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StumbleLenders to foreclose on Lake Las Vegas’ last golf course
Southshore, the resort’s private course, to be put up for sale Sept. 9
Aaron Thompson/Special to the Sun
A passerby peers into the boathouse at the exclusive Southshore community at Lake Las Vegas.
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 | 8:02 a.m.
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Beyond the Sun
Map of Lake Las Vegas Resort
Lake Las Vegas Resort
1600 Lake Las Vegas Pkway, Henderson
Lake Las Vegas’ third and final golf course, the private Southshore Golf Course, is heading for foreclosure.
The resort, which has been in bankruptcy reorganization since July 2008, has already abandoned its two public courses, The Falls and Reflection Bay, allowing them to enter foreclosure. Though the courses are being maintained, they remain closed.
Like the two public courses, the Southshore Golf Course, a private course for members of the resort’s Southshore community, is mired in debt and, according to court documents, operating at a significant loss.
Southshore was temporarily spared by a federal bankruptcy court-ordered stay put in place to prevent foreclosure while lender Dorfinco and interested parties within the Southshore community tried to negotiate a way to keep the course open. But after negotiations stalled earlier this month, Judge Linda B. Riegle granted Dorfinco’s request on Friday to lift the stay and allow the course to be foreclosed and sold.
Riegle had previously denied a request to lift the stay in July, but agreed after negotiations entered an impasse.
Dorfinco is expected to file a notice of trustee’s sale on Friday and conduct the sale on Sept. 9. According to court documents, when Lake Las Vegas filed for bankruptcy in July 2008, the Southshore Golf Club still owed $6.2 million of the almost $6.8 million it borrowed from Dorfinco in 2001 for the course.
Southshore Golf Club took out more than $1.8 million in loans after the bankruptcy filing in order to operate the course during court proceedings. That money ran out in July, and a temporary extension will run out in September.
In their petition for the stay to be lifted, attorneys for Dorfinco argued that Lake Las Vegas owners have not included the Southshore Golf Course in their reorganization plan and that as such, Dorfinco should to be allowed to foreclose and sell the course before it loses any more value.
“Given that Dorfinco is the economic party in interest with respect to the property, any diminution in the value of the property that might result from gaps in funding or management of the property would directly and materially impact Dorfinco,” attorneys wrote.
The court ruling likely comes as a blow to Southshore residents, who had hoped to band together and raise sufficient funds to acquire the course, or at least keep it operating until a long-term solution could be found.
Calls on Tuesday to Lake Las Vegas resort officials and residents of the Southshore community involved in efforts to keep the course open weren’t returned.
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Will the last person leaving please turn out the lights.
Take that bourgeoisie! Enjoying watching you squirm in your excess.
vegas is recession-proof.
funny.
i don't hear the p.r. types saying that anymore.
Casino Monte Lago is the next to fall. The German Bank is trying to kick the Alaskan Indians out, unless they double or triple their lease payment. Since the Indians want to get out anyway, because they've lost money month after month for 6 years, there's no doubt that the place is going down. Spoke with some guys the other day who were looking at condos at LLV. They noted they could get a 700 sq ft condo for 80G. Nice, but you still have to pay the 5G a year HOA fees. For 700 sq ft? The taxpayers will suffer here, too, since the City of Henderson plowed 33 Mil into the development of this disaster, and with over 200 foreclosures, it's doubtful that empty abandoned homes will be paying the HOA fees.
hey bdover...
you hit the nail on the head buddy...
those hoa's are ridiculous...
outrageous...
just flushing money down the toilet on a monthly basis...
and...
i heard something to the effect that the developer is subsidizing the master hoa to the tune of something like $1-$2 million a year...
something like that...
the point being...
if the developer stops this practice, the hoa's will go up even more...
something like that...
can anyone shed some light on this???
The developments here have 2 and sometimes 3 HOA's...it wasnt that the "rich" decided to create this place..it was for a nice community that anyone could afford with a variety of home prices. Vegas escalated like everywhere else in the country and now it is falling like everywhere else. Don't believe the news headlines that employement is getting better, houses are selling, etc. Houses are selling to investors for rentals. They are not moving "new" families in these homes..and those unemployment numbers are dropping? Yup, they're dropping all right because people have given up looking for jobs and fallen off the unemployment lists and benefits have run out..We loved LLV area and loved living there, but with no work, you have to do what you have to do..we lost alot of money on the house..its a great area and will come back, but not for many years..Vegas needs other industry besides vacation style businesses. We just found out (Again) that we can't support the industry everytime the economy tanks. What are they doing to bring other industry in town?
