Category Archive : Investing

LAS VEGAS, NV – Members of the Nevada state legislature are currently mulling over legislation that, if passed, would institute a ceiling on the amount that landlords could increase the rent of their tenants, with the cap tied to the local cost of living index for the rental unit’s surrounding area, a number that would be determined by the Nevada State Housing Authority.

In addition, the legislation in its current form would also mandate that landlords would be prohibited from imposing any rent increases upon a tenant during the first year they inhabit the unit in question. 

The bill – authored by Nevada State Senator Pat Spearman – also includes language that would officially declare a housing crisis in the state if it were passed.

“A minimum-wage earner would need to work 62 hours to afford a studio apartment,” Senator Spearman said to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee last week, adding that women and people of color are disproportionately affected by the affordability gap when it comes to housing options.

Senator Spearman also noted that approximately 30 percent of single-family homes in Nevada are currently owned by investors.

While several groups have come out in support of Spearman’s legislation, there is also a fair amount of opposition to it as well; State Senator Jeff Stone – who rents out properties himself – expressed concern over a clause in the bill that pertains to the degree of profit a landlord can gain from their rental units.

“How do you define reasonable return on investment, when there are so many variables that different landlords have to contend with?” Stone asked, who said that simple mom and pop landlords – among whose number he counts himself – to be disproportionately affected if this bill is passed in its current form.

“To create all these bureaucratic pathways that I have to go through to justify what I can charge a tenant, not to charge 5 percent when inflation is 8.5 percent, you’re already requiring landlords to take a 3.5 percent hit,” Stone said.

Stone said another clause in the bill governing new construction does not do enough to incentivize new housing developments and only offers an advantage to large-scale investors.

“You are going to hinder investment,” he said. “And if you hinder investment, it’s going to exacerbate the supply and demand issues that we have here in Nevada.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Construction of the greatly anticipated Dream Las Vegas hotel-casino project has been “fully stopped” after developer Bill Shopoff revealed this week that his funding has temporarily dried up, leaving him owing approximately $25 million to $30 million for work on the resort.

Despite the whopping debt he owes currently, Shopoff – President and CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments – is insisting that the project is only briefly halted, and that work will resume “once the terms of the financing are finalized.”

Work has fully stopped at the site, other than anything required for safety,” Shopoff said.

Construction on Dream Las Vegas broke ground on Las Vegas Boulevard last year and is slated to take a different approach from the massive mega-resorts that the city is known for, offering a “smaller, boutique-style experience.”

Shopoff – along with his partner in the project, Contour CEO David Daneshforooz – said that he is in “active” discussions with his lender, and that he anticipates the kinks in his funding to be worked out within the next month or so.

“Clearly, we’re delayed on getting some financing,” he said, explaining that some of the issues regarding Dream’s funding are tied to skyrocketing loan interest rates caused by the record-high inflation plaguing the country.

Currently, the budget for Dream is in the neighborhood of $550 million to $575 million; until now, Shopoff and Daneshforooz have been paying for its development with cash out of their own pockets, and are currently negotiating with their lender for a $400 million plus loan.

Development for Dream is being spearheaded by contractor McCarthy Building Companies, whom Shopoff insisted will be paid and will continue work on finishing the 531-room hotel-casino.

Obviously people want to get paid for their work, and we want them to be paid,” Shopoff said. “They will be paid, and the project will get built.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Roots Homes is a Las Vegas-based startup that is helping residents of the city to achieve the dream of buying a home via a process known as “fractional homeownership,”  

Fractional ownership in real estate is when individuals own a percentage of a property and share usage rights. Fractional ownership splits the cost of an expensive purchase among several people, and Roots Homes feels that this method can be helpful to millennials and Gen Z individuals who may be facing an uphill battle saving up the funds needed for a down payment. 

Roots co-founder Lauren Self noted that their first client moved into a home in November, and that their tenth client is set to move into their home this week. 

“Our primary purpose is to help people access the largest wealth-building tool that Americans have access to in their whole entire lives, which is homeownership,” she said. 

Self said that she hopes that fractional homeownership – as opposed to other alternative means of acquiring a home, such as rent-to-own – will put more Southern Nevada residents in the path to owning their own homes by allowing them to move from being a tenant to being an actual property owner, a plan that Las Vegas Realtors President Lee Barrett said is “really creative.” 

“It’s not a new concept,” Barrett said. “But it’s a really interesting concept on how it’s broken it down. So I think it’s a good idea.” 

How it works is simple- Roots clients sign a lease for 12 months for a Roots-owned home, during which their monthly payments cover all expenses while ten percent of those payments is set aside toward building equity in the home. No down payment is required. 

