West Nevada big on Las Vegas

Even from the other side of the globe, Roni Amid was drawn by the allure of the Las Vegas real estate market. So much so that he bought a $23 million property, set up a real estate investment company, and moved his family from his native Israel.

Earlier this summer, Amid founded West Nevada Management, a finance and investment company with plans to offer easy-to-sell homes for locals and easy-to-purchase investment properties for foreigners.

The company's first purchase was the Chapel Hill apartment complex, located at 9620 W. Russell Road. Plans for the property are a prototype of Amid's business model.

The complex will be converted to condominiums, and marketed in different ways toward locals and foreign investors.

For locals, the condos are sold as such with one special advantage: the owner can sell them back to West Nevada Management at any time. Amid believes his marketing team can efficiently resell units on an ongoing basis, better than an individual homeowner.

"If they are leaving town, they will be able to throw it back," Amid said.

The purchasing agreement is structured slightly differently from a traditional mortgage, but offers similar advantages, including equity. Buyers enter into a 30-year lease; at the end of the lease, title is transferred to the buyer, unless the buyer has chosen to exit the lease before then.

"You don't just buy a condo. You buy a packaged deal," he said.

Amid believes the arrangement will be even more attractive for foreign buyers. With the world's economy weak, capital from around the globe has flooded to the United States, where international investors find safer and more profitable places for their money, such as U.S. bonds.

Amid simply takes matters a step further. With on-site management and a means to tap U.S. capital, Amid plans to offer small- and mid-size international investors the security and leverage to purchase investment-grade property in what he believes is the most high-profile, attractive real estate market in the world.

"People around the world are looking for other things to do with their money," he said. "There aren't many places for them to go right now."

Investors like it, he said, because they are purchasing tangible property -- individual condominium units, not just shares in a company -- plus the income potential is greater, and the unit can appreciate in price.

Adding to its security is the backing of Leumi, a national bank in Israel, which guarantees a minimum return similar to a bond.

The arrangement overcomes typical obstacles facing small- and medium-size investors purchasing real estate from out of the country: unfamiliarity with the local market, difficulty obtaining financing and property management. It also offers a relatively cheap buy-in, a 25 percent down payment on a condominium. On the cheaper units, that's about $21,000. Wall Street fronts the rest.

"There is no reason why a person who is outside, let's say, New York, who believes in the city of Las Vegas and wants to invest in the city should not be able to do so. For someone abroad, it's difficult because they don't have a credit history here. They can't get the financing they need," Amid said.

"We're giving them the extra 75 percent (added to their down payment) they need for the property."

West Nevada handles the overall landlord-type duties, contracts services such as property management and acquires capital from investment banks in what the company calls a "pool deal." For clients, it's as simple as any other financial account.

With extensive contacts in his homeland, Amid's primary market is Israel, where economic activity has dried up since 2000, when civil strife erupted. An office within Israel handles investor relations. Amid envisions opening offices in France and Belgium to draw capital from Europe.

Amid said he spent a year and a half studying Las Vegas and considering an alternative market, notably Toronto. He considered city size, growth potential and land costs. In the end, one market stood out.

"We saw the potential in Las Vegas. It was always there. Las Vegas stands by itself," Amid said. "Every way you look, there's Las Vegas in front of your eyes. It's amazing how much you have it on television. The city has a very high profile no matter where you go."

He plans to limit his investments to Las Vegas, buying additional properties as investor demand allows.

"I'm sticking to the Las Vegas market because it's the only market I see. Look what's going on here. They're building 5,000 rooms right now. That growth is why people want to invest."

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