Wonderful! These H.O.A.s are out of control. We're trying to buy a home on a golf course in Fernley, NV. The H.O.A. wants an additional $3,500.00 for the house so they can continue to operate the golf course which is being closed due to lack of funding. We don't play golf and couldn't care less about their course. I don't know how 3 1/2K is going to help them down the road. There aren't that many people out there to buy the thing. I suppose they'll just keep asking or demanding more every year. At any rate, we told them to shove their house. There's too many for sale up there to get shafted by this H.O.A..
Forgot to mention, We own a condo in Boulder City where the condo fees are eating my lunch. When we first got into it the fees were pretty high but it was a pretty nice place, too. It's under such ill repair now that I'm embarrassed to claim it. The condo fees, well, they just keep going up. I'd sell but I doubt it's worth what I owe on it. My dear old Mother left it to me in her will, it and all incumberances thereon. The condo fee has now pushed my monthly payment higher that the rent I'm taking in. Can't raise the rent because the tenant would move out. I was born and raised in B.C. and wouldn't want to live there even on a bet so I guess selling it is my only option. Yeah, I'd like some cheeze with my whine.....
And don't forget that as the 200+ foreclosures multiply, The LLV HOA fees are spread to the remaining residents. As in increased fees. And it's not like the banks will pay the HOA's. And think about it. My house, in a quiet non-HOA subdivision has lost half its value. Yet my taxes went UP! To support all the City Union loafers in Henderson. Yes, it was a small increase, but so what? Anyone who would buy a house in LLV is either wealthy or stupid. Or both.
It's amazing to me how many people in this town either never heard (doubt they read) or understood the fable "The Emperor's New Clothes". It is a cautionary tale of irrational exuberance.
How on Earth could anyone with half-decent eyesight look around the Las Vegas "Valley" (it's actually an alluvial fan) and justify prices that rival those in far more economically diverse and far more beautiful places? The answer- easy money, is the primary sign of a boomtown. All booms end, and usually with a bust. The slothful minds and gluttonous personalities that make up so much of the population of this town have reaped what's been sown.
Just close it down and save the water. Golf courses are a ridiculous waste in the Mojave Desert. Sorry to all you golfers, but get real.
Golfing in the desert is an obvious example of how the wealthy waste precious resources that belong to everyone, all for a few fleeting hours of "fun." Please consider moving to Scotland or at least Florida if you want to hit a little white ball around on the grass.
peteo up there tells a cautionary tale that i think most of the investors buying these foreclosure homes are going to run into.
as more rentals come on the market, and less people moving into town to fill them, rent prices WILL be forced downward.
if you go 2 or 3 months without a tenant, and then when you do get a tenant, the rent doesn't cover the mortgage...they'll fall behind and we'll have an entire new round of foreclosures.
las vegas makes money on TOURISM. period. as long as those numbers are down, the casinos won't hire new people. without new people coming to town, there will be no new renters.
Well said, stevem.
Also, banks are currently required to pay 6 months worth of HOA dues on homes they re-possess. They also are responsible for fines on violations that occur while the house is in their possession, so its not a total disaster for the HOA's of communities that have homes going back to banks. If banks foreclosed as quickly as they are entitled to, HOA's would not suffer any loss of regular dues, but since foreclosures are taking well over a year in many homes now, its somewhat of a problem.
hey rejco...
i agree...
somebody needs to start suing their butts off...
house values drop...
most people's taxes drop...
and yet...
hoa's keep going up...
time to open up a can of whoop butt on these clowns!!!
Socrates: have you departed the Imperial Valley for greener golf courses?
I don't get why this is a bad investment right now. If you the think LV / real estate / capital markets are done forever then i guess i agree.... If not it is llooking like pretty close to a bottom.
You are talking about sub $100 /SF real estate - way below cost to build. I am guessing these were trading at 600 -700 / SF 3 years ago (agree the mkt. got ahead of itself). So if i offered u this deal 3 yrs ago you would take it - the product hasn t changed but market has. So assuming you can afford it (have income) seems like a good deal to me.
