NODs and TDs stayed virtually flat this month, while NOSs declined.  August saw 682 NODs up slightly from 674 in July.  NOSs came in at 519, down sharply from 573 in July and to their lowest level since February 2010, but corresponding to the major drop off in NOD action earlier in the Spring.  TDs fell sightly to 294 from 298 in July.  The chart is here.

NRES bought 3 properties at Trustee’s Sales this month, and sold 11 of their growing inventory.  Looks like they are cutting back a bit.

One of the stranger listings to hit the MLS in the last week is 4705 Alpes.  $3,478,000 and apparently built for cash.  The MLS listing has been changed - a couple days ago it included wording that for a full price offer, you also got APN 126-294-26.  This turns out to be a 4356 SF unbuildable Incline Village lot that the owner bought for $15,000.  I guess you could use it for picnics?

Another interesting one is 6513 Galena Canyon Trail.  Purchased for $1,622,500 in October 2005 and now listed for $1,475,000.  The news isn’t the price hit, but who the seller is.  The rumor has also been floating around that the Winnemucca Ranch / Spring Mountain project is being shopped about.   And I haven’t seen much action on the tree-farm-for-carbon-credits project up north, either.

Kalifornian got a pretty interesting general discussion going about how to invest $350,000 cash in the Reno real estate market.  Think about how specifically you might recommend doing it, and some of the optional strategies out there.  I’ll put up a post with some of my (bonehead) ideas over the weekend and it will be interesting you see your ideas added in.

Finally, and unnamed reader proposed this update to the RRB masthead.  You crack me up - JoAnn/Mike looks like the skinny guy from Brooks and Dunn!  Thanks for making my week! 

I’m a bit tardy on posting these, but for those readers who follow the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS^® Monthly Market reports below are links for July’s reports.

• Click here for July 2010’s Reno Monthly Market Report
• Click here for July 2010’s Fernley Monthly Market Report

Reprinted with permission by the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS®.

9232 Lone Wolf is a modest house located in the Villas @ Sky Vista subdivision in Stead.  It was purchased new in July 2004 for $190,947 (median was $304,300 that month).  The first loan was a 30 year fixed for $181,399 through First Horizon.  In February 2005, the home was refinanced for $206,500 on a 125% Option ARM mortgage through World Savings.  A $40,000 HELOC was taken out on February 2006 through Wachovia, the successor to World.  A NOD was filed in November 2009 on a missed April 2009 payment.  The house sold in a Trustee’s Sale to a 3rd party on 16 July 2010 for $43,392.63.

That looked like a deal, even for the deflated Stead market.  On closer review, though, it turns out that the NOD and NOS were on the $40,000 HELOC and not on the 1st mortgage.  There has never been a filing on the 1st, and it might even be current (though I doubt it).  Did our buyer wonder why none of the pros on the courthouse steps were bidding on this "steal"?  Has he figured out what he bought yet, or what that great sucking sound is?  My guess is the house had been vacated, and the new "owner" doesn’t know yet.  The upcoming NOD on the 1st pasted to his door will be his first clue.

We’ve talked about how rare foreclosures on 2nd mortgages are, but they do occasionally sneak into the system.  This one was probably initiated by accident by Wells Fargo who inherited Wachovia who inherited World Savings, and different departments weren’t communicating.   Normally, the bank would have had no bidders at the Trustee’s Sale, and would just take back the second.  No harm, no foul, just a waste of legal and filing expenses.  Not this time.

WooHoo - Dickson has taken over the Somersett Welcome Center sales office, and Somersett Development Company sheds more staff.  The HOA is already getting huffy about a commercial use in "their" building.  The Village Center retail and office complex was scheduled for a Trustee’s Sale yesterday, but I don’t know if it got postponed again or went through.  More later.

There is action at our favorite formerly $1.5M log cabin at 2615 Erminia.  Back at the original $633K listing price, a party did a thorough due diligence run and made a $430K offer, which the bank rejected.   Asking price has steadily decreased to its current $460,900.  There has been a new offer submitted that appears to be in lender limbo or again rejected (dog walkers get all the scoops!).  I think the offer is overly rich, and the bank would be foolish not to accept it.  Again, more later.

