Moving to Las Vegas

[opalineopaline]

Hi, Everyone,

Need a little help. My younger brother and I are planning on moving to Las Vegas later this year. We both have houses to sell in Austin, Tx and hope to make enough money on them to put down a large chunk of cash on a home. Looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom, 2 full baths home. Would love for it to be mid-century modern but doubt we will find that style. We prefer a single family home but will consider a townhome/condo as part of a duplex. I am retired; he will find a job (was an HR director for years until most Human Resources started to be outsourced at much lower salaries). We will both have cars so transportation is not a problem.

We have been looking in the Summerlin area but are open to other parts of the city such as Green Valley area. Our price tops out at $200K but would like to find something more in the $135-$170 range. We've seen a lot of pre-foreclosures and foreclosures on Zillow and Trulia all over the city. Anyone have any good ideas regarding safe, nice areas of town? Anyone currently or recently living in Vegas who could respond would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Opalineopaline

[Tedlark]

Best of luck to you and your brother on your new adventure. There are several people who frequent this site who have also moved to Las Vegas within the last couple years who may be able to help you out.

[billryan]

I moved here in May, and decided it's cheaper to rent than to own.
I was looking for something similar to you,but homes in the 130-150 range either need a lot of work or are in iffy, at best, neighborhoods.
For under $1,000 a month, you can find nice apartments, with pools, gyms and spas in good neighborhoods.
One neighborhood that I liked, but isn't for everyone would be the two Desert Inn Manor Estates that are for 55 and over. They are manufactured homes but many are very well kept and upgraded. You have lots of choices in the 100K range. They are on the east side of town, about as far from Summerlin as you can get.
Homes are in short supply right now. Expect to spend closer to 200K.

[billryan]

Trulia is almost useless. More than half the listings I looked into were either sold or off the market.

[opalineopaline]

Tedlark, thanks for the words of encouragement.

Billryan, thanks for letting me know about the rental vs. buy situation. I do think we may be able to pay cash for a house as our individual homes in Austin have appreciated so much. We have been looking on both Zillow and Trulia - a little disappointing to hear that listings on Trulia may have been sold or off the market. We will probably engage a real estate agent to help us look. We did see a lot of homes between $135 and $179 so hopefully, we will be able to find one. We are not moving just yet; it will probably be sometime in the next 6 months, possible mid-summer, or if the deals get better, just after school begins. Many homes go down in price after the summer because families want to get settled before the school year begins.

Will keep you all posted.

Thanks!

[JIMDUECE`SWILD]

I look on Realtor.com at the Las Vegas area just for curiosity to see what is there and price. I put in the zip code and search. 

[billryan]

Being able to pay cash doesn't necessarily mean you should. Without the mortgage deduction, what are benefits of owning vs renting?
My refrigerator breaks,I get a new one for free. My toilet clogs,I have a guy here in two hours or less , no charge. No worries about AC.
I've a 24 hour gym and pool, dog park and it's a gated community.
My financial guys told me I was better off renting and looking for an investment property or two, which is what I did.

[opalineopaline]

Jim, I'll check on Realtor.com the way you said - great idea.

Billryan, I don't disagree with you regarding the tax breaks and I, too, have often thought it is financially better to rent. Will discuss with my brother. Upsides are no cost for repairs, money can be invested with a possible 2% return. Downsides include: noisy neighbors, bad maintenance from management, and rent increases. Again, I will discuss with my brother. There are other considerations which I will not mention. Will do more research.

Aside from your suggestion about renting, how long have you lived in Vegas and do you like living there?

Thanks,

   

[JIMDUECE`SWILD]

I look on Realtor.com at the Las Vegas area just for curiosity to see what is there and price. I put in the zip code and search. 

If you see something you like. Go to google maps put in the address and do a satellite view of the property and neighborhood.

[billryan]

After spending a month to six weeks here every winter, I moved here full time in May 2016, and am enjoying it tremendously. I live in Henderson, one block from Paradise.
What most people don't realize is Las Vegas itself is small and doesn't contain any of the mega resorts. They are actually located in Winchester or Paradise. The Las Vegas city limits run roughly around the old Sahara and include Downtown but not the Strip.