HOA's are a fact of life to finance cash flow to live in a community but u need to factor that into the serious price discount here. If this is your residence for 5 years it will somewhwat (historical charts) recover to at least 1/2 what it was - 300 / SF?
Investment - you take a triple.
Lifestyle - you have lived in a REALLY nice place (these places were very tastefully done). Yes you pay HOA - beats paying rent - at least you come out with equity.
As Warren B said:
"when people get nervous I get greedy, when people get greedy i get nervous"
Drain the lake and close the golf courses. That outta make Lake Mead go up a foot or two.
HA HA LLV Suckers.
Here's an idea for all the foreclosed property, the empty highrises or even Yucca Mountain...GITMO DETAINEES. Obama has indicated he wants to move them to the US, so let's move them here. Temporary jobs will be created during the rehab phase and permanent jobs, once operations begin. By doing so, Nevada can diversify its economy. Obama is our President and we elected him, so step up and help him out.
hey angry reader...
bite me...
that's a legal term of art...
check with your lawyer...
Sold a condo in 2006 and cashed out. At that time the HOA had run the monthly fees from $95 to $195 in just three years. The market price of the condo has now been cut by 60% but the HOA fee remains at $195. Such is life in wonderful Las Vegas.
All the lights are still on in Lake Las Vegas. I confirmed from 2 sources last week that the resort was SOLD OUT and turning away guests. This was during the week too. That is what's called 100% occupancy. This was during the week too. Hmmm.. sounds like lot of lights are on there and people are still going and enjoying the property away from the strip.
It's evident and known that any property, golf course, hotel that was purchased in the 2005 to 2007 housing bubble will have to re-position to sustain. This is occuring EVERYWHERE in the US, not just Lake Las Vegas/Nevada. The purchase prices were simply too high to be sustainable. (the W in San Diego is going through foreclosure,yes the W, yes San Diego)
Golf course foreclosures are no different than the house foreclosures that everyone is jumping on right. The new owners of the forelosed properties can sustain at the new lower prices.
Lake Las Vegas isn't going away. It's a smart investment to buy now while prices are low. PS: If you check the pending/contingent searches on the realtor websites, you will see that over 1/2 of the homes for sale are going under contract. Soon, those homes will be filled with guests and families, enjoying their lake views, watching an outdoor movie, kayaking and taking a dinner cruise on the La Contessa.
It is rumored that one entity will buy all of the courses there, which makes more sense than having competition between them.
With regard to the HOA fees discussed above. The banks who owned the foreclosed properties will have to pay all of the back HOA dues at closing. As stated above, at the low prices, many condos are in the process of being sold. This will mean a huge influx of cash coming to the associations at closing. All but 1 of the foreclosued properties in Viera condos have been sold or in the process of closing. Luna is right behind Viera. V is selling like hotcakes!
Some of the condos at V were never lived in and went right to the bank. These are gorgeous 700k condos you can buy for $135k, with a great view and a 5 star club house. These are cash prices too. (no mortgage) So, who wouldn't want to live the life of a millionaire, with an awesome view only having to pay $620.00 per month for maintenance dues. You can't rent a crappy 1 bedroom apartment for that.
Rejoice LLV, happier times are a-coming and everyone's negative comments here are basically a waste of their time and efforts.
Lake Las Vegas is doing a great job marketing the resort, which is evident by 100% occupancy last week. Repeat 100%. Hmm.. I gotta say it again 100%! :)
One more time. 100% occupied!!
that make two golf course i played at that closed,,,craig ranch and this one...
HOA fees up because insurance and management fees are up-- because it is high risk. Dead beat tenants, drugs, vandalism, people setting fire to or trashing their unit and common areas. That's why people have been paying extra for properties with no HOA for years now.
BC is better than other areas.
I can remember I was out at LLV when it first started and a executive jerk from Texas was so snooty, he though he was King of the Hill. Now they are where they belong. Let's put a Nuclear Power Plant out there.
Bouvier: you missed your calling. Obama should have hired you to sell his so-called health care reform. Just one question: why is there a $620 maintenance fee for a $135k condo that's paid for?
hey bouvier...
i like your spirit buddy...
but i just ain't buying what your selling...
the third and last golf course is going bye bye...
wasn't golf the biggest attraction out there...
so if the biggest attraction goes bye bye that has got to hurt...
big big trouble...
if the casino shuts down...
even for a month...
big big trouble...
virtually every one of those units will wind up going thru foreclosure...
so there are still many many more foreclosures to come...
this means more downward pressure on prices...
big big trouble...
and those hoa fees are ridiculous...
outrageous...
they are a big reason for the pain out there now...
