Nevada For Sale By Owner Real Estate & Mortgage Resource
Whether you're looking to buy a Las Vegas FSBO, Sell a Las Vegas FSBO, Finance a Las Vegas FSBO or get title insurance for a Las Vegas FSBO Transaction we have your Las Vegas for sale by owner needs covered! We've also gathered some information about the Las Vegas area so you can learn more about the area before beginning your FSBO journey.
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark
County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for the gaming
industry, shopping, and entertainment. Las Vegas, billed as The Entertainment
Capital of the World, is famous for the number of large casino resorts and their
associated entertainment, ranging from comedy and music acts to prizefighting
championships and stage productions like Cirque du Soleil. The city's tolerance
of various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and
this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television
programs. Outdoor lighting displays are everywhere on the Las Vegas Strip and
are seen elsewhere in the city as well; as seen from space, Las Vegas is the
brightest city on earth.[3]
Established in 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. With the growth
that followed, at the close of the century Las Vegas was the most populous
American city founded in the 20th century (a distinction held by Chicago in the
19th century). As the 28th most populous city in the United States, Las Vegas is
one of the most populous cities in the American West.
The name Las Vegas is often applied to the unincorporated areas of Clark County
that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas
Strip. This 4.5-mile (7.2-km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside
the city limits, in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester.
Las Vegas (English: "The Meadows") was named by Spaniards in the Antonio
Armijo party, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along
the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 1800s, areas of the Las Vegas Valley
contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or meadows (vegas
in Spanish), hence the name Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas SignJohn C. Frémont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3,
1844, while it was still part of Mexico. He was a leader of a group of
scientists, scouts and observers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young
assigned 30 missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led
by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population to
Mormonism. A fort was built near the current downtown area, serving as a
stopover for travelers along the "Mormon Corridor" between Salt Lake and the
briefly thriving colony of "saints" at San Bernardino, California. However,
Mormons abandoned Las Vegas in 1857. Las Vegas was established as a railroad
town on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres (44.5 ha) owned by Montana Senator William
A. Clark's San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, was auctioned off in
what is now downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas was part of Lincoln County until 1909
when it became part of the newly established Clark County. The St. Joan of Arc
Catholic Church near 4th and Bridger in downtown was founded in 1910.[4]Las
Vegas became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911.
Gambling was legalized on March 19, 1931 in the city and the opening of Bugsy
Siegel's Flamingo Hotel on what would become the Las Vegas Strip on December 26,
1946. Various events have had an impact on the city. The Hoover Dam was
completed on October 9, 1936 and atmospheric nuclear testing was conducted at
the Nevada Test Site (1951 to 1962). On November 21, 1980 a Hotel fire at the
MGM Grand, devastated the city and State of Nevada. On November 22, 1989 the
opening of The Mirage began the era of megaresort casinos.
Economic history
Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west, and became a
popular railroad town in the early 1900s. It was a staging point for all the
mines in the surrounding area, especially those around the town of Bullfrog,
that shipped their goods out to the rest of the country. With the proliferation
of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important, but the completion of the
nearby Hoover Dam resulted in a substantial growth in tourism, which, along with
the legalization of gambling, led to the advent of the casino-hotels for which
Las Vegas is famous.
The city owes almost all its current status and reputation to the American
mafia. All of the original large casinos were managed or at least funded under
mob figures Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky.[5]
The constant stream of tourist dollars from the hotels and casinos was augmented
by a new source of federal money. This money came from the establishment of what
is now Nellis Air Force Base. The influx of military personnel and casino
job-hunters helped start a land building boom which still goes on today.
Although the city's gambling economy continues to expand, in 2006 gambling
revenues in the Macau Special Administrative Region in the People's Republic of
China surpassed those in Las Vegas, making Macau the largest gambling center in
the world. With revenues in excess of $10 billion for 2007, Macau is poised to
surpass the entire state of Nevada in gambling revenues. Due to the gambling
boon in Macau, many traditional Las Vegas casino developers, such as Steve Wynn,
are pursuing multi-billion dollar projects in its expanding market. There is no
evidence as of yet to suggest that gambling growth in Macau is shifting growth
away from Las Vegas.[6][7]
Geography
Typical desert scene in the Las Vegas area.
