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Holiday activities in Southern Nevada December 3, 2007

Posted by Kenny Wicker in Living in Las Vegas.
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 There are many great holiday activities to keep ones spirit up around the holidays in Las Vegas.

To start with lets start with the lights. The Springs Preserve is one of Las Vegas newest light attractions to check out in the coming weeks. I have not been there yet so the holiday lights give me great reason to check out the preserve. There is a free child’s admission with each clothing donation.

The Ethel M. Chocolate Factory lights  up its tremendous Cactus Garden for the holiday. This is a free attraction but I have never escaped without having to buy the kids some chocolates.

Then there is the Gift of Lights at Sunset Park. Admission is $13 dollars per car, however there is a $2 discount with the donation bag for Goodwill.

There are also a few good Ice Skating opportunities around the Holidays. Lake Las Vegas sets up a floating rink for the Holidays. More information can be found at Vegas.Com

The Galleria at Sunset also has a ice skating rink set up for the Holidays with the grand opening this Friday December 7th. You will also find the Santa Times on this website.  Also check the other mall websites for Santa times at Fashion Show Mall, The Boulevard Mall, The Meadows Mall, Caesars Shopping Forum.

At the District at Green Valley Ranch there are Carolers beautiful lights and a Menorah Lighting.(This is one of my wife’s favorite place)

Another great activity I enjoy this time of year is a trip to Mount Charleston. There are some good sledding opportunities in and around Kyle and Lee Canyons. I always enjoy a trip to the Mount Charleston Lodge(the old lodge all the way at th top) here you will find dining, dancing, live entertainment cabin rentals and sleigh rides. Oh and my favorite a Mount Charleston Coffee.

If you would like a ride on the Santa Train you can visit nearby Boulder City. For the Polar Express there are two oppurtunites within a easy 3-4 hour drive of Las Vegas. The Grand Canyon Railway offers a unique experience and the option for an overnight package. The Northern Nevada Railway in Ely Nevada(my hometown) also offers the Polar Express experience. Ely is a great small town nestled at 6400 feet in the mountains of Northeast Nevada. There is many great sledding,  snowshoeing and cross country skiing opportunities in Ely this time of year.

Well there you go for now. I am sure when my wife gets home she will remind me of many ones I have forgotten. Happy Holidays to All!

To view thousand of new and resale homes in the Las Vegas area please visit www.ItsSold.com

My Favorite Master Planned Communities In Las Vegas and Henderson November 9, 2007

Posted by Kenny Wicker in Buying Real Estate in Las Vegas.
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 To view thousands of New and Resale homes or for additional info on these and other great communites please visit: www.ItsSold.com

There are many nice master planned communities of Southern Nevada. One of the largest and most popular is Summerlin, located on the west end of the valley Summerlin offers some tremendous view of the city and the mountains. There are many exceptional parks and some great shopping and dining in the area.

 In the Northwest end of the Valley lies one of the newest master planned communities Providence. This is a very new master plan that is very nice. Just to the east of Providence lies Silverstone Ranch, which is base aroung the Silverstone Golf Club. Now even further east is Alliante and Sun City Alliante.

Now lets swing out to the southwest end of the valley were you will find Rhodes Ranch and one of the most popular new master plans in Las Vegas Mountains Edge. These are both very nice master plans for those who prefer the new southwest part of Las Vegas.

Continuing to the south end of the valley just west of I-15 lies Southern Highlands boasting one of the finest private golf clubs in all of Las Vegas, great parks and walking trails.

Now just to the east of the I-15 is one of my favorite new master plans in Inspirada. This is a unique master plan with Henderson address. This communitie is based around many common gathering places, giving Inspirada a great communite feel.

Just up the hill from Inspirada lies Anthem, Anthem Highlands and Sun City Anthem. This tremendous hillside community boasts some wonderful parks, golf coursed, walking and biking paths and some great views of the Las Vegas Valley.

Seven Hills is in this area, and it also offers some great hillside homes with great views. There are many great resale homes and custom lots available in this neighborhood.

Just a little further to the east is the Green Valley Ranch, this has many great amenities including parks, walking paths The District and The Green Valley Ranch Casino. This master plan hold a special place in my heart because this is were my wife and I purchases our first home.

Now let move even further to the east to the newer master plan of Tuscany Village on the border of Lake Las Vegas. This is a very nice affordable golf course community.

