Las Vegas real estate

Real estate investors cast watchful eye on Las Vegas' high stakes housing game SFGate Home Business Sports Entertainment Travel Jobs Real Estate Autos SFGate News Web by Real estate investors cast watchful eye on Las Vegas' high stakes housing game Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, March 7, 2005 now part of stylesheet -- More... Printable Version Email This Article Las Vegas' lucky number last year was 52 -- as in 52 percent. That's how much real estate prices jumped in the nation's fastest-growing city in one year, as a housing shortage set off a wave of speculation by investors from California and other states. But as any gambler knows, Lady Luck eventually turns a cold shoulder. Las Vegans wanted to cash in, too, and so many put their houses up for sale that they flooded the market. By the end of the year, some homebuilders were slashing prices. For investors from states like California where prices seem to move in only one direction -- up -- it was a stark example of a deflating bubble. "When you lose money in real estate, you really feel it,'' said Igor Doncov, a software engineer in Half Moon Bay who bought two new houses in Las Vegas early in 2004 but sold them at a loss after his builder, Pulte Homes, cut prices on its new models by $180,000. "I thought I couldn't lose," he said in a telephone interview. "But it turned into a total disaster." Housing analysts don't think Las Vegas' slowdown is a sign that prices will soften soon in other fast-appreciating regions. But they say it is a warning of what could happen in the Bay Area as interest rates go up -- particularly for people trying to "flip" houses for a quick profit. "Everyone is watching Las Vegas with its price appreciation and flipping," said John Karevoll, an analyst at DataQuick, the La Jolla real estate research firm. "If something weird happens, it'll happen there first." For years, Las Vegas real estate was cheap. Myrna Kingham, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, remembers not-so-distant days of driving around in a pickup wearing high heels and showing clients dusty 5-acre parcels listed for $20,000. But as the population of Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County grew 81 percent in the 1990s, adding 621,160 people, housing prices caught up, matching the national median of $145,000 in 2001. Then last year, the market caught fire, boosted by healthy job gains, a growing stream of retirees, Californians drawn to lower home prices and an influx of investor money. Builders, faced with a shortage of workers, had trouble keeping up. Add rock-bottom interest rates, and the scene resembled the go-go days of the Bay Area's tech boom. Hundreds of would-be buyers descended on open houses, and home prices seemed to increase as quickly as the progressive jackpots in the slot machines on the Strip. Record appreciation In the spring of 2004, the median price for a single-family house was $269,000, 52 percent higher than the year before -- a national record for appreciation, according to the National Association of Realtors. "The market was hotter than blazes," Kingham said. "People were looking for affordability -- they wanted a nice home in an area with nice weather that they could buy for $200,000." Californians, who pay some of the highest home prices in the nation, took notice. Golden State residents have snapped up nearly 27,000 Las Vegas properties since 2000, according to DataQuick. In 2004 alone, California residents bought 11,600 homes -- 12 percent of the transactions in Clark County for the year. Bay Area residents bought nearly 7,800 Las Vegas properties over the past five years. In the second quarter of 2004 alone, the number who bought Las Vegas property doubled from the same quarter the year before, to more than 800,surpassing investment in Sacramento, the Tahoe region and Palm Springs for the seventh straight quarter. But in less time than it takes to build a single house, the market changed. Egged on by the stratospheric prices their neighbors were asking -- and getting -- homeowners in Las Vegas flooded the market with "for sale" signs. The number of existing houses posted for sale on the Multiple Listing Service ballooned from about 1,400 in February to more than 16,000 by October. Among them were never-lived-in homes offered by investors who had bought them only months before from national homebuilders -- who were selling their own brand-new houses literally across the street. In early fall one of those builders, Pulte Homes, took the extraordinary step of slashing prices by $25,000 to $180,000 on more than 20 of its Las Vegas-area developments. The move sent shock waves through the Las Vegas building industry and angered investors like Igor Doncov. Doncov, a 57-year-old engineer who was a victim of the technology flame-out, was one of thousands of investors who hoped to turn a quick profit by buying and selling Las Vegas property within a few months. Early last year he bought two new houses from Pulte Homes for $515,000 each. By the end of the summer, he said, the houses were worth well over $600,000, based on Pulte's prices for the same models. Then Pulte cut the price by about $180,000. Doncov sold the two properties in December and January for $480,000 and $490,000; after closing costs and sales fees, he estimates he lost $100,000. He is working with a lawyer to try to recoup the losses from Pulte, on the grounds Pulte misled investors by systematically raising new home prices, then abruptly lowering them. Many people in Las Vegas shrug at tales like Doncov's, saying any plan to get rich quick is fraught with risk. "There are people who come here and lose all kinds of money on the card table," said Keith Schwer, an economist at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. By December, it was clear the peak of the frenzy had passed. Residential building permits that month were 34 percent below the previous December's, as measured by the Center for Business and Economic Research, which Schwer directs. And 15 percent fewer people were moving to Las