Topography
Las Vegas is located at 36°11′39″N, 115°13′19″W (36.194168, 115.222060)[8].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 131.3
square miles (340.0 km2), of which, 131.2 square miles (339.8 km2) of it is land
and 0.1 square miles (0.16 km2) of it (0.04%) is water.
The city is located in an arid basin surrounded by mountains varying in color
from pink to rust to gray. City elevation is around 2030 feet (620 m) above sea
level. The Spring Mountains lie to the west. As befits a desert, much of the
landscape is rocky and dusty. Within the city, however, there are a great deal
of lawns, trees, and other greenery. Due to water resource issues, there is now
a movement to encourage xeriscapes instead of lawns. Another part of the water
conservation efforts include scheduled watering groups for watering residential
landscaping.
Las Vegas
Climate
Las Vegas' climate is an arid desert climate (Koppen climate classification BWh)
typical of the Mojave Desert, in which it is located, marked with very hot
summers, mild winters, abundant sunshine year-round, and very little rainfall.
Temperatures in the 90s °F (mid-30s °C) are common in the months of May, June,
and September and temperatures normally exceed 100 °F (38 °C) most days in the
months of July and August, but with very low humidity, frequently under 10%. The
hottest temperature ever recorded is 117 °F (47 °C) set twice, on July 19, 2005,
at McCarran International Airport and July 24, 1942, at present-day Nellis Air
Force Base. Winters are mild and usually are cool and windy, with the majority
of Las Vegas' annual 4.49 in (114 mm) of rainfall coming from January to
March.[9] Winter daytime highs are normally around 60 °F (16 °C) and winter
nighttime lows are usually around 40 °F (4 °C). The coldest temperature ever
recorded is 8 °F (−13 °C) set on January 25, 1937, at present-day Nellis Air
Force Base. Showers occur less frequently in the Spring or Autumn. July through
September, the Mexican monsoon often brings enough moisture from the Gulf of
California across Mexico and into the southwest to cause afternoon and evening
thunderstorms. Although winter snow is usually visible from December to May on
the mountains surrounding Las Vegas, it rarely snows in the city itself.
Although temperature and precipitation records for Las Vegas dates back to the
early part of the 20th Century, official temperature and precipitation records
for Las Vegas date back as early as 1937.
Las Vegas is situated on the arid floor within Clark County. Correspondingly,
the surrounding environment is dominated by desert vegetation and some wildlife,
and the area can be subject to torrential flash floods. Enabling the rapid
population expansion was a major addition to the city's sewage treatment
capacity. The sewage treatment expansion resulted from a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency grant funded 208 programs to analyze and forecast growth and
environmental impacts through the year 2019.
Redevelopment
The south end of the Las Vegas Strip in 2003.
The Mirage
Caesar's PalaceWhen The Mirage, the first Megaresort, opened in 1989, it started
a movement of people and construction away from downtown Las Vegas to the Las
Vegas Strip. This resulted in a drop in tourism from the downtown area but many
recent projects and condo construction has seen an increase in visitors to
downtown.
A concerted effort has been made by city officials to diversify the economy from
tourism by attracting light manufacturing, banking, and other commercial
interests. The lack of any state individual or corporate income tax and very
simple incorporation requirements have fostered the success of this effort.
Having been late to develop an urban core of any substantial size, Las Vegas has
retained very affordable real estate prices in comparison to other western U.S.
cities. Consequently, the city has recently enjoyed an enormous boom both in
population and in tourism. However, as a New York Times series on the city
reported in 2004, the median price of housing in the Las Vegas Valley is now at
or above the nationwide median. The urban area has grown outward so quickly that
it is beginning to run into Bureau of Land Management holdings along its edges,
increasing land values enough that medium- and high-density development is
beginning to occur closer to the core.
As a reflection of the city's rapid growing population, the new Chinatown of Las
Vegas was constructed in the early 1990s on Spring Mountain Road. Chinatown
initially consisted of only one large shopping center complex, but the area was
recently expanded for new shopping centers that contain various Asian
businesses.
Downtown Las Vegas: The Fremont Street Experience outside of Binion's Horseshoe
Casino.With the Strip expansion in the 1990s, the downtown area (which has
maintained an old Las Vegas feel) began to suffer. The city made a concise
effort to turn around the fortunes of downtown. The Fremont Street Experience (FSE)
was built in an effort to draw tourists back to the area and has proven to be
popular in that regard. The multi-level Neonopolis, complete with 11 theaters
(managed by Galaxy Theaters, Inc.), was built to offer more retail opportunity
and services. Many highrise condo projects have also been underway as downtown
is transforming into a livable neighborhood. Other promising signs emerged for
the area. The city had successfully lured the Internal Revenue Service
operations from the far west of the city to a new downtown building that opened
in April 2005. The IRS move is expected to create a greater demand for
additional businesses in the area, especially in the daytime hours.
