Richard Lee Visits Las Vegas Real Estate Insider Club

The Las Vegas Real Estate Insider Club was pleased to host Richard Lee at our last meeting June 12th. Formally, Lee is Vice President, Public Relations Director, and a real estate consultant for First American Title Company of Nevada. But since 1989, Lee has also been the “go-to guy” for the Las Vegas community when it comes to development and growth. Developers, business owners, real estate investors and gaming companies rely on his insight for investment, lending and acquisitions. Simply put, Richard reduces a tidal wave of information into entrepreneurial opportunities.
At the meeting Richard spoke to the club on a wide variety of topics relating to real estate, the Las Vegas market in particular and the economy as a whole. He presented background information about what created this current economic crisis including insight into the sub-prime market, how notes are bought, debt is defused and property redistributed. And, although we may definitely be nearing the “bottom” of the real estate slide in Las Vegas, Richard explained how a factor called “Appraisal Drift” or “BPO Drift” may cause a continued downward slide in pricing of 1-2% over the next 12 months.
Richard offered his opinion, however, that Las Vegas is still a great place to purchase investment properties. He believes that jobs drive everything in local real estate economies by creating stability and growth. With sun, entertainment, great food and (now) housing prices below the curve, the outlook for the Las Vegas economy is strengthening. He also mentioned the fact that California may eventually approach a 60% total tax rate and, as a result, Las Vegas will continue to see population growth from those moving in from the west coast as well as baby boomers leaving other parts of the country.
Richard Lee also discussed an interesting phenomenon that is currently developing in Las Vegas real estate. As investors recognize the great buying opportunities that exist and rush to purchase properties at new, low prices…a certain “auction mentality” has begun to develop. Potential purchasers are finding themselves in multiple offer situations with properties selling above asking price. Those feeling that they have to get in now to avoid missing the boat are creating a dangerous over-bidding situation that could result in a second real estate bubble of sorts for the Las Vegas Valley.

Las Vegas Real Estate Insider Club April Meeting Roundup

Wednesday, April 8th saw the Real Estate Insider Club meeting for the first time at our new location at the Fairway Hospitality Center at Putter’s Bar & Grill on Rainbow at the 215. Since reformatting the club earlier this year, attendance has grown each meeting and we quickly outgrew our space at Tommy Bahama’s.

This meeting was another success as attendees enjoyed presentations from several guest speakers as well as our usual commentators. As we helped ourselves to the dinner included in the $25 entry fee, Jenna Bohannon from Old Republic spoke about home warranty options. She detailed which pre-existing conditions can be covered by home warranties and which are excluded as well as other general information.

Jenna was followed by regular presenter and “Las Vegas Realtor on the street” Scott Meservey. Scott presented sales statistics and MLS data from March and pointed towards inventory that is depleting month over month and median sales prices that are holding steady as possible indicators that we may quickly be approaching a bottom in the beleaguered Las Vegas real estate market.

Rich Warren shared his viewpoint on the broader national economy. With government intervention at an all time high, Rich noted that the billions of dollars being spent by the Feds to stimulate the national economy may be exacerbating the nation’s woes. By desperately trying to throw money at the problem, the government is quite possibly simply delaying the inevitable upcoming crash and thereby delaying the start of a recovery period as well.

We were then privileged to hear from James Jackson, a government employee who works with the Section 8 housing program. He explained the benefits landlords can achieve by seeking Section 8 tenants for their properties. He also explained possible downfalls and how to protect yourself as a landlord. His talk was well received and he fielded several questions on specifics from interested investors.

Tamara Bostrom from Spiral Digital Media shared with the group several tips for how entrepreneurs, investors and small business owners can use internet marketing to generate leads and increase exposure. She specifically mentioned that establishing yourself as an expert within your particular niche is a great way to effortlessly network and bring in new clients. She also discussed the importance of projecting a professional image through great design. Hiring a graphic design firm, such as Spiral, to create a logo package, design business cards and produce a great website will help businesses to stand out from the crowd in these tough economic times.

Our final speaker of the night was Darci Poloni of Poloni & Associates. She discussed the benefits real estate investors can achieve by placing their properties in separate LLC entities as opposed to keeping them held in the name of the individual. She touched on spreading liability, umbrella insurance policies and other protections. She also discussed some of the specific practices that must be maintained once LLCs are formed in order to insure that the corporate veil cannot be pierced if litigation is ever brought against the entity.

We are looking forward to another great meeting on Wednesday, May 13th from 6-8:30pm at the same location.

If you would like to contact any of our speakers regarding their services:

Jenna Bohannon
Old Republic
(800) 445-6999
jennab@orhp.com

James Jackson
Section 8 Housing Program
(702) 451-8041 X1530
jjackson@haccnv.org

Tamara Bostrom
Spiral Digital Media
(435) 275-5980
tamarabostrom@gmail.com

Darci Poloni
Poloni & Associates
(702) 616-9240
poloni-law@cox.net

Las Vegas Real Estate Insider Club Keeps Growing

Wednesday March 10th was the two year anniversary of the Las Vegas Real Estate Insider Club founded by me...Glenn Plantone. The event was recently moved to the meeting room inside Tommy Bahamas at Town Center on the south Strip. We have already begun to outgrow this location. This last meeting saw over 65 attendees enjoy special presentations from our guest speakers as well as our regular educators.

Our first guest presenter of the evening was Ranya Botros of the Nevada State Contractors Board. Along with her partner and lead investigator Greg Welch, they spoke about how to protect yourself from unscrupulous contractors, both licensed and unlicensed. Greg was able to share several stories of individuals who were taken advantage of and how the Contractors Board aided in their defense.

Out second featured speaker of the evening was Carla Carlson of Direct Credit. Carla spoke specifically about loan modifications in today’s marketplace. Not everyone is aware that loans on investment properties can often also be modified. Carla has years of experience with credit and lending and found it a good fit in the difficult housing market to begin helping individuals with loan modifications.

In addition to our guest speakers, we also benefited from updates and educational pieces from our regular contributors. As the host and founder, I shared with the group a story about a client of mine that ran into trouble with his HOA (Home Owners' Association) regarding rental restrictions in a newer community. I suggested getting a copy of the CC&R’s and reading them before looking to purchase within an HOA community if you are thinking of renting out the home for investment reasons.

Co-host Jeff Howard shared his thoughts on lease-options and explained that our current market is creating a great opportunity to buy inexpensive properties and rent them out to folks that have become credit challenged.

Scott Meservey, our "Realtor on the street," was able to give his update on the local market place and current foreclosure trends.

Our economic update this month was given by financial planning expert, author, Bigger Pockets columnist and recent Harry Reid communicator Mr. Richard Warren. Although an eternal optimist, Rich also prides himself on being a realist. Rich discussed the possibility that our current recession may end up evolving into an economic disaster as severe as that of the Great Depression in the 1930’s. However, this current situation has also presented us with one of the best opportunities to purchase real estate that we may see in our lifetimes.

We are looking forward to next month's meeting which will feature a representative from the Las Vegas Housing Authority speaking on the ins and outs of government sponsored Section 8 housing as well as Internet Marketing and Small Business Marketing specialist Tamara Bostrom who will give tips on how to stand out from the crowd in today's difficult economic climate. This is a meeting any investor and entrepreneur will not want to miss.

We love the value that we currently offer with the meeting: attendees pay $25 which covers not only admission to the club but also dinner and drinks. But as we continue to grow, we must look for a new venue for future Las Vegas Real Estate Insider Club meetings. If anyone is aware of another site that can offer the same benefits but accommodate more people, please contact us with more details.