Vegas -- some undoubtedly spooked by the region's steep jump in home prices. Pulte officials would not comment on the price reductions. In the wake of Pulte's move, other builders also cut prices but made no formal announcements. KB Home, the region's largest home builder, didn't cut prices but did tighten its policies on sales to investors. Contracts now stipulate, that, barring the loss of a job or other major problem, those who resell their properties within a year have to give KB Home the profit. Despite the builders' moves, Schwer and other experts say the Las Vegas market remains healthy. In recent months, they say, the number of homes for sale has declined and homes are selling faster. In January, however, there were still 13,800 homes for sale. Though the median price for a new home climbed 6 percent to $307,500, the median for an existing home -- $251,000 - was up only one half of one percent from a year before, according to Schwer. Over the long term, the area's job growth -- including a new 8,000-employee casino opening in April -- warm climate, entertainment options and well-equipped airport will continue to draw buyers, Schwer said. On a Friday morning in February, Bill Jeffers, who owns Valley Furniture in Livermore, toured a $731,000 home in a subdivision called Inverness. By buying a home in Las Vegas, Jeffers, who has lived on Maui for several years, will shorten his twice-monthly commute to the store and put his grandchildren into strong school systems. "I tried to get in last year, but there were just too many other buyers," said Jeffers, a Livermore native. Some making profits And some investors who bought wisely are making profits. Stephanie Wedge, a San Jose real estate agent who also brokers property in Las Vegas, bought a house for $625,000 last May. She put the 5-year-old home on the market on Feb. 23 for $775,000, and she expected to get an offer the following week. "That's a really good turnaround," said Wedge, who also has reserved a condo in a yet-to-be built high-rise. "I think it depends on where the property is -- and this is in a gated, country club community." The continued pace of construction serves as an outward sign of the region's confidence. On a stretch of freeway south of the Strip, a sign reads "KB Home, Next 5 Exits." Adding more houses to a market already flush with them would seem to only exacerbate any stagnation in the market. But Dennis Smith, president of Las Vegas' Homebuilders Research Inc. pointed out the vast majority of new homes are presold. The market "is still in correction mode because of the high inventory in the resale segment,'' he said. "It will probably take at least six months for that to end." So, will what happened in Vegas, stay in Vegas? Schwer doubts Las Vegas' deceleration will bleed into the Golden State -- or any other state -- in part because Las Vegas growth rates were so far above the norm. Others say the arc of Las Vegas' recent experience may contain a hint of the Bay Area's future. While the nine-county region saw much lower price appreciation last year than Las Vegas -- an increase of about 17 percent -- Ed Leamer, a UCLA economist, contends that both regions are enveloped in a speculative frenzy. In Las Vegas, an oversupply of homes relative to demand may spell price declines. Back in the Bay Area, Leamer thinks rising interest rates will take some of the air out of the market as fewer people qualify to buy expensive properties -- though any correction would be far less dramatic than Las Vegas'. "Because the market has cracked in Las Vegas doesn't mean it's imminent in other areas," Leamer said. "But it gives you a sense of what may happen in these areas in the face of rising interest rates." E-mail Kelly Zito at kzito@sfchronicle.com . Page A - 1 Get up to 50% off home delivery of the Chronicle for 12 weeks! MARKETING Compelling writer? Action 36 Cable 6 (KICU-TV) MECHANIC SF tugboat co POKER Expert poker player needed REAL ESTATE Sales *FREE TRAINING! Prudential CA Realty SALES Can you sell the President? IPA SALES Benefit package AGI Publishing SALES $125K PLUS In-Home Kitchen Kitchenworks, Inc. 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Texas Land Trust Council Bulletin Board Maincontent Local Navigation print friendly search Regulations Publications Outdoor Learning Kids Game Warden Grants Get Involved Shop FAQ Calendar Español Experience Texas Fishing & Boating State Parks & Destinations Hunting & Wildlife Land & Water Doing Business Home Land & Water Land Private Tltc Bulletinboard Texas Land Trusts About Texas Land Trusts Starting a Land Trust Texas Land Trust Directory Foreword Listing Regional Index About the Texas Land Trust Council ( TLTC ) TLTC Board of Directors and Honorary Council News 2004 TLTC Conference Speech Bulletin Board TLTC Publications Land Trust Resources Texas Land Trusts Top 1-Million Mark in Acres Conserved Download the TLTC July 2005 E-Newsletter as a Word file here. Conservation Development Symposium Hosted by The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center Austin, Texas August 19th, 2005 The Symposium will feature profitable, ecologically sound approaches to developing land. For more information, Contact Stephen Brueggerhoff or call 512-292-4200, ext. 112 Conservation Easement Guide Now available online (0 B ) and in paperback! contact Carolyn Vogel for your copy The Family Land Heritage Program of the Department of Agriculture honors farms and ranches that have been in continuous agricultural operation by the same family for 100 years or more. To learn more or register your property, visit the the Family Land Heritage Program 2006 Southwest Land Trust Conference San Antonio, May 4-6, 2006 La Quinta Inn Convention Center San Antonio, Texas Join 250 land trust practitioners, agency professionals and conservationists from throughout the Southwest! - More information to come - If you have an upcoming event you'd like posted on the TLTC Bulletin Board: Please contact Carolyn Vogel at (512) 389-4779 or e-mail her at the Land Trust Council. Contact Us | Help | Accessibility | Media | Site Policies | Complaints | Intranet | State of Texas | TRAILS Search | TexasOnline | Compact with Texans Texas Parks and Wildlife Department , 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744 Toll Free: (800) 792-1112, Austin: (512) 389-4800 Content of this site © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department unless otherwise noted. Last modified: August 5, 2005, 8:50 am

