Lake Las Vegas Rises from the Ashes

Like the mythical Phoenix, Lake Las Vegas is rising from the ashes of the real estate melt down. Still the most unique and beautiful of any of the Las Vegas master planned communities, Lake Las Vegas stands like a Tuscan mirage in the middle of the desert, and once again new home builders are taking the plunge to put it back on the map as one of the most desirable projects in the country.

Set on 320 lush acres with its own private lake, three hotels, a casino, the Lake Las Vegas Marina and home to the prestigious South Shore Golf Club, Lake Las Vegas is an elegant European themed resort destination with 1400 luxury homes and condos surrounding the Montelago Village, a boutique collection of shops and restaurants. Each year over 20 events are featured in the community with wine walks, Shakespeare in the Park, beer fests, dragon boat festivals and more.

Like the rest of the city, Lake Las Vegas was hit hard by the real estate crash. Several of the surrounding golf courses closed, the Ritz Carlton shut its doors and even the casino went dark. But over the past few months, a renaissance has arrived along with international buyers looking for second homes. The “buzz” is back. The Ritz Carlton became the Ravella, the Montelago Casino opened, and The Golf Club at South Shore is offering incredible membership options to homeowners.

Harmony Homes and Woodside Homes are on the band wagon and offering some amazing incentives for Las Vegas home buyers. Harmony Homes has two lovely developments in Lake Las Vegas, and through the end of December is offering to pay two full years of homeowner’s association dues for all buyers that go into contract before December 31st in addition to some upgrade incentives. Homes sizes run from 2300 sf to over 4600 sf starting in the low $300s. Woodside Homes, starting in the low $200s, has standing inventory from 1779 sf to 2361 sf with golf course lot premiums included in the base price. In addition, Toll Brothers is closing out the last few units in their exclusive townhome development with lake and golf course frontage from 1600 sf to 2181 sf.

So if you’d like to be neighbors with Celine Dion, now is the time to take a look at fabulous Lake Las Vegas and take advantage of the great home prices and discounted golf and marina memberships. There are even some great foreclosures in Lake Las Vegas too. You only live once - and what a way to live!

HomePath Real Estate Listings in Las Vegas

If you are looking for a GREAT deal on Las Vegas real estate, you definitely need to check out the HomePath real estate listings in Las Vegas! HomePath listings are properties that were foreclosed upon and are now owned by Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae (a federally chartered corporation that purchases mortgages) has thousands of properties in it database, and is known for pricing those listings VERY competitively to sell quickly.

Fannie Mae may also offer special HomePath financing with less strict guidelines than traditional Las Vegas mortgages. Whether or not a property is eligible for HomePath financing is determined on a case by case basis and will be listed on their web site. There are a limited number of Las Vegas mortgage lenders who are authorized HomePath brokers, and the benefits can be no required appraisal and no required condo certification. This really helps in many of the condo communities where traditional financing is not available at all.

Fannie Mae listings are not quite like other Las Vegas foreclosures. They have certain guidelines that must be followed in order to purchase. When Fannie Mae foreclosures first come on the market, there is a 30 day mandatory "First Look" period. During this time frame Fannie Mae will ONLY accept offers from buyers who are purchasing the property as their primary residence. Offers from investors will only be considered after the 30 day "First Look" time period has expired with no acceptable offers from owner occupants. Fannie Mae will also require a lender pre-approval or proof of funds to pay cash to be submitted with any offer. They will not consider any contingencies on the sale of another property.

And while Fannie Mae may make some repairs to properties to increase their marketability, the buyer should be aware that other repairs may be needed. Fannie Mae sells each property "as is," which means that the buyer accepts the property "as is." Though the buyer will have a due diligence period to inspect the property for major defects, Fannie Mae is not responsible for fixing any problems after settlement.

But back to the part about the great deals! Fannie Mae properties typically sell for 10% to 15% less than comparable properties. It can be frustrating for investors to wait out the 30 day mandatory "First Look" period, but there are many terrific Las Vegas homes and condos that slip through the cracks or fall out of escrow. Primary homebuyers (owner occupants) should definitely be targeting Fannie Mae foreclosures as some of the best deals on the market. There are currently over 1200 Fannie Mae properties on the market in Clark County, Nevada, and they even release new listings in advance of actually putting them on the market. If you would like to receive new Fannie Mae listings monthly, weekly or even daily, just contact us!