New Paths to Guaranteed Returns

As a licensed real estate Broker and agent here in Las Vegas, I have spent the last six years specializing in finding the best deals for my inventors.   To qualify as a “best deal” these properties have to include both an equity position and positive cash flow.  I have been personally accelerating by purchse of buy and hold homes here in Las Vegas over the last several months as it is my true belief that we have hit the bottom of the market and that home prices will not go down any further. In fact, because of low inventory, prices have risen steadily since early this year.  Prices seem to have bottomed at a low point that was down as much as 75% from highs of about five years ago.   I have acquired 10 properties this year for my long term portfolio and have three more under contract at the time of this writing that are due to close within a month.

Through our many methods of acquiring homes: foreclosures, short sales, trustees’ sales, bulk purchases, and distressed properties we are able to acquire homes at a reasonable discount from today’s retail value.   After fixing and rehabbing the homes, we then place quality renters in the properties and place them with our in-house property management division at VIP Realty Group.  We currently manage over 50 homes and have a full service/full time property manager on site along with several agents that specialize in filling our rental properties.  Over the last two years my team has bought and sold (flipped) over 150 homes in the Las Vegas market, making me one of the busiest investors in this market along with being the 7th busiest buyers’ agent in all of Las Vegas last year.

This prelude outlining our business model brings me to our most recent development:  If you are looking for a comfortable, guaranteed return of 8%, I have an opportunity for you.  As a full time real estate investor with over 30 properties in my personal portfolio, I am no longer able to acquire loans on investment homes through conventional methods (banks/lending institutions).  Most of my homes are privately financed by individuals, like you, who are looking for a good return and safety of their investment.

My lenders are always in first position with a deed of trust placed against the home, and we generally have a loan to value ratio of near 75% of the market value of the home.  We pay interest of 8% on a monthly or quarterly basis (whichever the investor prefers) with a one year initial loan term that can be extended if both parties are willing.  Numerous referrals from satisfied clients are available upon request.   

I specialize in the northwest part of town and know my market extremely well.   The risk for investors is as close to nonexistent as possible as we insure that we have strong positive cash flow on the home as well as a strong equity position. Since we believe that we are already at the bottom of the market, we are also strongly protected against a downward price drop.   In the event that an exit strategy is needed, any of my homes can be easily sold to either an investor looking for a turnkey rental property or an owner occupied buyer that is also looking for a home in great move in condition.

This type of investing is often called “First Trust Deed” investing and puts the investor in a safe position with a guarantee of income each and every month.  This type of investing takes all the hassle out for you because our team rents, manages, and handles any rehabs and maintenance of the home at our cost.  You sit back and enjoy strong returns on a safe, secured investment.  Please contact me directly if you are interested in investing with First Trust Deeds in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas, NV - Real Estate Agents Wanted!

Last year, I was ranked as the 7th busiest buyers’ agent in all of Las Vegas.  This is perhaps especially noteworthy in that I deal primarily with investors that are looking to either buy and hold or flip Las Vegas properties.  Over the last several years, I have established a strong internet presence through my blogging, articles, press releases, and websites.  I also utilize more conventional marketing avenues such as advertising and signs and I get large numbers of referrals from sales and rentals to satisfied clients.  From the combination of these sources, I generate a huge amount of leads.  Quite honestly, more leads than I can handle.

I am looking for a couple of agents that all fluent in “investor speak” and are looking for the opportunity to close more deals and earn more money.  I am also looking for rental agents that can assist us in getting our investor rentals leased.   

We have a beautiful office in the northwest located in the quaint Village at Centennial Hills district near I-95 and Durango.  We have two full time brokers on site every day.  We offer a low transaction fee, free offices for agents with no monthly fees and a full service property management division that handles rentals for our investor database.  We have recently facilitated and closed several bulk deals with national and local banks.  We find properties for our investor clients any way we can.  Recently, we have worked with non-profits to buy homes for our investors, as well as buying at the Trustees’ sale, and purchasing REOs, short sales, and other distressed properties in Las Vegas.

I have personally flipped over 150 homes in the last two years and own over 30 income properties in my personal portfolio.  If you are looking for a brokerage that specializes in working with investors and can help you increase your personal income along with helping you to increase your own real estate portfolio, please call Broker/Owner Glenn Plantone to set up a private and discreet interview.

8% Guaranteed Returns on Hands Off, Secure Real Estate Investment

Over the last several years, I have been approached many times by clients who are looking for better returns on their investment dollars by investing in Las Vegas real estate, but are worried by the property management and other potentially time consuming aspects of purchasing real estate.  This is often especially troubling for potential investors who live outside of Las Vegas, many of whom live across the country or even across the world.  Other investors are concerned by the potential for vacancies in their properties and would prefer an investment that they view as more stable.  Even though our goal at Team Plantone is to make buying Las Vegas investment properties as turn-key and simple as possible, we realize that some of our clients are looking for an even easier, more secure alternative to our normal property acquisition process.

