Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Realtors organize new-home contingency purchases
Smith Team operates Nevada Builder Trade In Program
Buying a new home and becoming its first owner is exciting, but needing to sell another home to make the new-home purchase possible leads to doubts.
The Nevada Builder Trade In Program is there to help make buying a newly constructed home on contingency smoother with the professional guidance of the Smith Team at Keller Williams Las Vegas. Robin and Robert Smith operate the program in Southern Nevada.
“We, at the Smith Team completely understand how the thought of buying and selling a home at the same time can be overwhelming. The process can be confusing and, at first glance, you may ask yourself how buying a home on contingency works,” Robin Smith said.
“Should you sell your home first and then visit neighborhood sales offices? Or, should you visit model homes, choose your new home and then sell your current one? Will builders reserve a home for you while you sell yours, even in today’s competitive homebuying market?”
Through the Nevada Builder Trade In Program, the Smith Team works with the home shopper and the builder so that the home shopper’s desired home can be bought while the Smith Team sells the current home.
“We’ve been helping homeowners buy homes from Southern Nevada builders on contingency since 2014, with homes typically selling in 30 to 60 days through the program. Because of our nearly 30 years’ experience working in Las Vegas real estate, we understand the dynamics of the market, what buyers look for in a home, and price it for sale accordingly,” Robin Smith said.
Among the hundreds of clients who have bought a new home on contingency through the program is Deb Williams, who recently received the keys to her new home at one of 50plus neighborhoods being constructed by builder-partners Beazer Homes, CalAtlantic Homes, Century Communities, Pulte Homes, Woodside Homes and Sun City Mesquite by Del Webb.
“Last summer, I began looking for a new home because I wanted to downsize,” she said, adding that she had to sell her previous home to make that happen.
Like the 100-plus other neighborhoods where the Nevada Builder Trade In Program is offered, hers offers residences in different stages of development, from close to move-inready, in the middle of construction and home sites to be released.
She learned about the program while visiting her neighborhood’s new-home sales office, and she discovered the strategies behind the program’s success rate while meeting the Smith Team.
During the initial meeting, the Smith Team meets a potential Nevada Builder Trade In Program client in his or her home to explain the program, assess the current home’s features and condition and provide a complimentary market analysis or projected price for which the home could be listed for sale. The Smith Team also provides advice if there are any minor improvements or repairs that could help boost the potential sales price.
“Today, with the increasing home sale prices, you may be able to sell your home for more than you ever thought if you just take your time to prep and stage your home before listing your home for sale with photos. Homes that appear to be move-in-ready are attracting buyers and sometimes bidding wars,” Robin Smith said.
For those who choose the Nevada Builder Trade In Program, the Smith Team lists, markets and sells the home at a reduced commission while offering the buyers’ agent the standard 3 percent commission.
For additional information, call the Smith Team at 702-460-5080, visit ISellLasVegas.com or inquire at a builder-partner neighborhood.
Juhl, a 344–residence, loftstyle community that spans an entire city block in downtown Las Vegas and known for its flexible floor plans and industrial chic design aesthetic, announces its partnership with The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute (BMI) at UNLV to launch Juhl’s Writer in Residence program in downtown Las Vegas. The new initiative, a first of its kind, is the next generation of Juhl’s Artist in Residence program launched in 2016 with celebrated Nevada visual artist Justin Favela as the community’s first artist in residence.
The Writer in Residence program and partnership with BMI provides an opportunity for select BMI writers to live and work rent-free at Juhl in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. The residency includes a two-level, live/ work space at Juhl with a ground-level studio space of approximately 1,000 square feet and approximately 1,000 square feet of living space on the second floor.
According to Uri Vaknin, a partner at KRE Capital LLC, whose company, in partnership with Dune Real Estate Partners, purchased Juhl in 2013 as DK Las Vegas, Juhl is a mecca for artists and innovators in downtown Las Vegas because of its location between the Arts District and the Fremont East Entertainment District.
“Juhl’s architecture and contemporary design aesthetic naturally attract artists and creative types who appreciate the community’s progressive vibe,” Vaknin said. “And, as work on a future modern art museum at Symphony Park progresses, downtown Las Vegas is continuing to evolve as an arts community. Juhl is ideally positioned in the center of it all, and given my personal passion for the arts, I am delighted to help forge this relationship with the Black Mountain Institute that evolves our Artist in Residence program to include thought leaders, writers and literary luminaries, bringing them to downtown Las Vegas for lively discussions and gatherings of all kinds.”
“The Black Mountain Institute fosters creative life in Las Vegas through its award-winning magazines and programs with artists ranging from breakout voices to winners of the MacArthur Fellowship, the Academy Awards and Nobel Prize in literature,” said Joshua Wolf Shenk, BMI’s artistic and executive director. “We’re delighted to with Juhl, one of the spots in town, and t a nexus between an tional artist commu the vibrant life of do Las Vegas.”
Sara Ortiz, BMI’s n program manager, w assumed her respon with BMI after runn grams for the Texas Association in Austi