$700 a month...
come on man...
you can try to rationalize it all you want...
you can compare hoa's to rent...
but one of the biggest reasons to buy real estate is actually to stop paying rent...
that money is gone...
wasted...
over $8,000 a year...
big big trouble...
sorry buddy...
i just ain't buying what you are selling!!!
does anyone know if those golf courses must remain golf courses???
stated alternatively...
once the lenders foreclose can they build buildings on that land???
buildings that make your property no longer on a golf course???
buildings that block your view of the lake???
anyone know???
The city of Henderson has zoned the golf courses to always remain golf courses. No other type of developement will be allowed. Hopefully Trump or American will buy them.
lake las vegas has finally reached its true value, but the HOA can take a hike on its monthly fee.
Bouvier: You must be the realtor selling all those over priced foreclosures. Well you are for sure a salesman even in type. Don't spend all your commission before you collect on all those contracts because some of those people are gonna wake up and realize what fools they are for buying in LLV. The whole scheme is fast falling away and the true scam of the HOA has been exposed. It wont be long until someone sues and wins a case against the HOA's.
Bouvier has it right. Lake Las Vegas is a huge bargain, and once all those high loans are crammed down in bankruptcy court, everything will be like none of this ever happened. This really is a chance to get in on the ground floor, if you have any money. For the people who are squawking doom and gloom, well, he who squawks last wins!
So that leaves 6,321 courses....the tap remains on everyday....and the courses are closed...and the taps remain on....where is the logic in this ?
No, I'm not a realtor. I have family in the Vegas area, visit often and just bought a condo in Lake Las Vegas. It's such a beautiful place I get goose bumps driving into the entrance. The lake, the multi-colored mountains are just incredible. The non-cookie cutter neighborhoods nestled in the hills reminds me of Italy or Greece. Spectactular! It's a place I enjoy and love to defend.
I grew up in Boca Raton Florida. The land of HOA's. 10 years ago I paid $275.00 a month in HOA for a condo. That amount is probably $350.00 now. It's not just at Lake Las Vegas. HOA dues are a cost of living in a certain environment. I love HOA's and would never live in a neighborhood with out them. My choice, my expense and really nobodys business. If you don't want to live in one, don't,which leaves you people no reason to complain about it here. HOA's are not a scam, nothing to expose. Good grief. simpleton's everywhere it seems.
CPO, you are right. Right now is the time to buy, whether in Lake Las Vegas, Florida (talk about a mess), California. While LLV may be having some of the same economic issues as the rest of the country, it's unique enough to always be sustainable. I think I'll be laughing and cheering all the way to the bank in a few years! :) PS: If you didn't read my above post, Lake Las Vegas resort was sold out, 100% occupied last week. I'm already profitable!
Boy, there are lots of comments today on this string which I want to discuss.
First, bdover, please give us a post with as much detail as you have about the City of Henderson's $33 Million investment. I'm looking for something like the "Planning Case Number" or the "Public Works File Number" or the identifying numbers from a bond issue or certificate of participation issue by the city. I'd love to go over and pull the files, to evaluate the actual dollar risks to the city.
Birdiedreamin: Your comment on a developer subsidy of an HOA has two different scenarios. When a developer has "annexed his units into the jurisdiction of the HOA" (be they condos, houses or vacant lots) the developer has to start paying the monthly assessment on each unit. So even though the developer says he's subsidizing the HOA, he's really just "paying his dues". However, in many states, the corrupt legislatures (like the one next door to us) have written statutes which allow the developers to pay less than the full monthly HOA dues, on units they have annexed into the HOA, if they sign a contract promising to pay a monthly subsidy to the HOA which amounts to "Monthly expenses, less dues collected from real homeowners = subsidy due from developer". In the last few months, all over the country, bankruptcy courts have been used by developers to just walk away from those subsidy agreements, leaving the HOA to then have to raise monthly assessments on all units, big time dollar wise.