However, if a client wants to pay more each month in order to build equity faster, they have that option as well, and at any point during the lease, they have the ability to purchase the home from Roots outright if they are able to.

Roots clients need to have a credit score of over 600 and a monthly income that is three times the monthly rent. 

Fractional ownership offers financial flexibility to individuals looking to buy a home and allows them to live in the house for a year or two to make sure they truly like it before they buy it. 

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Due to a desire to escape the overwhelmingly high taxes in their home state, reports indicate that scores of California companies have been flocking to Las Vegas in recent months due to Nevada’s far more “business friendly” tax structure.

Among the top destinations in Nevada that these newly transplanted companies are heading for are Las Vegas, Henderson, and Reno; these three cities alone are in the top ten throughout the overall United States locations that California businesses are heading for in an effort to lessen their overhead expenses and free up funding for investment in their local communities.

Essentially, Southern Nevada is becoming one of the premiere destinations for companies looking to flee the Golden State to get more bang for their buck, according to financial analyst Steve Budin.

Nevada has long had a reputation of being a business-friendly state,” he said.

Las Vegas Valley realtor Anthony Luna concurred with his associate’s sentiment, noting that California companies currently make up a large percentage of his business, with out-of-state investors currently funding 56 new construction projects under his watch.

Local business owner Austin Pena noted that his company has saved millions of dollars after relocating to Nevada.

It has helped us understand the value of a dollar and how we should be as efficient as possible,” he said.

One of the main factors that are drawing numerous businesses to Southern Nevada is the fact that the state does not have a warehouse tax, an advantage that California cannot boast of; this accounts for the large number of companies that deal in warehouse goods that have been uprooting their operations and relocating to Las Vegas these days.

Another factor driving California businesses to come to Nevada is that commercial space back home is becoming extremely limited; in particular, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find warehouse and office space combined in California, whereas such accommodations are easy to come by in Nevada.

And finally, it can be said that Nevada’s “business-friendly” tax structure also benefits the state’s residents as well, as the taxes paid by new companies setting up in the state will go to funding public amenities such as schools, firehouses, police stations.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Talonvest Capital, Inc. and their client, Metropolis Development Group, have announced that they have successfully acquired a $12.2 million construction loan they will utilize in building a large, cutting-edge storage facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Talonvest Capital, Inc. is a boutique real estate firm that, as per their website, provides “advisory services to commercial and self storage real estate investors, owners, and developers throughout the United States.” The firm boasts “four decades of institutional knowledge and expertise from the team members to deliver better capital solutions for its clients.”

According to the website of Metropolis Development Group – Talonvest’s client in this endeavor – the development firm has 85-plus years of experience in constructing “self-storage projects in underserved areas and brings new purpose to buildings and land in the self-storage arena.”

The two entities have combined their talents and, this week, have closed on a 36 month, $12.2 million loan to develop 910 climate-controlled storage units across 90,921 net rental square footage (NRSF) along North Rancho Drive within half a mile of US-95, a section of Las Vegas that is considered a “high demand market” in terms of commercial storage space.

Scott Looney, Managing Member of the Metropolis Development Group, noted that he was impressed by the Irvine, California-based Talonvest’s ability to navigate the red tape normally associated with acquiring sizable construction loans, and that his firm was looking forward to breaking ground on the upcoming project.

“This was our first time working with the Talonvest team and we were very impressed with what they delivered,” he said. “Their extensive relationships with lenders, capital expertise, and attention to detail made for a seamless transaction process and great results.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis recently purchased three industrial buildings – one of which being the unfinished practice facility of the WNBA Las Vegas Aces – for $56 million, increasing the NFL team’s foothold in Southern Nevada even further. 

Davis purchased the three buildings, which are situated next to the Raiders’ Henderson-based headquarters, from Matter Real Estate Group.

The Aces’ 80,000-square-foot training complex is currently new, albeit unfinished, and once construction is expected to be completed in March 2023, and anticipated to include numerous amenities such as a weight room, daycare facility, player lounges, a lecture hall, and more. 

The Aces were originally purchased by Davis from MGM Resorts International in 2021, and in September 2022 the team won the WNBA Finals against the Connecticut Sun. 

The Raiders have a major real estate footprint in Las Vegas, including 60 acres of land purchased for $77.5 million in 2017 upon which their current home field – Allegiant Stadium – stands, as well as 55 acres of land in Henderson purchased in 2018, where they constructed a 300,000-square-foot practice facility and headquarters complex. 

An additional 20 acres of land adjacent to Allegiant Stadium was also purchased by the Raiders for $44 million that will mainly be used for a parking facility. 

