Huntridge

The Biggest Eyesore in Huntridge Gets It’s Lawn Mowed

June 23rd, 2008 Categories: Huntridge

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I complain all the time about the bank owned repos that are being neglected. In this instance however, the property at the corner of 10th and Oakey was the biggest eyesore around while it was for sale as a “short sale”.

I complained repeatedly to rapid response – to no avail. However, last week it went back to the bank. It’s not on the market yet, but at least they sent over a crew to clean it up.

I wish all the banks would do that to their properties. It wouldn’t take much to make them more presentable. They’d probably sell at a higher price, and that much sooner if they did.

This particular one might be worth watching because it will make a great rental, as it has a full guesthouse in the back. I’ll keep my eye out for it to come back on the market as an REO.

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Why Inspections Are Important - Especially For Vintage Las Vegas Homes

May 20th, 2008 Categories: Home Repair and Remodel, Huntridge

It’s a standard part of the “Due Diligence” period for a home buyer to get the property inspected. The purchase contract is very explicit that during the due diligence period, the buyer has the opportunity to explore all aspects of the property before making their final decision to go ahead with the purchase.

Beside the opportunity to check things such as the title work, any association documents if there is one, zoning, airplane noise, etc. the Inspection is one of the most important things.

When you hire a professional inspector, they’re going to look at things in the house that aren’t readily visible when we’re out shopping and making the preliminary decision as to which home to buy.

There’s really only FOUR outcomes of the inspection. All four are good for the buyer.

1) A clean bill of health for the property

2) A checklist of minor things that could or should be upgraded, fixed or taken care of someday.

3) An opportunity to renegotiate with the seller when something of significance is found.

4) The inspector finds something so important that the buyer will choose to cancel the transaction instead of being faced with a really big repair.

The transaction that I’m doing right now on a Huntridge home fooled us on the question of electricity. The main service panel in the Huntridge homes had screw in fuses, and only 60 Amp main service. In this home, the main panel was upgraded approximately 5 years ago. From the ground in the back yard, it looked as if things had been taken care of.

All of the plugs and switches were modern looking. But at the inspection, we discovered that none of the plugs are grounded (which is not a terrible thing in itself, but ungrounded plugs shouldn’t have 3 hole outlets).  We also got our first look at the attic space.

Surprise! In between the service panel and the plugs was a mishmosh of old and new. We found old wires  that were spliced to new ones. We found connections without junction boxes, ungrounded old cables spiced into 3 wire new romex, and junction boxes without covers. And the most dangerous, which I don’t have a picture of is splices that didn’t even have caps on them.

The buyer called out an electrician who was horrified at what he saw. There’s so much to straighten out, and once you’re that deep into literally re-wiring the entire home,  permits are required, and the electricity will need to brought up to current code. That means additional plugs in all the walls, separate circuits for the fridge, and a host of other things that normally don’t have to be done to 60 year old homes unless you want to.

I always insist with my buyers that screw in fuse panels be upgraded. It’s the VERY FIRST THING that I did to my 1954 home. Upgrading ALL of the electricity is good to do, but since it often requires opening up the walls it’s usually not done, nor does it HAVE to be. In this case, if the panel upgrade hadn’t involved some very unsafe practices in the attic, then a lot of the new expense could have been saved. We’re currently negotiating with the seller for the cost of the re-wire to be taken off of the price of the home.

The buyer’s key desire is to make the home a showplace of what Huntridge Homes looked like when they were built between 1942 and 1948. But it will have to be a safe home. It’s going to be almost $4000 to straighten out the mess in the attic.

I’ll be telling some other inspection stories later in the week.

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1013 Francis Ave. In The Historic Huntridge Neighborhood Of Vintage Las Vegas

May 11th, 2008 Categories: Huntridge, Las Vegas Real Estate News, OUR LISTINGS

We’re pleased to have been chosen as the listing agent for 1013 Francis Ave. We’re starting to see some of the really nice homes in the vintage and historic neighborhoods come on the market.

Now that prices seem to have stabilized, we can actually figure out what a home is worth, and what it will sell for. We’ve taken into account the new dual pane windows, the new roof, the parquet wood floors, the custom concrete countertops, the lovely front and rear landscape, and all of the other factors that we use to gauge value. We’ve priced this at $255,000. and you or someone you know ought to give me a call to see it.

The “non-investor” buyers are buying again, as we’ve mentioned, and the nicest of the homes are starting to sell.

If you’re buying in Vintage Vegas, you have a huge range of homes to choose from. Most of the foreclosures, are pretty beaten up and broken homes. Some of the homes are so–so, and some, like 1013 Francis have been well loved and well taken care of.

 

 

All of the photos are in the gallery of our featured properties, but I wanted to give you a peek into this legally expanded Huntridge home on a corner lot.