As to the issue of somebody owning or buying all three golf courses, the first two foreclosed ones are owned by a company organized by the Bass Brothers' lawyer named Bill Hallman (sp?). Bill is a great guy, and the Basses trust him. I don't know if Hallman or the Basses own the company which foreclosed on the first two courses. It seems to me that either Bill or the Basses also own Dorfino. So my bet is that they figure out a way to close the courses, but spend the money to keep the landscaping from dying until the economy turns around. There's a TPC Golf Course in Valencia, California that just came out of a multi entity developer bankruptcy, and it turned out that the bankrupt developer was having to subsidize the golf course operation to the tune of $1.9 Million per year, even though the "members" were paying their dues. So if the last course is kept open, I expect its new owner is going to jack up the monthly members' fees to reflect the true operating costs of the golf course.
Of course, there's always a chance that the esteemed Henderson City Council could make a deal to rezone one or more of the Lake Las Vegas courses for future housing development. We saw that happen with Stallion Mountain.
As to all of the negative commentary on HOA's at Lake Las Vegas and everywhere else, let me make some points, which I learned when I was stupid enough to get involved with my own very scr#wed up HOA in a state other than Nevada.
First, the Nevada Legislature needs to do a complete re-write of the laws governing HOAs, to force them to comply with principles of due process and equal protection. That's what California had to do about 15 years ago, in what was called the Sterling Davis law, because egomaniacal lunatics who had no idea about their powers (or lack thereof) had taken over the running of many HOA's all over the state.
Mike Schneider has tried to help fix the Nevada HOA laws, piecemeal, in the last two legislative sessions, but he has received lots of resistance from the devil's triplets:
1) Professional HOA management companies and their owners, including that woman who yaps in the LVRJ,
(2) the national "Community Association" organization CAI which is run by the people like those listed in (1) but having a national membership and a "local Nevada Chapter" which tries to say it is speaking for "homeowners associations" when it is really only speaking for the economic interests of their managers and the control freaks who run the associations, and
(3) A very dangerous, self interested, slippery lawyer who is infamous in LA for milking HOA's for every dime he and his firm can, in inflated billings his firm sends out based on incompetent work by junior lawyers. That lawyer turns all sorts of tricks to pander to the developers of new housing tracts who hire him to represent newly formed HOAs for new projects. Now he's aggressively collecting HOA clients in Nevada, and constantly trying to mess up the good things Mike Schneider's bills do. In the legislative session of 2007, this lawyer single handedly got the good bill passed by the Legislature vetoed by Governor Zero as Jon Ralston would call him.
I have no vision, whatsoever, for what Lake Las Vegas will be like as a community in the next several years. Among other things, their little "village" is not Americans With Disabilities Act compliant, so if the cobblestone streets are, in fact, owned by the City of Henderson (like the sewers beneath them are) then on top of everything else the City may have to spend a bundle of money to make the streets ADA compliant under a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case on the ADA, which the Supreme Court wouldn't hear, called the cracked sidewalk case.
As to HOA management companies, things could actually be worse. In California no one licenses them or regulates them. Their standard M.O. for ripping off homeowners is charging low management fees and then insisting on big kick backs from all vendors to the HOA. If the HOA management companies are getting kick backs here, then Nevadans are being doubly scr#wed, because HOA management fees are substantially less in California. I know that because we have a beach condo in Cali, and I compare budgets each year, between my Nevada HOA and that California HOA.
My biggest gripe against HOAs is that they don't have the chutzpah to sue banks who are not installing front lawns and landscaping on property they've foreclosed on. There's no law saying lenders who foreclosed are exempt from complying with CC&Rs. I bet that a few aggressive HOA's foreclosing their fine liens on foreclosed houses, with the lenders losing title through stupidity and stubbornness of their loan servicers, would get lender-owners to take a whole new look at the CC&R compliance issue.
Some realtors in LV who list foreclosures are not helping. One lady told me that in order to get a listing from a German bank which had foreclosed, she had to agree to maintain the pool and landscaping, out of her own pocket, during the listing period
In my opinion, HOAs are a scam on middle class people that are throwing their money away for what they think is luxury ---- haha, someone telling you what you can and can't do to your home is Luxurious. And I know people that brag about having an HOA. In my opinion, Idiots.
