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I'm from Pennsylvania and just returned from a one month trip to Vegas, and I was not exactly home sick.
I absolutely hate the cold NE winters, and would love to have a place to get away Feb/Mar/April and see the sun.
With values where they are in LV right now, I feel very interested in buying an "investment" property. My own personal use would be the primary benefit. I'd like to have a place to call home if I'm going to be spending a great deal of time in LV.
At the same time, from what I gather with the laws of Clark county, and the HOA rules, it also seems like the worst place in the world to own a rental property (unless you plan on using it for a 100% long term rental). I would prefer to only rent it (or have it "rentable") for a 6-8 month period of the year.
Ideal placement for me would be somewhere as far west as summerlin, as far north as charleston blvd, as far east as Rainbow, and south as Blue diamond rd.
Anyway, back to my original reason for posting. Does this sound like a situation where I am better renting? Or could owning work out well for me?
I just bought a condo in Vegas. If you can afford it, buy. It will be awhile, but values will go up if you choose a desirable area. Once again, make sure you can afford it. If it's a condo, you might want/should pay cash because you'll have high hoa fees. I plan on investing more in the LV market when I move there full-time. Right now, it's just a vacation property. There are numerous great buys out there!
I'm from Pennsylvania and just returned from a one month trip to Vegas, and I was not exactly home sick.
I absolutely hate the cold NE winters, and would love to have a place to get away Feb/Mar/April and see the sun.
With values where they are in LV right now, I feel very interested in buying an "investment" property. My own personal use would be the primary benefit. I'd like to have a place to call home if I'm going to be spending a great deal of time in LV.
At the same time, from what I gather with the laws of Clark county, and the HOA rules, it also seems like the worst place in the world to own a rental property (unless you plan on using it for a 100% long term rental). I would prefer to only rent it (or have it "rentable") for a 6-8 month period of the year.
Ideal placement for me would be somewhere as far west as summerlin, as far north as charleston blvd, as far east as Rainbow, and south as Blue diamond rd.
Anyway, back to my original reason for posting. Does this sound like a situation where I am better renting? Or could owning work out well for me?
This is a great time to buy especially condo's they have gone down 61% in value, like bmw335xt states pay cash because the hoa's will be high and it depends on what amenities they have depends on what they will charge.
Also if the condo community has had allot of foreclosures and short sales HOA's are higher in those communities due to non payment of monthly dues by defaulted home owners and banks don't pay hoa's until the property sells, the banks are only liable for 9 months,this can go for single family home communities as well.
Also if you purchase a condo in a gated community and not guard gated it will not be as protected. Gated communities anyone can follow the car in front of them . Since you will be only using the property so many months out of the yr you should consider guard gated over gated. Nothing is absolutely perfect but when your gone you want your investment protected. It may cost you more but it's worth it in the long run.
This market is still volatile in Vegas and no one can seem to agree when it will turn around or if or how much more with properties will depreciate further. So when you buy any property in Vegas you must plan for the worst and hope for the best. Meaning anything purchased right now even if the prices are at all time lows could go down further, how much further Know really knows. You can't get any of the analysts to agree on anything.
Think of the Vegas strip as our ocean front property so when Vegas comes back it will be the strip properties first than the burbs later.
That's because when the strip comes back that's when the casino's will start filling empty positions and those employees will want to purchase properties again. Most people that like to go to the strip prefer to live close to the strip to avoid the hassle of traffic. If you purchase property that is within minutes of the strip especially highrise properties you will pay more. Purchasing property in the present market isn't for the faint of heart . Good luck
I'm from Pennsylvania and just returned from a one month trip to Vegas, and I was not exactly home sick.
I absolutely hate the cold NE winters, and would love to have a place to get away Feb/Mar/April and see the sun.
With values where they are in LV right now, I feel very interested in buying an "investment" property. My own personal use would be the primary benefit. I'd like to have a place to call home if I'm going to be spending a great deal of time in LV.
At the same time, from what I gather with the laws of Clark county, and the HOA rules, it also seems like the worst place in the world to own a rental property (unless you plan on using it for a 100% long term rental). I would prefer to only rent it (or have it "rentable") for a 6-8 month period of the year.
Ideal placement for me would be somewhere as far west as summerlin, as far north as charleston blvd, as far east as Rainbow, and south as Blue diamond rd.
Anyway, back to my original reason for posting. Does this sound like a situation where I am better renting? Or could owning work out well for me?
I know someone who does that at the Platinum. He uses his condo for a month here and there for business and the hotel rents it out during the rest of the year. I believe there might be a 30 day max, then you have to check out for a day and then recheck back it if you want to stay longer than a year, or some silly thing like that.
I suppose you can do the same with the MGM Signature, but at least not have a length of stay restriction.
Meridian might be another possibility, but you will probably need to arrange a property manager.
