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I've been reading a lot from this forum but this is my first post I've done some research but still have several questions. I hope to get some guidance from you experts and locals who are kind enough to share your time and knowledge in this forum.
We (I and DH) have been thinking about moving to Vegas for a while from NorCal. We've checked out some areas there such as Summerlin, Spring Valley, Rhodes Ranch area, Mountain's Edge, and Southern Highlands. While it seems that Summerlin gets mentioned a lot, DH wants a new home and it might be out of our budget. We've checked out several new communities by KB and Lennar and liked Lennar Windsor Square in Spring Valley (on Buffalo Dr between Russell and Patrick, mid $300k) and Cortona in Southern Highlands (between high $200k to mid $300k).
Background:
- We have no kids and can telecommute on daily basis.
- We want easy access to McCarran (hopefully we can just Uber so no need to find parking+waiting for shuttle = save time commuting).
- While school isn't the priority, we'd like to think about resale value.
- Quite neighborhood is preferred. We eat lots of vegetables so access to Sprouts/farmers market/asian groceries is appreciated.
- Safety. I've been reading the news and the doubling rate of homicide gets me quite concerned. But then again, I've never really checked the crime rate in the area we've lived so far, only been told that the area we live is good area (schools are all 10). Since this is the first time we're thinking of buying a home, it feels a little scary to commit to a neighborhood for a long time so I wanna make sure we do our due diligence first before making any decision.
We love the homes but we're not emotional buyers
Questions we have:
1. Which area do you think would fit us better?
2. Anyone live(s/d) in Southern Highlands and knows what the HOA issue is/was about? Is it something we need to be concerned of?
3. How safe is Spring Valley area, particularly Lennar Windsor Square location?
4. Scorpions. Also reading news how they are spreading across the valley this year due to warm winter. Will our chance of having scorpions in our house increase in Southern Highlands area or is it roughly the same between Windsor Square vs Cortona?
They don't make me cringe as much as snakes or lizards but I don't want them anywhere in the house. The stories about them getting into linen closets, under the blanket, on the floor scared the crap out of me! I don't want to live my life looking over my shoulder 24/7. That'll give high blood pressure for sure!
5. Any better location or builder you would recommend?
Thanks for reading and sharing. I'm really excited about the thought of moving to Vegas.
I live in SH so I can answer a few of your questions
HOA: I have never had an HOA issue. Some don't like it when the HOA enforces the rules. Others demand that the HOA enforce them.
Scorpions: I have never seen one.
McCarran: My wife recently went to McCarran to pick up my son. It took about 40 minutes round trip. Freeway access is very good.
My neighborhood is extremely quiet.
Crime rate: So low I never think about it.
Markets: There is a new Costco being built near the Henderson airport, which is very close. The only local market is a Smiths (low quality).
As for telecommuting, COX is a very reliable ISP. I get 160 mbps down.
Do you know any neighbors with issues with scorpions? From I read one house can have infestation and 3 house down the road can be totally clear. Maybe my fear isn't very logical at all
Oh new Costco is great news. And I checked COX. $40/mo is not bad. Is that the only option in SH area?
I'll ask around about the scorpions, but nobody has ever mentioned them. I don't think their sting is any more dangerous than a bee sting. Perhaps SH is different than other areas because it is rather new.
I am on the Cox Premiere Plan, which is more like $85 per month. CenturyLink is also available, but does not offer baud as high as Cox. The consensus is that Cox has vastly superior customer service. Both offer fiber 1gb at various places in the valley, but they won't tell you where!
If I was looking for the typical Las Vegas suburban home in southern highlands, I'd look into the models at the "cove" development. It's in that small canyon area at the very south end. Right near the freeway, easy access to the airport. You're well protected, and have a nice view out to the lights of the henderson to the east. And not as expensive as I'd expected the houses to be. I don't know if it's part of the same hoa that some have reported to be overly aggressive. I suppose there is some negative stuff somewhere in there, but from just walking through the models, it seems like it's going to be a nice location.
I'll ask around about the scorpions, but nobody has ever mentioned them. I don't think their sting is any more dangerous than a bee sting. Perhaps SH is different than other areas because it is rather new.
Thank you! I think it's the idea that I might go to bed and these creepy crawlers might join me under the blanket that scares the bejeezus out of me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cold Warrior
I am on the Cox Premiere Plan, which is more like $85 per month. CenturyLink is also available, but does not offer baud as high as Cox. The consensus is that Cox has vastly superior customer service. Both offer fiber 1gb at various places in the valley, but they won't tell you where!