Interesting action at the Montage - they listed 4 units on the MLS this week, which means a realtor (and commissions) are involved for the first time - search for 255 N Sierra.  You list to gain exposure, which makes me wonder if the waiting list of cash buyers the Montage was touting has run out after the first release.  Everything is still all cash (thanks, JoAnn).  A group named RJR Properties has picked up 8 units and is leasing them out.  An informal interest list of people looking to lease Montage units has extemporaneously formed at the front desk and is over 125 parties long.  Maybe Starwood/FDIC should start looking at the leasing option as the highest and best use of our bailout tax dollars?

The most annoying listing on the MLS is slowly dying.  720 Hill in Verdi has shown up in at least 30 incarnations over the couple of years it has been marketed.  The property FINALLY went TD this week, but the listing still won’t totally go away. 

If you are interested in the Siena Hotel Spa Casino, REreno has started a series about the property, its history, the parties involved, the bankruptcy proceedings, and the family feud behind the whole situation.  I’ve seem some of what REreno has in their arsenal, like the list of Siena creditors that includes  just about every vendor in Reno.  Seriously, it is 434 pages long.  This will be a good one to follow.

www.mayberrycanyon.com.  I cringe at even publicizing it to the hordes here, but I could use your comments to help make the site better and keep Dyson in gourmet kibble a while longer.  Paying you to take the properties off my hands is off the table (at this point).  I’m targeting the one-sy builder/developer and trying to give them enough data to get intrigued.  Big ass signs will go up on site next week.  What should I do to intrigue them?

Enough for tonight.  Any thing else you are seeing that is blob-worthy?

Update:  Thanks to Tom Daly for pointing out the "frankly scary" Wall Street Journal article naming Reno as the worst market in the US for conservitive housing investment.  Any thoughts?

  So here it what is selling in the NW for new construction over the last 45 days, and some new stuff in the market:

-  Breckenridge has sold and closed on 4, all on Hogadon.  1472, $357,295, $150 psf.  1478, $271,254, $154 psf.  1485,  $230,968, $131 psf.  1479, $272,450, $132 psf.  They are building like crazy way ahead of contracts.

-  Lennar’s Grand Summit has closed 3, all on Clear Vista.  1072, $218,950, $136 psf.  1052, $199,950, $132 psf.  1060, $219,950, $136 psf.

-  Sierra Canyon closed on 3, and the construction pace down there is frenetic.  I don’t think these are inventory houses, but pre-sales.

-  Toll Brothers are just about ready to open their new model home in Sonterra on Back 9 Trail in the ‘Sette.  No news on the square footage, but they are stating prices from the high $300’s.  It seriously looks like they have lopped the back half off their standard designs for this model.  No joke.  The free standing 1 car garage / casita looks like a dwarf compared to the scale of the main house.

-  I did an unofficial and unauthorized tour of the two new homes in Talon Point on Woodcrest.  1635 is a 3295 sf wonder listed at $525,000 or $159 psf.  Huge for a 3/3, but there are a lot of "flex" spaces.  1645 is listed at $495,000 or $162 psf.  My reaction was that these were vestigial plans from 2005 with bedrooms turned into flex spaces.  Both were seriously stupid plans with courtyards that didn’t act as focal points.

I didn’t research Lennar’s Laurel Ridge, not to be confused with Laurel Ridge in Somersett, part of which got foreclosed as part of "The Ledges".  Though 1725 Laurel Ridge in Somersett is listed at $599,000 for an unbuilt Homecrafters house for $154 psf.  This is basically Diane’s plan without the finished back yard.  Sees a little rich for the market.

For my money, I’d be looking at Breckenridge.  Awesome views.

Keep you eyes on the Siena.  I’ve been consumed with tracking the details behind the Siena Hotel Spa Casino BK, both for the investors and the local media.  This will be a big story, and you will hear about it on RRB first!

