Las Vegas Foreclosures Market

Best Tips for Selling Foreclosures and Short Sales Homes

1. PRICING for Las Vegas Foreclosures: Buyers and Sellers need to be educated about the foreclosure and short sale transaction, as it is different than the traditional offer and acceptance process and it can be much longer and more convoluted and there can be more paperwork involved as well.

2. THE SELLER HOMEOWNER FORCED to factor in the Bank's needs and interests in terms of what financial return the bank wants to generate during a Foreclosure or Short Sale. Sellers are also competing with banks in terms of additional inventory listings being offered by local banks. The maximum exposure in the market is received in the first 45 days, so the homeowner-seller should recognize this and price accordingly.

3. SELLER CONTRIBUTION TO CLOSING COSTS: The homeowner-seller should be willing to contribute to closing costs. FHA requires at least 6% down. The buyers are expecting the sellers to contribute at least 3%. Many Banks are willing to contribute to the buyers closing costs on the foreclosed homes so the homeowner seller must be competitive. The homeowner's agent should advertise the Sellers willingness to contribute - flexibility is critical.

4. HOMEOWNERS COMPETITIVE EDGE VERSUS SELLERS WHO ARE THE BANKS: The edge that the homeowner-seller has is their flexibility. They give full disclosure of the condition of the home versus the banks who do not know the condition of the home.

5.ANOTHER EDGE THAT THE HOMEOWNER has is the ability to respond quickly to the buyer's offer so the buyer knows right away if they have a deal - banks typically take weeks to respond. Another advantage the homeowner has is the continued upkeep of the home until the escrow is closed and the new owners move in. Many homes that are being sold by banks are vacant and are consequently not being maintained and may also have been vandalized at some point. The Sellers's agent should point out all of these benefits in their advertising and communication to other agents.

6. MULTIPLE OFFERS: The Homeowner Seller should be aware that today's Las Vegas Foreclosure driven market buyers are making offers on several homes at the same time. The Buyer's agent should provide a multiple offer addendum which discloses to the seller that the buyer is making an offer on more than one home. This gives the buyer an edge because is causes the Seller to respond quickly and seriously. The Seller's agent and Seller should discuss their strategy ahead of time so they are prepared to respond quickly and seriously without multiple counter offers.

7. AGENT SELECTION CRITCAL: The Seller should interview several agents to find out if the agent has the experience to market and negotiate e a foreclosure or short sale - training and familiarity with these specialized transactions is very important. The agent should know how to leverage online marketing processes for maximum exposure; over 70% of buyers start their search on the internet. Experience plus market exposure become the 800 pound gorilla in today's real estate market.

8. PRICING NOW BEING DRIVEN BY HEALTHY REALITIES: Buyers are disclosing their practice of making multiple offers to sellers, which helps to maintain pricing equilibrium in the overall market. The seller does not have much ability to negotiate in the market, which helps to keep prices based on the real value of a home, not artificiality driven by multiple offers, as in the past. This will be good for the Seller as they in turn purchase a home and for the long term health of our industry - the market is shifting from an unhealthy feeding frenzy to value pricing.

Las Vegas Foreclosure Investment Strategy

There are a broad number of variables impacting an optimum Las Vegas Foreclosure Real Estate Investment, encompassing: overall investment strategy: (how aggressive etc), timeline for assessing market, budget, resources, what type of properties(s) do you want to purchase, optimum Return on Investment, property management issues, etc. Here is our short list of recommendations that you may want to consider if you are investing in Las Vegas Foreclosures.

1) Single Family Home should appreciate more than a condo, which might have less maintenance

2) Price range $200-250K, with $125 per square foot or less - the latter should be easily attainable in the Las Vegas Market at present

3) Get Seller Pays all Closing Costs for the Las Vegas Foreclosure - may have to negotiate hard to get this if the seller is not "motivated" although in this buyers market most sellers are motivated.

4) Factor in our "Starbucks" rule - you want the home to be no more than 5-10 minutes from a Starbucks and/or Freeway Access - many renters will be commuting from/to the Las Vegas Strip

5) A Home built within the last 4-6 years, minimizing the need for maintenance and/or any major repairs is an optimum investment with two car garage that connects to the house, tile roof for lower maintenance and fire prevention.

6) Find a home in a quiet Neighborhood with no absolute proximity behind or in front of home to Commercial Thoroughfares or busy streets, if purchasing in a suburban area - cuts down on noise and increase lifestyle value

7) You also want a house located in Subdivision with Homeowners Association, with very Low CCR ("Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) under $75. per month to offset variable costs that could go up over time

8) Optimum size of Las Vegas foreclosure house is: 3 Bedrooms & 2 Full Bathrooms, with attached Garage (as above)

9) Know where you are buying and research the neighborhood carefully - you also want small number of vacant or foreclosed homes to maximize your investment moving forward.

10) You want to have proximity to schools and shopping centers within 5-7 minutes, no more than this - people want convenience and proximity to lifestyle amenities is important.

11) Get a Las Vegas Foreclosure that has no or minimal "touchup" work required for tenant move in to the home. If you find that the home needs significant or major repairs any reputable realtor (including us) has a list of inspectors and contractors that can give you estimates on the work; make sure you get at least two estimates for all work.

12 You want vacancy rates in a neighborhood that are very low as this impacts your ability to rent out the Las Vegas Foreclosure.

13) You don't want a pool or spa - this may be counter intuitive, but saves you maintenance costs over the long haul; if there is a pool then you will need to factor these ongoing maintenance costs.

14) Finally, the ideal Home is not a Short Sale but a Las Vegas Foreclosure.

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