Bank of America Fires Bank of America?!!

Bank of America announced earlier this year that it plans to lay off more than 40,000 employees, many of them loan officers and processors. They also intend to close to close 10% of their branches nationwide and gradually get out of the mortgage industry. The layoffs have already begun in Las Vegas, and you know it’s affecting customer service when, literally, Bank of America fires Bank of America!

A number of months ago, one of our agents listed a Las Vegas short sale and was fortunate enough to also find the buyer. The short sale bank was Bank of America and the buyer was obtaining a mortgage loan from B of A to fund the purchase.

The property was placed into escrow and the fun began. The seller’s documents for the short sale were submitted to B of A for approval of the sales price. Within 40 days, the full approval was received, not bad at all on a short sale! Everyone assumed there would be smooth sailing ahead for the rest of the transaction - usually the approval is the hard part of any Las Vegas real estate transaction.

But things quickly deteriorated from that point on. The buyer’s employment verification was lost twice. By the time the verification was obtained, the credit report had expired and had to be redone. Incorrect figures were submitted for the sales price and loan amount. And oopsy! Someone forgot to order the appraisal.

After four extensions to the escrow due to lender errors and oversights, Bank of America’s short sale department finally issued an ultimatum - they would only issue a fifth extension if the buyer used another Las Vegas mortgage lender besides B of A! (The good news is, the buyer actually scored a better interest rate and lower fees with their new lender.)

Conclusion: Bank of America really IS trying to get out of the mortgage industry, and they are doing one heck of a job!

Toll Brothers Giving Away Up to $14,200 in Incentives!

Through October 9th Toll Brothers is giving away up to $14,200 in incentives to buyers that purchase new homes in Las Vegas during their national sales event. Toll Brothers is one of America’s highest quality home builders, with outstanding upgrades included as standard options.


Buy a new home from Toll Brothers during their national sales event (sign a contract through October 9th) and receive your choice of $4700 worth of options from their sales brochure, PLUS a $3,000 carpet allowance AND another $6,500 that can be used for more design center upgrades or closing costs. This is more than double their every day incentive package. With interest rates still historically low, this is the perfect time to buy Las Vegas real estate, and Toll Brothers is a Realtor preferred home builder.

Toll Brothers currently has three gorgeous communities in the Las Vegas Valley to select from. Two of the communities, Barcelona and Traccia, are located in the prestigious Summerlin master planned community which has over 50 miles of community trails, nine world-class golf courses, convenience stores, parks, trails and Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area

Barcelona is an intimate gated enclave of homes with spacious two-story home designs featuring up to 3,600 square feet of living space. Homes come with large pool-sized home sites, slab granite countertops, expansive second floor decks, 3 car garages and are Energy Star efficient.

Traccia is a collection of low-maintenance Mediterranean-inspired home designs, featuring up to 1,685 square feet of living space in a gated community with private clubhouse, two sparkling pools, lighted tennis courts, and fitness center. Choose from two spacious 3 bedroom floor plans with slab granite countertops, 2 car garages and Energy Star ratings.

The third community, Toll Brothers at Inspirada, is located high in the southern foothills of the Las Vegas Valley. These residences include access to miles of community trails, Sloan Canyon Conservation Area, two pools, recreation center, outdoor amphitheater, bocce ball courts, play ground, picnic and BBQ areas.

Toll Brothers at Inspirada offers a variety of upscale residences without the upscale price tag! This community includes both townhomes (1700 sf to 1900 sf) and single family homes (2100 sf to 2464 sf). All residences come with 2 car garages and are Energy Star rated.

To view the pricing and floor plans on these fine residences, please go to: Toll Brothers in Las Vegas

Then give us a call at 702-985-7654 to set up your private tour!

When a Realtor's Greed Gets in the Way

I have the highest regard for most of my fellow Realtors. They are some of the hardest working (and most under-appreciated) people I know. But I have a real problem when a Realtor’s greed gets in the way of the client’s best interest. Those are the agents that give the rest of us a bad name.


I got a call a couple of days ago from a Michael in Miami. His client had seen a listing on my site, and he asked Michael to check into it for him as Michael had been his agent in Miami on other transactions. But Michael wanted the selling agent’s complete commission, not just a referral fee. He said he had an agent that worked with him who was also licensed in Nevada. I asked Michael if the agent was part of our Las Vegas MLS – no, the agent was just a Nevada licensee, had no MLS access and was not even in Nevada. He would not be able to show property, write up a contract, negotiate or perform normal duties as the buyer’s agent.

I explained to Michael that in order to get the best deal for the client we looked at ALL real estate listings in our MLS, not just our own. We could not pay him the entire selling agent’s commission, but would be delighted to pay him the usual 25% referral fee. But Michael was not interested in that – he was only interested in getting a full 3% on anything his client bought and couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t just show his client only our own listings so he could get paid more.

How sad is it that this client has put his entire trust in Michael and Michael is only interested in his own bottom line? We regularly refer our Las Vegas clients to out of state agents, and we go the extra mile to personally interview the agents first before making the referral. I don’t care what company the agent works for – I just want to know that my client gets THE best agent I can find.

I just referred a client last week to an agent in Big Bear – this client had tried to find an agent on her own and was NOT happy with her selection. So my client contacted me and I called around until I found someone I felt comfortable with. And my client absolutely ADORED the agent I found for her - thanks, Maureen at RE/MAX Big Bear! The client is elated because she got a great agent who found her a dynamite deal on a bank foreclosure, Maureen is happy because she got a great client, and I am thrilled that my loyal client is so satisfied.

This is a true win/win situation and the way every transaction should be. I hope Michael is reading this - it’s not just about the money, Michael.