About Las Vegas' Seven Hills

The co-founders of $1.5 billion fund have long resumes highlighted with mortgage, FHA, Wall Street and financial regulation experience in executive positions. Richard Stewart Jr., CEO of Heritage Capital Resources and Peter Monroe, CEO of National Real Estate Ventures, have carefully assessed the turbulent state of the national housing market and decided to pool their talents to buy and sell distressed real estate. In doing so the plan is to "help return foreclosed homes to productive use, prevent many foreclosures and also allow us to work with banks, servicers and federal agencies to reduce evictions."

Their forward-looking joint venture has also formed a close strategic alliance with Partners in Action, or PIA, a non-profit organization that has for years helped first-time home buyers via the HUD-sanctioned Affordable Housing Program. Currently it is heavily involved in assisting troubled homeowners with loan modifications and lease-purchase options that would let them stay in their homes.

The REO, or real estate owned, fund is set to work together with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, FDIC and the Treasury to seek workable solutions to this financial calamity. Not only that, but it also aims to maximize returns for the investors on board.

This partnership is a good example of how a private enterprise can work together with the government in finding answers to common problems. When something like this is structured correctly it can turn out nice returns, monetary and otherwise, for both sides. From the looks of this fund it'll do just that.

Is the traumatized Las Vegas real estate market going to be one of the joint venture's priorities? At the moment no one knows, as a more specific plan of action is probably just now being put together. If it calls for heavy involvement in Southern Nevada - in communities like Henderson, Summerlin, Green Valley, Seven Hills and Eldorado - it would certainly help stabilize the still fluid situation here. Home prices have in many neighborhoods dropped below replacement cost, as several industry experts are saying, so that in itself offers excellent investment opportunity. Which ought to be incentive enough to give Sin City a careful look.

The real estate market has been pumped up nicely with the up to $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit, Las Vegas definitely being one of the beneficiaries. Many renters go for it here and acquire good homes that have become very affordable during the prolonged housing and mortgage slump. The program runs through November, 2009, so those thinking about it should get their ducks in a row pretty soon.

To claim the credit is relatively simple, basically requiring the filling-out of form 5405, sending it in and the qualified money should be coming within a couple of months. That and as it goes with any program anyway, there are always going to be abusers. Some borrowers think that they can get away with falsifying applications and collect some undue cash in the process.

IRS, however, is keeping a keen eye on this, using smart computer screening software to catch fraudulent filings. It has a few dozen criminal investigations under way around the country right now, involving individual mortgage borrowers and tax preparers.

Some of the key abused or misunderstood categories that will negate an application are:

- Purchasing a property when one spouse is ineligible.

- Buying a home from a "related person", like parents, children, grandparents, grandkids and spouse or from a corporation or partnership where the borrower holds over 50% ownership.

- Becoming a homeowner via an inheritance or gift.

- Earning too much money - over $95,000 for singles and $170,000 for married couples filing jointly.

- Funding the purchase with a tax exempt bond program.

It's better to know in advance whether the borrower qualifies or not. It's generally not much fun to be subject to lengthy IRS audits and potential penalties.

The community of Seven Hills is located to the southwest of Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, NV., in the southern end of the Las Vegas Valley. It's terraced into the foothills of the McCullough Mountain Range, often referred to as the 'Black Mountains' as they are part of a long extinct ancient volcanic range that extend to the Black Canyon of Hoover Dam and end at the flat topped 'Fortification Hill' on the Arizona side of Lake Mead.

It adjoins the Anthem Community with it's Sun City Anthem and Maderia Canyon to the south. Sunridge and Canyons at McDonald Ranch and Crystal Ridge are also close by. Another neighboring community is Inspirada with homes from Toll Brothers and KB Homes, to mention a few.

Seven Hills wraps around the Rio Secco Golf Course and many of the homes offer a variety of views in this attractive development. From the course to mountains in several directions, and Strip and city lights throughout the valley. Of course the well landscaped streets and gardens offer their own pleasurable sights and compliment the views that can be seen just driving to your home.

The prestigious estates found here currently have resale properties ranging up to $6.75 million, for homes that can reach to as much as slightly over 12,000 square feet. As you can see this is offering tremendous value with today's market. These custom homes can be 2 and 3 story with some offering basement levels, and others with elevators and other amenities, located within guard gated neighborhoods on generous sized lots.

As with most Las Vegas Valley communities you'll find a wide variety of individual neighborhoods and price ranges within the large Master Plan, with most others gated and some not. From the luxury estates I've mentioned, you can range to something much smaller. 1 bedroom, 1 bath condos in Horizons at Seven Hills Ranch on the north side of Sunridge Heights Pkwy at the base of the project have some currently listed as low as in the mid $60,000's. Townhomes and smaller single family homes at the moment are listing in the upper $100,000's and up. Of course you can find homes with prices and features in between the top and bottom of the scale. So there are a number of choices available in every range that offer amazing values over just a few years ago.

Whatever neighborhood fits your budget, there are a selection of parks and trails found within Seven Hills. There are tennis and basketball courts, along with pavilions, playgrounds and open space, that offer something for all ages. Shopping is just moments away with a commercial corridor found along Eastern Ave., and it's convenient to St Rose Hospital and it's surrounding medical facilities. In March 2009 the M Resort is scheduled to open along St. Rose Parkway, and they've added additional acreage to that project with current plans to add a 1 million square foot mall in the next few years.

So on to the pictures that will give you a feel of what this prestigious Las Vegas Valley community has to offer. To see the pictures full screen, instead of using PLAY, click the HD / Full Screen button on the bottom of the player below, and when finished click it again or use the ESC key to return.

Can't see the XML Flash player embedded in the current posting? To view this , or all my other Las Vegas slideshows including some of the interesting neighborhoods and events found in and around the Las Vegas Valley, CLICK HERE.

If you are interested in relocating to Las Vegas or would like information on Las Vegas real estate, please email me, Roberta LaRocca, at roberta@search4lasvegashomes.com, or call me at 702-354-8988. I look forward to hearing from you!

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