Category Archives: real estate

Las Vegas Real Estate From A Canadian Investor’s Perspective

The sky is falling in the USA!! Don't buy anything, stay far away from the U.S! Sound familiar? You have to love the media, always ready to scare the shit out of you for ratings. Fear sells news papers, remember that people. I learned long ago there are 2 sides to the story, his story, your story and the real story. The local news is no different.

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I'm taking about the housing bubble in the U.S.A. I bought my first condo in Las Vegas in 2009, and have since picked up 7 MORE condos. WTF? Am I crazy??? Before you think I'm retarded you need to read and learn, something most people don't seem to do. People listen to the news and gobble up all the BS they serve on a silver platter. Lucky for me I listen, then I start digging for information on my own. I don't really ever believe what people say until I can confirm it's 100% true.

Back to Vegas….

Now you're probably thinking Las Vegas is finished! Maybe even the whole US is going to be a 3rd world country. Are you insane, seriously? Get your head out of your butt. First off yes Las Vegas was the foreclosure capital of the whole U.S.A. There are many reasons it happened, but it boils down to greed, from mortgage brokers giving 100% financing to people who never should have gotten loans. When their mortgages were ready for renewal their interest rates jumped, then they couldn't pay for the mortgages any longer. That screwed allot of people and then made house prices drop up to 75% in many cases. This housing drop screwed the 2nd waveof home owners. People who now owe more than there house is actually worth. Many condos I purchased where bought for up to $225,000 in 2006 and now they are worth $50,000!!! These people don't want to pay a mortgage for $225,000 or whatever there amount is owning if their condo is only worth $50,000. Would you?? So they walk away and put there house in a short sale.

Here is the thing most people I talk to don't get. All these people who end up selling their homes or getting foreclosed on end up renting!! Yes, you got it right. Las Vegas is full of people renting homes in the neighborhoods they once owned homes in. So investors like me come and buy condos and houses for 75% discounted rates and rent them to previous home owners. ALL my places are rented and they cash flow very, very well. So I have cash flow coming on properties I purchased in many cases for $50,000 – $60,000 and then rent them for between $725 to $845. Are you starting to understand how this is a great opportunity, if you have the cash and balls?

Did You know?

Las Vegas was the fastest growing city in the whole U.S.A for the last 10 years!!! And 1000s of people are still moving there every year. It's still a growing city, so that means there is a need for housing. Yes unemployment is high, but it's coming down, this a good indicator things are shifting in the right direction.
Vegas is still full of tourists, I know because I go to the strip and I can see first hand what's happening. Casino revenues are up about 5% from last year. This is another good indicator that things are going in the right direction. As the revenues continue to climb casinos will start hiring people to fill more positions because of consumer demand. Then the big casino building projects will be underway, which leads to more construction jobs, hospitality jobs etc. It's all going to happen, the indicators are there.
There are 1000s of investors buying in Las Vegas, some many in fact that there are multiple offers on houses and condos. I was outbid on 3-4 places in the last 2 months because of multiple offers happening.
The top out of country buyers are guess who? Canadians! With a strong dollar and strong economy, tons of Canadians are doing the same thing I am!
Once the Canadian dollar looses more of its value compared to the USD, when I exchange my rent money from U.S to Canadian I will be make more because of the conversion rate. I already am but the U.S.dollar will get stronger, maybe not today or next week but it's going to happen.
The prices are now so low that they can't even build for the price that the houses and condos are selling for!

I have talked to lots of people about this because it comes up in conversations. If you buy 6 condos at $50,000 and rent them for $750= $4500 before expenses. After expenses if you bought the properties outright, then you are pocketing $500 a month per property roughly. 6×500=$3000 USD per month!!! Now once you exchange that US money into Canadian it gets even better! Right now if you have 4,500.00 USD =4,588.72 CAD. You make extra $88, it's not much but wait till the Canadian dollar drops even more….CHA CHING!

Compare To Vancouver

A condo can easily cost you $300,000 in Vancouver. I can get 6 condos in Las Vegas for the price I would get for one here in Vancouver. It makes a little more sense to buy in Vegas as opposed to here.

