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Las Vegas Real Estate - Tools for Buyers

How to Buy a Home in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada

Search for homes in the Las Vegas MLS!

Mention this city and most people think of casinos and bright lights. And while it's easy to understand why these things come to mind, it should also be mentioned that Las Vegas is also a great place to make a real estate investment.

But the purpose of this page is not to tell you why to buy real estate in Las Vegas area, but rather how to go about it. In other words, this is a home buyer's "how to" manual for purchasing a home in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After all, Vegas is one of those cities where you either love it or hate it, not to pull any punches. So if you're one of those people who loves and wants to buy real estate in the city, here's a step-by-step guide.

Buying a Home - One Step at a Time

Buying residential real estate in Las Vegas should always start with a good review of the home-buying process in general. If you're a first-time home buyer, this is even more important. Here's why. When you have a good grasp on the various steps to buying real estate, you have an easier time with those steps once you've reached them. Here's a good example:

By researching the steps to buying a home in Las Vegas, Nevada, you will realize that the settlement process (a.k.a. real estate closing process) requires you to pay certain fees, collectively known as closing costs. And if you know this fact in advance, you can prepare for the closing process by putting some extra money aside in savings. This is a good example of how you can benefit by understanding the Las Vegas real estate process from start to finish.

Now let's move through some other important steps in the home buying process, with a few helpful tools along the way:

1. Get Your Credit Reports / Scores

Before you start house hunting and comparing mortgage loans, you must ensure that your financial "house" is stable. That is to say, you must review your financial situation the way a Las Vegas mortgage lender would review it. Requesting copies of your credit reports and credit scores is a great place to start.

Most people don't realize that they actually have three credit reports and three scores as well — one from each of the credit-reporting companies: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. When buying real estate in Las Vegas, you can be sure that all of your credit scores will be review by lenders, or at least a composite of the three scores.

The first thing you should do after receiving your credit reports is to review them for accuracy. From time to time, errors will show up on a person's credit report. After all, they are created by humans and computers, and both of these things make mistakes. The last thing you want is to have your Las Vegas real estate process delayed because of some kind of credit error. You can request corrections through the company that supplied the source report (Experian, TransUnion or Equifax).

You can also use your credit score information to find out where you stand in comparison to other people — whether you are considered average, above average, or below average (in terms of credit score). The higher your score, the better chance you'll have being approved for a mortgage loan.

But this step in buying real estate in Las Vegas begins with you requesting copies of your credit reports and scores. So if you haven't done that already, get started below.

Order your free credit report today

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2. Find a Las Vegas Real Estate Agent

Is this your first time buying a home? If so, it's really a good idea to have professional help with the home-buying process. This help comes in the form of a real estate agent, and you can find a Las Vegas agent quickly and easily through the link provided below.

How might your real estate agent help you during the home-buying process? Let us count the ways. He or she can help you find Las Vegas homes with the qualities you're looking for, validate the seller's asking price (its called an "asking price" for a reason), complete all required paperwork, and basically navigate your way along the path to home ownership.

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3. Find a Home in Las Vegas

So let's recap for a moment. If you have gone through the prescribed steps thus far (theoretically, at least), that means you have reviewed your credit information and your general finances, and have also found a Las Vegas real estate agent to help you in the home buying process. What's next? Only the most fun part of all ... house hunting!

During this part of the process, you will find, evaluate and compare homes to see how they stack up against your real estate wants and needs. The key here is to search as many homes as possible, but without exhausting yourself or taking too much time in the process. How can you balance these things? By using the Internet.

Using the Internet can save you a lot of time and energy when searching for real estate in the Vegas area. There are actually quite a few websites online you can use to view homes for sale in Las Vegas, Nevada — so many websites, in fact, that it just might make your head spin. But don't worry ... we have simplified things for you by recommending one of the most helpful websites for finding Las Vegas homes for sale (see below).

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4. Get Mortgage Quotes

For most folks, buying a home also means taking out a mortgage. After all, a new home costs more than most people have in their savings account. So a mortgage is usually a necessity for Las Vegas home buyers.

The key to choosing the best type of mortgage loan is to consider your financial background and your unique home-buying situation. For example, if you'll be in the home for a long time, a fixed-rate mortgage loan might be the best option for you. But if you'll only be in the home for a few years, an adjustable-rate mortgage could save you money during those years. Of course, these are just basic rules of thumb ... you'll have to consider the matter more carefully before choosing a type of Las Vegas home loan.

As with most things in real estate today, the Internet comes in handy here as well. These days, you can go online to a secure mortgage website, enter some basic information about the type of loan you're after, and receive quotes from multiple lenders at once. It's definitely a convenient way to shop around for the best mortgage terms.

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5. Consider Buying Las Vegas Foreclosures

Like most of the country, Las Vegas has had a lot of property foreclosures in recent months. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis that swept across the state in 2007 - 2008, the number of Las Vegas foreclosures went up considerably.

These foreclosures represent opportunity for the savvy real estate investor. You see, when a bank forecloses on a home, they want to sell it off as quickly as possible. Banks are lenders — they are not property managers. So they will sell the Las Vegas foreclosed home as soon as possible, often through a real estate auction.

At a property auction, the smart real estate investor can often get a home for less than market value. We already talked about how banks want to get these homes off their books ASAP, so a Las Vegas home buyer / investor can use this to his or her advantage.

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Conclusion and Summary

I hope you've enjoyed this buyer's guide to the Las Vegas real estate process, and I hope the tools I've provided above make your home-buying process a little easier.