This week's
five picks.
Every Thursday we put up five homes that could be a perfect fit for a first-time buyer. We go through the listings across the Las Vegas Valley and pull our favorites, whether they just hit the market or have been sitting a while, and we film a video tour of every one.
We check the price against what comparable homes have sold for, add up what the taxes and HOA dues do to the payment, and look at how long the seller has owned the home and whether there is room to ask for help with closing costs. We check whether it works for FHA financing. Then we call the listing agent about the things the MLS does not tell you.
We hope you find it useful. It's put together by two agents with more than 20 years in Las Vegas real estate, and we love helping first-time buyers.
Book a showing
Give us two times that work for you and we'll confirm one of them. If you'd rather just ask a question first, text either of us from any home above.
We wrote the book on this
Jeff and Lee Ann wrote Roadmap to Your First Home after hundreds of closed transactions. It walks you through the whole process, start to keys, in plain language. Grab a copy free or pick it up on Amazon.
When you hire us as your buyer's agent, we represent you. We look at the home, the price and the contract from your side. What you tell us about your budget and your timing stays with us, and we use it to get you the best deal we can.
The agent who listed the home works for the seller. They are paid to get the seller the highest price and the best terms.
The agent sitting at an open house on Sunday was hired by the seller. What you tell them about your budget, how much you like the house, or when your lease ends, they can use for their client.
Some of the homes on this page are our brokerage's listings. Others are listed by different brokerages. We name the listing agent for every home at the bottom of the page.
Since August 2024, how a buyer's agent gets paid is negotiated and put in writing before you tour a home. The seller may pay it, you may pay it, or the two of you may split it. We put ours in writing and go over it with you before you sign.
Newer neighborhoods carry higher tax bills
Taxes follow assessed value, and newer construction is assessed higher. Two homes on this page make the point: 2352 Via Alicante was built in 2013 and runs $3,437 a year. 2540 Catallo was built in 2023, costs $78,000 less, and runs $4,609. That is nearly $100 a month more on the cheaper house.
The older home gives you the lower tax bill and an older roof, HVAC and water heater. The newer one costs more every year and is less likely to hand you a repair bill. Both are real money, and we show the county figure for the actual parcel so you can weigh it yourself.
If the home was a rental, expect a slightly higher bill
Nevada limits how much a tax bill can climb each year. A primary residence is capped at 3%. Everything else, including rentals, is capped at up to 8%. So a home that has been rented out has been climbing faster than the identical house down the street that someone lived in.
The county calculates the full tax on the home, then compares it to last year's bill and forgives anything above your cap. The bill can climb toward the full tax, and it stops there. It does not keep compounding past it. The gap between a former rental and a home someone lived in has a ceiling, and it closes over time.
There is also a natural brake on it. A home that has been a rental for ten years is an older home, and older homes carry lower assessed values, so the faster cap is being applied to a smaller number. A 1990s house that was a rental its entire life still lands well under a 2020 build that has never been rented at all. Age moves your tax bill far more than ownership history does.
A few percent only turns into real money when the assessed value is large, which means newer homes at higher prices. In the range most first-time buyers shop, this shows up as a few dollars a month. Know about it, ask about it, and do not let it pick your house for you.
One thing you do have to handle: after you close, the Clark County Assessor mails you a tax cap claim form. Sign it and send it back, or you can be billed at the higher cap on your own home. Filing caps your future increases at 3%. Ask for the actual figure before you write the offer, and we will pull it either way.
We are real estate agents, not tax advisors. Confirm your own situation with the Clark County Assessor.
The 90-day rule, and what to do about it
FHA will not insure a loan on a home the seller has owned for less than 90 days, counted from the date the deed was recorded. A home that turns over that fast is almost always a flip: somebody bought it, renovated it and put it back on the market.
That is not a reason to walk away. Flips are often the most turnkey homes you will look at, with new paint, new flooring and sometimes a new roof or HVAC. You just cannot buy one with FHA. Conventional financing has no equivalent rule, and a first-time buyer can put 3% down on a conventional loan. If you love a flip, change the loan instead.
Worth knowing: Fannie Mae counts you as a first-time buyer if you have not owned a home in the last three years. We flag the seller's purchase date on every home here so you know before you get attached to one.
FHA allows more debt than conventional
Lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio, which is your total monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. Conventional loans typically want that number under about 45%. FHA's standard is 31% for the house payment by itself and 43% for all your debt together, and with strong credit, savings or extra income lenders regularly approve above 50%.
If your income is fine and a car payment and a student loan are what hold you back, FHA is usually the program that gets you there. The trade is mortgage insurance, which stays for the life of the loan at 3.5% down.
FHA rules change, and the 90-day restriction is under federal review. Confirm current guidelines with your lender before you write an offer.
Four programs put money toward your down payment
Which one you can use comes down to your income, your credit score, and whether the program still has money left when you apply. All three of those change month to month, and the rules get rewritten. A lender who works these programs every day knows what is funded this week, so start the conversation there. We are registered with Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada and we walk buyers through this often, and the lender is who confirms what you qualify for.
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
Every dollar you have saved gets matched four to one, up to $32,837. Save $8,209 of your own and the grant covers the rest of that number.
- Household income at or below 80% of the area median
- First-time buyer, and you complete homebuyer counseling
- Your own savings, gift money or sweat equity counts as the contribution
- It comes through a participating lender, so the lender has to have funds left
- Sell or refinance early and part of it gets repaid
The catch is supply. There is $13 million for all of Nevada, Arizona and California in 2026, and it runs out. Ask early.
first-time buyers · Nevada Housing Division
Up to 4% of your loan amount, toward the down payment or the closing costs. It charges no interest. You pay it back over 30 years, so treat it as a second loan and not a gift.
- You cannot have owned a home in the past three years
- Credit score of 640 or better
- Purchase price and income limits depend on the county
- Homebuyer education course required
the standard program
Up to 5% of the loan value, toward the down payment or the closing costs. This one has no first-time buyer requirement, so it is open to you even if you have owned before.
- Income up to $165,000
- Purchase price up to $832,750
- Credit score of 640 or better
- Homebuyer education course required
Services of Southern Nevada
A Las Vegas nonprofit that has been doing this since 1992. They run their own down payment assistance for low and moderate income buyers in Clark County, as funds allow. We are registered with them.
- Eight-hour HUD-certified homebuyer education class first
- Then you meet a homeownership consultant to check where you stand
- Clark County only
- Free to go through
Nevada also runs a version for K-12 teachers and one called Worker Advantage. Several of these stack with each other and several do not, and that changes too. Randy will sort out which combination applies to you.
Every figure above comes from the Nevada Housing Division and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and was current when this page was built. Funding levels, income limits and rules move around during the year, so confirm with a lender before you count on any of it. We are real estate agents. We do not administer these programs and we do not decide who qualifies.