I mentioned the “legally expanded” because that’s not one of the most common things we see in the Huntridge homes. They’ve had every sort of room addition, or carport conversion that you can imagine. Some of them, such as 1013 Francis were done with permits, and the new square footage is reflected in the tax records.  Our MLS system requires us now to only use the square footage that shows in the assessor’s records. Appraisers and buyers alike are not giving as much value to non-permitted additions as they once did.

Our new listing really is 1904 square feet, and all the extra space is distributed evenly thru out all of the rooms. The master bedroom is 11×20 and the other two bedrooms are 11×16 and 12×16.

Give me a call. I’d be happy to show you this lovely home, or to help you with any other.

 

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Cleaning Up In The Huntridge and John S. Park Historic Neighborhoods

April 29th, 2008 Categories: Huntridge, John S Park Historic Neighborhood

Lance Kirk, The president of Huntridge West Neighborhood Association sent some pictures of the block party THAT AREN’T BLUE.

 

 

 

 

 

The Block Party was a kickoff for the cleanup event that happened on Sunday and Monday.

There was a great response, and I caught some pictures Monday Morning of the City crews that were picking up the mountains of stuff that had been put to the curb.

 

This home on Francis Avenue in Huntridge certainly is the prize winner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And speaking of cleaning up, we’re happy to report that the “Welcome To The Historic John S. Park Neighborhood” monument is now graffiti free, thanks to the rapid response team from the City of Las Vegas.

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150 Happy Neighbors Attend Block Party For John S. Park and Huntridge West Neighborhoods

April 27th, 2008 Categories: Huntridge, John S Park Historic Neighborhood

Perfect weather, Pleasant Conversation, Kids on skateboards, lots of food, and a camera with a bad setting. The pictures have a blue cast. Unfortunately, I can’t go back and re-shoot the pictures. Maybe next year!

If you’re neighborhood association wants to have an event, the city and county Neighborhood Services departments can help you to  make it happen. Just ASK!

 

 

 

Hot topics of the conversation included how to get CIRCLE PARK open again, weeds, graffiti, and naturally home values.

I repeatedly told people not to worry about the home prices. It only matters the day you’re wanting to sell. Most of the neighbors I spoke to have NO INTENTION OF EVER MOVING, since they love their neighborhood and their homes so much.  I made the point over and over again, that the historic neighborhoods will recover faster, and the improvement momentum will start to pick up speed again, now that the market seems to be creating a bottom.

We met many people for the first time, and were extremely encouraged that they all wanted to get involved and help to do something.

My first suggestion  is that they should go knock on the doors of everyone in a 10 house circle around themselves, and say hello.

Of course, I suggested that they help us by reporting EVERY graffiti tag the moment they see it.

I asked them to attend Planning Commission and City Council meetings when topics come up that affect us, and to attend and volunteer at the neighborhood meetings.

 

 

Young and old, and in between were there, and everyone had a great time.

 The Vintage Vegas Neighborhoods are fun and energetic and devoted to improving the quality of life for all of our neighbors.

 

 

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Spring Fling Block Party And Spring Clean-up For West Huntridge and John S. Park Historic Neighborhoods

April 19th, 2008 Categories: Huntridge, John S Park Historic Neighborhood

Join Us For West Huntridge & John S. Park Neighborhood Associations

Spring Fling Block Party & Neighborhood Clean-up

Saturday, April 26
Spring Fling
Block Party
6:00 - 9:00 pm
9th St. at Franklin Ave.
BBQ & drinks provided
side dish/dessert potluck
(bring a dish to share)
kids fun, music and more

Sunday, April 27
Neighborhood Clean-Up
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
the city of las vegas will pick up your
items that are left on the curb in
front of your house on Monday, April 28.
(West Huntridge & John S. Park
Neighborhoods Only)

Please help spread the word with our neighbors and look for flyers on your doorknob and in the mail soon.

I hope to see you all there to help celebrate our downtown neighborhood. This is a great opportunity to get to know one another a bit more. Everyone is welcome to attend.

For more information regarding West Huntridge NA, contact Lance Kirk at westhuntridgena@cox.net or 496-2032.

For more information regarding John S. Park NA, contact Bob Bellis at bobbellis@aol.com or 267-8158.

For more information about the neighborhood clean-up, contact Franklin Simpson at the City of Las Vegas at jsimpson@lasvegasnevada.gov or 229-2231

IS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZED AND DOING SOMETHING TO MAKE THE NEIGHBORHOODS CLEANER, SAFER AND IMPROVE PROPERTIE VALUES?

Whether you’re in the city or the county, neighborhood services is willing to help you establish one. Give me a call or drop you me an email, and I’ll help send you in the right direction.
  
