[rightonbro]

Hi all, first time poster...I am heavily considering relocating to Las Vegas from Los Angeles and have been lurking in these forums for about a week. I'm making my first trip out next week to look around, and was wondering if someone could offer some thoughts and advice on my itinerary and what to look for while I'm out there.

I'm planning on spending my time like this:

1. 1/2 of my time looking for a short-term apartment. I'm going to find a place with a 3-6 month lease so I can figure out whether I like it here or not. I've pretty much already got where I want to look locked down (availability seems to be pretty high) so I am not too concerned about this.

2. 1/4 of my time driving around and checking out neighborhoods. Location-wise, I've decided I want to check out Summerlin (was there last week visiting Red Rock), Henderson/Green Valley, Mountain's Edge, Silverado Ranch, and the northwest area of Las Vegas (there was a ZIP code in one of the threads, that escapes my mind right now, that was designated as a "bang for the buck" ZIP code).

3. 1/4 of my time looking at houses to see what's really out there. I've been looking on Realtor.com and filling out a couple of Request a Showing forms, and made an appointment so far with one agent so far to see a house. Another agent called me back and said don't come unless I have my own agent, otherwise when I got one later it would cause problems.

Questions I'm hoping someone can give me advice on:

1. What would you recommend I look for while I am driving around? I'm looking for things like traffic patterns, proximity to certain stores (Starbucks and 24 Hour Fitness - sorry, I'm from LA), nearby parks, and sort of the general neighborhood conditions. I don't care about schools as I don't have kids.

2. Should I get a real estate agent and try to spend 1/2 a day driving around looking at places with him/her, even if I have no intention of buying on this trip? I've got like 10 proposal from HomeGain and I signed up with ZipRealty.com, and I've read about a zillion articles on how to hire a real estate agent, but once I talked to a few of the listing agents, I started to get cold feet a little bit about committing to an agent. Heck, I don't even know if I'll like living out there yet, but at the same time, I want to get a sense of what kind of real estate is available before I do the short-term move. If there was an absolutely killer deal out there, I'd be willing to start the offer/loan process, I don't think this will happen.

My friend recommended I just get any agent and said I could always fire them later if I found a better one, and that's kind of the way things are in real estate. I would feel kind of guilty going on a trip where I know I'm not buying.

3. Should I spend time trying to get the loan process started, or do I have time? I was pre-qualified out here in January 2007 for more than my price range in Las Vegas, when I was looking to buy out here (soooo glad I didn't). My credit score was over 800 at the time so I'm not too worried, but a listing agent I talked to today said something about banks taking an additional 45 days now due to backlog.

4. It looks like most of the houses are all jammed together. Is there anywhere in Vegas where I'd be able to get a house at 250k or less where homes are more spaced apart? I would really be interested in having a house with a room where I could play a drum kit at all hours without bothering the neighbors. I know a little bit about soundproofing and I don't think it would be possible in most of the homes in these developments. In that case, finding a good house comes first and I'd just go rent a studio or something when I needed to track drums, but it'd be nice to have.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts you could provide!

[Daddys///M3]

1. Traffic patterns are all pretty similar. Everything runs north/south and east/west. Most streets and freeways are fairly busy during rush hour, though nowhere near as bad as LA. Gyms are pretty easy to find. They are everywhere. All major shopping (not grocery) is confined to 4 or 5 spots in town, so that's not an issue. Starbux is EVERYWHERE. You can't go to far without spotting one. Anywhere near schools will have public parks. There are also a couple of big ones around, not too hard to find if you know where to look. Mapquest, Clark County website, and the good old phonebook will be great resources.

2. It would not be a bad idea to talk to an agent, just to get a feel of what is out there. I would be upfront about your time frame though. If they still don't mind driving you around then bonus!

3. The backlog is not an across the board deal. I am a mortgage banker and although our turntimes were pretty brutal about a month ago, they have returned to a state of normalcy. The one thing that would hold up the progress is if you were to offer on a short sale. I have a client with a pending offer, and the buyer's agent gave the bank 30 days to accept, decline, or counter the offer! As far as having the time to pre-qualify, it takes about 10 minutes over the phone to get enough information (approval always dependant on the verification of information given) to determine how much you qualify for. I wouldn't worry about it if you are 6 months out though. Many things can change between now and then.

