Vegas weather

If you were lucky enough to be visiting Las Vegas earlier this week, you got to experience a very rare thing. Temperatures in the 80s and 90s in the middle of July! For some unknown reason, some of our television weather people actually had the gall to complain about rain which lowered our summer temperatures down from the normal 115.

I don't get it. Granted you live in the desert so expect the heat. The rain also cleaned all of the dust and left over pollen out of the air. The air was so clear outside you could see for miles. Having a home in Las Vegas, you get used to the slight haze during certain times of the year. So any respite is a welcome change as far as I'm concerned.

Luxury Townhomes in Green Valley

There really aren't a lot of townhome communities in Henderson and what is known as Green Valley. I'm not sure why that is. There is a very specific niche for townhomes, people who maybe can't afford a regular home but want a yard for their pets or want the amenities of a condo complex with the privacy of a home. For whatever the reason, their just aren't that many available, especially on the luxury side.

While I was looking through the MLS I found this community, Inspiration townhomes in Green Valley Ranch. They are located just a short walk from the District in Green Valley and the I215 beltway. The community has resort style amenities and was built in 2004.

Currently there are about a half dozen townhomes for sale in the community but I'm sure they won't last. If you're looking for a townhome in Henderson, Inspiration is certainly worth a look.

Grand Opening of Two Mountains Edge Communities

Next weekend will be the grand opening of two new home communities in the master planned community of Mountain’s Edge. Tuscany Hills and Tuscany Canyon were developed by Richmond American. The communities will offer smaller size homes for the most part, priced in the 100’s to 200’s. Both communities are gated and offer only two story floor plans.

Buyers who contract by July 15th can receive a gourmet kitchen upgrade. During the grand opening light refreshments will be served and attendees can enter to win a $200 Pottery Barn® gift card. If you are thinking about buying a new home in Mountain’s Edge and would like to attend the event, call 702-493-8033.

Luxury living at Lake Las Vegas

When it comes to Luxury Henderson real estate you probably haven’t heard much on the news. Frankly, most of the information coming out of Vegas valley real estate market is about foreclosures and how low prices have sunk. Granted, if you are buying a home, that’s great news. After all, a dollar saved is a dollar earned. The luxury market isn’t immune. Prices at the top of the spectrum have dropped as well. But not everyone wants to buy a bank owned property.

There are still some new homes for sale and builders are very motivated to sell them to you. Competing against the foreclosure market has forced builders to lower prices and offer free upgrades and other things to entice you to buy. The amount of new homes hitting the market has steadily declined as well, with some builders simply opting to wait out the market. Lake Las Vegas a large master planned community in Henderson, has just a few neighborhoods of new homes left. Tremezzo homes by Pardee is a good example of what is currently available. Now priced in the 800’s, these homes would have been priced in the millions a year and a half ago.

If you are thinking of buying a luxury home in the Vegas valley but only want a brand new home, feel free to contact us at 702-493-8033 for a listings of new luxury homes for sale.

Inexpensive alternative to living on the strip

With things being the way they are, everyone is looking to save money. So you want to live in the middle of the action like a rock star but don’t have the budget? Prices in Las Vegas have fallen over the last 9 months and there are plenty of places up for sale. However, if you are looking for something on Las Vegas Boulevard, be prepared to spend. But if you are willing to be a little farther away, there are some great alternatives.

A great example is the Meridian condos. Its a condo conversion community, located on East Flamingo Road about a block and a half from the Las Vegas strip. The community has great amenities, is a short drive from the airport and there are units for sale at drastically reduced prices from a year ago. They would make a great corporate retreat or vacation home.

Viruses on the Web

Another doomsday virus is running amok on the web. The Conficker virus is set to "receive further instructions" tomorrow. 60 minutes ran a piece on it, unfortunately they opted to talk to Symantec (sorry NOT A FAN) about the virus. They have a large world at war type map "showing" the infected computers. Supposedly you can tell if your PC is infected by trying to visit symantec's, microsoft or other security software provider websites. If you can't connect to them, then you're supposedly infected with the virus. So start checking your pc now. Oh yeah, one other thing. They did figure out that Conficker is waiting for instructions to be delivered tomorrow…

Connecting with other Real Estate Professionals

One of the keys to success in real estate is not one that many professionals pursue, connecting with other agents outside of their market. You may wonder why do that, after all, you’re in the business of meeting buyers and sellers in your home town. Very true and that is absolutely your first priority. But by meeting other agents, getting to know them, you will increase your business down the road through referrals.