Right now is the perfect storm for Canadians to invest in the USA. Once these deals are gone, you will never see them again in our lifetime. This is basically a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's here now! But for how long can you buy 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom condos built 2003 and newer with attached garages for $50,000? You have the chance to make a difference in your life, something that you can look back on and say "That was the smartest investment I ever made!". But will you do it? I did it and I get paid every month… Fear is your enemy, that little voice in your head isn't helping you it is HOLDING YOU BACK!

Why Las Vegas Over Phoenix?

The majority of Western Canadians are buying in Phoenix. I had a choice and I picked Vegas, but what is the difference and where is better to invest? There is way to more Vegas than the strip, stop being so narrow minded. Do you think everyone in Vegas lives on the strip, lol? Think again. Vegas is a city of 2,000,000 people, the population of Vancouver!

Both cities have similar weather, with Vegas being about 3 celcius cooler.
Both cities have over 300 days of sunshine every year.
Both cities have tons of golf courses.
Vegas has outdoors just like Phoenix if not better. Vegas has Red Rock Canyon, that is only 15 minutes away from the strip. Truly amazing views there, it looks sort of like a mini Grand Canyon.
Mount Charleston is located about 40 minutes away and it has skiing, horseback riding etc. It looks like Whistler!
Ever hear of Lake Las Vegas? Another amazing place to visit 20 minutes from the strip.
And then you have the actual Vegas Strip pretty cool in itself. More nightlife, restaurants and everything else.
Flights are cheaper than Phoenix. I have gotten flights that are $100 round trip with taxes included, from Bellingham with Allegiant Airlines!
Nevada has no personal income tax, I don't know if Arizona has that?
You can drive to Los Angeles in 3 hours.
I can drive to Vegas in 2 days, driving 10 hours per day. Phoenix takes 27 hours to drive to.

I'm not knocking Phoenix at all, I just never understood why all the Canadians went there. I guess they just followed the herd. Obviously Phoenix is a beautiful place, but I never understood the reasoning behind Phoenix over Las Vegas. Where I live the Canadians have bought as well, and are still doing so. And……. No, I don't live on the strip. I live 20 minutes away from the strip in the North West part of the city. You probably thought I lived on the strip, silly you! Like I said there is WAY MORE to Vegas than the damn strip!! It's just a bonus that it's there.

Financing

Don't even think about trying to get a mortgage in Vegas. The last thing they want to do is give out mortgage loans to anyone, especially people out of the country. You will either need to pay in cash or get a home equity loan and borrow against your house in Canada. You may be able to get a mortgage in Vegas, but Canadians who I have spoken to have tried with no luck. I never really researched getting loan because I never needed one.

The Process Of Buying Real Estate in Vegas

Contact a realtor and start getting listings emailed to you daily. You can then become familiar with prices, the different areas and what to expect in general. Prices will be a shock as first trust me. It takes getting used to see new condos going for $50,000 to $60,000!
Have a somewhat general idea of the type of property you want. Don't look at million dollar mansions if you only have a $75,000 home equity loan.
Get your financing in place before you go down. There is no point flying down to look at places if you don't have your financing worked, it's a complete waste of time for you and the realtor.
Transfer your Canadian money into US funds when the Canadian dollar is the strongest. This way you will get the absolute most for your Canadian money.
Bring a proof of funds. You will need a print out of your bank account showing you have the money to have the ability to buy the property your putting an offer on.
Plan a flight and see the places in person.
Start writing offers. You need to write many offers just to get 1 property. It's a pain in the ass to actually close deals because of many factors. Many times I will write offers and never here anything back ever from the other realtor. It's nuts. But, when you close on a condo for $50,000 it feels damn good! Even if you submit 10 offers and 3 are approved you can back out of the deals, so don't think you are obligated to close on 3 accepted offers. If you get 3 approved and only want one, then you can pick and choose which one you want the most. If you don't put offers on them someone else will and you may loose that place you want the most. It's not like Canada..
Look outside of the strip for condos. Look in the suburbs, it's much more peaceful, cheaper and never more than 20 minutes away from the action.

If you're interested in Vegas then shoot me an email. I bought in October 2009 so it's been 2 years of going there, so I can answer many questions from taxes, where to buy etc… Yes, I am still actively buying. It's hard not to buy when you buy a condo and it get rented in under 30 days. I makes me continue to keep on buying.