Davis is also in the process of building a 15,000-square-foot home located within a luxury master-planned community in Henderson called Ascaya which will feature a man cave, professional kitchen, bar, steam room, library and 5,500-square-foot garage. The home is costing the Raiders owner $14 million, but currently its overall completion date is still up in the air. 

As for the aforementioned three industrial buildings that make up Davis’ most recent acquisitions, their exact intended use – aside from the Aces’ training facility – has yet to be revealed. 

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Las Vegas has been on the comeback trail in a variety of ways since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, and 2023 promises even bigger and brighter things to come. But it’s always important to learn from and reflect upon the past, and the top real estate transactions of 2022 prove that – despite some setbacks encountered along the way – the Las Vegas marketplace is once again becoming red hot.

The top five Las Vegas real estate transactions of 2022 were, in no particular order:

Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta made some major waves when he spent a whopping $270 million in June on a 6.2-acre plot of land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue that will become the home for a currently unnamed 43-story, 2,420-room hotel-casino.

Next up is Formula One, who purchased approximately 40 acres east of the Las Vegas Strip at Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane in June for $240 million, upon which they are constructing a new race track that is scheduled to debut in November 2023, at which time it will host a 50-lap Grand Prix race.

Also of note is MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay’s properties coming under the full ownership of Vici Properties, who was previously the landlord of those establishments. Vici, which had owned a 50.1 percent stake, announced that they are in the process of buying the remaining 49.9 percent from New York-based financial firm Blackstone for $1.27 billion in cash, giving them full ownership going forward.

Next  on the list is Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg, who purchased 2.5 acres in Summerlin’s The Summit Club for $15.6 million in July, followed by another Summit Club residence in August for $14.5 million. The actor noted that the hefty acquisitions were not only so he could become a Nevada resident, but so that he could also use his purchases to construct movie studios in an effort to make Las Vegas “Hollywood 2.0.”

And finishing off the list is Station Casinos’ purchase of about 126 acres at Las Vegas Boulevard and Cactus Avenue for $172.4 million in July, as part of the company’s efforts to increase their foothold in Southern Nevada by 50 percent.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Claudio Fischer, a former commercial airline pilot turned real estate millionaire, is currently attempting to bring his goal of opening a resort on the famed Las Vegas Strip into reality after being forced to place the project on the back burner when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Fischer is in the midst of negotiations in his native Santiago, Chile with Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) President and CEO Steve Hill and Chief Financial Officer Ed Finger to purchase a 10-acre plot of land – the former location of The Riviera – located on the southeast corner of Las Vegas and Elvis Presley boulevards.

Currently, the deal being discussed is for Fischer to acquire the property for the sum of $120 million. Originally, the parties in question appeared close to cutting a deal in March 2020, but when the pandemic occurred – halting Las Vegas’ economy and shuttering its casinos for an incredible 78 days – all involved agreed to put the project on hold until things had cleared.

The land that The Riviera had once stood upon was purchased by the LVCVA in order to allow them to finish the development of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall, while leaving 10 acres of the property undeveloped with the intention of selling it down the line for a potential resort.

As the pandemic wore on, the parties kept in touch and waited for the right time to progress on the project; currently, according to Hill, the deal is slated to be closed by December 15 at the latest.

If the deal goes through, the LVCVA will still be allowed to use the land for parking and outdoor convention exhibits up until Fischer begins construction, for which he has a deadline to start of January 1, 2031; if he has not begun the project by that point, the LVCVA would then have the option to buy back the property.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The long-abandoned Las Vegas White Sands Motel site – with the pool empty, existing building boarded-up and encircled with barbed wire fencing, now home to a stray cat colony – has been listed on the local real estate marketplace for $1.5 million by the estate of late owner Spartaco Colleli, in the hopes that even the most dilapidated property in Southern Nevada can fetch a healthy sum from the right investor.

The former motel – located on a 1.1 acre parcel of land on Las Vegas Boulevard, across from the Luxor Hotel and Casino – is being auctioned off on a website called Ten-X, which is accepting bids from December 12 to 14. The listing claims that the property’s “redevelopment opportunities are endless” due in-part to its proximity to Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, and other well-known establishments.

Currently, it’s unknown if any bids will be made upon the property, or how much money overall it will generate in an auction; however, the building – originally constructed in the 1950s – is currently in a substantial state of disrepair, having been the target of vandalism and squatting by homeless people and cats for years.

With that being the case, the motel will most likely be torn down and the land re-developed if it does indeed sell next month, with the property likely used for some sort of tourist attraction due to its prominent location on the Las Vegas Strip.