The members of Somersett County Club (SCC) have apparent been give the ultimatum - buy the course or it will close or go BK or both.  I’ve been told that there was a 10 day time line on the notice, so there should be action this week.  In a letter to homeowners, Somersett Development explained the situation (and a little about the Town Center) here.

Who is SCC?  There is a LLC and an INC registered, one of which is the "owner" and the other the "manager".  LLC   was established 10/4/2002 and Somersett Development LTD is the sole manager. Somersett Development’s sole director is Smith Realty Finance.  Smith Realty Finance’s director positions are all held by G Blake Smith.   SCC Inc.  may be the operator.  Blake is listed in all the board of director  positions on the filing with the Secretary of State, originally filed 5/23/2003.  The two liens for unpaid dues identified “Somersett Country Club” as the plaintiff but didn’t’t identify Inc. or LTD.  However, the Assessor has all the land that the golf course occupies owned by Somersett Development.  The only recorded document  on SCC is a water document, but it is worth a look, as it identifies who owns what, at least at that point in time.

For the record, all the 18 hole golf course in Somersett is owned by Somersett Development LC per the Assessor.  Not SCC.

So watch for Somersett to be breaking news this week.  A golf community without a golf course, excepting the putt putt course owned by the HOA.

Sparks was named one of the most attractive up-and-coming small market cities for operating a high-tech manufacturing facility in the West, according to a national study by New Jersey-based, The Boyd Company, Inc.

Sparks, Nevada was ranked 10th best among 45 areas surveyed by the company.  Read the RGJ story here: Sparks gets Top 10-ranking in high-tech manufacturing

I received the letter below from a reader of the blog.  In the letter he describes the situation of a friend of his who is underwater on his home and is faced with the decision to “walk away”.  He has asked that I post his letter and ask the blogosphere for its comments.  He is sincerely interested in hearing your thoughts.

 
Love your blog and have been reading it for a couple of years.  I even posted once as ‘homebuyer2009′ back in May of 2009.  Anyway, I have a suggestion for a topic on your blog and would love to read comments from your readers.   Background:  I have a friend who is recently divorced but was able to keep the house because the spouse was helping pay the mortgage (form of Child Support).  However the spouse has now lost his job and is no longer able to help in that way.  My friend bought new in Cold Springs in 1997.  The house is now worth LESS than the 1998 purchase price.  Ok, so given the background, would this be a true statement regarding having to walk away (foreclosing): “You simply do not have the option to get out of your house any other way when life circumstances require you to leave.  The traditional ‘Sell and Move’ concept is no longer an option in Nevada because of the housing crisis.”
 
Now this statement is assuming that like most of us, there is not enough equity in the house to breakeven, there is no other income or equity that can be used to maintain payments. 

Love to know what you think.

-  Foreclosure action for July 2010 remained pretty steady, which is probably a bad thing for us, all in all.  NODs increased to 674 from 638 in June and 639 in May.  NOSs were down to 573 from 600 in June and 582 in May.  TDs ticked up to 298 from June’s 294, but down from 327 in May.

-  124 Trustee’s Sales were scheduled for this week.  62 were postponed, 34 were canceled, 23 went back to the lenders as REOs, and 5 were purchased by third parties.  Inclinejj tracks similar stats for various markets he is interested in, and Reno Is WAY above his numbers for cancellations.  Last week, there was a tag on the site for one property that I had never seen before - "Brought Current".

-  One interesting postponed property was the Somersett Town Center, which was supposed to go to sale on the 30th.  They got a 3 week reprieve, and are back on the courthouse steps August 21.

-  NRES bought 11 TD properties, and sold 8, most notably 2525 W Lake Ridge Shores which was the site of the eviction standoff and fire a couple weeks ago.  Greenstreet bought 3 and sold 2.  Wood is Good bought 4 but didn’t sell any.  ROI Strategies didn’t buy, but sold 2. 