When purchasing in any property you need to do your home work, some of the places that swigchow mentioned has issues:
This is important information regarding the Meridian.
Contractors board enters frayNews Story | Posted 08/22/2010 | By JOAN WHITELY LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The Nevada State Contractors Board has opened an investigation into unlicensed construction at the upscale Meridian project near the Strip.Meanwhile, the Clark County district attorney has declined to
Condotels like Platinum and the MGM signature, Trump or Palms place are another kind of animal, if you purchase in those you need to know that if a hotel guest trashes the room you will have to replace furniture and fix any other damages to the room. The hotels usually will get a credit card to take care of any damages done by the guest , most of the time if a guest trashes a place they will immediately cancel that credit card, leaving you with the mess.
Also since a condotel is a hotel if you have noisy people staying in units to you, there isn't anything you can do about it, especially since you own the unit you wouldn't be able to request a different room, If you have your unit in a rental pool especially if it is linked with the hotel rental program, if you plan on using it during peak times like New Years some properties will charge you a fee to stay in your own unit sometimes they may put you in one similar to yours if they have already booked your unit. Every place is different you really need to be on your toes when purchasing these units to make sure that you are prepared for what the different rules and regs are and fees.
I'm trying to avoid the condohotels, or any property very close to the strip, as it does not really fit into my own personal reasoning for staying in Vegas. The fees are also very high, most 700+. I'd prefer to pay to be in a nicer neighborhood somewhere in my described "box". North as far as Charleston, West anywhere, south as far as blue diamond, and east maybe to Rainbow. So far I appreciate what everyone has commented, especially the suggestion of guard gated vs gated. I have rented in a condo near russell/durango and noticed the same thing about cars just following the other in.
My biggest question in this thread is about what kind of expectation I can have if I were to try to find a renter(s) to get something back on the property the time that it will be vacant. I would be trying to rent it fully furnished (since I don't want to be constantly moving in, then moving out). Does that make this an even worse idea? I figured I would try to furnish it as cheap and bulletproof as possible, while still being comfortable for my own needs. Kind of a hotel mentality I suppose.
If I used the unit Feb, March, and April, and had a property management company try to find a renter or renters for any of the remaining time in the year, what would be a reasonable expectation? Getting a renter for 3 of those 9 moths on average? 5 of of 9 months? 0 of 9 months?
Also if the condo community has had allot of foreclosures and short sales HOA's are higher in those communities due to non payment of monthly dues by defaulted home owners and banks don't pay hoa's until the property sells, the banks are only liable for 9 months,this can go for single family home communities as well.
Also if you purchase a condo in a gated community and not guard gated it will not be as protected. Gated communities anyone can follow the car in front of them . Since you will be only using the property so many months out of the yr you should consider guard gated over gated. Nothing is absolutely perfect but when your gone you want your investment protected. It may cost you more but it's worth it in the long run.
This market is still volatile in Vegas and no one can seem to agree when it will turn around or if or how much more with properties will depreciate further. So when you buy any property in Vegas you must plan for the worst and hope for the best. Meaning anything purchased right now even if the prices are at all time lows could go down further, how much further Know really knows. You can't get any of the analysts to agree on anything.
True the more amenities the higher the fees but on a side note regarding condos, check the floor plan. I have looked into many condos before purchasing the one I currently reside in and I love the open floor plan of my unit. I have a large living room area which I really like. Most condos have cramped living room areas even the ones with a large sq footage. My unit is only 960 sq ft but the living room is quite large, granted the bedroom suffered space wise but then again I spend more time awake in the living room than in the bedroom.
Regarding the gates/guard, I really don't look at it as one being safer than the other simply because it is guarded by a person. One of the neighbors could commit a crime against another while the guard is standing texting at the guardhouse. Besides, that guard gated community will definitely have a higher HOA simply because of the added overhead.
Regarding plummeting home values, I'm a resident and not an investor so I like the fact that my mortgage company has been sending me checks on a yearly basis because taxes remitted to the local gov't was too high compared to the current value of my property and its appropriate tax liability. The downside, I'll be stuck in my unit for a long time but then again I love the location of my condo and the neighborhood.
you are going to have a hard time renting it for 6-8 months.. most hoas require 1 yr leases IF they even allow you to rent out at all.
I would have loved to find a place to rent for 6 months while I was looking for a house to buy. However, all I could find in the specific area I was hoping to rent in were 1 year leases. I imagine it's quite a bit more work for the leasing agent (or the owner) if the leases are shorter than a year.
i know a lot of Poker player rent furnished houses for 2 or 3 months during the World Series of Poker usually May to July. This might be an idea to offset the cost of owning. I bought a condo in Feb. and it sure is nice to have your own place in Vegas.
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Besides, that guard gated community will definitely have a higher HOA simply because of the added overhead.
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