[Tires]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

My personal experience with buying a new home (my first new build, my previous homes were all between 50 and 100 years old) has been much more expensive than your projection. My home was built by Pulte. It wasn't bare bones; there were upgrades in many interior features.

Before the home's 10-year anniversary:
-The house didn't come with w/d, so I had to buy those.
-Rear landscaping had to be put in.
-The entire interior of the house had to be repainted. The paint used by the builder was practically see-though.
-The stove needed three repairs and I finally gave up and replaced it.
-The refrigerator required two repairs and gave up the ghost at age 8.
-Most light fixtures had to be replaced.
-The faucets in the master bath sinks and shower, as well as the kitchen, needed to be replaced (they were Moen, but obviously some junk they made just for builders).
-Springs on the garage door failed.
-The microwave had to be replaced.
-The laminate in the kitchen separated from the counter, cracked, and I had to replace the entire counter.
-The air conditioner compressor had to be replaced.
-A problem with the a/c's drain line caused a flood in one of the bedrooms requiring new carpet padding and a closet to be rebuilt.
-The exterior of the house (stucco) needed to be repainted (HOA-mandated).
-The HOA also required me to absorb the expense of removing TWO trees that the builder had (inappropriately) planted before I bought the house.
-The hot-water heater had to be replaced.

Still to be done prior to the tenth anniversary:
-The concrete patio appears to have been installed improperly and everyone who's looked at my water problems tells me I must replace it and beef up the footings for the roof supports.
-The dishwasher is not working up to snuff so I expect to lose my final original appliance soon.
-The wall-to-wall is badly buckled.

So when you're calculating expenses for new construction, please be forewarned that you might experience more than you indicate you anticipate. You'll note that all expenses I listed were necessary repairs, not things I added or replaced just for decor purposes. I had a highly qualified independent home inspector look at the house before I bought it and I use professionals for things like HVAC and roof checks, duct cleaning, pest control, and landscaping. Live and learn. I spent 13 years in a house that turned 100 while I lived there and I didn't spend nearly as much money on repairs as I've spent in ten years with the "new" house.

I don't think the home inspector could have foreseen any of the issues you listed except for the improper a/c drain line.
I had most of these expenses in my last new house, but many items were replaced during a remodel/upgrade before they had a chance to fail.

Wanted new washer dryer anyway
Put in stamped concrete patio in back
Repainted interior paint because the bright white builder paint was so plain.
Replaced builder provided kitchen appliances with new stainless steel appliances after a few years of use. Sold old appliances on Craigs List.
Replaced all faucets during remodel.
Replaced garage door spring as preventive maintenance.
Replaced over the range microwave with quality vent hood to better exhaust kitchen smoke and odors.
Air conditioner compressor also failed
Had French drain for a/c installed during concrete patio installation so water from a/c drain line would go directly into the ground and wouldn't stain the concrete.
Replaced counters with granite
Stucco repainted
carpet and pad replaced with upgraded quality, laminate floors replaced with tile
Builder also installed inappropriate trees (roots where going to become a problem). HOA replaced trees at their expense because HOA maintains front yard. Didn't cost anything, but very annoying to have trees that grew several feet replaced with small, new trees again. (Not sure what's wrong with the builder's landscape architects and arborists that can't choose correct trees and tree placement). The HOA had to hire an arborist to determine which trees needed to be replaced and what to replace them with.

I don't plan on doing that much inside with the next place and I will have low maintenance desert landscaping outside.

[jet757f]

Originally Posted by Tires

Fine, but regardless, there are better choices for an investment or rental property. Not seeing why an "investor" would want to choose homes in the subdivision I listed in the first post for a rental property when they can make more money with other choices. There are 5 year old and newer resale homes in 89131 and 89149 with no NLV stigma, that are larger that will bring in a much better return on investment.
Even the brand-new Tapestry homes nearby make more sense as potential rental units.
Even if you can make some money renting the Richmond home, you can make "more" money renting something else and that's usually what investors want.

Too bad houses are so disposable in Las Vegas that 15 years old is too old to buy. It's a bad mentality in the area that causes neighborhoods to deteriorate into ghettos so quickly and people just keep fleeing further and further into the desert to buy newer homes instead of properly maintaining existing neighborhoods. Must be rubbing off from the implode and rebuild mentality from the strip.

15 to 20 yr old house is still new to me.

[eventusstultorummagister]

Trustee sale, $12 a sq/ft.

Dream homes don't need private helipads.

[eventusstultorummagister]

P.S. Those homes are several miles from the nearest schools and even further from grocery stores.

[topaz420]

OP's home has gone up to 110k, but now "includes" many formerly optional features, like granite countertops, etc. Would like to drive up there and see if they have a model yet.