FINALLY! We're number 1 for something other than being the worse market in the US!  I'm so glad to read this article from CNN Money touting Vegas as the best place to purchase investment properties.  I have been working with three big investors looking to scoop up some investment properties right now while prices are low and rents are trending higher.   Over 50% of our sales have been paid for with CASH!  That is such a large amount of money flowing into our city that people are starting to take notice.  What other metropolis can you purchase a home built in the last ten years for $100,000?  This city now has 2 million people, many of whom make a good living but don't want to buy, so what do they do? Rent baby!

With rents climbing and rentals in high demand, investors are being lured to investment properties, taking advantage of low housing prices and interest rates. Nearly 20 percent of home purchases in May were for investment purposes - that's up from 17 percent in 2010, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

CNNMoney recently ranked cities by its estimated future investment returns. "Overall, the highest ratings are in markets where home prices have fallen substantially," says Ingo Winzer, founder of Local Market Monitor. "Home prices in these markets are also below average, so empty homes are easily turned into competitive rental properties."

Here are the top 5 markets in terms of investment return:

Las Vegas
Average home price (2011): $130,100
Projected home price (2014): $120,000
Gross rent (2011): $922
Projected gross rent (2014): $966

Detroit
Average home price (2011): $97,800
Projected home price (2014): $94,600
Gross rent (2011): $681
Projected gross rent (2014): $764

Warren, Mich.
Average home price (2011): $97,800
Projected home price (2014): $94,600
Gross rent (2011): $681
Projected gross rent (2014): $764

Orlando, Fla.
Average home price (2011): $165,200
Projected home price (2014): $166,200
Gross rent (2011): $980
Projected gross rent (2014): $1,148

Bakersfield, Calif.
Average home price (2011): $131,000
Projected home price (2014): $128,500
Gross rent (2011): $736
Projected gross rent (2014): $829

For the full article about from CNNMONEY click here. 

I my experience through out most of the valley, rents for single family homes range from $1000-$1500.  Location, amenities, upgrades, and sq footage can change that number drastically.  Obviously the bigger homes rent for a lot more than a 2 bedroom home.   I always, ALWAYS recommend that if you're looking to invest in a property, buy a minimum of a three bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home.  These are the most common homes that people look for when you go to resell it.  I've had a hard time selling properties that only have 2 bedrooms, or ones with a 1 car garage.  Even a tandem garage (one where there is enough room for two cars right behind each other) is a harder sell than a traditional two car side by side garage.

Most of the investors looking to buy rental properties in Las Vegas tend to look at entry level homes, but there are a few investors looking to purchase luxury properties here in Nevada.  Obviously the capital required is significantly higher, but the appreciation potential tends to be great as well. The Median rent for a property with 4000 sq ft plus is $3500.   If you are considering purchasing a rental property in Las Vegas, please give me a call toll free at 1-866-589-1646.  I understand the needs of an investor and can help you navigate through a successful transaction with the best return for your money.   If you want to search for rental properties in Las Vegas click this link and start your search from home.  This website has everything that is currently available on the MLS and is updated hourly.  Realtor.com and Trulia tend to be a bit behind when a property goes under contract.   I can also provide more specific rental statistics and a referral to a quality property management company.

Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas, NV 89117

1-866-589-1646

Realtor Magazine just release a short article about house flipping still being profitable.  From my perspective in the field in Las Vegas, house flippers are continuing to make a huge impact on our market.  I'm currently in escrow with two flipped houses that were purchased either from the court house steps or as a foreclosure from the multiple listing service.   With over 50% of the inventory of homes being in short sale status, many of the buyer's I'm working with are sick of waiting 3 to 4 months for a response from the bank.  If you take out all of the short sale homes, you're left with REO/Bank Owned properties, traditional sellers, and flippers.  Usually, the flipped properties are in excellent shape or "turn key".  Some of them might be a little higher than recent comps, but a lot of them are right in line with the markeMore investors are taking on the risk of flipping homes, despite falling home prices and sluggish real estate markets across the country. But investors say there are still profits to be made in the house flipping business.

Nearly 1 million homes were bought as investment properties in 2010, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, and a record number of buyers purchasing properties with cash currently are flooding the market.

Flipping homes for profit is easier in rising markets, but not many markets are reporting increases in home prices, analysts say. In Washington, D.C., Justin Konz of RestorationCapital says his clients are going through four of five properties a month and are making gross profit margins of 35 percent or higher.

Where to Find the Deals

Flippers mostly are finding their homes through foreclosures auctions, REOs, and short sales. They seek homes at rock-bottom prices that will have low fix-up costs, no more than about 5 percent or 10 percent of the purchase price.

In Florida, where investors are finding it more difficult to flip homes because of the drastic drop in prices and high inventories, flippers are targeting inner-city properties that are being sold at steep discounts. For example, some of houses are selling for $30,000 when they once sold for $200,000.

Perry Henderson, a real estate agent and investor in Austin, Texas, says the biggest opportunities in flipping are the "ugly" houses that have lingered on the market or "old houses that somebody's grandma lived in for 40 years and didn't do anything to. Now, she's passed away and her family wants to sell quickly."

Real estate investor Brian Fuller, who with partners buys and sells more than 200 properties a year in the San Diego area, says he's drawn to the "biggest eyesore on the block." He says they then " turn it into the best looking house there. We're helping pull up values in the neighborhood."

