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Old 10-26-2010, 11:49 PM
 
399 posts, read 1,024,488 times
Reputation: 76
If there is not a well run HOA at the 2006 home to enforce CC&Rs, the new neighborhood may easily look as bad or worse than the 1998 home's neighborhood in 10 years. You might be paying a price premium so you can witness the decline of the area every year.
However, if you buy a newer, smaller home with a smaller yard, you can expect lower utilities, less maintenance and a delay of a few years longer before things need to be replaced due to wear and age.
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Old 10-27-2010, 12:14 AM
 
2,502 posts, read 8,905,416 times
Reputation: 905
Sounds like #2 is more aesthetically pleasing, so I'd go with that.

(But that's just me - I'm big on clean, well-manicured neighborhoods.)
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Old 10-27-2010, 01:02 AM
 
Location: Here and there, you decide.
12,908 posts, read 27,933,848 times
Reputation: 5051
i'd go newer also... is it just you living in the home.. 1300sf is definitely small with no basements here.
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Old 10-27-2010, 03:04 AM
 
579 posts, read 995,312 times
Reputation: 371
One thing to consider is that the 1998 neighborhood will have many more people that aren't underwater on their house. Virtually anyone in the 2006 neighborhood is going to underwater unless they just bought. This could cause neighborhood issues beyond just HOA solvency. Obviously the whole city has issues but it would seem the older areas will have at least some people that are above water.

One thing I did was go to Zillow to look at public sale records. While it isn't perfect you can go house by house to see who bought when and for how much. This info can help a lot with knowing how stable the neighborhood is. To me that should be a deciding factor.
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Old 10-27-2010, 03:22 AM
 
Location: Here and there, you decide.
12,908 posts, read 27,933,848 times
Reputation: 5051
if you do that, you wouldn't know who took the extra loans though.. in my neighborhood, the homes originally sold for around 220ish in 2003.. several (not all) sold in 06 for 500-600k.. so with the one's who kept their homes, who is to know if they took 300k equity loans and are underwater? i look at it this way, if washington doesnt start giving the people money, we are in bigger trouble than we are now....
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Old 10-27-2010, 03:25 AM
 
579 posts, read 995,312 times
Reputation: 371
Quote:
Originally Posted by airics View Post
if you do that, you wouldn't know who took the extra loans though.. in my neighborhood, the homes originally sold for around 220ish in 2003.. several (not all) sold in 06 for 500-600k.. so with the one's who kept their homes, who is to know if they took 300k equity loans and are underwater? i look at it this way, if washington doesnt start giving the people money, we are in bigger trouble than we are now....
This is true, it isn't perfect. It is a guide though.
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Old 10-27-2010, 03:33 AM
 
Location: Here and there, you decide.
12,908 posts, read 27,933,848 times
Reputation: 5051
very true.. if iremember correctly, i believe i read that 80% or so of homeowners in vegas are underwater.. At times, i regret buying my 2nd home in 08 as i am also underwater, but the question is.. if that was today and i was buying, would i have gotten the loan?
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Old 10-27-2010, 06:22 AM
 
Location: North Las Vegas
1,631 posts, read 3,945,920 times
Reputation: 768
Quote:
Originally Posted by Firm View Post
Hello all,



Wanted to gauge your opinion please....

Found 2 homes that I like and are priced the same.



1st home Is older (1998 built) and is located in the Silverado Ranch
section of town. Has layout that I like, with the most sq footage
(approximately 1800 sf). Great bones basically.

However the curb appeal is not that great, and neighborhood "Just
feels a little old". And for every neighbor who manicures his lawn, their
are others who seem not to care. But at least their were no "broken
down" cars in driveways..lol.

2nd home Is newer (2006 built) and is located @ Blue diamond & Decatur.
Your typical Trac home house amongst many. It also has layout that
I like, with approximately 1350 sf.

The curb appeal is great, and the neighborhood feels "New" (by default
i'm assuming). New landscaping, along with newer model cars in
driveways. However it definitely has that 'sandwiched' feeling, as well as
no individual home identity.


So I would like to get the forums opinion if I could? Keep in mind I will
be in this house for a long time to come. Not necessarily looking
for a resale investment. And I commute via I-15 to the Strip daily.




Thanks in advance,

Firm
Older homes will be less energy efficient, compared to a newer home.
You should check on what the monthly utility bills are especially in the summer.
Also in 1998 the airconditioners were to small for most of the houses that were built during that time so they run more to keep up with the heat hence higher summer utility bills. Even some of the furnaces were not up to par to keep the house warm without running most of the time.
Also some of the irrigations for plants were to close to the house causing mold problems. Also the windows weren't as good at insulating against the weather . Also allot of the older homes have only one coat of stucco so they are prone to cracking, some newer homes still only put on one coat.

In Nevada homes weren't as well built as in colder climates, which they should since we have extreme heat. It's only been in the last 6 yrs the builders have paid more attention to the energy efficiency of a home.

There are some builders that have built better homes all along but most have beefed up the homes that are being built now with better insulation windows, airconditioners and furnaces. The older home may be cheaper at first but it could cost more in the long run for upkeep. Older homes can have some charm that a newer home may not have, the neighborhoods are usually more established and not hit as hard by the foreclosure crisis than newer neighborhoods.
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