At most jobs you would get fired for downing a whiskey on the job. Not a Zappos in Las Vegas, on the online shoe retailer that Amazon bought for $1.2 billion in 2009.  At corporate tThere’s an open bar for employees who want need a shot or a cold beer during the hot, 117-degree summer days in Vegas. Founder and CEO Tony Hsieh often invites his employees for a drink after work or coffee at his loft. And he buses them to First Friday, an artsy street fair near downtown, so they don’t have to mess with parking.

There are a lot of cool jobs in Las Vegas. I, too, have one. Las Vegans actually play hard and work harder. We need good workers so come on over. ((hugs))

Forbes Magazine recently published its list of the “Best Cities for Bargain Shopping.” Guess who made the list? Las Vegas snagged No. 4.

Who knew we had 225 factory outlet stores?

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 64 percent of visitors went shopping in 2010, the latest year figures are available. The average  spending spree was $123.

Orlando, Austin and Phoenix were 1, 2 and 3.

((hugs)), BETH Ellyn

Managing Broker, Nevada

702.492.0531 Office

702.324.6911 Cell and text

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

This is a tale of two cities: Dallas (where I lived for 23 years and was a real estate saleswoman and broker for 20 of them) and Las Vegas, where I have been a broker since 1996.

Texas has very strict refinancing laws. And people there seem to be more God-fearing. Taken together, it was a lot harder to refinance houses during the boom. That meant there was less money available to bid up prices during the 2005- 2006 frenzy. So prices moved up slower and subsequently got back to normal faster after the free fall.

According to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Schiller index, Dallas was the only city in all the cities it tracks whose real estate prices held up during 2011. Las Vegas, in my opinion the most speculative market during the boom, is still suffering. Surprise. Surprise.

Here are some real numbers. I sold a house in Dallas in 2005 that I bought in 1978. I netted $128,000 after owning the home 27 years. (It was recently remodeled and looked scrumptious.) A house in Las Vegas that I bought in 2001 for $163,000 was worth $323,000 in 2005. Today it is now worth $180,000.

During the boom, many people I knew in Las Vegas refinanced their homes when they were supposedly worth $323,000 and happily spent the $100,000 take out on boats, cars, cruises, new kitchens, you name it. Now I am short selling those homes.

If the Nevada refi laws had been tougher so not everyone who was breathing could refi,  things would have been different. Once the bank turned them down, they would have had no choice but to continuing paying on their original note. Now,  11 years later, this note  gives them some equity even after prices hit bottom. Better yet, they would still be able to own their home.

Having lived through two real estate busts in Texas (remember the savings and loan crisis and the RTC?),  I knew better than to refinance anything. I still have my entire real estate portfolio…

From where I sit talking to sad homeowners, the subprime borrowers here were few and far between. Las Vegans got into trouble with refinancing. They were betting on the house odds, as it were.

My solution: Make our refi laws more like Texas. Because we know they work!

((hugs)), BETH Ellyn

Managing Broker, Nevada

702.492.0531 Office

702.324.6911 Cell and text

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

If you’ve ever flown into McCarran International Airport on a Friday night, you discovered you can wait up to two hours for a taxi. I’ve waited two hours when I arrived at 2  in the morning. I’m sure cabs are hard to find on the Strip on busy nights, too.

Three students from the University of Alabama have solved our problem. You can download their free Get Me Home! app from the Apple iPhone App Store.

The app lists seven Las Vegas taxi companies.  Just touch the company name on the phone and it automatically calls the company to arrange a pick up.

The app uses Google maps, which enable users to pinpoint their location to direct the cab to an address, helpful if you are not a local.

The taxi app is particularly useful here in Las Vegas, because it’s illegal to hail a cab on the street like you do in New York City. Here, you have to either be picked up at a specific street address or wait at a designated cab stand.

FYI: These students also developed an app called Red Cup, which helps users find the highest alcohol content per drink for the money. They decided not to include Las Vegas because they were overwhelmed by the large number of places that serve alcohol. So I guess you’ll have to find that out for yourself! Enjoy!

((hugs)), BETH Ellyn Rosenthal

Managing Broker, Nevada

702.492.0531 Office

702.324.6911 Cell and text

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

What is forced placed insurance? This is a hazard insurance policy that the mortgage company buys for you  if it determines you have not purchased the required policy on your own. The problem is this policy typically costs three times the price of a policy you could purchase yourself. These days some insurance companies charge 10 times the premium!

Ca Ching! Big profits for the mortgage companies at your expense. And it’s not just the premium price, which you, the homeowner, has to pay. If your house burns down, you don’t get a dime. The policies only reimburse the lender.

And did I tell you forced place insurance typically has no deductible….

Forced placed insurance has become big business for mortgage companies. The New York Times reports forced place insurance totaled $6 billion last year, up from just $1 billion five years ago.