Newport Lofts high-rise development under construction with newly finished Soho
Lofts in the background.The city purchased 61 acres (247,000 m2) of property
from Union Pacific Railroad in 1995 with the goal of creating something that
would draw more tourists and locals to the downtown area. In 2004 Las Vegas
Mayor Oscar Goodman announced plans for the Union Park Development which will
include residential and office high-rises, The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, an
academic medical center, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and a new
City Hall. After failed negotiations with The Related Co. on the development of
Union Park in October of 2005, San Diego-based Newland Communities was chosen by
the city as the new development firm. The Newland contract calls for Dan Van Epp,
Newland's regional vice president and former president of the Howard Hughes
Corp., to oversee his company's work on Union Park. The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute
is expected to be completed in 2007.
Along with the Union Park Development, other promising residential and office
developments have begun construction around downtown Las Vegas. New condominium
and hotel high rise projects have changed the entire Las Vegas skyline
dramatically in recent years. Many large high-rise projects are planned for
downtown Las Vegas as well as the Las Vegas Strip.
Fremont StreetThe city council of Las Vegas has also agreed on zoning changes on
Fremont Street, which allows bars to be closer together, such as the Gaslamp
Quarter of San Diego. It is expected that this change will bring more tourism
and business to the downtown area.
In 2004, the city partnered with Cheetah Wireless Technologies and MeshNetwork
to pilot a wide area mobile broadband system. The pilot system is installed
downtown, around the Fremont Street Experience.
In 2005, on a lot adjacent to the city's 61 ac (247,000 m2), the World Market
Center opened. It is intended to be the nation's and possibly the world's
preeminent furniture wholesale showroom and marketplace, and is meant to compete
with the current furniture market capital of High Point, North Carolina.
On October 23, 2006, plans were unveiled to build a World Jewelry Center in
Downtown's Union Park. Similar to the World Market Center, the WJC will be a one
stop shop for jewelry trade shows from around the world. The project proposes a
57-story, 815-foot (248 m) office tower.[10]
Economy
New York casino
Interior of the Circus Circus casino. A major part of the city economy is based
on tourism, including gambling.The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have
been the confluence of tourism, gaming, and conventions which in turn feed the
retail and dining industries. Several companies involved in the manufacture of
electronic gaming machines, such as slot machines, are located in the Las Vegas
area. In the 2000s retail and dining have become attractions of their own.
Tourism marketing and promotion are handled by the Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority, a county wide agency. Its annual Visitors Survey provides
detailed information on visitor numbers, spending patterns and resulting
revenues [2].
The Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse in Las Vegas is the first
Federal Building built to the post-Oklahoma City blast resistant standards.Las
Vegas, as the county seat and home to the Lloyd D. George Federal District
Courthouse, draws numerous legal service industries providing bail, marriage,
divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.
Some technology companies have either relocated to Las Vegas or were created
there. For various reasons, the Las Vegas area has had a high concentration of
technology companies in electronic gaming and telecommunications industries.
Some current technology companies in southern Nevada include Bigelow Aerospace,
CommPartners, Datanamics, eVital Communications, Petroglyph, SkywireMedia,
Switch Communications, and WorldDoc. Companies that originally were formed in
Las Vegas, but have since sold or relocated include Westwood Studios (sold to
Electronic Arts), Systems Research & Development (Sold to IBM), Yellowpages.com
(Sold to Bellsouth and SBC), and MPower Communications.
Constant population growth means that the housing construction industry is
vitally important. In 2000 more than 21,000 new homes and 26,000 resale homes
were purchased. In early 2005 there were 20 residential development projects of
more than 300 acres (1.2 km²) each currently underway.
