Back to School… 

‘Back to school’ time can be very exciting… it can also be very stressful for both parents and children alike. There are lots of new faces and new routines, not to mention the pressure of getting good grades and social peer-pressure too.

In an effort to make your child’s transition into a new school, a new district, or a new grade as easy as possible, the David Brownell team has compiled a list of some great links to make it as seamless as possible.

Look through these links and see what you can find. Undoubtedly you will discover a gem or two that you hadn’t thought of before.

If you know any good websites which touch on this issue, please feel free to make a comment and leave us the link. We’ll be happy to add it to our list. 

Back To School Information 

Enrollment Information 

Student Standard Attire Requirements 

Check your School For Attire Requirements 

AAP Back To School Tips 

‘Going Back To School’ From KidsHealth.Org 

Tips To Help Your Kids Adjust 

Back To School Transportation Safety Tips 

Shop For Back To School Supplies           

And of course we all need to please remember that the School-Zone lights will soon be flashing again and that means we all need to drive just a little bit slower. 

Megan

I came across a great article this week that answers a question we hear from many of our clients recently;

“What should we remodel to help us get more for our home when we sell it?”

The article listed 10 things that will add value to your home. But then the article went even further and listed 10 that will detract from the value. I had never really thought about it from that angle before. I was intrigued.  I was surprised by a few on the list.

For those who are interested, I have included the link below.

20-Things-That-Can-Alter-the-Value-of-Your-Home 

If you, like so many others, have questions like this but are having a tough time finding an answer, please feel free to email me at David@LasVegasMove.com or call us toll-free at (800)-321-2065  

My research team will send you all the information you need, including statistics, maps, and links to many other great articles too.

This is just another way we strive to be your real estate team for life.

Have a great day!

David 

Want to know the level of “walkability” of your home? 

Just type in your address at www.Walkscore.com and it will rate your home on a scale of 1 to 100.

What is “walkability”?

www.Walkscore.com takes into account shopping centers, restaurants, libraries, and coffee shops. Movie theaters, churches, parks, and all kinds of other fun places you love to visit. 

Recent research shows that residents of walking-friendly neighborhoods weigh, on average, 7 pounds less than the not so walking-friendly neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are also safer, friendlier, and cleaner.

Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents.

You can also find the walkability of some famous places such as The Soprano’s House, The White House, and Friends apartment building.  Fun!

The future is coming fast. Soon we will all have to learn to be green. Why wait? Start walking now and discover the positive effect it will have on your life and your environment. 

Megan

I spoke with a colleague at Mark Baker’s Invitation Only Real Estate Town Meeting event…It was during a break…we just kind of drifted off to one side of the room and began talking about the Las Vegas real estate market and all its happenings.  We were a few minutes into our conversation when this person laid all the blame for the market shift on “those damn high interest rates“. We continued to talk for several more minutes but my mind was elsewhere. His comment had sent my mind racing. I remember thinking WOW! Are people really thinking that interest rates are high?

Now, I wasn’t selling homes, not in Las Vegas, not anywhere, when the 18%+ rates were around in the 1980s.  So this is not going to be a trip back to yesteryear… this is not one of those, “And we had to walk 10 miles each way to and from school…Uphill…both ways.”

 We all remember those stories.

No, I am going to talk about real estate of the 1990s…seems like just yesterday… Back when real estate times were “normal”… When getting an interest rate around 7% was a day of celebration for our clients.  I remember 1993, when rates dipped into the 6%’s for the first time.  People were refinancing like crazy.  There was a feeling of optimism and confidence in the air.

And yet today, with rates hovering around 6.5%, people are complaining about “those damn high interest rates.”  It’s going to take a little time for perceptions to change.  Just like Sellers have been slow to adjust current prices away from those achieved by their neighbors in 2005, it is going to take a bit of time for buyers to remember that an interest rate between 6% and 7% is darn good. Fantastic, even.

And when these perceptions do change, I believe we are going to see many of the buyers who are sitting on the sidelines right back buying houses again.  So, if you are considering purchasing a home, you might reconsider how low interest rates really are today. And something else for you to consider; there are so many houses on the market right now, buyers have incredible negotiating power!

And, of course, if you need any advice or consultation about Las Vegas real estate or life and living here in the Las Vegas Valley, please feel free to contact me at David@LasVegasMove.com. 

