Blog
Notes on the local market
2026-10-18 · 5 min read
Clark County Will Email You When Something Is Recorded Against Your Property
Clark County will email you when a document is recorded under your name or parcel number. What the Recording Notification Service does, what it does not do, and how to sign up.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
In Nevada, Your HOA Can Foreclose. The Dues Are Not Like Other Bills.
In Nevada an association can foreclose over unpaid dues, and the lien has a priority piece that sits ahead of your mortgage. What that means for a homeowner who has fallen behind.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
What "55 and Over" Actually Means, and What Happens When One of You Is 54
What a 55-and-over community in Las Vegas legally requires, what the 80 percent rule actually measures, and what happens when one spouse is younger than 55.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
Nevada Has No State Income Tax. Here Is What That Actually Saves You.
Nevada has no personal state income tax. What that actually saves you when you move to Las Vegas, what it does not cover, and the residency part people get wrong.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
Centennial Hills and the Northwest: The Newest Corner of the Valley
Centennial Hills is the newest quadrant of the Las Vegas valley, north and west of Summerlin along US-95. What is up there, what you get for the drive, and who it actually suits.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
Boulder City Is Not a Las Vegas Suburb
Boulder City is not a Las Vegas suburb. It controls its own growth, it has almost no inventory, and buying there works differently. What to know before you start looking.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
Insurance Can Kill a Deal Now. Get the Quote Before Your Window Closes.
What actually drives a home insurance premium on a Las Vegas house, why roof age matters more than anything else, and why a buyer should get a quote before the due diligence window closes.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 5 min read
It Is a Desert and It Floods. How to Check Before You Buy.
The Las Vegas valley floods, despite being a desert. How to check a specific address, what a wash behind the house means, and why your homeowners policy does not cover any of it.
Read more →2026-10-18 · 4 min read
One Quiet Afternoon Tells You Nothing About Aircraft Noise
Aircraft noise in the Las Vegas valley changes with the wind, which is why one quiet afternoon tells you nothing. How to actually check a property before you buy it.
Read more →2026-10-02 · 4 min read
Nevada Protects $605,000 of Your Equity. Only If You File for It.
Nevada protects up to $605,000 of equity in your home, but only if you record the declaration. What it covers, what it does not, and what it costs in Clark County.
Read more →2026-10-01 · 4 min read
How to Use a Three-Day House Hunting Trip in Las Vegas
Relocating buyers get one short trip to choose a side of the Las Vegas valley. A day-by-day plan that answers the geography question first and the house question second.
Read more →2026-10-01 · 4 min read
What to Ask an Agent at a Las Vegas Listing Appointment
Eight questions that separate a listing agent with a plan from one with a presentation, including the two that most agents in the valley would rather you did not ask.
Read more →2026-10-01 · 4 min read
Anthem and Sun City Anthem Are Not the Same Place
Two Henderson communities share a name, and one has an age restriction. What that rule does to your dues, your resale pool and your plans for the house.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
Should I Sell My House With the Solar Lease Still On It?
Solar panels are on a lot of roofs in this valley, and a lot of the people who put them there did not buy them.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 3 min read
Does a Pool Add Value to a Las Vegas Home?
This question comes at me two ways. Homeowners who are thinking about building a pool want to know if they will get the money back when they sell.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 3 min read
New Construction or Resale in Las Vegas? How to Actually Decide
The valley is still building.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
When Should You Downsize, and What Does the Move Actually Look Like?
Nobody wakes up and decides to downsize. It creeps up. The upstairs bedrooms have been empty for years. The yard takes a Saturday.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 5 min read
North Las Vegas and Aliante: The Part of the Valley Buyers Overlook
A lot of buyers rule out North Las Vegas before they have driven through it.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 5 min read
What Is Earnest Money, and Can I Get It Back?
The first check you write when you buy a house is not the down payment.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
Do I Need a Home Warranty When I Buy in Las Vegas?