Sports in Las Vegas
Currently, Las Vegas is without any major-league level sports teams although the
city's metropolitan population is as large or larger than current cities with
professional sports teams such as Buffalo, New York; San Antonio; Pittsburgh;
Portland, Oregon; Indianapolis; Milwaukee; and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Part of the
reason for this is that professional leagues are concerned about legalized
sports betting in the city and the competition for residents' entertainment
budget. High profile one-time sporting events, though, have had success. For
example the Las Vegas metropolitan area hosted the NBA 2007 All-Star Game. The
NASCAR Sprint Cup series race in the area has drawn up to 165,000 fans. Neither
of these events have taken place directly in Las Vegas city limits (although
that is no different than most cities teams that play in suburban areas). Other
than major-league professional team sports, Las Vegas does host a significant
number of professional fights, notably MMA and boxing (although the latter may
be losing some interest due to increases in the MMA fan base). Unlike some other
events, many of these fights (such as those in MMA's UFC) take place near
downtown or on the strip in many of the major resort/hotel/casino event centers.
Mandalay Bay is frequently a top contender as a venue for the UFC.
Las Vegas has been the county seat of Clark County since the formation of the
county in 1909. The Census Bureau's official population estimate, as of 2006,
was 552,539, though the city’s own Planning and Development Department reported
a population of 591,536[1] as of July, 2006.
The United States Census Bureau 2006 estimates place the population for the Las
Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area at 1,777,539 people, and the region is one
of the fastest growing in the United States.[citation needed] Las Vegas proper
was ranked as the 32nd most populous city in the United States in 2000, and 2006
estimates have placed the city 28th in rank.[13]
As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 478,434 people, 176,750 households, and
117,538 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,222.5 people
per square mile (1,630.3/km2). There are 190,724 housing units at an average
density of 1,683.3/sq mi (649.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 69.86%
White, 10.36% African American, 0.75% Native American, 4.78% Asian, 0.45%
Pacific Islander, 9.75% from other races, and 4.05% from two or more races.
Hispanics are 23.61% of the population. Non-Hispanics whites are 58.04%. The top
5 largest ancestries include: German (12.2%), Irish (9.8%), English (8.4%),
Italian (6.7%), and American (4.5%).[15]
In recent years, Las Vegas has been a popular destination for Hawaiians. In
2002, almost 80,000 former residents of Hawaii lived in Las Vegas, and nearly
3,000 Hawaiians visited Las Vegas every week.[16] Las Vegas is sometimes
referred to as Hawaii's Ninth Island.[17] The city is the home to the first ABC
Stores branch outside the state of Hawaii.[17]
There were 176,750 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 25.0%
of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone
who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the
average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.8%
from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there
were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,069, and the median income
for a family was $50,465. Males had a median income of $35,511 versus $27,554
for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,060. About 6.6% of
families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4%
of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
In December, 2007, Clark County officially declared the population now exceeds 2
million residents. Current estimates place growth at 3 million people by 2019,
and 4 million people by 2025.[18]
Las Vegas has one of the highest suicide and divorce rates of the U.S.[19][20]
The city's high divorce rate is partly due to the fact that divorce is easier in
Nevada than most other states. The city was also ranked by Forbes as having the
highest Income disparity in the nation.
Government
Las Vegas City Hall in downtown Las Vegas.The City of Las Vegas government
operates as a council-manager government. The Mayor sits as a Council
member-at-large and presides over all of the City Council meetings. In the event
that the Mayor cannot preside over a City Council meeting, the Mayor Pro-Tem is
the presiding officer of the meeting until such time as the Mayor returns to his
seat. The City Manager is responsible for the administration and the day-to-day
operation of all of the municipal services and city departments. The City
Manager also maintains intergovernmental relationships with federal, state,
county and other local governments.
A large number of the people who live in what they call "Las Vegas" actually
reside in neighboring incorporated cities or unincorporated communities. In
fact, of the approximately 1.8 million people who live in the Las Vegas Valley,
approximately 600,000 actually live inside Las Vegas city limits. Approximately
700,000 people live in unincorporated areas governed by Clark County, and
another 465,000 live in incorporated cities such as North Las Vegas, Henderson
and Boulder City. Las Vegas and most of the surrounding metropolitan area share
a police department. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department provides most
law enforcement services in the city and surrounding county after a 1975 merger
of the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Department.
Incorporated cities in Clark County, as well as colleges, parks and schools have
their own police departments that fall outside of Metro's jurisdiction. The Las
Vegas Marshals Department and the Las Vegas Municipal Marshals Department also
provide law enforcement services.
A Paiute Indian reservation occupies about one acre (4000 m2) in the downtown
area of Las Vegas.
Soruce: Wikipedia.org