Renters protect yourselves

There was a time not that long ago, if you were a renter the biggest worry you had aside from paying your rent on time was to make sure you also had renter's insurance. Sadly, those times are over. Now you have to worry about if the place you have rented actually is for rent and not some kind of rental scam. Not to mention given the current state of the Las Vegas housing market, the home you are renting might be going into foreclosure.

However, there is something you can do about that. The Clark County Assessor's office has public records accessible online. You can look up your current address to see if it is in foreclosure here. Copy the parcel number and then go to the recorder's page do an advanced search. Enter the parcel number and click detail data. You are looking for a BREACH or NOTICE OF DEFAULT in the document type field. If the property is going into foreclosure, it will usually be within 120 days of the date posted. If it lists Notice of Sale or Notice of Trustee Sale, than foreclosure is imminent, usually within the next 30 to 60 days. If the property has already been foreclosed on, there will be a TRUSTEE DEED recorded, which means the bank has taken ownership of the property.

If you have determined that the property you are paying rent on is in foreclosure, I would recommend consulting an attorney before doing anything else. Don't confront your landlord without seeking legal advice and verifying the status of the property.

Las Vegas foreclosures

Today, the latest foreclosure numbers were released. Over 2,400 foreclosures in Clark County with an estimated 6,700 that may go into foreclosure. The reason for the high foreclosure rate across Clark county and the rest of the nation can be attributed to the high number of ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) that were issued in the last few years. Home owners aren't the only ones feeling the pinch, according to the local news several mortgage companies have also gone out of business.

While this is bad news for a lot of residents, its great news to investors and home buyers. Interest in Las Vegas real estate as an investment property has steadily increasing for the last several months.

Related:

Las Vegas Foreclosures 2005

Las Vegas Foreclosure

With the value of homes rising so fast over the last year, you don't come across that many homes that actually are foreclosed on in Las Vegas. Most are snapped up beforehand by investors. My neighbor's house is a good example. It pretty much distingrated around him. They have replaced the roof, repainted the interior and exterior, replaced all of the bathroom fixtures and landscaping. Over 5 of the rentalable trailer dumpsters full of garbage. Two nights into the remodel, I woke up to my dogs going nuts. At first I thought it was an intruder, and I was right. A ferret invaded my house! He had fresh paint on his tail and whiskers. The poor guy must have been desparate to come in with the dogs running around. We have named him Pauly Shore (cuz he is a weasel) and he seems to like living in the game room with my birds. It just amazes me that someone could just abandon a pet withtout a second thought.

Las Vegas is contemplating a new law requiring that all pets be spayed or neutered in Clark county. You would have to have a breeder's license in order for your pet to be unaltered. With the over crowding at Lied, it should have been done years ago.

Lake Las Vegas has a new housing development that just started selling called Bella Fiore. The homes are by Pardee and start in the $700,000 dollar range. Jacqui had clients that purchased one just prior to the grand opening, which has sold out the first phase. The second phase has started a list for December sales.