All Forum Posts by: Bill B.

Don’t forget. If you do pay taxes, it’s not on what you walk away with but on what you made. 

In he above example. $300k sale price minus $200k purchase price minus $20k commissions. You owe capital gains taxes on $80,000. (Usually 15%, so $12,000) plus 25% tax on the depreciation you’ve taken over the years. (it would be 25% on 3.6% of $200k about $1820 per year you depreciated it.). 

Ps. I’m not a lawyer, an accountant or a cpa. Your mileage may vary but doesn’t seem like enough gain to bother with a 1031 if you don’t have one in mind already. 

@terry Lao

Hey terry, I’m far from an expert and simply trying to learn. I love talking real estate but I get so few chances to do it I become long winded. If you (or anyone else out there in the forums.) come to Vegas for fun, work or real estate I’d love to blow a couple hours on a long lunch/dinner talking strategies and properties. 

-Bill

Jason,

I think Terry is dead on. 

If you can make the numbers work on almost anything in the West half of the valley you will, on average, have nicer homes and neighborhoods. 

IMHO small multi in Vegas is more “difficult” than a lot of other markets. 

Anything is possible. Prices have dropped more than 5% already once in the history of the city. I just put the odds at the prices being higher in a year at 90+%, same to 5% lower at 9% and more than 10% lower at less than 1%. The opportunity costs of selling, paying costs and losing all that income so I can hope for a crash just doesn’t suit me. 

During the boom years EVERYONE I met all day everyday owned at least one spec house they were going to flip. Now everyone I talk to day to day thinks cashflowing rentals are waaaay too risky. 

I’m not saying you or anyone else should buy. If it drops I’ll buy 2x as much. But I don’t think I’ll get that “lucky” and really don’t want to. 

It looks like they built 8400 new houses last year. Say maybe 20% were less than $300k, so less than 1700? Seems like an almost non-factor. If less than 3 months sales are going to account for all the new sales you need to convince someone else to sell and move. if the average seller paid $200,000 a couple years ago and locked in a 3% mortgage. What would it take to get them to move, pay 6-10% in costs, and buy something today with a 4% mortgage?

Same could be said for investors. I have plenty of properties that have doubled over the last bunch of years. I don’t want to sell. They cash flow, they average about 8-10 years old (since built) so low maintenance, the weather is pretty house friendly, there’s no lawns to mow, leaves to rake. But if I sold I’d have to buy something else to avoid the depreciation recapture and capital gains tax massacre. If they double again from here I’d PROBABLY be willing to sell some. 

Maybe people don’t realize how small the valley is? People who are moving here for a job, retirement, to escape California, usually pick 1/2 to 1/4th of the valley area that they want to live in. If they try to filter by number of stories, Garages or square feet, suddenly it’s a tiny selection pool. Love or hate hoa’s? Cut that number in half again. 

Yes, the easy buy anything on the mls at list and start banging checks is over. And I’m sure there are other great markets, even better ones, but that doesn’t make vegas a bad one. 

I’d be interested in other vegas investors opinions of how high their values would have to go before they’d sell. 

-Bill

The algorithms have to work, or they’ll be over paying. I tried it a year ago with vegas property that was turning over after Long term rental by same tenant. It was worth about $225k.  They took out 6% commission, 3% closing costs and the killer 11% for “market conditions”. One of the fastest appreciating markets has a minus 11% adjustment? No thanks. 

They’ll probably pick up some of the probate and inherited houses. They said they would close in 3-90 days you choose. So convenient for people moving or building/buying something else.  

I don’t think that deal exists in Vegas. It’s pretty much “D class” fourplexes and much larger complexes. If you do come across something here (in Vegas) I’d be happy to look at it with you/for you. 

-Bill

I don’t think you’ll find a decent sub $100k condo in Vegas. Certainly not sub $50k. 

I’ve had a really good experience with Brian Hartsell at key property in Henderson for years. I love buy and hold in Vegas but I bought a dozen home between 2010 and 2014 when they were at least 25% cheaper. I just wanted enough to retire and didn’t have any desire to become an empire. This allows me to clear about $120k/yr before capx. Which in Vegas with 12 homes is usually limited to 1-2 water heaters. An old house in Vegas is usually less than 20 years old. Figure a couple, $2-300 ac repairs and 1-2 appliances. 

There are probably better, heck much better places, but vegas has been very good for what I wanted. Just don’t come looking for small multiplexes, we don’t do them well. 

-Bill

Hey John,

You might want to check your documents. I’m 99% sure you had to sign a document 3 days before closing saying you had seen and read the cc&r’s. I’ve signed at least a dozen and it’s never negotiable.