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Daily Real Estate News | June 5, 2009 |
Life in Lake Las Vegas Dries Up
Life’s tough in Lake Las Vegas, a community built around a man-made lake in the middle of the desert. The economy has kept second-home buyers and tourists far away.
Last year, developer Transcontinental Corp. lost the property to foreclosure, defaulting on $540 million in loans. This week, the new owners filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Two of the three golf courses have been closed and the anchor hotel, the Ritz Carlton, also has declared bankruptcy. About 80 percent of the homes are vacant.
"I thought it was a no-lose situation. It ruined me," says Ed Santacruz, a former mortgage broker who let his Lake Las Vegas hotel-condominium go into foreclosure.
The vast number of foreclosures are attracting buyers, but not the same people who found the resort attractive before. One real estate professional and resident, who refused to be named, describes her new customers this way: "It used to be a Lexus or a Mercedes. Now we're down to new pickup trucks."
Source: The Associated Press, Kathleen Hennessey (06/05/2009)
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