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Century 21 Real Estate: home buying, home selling, financing and property listings. español Put My Century 21 to work for you, simply register your email address and create a password. Once you're registered, you'll be able to • save property descriptions • store your search criteria • file agent information • build a custom library Find out more or register now! Already registered? Sign in . -- Welcome to Century 21 Real Estate Century 21 Real Estate is your online resource for home buying, home selling, financing and property listings. Whether it's a house, condo, or any other type of property, we can assist you with your real estate needs. Search for Properties Looking to buy a new home, condo or any other property? Search thousands of properties in our real estate listings. Search Property Listings » First Time Homebuyers Guide » View Our Buyer Service Pledge » International Century 21 Real Estate LLC is part of the largest real estate referral network in the world - with over 110,000 brokers and sales associates in over 30 countries and territories. Access our world offices today» Sell a Property Let our real estate agents create a customized marketing plan to sell your property. List your Property » View Our Seller Service Pledge » View Mortgage Rates View current mortgage rates, apply for a home equity loan, crunch numbers with home mortgage calculators and more! Apply for a Mortgage Now» Use Our Mortgage Calculators » Find an Office or Agent Find and contact a CENTURY 21 Office or Agent to handle your real estate needs. Find an Office or Agent » Quick Vote! Your vote counts! Let us Know Where do you spend the most time? Bedroom Living Room Kitchen Bathroom Dining Room ©2005 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each CENTURY 21 Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. All rights reserved. Information appearing on this site has been produced by or obtained primarily from Century 21 Real Estate LLC and its representatives and from CENTURY 21 franchisees. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the broker information, sales associate information, listing information or other information provided by our franchisees appearing on or through this site. Such information has been provided by independent third parties who are solely responsible for such content. Certain conditions and restrictions apply to System promotions. Terms and Conditions of Use.

Home Loan

Home Equity Scams: Borrowers Beware! Home Equity Loans : Borrowers Beware! D o you own your home? If so, it's likely to be your greatest single asset. Unfortunately, if you agree to a loan that's based on the equity you have in your home, you may be putting your most valuable asset at risk. Homeowners-particularly elderly, minority and those with low incomes or poor credit-should be careful when borrowing money based on their home equity. Why? Certain abusive or exploitative lenders target these borrowers, who unwittingly may be putting their home on the line. Abusive lending practices range from equity stripping and loan flipping to hiding loan terms and packing a loan with extra charges. The Federal Trade Commission urges you to be aware of these loan practices to avoid losing your home. The Practices Equity Stripping You need money. You don't have much income coming in each month. You have built up equity in your home. A lender tells you that you could get a loan, even though you know your income is just not enough to keep up with the monthly payments. The lender encourages you to "pad" your income on your application form to help get the loan approved. This lender may be out to steal the equity you have built up in your home. The lender doesn't care if you can't keep up with the monthly payments. As soon as you don't, the lender will foreclose-taking your home and stripping you of the equity you have spent years building. If you take out a loan but don't have enough income to make the monthly payments, you are being set up. You probably will lose your home. Hidden Loan Terms: The Balloon Payment You've fallen behind in your mortgage payments and may face foreclosure. Another lender offers to save you from foreclosure by refinancing your mortgage and lowering your monthly payments. Look carefully at the loan terms. The payments may be lower because the lender is offering a loan on which you repay only the interest each month. At the end of the loan term, the principal-that is, the entire amount that you borrowed-is due in one lump sum called a balloon payment. If you can't make the balloon payment or refinance, you face foreclosure and the loss of your home. Loan Flipping Suppose you've had your mortgage for years. The interest rate is low and the monthly payments fit nicely into your budget, but you could use some extra money. A lender calls to talk about refinancing, and using the availability of extra cash as bait, claims it's time the equity in your home started "working" for you. You agree to refinance your loan. After you've made a few payments on the loan, the lender calls to offer you a bigger loan for, say, a vacation. If you accept the offer, the lender refinances your original loan and then lends you additional money. In this practice-often called "flipping"-the lender charges you high points and fees each time you refinance, and may increase your interest rate as well. If the loan has a prepayment penalty, you will have to pay that penalty each time you take out a new loan. You now have some extra money and a lot more debt, stretched out over a longer time. The extra cash you receive may be less than the additional costs and fees you were charged for the