I have made a study of LLV from afar and am amazed at the drop in price relative to other properties in Vegas. I havn't been there in person yet but plan to. Bouvier may have laid the ground work for a BIG payday in just a few short years. Good luck Bouvier!!
hey cynical...
thanks for the fantastic input...
posts like that make it worth while to troll these message boards...
with all of the idiots on board...
thanks again!!!
hey bouvier...
i wish you well buddy...
i really do...
but...
i take serious issue with all of your rah rah stuff...
i was at llv last week...
mid week...
if that was 100% occupied i am president obama...
come on man...
i walked thru viera, luna, the ritz and lowes...
it was dead...
period...
end of story...
maybe they were referring to the weekend...
but it was definitely not 100% occupied when i was there...
also...
there is much more pain to come at llv...
everyone is so far under water i bet you the foreclosure rate is off the charts...
my guess is 66% when all is said and done...
just my guess...
bottom line...
i am sick and tired of reporters interviewing realtors for puff pieces on the housing market here in vegas...
and low and behold...
what do you know...
now is always a great time to buy...
i suspect they have hurt thousands of people with those pathetic puff pieces...
the realtors are just selling their book of business...
and so are you...
in fact...
i think i am picking up on a little scent of fear...
i know i would be afraid...
the last golf course shut down...
the casino is in trouble...
many more foreclosures are still to come...
it will be a very bumpy ride at best....
hold on tight...
good luck!!!
The real estate game is one big scam. The bigger the fish that get lured in the bigger the score.
Buy now before it's too late! These units are going fast! Don't wait! There's great upside in this neighborhood! Only $1000 to get your spot in the lottery! Buy! Buy! Buy! More! More! More!
what's a bigger scam, real estate or HOAs?
Bouvier...out of all these post I actually enjoyed yours. If I actually knew these others bloggers, I would probably want to slit my throat after a while. It must be a Vegas thing to always come across negative and gloomy. Thanks for posting something positive AND your points totally make sense.
If I may ask, what do the HOA'S do for the 4 to 6 hundred that they recieve each month. If a person owns and mantains his own pool, mows,fertilizes and waters his own yard he will have expenses of material and labor. A pool can get to be a real expense and headache. Do they mantain the exterior of the buildings. Please tell me what they do so I can make an intelligent decision. Thanks.
Its cheaper to stay at the Bellagio.
I don't know much about HOAs. Seems like a clear scam to me. Probably won't ever buy a condo - a small and reasonable house is a far greater deal.
Our H.O.A.s in ZIP 89117 runs 78 bucks every 3 months ... If you drive through this area you will notice several ponds with surrounding green spaces as well as a generous expanse of grass and trees by most of the main streets in the ZIP paid for and maintained by H.O.A.s...Yeah yeah I know all about the water getting used on green! ..But it still looks nice to this midwest transplant
Thanks for posting something positive AND your points totally make sense.
****
I think Bouvier is just a little too "gung ho" on everything. Nothing wrong with being positive, but he/she comes across as more of an "informercial" than actually knowing first hand what is going on here. It's one thing to see a good investment for the future, but it's another to come across as Harold Hill in River City.
As far as the resort being "100% occupied" - yeah, I read the same article a few weeks ago - hype put out by resort management. The resort is one thing - the condos and homes are another.
BOUVIER:
You refer to "two sources" in making your claim regarding 100% occupancy at Lake Las Vegas -- please provide details regarding your "sources" for this information.
Source, Free rooms .com
Re freerooms.com
NO hotels listed are at Lake Las Vegas. This site even has the Stardust listed!
Yeah, very reliable...
bouvier...
bouvier...
wherefore art thou...
bouvier...
Katie take a stupider pill, it was a joke,
Just got back from Casino Monte Lago. Deader than Michael Jackson. Nobody at the table games, I was the only one playing poker at the bar. Maybe 20 people in the casino-total. More employees than players. And Bouvier, you think LLV has a rosy future? Fool...
Yes, I sure do!!! PS: If you haven't noticed ALL Casinos in Nevada are slow.
Why don't you go back to Tuscany and worry about your powerline issues. LLV doesn't need you or your comments!
Wait....didn't we all once have the same enthusiasm as Bouvier? We all were excited about the prospects here in Vegas - reasonably priced homes, jobs aplenty, new casinos being built. It was all so exciting.....like a dream come true. It got more exciting when our homes appreciated at such a fast pace, it made our heads spin. It was THE most exciting city in the world.
