[MyCitiData]

Greetings to all you wonderful Las Vegans! My first time posting here and would like to seek some advise from the experts.

I'm from NJ and needless to say I'm tired of living here. I'm seriously considering moving to Las Vegas so in a couple of weeks I'll be doing my recon trip to LV to see if it is right for me.

I'm planning to spend 4 days here (Sat to Tue) and do Airbnb so that I can see what it is really like to live in LV. I'll be renting a car and will be driving all around the different neighborhoods, good and bad, to get an idea. Centennial Hills, Summerlin, Henderson, Lake Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, etc... checking out some single family, condos, and townhouses. My goal for this trip is not to find the neighborhood I'll ultimately be living in but to see if LV is a place I would want to move to. Once I decide that, I'll sell my house in NJ and move out here and rent first. So my second mission for this trip is to see a few rental apartments so I have an idea which to rent when I move out here. Once here, I'll have time to settle on a neighborhood and look for a house to buy. Does this plan sound OK?

I also have a couple of questions that I hope you guys can help me with:
1) For this trip, should I get a real estate agent to take me around? If so, any recommendations? Not sure if true but I've heard that if I look at new constructions by myself and give them my info, I would give up my rights to have my own agent represent me later on? If so, should I find an agent now?
2) Any good rental apartments suggestions for around $1100 to $1400 a month?

Thanks!!!

[yellowsnow]

Before I would encourage anyone to move here, I would tell them to visit in the summer. Seriously, you need to see it at it's worst...115 degrees for days at a time. It looks wonderful here when we are suffering through 65 and 70 degree days and it's below zero where you live.

Next you need to take a hard look at the job situation. If you can transfer or move your job with you, great! If you have to come here and look for work you need to know salaries are very low and there are few jobs with benefits. The majority of the positions available here are low pay serve the customer.

[airics]

Yes come in the summer. I don’t know if I would buy since prices are high. I don’t think it’s going to drop in price. I think it will be flat. I’m selling and getting out

[MyCitiData]

I wanted to come in the summer but I also planned to move by the summer if things work out so it might be too late. I understand the extreme heat but I consider myself to be more "heat tolerant" than most. We just had a couple of weeks of temps in the teens and below so I'll take the heat any day :-)

My plan is to keep my job and remote full time so it shouldn't be an issue.

Yeah, home prices are very high now in LV so will have to see when is a good time to buy.

[ny2lv]

Your plan sounds fine! We moved from NY and find the 110 degree dry heat more tolerable than the steamy 85 degree in NY and not missing the winters at all!
I'm not too familiar with apt' rentals, but there is plenty available within your budget, unlike NY-NJ!
Check the crime map, some bad areas you may want to avoid to be safe while driving around and not much to see there.
Good luck with your trip, hope you'll like it here

[BigAl456]

Hello there!

In 2017, I moved to LV from the Mid-West so like you, I know cold winter weather. The summer in LV made me nostalgic for snow and cold, seriously. I traded being stuck in the house due to winter weather to being stuck indoors due to heat. Extreme heat. Only I would bundle up and go outside during cold and snow.

The late fall and winter weather here is fantastic. Not sure about spring/early summer as I arrived here in June. I'm hoping last year was simply above average temps and that this summer will be cooler (yeah right!). If not, I'm planning my next move.

Another thing that's really nice here though...not driving in snowy/icy conditions!

I live in the Enterprise or Mountain's Edge area. There are new apartment complexes springing up all over. One in particular on Blue Diamond and Buffalo Rd. I looked in Lake Las Vegas, too secluded and over priced for my liking. North Las Vegas has a bad reputation from what I've heard but I've seen some nice looking subdivisions there. Summerlin looks like a great place but I couldn't afford what I liked there. Henderson has some really nice areas too.

I purchased new construction and had a realtor, although he wasn't with me when I went into the model homes. It was a spur of the moment thing when I saw this complex when driving around on the weekend. I told the sales agent at the model that I was working with a realtor and he was able to represent me and he received a commission from the builder. Have fun looking around!

[justthe2ofus]

You don't need a real estate agent for this. You need to do as any good Las Vegan would do and that is,....
go with your gut. This is instinctual. It's about feel. Especially since you don't have a commute.

I don't know what size unit you're looking to rent but there's plenty out there in that price range.

[08grad]

Originally Posted by airics

Yes come in the summer. I don’t know if I would buy since prices are high. I don’t think it’s going to drop in price. I think it will be flat. I’m selling and getting out

I'm debating between selling or holding and renting it out since I'm paying about a third of the property tax that I should be paying. Just paid off the mortgage.

[MyCitiData]

Thank you for everybody's reply and suggestions. Very helpful and please keep it coming.

Yes, Along with the harsh winter we also have very hot humid summers here in the Northeast. I think I'll be ok putting up with the extreme dry heat in the summer and enjoy the rest of the year in LV :-)

For those looking to sell and get out of LV, any particular thing that makes you want to leave?

[N804SY]

Henderson Henderson Henderson!

I moved out here in 2002. I spend most summers out of town for work but be advised it's hot but doable..