4. This relates to your "bang for the buck question" as well. One of the zipcodes brought up is 89131, on the NW edge of the valley. Newer homes, most have good sized yards, and there are many out here right now in that price range.

If you need anything else don't hesitate to ask.

[rightonbro]

Thanks! That helps a lot. I am going to talk to some agents today and see what I can come up with - I'll be sure to post back here with an update.

[jksouthbay88]

This is what I am doing(for about 7 months).I watch the local news like KVBC,KTNV,Lasvegasnow everyday,read the lvrj online about twice a week and come on the city-data form to see what's up around there right now.

In my search,I use websites like forrent.com,apartments.com,rent.com stuff like that.Then with the name of an apartment complex I then use apartmentratings.com;read what other posters say about the complex,look to see what area it's in and check the approval percentage.Remember you can have some of the nicest apartments,houses in Las Vegas,but you need to reed reviews because some of the places are very misleading.If all is good I bookmark it in my toolbar and google map it to my data base.Then I log price,sqr feet,extras in the apartment and my own grade-rating system.With all of that I rank my places number 1-whatever
(like power rankings in sports)so I can get an visual of what I need.Plus having two friends who live there now and a cousin who lived in NLV,I pretty much have a great feel for an area and they can relate it to places in your city so you can understand what it likes.

[bosozoku]

Originally Posted by rightonbro

Hi all, first time poster...I am heavily considering relocating to Las Vegas from Los Angeles and have been lurking in these forums for about a week. I'm making my first trip out next week to look around, and was wondering if someone could offer some thoughts and advice on my itinerary and what to look for while I'm out there.
make the first trip and maybe plan for a few more after. Me and my wife started in January 08 and still havent covered some parts we want to look at ,seems like weekends is not enough.we are also from the LA area like you.

I'm planning on spending my time like this:

1. 1/2 of my time looking for a short-term apartment. I'm going to find a place with a 3-6 month lease so I can figure out whether I like it here or not. I've pretty much already got where I want to look locked down (availability seems to be pretty high) so I am not too concerned about this.


2. 1/4 of my time driving around and checking out neighborhoods. Location-wise, I've decided I want to check out Summerlin (was there last week visiting Red Rock), Henderson/Green Valley, Mountain's Edge, Silverado Ranch, and the northwest area of Las Vegas (there was a ZIP code in one of the threads, that escapes my mind right now, that was designated as a "bang for the buck" ZIP code)
we also looked at the places you mentioned and found all to be spectacular in their own ways. (strong possibility that we purchase in the 89131 "bang for the buck") one reason is im trying to get away from the huge crowds everywhere you go,coming from LA i think you know what i mean.i believe the 89131 is out farther a lil bit more.

3. 1/4 of my time looking at houses to see what's really out there. I've been looking on Realtor.com and filling out a couple of Request a Showing forms, and made an appointment so far with one agent so far to see a house. Another agent called me back and said don't come unless I have my own agent, otherwise when I got one later it would cause problems.
realtor.com is where i also look at homes im interested in and comes in handy since my realtor is in vegas and im in LA,this way i could look at the homes im interested in and e-mail her the mls listings to save time when i get there to look at the properties
also sometimes in zillow.com to see what the homes previously sold for.

Questions I'm hoping someone can give me advice on:

1. What would you recommend I look for while I am driving around? I'm looking for things like traffic patterns, proximity to certain stores (Starbucks and 24 Hour Fitness - sorry, I'm from LA), nearby parks, and sort of the general neighborhood conditions. I don't care about schools as I don't have kids.like what daddy said,coming from LA i think you'll find that the traffic is nothing to what we are used to.but its on you how many minutes you want to commute. the gym and starbucks i did see a lot when i was there.Parks are everywhere i went haha.

2. Should I get a real estate agent and try to spend 1/2 a day driving around looking at places with him/her, even if I have no intention of buying on this trip? YES get a realtor and try to get one that doesnt push you into buying a home right away(had someone like that before when i was trying to buy a house in LA many moons ago),hopefully you find someone who feels you and cater to what you want.