And right next door Lake Las Vegas with its great Golf Courses, Lake, Beach Club, Casino’s and Great shopping.

There are many other great communities in the Las Vegas area. I just decided to quickly touch on these ones today. Have a tremendous day, week, month and year!

                   

Great Outdoor Activities Around Las Vegas October 22, 2007

Posted by Kenny Wicker in Living in Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas known for its great adult style entertainment, is also a great place to enjoy some outdoor fun. Unfortunately to many people miss out on the great outdoors of Las Vegas.

Lets start with Lake Mead the second largest man made lake in the world. Lake Mead offers great boating, water , jet skiing, scuba diving, wind surfing and fishing. Below the Hoover Damn at Willow Beach there are some great rafting and kayaking opportunities. This is an amazing experience deep within Black Canyon.

Then in nearby Boulder City you can find skydiving, dry lake beds to ride all terrain vehicles and some great mountain biking at Bootleg Canyon. There is also some wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities including Bighorn Sheep grazing in Hemenway Park.

Red Rock Canyon on west side of the Las Vegas valley, offers some wonderful hiking and rock climbing opportunities. There is a thirteen mile scenic drive with many great hiking opportunities along the way. My favorite is Oak Creek Canyon which is the last hike you get to on the thirteen mile loop. It is a little longer hike to get to the canyon but the payoff is great and it is a less crowded. You can also access this trail outside the loop it is however even a longer hike to the canyon There are many great biking and motorcycling opportunities in and around the Red Rock area.

Mt Charleston is also a short drive from Las Vegas, there are many great hikes and trails for mountain biking in both  Kyle Canyon and Lee Canyon. There is a small ski resort at the top of Lee Canyon the Las Vegas Ski and Snow Board Resort. Though it is a small resort there are some challenging runs and you can squeeze in many a day trip during a winter in Las Vegas. There are some great campsites on the Mountain  and around Las Vegas, more info in this can be found in this article from the Review Journal.

Then you have The Valley of Fire, yet another hour trip away. With its great hiking trails, wonderful camping sites and petroglyphs. It is great place to visit and one place where I have truly felt like I was on another Planet.

For the golfer Las Vegas offers over thirty public golf courses to play, and numerous others within an easy one hour drive. For more information on area golf course please reference LasVegasGolfCourses.com or LasVegasGolf.com.

I could go on and on but I have to run for now. Here is another article from the Review Journal that shows why Las Vegas is a great city for the outdoor enthusiast. It quotes an article from National Geographic that puts Las Vegas at the top of list of adventure towns.

To view thousands of new and resale homes please visit www.ItsSold.com

Why It’s Time To Buy Again In Las Vegas October 15, 2007

Posted by Kenny Wicker in Buying Real Estate in Las Vegas.
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If you are looking to buy a home in the Las Vegas area soon, you are in a great position. With the large inventory of new and resale homes in the area, your leverage as a buyer has never been greater. Builders and sellers are at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiations. There are many great incentives available through new home builders, and seller contributions are becoming the norm in today’s local real estate transactions.

 

The influx of foreclosed homes and short sales on the market is causing the average seller to become more realistic about the price they are asking for their homes. As well as the banks with they’re swelling inventory are much more open to negotiations then they were a few years ago.

 

Next,  interest rates are at hovering around all time lows making payments verry affordable. And even though lending guidelines have tightened substantially, there are still many good programs available to first time home buyers and buyers with good credit.

Forbes Magazine just listed Las Vegas as one of the ten cities in the country where it makes sense to buy now. The article bases its findings on housing stats that show housing inventories and sales rates in markets that are experiencing declining prices. But because there is likely going to be an increase in sales, there is a good opportunity to buy now.

The Las Vegas economy remains strong- with great job growth, constant progress and construction, and one of the fastest growing populations in the country.

No one really knows where the bottom of the current real estate market is. But I believe now is the time to buy in Las Vegas. Once the market starts to turn it will happen fast, and once it does happen your negotiation power as a buyer will be greatly minimized. You basically know what you have in today’s market. You do not know what tomorrow may bring, so if you have been on the fence waiting for the bottom it may be time to take the leap of faith and get out there and take advantage of this tremendous buying opportunity.

Thats all for now, please visit the ItsSold.com  website to view thousands of new and resale homes in the Las Vegas area.