  

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Volunteers Perform Beautification Project In The Huntridge And Marycrest Historic Neighborhoods Of Las Vegas

April 6th, 2008 Categories: Huntridge, Las Vegas Real Estate News, Marycrest

Saturday morning, students from Bishop Gorman High School returned to their schools old neighborhood for some community service. They painted fire hydrants, red no parking zone curbs, painted addresses on the curbs, and cleaned up the pocket park at Maryland Parkway and Oakey.

The City of Las Vegas Neighborhood Services and along with Gorman High School, Transitional Living Communities, and Vista Landscape organized the event.

 

The monument sign for the Historic Huntridge and Marycrest Neighborhoods was installed by the neighborhood associations about 5 years ago, but there’s always been an ongoing dispute over who was responsible for keeping the weeds out of it. It’s looked pretty shabby lately, but now that it’s cleaned up, newly rocked, and weed free, maybe we can get everyone involved in keeping it that way.

 

 

Does Your Las Vegas Neighborhood Need A Beautification Event?

They don’t just happen automatically. They don’t happen at all if there isn’t a neighbor or an association pushing for it, and stepping to the plate to make it happen.

Both the city and the county have neighborhood services departments that will guide you and help you to organize one.

The City of Las Vegas Neighborhood Services can be reached at 229–2330.

The Clark County Neighborhood Services Department can be reached at 455–3777

Would A Little Good Neighbor Effort On Your Part Help To Prop Up The Value Of Your Las Vegas Home?

Even if you don’t want to help plan a beautification event, or to be involved in a neighborhood association, there are still things you can do. Every homeowner I know or meet says they want their home to maintain it’s value.

Probably, there’s an abandoned bank owned property on your street. The bank doesn’t care and doesn’t have the time or the manpower to make it look more attractive. I’ll bet one of your neighbors is going to lose their home soon, and has stopped taking care of it. Maybe it’s a senior who lives nearby who can’t afford to have someone keep up the property. In all of these cases, even a little help from you would go a long way to make keep your own home from falling in in value along with theirs.

If the weeds got “miraculously” pulled or mowed down (hint hint), or the litter got picked up, then they might just sell for a higher price. Each foreclosure in a neighborhood AND EACH PROPERTY WITH A NEGLECTED LANDSCAPE causes every other property to lose even more value. How much would it be worth for you to make the foreclosed home, or your own home or the little old ladies home next door to look better so that the sales prices are better? I think it would be a very profitable hour or three of your time.

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*UPDATE* MOVED TO DOWNTOWN COCKTAIL ROOM! Save The Huntridge Theatre Meeting Planned For March 8th, 5pm

March 5th, 2008 Categories: Historic Preservation, Huntridge, Las Vegas History

THE MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE AT DOWNTOWN COCKTAIL ROOM, 111 S. LAS VEGAS BLVD. JUST SOUTH OF FREMONT ST. EVERYTHING ELSE REMAINS UNCHANGED

Josh Geidel, one of our Huntridge Neighbors seems to have grabbed the bull by the horns and is heading up the Save The Huntridge Committee. He’s called for a meeting, and we know there’s a whole lot of you out there that have never gotten involved with anything. As you’ll see i this post and the next one, there’s plenty of need for new bodies and voices. Josh emailed us this:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Many of the Huntridge Homes Still Have Original Siding Shingles - We’re Looking For Some Replacements

February 29th, 2008 Categories: Historic Preservation, Home Repair and Remodel, Huntridge

One of our regular readers in the Huntridge called. Some of the original siding shingles from her home were ripped off during the big windstorm 2 weeks ago.

Her insurance company wants to tear them all off and stucco her home. Fortunately, she’s one of us, and wants to keep the look of the home as original as possible.

I don’t know a source for them, but I’m willing to bet one of you has a pile of them in the backyard. Or, maybe you’re about to remodel, and instead of throwing them away, they can be saved and put to use again.

These same type shingles were used by one of the prolific 50’s and 60’s  homebuilders in Charleston Heights out at Rainbow and Buffalo. 

If any of you know of a stash of them, please contact me.

There’s a huge amount of misconception about this type of shingle. They were made from a mixture of asbestos and cement.

There’s one of those fancy scientific terms used to describe the fact that they’re generally NOT HARMFUL.

Non-friable asbestos-containing material (ACM) is not regulated because it contains a binder or hardening agent such as cement, asphalt or vinyl. Examples of ACM are asphalt roofing shingles, vinyl asbestos floor tiles and transite siding made with cement. ACM products are still being manufactured today. The danger with this type of material is that it can pose the same hazard as friable asbestos during remodeling, repairs or other construction. Burning ACM also creates friable asbestos.

There have been many scams from unscrupulous contractors where homeowners are misled into believing there is a health danger merely by virtue of the products having been used in their homes. There’s are thousands of buildings in every city that have ACM.  The picture from the left is the floor tile we found under the carpet in my own home.

Among the many articles and resources I found while researching this is from The National Park Service Website.

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/recentpast/asbestosarticle.htm