The White Sands Motel site has been unsuccessfully put on the open market several times over the years for various asking prices. It was initially offered for $25 million in 2016, then for $18 million in 2021, and finally $12 million in spring 2022, with no takers each time. The $1.1 million starting price for this new auction represents the lowest amount it’s been advertised for yet, and experts believe that this may finally push buyers to take the plunge.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Growth Holdings, a Las Vegas-based holding company, has received a construction loan in the amount of $85 million towards the development of Otonomus Las Vegas, an apartment complex slated to be comprised of both residential and short-term rental units.

Otonomus Las Vegas is planned to be completed and to begin welcoming tenants during the fourth-quarter of 2024, and will be comprised of 303 fully-furnished units boasting numerous luxury-minded perks, such as stainless steel appliances, granite and quartz countertops, tile backsplashes and LED lighting.

The apartment complex – developed by Growth Airo 1, LLC – will take the form of a building that will be comprised five stories, and its living units will share a number of specific design aspects, such as open floor plans, 10-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, and private balconies.

Tenants will also have access to a number of swanky amenities, such as a cutting-edge fitness facility, a clubhouse, multi-functional meeting space, three courtyards with picnic and barbecue areas, lounge areas, and two resort-style pools with cabanas.

In addition, Otonomus Las Vegas will have a retail component as well, with 38,000 square-feet being available to businesses such as restaurants, office space, and various shops, among others. The first floor of the building will be dedicated to retail, whereas the remaining second through fifth floors will be comprised of tenant living space.

Otonomus Las Vegas is being developed in collaboration with Airbnb and is being built at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Russell Road, which is only a seven-minute drive from Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. And while first introduced in Las Vegas, Growth Holdings have indicated their plan to expand the Otonomus concept to Japan and other countries around the world in the future, if this initial endeavor is successful.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The Mirage Las Vegas is slated to transfer operations next month from MGM Resorts International to Hard Rock, the gaming arm of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, marking the first time that a Native American tribe will run a resort casino on the famed Las Vegas Strip in its long history.

The Seminole tribe has developed extensive hotels and resorts for gaming on some of their reservations, and in 2007 the tribe bought the Hard Rock Cafe franchise for $965 million, including 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Since then, they established the Hard Rock Cafe brand in their hotels and casinos. They now have a total of seven casinos.

Hard Rock announced that it had purchased the rights to operate The Mirage in December 2021 for an eye-opening $1.075 billion; currently, no immediate changes are anticipated, with the resort’s iconic volcano show expected to continue functioning as usual for the time being.

Once the shift in operations is complete, The Mirage will be switching from its current MGM Rewards program to Hard Rock’s Unity Rewards customer loyalty program, and eventually the name of the resort itself will be re-branded with the Hard Rock name, with extensive renovations transforming the building’s façade to the same trademark guitar-style shape as other Hard Rock resorts.

However, The Mirage will remain operating under its current moniker and form for the time being, as reports indicate that MGM has licensed the Mirage name and brand to Hard Rock for three years, royalty-free.

Despite that, it is expected that the venue may be closed for a period of time after Hard Rock takes over in order to make changes, renovations, and improvements where needed, although this has yet to be officially announced and may not prove to be the case.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A local developer, who already has a new rental property in the works in downtown Las Vegas, is now eyeing constructing additional properties in a traditionally underserved section of the city – the Historic Westside – that would greatly benefit from the addition of new rental units amid great demand.

Developer Sam Cherry of Cherry Development’s plans for a five-story, 84-unit rental property that is slated to include an additional 10,000 square-feet of retail and office space, was approved last week by the Las Vegas City Council.

The project is to be built upon a city-owned one-acre plot of land near Washington Avenue and Interstate 15 that Cherry had previously purchased for a mere $6; the tiny fee was due to the fact that the apartment complex is aimed at providing housing for local workforce members.

Cherry noted that the retail aspect of the Historic Westside development will likely consist of food and beverage establishments, as well as other types of businesses; the project in total is anticipated to cost approximately $22 million, with the official groundbreaking expected to take place in 2023.

Cedric Crear, one of the members of the City Council that voted to approve the project, stated that he was unable to remember the last time that anyone had built any sort of housing in Historic Westside, and it is hoped that Cherry’s work will spur additional development in the region.

Cherry had previously opened a 63-unit rental complex in Las Vegas’ Arts District two years ago, and currently has an 84-unit project underway on Fremont Street that is expected to be completed in January 2023. These projects are addressing a housing shortage in Las Vegas’ downtown area, something that local officials have said is sorely needed.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.