-  The NOS of the week was for the Boulevard South project at Double R and South Meadows Parkway.  Originally envisioned at a 1700 unit condo project in towers up to 40 stories high over a 5 story retail and parking base.  One corner of the site was to be a Four Corners Marriott hotel, and another piece was supposed to become the Bordeaux, and high end retirement complex.  Both to look dead, too.

 - Great Time to Buy a Home -   This gem from the President of the Nevada Association of Realtors was in the Homefinders insert to the RGJ Saturday.  Is this a reprint from a 2005 article?

 -  Radioreference is a really cool web site that showed up in some comments on the RGJ this week.  You can listen to police, fire, EMT, and air traffic control scanner traffic where available.  I’m already addicted to the Reno feeds.

-  123Cam syndicates a bazillion web cam feeds from around the world.  It is raining in Dubrovnik as we speak.  It is a whole lot of fun.

-  Siena - What a mess.  Some of the investors have contacted me and provided some pretty shocking documents.  But I need a mole from inside to speak about how the hotel vs. casino operations are doing, and ant other information you my know.  My email link is at the bottom of the page, and I’m as confidential as you ask me to be.  Always.  I hate that Reno’s downtown is being held hostage in what comes down to a family feud, so spill your guts!

Just another month gone by for Reno real estate.  Feel free to go off on tangents!  It’s only a blog.

 First a couple new listings, then some trips down memory lane:

-  Remember a few years ago when the market for homes below $200K simply didn’t exist?  It is only recently that  the under $100K market has been addressed, but now there is a market for SFRs under $50K.  Some of them are actually pretty interesting, but others are like 15019 Cuprite which listed today for $49,900 (make sure to view the enlarged pictures!).   Purchased in June 2003 for $212,292, HELOCed a couple times and then refinanced by WFB for $184,500 in July 2007 with a 40 year fixed.  I’m not sure if the "moisture issue" was the reason for the default, but the last mortgage payment was in August 2009.

-  301 E 4th Street  may not register with you until you realize that it is Louis Basque Corner.  For $699,000, you get the restaurant space and,either 23 per the listing or 32 per the Assessor, hotel units.  This building hasn’t changed ownership control for generations, and I’m not sure if Louis is actually the owner or a tenant.  Sure hope they aren’t planning to go anywhere - Louis is a Reno institution.

-  Remember the IHOP house?  Bought by a contractor for $169K as a short sale, the blue roof is now asphalt shingles, the redwood exterior is now stucco and faux stone with some fake craftsmanish detail, the west wing was demolished and rebuilt with higher ceilings (aesthetics or structural problems?). Here’s how it looks today 1 and 2.  Too bad about that 200 foot new sewer line replacement which had to hurt.  We will see how this one plays out if it hits the market.

-  The log cabin on Erminia is listed as "new" for the third time since January.  Ferrari Lund had it for the first month, then Greenstreet took over (worst graphics ever - you can’t read the for sale sign from 20 feet away), and now Ferrari has it back.   After consistent reductions, it is now listed at the same $485,100  Greenstreet last showed.  An interesting perspective from a neighborhood dog walker - every time the asking price got reduced, showings and interest in this house also fell off.   Maybe here’s why:  If it sells at $400K, the buyer will have to come up with $80K down and have about $150K in cash reserves to complete the required maintenance (including a complete re-chinking) and to install landscaping.  There just aren’t that many buyers with that much cash who want a log cabin overlooking a freeway and the headaches required to bring this house to its maximum potential as a $600K home in this market.  What does a cord of firewood go for these days?  It could be Erminia’s ultimate fate.

-  1475 Palisade  and here has been completed (well, mostly) and appears to be occupied by the new owner.   Was it worth it all?  1005 Kit Carson in Verdi is another one of these houses abandoned during construction that I’ll post about when the bank finally gets around to listing it. 

Hope there is something here that piques your interest and generates some feedback and discussion that doesn’t make me run back to my Samuelson Econ 1001 textbook.  I actually get a lot of entertainment value out of reading the comments on the original posts.