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Building a new home in Vegas

Discussion in 'Living in Sin (City that is)' started by h0llywood, Aug 2, 2018.

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  1. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    So this past week, my wife and I drove around the area to see which neighborhoods we liked in anticipation of our move to Las Vegas in May of 2019. We drove around Green Valley Ranch, Henderson, and other areas and finished off our day looking at one of the new build homes for American West at the Highlands.

    We always loved the 3k / 3 story plan and when we walked in, we immediately fell in love and put down a $3k priority/security deposit. We have plans on picking our lot in December and hopefully finish in time for our move in date of May.

    A few days later, the excitement has somewhat wore off as we got to step back and really do some brain storming to get this house built. However after reading reviews about the company, I am pretty concerned with the way they handle business with much would akin to being shady and ripping people off. After your earnest money deposit is given, from what I read, deposits are pretty much required for everything to include plumbing, roofing, electric, paint, drive way, landscape, etc., down to paying a premium for the lot. So what up front sounds like <10k in deposits could potentially turn out to 20-30k.

    Does anyone have any experience dealing with a new home build? I would love to hear your thoughts and advice.

    This is the home we are expecting to build.


    Here is the location of the lot where the home will be built
    https://goo.gl/maps/e5XCGZZ5XiR2
     
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  2. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Not in Vegas, but we built a new home in 2016. We bought the lot and then as construction went along, there were what they called draws. Each stage of construction had a draw. Excavation, then poured basement walls was one. Then framing the house was another, etc.

    We paid cash, so each draw, I had to write a check. The entire accounting procedure was kind of nebulous. You just have to trust the builder isn't ripping you off, but hard to guarantee they aren't.

    We're happy with the house, but so many hidden, out of pocket costs. you don't consider when saying, yes we can afford that.
     
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  3. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    When you say you paid cash, i am making the assumption that you are referring to paying off the home without financing.
    If you do not mind me asking, what was your total "draw" costs throughout the process?
     
  4. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Computer crashed since we built so I lost a lot of records. Ballpark about $250,000 on the draws, but then there was the lot cost and we had to do a concrete driveway, landscaping, lawn, appliances etc. Cost overruns on the plumbing and lighting allotment also added to the pricing.

    Then there is a water softener. Mandatory in Vegas with the water quality. But, not included in our price estimate here. Also consider if you do any kind of landscaping with any plants, you'll need a drip watering system. Rocks are maintenance free for the most part, but boring if that is all you have.

    If you wanted just base items, then I guess the pricing was fair, but we wanted ceiling fans (6) instead of just a light fixture. We wanted a separate walk in shower and a Jacuzzi tub in the master bath. We wanted a tile floor in the master bath. We also wanted shower doors, not curtains. It just adds up!

    Anyway, it just kept adding up from the original cost proposal.

    After living in Vegas, the landscaping costs if you go desert will be much less for you, but there still will be the driveway costs. When we bought the Vegas house we spent a couple of thousand to do landscaping. When we sold two years later, the new owners ripped everything out and put in an in ground pool. They lasted two years and sold it again.

    This was our first custom built home, but we have owned 11 previous existing homes, so we are not newbies, but there were surprises.

    PM me if you have more questions.
     
  5. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    250k on draws alone? Geez. So making the assumption that it was a million dollar home, does that mean your draws were around 25% or did you pay more up front as you were a cash buyer?
     
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  6. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    This is rather embarrassing and a pain in the ass as I am in real estate but this new home build is a whole new animal and I have no clue what is going on yet.
     
  7. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Oh hell no. Assessed at about 400k. The draws were what it took to build and finish the home. Think about it. Every little thing has to be paid for once the structure is up. Tile, plumbing, electrical, woodwork & finishing, painting, closet shelves, interior doors, carpeting & flooring and the list goes on and on.
     
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  8. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    Isn't that what the mortgage/construction loan is for? Did you finance or did you pay cash?
     
  9. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    No financing.
     
  10. Royal Flusher

    Royal Flusher Savvy Gambler

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    Paid for with bConnected points? You get a 40% discount on houses that way.
     
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  11. whiskeyandslots

    whiskeyandslots High-Roller

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    No experience or advice here, but that home is beautiful! Congrats on moving to Vegas....and I hope there aren't too many hiccups or annoyances along the way.
     
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  12. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Stories in the Mojave means that much more cooling need. Something to consider.
     
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  13. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    Super excited but feeling the stress already. Hope everything goes as planned
     
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  14. whiskeyandslots

    whiskeyandslots High-Roller

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    I write for a lot of HVAC companies, and unless they're feeding me a bunch of bullshit so that I'll feed it along to their customers (totally possible), this isn't really a problem with today's zoned HVAC units.
     
  15. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    I lived for decades in desert environments, it can be a very real thing. But, yes, if running mini-splits vs. central you have far more control.
     
  16. TableToddyy

    TableToddyy VIP Whale

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    Nice guest room.
     
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  17. tominiowa

    tominiowa High-Roller

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    I highly recommend 2 separate AC units for each floor. At least if one goes down you can survive in some area of the home. You really need to think of the future. Cheaper to add extra water lines or electricity at the start then later. Is back yard large enough for pool? If so I would have water plumbed now in case you go that route. Personally I would not live (even as I do PT) without a pool. Yes high maintenance item but company who stop by love it and I do also. Recommend spa for the winter. Make sure you add heater for pool for spa and extend your pool season. To me natural gas is cheap in Vegas.

    Small thing , but, ceiling fans everywhere or at least wired for one in almost every room, but bathrooms.

    good luck, I have no desire to build, I want to just buy the finished house or even find that perfect used one. Heard way too many stress stories building one. I avoid stress. But when done you will be happy and have just what you want. Definitely an up and growing area. In time more business's will help. downside is you will be having construction around you for several years
     
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  18. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    I have everything lined up now to visit next month on September 8 with:
    1) The builder
    2) The lender
    3) The flooring company

    My wife and I are considering getting a pool. Contemplating on rolling the cost of the pool into the mortgage and pay for it over 30 years. The average cost to build in Las Vegas is 25-30k which seems like an exorbitant amount to me.

    Can't wait to show my daughters their new house in person.

    Other things to consider when moving:
    1) Local post office since I will be moving my business there. The closest one is a UPS store but that will have to do for now.
    2) Getting business licensed with the State and incorporated
    3) Getting a short term storage facility to move things slowly bit by bit instead of in one hurried swoop since we are making multiple trips from now until the house is built
    4) Signing up kids for school. Cant believe my 13 year old's high school will start at 7 and ends at 1 p.m.! My 8 year old will be from 9-3. Totally different from out here in CA. Our kids are in school from 7-3 p.m. Elementary school is 2 blocks away and high school is 5 blocks away.

    Currently getting rid of debts that I can without having to worry about sourcing. Going to pay off the remaining on my car lease this week.
     
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  19. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Gotta have a pool in the desert. Best of luck, 'wood!!
     
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  20. h0llywood

    h0llywood VIP Whale

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    Per the builder, the lots have backyards averaging 24 x 48 sqft which I calculated to approx 1,100 sqft.

    Would like to put a pool something like this:
    Inground:
    7c04617bf3564b5126d84c497c2d99a1.jpg

    Above ground:
    modern-glass-swimming-pool-enpundit.jpg
     
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