My Team and I are ready to help…or just answer a simple question or two. 

Have a great day. 

P. S. Does anyone know how low interest rates dipped during the last 10 years?  It would be interesting (and fun) to look at the answers we would get…both the correct, researched answers, and our first guesstimates. 

We had our first “State of the Market” phone conference with all our Las Vegas home sellers last week and it was fantastic!  Our clients absolutely loved it.  I attended a few conference calls recently and the light-bulb turned on. What an excellent tool to communicate with our clients and keep them informed about the Las Vegas real estate market.  These statistics empower our clients to make intelligent decisions regarding their property. We have received two additional offers already from re-focused and re-motivated clients.  

I believe it takes this kind of thinking in today’s market to become a success story.After the conference call, I engaged each of my clients in one-on-one conversations. The most common questions were, “When will things turn around for us as a seller in the Las Vegas real estate market?”  And “What is going on in the mortgage business?” Today I want to address the first question, in my next blog I will address the second.

The market is adjusting to conditions created in the run on real estate during the past six or seven years.  In the late ‘90’s, Las Vegas was an undervalued market when compared to surrounding areas, especially California.  Additionally, Las Vegas is quickly running out of land within its main Valley.  Of course we saw prices increase.

Another variable which caused havoc was the “Gold Rush” mentality of investors that came flocking to Las Vegas, buying-up houses in multiples. . . . Looking for a short term hold . . . . And an opportunity to cash in on this previously undervalued market as it was gaining momentum. Almost everybody got caught-up in the buying frenzy.  Home prices sky-rocketed. Builders went wild constructing new homes as fast as they could, trying to cash in on the run-away equity phenomenon.  All of this was something very few, if any, had expected or even predicted.

Until the effects of this incredible run by investors shakes out in the Las Vegas market, things are going to feel stressed.  It’s only natural for it to feel like “the sky is falling” as this market settles back down…But once that happens, and it will, we may see another run, albeit nothing like that of the 2004-2005 spike, on home values. Most experts are predicting such a turnaround toward the end of 2008/early 2009.

There are so many factors that are causing me to feel strongly on this point…from the slow-down in permits being pulled by new home builders, to the incredible amount of capital being infused into new developments in Las Vegas ($30 billion alone along the “Strip”), to the thousands of new jobs that are coming late 2008 through early 2010 as a large number of new hotel/casino projects reach completion…Las Vegas is still growing rapidly.

Contrary to many gloom and doom reports recently published in local and national media about Las Vegas, I am not so “gloomy” or “doomy.”  As markets cycle it is important to keep it all in perspective.  And for many, even in these slower times, great profits are being realized in the sale of Las Vegas homes.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or Las Vegas real estate needs you may have.  We are here to help.You can reach me at David@LasVegasMove.com And, to see every home for sale in

Last Wednesday, July 25^th, Mark Baker, one of our preferred lenders and in the  top 200 mortgage lenders in the United States, held an “Invitation Only” Real Estate Town Meeting where he provided his “never before seen” results of research and personal insight. 

He spoke at great length about the serious issues facing the mortgage industry today caused by loan defaults and foreclosures. Mark’s research skills are legendary.  On a daily basis he spends long hours digging…contemplating…calculating…learning.  Needless to say, his work and analysis are comprehensive and well respected. Some of the most significant information passed on during the meeting was his discussion of why, how, and when the Las Vegas market would rebound.  This is the question on everyone’s mind. Buyer, seller, investor…you name it… everybody is curious about this all-important answer.

The conclusions and recommendations made by Mark and his special guest, a gentleman considered one of Las Vegas’ strongest sources of real estate information, have illuminated some incredible opportunities for sellers, buyers, and investors too.

Tonight, I am sharing those thoughts on a special seller-only conference call.  This conference call will contain critical inside-information that we all need to achieve our goals in this market. Next, we will have a conference call for our buyers and also share this specialized and important information with them.

Additionally, we are working on a new project that is going to be available to our investor clients in the very near future.

We would love the opportunity to share this information with you too.  Please feel free to contact us on our toll free hotline (800) 321-2065 or send me an email at DavidBrownell@LasVegasMove.com.

Thank you for visiting our Las Vegas Move real estate blog and have a great day.

David