Do your own homework, don't take what I say at face value. Learn for yourself and see what makes sense to you. I've done all the home work for myself, because I don't like to rely on other people for information. It's better to learn as much as you can before you jump in. Once you have bought a $20,000 house in a shitty part of town, then you're stuck. Do all your research before you pull the trigger, or you will be very sorry. I never made that mistake in Vegas, I did in Winnipeg years back. I learned my lesson the hard way, now I am overly cautious about where and what I buy.

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My Rental Nightmare

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It's been an eventful week to say the least, geez. I'm not one to complain and I usually keep my problems to myself, mostly. In this case I wanted to share why rental properties and the horror stories you have heard can and do happen. It sucks when it does, but you need to keep your chin up and keep going. Always look at the big picture (you own a property that you can keep forever), you have a cash machine that makes $1000s per month regardless of where you are. Cash flow baby $$$$$$$$$.

Now The Negative

Back in July, one set of my tenants moved out so I needed to get it rented before I left for Vegas for 6 weeks. The tenants gave me little notice and I should have kept their damage deposit for that little stunt but I didn't (last time I do that…). I showed the place numerous times and no one wanted to rent it, for whatever reason. I ended up getting renters, two 20something year old males. They weren't my first choice, they were my only choice, since I had to go to Vegas in a few days and it was nearing the end of the month. I ended up giving the place to them…

Everything seems fine for all of August, and the tenant Adam calls me on my cell phone in Vegas and asks me to tell him what day I am coming back so he can have rental money in his account when I deposit the September rental check. I got back to Vancouver roughly September 4 then I called Adam my tenant, and ask him if I can deposit the rental check now. Really, the rental check is meant to be deposited on the first of every month, if it is not deposited on the first of every month then legally you are allowed to send your tenant documentation stating that they are late with the rent and they have five days to pay it or they have to move out.

I let him get away with not paying me the rent when I got back, he said on the phone that if I could give him a couple of days that he would have it all together. I agreed being the nice guy that I am then I called him back a few days later asking if he had the rent money and he said he was just waiting for a check to come in from his former employer and the checks were random and there is no set time when he would be getting the check, now I started to worry. I told him that I would give him four more days to get me a check and if he didn't have the money ready I would be coming to the condo to talk to him in person and getting the money in person. I told him I would be coming down to the condo to visit him that evening (September 14) at 7 PM. He then texted me back saying that if I could come at 9 PM, I didn't respond. Now I realized that Adam is taking me for a ride.

I went down to the condo just as I stated at 7 PM on the dot. Surprisingly Adam open the door, and the other tenants was walking out of the condo with a huge dog. They never told me they had a dog. This was not in the agreement, another problem to deal with. Anyways the condo reeks of booze and there is long dog hair all over the new maple laminate floors. Now I am super pissed, but I didn't say anything.

I listened to Adam's BS story, about why he didn't have the money. Apparently, he lost his job and now he was scrambling to find friends or family to lend him cash. He says he applied for a credit card which he was denied (surprise) and he was going to use the credit card to pay the rent. At that point I had had enough of the lies and excuses. I need to pay my mortgage I told him and this can't go on any longer it's September 14 and you haven't paid your rent this month. I told him to give me the keys and the remote controls for the condo. I then told him they had to leave now, "you cannot stay here the night" and they could call my cell phone tomorrow morning I would meet them back at the condo, and they can start moving out all their crap.

Back to the state of the condo. The condo was only used by them for one month and a half. The condo went from being a really nice place, to smelling like a nightclub after midnight. There was black dog here everywhere. I have no clue what kind of dog they had but that fucking dog was shedding dog hair like a madman. They told me that they apologize for the situation that happened and they would be cleaning up the mess and they would prove to me that they were responsible, lol. Yeah right….

Well the next three days, me and my wife had to clean up 99% of their mess, touch of the walls, vacuum all the dot hair, throw out three black large garbage bags full of beer cans and beer bottles. It was a nightmare that consumed the bulk of four days last week.

I told them that they had to get all of their furnishings out of the building. This never happened, me and my wife had to clean up all their mess and they left some personal belongings in the parkade that the strata council charged me with a $200 fine to get rid of.

These scumbags have little respect for other people and other people's property. The lesson I learned was, two males should never be chosen as tenants. Men are generally dirtier than women and if you have 2 together it's even worse. Do not rent to people in their early 20s unless they seem responsible. References can be faked (their friends can pretend to be their landlord reference).

