…a common phrase which comes up in conversation when consulting with our short sale clients.  For several months more and more homeowners have come forward gasping for information about short sales…and NOT because they lost their job or their mortgage rate adjusted higher.  While there are still so many challenged with such financial dilemmas, the face of short sellers is truly evolving…increasingly the only dilemma for some is that their home value may NEVER recover during the time they own it.  They are tied to a non-performing, money-sucking asset.  They want to know how this happened to them and what they should do.

THE HOW…

 “Supply Creates Its Own Demand”

For years the Las Vegas real estate market had a steady appreciation rate.  Chatter could be heard among those in the industry speculating that as land became more scarce, property values would increase at a more rapid pace…a classic case of supply and demand.  This environment paused briefly after September 11^th because such a national tragedy created a sense of hesitation in making large decisions and buying a home was no exception.  Then…slowly at first…in late 2002 and 2003 buyers returned in higher numbers, but our housing supply didn’t keep up.  Suddenly, January 2004 hit and buyer demand exploded while the housing supply was simply anemic.  The perfect storm of a seller’s market occurred and some Las Vegas zip codes values shot up by 50% by June 2004.  The measurable peak for most areas didn’t occur until sometime in 2005 or 2006.  For an extended instant, it seemed as if everyone who bought anytime before early 2004 was financially set with massive growth in their home equity.  As for so many who bought after 2004, well, Las Vegas was becoming (and some would say actually is) an eastern suburb of Los Angeles and the higher prices were both justified and sustainable. 

Risks and Rewards

In that long moment of perceived prosperity, who complained?  Did you?  Were you a homeowner who cashed in some equity to buy a car or another home or a pool?  Did you prudently choose to not touch your loan or only refinance into a lower interest rate with no cash out?  Remember, the “free market” – the capitalist system that allows individuals to freely seek a credit card, a car loan, or a home loan – is a system where participation is voluntarily and based on choice.  When you buy a home, you buy into this system, and when the system helps increase your home value, you accept the reward freely, don’t you?

The Market Giveth and the Market Taketh 

In late 2006/early 2007 the Las Vegas real estate market stalled, then with each surprise revelation of the lending and financial systems, the market dropped.  With each adjustable rate mortgage adjusting higher, increasing numbers of homeowners could not refinance because their home values dropped below their loan amounts.  Eventually foreclosures came on like a torrent and some home values appeared to measurably decrease in only 90 days by as much as 20%.  Suddenly, the housing supply exploded and buyers tippy-toed under cover…they didn’t want to be exposed to the uncertain mess that seemed to pervade our economy.  When this first wave of homeowners lost their homes – and the machinations of some “too big to fail” institutions did just that…failed – the system that all other homeowners bought into erased the equity and home values they took for granted.  The risk was exposed.  Who’s fault was it?  While that has been, and will continue to be, a source of study and debate, homeowners still look at us and say, “It’s not my fault…I have a good job…good credit…I pay all my bills…I have a great loan…I bought my home before the huge rise in prices…why do I have to pay for other people’s bad loans and bad decisions?”  In the most direct way, fault has little to do with it.  Remember, the markets giveth and the markets taketh.  Once you buy into the market – into our “free market” financial system – you are by nature a participant.  The rewards are easy to accept, and the risks, a potential outcome few are guaranteed to avoid. 

THE ACTION…

The bottom line – currently in Las Vegas home values have decreased to levels not seen since the 1990’s, and in some areas, arguably since the 1980’s.  As a result, most Las Vegas homeowners have no equity in their home or are upside down.  If you need or want to get rid of your home, regardless of your motivation or financial situation, you must first determine your current home value.  Referencing the taxable value from the Clark County Assessor’s Office give a clue as well as online resources such as Zillow.  Your best reality check, however, will always be a market analysis created by a REALTOR®…from someone who lives and breathes the local real estate market full-time.  If your REALTOR® confirms that you are upside down, then you need to work with them, your accountant, and an attorney or qualified advisor to determine your best course of action.  Ultimately, you are looking for the best of the worst options – short sale, foreclosure, and/or bankruptcy.  Get used to associating these words and concepts in the scope of your life and your reality.  The sooner you understand which option be applies to you, the more proactive you become, the better off you will be in moving forward towards your future.

Are you considering a short sale?  Do you want to know how much your home is worth?  Contact Stephanie at 497-7705 or stephanie@realtyaccess.net to proactively investigate options for your future.

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“Is this house for rent?” 

At least once a week I get a phone call from someone who drove by one of my listings and wants to know if the house is for rent.  My answer is always, “No, the house is for sale.”  As the conversation develops I find out that the caller is being evicted from their current house because the bank took it back from the landlord.  The same landlord that had been collecting rent for the last 6 or 7 months without paying their home mortgage.  The same landlord that forgot to tell anyone else who mattered.

Kicked to the Curb 

The renter is simply blindsided.  Someone posts a notice at the house giving the renter as little as a week and as much as a month to move out or they will be evicted … kicked to the curb.  Yet another victim of “foreclosure” or ”the credit crunch” or “mortgage crisis” or ”real estate bubble” or ”insert-your-favorite-phase-here”… and they didn’t even own a home.

How to Find Out if a Las Vegas Home is in Foreclosure Online

In reaction to this preventable and exasperating situation I decided to put together a tutorial to help anyone find out if a home is going into foreclosure in Las Vegas.  This video demonstrates how to use the Internet to look up foreclosure information in Clark County, NV with as little as a property address.  Please watch it and pass it on.  I know that it will help a lot of people.

Featured blog post links:  

• Clark County Assessor’s Office
• Clark County Recorder’s Office
• Google Video:  How to Find Out if a Las Vegas Home is in Foreclosure

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Dunkin Donuts is invading North Las Vegas and all of the recent transplants from back east just couldn’t be happier. According to some, many of us Westerners and Nevadans just don’t know our donuts. To them, Krispy Kreme donuts are bad and Dunkin Donuts are not just good, they are nirvana. Of course, from my perspective as a native Westerner and Nevadan, it looks like to me like they are just pushing some sort of legal addiction.

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Las Vegans look around you. In many neighborhoods you could throw a boomerang and it will fly by several for sale signs before it comes back to you. Do one of those for sale signs belong to you? If yes, then there is a 1 in 5 chance that you are selling your home as a short sale.

Can Homeowners Afford to Sell Their Homes As a Short Sale?

Sellers of short sale properties have a lot of details to keep track of just to get their home sold. In a normal market a Seller typically has the luxury of just trying to keep their house clean for potential buyers. Today, many Sellers who are stuck doing a short sale find that a presentable home is the least of their concerns. They are faced with the prospect of working with their lender(s) to literally “qualify” to sell their home at a loss, which is no small task. In addition, until only recently short sale Sellers had another scary prospect to add to their nightmare…income taxes. Since the IRS considered the net loss on the sale of the home as income, short sale Sellers weren’t sure if they could afford the sale of their home. Why? If they didn’t already have the money to cover the financial loss when the house sells, many won’t have the money to pay the consequential taxes later.

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With the proliferation of distressed home sellers in the Las Vegas real estate market REALTORS® are adjusting to a new reality — a buyer’s market. Is this really new news? Las Vegas REALTORS® have had since spring 2006 to adjust so what in the market is “new” to them? In the simplest terms, SHORT SALES.

FACT:
In the Las Vegas Valley 1 in 5 homes for sale are now Short Sales.

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