%20-%20Mark%20Jacob%20Catingub.png){kind=spacer}
Picking your dream home is an exciting process, and Las Vegas offers a great way to live in an exciting metropolitan area without the outrageous prices. With everything that goes into purchasing a new home, it's easy to get overwhelmed and miss a few things when you're surveying houses. To help ease this struggle and make sure you get a home that works for you, here are ten things for you to consider when choosing your dream home.
1. Budget: The first thing to figure out when looking for your dream home is how much you can afford. The median price for a house in Las Vegas is about $273,200.1 However, owning a home means you're paying more than just a monthly mortgage; you're also responsible for HOA fees, property taxes, homeowner's insurance, principal, utilities, and general maintenance for your house. If you can, try to keep these expenses to about 30% of your total monthly income.
2. Real Estate Agent: Deciding to hire a real estate agent you can trust is a great tool to get the biggest bang for your buck. Local and experienced agents can tell you everything you need to know about the housing market in Las Vegas and help you find the perfect house within your budget. Their knowledge of the real estate market is invaluable to sniffing out any hidden issues with a potential house and making you look like a desirable buyer by helping you find a mortgage lender and putting down a competitive offer.
3. Guests: Once you've found your dream home, you'll probably want to show it off to your friends and family. Do you have space for entertaining guests comfortably? Think about the kinds of get-togethers you want to have and find a home that helps you host instead of hinders. Does your family like getting together to watch the game on the TV? A large living room with plenty of space for a couch is a must. Do you like making dinners with friends? An open kitchen with a dining room is perfect for you.
4. Location: The location of your house is arguably the most important part of choosing your dream home. While it may be annoying, you can also make renovations to your home to change or fix something you don't like. Location, on the other hand, is a little harder to fix once you've moved. Which part of Las Vegas do you want to live in? If you're interested in hiking, you might want to find a place near Red Rock or Mt. Charleston. If you want to live near the nightlife, consider moving near the Strip or the downtown area. Where are your work and family located concerning your home? Find a map of Las Vegas and circle the locations of everything important to you in the city if you're having trouble deciding where to live. This should help to give you a clearer picture of what location would work best for you.
5. School Zones: Do you have kids, want to have kids, or plan on never having kids in your life? If any of your answers were "yes", school zones are something to consider when choosing your dream home. There are 360 schools in Clark County, some of which are better than others.2 If you have or are planning to have kids, it’s a good idea to research the elementary, middle, and high schools so you can pick a location that zones your children for schools you want. If you don't plan on having kids, you should still be aware of where schools are located so you can avoid school zones and after-school traffic jams.
If you're looking to buy or sell a home - allow me guide you every step of the way.
I'm always available to answer any or your real estate questions whether or not you're looking buy or sell right now.
6. Neighborhood: Do you prefer cul-de-sacs or long streets to live on? Are you looking for the added security a gated community lends or the convenience of an open neighborhood? Ask your real estate agent about the demographics of the neighborhood. If you have or are planning to have kids, you might want a younger neighborhood that will likely have other children their age. If you want a quieter place to live, maybe seek older neighbors who are less likely to be loud and playing on the street.
7. Windows: It may seem like a trivial matter right now, but windows can make or break a house, especially when it comes to the hot Las Vegas sun. Windows facing the north or northeast are ideal for avoiding the hot afternoon sun while windows facing the south and southwest will allow direct sunlight to hit the inside of your house. This means that southern-facing windows will provide the most natural light to your home; however, this can also turn into a higher energy bill in the summer if you're using air-conditioning to compensate for the heat. When surveying properties, note the locations of all the windows in the house, paying close attention to the ones in the living area and bedrooms since these are where you will be spending most of your time.
8. Backyard: When it comes to backyards, there are tons of options to choose from in terms of landscaping. Pools are great for combatting the Vegas heat but can be costly when it comes to initial price and maintenance. Grass is perfect for hosting barbecues and keeping the backyard cool in the summer; however, they're also maintenance heavy and take up a lot of water in the desert. If you're looking for the easiest backyard to maintain, a desert landscape works perfectly with the climate of Las Vegas but puts off more heat in the summer. Based on your lifestyle, decide how you want to use your dream backyard and which option (if not all) is best for your lifestyle.
9. Homeowners Associations: Almost 60% of new single-family and 80% of new subdivisions built in America are part of homeowners associations, also known as HOAs.3 These organizations have many jobs, such as maintaining the shared amenities of the neighborhood and deciding how to spend community funds. You'll also be required to pay a monthly fee to your neighborhood's HOA, which could amount to a couple hundred dollars. Before picking your house, ask your real estate agent for the neighborhood's HOA guidelines and see if they conflict with any plans you had for your new home. Some restrict the types of colors you can paint your house, require certain landscapes for the front yards, or set curfews for parking on the streets.
10. Future Needs: In all the excitement of picking out your dream home, it can be easy to lose sight of the long-term picture. A dream home is a home you can grow in. Think about everyone who will be living in the house, now and in the future. Are you planning on having kids, relatives, or friends stay with you? If so, you might want to look for a house with a few extra bedrooms to accommodate whoever may come along.
Sources
1Cost of Living in Las Vegas, Nevada. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/city/nevada/las_vegas
2Fast Facts About CCSD. (2019) Retrieved from https://newsroom.ccsd.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Fast-Facts-2018-19-Eng.pdf
3Clarke, W., & Freedman, M. (2019). The rise and effects of homeowners associations. Journal of Urban Economics, 112, 1–15. doi: 10.1016/j.jue.2019.05.001
...
As an active member and leader in my community and given my background in teaching and working with real estate professionals, it was a natural fit for me to become a Realtor.
I love applying my knowledge to help my clients as they make the largest and most important investment of their lives. I pride myself on listening to my clients and always keeping their best interest at heart. I will never forget my first clients who were a teacher and her husband. They were the first people in the Las Vegas Valley to use the special program for Nevada's teachers and wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't told them about it. They were thrilled to get Ten Thousand Dollars and a special low interest rate to buy their home! I will never forget the humongous smile on my client's face as I handed her the key to her first home. There was so much pride and happiness flowing from her. It is that feeling that I strive for with every transaction!
.png){kind=small}