refinancing. And what's worse, you are now paying interest on those extra fees charged in each refinancing. Long story short? With each refinancing, you've increased your debt and probably are paying a very high price for some extra cash. After a while, if you get in over your head and can't pay, you could lose your home. The "Home Improvement" Loan A contractor calls or knocks on your door and offers to install a new roof or remodel your kitchen at a price that sounds reasonable. You tell him you're interested, but can't afford it. He tells you it's no problem-he can arrange financing through a lender he knows. You agree to the project, and the contractor begins work. At some point after the contractor begins, you are asked to sign a lot of papers. The papers may be blank or the lender may rush you to sign before you have time to read what you've been given. The contractor threatens to leave the work on your house unfinished if you don't sign. You sign the papers. Only later, you realize that the papers you signed are a home equity loan. The interest rate, points and fees seem very high. To make matters worse, the work on your home isn't done right or hasn't been completed, and the contractor, who may have been paid by the lender, has little interest in completing the work to your satisfaction. Credit Insurance Packing You've just agreed to a mortgage on terms you think you can afford. At closing, the lender gives you papers to sign that include charges for credit insurance or other "benefits" that you did not ask for and do not want. The lender hopes you don't notice this, and that you just sign the loan papers where you are asked to sign. The lender doesn't explain exactly how much extra money this will cost you each month on your loan. If you do notice, you're afraid that if you ask questions or object, you might not get the loan. The lender may tell you that this insurance comes with the loan, making you think that it comes at no additional cost. Or, if you object, the lender may even tell you that if you want the loan without the insurance, the loan papers will have to be rewritten, that it could take several days, and that the manager may reconsider the loan altogether. If you agree to buy the insurance, you really are paying extra for the loan by buying a product you may not want or need. Mortgage Servicing Abuses After you get a mortgage, you receive a letter from your lender saying that your monthly payments will be higher than you expected. The lender says that your payments include escrow for taxes and insurance even though you arranged to pay those items yourself with the lender's okay. Later, a message from the lender says you are being charged late fees. But you know your payments were on time. Or, you may receive a message saying that you failed to maintain required property insurance and the lender is buying more costly insurance at your expense. Other charges that you don't understand-like legal fees-are added to the amount you owe, increasing your monthly payments or the amount you owe at the end of the loan term. The lender doesn't provide you with an accurate or complete account of these charges. You ask for a payoff statement to refinance with another lender and receive a statement that's inaccurate or incomplete. The lender's actions make it almost impossible to determine how much you've paid or how much you owe. You may pay more than you owe. Signing Over Your Deed If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and the lender has threatened to foreclose and take your home, you may feel desperate. Another "lender" may contact you with an offer to help you find new financing. Before he can help you, he asks you to deed your property to him, claiming that it's a temporary measure to prevent foreclosure. The promised refinancing that would let you save your home never comes through. Once the lender has the deed to your property, he starts to treat it as his own. He may borrow against it (for his benefit, not yours) or even sell it to someone else. Because you don't own the home any more, you won't get any money when the property is sold. The lender will treat you as a tenant and your mortgage payments as rent. If your "rent" payments are late, you can be evicted from your home. Protecting Yourself You can protect yourself against losing your home to inappropriate lending practices. Here's how: Don't: Agree to a home equity loan if you don't have enough income to make the monthly payments. Sign any document you haven't read or any document that has blank spaces to be filled in after you sign. Let anyone pressure you into signing any document. Agree to a loan that includes credit insurance or extra products you don't want. Let the promise of extra cash or lower monthly payments get in the way of your good judgment about whether the cost you will pay for the loan is really worth it. Deed your property to anyone. First consult an attorney, a knowledgeable family member, or someone else you trust. Do: Ask specifically if credit insurance is required as a condition of the loan. If it isn't, and a charge is included in your loan and you don't want the insurance, ask that the charge be removed from the loan documents. If you want the added security of credit insurance, shop around for the best rates. Keep careful records of what you've paid, including billing statements and canceled checks. Challenge any charge you think is inaccurate. Check contractors' references when it is time to have work done in your home. Get more than one estimate. Read all items carefully. If you need an explanation of any terms or conditions, talk to someone you can trust, such as a knowledgeable family member or an attorney. Consider all the costs of financing before you agree to a loan. For More Information The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues , visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel , a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FOR THE CONSUMER 1-877-FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov April 1998

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