First-time home buyers in Las Vegas
Your lease renewed at a number that made you angry. Here is what buying actually looks like, step by step, with the payment figured out first.
What being a first-time home buyer in Las Vegas actually feels like
If you are a first-time home buyer in Las Vegas, the odds are your lease just renewed at a number that made you angry, you have been looking at listings for months, and you have quietly decided you are already too late. Most of the people who call me say some version of the same sentence: we can't afford anything. It is the frustration sentence, and it is usually not true.
Here is what is underneath it. A down payment you think has to be 20 percent. A payment estimate from an online calculator that did not include the programs you qualify for. A price range you set six months ago and never revisited. None of those is a fact about you. They are assumptions nobody corrected, and correcting them is the first thing we do.
The buyers I work with on a first purchase are renting somewhere in the valley, one or two incomes, working in the things Las Vegas runs on: hospitality, healthcare, logistics out by the 15, teaching, the trades, or remote for a California company. You do not need to know how any of this works. That is my job. First-timers get taught, and you will hear every step explained once, plainly, before it happens.
Find out what I can actually afford
How I work with a first-time buyer
I am John Arendt, a Realtor with Compass Realty & Management, and I have helped people buy their first homes across the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, in Henderson, Summerlin, Southern Highlands, Anthem, Boulder City and North Las Vegas. I work the whole valley, so I do not need to steer you toward one part of it.
We start with the payment, not the house. Talk to a lender early. A pre-approval is not a requirement to start with me, but I recommend it strongly, because it is better to go shopping for something you know you can afford than to fall for a house and find out afterward. The number we settle on is the whole payment: principal and interest, taxes, insurance, HOA dues if the community has them, and what the house will cost to cool in August. What your down payment should actually be, FHA versus conventional, is written out here.
Then we talk about what you do for a living, because assistance programs exist and some of them depend on it. One of my buyers, a single mother of two, was certain she could not afford a condo. Down payment assistance is what changed that, and she owns it now. I will not promise the same for you, because eligibility depends on your situation. I will tell you what to ask about.
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. You will know that number before you commit to anything. The whole way I help you buy, step by step, is here.
What you get, from the first call to the keys
A first conversation about what the house has to do: your commute, whether stairs matter, how much yard you want to take care of, and what you are hoping to spend. A real monthly number before we look at a single listing. Then a short list of homes in the two or three neighborhoods that actually fit, with the 3D walkthroughs doing the first pass so the ones we tour in person are the ones you already like.
When you find it, an offer written with you line by line, so you know what earnest money is, what the due diligence period is for, and what happens if the appraisal comes in low, before any of it happens. I wrote the entire process as an article for exactly this reason, so you can read it tonight and come with questions. Then every date on a calendar, and you hear about each one from me before it arrives.
And one thing most first-timers are never told: nothing is going to check every box. That is not you being picky or the market being broken. It is a house. My job is to tell you which misses matter and which do not, and when you ask me which one I would buy, I answer.
Where first homes get bought in the valley
The process is the same anywhere in the valley. What changes is what your number buys. North Las Vegas is where a lot of first homes in this valley get bought, and where many of my move-up sellers started. Las Vegas itself, including the southwest, has a wide range of starter homes and condos. Henderson gives you older single-level homes in Green Valley on bigger lots alongside newer communities, and a short run to the airport. Summerlin and Southern Highlands are master-planned and newer, with HOA dues to budget for. Anthem and Boulder City are less common first stops, and I will tell you when one of them makes sense anyway.
If your lease is up and you want to know whether buying is actually possible for you, call or text 702-881-6562. Tell me what you do for a living, what you pay in rent, and where you work. You will get a straight answer, and if the answer is to rent one more year, you will hear that too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need 20 percent down to buy a home in Las Vegas?
Usually not. Conventional loans can start well below 20 percent, FHA lower still, and assistance programs exist that depend on what you do for a living. That single belief keeps more people renting than anything else in this business.
What do I need before we start looking at homes?
A conversation about what the house has to do and what you are hoping to spend. A lender pre-approval is not required but I recommend it strongly, so you shop for what you know you can afford. We sign a buyer representation agreement before or during the first showing.
How do you get paid if I am the buyer?
My compensation is negotiated as part of the deal. It is never fixed or standard, and you will know the number before you commit to anything. It is written into the buyer representation agreement we sign together.
What if the house I love has problems on the inspection?
Then you decide what to do about them with the report in front of you: ask for repairs, ask for a credit, accept it, or walk. The due diligence period exists for exactly that, and I will tell you which findings matter and which do not.
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Ready to make your move with John Arendt, Realtor?