Buy Vegas or Higher Cap Rate | Looking for Numbers
Investor · New York · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes
Buy Vegas or Higher Cap Rate | Looking for Numbers
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The four plex won’t be in Vegas right? I don’t think there’s a worse 4plex market in the country. Most if not all lenders should be nationwide, though Nevada has more laws/regulations about lending than many states.
Should either of your current properties be sold using a 1031 to buy a bigger/better replacement and/or remove financing component until after you make the purchase? Good luck.
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The four plex won’t be in Vegas right? I don’t think there’s a worse 4plex market in the country. Most if not all lenders should be nationwide, though Nevada has more laws/regulations about lending than many states.
Should either of your current properties be sold using a 1031 to buy a bigger/better replacement and/or remove financing component until after you make the purchase? Good luck.
- I didn't know this is one of the worst four plex markets, but I believe it.
Quote from @Bill B.:
The four plex won’t be in Vegas right? I don’t think there’s a worse 4plex market in the country. Most if not all lenders should be nationwide, though Nevada has more laws/regulations about lending than many states.
Should either of your current properties be sold using a 1031 to buy a bigger/better replacement and/or remove financing component until after you make the purchase? Good luck.
Curious what the reasoning is.
- 5moVijay FriedmanBusiness MemberMiami, FL · Member since 2026 · 766 posts · 124 votes
Quote from @Hassan Dager:
I own two free and clear single family properties in Las Vegas. Combined value $537K. Zero debt. Currently cash flowing $2,403/mo. Plan is to pull $200K HELOC on the $355K property and use it as down payment on a 4-unit no HOA property. Questions: 1. Best Vegas lenders for investment property HELOC? 2. Should I buy Vegas or higher cap rate market like Tucson or Jacksonville? 3. Anyone done this exact strategy? What were your numbers?
Strong position to be in with two free-and-clear rentals already cash flowing. I'd be careful not to focus only on the highest cap rate market, though. The better question is whether the next property can still support the debt after today's HELOC rate, DSCR loan rate, taxes, insurance, vacancy, and reserves.
For the HELOC, investment property HELOCs are more limited than primary residence HELOCs, but they do exist depending on credit profile, state, property type, and bank appetite. A cash-out DSCR refi may also be worth comparing side-by-side depending on your goal.
If using the HELOC for the next acquisition, I'd probably keep the leverage conservative and target a property where the rental income can cover both the new mortgage and the HELOC repayment comfortably.
The reasons I buy my properties in Vegas….
Slanted tile roofs that last “forever” I’ve spent $250 in 27 years with a dozen properties. My one MN property cost me $15k in roofing.
Stucco siding that also lasts "forever". I has spent $ on those same properties until last year when the HOA made me paint a home I never would have painted otherwise, so that was $2,300 for 12 homes in 27 years, and it was a scam.
Homes that are considered “old” when they are 20 years old. No tenant on tenant problems, 3+ bedrooms means tenants stay 6-12 years on average for me. 2-3 car garages as tenants tend to have a lot of stuff and want to park where their most valuable possession is protected.
Our 4plexes on the other hand tend to be. 30-40 years old or older, not stucco sided, have flat and not tile roofs, not have garages, be 1-2 bedroom transitional housing in older neighborhoods and you’ve got shared walls and maybe yards.
What does the tenant save for all those negatives? If it’s not the disaster areas of the East valley or the UNLV area, MAYBE a few hundred dollars. They can’t wait to move, if they make more money or lose their job, either one.
I grew up in the northern suburbs of Mpls. The 4plexes are solid brick buildings with slanted roofs, 2 or 3 bedrooms, a garage, and built in the same neighborhood as the houses, not off in the “urban” areas. I have several friends who house hacked 4plexes in Mpls and Saint Paul. I don’t know anyone that house hacked a Vegas four plex and I’ve lived here longer than MPLS where I grew up. They are almost exclusively sold to out of state investors who just see the price and the proforma rents. Check out the prices 10 years ago, they were probably deals then. But as they say. That was then, this is now.
Ps. There are a very small number of B-C class units (vs most being D class) to the west near Chinatown and a few up north up by Cheyenne. I have no opinion on them as they were always to expensive back when I was looking.
Good luck. If you’re local and just getting started you’d be better off buying an oversized home renting out rooms to friends/family. If you’re remote, look somewhere else. Maybe the new builds from FIG if they’re in your budget.
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