And if you are not mad enough already, know that many banks have set up affiliates to  provide this insurance for them. Surprise. Surprise! This is now a lush (my word) profit center for the mortgage lenders.

Here’s how to protect yourself:

1. Keep your homeowner’s policy current.
2. Check your monthly mortgage statement to make sure your lender doesn’t sign you up for insurance you don’t need. One scam is to buy you flood insurance when you are not in a flood plain and don’t need it. Keep them honest!

((hugs)) BETH Ellyn Rosenthal

Managing Broker, Nevada

702.492.0531 office

702.324.6911 cell and text

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

Good question. The friendly folks at imortgage answered this pressing question.

Conventional Loans:

Chapter 7 bankruptcy (BK): 4 years from the discharge date

Chapter 13 BK: 2 years from the discharge date

Beth Ellyn Rosenthal

Foreclosure: 7 years from the completion date

Short sale/Deed in lieu: Minimum 2 year waiting period; could be more….

FHA/VA Loans

Chapter 7 BK: 2 years from the discharge date

Chapter 13 BK: 1 year from the beginning of the payout. In addition, you must have paid as agreed. And the court has to grant permission.

Foreclosure, short sale, deed in lieu: 3 years

VA loans only: 2 year waiting period for foreclosures

It seems unfair the banks got away with murder and we have to wait up to seven years. Fortunately, it will go by fast enough. Seven years isn’t forever.

My advice: if it’s going to happen, might as well get the time clock ticking.

((hugs))

Managing Broker, Nevada

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

702.324.6911 call or text

@yale1974: Twitter

beth.ellyn: Skype

Finally, Las Vegas is not ground zero for mortgage fraud. Last week analysis firm CoreLogic published its Fraud Index and guess who wasn’t on the list? Us!

California, Florida, New York, Illinois and North Carolina are now the top-ranked states for mortgage fraud.

What exactly is mortgage fraud, anyway? CoreLogic says undisclosed debt obligations, inflated property values, stolen identities in applying for loans, and misrepresentation on the loan documents are the primarily types.

How can you avoid being a victim? It’s hard, since mortgages can be so arcane. But here’s some advice:

Sellers: Get your own appraisal so you really know how much your house is worth. (Or call me and I will track it for you on the MLS.)

Buyers: Check out where you get your mortgage. And don’t believe those get-rich-quick schemes. They are really get-poor-fast schemes.

Everyone: check your credit rating at least once a year to make sure no one else took out a loan in your name!

((hugs)), BETH Ellyn, Managing Broker

beth.rosenthal@exp realty.com

702.492.0531 office

702.324.6911 cell

@yale1974 Twitter

According to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, the February inventory was down 41 percent from a year ago. As of yesterday, there were only 8,997 homes for sales in the MLS. Half, however, are already under contract.

Assembly Bill 284 requires lenders prove they can certify the entire chain of title. In English that means they have to know exactly who owned the house when. There have been so much chicanery the truth is no one truly knows. So, to be safe, the lenders will not sign the requisite affidavit because they don’t want to go to jail. (Literally.)

The law went into effect October 1. According to Ticor Title, lenders foreclosed on 3,233 houses in September. In October that number fell to 96.

The result: far less inventory. This was an unk unk (unknown unknown, to quote Tom Peters) consequence of trying to protect Nevada homeowners.

The legislature won’t meet until 2013 to change the egregious portions of the law. I predict we will see a lot more short sales because there is clearer title between true buyers and sellers.

My advice: if you want to move to Vegas in the next year or so, better start looking now while there is still something to buy. And expect more short sales!

((hugs))

BETH Ellyn

Managing Broker, Nevada

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

702.492.0531

beth.ellyn (Skype)

@yale1974 (twitter)

The quick-tempered chef is opening a steakhouse on the Las Vegas Strip, specifically at Paris Las Vegas. Gordon Ramsey Steak will join the herd of other expensive and exquisite steakhouses on Las Vegas Boulevard. The star of “Hell’s Kitchen” decided to enter our market because “Vegas has become a foodie haunt.” I’ll drink to that!

((hugs)) from a committed carnivore

BETH Ellyn

Managing Broker, Nevada

702.324.6911 cell or text

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

Twitter: @yale1974

In the height of the recession, the Brookings Global MetroMonitor rated Las Vegas 199 out of 200. We beat out Athens, Greece, the globe’s poster child for horrible economies, as the worst economy in the world.

This year Athens is still ranked last. And Detroit (Detroit!) and Cleveland are above us. However, we are now N0. 179. That means we are growing!!!!!

For the record, Shanghai ranked No. 1. Dallas, Houston and Rochester, New York were the only American cities in the top 50 in 2011.

Job growth (hopefully) means stablizing home prices. Keep those green shoots coming.

((hugs)), BETH Ellyn

Managing Broker, Nevada

702.324.6911 cell or text

beth.rosenthal@exprealty.com

Twitter: @yale1974