Source: "Vulture Investors Flipping Their Ways to Big Profits," CNNMoney.com (April 13, 2011)t.

If you would like more information on properties in Las Vegas, please contact me directly at 1-866-589-1646. 

Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas, NV 89117

1-866-589-1646

Help us avoid Foreclosure in our Communities

Fannie Mae wants to assist their homeowners 

If Fannie Mae is the investor (owns) your loan and you: 

• Are at risk of losing your home due to the present economic decline 
• And don't know what to do or who to turn to 
• Or started your modification process and you are stuck (going nowhere) 
• Or your servicer in non-responsive during the modification process 

Fannie Mae wants to assist their borrowers by offering one to one service at no cost.

To find out if Fannie Mae owns your loan go to the link below:

www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

  5 DIFFERENT DATES!!

 Southern Nevada Event Location

Las Vegas Convention Center (Cashman Field)

850 Las Vegas Blvd,

North Las Vegas, NV 89102

Appointments are available:

Thursday,  March 24 to Saturday, March 26, 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.

To schedule your appointment:

Call toll free 1-855-349-2293 or e-mail borrower_outreach@fanniemae.com

I thought this would help some of the home owners in Las Vegas. 

More banks are investing thousands of dollars to fix up foreclosures in trying to spur sales and appeal to a broader buying pool. Banks have inherited plenty of foreclosed homes that have everything from water damage, mold, broken windows, and missing plumbing fixtures.

But while banks used to be hesitant to invest much money in fixing up these homes, more real estate pros say that banks are heeding their suggestions for repairs and seeing the benefits of how a little investment can make these properties more sellable. As such, they are paying for new paint and carpet, refinishing damaged floors, replacing old windows, and repairing leaky roofs.

They hope to extend the foreclosed homes' appeal past traditional investors and professional rehabbers. For example, home buyer would have trouble securing a mortgage on homes that lenders deem "uninhabitable" because of needed repairs.

The banks interest in fixing up these properties also can help the overall real estate market because the foreclosed properties can sell at a higher price.

Real estate agents say they are making more suggestions to banks on how to spruce up the properties. First, they identify the target customer for a property. For example, if the home will likely appeal to owner-occupant, agents may recommend fixes such as paint to $25,000 kitchen remodel.

In Las Vegas, the amount of foreclosures that need to be fixed up I would say are about 50%.  Half of the bank owned homes will require new carpet and paint to bring it up to speed.  The foreclosure properties that are in mint condition are usually snatched up very quickly.  Many of the buyers I work with are suprised when I say that, because they keep hearing in the media that the amount of foreclosures in Las Vegas are astounding.   We DO have a lot of homes on the market, but over 50% of our total inventory are short sales.  These short sales take on average 90 days to get a response from the bank, and only 34% of these short sales close with the first buyer.   With so many of the homes for sale in short sale, many buyers are looking to move in quicker which means they end up looking at foreclosures and regular sellers.   Foreclosures in Las Vegas make up 20% of all the homes on the market, which makes a lot of buyers looking at a small number of homes.

If you are interested in doing a foreclosure search, you can start below, or give me a call directly at 1-866-589-1646.  

Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas, NV 89117

1-866-589-1646

The number of foreclosure notices filed in February declined 14 percent compared with last month, and foreclosure notices dropped 27 percent compared to last year at this time. That marks the largest year-over-year decline that RealtyTrac, a foreclosure tracking site, has ever recorded.

The number of U.S. homes in some stage of foreclosure fell drastically last month, reaching a 36-month low, RealtyTrac reports.

Initial default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions, and homes repossessed by lenders all dropped in February, RealtyTrac says.

"Allegations of improper foreclosure processing continued to dog the mortgage servicing industry and disrupt court dockets," says RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio. "The industry is in the midst of a major overhaul that has severely restricted its capacity to process foreclosures.

Lenders repossessed 64,643 homes in February, a 17 percent drop from January.

Initial default notices dropped 16 percent from January -- and 41 percent from a year ago. Whats more, foreclosure auctions dropped 10 percent from last month and 21 percent from February of last year, RealtyTrac said.

Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac, says the real estate market isnt out of the clear quite yet. He expects foreclosure activity to likely spike again as banks resolve foreclosure paperwork issues.

About 2 million households are in foreclosure proceedings. In addition, about 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgage payments.

States With the Highest Foreclosure Rates

The states with the highest foreclosure rates for the month:

1. Nevada (which has held the No. 1 spot for 50 consecutive months, with one in every 119 households receiving a foreclosure notice)
2. Arizona (one in 222)
3. California (one in 239)
4. Utah
5. Idaho
6. Georgia
7. Michigan
8. Florida
9. Colorado
10. Hawaii

Source: "Foreclosures Plunge 27%-Biggest Drop on Record," CNNMoney.com (March 10, 2011) and"Foreclosure Activity Slows Sharply in February," Associated Press (March 10, 2011)

If you are looking to take advantage of the foreclosures on the market, you can start your foreclosure search below or contact me directly to set up a specific search based on your needs.

                                                   Felipe Crook

Prudential Americana Group Realtors

Las Vegas NV 89117

1-866-589-1646