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| Las Vegas Houses for Sale > Foreclosed Las Vegas Condos |
Foreclosed Las Vegas Condos - Let's
Make a Deal Or Not?
Are Foreclosed Las Vegas Condos a Good Investment?
While single family housing has certainly taken a hit, the condo market has been blitzed and is flat on its back. This is especially true in markets like Las Vegas, Miami, and parts of California. Which some feel makes for a buying opportunity for a lifetime.|
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But are foreclosed Las Vegas condos a deal or not? The best answer is it depends. No one has a good enough crystal ball to be able to tell if such sales are a boon or a boondoggle. But there are a few things to keep in mind when looking into this segment of the real estate market with an eye towards buying on the cheap. How To Approach Buying
First, expect to hire an army of professionals to inspect any bank owned unit. High rise or not.
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You don't know the circumstances under which the former owner left. Some will trash the place out of anger in obvious ways. But there may be hidden problems that you can not see. And since you're buying as is, you want to be able to make an informed decision based on the condition of the unit as you find it.
Know what it is you're going to have to pay for. Read the contract carefully to see what, if any, typical fees and taxes the seller would pick up that you'll be expected to pay for.
Also realize that lenders may not want to touch your deal. An overbuilt condo market like Las Vegas makes it hard to judge value. So lenders may pass rather than set themselves up to get burned again some time down the road.
Learn all you can about the condo complex. You'd want to do this anyway but it's even more important now.
For instance with any condo purchase you always want to know what percentage are owner-occupied. But let's back up a bit. Forget owner occupied. What percentage are occupied period? And what percentage, if any, are vacant and/or bank owned?
Don't gloss over the impact association fees can have. Now and in the future.
The risk is they could become so high you would rue the day you set eyes on the unit, much less bought it. Especially in a complex not yet sold out with a developer in a weak financial situation. If they go belly up and the roof on your building suddenly goes bad your condo fees could skyrocket to a multiple of what they were when you bought in.
And don't forget when a unit is in foreclosure the lending institution may or may not be paying the association fees. In other cases when those with units they bought as an investment are underwater, well, they too can stop paying association fees - even if their tenant is paying the rent. Is it any surprise then that deferred maintenance may be an issue? Which is to say future condo association fees can skyrocket or you can be hit with unexpected special assessments.
It should be obvious but don't expect any appreciation any time soon. In fact you'd be wise to expect values to keep going down. Because no one can tell you where the bottom is. Yes ideally you want to make your money on the buy-in. Still go into this with your eyes wide open and with the understanding this may well require patient capital.
Remember, there's not just a glut of these things on the market, all over, and not just Las Vegas, there possibly years worth of inventory that has to be worked off. Yet that's part of the reason you can get a "deal" - because there's been a neutron bomb dropped on this segment of the real estate market.
Finally you want to work with an agent who has many such deals under their belt. You can benefit from their experience and counsel.
Maybe now you can see why it isn't possible to tell you if the time is right to venture into the foreclosed Las Vegas condos market.
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