I've got like 10 proposal from HomeGain and I signed up with ZipRealty.com, and I've read about a zillion articles on how to hire a real estate agent, but once I talked to a few of the listing agents, I started to get cold feet a little bit about committing to an agent. Heck, I don't even know if I'll like living out there yet, but at the same time, I want to get a sense of what kind of real estate is available before I do the short-term move. If there was an absolutely killer deal out there, I'd be willing to start the offer/loan process, I don't think this will happen.

My friend recommended I just get any agent and said I could always fire them later if I found a better one, and that's kind of the way things are in real estate. I would feel kind of guilty going on a trip where I know I'm not buying.try to find one that you can trust sooner so you dont have to look for another one.....IMO, if my realtor has been working with me for a while and i fire her to go with someone else,it just doesnt feel right to me...quilty not buying? well thats why your "looking" into buying and taking the trip to see if you like it in vegas right? so dont feel guilty.if you like it you buy, if you dont like it im sure he/she would understand your reasons...like others have said vegas is for some people and some no, so you'll just find out for yourself.

3. Should I spend time trying to get the loan process started, or do I have time? I was pre-qualified out here in January 2007 for more than my price range in Las Vegas, when I was looking to buy out here (soooo glad I didn't). My credit score was over 800 at the time so I'm not too worried, but a listing agent I talked to today said something about banks taking an additional 45 days now due to backlog.
it is also good to get the loan process started so that if you decide to offer on a house you are already approved for the loan.

4. It looks like most of the houses are all jammed together. Is there anywhere in Vegas where I'd be able to get a house at 250k or less where homes are more spaced apart? I would really be interested in having a house with a room where I could play a drum kit at all hours without bothering the neighbors. I know a little bit about soundproofing and I don't think it would be possible in most of the homes in these developments. In that case, finding a good house comes first and I'd just go rent a studio or something when I needed to track drums, but it'd be nice to have.
most of the places we looked at on our budget were jammed all together it seemed like..so your on your own on that one buddy.
haha im just kidding.im not an expert on vegas so ill leave that to the others like daddy and them. but im sure there are places out there just gotta look or someone here will point you in that direction.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts you could provide!

Try to be patient and dont rush into it. we almost rushed into purchasing a home the first time we went out there(bad idea), coz now im seeing more homes in other parts of vegas that im liking more than the previous ones i thought to be "the one". good thing i had delays on my paper works for my loan, coz i have seen substancial lowering of home prices...on the plus side a lil patience and you'll find homes dropping price more right?

good luck to you,good luck to us and hope we both make it out there soon.

[Minnesota is cold]

In doing our research trips, my husband and I went into stores and checked out prices. We looked at apartments, as we think renting at first till we are sure were we want to be is the best idea. We went to parks and hung out for a bit.
We met with a realtor, we spoke honestly about our intentions over the phone before we met her. We told her we were trying to decide, not buy and she was very nice and volunteered to pick us up at the Luxor and drive us around, showed us areas and schools, etc. She showed us two homes that were repos, (to not disturb anyone) just so we could see how close together the houses were and what they were like. She gave us 3 hours of her time, knowing very well that she may never hear from us again. She said she was happy to do it.
I thought it was a great way for her to build relationships and network herself...
LauraSellsVegas@msn.com - her e-mail address...

[airics]

250k in 89131 in going to be a smaller home 1500-2000sf or older home

[rightonbro]

Thank you all for the guidance! I am headed out tomorrow to start my looking around. Still have not decided on getting a real estate agent but am meeting with a childhood friend who lives in Vegas, I hope he has some recommendations (he said, "yep, everyone's a real estate agent around here.").

Like bosozoku said, it's really tempting given the realtor.com listings just to go out there and try to buy something on the first pass. But yes, I'm thinking that prices are going to drop (or at least stay where they are with maybe an incremental increase), and I still have to find out whether I'm going to like living there.

I'll be sure to report back later this week! I'm bringing a camera to take pictures too so I will be happy to share those as I can.