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70: One is Good, One is Bad: Las Vegas Hiking, Las Vegas Real Estate Agents
August 29, 2009
[Let’s set the mood. . .it’s a Saturday night. . .the studio lights have been dimmed. . .the red wine is ready and willing. . .what better time to record a Living in Las Vegas Podcast?]
Professionalism? Las Vegas Real Estate “Professionals” calling. We’re a little lost, here. Can you send somebody over?
Okay, this wasn’t meant to be the main topic. . .and it’s not. . .but, for the love of all things reasonable, get it together Las Vegas real estate folks! You’re making those of us who live here look bad!
On a positive note, after ranting about the nasty issues of real estate, this edition of the Living in Las Vegas Podcast talks about three places to hike, two of which I deemed “hiked” even though my definition of hiked and Melissa’s were not completely in line. Show notes:
- PHOTOS! (of the studio, post-show)
- Weather (heat advisory) / LiLV Pool (3 degrees from perfection)
- LiLV Stuff
- Listener Line: 206.312.0105
- Sign up of Email Alerts (form found on right side of our website)
- Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Business Education Series
- Thoughts on Las Vegas Podcasts
- Mojito Recipe?
- Summerlin Hospital RANT
- Summerlin vs. Aliante
- Real Estate Idiots
- Listener Email: Real Estate Idiots +2, Holiday Festivities
- Listener Audio: Where’s my strings, Mike?!?!
- Hiking in Las Vegas
- Red Rock
- Valley of Fire
- Mt. Charleston
Did You See That Time’s Article About Las Vegas Foreclosures? I Know One Realtor Who Wish You Didn’t
August 26, 2009
I just learned (thanks Cheryl!) that Time.com took down the video I referred to in a recent blog post [Time Magazine Features Las Vegas Foreclosure: Article and Video] because of “some sensitivity with various issues”. There is a very interesting article on the Las Vegas Sun website about the fallout from the Time’s article — specifically, the Realtor quoted in the piece is in hot water.
In the original Time’s article, the Realtor (Brooke Boemio) bragged about “helping clients who are underwater on their mortgages buy a second house on the cheap and stop making payments on their first mortgages, pressuring the bank into selling the houses for a loss” [from the Sun article]. She said that “everybody’s doing it”, including herself.
That practice, along with breaking into a foreclosure house, did not reflect well on the real estate community and has since brought some heat to Ms. Boemio. Since the story appeared, she no longer works for Coldwell Banker, having “parted ways”.
August 14, 2009
As I was playing around with my iPod Touch, I stumbled upon Time Magazine’s iPod-based website. The first article I found was a cover-piece about Las Vegas. It was a very interesting article. Here’s the link:
Article: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1915962,00.html
Along with the article, there was an associated video that followed a local real estate agent to two foreclosed properties, one of which was in Newport Lofts [recent blog post]. You’ve got to see this video. Half of the units are empty, according to the real estate agent. It’s startling what somebody was able to do at one of the lofts (change the locks?!?!). They sneak into house later in the video to see the shape it’s in. Here’s the video link:
Video: http://www.time.com/time/video/?bcpid=1485842900&bctid=33598672001
Have a great weekend everybody!
65: Living the Loft Lifestyle in Las Vegas
February 15, 2009
What a fun show to record! Thanks everybody who joined the live video streaming session!!
With the real estate environment in Las Vegas struggling, we wondered what was available in the loft market. I’ve always thought there was something inherently groovy about lofts. . .seems like they’d be the place where Las Vegas hipsters might hang out. So for this episode of the Living in Las Vegas Podcast, we visit three brand-new(ish) Las Vegas lofts available for your living enjoyment. Show notes:
This episode was recorded as both an audio file (found here) AND a video. The original video was over 18GB in size so we’re working on creating a more management size file to add to our RSS file. It will be added as a separate post.)
- PHOTOS!
- Weather (sun people, where’s the sun?) / LiLV Pool (40s does not help me!)
- LiLV Stuff
- Listener Line: 206.312.0105
- Sign up for Email Alerts (form found on our website)
- CBS-8 Station Tour with Dave Courvoisier
- It’s all about adding Friends
- Melissa is quite the artist
- Also beautiful, Melissa’s colon (wait until you see the video)
- Wallstreet Wealth Management recommendation on Local’s Choice Radio
- Listener Email: Caesar Salad and plantlife
- Living the Loft Lifestyle in Las Vegas
- Newport Lofts
- Metreon
- C2 Lofts
- Hot or Horrible: MRKT Sea & Land
November 30, 2008
Having recently been told by a cop who lives a few doors down to have a critical eye about any suspicious vehicle in the area, I saw a van+trailer in our neighborhood today that was out of place and decided to see what they were up to.
I was surprised by what I learned.
After a few questions, and while the woman I spoke to rifled through a large quantity of paperwork, I learned that this husband and wife team were “cleaners”. Fanny Mae had hired them to go to a foreclosed home that had been abandoned and to, well, clean it. . .inside and out. Their job is to remove any items left behind (tables, sofas, pots, pans, etc.) and to clean the place up. And besides getting the inside straighten up, they focus their efforts on the outside of the home and do some light yard maintenance as well.
Why was this a surprise?
Because we’ve seen several homes in the area that were in foreclosure and clearly being neglected as a result. This, of course, further increases the difficulty of selling one of these homes. Come to find out, the hiring of “cleaners” is a common practice of Fannie Mae. Who knew? This is good to know. Our Home Owners Association is currently dealing with the fact that the few foreclosures in our neighborhood are looking bad as a result of no yard maintenance. And getting the banks to respond to requests to clean a house, even if it includes fines, has proven largely unsuccessful.
Although this foreclosure business is bad news, and there is no question that Fannie Mae contributed mightily to this problem, I am happy that they are smart enough to recognize that a clean house, inside and OUT, is a more sellable house.
October 17, 2008
- During the weekend, Melissa, Neil, Sarah and I checked out a some model homes in several neighborhoods throughout the Las Vegas Valley. In two neighborhoods, they indicated that they were almost sold out. . .only six or so homes left. Good news, right?
Well, not exactly.
After asking a bit more, the builder simply decided to stop building (for now). Depending on the neighborhood, there were 20-40 empty lots that were going to stay empty until the economy recovers. I would guess those folks living in those neighborhoods aren’t terribly happy.
- Saw online a house in our area that was being foreclosed. The price was AMAZING. In reviewing the photos of the interior of the house, I saw that all the cabinetry in the kitchen were missing. I emailed the Realtor:
ME: What happened to all the kitchen cabinets in this house?
REALTOR: The kitchen cabinets were all missing when we first gained access to the property upon our assignment from the bank. So as far as we know they were stolen previous to that. We don’t know by who.
Huh?!? Who steals the cabinets out of a house?!? For the love of god, if you can’t afford the house, you don’t get to keep the cabinets as a parting gift.