[LV2ndHome]

Originally Posted by cm183

Of the 3 condos mentioned that are financially sound, I'm not particularly interested in Allure and Turnberry Place. I haven't checked out Sky but will look into it.

Personally I would make sure the developer of Sky and anyone that ever had any ties to him are off the HOA board and not involved in the management. I think he is currently in prison for embezzling roughly $1 million from the HOA of another LV property of his. He is known for not paying HOA fees on units he owns, and a lot of unscrupulous behavior. I think he has filed bankruptcy more than once. Even if he is gone, I would still fear him having too much control/influence through cronies that may still be involved in HOA/management. Can financial reports be trusted? It's been years since I looked into details of this property, so hopefully things have improved and are currently fine, but I would still suggest very thorough due diligence because of it's past.

There used to be a Sky owners forum that was open for public viewing that had a lot of useful, current info. I'm not sure if it's still active and open to the public, and too lazy to look for it (I haven't had any interest in Sky in a few years, so I quit visiting it long ago).

I would also be concerned about the immediate area in the near future. Will Fountainebleau ever be completed? Echelon? Will Sahara ever reopen? This can have a tremendous effect on the property value (could be very good or bad) moving forward. Are you willing to roll the dice on future value due to the surroundings?

I-Team: Sanctioned Developer has Ties to Strip High-Rise HOA - 8 News NOW

I considered buying some Allure properties at auction years ago because they were dirt cheap compared to other highrises at the time (some units sold for around $100/sq ft). There were a lot of problems there at the time, both financially and with property conditions (which is why they were dirt cheap). I'm a bit surprised Allure is now presented as one of the most financially sound highrises as that would be a pretty quick and drastic turn around, but admittedly I haven't been following the situation for the past few years. Here's an example of past problems from several years ago:

Las Vegas Business Press :: News : Allure may face beefier court complaint

[UTES]

Originally Posted by LV2ndHome

I'm a bit surprised Allure is now presented as one of the most financially sound highrises as that would be a pretty quick and drastic turn around, but admittedly I haven't been following the situation for the past few years.

Good points.

What changed is the developers turned over the building to the HOA when occupancy hit 80% in late 2011. The remaining units were then aggressively discounted to close them out. As a result, Allure has sold 99.5% of its units (only 2 of 400 remain unsold). Allure now has the highest occupancy rate of any of the "new" (post-Turnberry Place) Strip condos - resulting in very healthy HOA financials.

Allure not only started 2013 with $1,651,229 in its reserve fund, it will put $424,170 into it during the calendar year.

As a result of the above, Allure is the first HOA I know of on The Strip that has DECREASED the fees HOA members pay to live there.

Bill

[jcjblo]

Panorama has reduced the monthly HOA fee two years in a row now. It has also received a big chunk of change from the settlement of the litigation with the developer last year and is doing all sorts of improvements to the property.

[LV2ndHome]

Originally Posted by jcjblo

Panorama has reduced the monthly HOA fee two years in a row now. It has also received a big chunk of change from the settlement of the litigation with the developer last year and is doing all sorts of improvements to the property.

How much are the HOA fees now? Can you give us a quick highlights report of the improvements?

Thanks.

[UTES]

Originally Posted by jcjblo

Panorama has reduced the monthly HOA fee two years in a row now.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the update.

Bill

[jcjblo]

Its about 0.60 psf now. The canopy between the two towers has been completely redone, so are the gates behind the guardhouse. The spas, swimming pool hotub, fitness room equipment all renewed. The lobby will be next while the common area of each floor is being renewed now. Soon to come elevator upgrades and there are a host of structural stuff that was done late last year. For complete details talk to your friendly RE agent who is familiar with the development.

[LV2ndHome]

Originally Posted by jcjblo

Panorama has reduced the monthly HOA fee two years in a row now...

Its about 0.60 psf now.

I checked a few random listings for units either currently for sale or that closed within the last few months and it appears it's currently running about 0.62.

Here's an excerpt from a realtor's blog entry (link below) from late 2008 that I found quickly which documents it was 0.55 at that time for example:

"With HOA dues at SKY and Panorama Towers and Allure running about 55 cents per square ft. and those at Turnberry Place and Turnberry Towers, even higher..."

Las Vegas High Rise Condo HOA Dues - Incongruent with the Price Drops?

It was running about 0.55 during the first several years (I had substantial interest in it at one time a couple of years after the above, followed it pretty closely, and it was still 0.55). How has HOA gone down? It certainly appears to have gone up.

[logline]

Originally Posted by jcjblo

For complete details talk to your friendly RE agent who is familiar with the development.

That's funny. You overestimate their knowledge. You just told us more info than 95% of agents who consider themselves "familiar" with Panorama. Thanks for the info.

[UTES]

Allure is $0.56 PSF.

Bill

[jcjblo]

When I first bought my place in 2011, HOA was 0.67+psf