Somewhere near the end of every purchase, somebody asks whether you want a home warranty. Sometimes it is the seller offering one.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
How Long Does It Take to Buy a House in Las Vegas, From First Tour to Keys?
The question usually arrives attached to a date. The lease ends in March. The new job starts in June. The kids need to be enrolled by August.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
What Is a CMA, and Why Is It Different From the Number Online?
Almost every seller I meet has a number in their head before I arrive, and it came from their phone.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
The Week One Launch, Step by Step: What Happens on Days One Through Seven
Every agent tells you they will market your house. Very few will tell you what that means on Tuesday. So here is mine, as a calendar.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 5 min read
Selling a Parent's House in Las Vegas From Out of State
The call usually comes from California, and it usually comes at a hard time.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
What Renters in Las Vegas Should Know Before Their Next Lease Renewal
The renewal letter comes sixty days before the lease ends, and it has a number on it that is bigger than last year's number, and you have about a month to.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
Selling a Las Vegas House With a Tenant Still in It
A lot of the rentals I sell belong to people who never planned to be landlords.
Read more →2026-09-25 · 4 min read
What the Nevada Seller's Disclosure Actually Requires, and What Happens If You Get It Wrong
There is a form in every Nevada home sale that sellers fill out in ten minutes and buyers skim in five, and it is the document most likely to end up in a.
Read more →2026-09-24 · 6 min read
Should You Do a 1031 Exchange? The Advantages and Disadvantages for a Las Vegas Rental Owner
Don't want to pay taxes when you sell your rental? There is a legal way to put that tax bill off, possibly for the rest of your life.
Read more →2026-09-24 · 5 min read
What Does a Home Appraisal Look at in Las Vegas, and What If It Comes in Low?
You are under contract. The inspection is behind you.
Read more →2026-09-24 · 4 min read
Summerlin, Explained: The Villages and What Each One Is Like
People search for "Summerlin" the way they search for a city. It is not a city.
Read more →2026-09-24 · 5 min read
Henderson, Explained: Green Valley, Anthem, Inspirada, Cadence, MacDonald Ranch and the Rest
Henderson is its own city on the southeast side of the Las Vegas valley, and it is the part of the valley where the name on the address tells you the least.
Read more →2026-09-24 · 5 min read
Southern Highlands and the Southwest: What You Get and What You Trade
Most people moving to the Las Vegas valley start with Summerlin or Henderson, because those are the two names they have heard.
Read more →
2026-09-23 · 4 min read
Selling a House With Kids in It: How Showings Actually Work
What showings really look like for a Las Vegas family, why most of them happen in the first two weeks, and the fifteen-minute reset that makes it survivable.
Read more →
2026-09-23 · 4 min read
Should I Sell My Las Vegas Home in Winter, or Wait for Spring?
Fewer buyers in winter, but more serious ones, and less to compare you to. When winter is the right call for a Las Vegas seller, when spring is, and how to list in the quiet season.
Read more →
2026-09-23 · 4 min read
What Should I Fix Before Selling My Las Vegas Home, and What Should I Leave Alone?
How a 20-year Las Vegas agent sorts a seller’s project list: fix what is broken, take the surprise out of the inspection, paint and clean, and skip the remodel.
Read more →
2026-09-23 · 4 min read
What Happens After You Accept an Offer in Nevada, Week by Week
Here is what happens after you accept an offer in Nevada, week by week: escrow, the inspection, the appraisal, the HOA package, the loan, signing and keys.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 5 min read
Downsizing in Las Vegas: Boulder City or Henderson?
Downsizing in the Las Vegas valley usually comes down to Henderson or Boulder City. How they differ, who each fits, and what thin inventory means for you.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 4 min read
Single-Story Homes in Henderson and Anthem: What a Downsizer Should Actually Look For
Where the single-story homes are in Henderson and Anthem, how to decide between age-restricted or not, and what to check in the house itself.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 5 min read
What Do Las Vegas Sellers Get Wrong About Pricing Their Home?
