[acl]

I'm looking at a place in Isla at South Shores in Summerlin/ Desert Shores. The zip is 89128. Can anyone give me advice about either the complex or the neighborhood itself?

7620 Secret Shore Dr. las vegas, nv.

Thanks in advance.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by acl

I'm looking at a place in Isla at South Shores in Summerlin/ Desert Shores. The zip is 89128. Can anyone give me advice about either the complex or the neighborhood itself?

7620 Secret Shore Dr. las vegas, nv.

Thanks in advance.

Very nice rental very bad buy. If you are renting go for it. If you are going to buy say so and I will run a quick check. Last time I looked though they were very close to unsaleable.

The reason is that condos have been very hard hit by competition from low priced REPO single families. That condo is a conversion from an apartment which has been hit hard by the conventional condos coming down in price.

Some of the Secret Shores units back to commercial...though it is not bad commercial. It is however a very nice complex...and in a very nice neighborhood. Convenient to everything. You can actually walk to stuff if you chose.

[Kabrasco LaFonz]

I'm actually in the process of buying one of these myself. Indeed, have gotten hit hard by the downturn, but I'm getting a very good deal, paying cash, should make $450/mo for a 6.5-8.0% ROI depending on expenses.
It is very quiet, and near some pretty good shopping to the east, but bordered by nice residential all to the west and north. One of the reasons it is so well maintained is that the HOA is very high (not your concern if you are only renting) which does make it hard to compete with cheaper single families and even most other condos from an investor standpoint. All the units I have seen there were in very good shape, and weren't dated in appearance.
I see allot of condo communities all the time, and for whatever reason those stuck out with me as being some of the best ones in the price range that I look at. I went by a couple times at midnight on a friday and saturday night, and you could almost hear a pin drop which is a good sign.
Fwiw, other nice though still quite reasonably priced communities I have seen and lost bids on recently are 10001 Peace Way (I forget the name) and Morgyn Ridge. Both located in the SW.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Kabrasco LaFonz

I'm actually in the process of buying one of these myself. Indeed, have gotten hit hard by the downturn, but I'm getting a very good deal, paying cash, should make $450/mo for a 6.5-8.0% ROI depending on expenses.
It is very quiet, and near some pretty good shopping to the east, but bordered by nice residential all to the west and north. One of the reasons it is so well maintained is that the HOA is very high (not your concern if you are only renting) which does make it hard to compete with cheaper single families and even most other condos from an investor standpoint. All the units I have seen there were in very good shape, and weren't dated in appearance.
I see allot of condo communities all the time, and for whatever reason those stuck out with me as being some of the best ones in the price range that I look at. I went by a couple times at midnight on a friday and saturday night, and you could almost hear a pin drop which is a good sign.
Fwiw, other nice though still quite reasonably priced communities I have seen and lost bids on recently are 10001 Peace Way (I forget the name) and Morgyn Ridge. Both located in the SW.

I tend to agree that it is best of breed...I also like Adagio down Buffalo at Vegas...also a very nice plant. I however remain skeptical. I see law suits coming by the dozen. And I think a number of them will turn out to have roots in LLCs that vanish when the legal issues hit. I think an agent selling one has bet get deeply into really pointed disclosures. Otherwise you gonna get sued when the LLC goes away.


For an investor the Villas at Desert Shores may even turn out to be a better deal. I think they are gonna end up at $75 an SF or less. A great location though the complex has turned into a disaster. I would not sell one to an owner occupant. But they are actually very nice units and appear to be getting cheap enough for Section 8. I expect that place to end up half section 8 - Really interesting. Very low cost subsidized housing in the corner of one of the nicer suburban master plans around.

[acl]

we're renting, so it looks to be great news for us. i was concerned that the crime map shows it in the orange and we can't look before we leap since we're moving from seattle. quiet is GREAT.

Kabrasco LaFonz, were you able to access a website for the complex? how is the pool area (s)?

[Kabrasco LaFonz]

Not really sure what you mean by website for the complex. I did see the pool but didn't bother looking up close, a few families hanging around there since they got some picnic tables and what not... only time I saw people congregated in an area. Pretty standard issue.
Neighborhood to the N and NW seems ideal for walking dog and what have you.

I'll be renting out a 1 BR 1 BA as of June 6th in case anyone reads this and is interested just PM me.

[dude66]

I rent a house in Desert Shores. The area is very nice and it's one of the few places in the city where I don't feel like I'm living in the middle of the desert.

Not perfect though. Crime is more of an issue here than some might think. A couple days ago a neighbor down the street from me came home to find a pair of thieves in the process of robbing her house. It's not like we've got a crimewave or anything, but there have been several robberies in the area, and they tend to cluster in the condo/apartment complexes.

On the other hand... we've got the lakes. Can't beat 'em!

Luckily, I don't pay HOA fees, my landlord picks those up. They must be a fortune considering the small army of landscapers that's required to keep the common areas looking nice -- not to mention the astronomically high water bill to keep the lakes full (I've heard $50,000/month!) That's actually one thing that concerns me. If foreclosures pick up steam... if a nasty recession takes holds... then it's a certainty more people will skip on paying HOA fees and Desert Shores is one neighborhood that could quickly go to to dogs if not properly maintained. It's not an issue yet, but it could depending on how this whole housing mess turns out. Something to keep that in mind. Just do a Google news search for articles about communities in other states facing this very problem -- dwindling HOA fees leading to vanishing services.

[barryhussein]

I revived this thread because I just went through an exchange of offers on one of these units. 659 SF 1/1 downstairs unit. It had a washer/dryer combo, a real nice kitchen, and was in good shape. After six months, they lowered the price to 42,500. I offered 37,500. They informed me that there was pending litigation, but wouldn't be specific. I would still have 10 days to check it out (if my offer was accepted). The countered at 40,900. I said 40,000. They gave it to someone else. My offer was all cash. I think it would have been alright; the high HOA fee troubled me a bit. Nothing like paying for a nice place for someone's dogs to take a dump. These folks have been a little slow responding. They will take 10 days to respond; then, they want an answer in one day. Use caution, go in low. $60 per square foot. That unit sold for 145K in 11-2005.

[Las Vegas Mommy]

I actually like Desert Shores, I did a bit of work over there in July05, lasted a few months. The area was always nice and quiet, and the interior of the Condos are
very nice.....Ok, Im just digging the granite counter tops...hahaha
I actually like the HOA, and last time I checked, they were nowhere near Bankrupt.
I may even be able to check into the water issue for ya if you want. Lemme Know

[olecapt]

Be a little careful. Isla is not in Desert Shores...it is in South Shores. Difference is access to the Lakes, pool and clubhouse. Not anything definitive but certainly a consideration.

The Villas at Desert Shores has begun to move a bit. One investor partnership appears to be buying the 3BR units. We may have seen the bottom pricing on that complex.

In general I would expect the legal documentation to show up in the HOA package. I doubt very much that the RE Agent knows what it is until then unless he does multiples in the development. I can tell you all the litigation in Sun City Summerlin but I would not know about Isla...likely though a standard condo defect suit.