So one of my goals is meeting new people in other areas. I started talking to David Wynn, broker for WynnDcorp Realty an International Real Estate Brokerage. You can visit their main site at http://www.wynndcorprealty.com. They have another website as well http://www.wynndcorp.com that serves global real estate buyers and sellers with USA and International properties from the Smoky Mountain Village of Maggie Valley in Western North Carolina. Their marketing  “We network the Globe” reflects exactly what I’m trying to accomplish, plus I like their mission statement: serving our clients and customers with integrity, personalized and professional services. That is exactly the type of people I’d like to network with. Since they do a lot of network based marketing, they were a natural fit, especially since they have clients from overseas and quite a few overseas investors end up buying in Las Vegas. 

One of the other great side benefits of this is that you end up meeting some great people. And I think you can never have to many friends.

Las Vegas Dog Rescue Scene

If you are looking for a dog in Las Vegas, please don’t go to a pet store. There are so many pure bred dogs of all ages in need of a forever home living in the shelter and at different rescue groups around the valley.

The Lied Shelter is not a no kill facility, so any animal entering the shelter only has a short amount of time to be adopted. If you are looking for a specific breed of dog, check out the Vegas Canine Rescue site for a list of breed specific rescue in the Las Vegas valley or subscribe to their Canine Rescue blog. You’ll find other resouces on the site as well, including pet sitting, great vetrinarians and other pet related businesses and products. By using the site you’ll also help support the dozens of animal rescue groups listed there.

Real Estate Marketing

Ever since the internet came into being, the debate about “internet leads” has raged on. Some agents love them, others hate them and some just don’t know what the fuss is about. Even now there are quite a few agents that don’t do any internet marketing at all.

A friend of mine, Lou Lynch wrote a great post about how to analyze internet lead data at his new real estate blog. This is a must read. He does a great job of breaking down what really needs to be done and how to evaluate each lead for quality.

If you are a new agent or a veteran, the post is worth reading a few times at least. Getting another perspective is never a bad thing.

Update

He also put up another great post about using email to follow up on web leads. Good stuff.

Getting Hitched in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is known for many things, exciting nightlife, world class dining, entertainment, gaming and…weddings. According to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau, an average of 100,000 people is married in Clark County every year. One of reasons is that Nevada doesn’t require a blood test and a marriage license is only $55.

Las Vegas is known for several famous weddings, dating back to Elvis Presley and Priscilla (at the original Aladdin Hotel). Several other entertainers and athletes have joined the list, including Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra. Even Britney Spears got married once in Las Vegas. Getting married in Las Vegas has become a popular business over the years and true to the spirit of the city, if you don’t want a plain ordinary wedding, there are several theme wedding chapels and ceremonies available, from pirate ships to Elvis performing the ceremony, you can find it in Las Vegas. If you are looking for a more picturesque affair, there are Eiffel Tower ceremonies, gondola rides (at the Venetian or Lake Las Vegas) and helicopter rides to Death Valley, guaranteed to make a memorable one of kind event. That’s the great thing about Las Vegas, you can have any kind of wedding you want, even a drive through window service ceremony!

Finding a wedding chapel is simple, there are dozens of them around town and several located right on the Las Vegas strip and inside several of the resorts. The Clark County Marriage License Bureau (702-455-4415) is located in downtown Las Vegas at 201 Clark Ave and is open from 8 am to midnight so getting a license is pretty easy to do. However, on certain holidays (like Valentine’s Day) expect to wait in line.

Ah, but what about planning? Nearly all of the wedding chapels will take care of everything for you, from rings to flowers to video taping the event. Some will even provide a limo to take you to the license bureau as well taking you back to your hotel if you aren’t a local.

The other big attraction is cost. Getting hitched in Las Vegas can be done on the cheap. A license is only $55 and a basic service will run you about another $130. If you want to have the whole affair with photos, flowers, video and a cake, you can find places that will do it for around $500 or so, but it won’t include any tips for personnel (don’t forget to tip your minister).

If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas to specifically get married, it will pay off to shop around. Some hotels with chapels in them may give you a better package rate for everything than by doing things piecemeal. Certain holidays like New Year’s and Valentine’s Day are super busy for wedding chapels, so you might want to get your licensing and planning done ahead of time so you can enjoy the event without being rushed.

You can also download a license application from the Clark County website at http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/clerk/Pages/marriage_license_applications_online.aspx