Is anyone familiar with the Las Vegas RE market? What’s it good for if you don’t have a pile of cash to buy properties with? We’re thinking the fact that market rentals rates are so much lower than the cost of homes (even in this falling market) that it’s nearly impossible to find properties we can get into for little up front and be able to cash flow those properties. We’re looking at doing lease options and/or sandwich lease options but are having trouble finding any deals where the numbers work. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
What’s it good for? I’d say it’s great for going broke if a person bought during the real estate fad and is now upside down.
Mike
I guess that makes it good short-sale market?
Gambling? Oh you meant in relation to REI? Save some cash up and start buying when the market hits rock bottom, it’s on it’s way there now.
…or just put it all on “BLACK” (or “RED” - you chose!)
Keith
I lived there a while back and it was booming. I’ve heard it hasn’t changed. The issue now I think is that the housing there was affected by California. Prices went up fast and I suspect they will fall fast.
The good (and bad) is that the valley is constrained by the mountains. That keeps things from spreading out forever and seems to make land a premium inside the valley.
As far as stratetgy, it’s the same it is everywhere: buy low and sell high. :biggrin
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the responses. Gambling jokes aside (I know it’s irresistible!), is there no other creative idea that would work in this market?
I don’t think I can do short sales as I’d need financing from traditional sources. I’m not working a regular job right now and that’s the only reason it wouldn’t work. I have very low debt and a very high credit score. So in these ‘credit crunch’ times in the mortgage industry, traditional financing isn’t going to work. HML would be too expensive for a buy and hold strategy, so what does that leave??
Well you can bird dog to build some cash, when the market gets to where you can buy use the cash then. Park the money somewhere high return until then.
Great input Rich. Thank you! I don’t honestly know much yet about bird dogging. I’ll have to brush up by reading the forums and articles here. Are there any other sources of trusted, quality education on this area of REI?
One thing to consider: if you don’t have a regular job and you can’t afford to get into real estate in that area, you have the option of relocating and living in an area where it is less money to buy real estate.
Las Vegas started their “bubble burst” a lot before the rest of the country, and it seems to me that it is time to at least be looking at possibilites of buying.
There are lots of real estate strategies that work elsewhere that are high risk where prices are high and rent isn’t nearly comparable. Carrying costs can kill your quick when the mortgage is $3,000 a month or more and you don’t have the income to cover.
Just my opinion, but I think that fix and flip works well in a falling market. It’s easy to find bargains, and it is easy to find cosmetic flips.
You have to be capable of fixing extremely fast to get the house back on the market before prices go down too much. Unfortunately, you must have the funds to pay for the renovation and to make the mortgage payments for the time that it takes you to re-sell.
You can use hard money, but by golly, that house had better be a screaming deal with not much more wrong that needs to be done besides paint and carpet. When the market is falling, you must get the house right back on the market almost immediately and offer it for under the going market rate to get it sold fast.
Great post Tatertot! Thank you for your suggestions and contemplation of my questions. I agree fix and flip would be a good way to go since this soft market should make it easier to find these deals and negotiate price. It would have to be good enough of a deal to either hire out the work or the work would have to be very basic. We spent almost 5 years renovating our own house very slowly and it was just a long, miserable process. It really burned us out of doing that kind of work ourselves. Anyway, good things to contemplate. I would have to say even being burned out of that work I’d rather do that than have a regular JOB again!
What other strategies were you referring to when you said there are lots of real estate strategies that work elsewhere? I’m just curious.
Thanks again! I appreciate your response.