Seven pricing mistakes Las Vegas sellers make, from pricing off what you need to hiring the agent with the highest number, and what to do instead.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 4 min read
Buying a Home in Las Vegas From California: What Changes and What Does Not
What is different about buying a Las Vegas home from California, what is the same, the mistakes remote buyers make, and how the purchase works from a distance.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 4 min read
What Does the HOA Actually Control in a Las Vegas Master-Planned Community?
What an HOA in Summerlin, Anthem, Henderson or any Las Vegas master-planned community typically controls, and how to find out before you buy.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 4 min read
Why the First Two Weeks on the Market Decide How Your Las Vegas Home Sells
The first two weeks are the most attention your listing will ever get. What usually happens instead, and The Week One Launch: marketing that starts on day one.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 4 min read
What Drives the July Power Bill in a Las Vegas House, and What to Look for When You Tour
Why two identical Las Vegas houses cost very different amounts to cool, what drives the summer power bill, and what to check on a tour.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 4 min read
What Does a Home Inspection Actually Turn Up in a Las Vegas House?
The six things that show up on almost every Las Vegas home inspection, what buyers do with the report, and the short list worth fixing before you list.
Read more →
2026-09-22 · 6 min read
How Do I Sell My Las Vegas Home and Buy the Next One at the Same Time?
Three ways to sell your Las Vegas home and buy the next one without carrying two houses, and the one most move-up families should use.
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
Moving to Las Vegas? Start Here.
Thousands of people move to the Las Vegas valley every year, and most of them arrive knowing three things: no state income tax, a lot of sunshine, and it is cheaper than California. All three are true. None of them tell you where to live, what it will actually cost you every month, or what…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
How Do Property Taxes Work in Las Vegas?
If you are buying a home in the Las Vegas valley, property taxes are going to be one of the better surprises you get. Nevada’s rates are among the lowest in the country. But the way they are calculated confuses almost everybody, including people who have owned here for years. And there is one small…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 5 min read
Buying Your First Home in Las Vegas: What Actually Happens, Step by Step
Your lease came up and the new number made you angry. That is how this usually starts. So you started looking, and within about ten minutes you found pre-approval, earnest money, contingencies, escrow, appraisal gaps, and forty other words nobody has ever explained to you. It is a lot, and most of what is written…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
The National and State Parks Within Three Hours of Las Vegas
One of the better surprises about living here is what is just outside the city. People picture the Strip. What they do not picture is that this valley sits in the middle of some of the best outdoor scenery in the country, and that a serious national park is a morning’s drive away. For a…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 5 min read
Should You Take the Las Vegas Grass Rebate? What It Pays and What It Does to Your Resale
If you own a home in the Las Vegas valley you have heard something about grass removal, water rebates, or a “useless grass” law, and you are probably not sure how much of it applies to you. Two separate things are happening. Money you can get for converting your grass, and a rule that affects…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
What Home Improvements Actually Pay You Back When You Sell?
I get this call a few times a year, and it usually comes too late. Somebody is thinking about selling in the next year or so, and they have already spent $40,000 on a kitchen because a neighbor said it would help. Now they want to know what it added to the value of the…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
What Does It Actually Cost to Live in Las Vegas?
This is the right question to ask before you move, and most of the answers you will find online are either a real estate ad or a spreadsheet with no local knowledge in it. Las Vegas is more affordable than the coastal cities people usually come from. It is also not the bargain it was…
Read more →
2026-09-11 · 4 min read
What Should My Down Payment Be? FHA vs Conventional in Las Vegas
Let me deal with the big one first. You almost certainly do not need 20% down. That belief is the single most common reason people who could buy a house in this valley are still renting. It has not been the rule for a long time, and it is not close to the rule now.…
Read more →
2026-07-08 · 4 min read
Summerlin or Henderson? How to Actually Choose
If you are moving to the Las Vegas valley, this is usually the first real decision you hit. Summerlin or Henderson. Before I answer it, one thing worth knowing. Most agents who write this comparison work one of these two areas. They live there, they farm there, and their answer is going to lean that…
Read more →