Ok that's weird. I wonder why they keep it a secret. I'd think advertising the location would sell it more
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachhead
If I was looking for the typical Las Vegas suburban home in southern highlands, I'd look into the models at the "cove" development. It's in that small canyon area at the very south end. Right near the freeway, easy access to the airport. You're well protected, and have a nice view out to the lights of the henderson to the east. And not as expensive as I'd expected the houses to be. I don't know if it's part of the same hoa that some have reported to be overly aggressive. I suppose there is some negative stuff somewhere in there, but from just walking through the models, it seems like it's going to be a nice location.
You mean Woodside Homes or Pulte? Do you know if they include most things like Lennar?
We never bought a house before but heard stories how most things aren't included when buying new (seems like the case with KB home we checked out). That's why we like Lennar. I have no time or intention to be picking 30 things for a house.. that'll take me way too long and I'll drive my husband crazy going back and forth over which door knob would match the carpet better
I think we drove by the cove area when trying to find Lennar and they seemed huge! But I'll check out more.
I'm leaning towards Spring Valley location (Buffalo Dr between Russell and Patrick) due to closer to grocery stores and farmers market, or civilization in general LOL.
But DH seemed to like SH better since it gives the impression on being higher end neighborhood. Is this somewhat true?
Thank you! I think it's the idea that I might go to bed and these creepy crawlers might join me under the blanket that scares the bejeezus out of me.
Ok that's weird. I wonder why they keep it a secret. I'd think advertising the location would sell it more
You mean Woodside Homes or Pulte? Do you know if they include most things like Lennar?
We never bought a house before but heard stories how most things aren't included when buying new (seems like the case with KB home we checked out). That's why we like Lennar. I have no time or intention to be picking 30 things for a house.. that'll take me way too long and I'll drive my husband crazy going back and forth over which door knob would match the carpet better
I think we drove by the cove area when trying to find Lennar and they seemed huge! But I'll check out more.
I'm leaning towards Spring Valley location (Buffalo Dr between Russell and Patrick) due to closer to grocery stores and farmers market, or civilization in general LOL.
But DH seemed to like SH better since it gives the impression on being higher end neighborhood. Is this somewhat true?
Are you sure you want to buy new? At present the new builders are charging a premium of about 20% over an equivalent resale...plus all the costs of buying new. The result is that your place will depreciate or remain at the same price for about five years. So it will likely take 6 or 7 years before you can get out breaking even. The sweet spot would appear to be about five years old. The home is still newer, the additional costs of a new build have been paid and the new premium is gone.
The fiber hook ups are still so rare that neither Cox nor CenturyLink is willing to push it. The Cox distribution system is pretty much all fiber now. The local links are still coax.
The scorpions of concern are the small tan bark scorpions. They are not native to the area and are mostly imported from AZ in plants. They are pretty rare. A few percent of homes have them. There is no good way to tell except to ask the neighbors. And they may well only bother 3 or for houses out of 100. They can be contained by hunting down and killing or pest control. Don't count on pest control though if they are around. Kill em. Good idea to make sure the house is well sealed. None inside if you do a good job on crack sealing. On a new home no way to tell. You wait until all the landscaping in the area is in and then a couple of years. If none at that point there will probably not be any.
You mean Woodside Homes or Pulte? Do you know if they include most things like Lennar?
We never bought a house before but heard stories how most things aren't included when buying new (seems like the case with KB home we checked out). That's why we like Lennar. I have no time or intention to be picking 30 things for a house.. that'll take me way too long and I'll drive my husband crazy going back and forth over which door knob would match the carpet better
I think we drove by the cove area when trying to find Lennar and they seemed huge! But I'll check out more.
I'm leaning towards Spring Valley location (Buffalo Dr between Russell and Patrick) due to closer to grocery stores and farmers market, or civilization in general LOL.
But DH seemed to like SH better since it gives the impression on being higher end neighborhood. Is this somewhat true?
We went through three sets of models, two by pulte, and one by woodside. Since we're not in the market, and were just looking for decorating/landscaping ideas and being nosey, we didn't look for any details of what's standard/optional/upgrades, although experience is the vast majority of home builders model significantly upgraded properties, sometimes almost as much as the base price!
But, the builders do have a standard level of finish, some you may like, some you may not. Every person is different, so the only people that can answer your question would be you, and the builder who's home you are interested in. I know we were not super impressed with the lennar offerings, but that's just us, for many they are more than acceptable.