Yeah.... And it will never be like that ever again, Bouvier.
Hey Bouvier, newsflash for ya .. I was at Excalibur on Monday night and they were sold out...fully booked.
Wow. The lack of education in LV always amazes me. The HOA fee has nothing to do with the cost of a unit.
Bouvier, tell us: I looked over there and Electricity and cable were included. Montelango?
If so that is not so bad.
Sweet, can I play reflection bay for less than $200 now?
Bouvier..I hope you are right...We are loosing our home as I stated above. If this economy ever turns around enough for my wife and I to make a living again and get some cash, we would go right back out there in a heart beat - we love it there. BUT - the HOA's are a killer !!! We have 2 in the Bella Fiore development and I know other tracts have 3 ! Right now, it is what it is unfortunately and ALL of Vegas is in the tank, so to the rest of you - trust me - it isnt fun loosing your life savings, your home and retirement. AND we put enough down to have a comfortable mortgage based on our income. ITS ALL GONE. So to all you that bash LLV - thank you for the warm thoughts.
Sorry for you, retiredyoungster. Life sure can be cruel, especially if you follow dopes like Bouvier. Sometimes, it's best to go with your gut instinct instead of some lying RE agent. Bouvier screwed up, too, and I'm sure we'll see his whining posts again as LLV goes down big time. I was there today, and I counted 14 employees and 8 customers at the casino.
Very best of luck....
I've read everyone's comments in this blog and it seems that things have reached a panic mode which normally means its a good time to buy.
I would like to be in that camp except for the HOA fees. Why can't the HOA board get the fees under control by making some cutbacks? This would help get people like me off the fence and be a buyer. I realize that the situation is grim due to the number of foreclosures and home owners that haven't kept up with the fees, which makes the situation even worse. However as these properties get bought up it will help feed the kitty and will help bring the HOA reserves back to a positive range.
By the way, all the readers of these comments should be aware that Bdover is the same person as NedNougat. I'm certain that there are more aliases by the same person trying to convey their own opinions. This person has repeated said that LLV has $1,200 a month HOA dues. They don't exist. Then this person said they "could be" one day. Well, monkeys could fly out of my... one day too. Speculation.
I spent the weekend at Montelago Village. Friday afternoon and evening the village was packed! The casino, contrary to many comments, nearly 2/3 of the slots were being used and over 1/2 of the tables were full. Quite the buzz. I had dinner at Bernards. It was packed inside and out. Back to the casino.. again.. busy. Popped into the Irish pub.. great band.. busy.. Cigar bar.. another great band.. busy... people up dancing... Sonrisa.. ditto. Live band on the lake.. big crowd. People milling about..
Saturday morning was a bit slow.. after lunch, the crowds began to come. I visted the Loews pool. Packed with families/kids. Later on, we bar hopped again, strolled the casino. There were a good amount of crowds, great buzz in the village. I saw people in the shops, I saw many with bags from the shops. I was at Sonrisa around 11pm. Packed! People eating, drinking, socializing. I just don't get where the ghost town comments are coming from. This is not a ghost town. Sorry to tell the negative commentors, but people are still going to Lake Las Vegas.
I've seen comments that a certain poster(s) was there on a Thursday at 4pm and the casino was slow. Hello? of course it would be. I was in Green Valley Ranch Casino on Friday before heading to LLV, it was dead! I would expect it to be at that time of day. You can't judge the overall viability of a community by going to a casino in the mid-afternoon on Thursday. This is not the strip. It's not supposed to be. Never will be. That's the entire point of LLV.
HOA's will be an issue no matter where and when you are. As I said above, 10 years ago in Boca Raton, people complained about them. People complain about them in my current WA State 'hood where we have no real foreclosure or economy issues. If there are people and HOA's there will be complaints. You will never make everyone happy. Fact of life.
If prospective buyers have questions about Lake Las Vegas, instead of reading biased, false and speculative comments here (all by the same person with different aliases), why not do your own research. (this is what I did before buying) Check real estate websites with advance searches. You will see that many are pending/contingent. Only a matter of time, all will be bought up in LLV and the rest of the country.
If we as a society keep getting sucked into gloom/doom and negativity, things will never get better.
I heard that the Southshore Golf Club is now re-opened and offering great introductory membership fees.
Hopefully, the other 2 will re-open again soon too!