Henderson · Buying a Home
Buying a home in Henderson
Tell me what the house has to do. I will tell you what I would do, and you will hear from me the whole way through.
Buying a home in Henderson: the question that comes before the house
Buying a home in Henderson starts with a question that does not come up anywhere else in the valley: older or master-planned? An eighties single-level in Green Valley on a big lot with no HOA, and a new build in Cadence with dues, a newer floor plan and a smaller yard are both Henderson, and they are different lives. Most buyers arrive with a picture of one and end up looking at both, which is fine, as long as you know which trade you are making.
The people buying in Henderson usually work near the airport, Green Valley or the southeast side, or they fly a lot and want the airport ten minutes away instead of forty. Many are move-up families coming from a starter home in North Las Vegas or the southwest, running school boundaries next to price. Many are downsizers who want one level and the hospitals close. And a growing share are relocating from out of state and chose Henderson for the settled, suburban feel and the range of what you can buy at a given price compared with the west side.
Tell me what the house has to do
Why Henderson buyers work with me
I am John Arendt, a Realtor with Compass Realty & Management, and Henderson is where a large share of my work happens in 20 years across the Las Vegas valley. I also work Summerlin and Southern Highlands, the two places Henderson is most often weighed against, so when you ask me Henderson or Summerlin, or Inspirada or Southern Highlands at the same number, I answer without a thumb on the scale.
We start with what the house has to do and the whole payment, including HOA dues where the community has them and what the house costs to cool in August. A lender pre-approval is not required to start with me, but I recommend it strongly, because it is better to shop for what you know you can afford. Before or during the first showing we sign a buyer representation agreement that says in writing who I work for, which is you, and how I am paid, which is negotiated as part of the deal and never fixed. The whole way I help you buy, step by step, is here. And when you ask which house, I tell you.
How buying a home in Henderson goes, step by step
The first call covers the commute, whether stairs matter, how much yard you want to take care of, whether you want the structure of an HOA or would rather not have one, and what you are hoping to spend. Then the payment conversation with a lender, so the number is real before we look. Then a short list in the part of Henderson that fits: Green Valley if you want an older eighties-or-nineties neighborhood and a bigger lot, Inspirada or Cadence if you want newer construction and are fine with dues, Anthem if one level is the priority. The 3D walkthroughs do the first pass, and the homes we tour in person are the ones you already like.
On a Henderson tour I am looking at the things the photos did not show you: the age of the air conditioner and roof on an older Green Valley home, what the HOA controls and charges in the master-planned communities, which direction the big windows face, and what the street is like on a weekday evening. When you find it, the offer is a strategy for that house: earnest money is typically about 1 percent and negotiable, the due diligence period is usually 10 calendar days to two weeks and negotiable, and if the home is in an association you get the HOA resale package to read during that window. Inspection, appraisal, loan, walkthrough, signing at the title company or with a mobile notary, recording, keys. Every date on a calendar, and you hear about each one from me before it arrives.
Henderson specifics worth knowing before you buy
In Green Valley, the older single-levels on bigger lots are the houses downsizers compete for, and an air conditioner or roof from the original build is something to price in, not a reason to walk. In Inspirada and Cadence, resale homes compete directly against the builders, so know what the builder is offering that month before you write on a resale. In Anthem, the 55-plus communities of Sun City Anthem and Solera have occupancy rules that matter if grandkids might live with you, and Anthem has its own page. Anywhere in Henderson, the airport and the hospitals are the practical advantages, and the 215 at 5pm is the thing to drive before you decide.
If you are trading up into Henderson from a starter home elsewhere, the sequencing of the sale and the purchase comes first. If this is your first purchase, first-time buyers in Henderson is written for you. If you are moving in from out of state, relocating to Henderson is. Or call or text 702-881-6562, tell me where you work and what you are hoping to spend, and I will tell you which Henderson I would put you in. More about Henderson and how I work with buyers across the valley are here too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Older Henderson or a master-planned community?
The older parts of Green Valley, built in the eighties and nineties, give you bigger lots, older homes and often no HOA. Master-planned communities like Inspirada, Cadence and Anthem give you newer construction, smaller lots, dues and rules. Neither is right. I will tell you which one fits what you said the house has to do.
How much earnest money will I need on a Henderson home?
On the offers I write it is typically about 1 percent of the purchase price, and it is negotiable. It goes to an escrow company, usually part of a title company, and it stays your money until closing.
Do I have to read the HOA package?
Yes. In Nevada the seller must provide the resale package for a home in an association, and you get a window to read it and cancel if you do not like what is in it. In Henderson's master-planned communities that package is where the dues and the rules about your own house live.
Henderson
What buying a home looks like in Henderson
Henderson sits southeast, closer to the airport, with single-story homes and several 55-plus communities.
Henderson is its own city on the southeast side, closer to the airport, where older Green Valley single-levels sit alongside the newer master-planned communities of Anthem, Inspirada and Cadence. It has the widest range of home ages and prices in the valley.
- The homes
- Henderson is not one thing. Established neighborhoods, including the older parts of Green Valley with single-level homes from the eighties and nineties on bigger lots, sit alongside newer master-planned communities such as Anthem, Inspirada and Cadence. A Henderson home and a Summerlin home at the same price can be twenty years apart in age, on very different lot sizes, with very different HOA dues.
- Why people choose it
- People who work near the airport, Green Valley or the southeast side, or who fly a lot. Buyers who want more range in what they can buy, and downsizers who want single-story living with choice: Henderson has a lot of single-story homes and several established age-restricted communities, including Sun City Anthem, Solera and Sun City MacDonald Ranch.
- Getting around
- Southeast side of the valley, a short drive to the airport. The 215 at 5pm is a different road than the 215 at 11am, so drive your actual commute on a weekday evening before you decide.
- Nearby
- The airport, the valley's hospitals and specialists, a lot of parks and recreation, and Boulder City about half an hour further out.
- The trade-off
- Against Summerlin: you give up Red Rock on your doorstep and the single master-planned feel, and you get more variety, more inventory to be particular about, and often more house for the money. Master-planned parts of Henderson come with HOA dues and rules about what you can do with your own house.
Buying a Home: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with John Arendt, Realtor?