As far as SH being more upscale? i dunno, some think Summerlin is upscale. Both have nice, newer construction, and have various price levels. When I think upscale, I think of rich snobs, like say beverly hills or malibu, and that's never been an option for me, so I'm probably not a good judge of what's upscale or not. I just look for a nice neighborhood that has a house we like, not so much the zip code. I'm sure someone else can give a better run down on the comparative levels of the communities than me.
As far as location for stores and stuff, I'd rather be on the outskirts and drive in to them, rather than be in the middle of it all of the time. But I grew up in a place that didn't even have a McDonalds in town until I was a senior in high school, so I guess that may be part of that outlook..
Good luck on your re-location. There is a lot of info, and some really good people who are happy to provide info on this forum, and it really helped us out when we made the big move last winter. If you want to know something, just ask.
Are you sure you want to buy new? At present the new builders are charging a premium of about 20% over an equivalent resale...plus all the costs of buying new. The result is that your place will depreciate or remain at the same price for about five years. So it will likely take 6 or 7 years before you can get out breaking even. The sweet spot would appear to be about five years old. The home is still newer, the additional costs of a new build have been paid and the new premium is gone.
The fiber hook ups are still so rare that neither Cox nor CenturyLink is willing to push it. The Cox distribution system is pretty much all fiber now. The local links are still coax.
The scorpions of concern are the small tan bark scorpions. They are not native to the area and are mostly imported from AZ in plants. They are pretty rare. A few percent of homes have them. There is no good way to tell except to ask the neighbors. And they may well only bother 3 or for houses out of 100. They can be contained by hunting down and killing or pest control. Don't count on pest control though if they are around. Kill em. Good idea to make sure the house is well sealed. None inside if you do a good job on crack sealing. On a new home no way to tell. You wait until all the landscaping in the area is in and then a couple of years. If none at that point there will probably not be any.
Not 100% sure but we're leaning towards it. We're both not very handy when it comes to fixing things around the house. Our concern with buying resale home is finding out major things to replace within 5 years (after it passes the inspection) and also with newer home, it seems the design is more eco-friendly, hence we'll need to spend less on monthly utilities?
Also, with new home, it seems that we can negotiate upgrade credit + closing cost maybe paid by them?
How is it with resale homes? In the current market, can we probably get closing cost paid by seller?
(newbie in home buying here so pardon the newbie questions).
I tried searching on Redfin for homes built from 2010+ below $300k and it yielded scarce listings. If we're going to spend $300k anyway, the new homes might offer slightly better peace of mind (or at least, that's what we think). Feel free to let me know if this is not correct assumption. I have lots to learn and would really appreciate insights from others who have gone through the process before
We went through three sets of models, two by pulte, and one by woodside. Since we're not in the market, and were just looking for decorating/landscaping ideas and being nosey, we didn't look for any details of what's standard/optional/upgrades, although experience is the vast majority of home builders model significantly upgraded properties, sometimes almost as much as the base price!
But, the builders do have a standard level of finish, some you may like, some you may not. Every person is different, so the only people that can answer your question would be you, and the builder who's home you are interested in. I know we were not super impressed with the lennar offerings, but that's just us, for many they are more than acceptable.
That was exactly the thing that made us afraid to buy new. But then we saw Lennar already included most of the things shown on their model homes. I like that we can get the estimate on the final cost quickly and don't mind minimal choices on the upgrades. For our needs, we roughly budget $20k + base price and we most likely won't be spending that much on upgrades either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachhead
As far as SH being more upscale? i dunno, some think Summerlin is upscale. Both have nice, newer construction, and have various price levels. When I think upscale, I think of rich snobs, like say beverly hills or malibu, and that's never been an option for me, so I'm probably not a good judge of what's upscale or not. I just look for a nice neighborhood that has a house we like, not so much the zip code. I'm sure someone else can give a better run down on the comparative levels of the communities than me.
As far as location for stores and stuff, I'd rather be on the outskirts and drive in to them, rather than be in the middle of it all of the time. But I grew up in a place that didn't even have a McDonalds in town until I was a senior in high school, so I guess that may be part of that outlook..
Good luck on your re-location. There is a lot of info, and some really good people who are happy to provide info on this forum, and it really helped us out when we made the big move last winter. If you want to know something, just ask.
Yea we don't want THAT upscale either. LOL. I think he meant better neighborhood in general
We saw security car patrolling in the neighborhood while we were there so that was +1 pt to him.
I like to be on the outskirts too (and a little more than 10ft away from my neighbor's window) but I do like newer construction. Too bad I don't have the fund to build a custom home
Which neighborhood did you end up moving to? How do you like Vegas so far?
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I've done some research but still have several questions. I hope to get some guidance from you experts and locals who are kind enough to share your time and knowledge in this forum.