This is why, a few months ago, I facilitated our first ever Guaranteed Return Real Estate Backed Investment for one of our clients.  Since then, I have successfully helped many other investor clients purchase this simple, hands off investment vehicle that generates secure returns with much higher yields than anything available on the bond or CD market.

The mechanics of this investment are actually quite simple.  The client decides how much they wanted to invest in the program and wires the funds into our secure account.  With these funds, I personally select one or more properties, purchase them, and handle all the details of renovating and renting the homes.  Our on site, professional property management division collects rents,  handles any property management or repair issues and pays all the bills associated with the property.  Meanwhile, my client receives a GUARANTEED 8% return on his money from the day it enters our account for the length of his contract term (which he selects.)  During this time, his
account is secured by a first position lien on the properties.

Of course, no investment is completely secure and you need to carefully evaluate any investment opportunity including its potential risks.  However, Guaranteed Return Real Estate Backed Investments have proven to be the perfect mix of return, convenience and security for many of my clients.  If you are interested in receiving more information on how this unique investment vehicle can work for you, please contact Glenn immediately.

Judicial Foreclosures Fuel Speculation on the Future of Home Prices in Las Vegas

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...  Median home prices in Las Vegas have been rising steadily since shortly after AB 284 was passed last October.  In fact,  many Realtors have noted that the last few months have felt more like the boom years prior to the housing bubble collapse then the middle of an economic recession.  Extremely low inventory, brought on by the sudden, dramatic decline in foreclosures in the wake of AB 284 have created a Sellers’ market where multiple buyers are often competing for the same property and homes are selling at or above list price.

In the midst of this enthusiasm reminiscent of the “good old days” many financial analysts and real estate guru’s (including myself) have been consistently warning that the final effects of AB 284 are likely to be negative, not positive, and that things which appear too good to be true generally are.  We are just now beginning to hear the first rumblings of what the exact nature of this inevitable reprise might be.

A few days ago, a blog post from a local Las Vegas Realtor was brought to my attention.  His entry discussed a Judicial Foreclosure that had just recently been carried out against a client of his.  No clue what a Judicial Foreclosure might be?  Not surprising...they haven’t traditionally been used in Nevada, because there has been no need.  Foreclosure proceedings have typically been handled in Nevada, as they are in most of the rest of the country, through the normal notice of default, notice of foreclosure, Trutees’ sale/auction process that we have all come to understand.  However, with the passage of AB 284 the banks were faced with a dilemma.  With AB 284, the State of Nevada made it impossible for banks to initiate and proceed with foreclosures through the usual channels without utilizing countless employee hours to verify paperwork at every step.  All the additional regulations in AB 284 that were designed to “protect” the homeowners, increased the amount of time and effort required by the banks to initiate a foreclosure proceeding without incurring large fines.  This put the banks in a difficult position.  They could, conceivably, continue to foreclose, but the procedure they must now use would be so time consuming that it bordered on “not worth it” financially.

The solution to the banks’ problems may be Judicial Foreclosure.  In a Judicial Foreclosure proceeding, banks actually sue the homeowner in a court of law for breach of contract.  They then call upon clauses that exist within most mortgage contracts guaranteeing the plaintiff (the bank) all legal fees required to collect the defaulted upon debt from the defendant (the homeowner.)  Do Judicial Foreclosures take more employee hours and more out of pocket costs for the banks than even post-AB 284 standard foreclosure proceedings?  Of course.  But, the banks can seek additional damages through Judicial Foreclosures (like legal fees) that they cannot seek via the traditional foreclosure process.  

In the example cited in the blog, the homeowner was sued for their back payments plus interest, plus forefeiture of the property, plus the deficiency (difference between what is owed on the home and the amount borrowed), plus legal fees and other costs associated with the foreclosure.  The defendant was served in June of 2012 and less than two months later she had lost her home and had to declare bankruptcy.  Ironically, she had planned to list her home for short sale just as soon as she received an NOD from the bank.  She never received one.  Instead, she was summoned to court.

There is a lot of speculation beginning in the Las Vegas real estate world as to what a wave of Judicial Foreclosures might mean for the housing recovery.  Some say that it would usher in a fresh wave of foreclosures that would halt the rise of home prices and drive Las Vegas real estate into another recession.  Others, myself included, believe that even if Judicial Foreclosures become rigeur de jour in the Las Vegas real estate market, the procedures are likely to be more time consuming for the banks and, as result, are less likely to result in a large number of foreclosures being dumped on the market at one time.  They would more likely create a steady flow of foreclosures which would certainly not drive home prices up, but would likely be absorbed by the high demand for affordable Las Vegas real estate and would not, therefore, result in prices decreasing dramatically either.

Only time will tell whether or not Judicial Foreclosures will catch on in Las Vegas or what the effects will be.  But one thing remains certain: buy and hold investors who purchase properties with strong positive cash flow will be cushioned from the short term market movements that can cripple investors looking to turn quick, flip profits.  Las Vegas remains a great place for investors to purchase rental real estate, as long as they buy smart.