In this province, renters have too many rights. I wasn't about to let these scumbags stay in my condo for three months free, while I took them to the arbitration board. Sometimes you need to put the law in your own hands because many laws are in favor of the people creating all the problems.

Now I can say my condo is completely cleaned I touched up with paint in the places that needed touching up and I should be securing new renters this evening. They're meeting me with the damage deposit as well as 12 months post dated checks I am renting it to two women and one of their boyfriends. Women are always better to have as renters than men, because they are cleaner usually and from my experience they seem more responsible.

Has this scared me in any way? Hell no! When you rent properties to people there is always going to be something, however if you look at the big picture rent will pay your mortgage and in the long run will give you thousands of dollars per month for ever. You can then give this rental property to your children and they can get thousands of dollars per month forever. This can go on forever and ever. How can you beat that?

So, keep on smiling and keep buying rental properties they will make you rich and you'll be able to have a great life because of them. Don't look at the small things, look at the big picture. No pain, no gain. If you want to have a life where you never have to worry about anything, then keep your job and work until you're 65 like an idiot. Life isn't meant to be full of work. Work hard now, and retire early later.

On another note I have been busy putting offers on over 30 condos down in Las Vegas. I don't plan on buying 30 condos, but I am putting offers and low balling on many of the condos to see which condos I will choose. I should be purchasing another two or even maybe three condos within the next week. This will keep me on my goal of purchasing two or three condos before the end of September. I wrote down that goal when I was in Vegas, and now it will happen.

Anyways, that's all for now. I've been buying up real estate, and cleaning up real estate and now I can rest and go back to Internet marketing.

Few More Days Left Then Back To Vancouver

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It looks like the fun is coming to an end. I only have a few more days in this desert dream land. I have offers on 16 places, but my goal is to buy 3 condos out of the 16 that I put offers on. I am waiting to hear back from many of the offers I put in, then I will choose exactly which condos I want to buy. Las Vegas real estate is crazy at this point and you need to put in a bunch of offers, because many times there are multiple offers, so if you only put an offer on 1 place unless you want to pay asking price then you may lose it. I'm not paying asking price that's for sure, lol. I'm low balling on many places and others I am putting offers $5,000 to $7,000 less than asking price. Asking price is usually about $75,000 for a two bedroom with a 1 car garage condo, so it will cash flow even at that price.

My friend Paul is down here (from Vancouver), he just bought a 2 bedroom condo near the strip and is doing some touch ups to it before he gets a property management company to do the rental managing for it. Good to see some people taking my advice.

Hopefully I know the result of the others offers I put today. I need to leave Vegas this week, but not before I see these places in person.

And if my fucking hosting provider (IValueHost.net) doesn't get there shit together, I am going to find new web hosting, this is complete bullshit. I can't even call you assholes on the phone because you never pick up the phone! I want reliable service please, you jackasses!. Moving wordpress blogs takes a bit of time and that is the only reason I haven't moved it over yet, dickheads!

I snapped some photos of random stuff, as well…

I painted 2 walls in the condo a yellow, these will be the accent walls. I will come back in October and paint the rest of the condo a pale yellow I'm thinking..

Driving to Red Rock Canyon

brother feeding big sister…

Sad because they have to go home, no more pool….

Lazy Days In Las Vegas

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I'm still here in sunny Las Vegas, working by the pool everyday. Life is good. The temperatures are hot but it's a dry heat so you don't sweat much at all, unlike Vancouver that get's humid heat in the summer. I snapped some shots of random shit , that has been added below. Taking photos costs me nothing, and it's a great way to preserve memories.

I've been putting offers on more condos down here. The prices are too cheap for me to resist. If you can get 2 bedrooms condos in the $55,000 range and rent them for $800-$900, it won't be long before I retire completely and let the rental cheques do all the income earning for me, lol. I'm not going to preach about why you should buy here, it will be more for me to buy so stay away!

Tommorow night were going to the Olive Garden, I have been there only once ever in Langley. They're having an all you can eat pasta deal for $9. We have gone out only once since beening here for 3 weeks, so that's ok if I have some fat ass carbs for once night.. I can't even recall the last time I had pasta, and I'm Italian…. Ma Che cazzo!

The weather is still hot, palm trees are growing and prices are still cheap. That's all I have to report kiddies. Stay tuned for more from Sin City!