Vdara Condos for Sale

Financing and non-warrantable condos

Condo-hotels are almost always non-warrantable: the units are operated as hotel inventory, so the building does not meet the agency (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) project rules that conventional mortgages depend on. Most buyers pay cash or use a portfolio or specialty lender that underwrites the building itself, usually with a larger down payment and a higher rate than a conventional loan.

Before you write an offer, have the lender confirm in writing that it will lend in this specific building, and ask how it treats rental-program income. That answer decides whether you can finance at all, so get it first rather than after you are in contract.

The HOA resale package and reserve study (NRS 116)

Nevada law (NRS 116.4109) requires the seller to deliver an HOA resale package before the sale closes: the CC&Rs, bylaws, rules and regulations, the current budget, the reserve study, current assessments, and disclosure of any pending litigation or special assessments. Once you receive it you have a statutory five-day window to cancel the purchase.

Read the reserve study before anything else. Nevada HOAs must commission one at least every five years, and it lists the building's big-ticket components (elevators, roof, mechanical systems, exterior glazing, pool decks) with their remaining life and the money set aside to replace them. A building whose reserves are well below the study's recommended funding level is a building where a special assessment is more likely.

In a condo-hotel the package also includes the management or rental-program agreement. Confirm who controls the common areas, how the revenue split works, what fees are charged to owners outside the program, and how the agreement can be changed.

Condo-hotel vs residential ownership

In a condo-hotel you own the unit, but a hotel operator runs the building: front desk, housekeeping, and often the rental program. You may have a cap on personal-use nights, rules about furnishings, and fees that are billed like hotel charges rather than a single HOA line. Some buildings restrict full-time residency in their governing documents.

The trade is flexibility for control. You can usually place the unit in the rental program or, in some buildings, self-manage nightly stays, but you do not set the house rules. Buy with a clear plan for how you will use the unit, and confirm that the CC&Rs allow it.

Litigation history

Ask whether the association is, or recently was, a party to a lawsuit: construction-defect claims against the developer, disputes with a management company or rental operator, or claims by owners. The resale package must disclose pending litigation, but ask about resolved matters too, because a settlement can leave repair work that is still being funded.

Litigation matters twice. It can raise dues or trigger an assessment, and while it is open many conventional lenders will not lend in the building at all, which shrinks the pool of buyers you can sell to later.

Parking and storage

Parking in a high-rise is either deeded (a numbered space that transfers with the unit on the deed), assigned by the association (a license that can be reassigned), or valet-only with no assigned space. Storage cages work the same way. The listing often says "two parking spaces" without saying which kind, so verify it in the deed and the association records before you rely on it.

Deeded spaces and storage add to resale value and can sometimes be sold separately inside the building; assigned spaces cannot. If you have two cars, an oversized vehicle, or an EV that needs a charger, confirm the exact space and the rules on charger installation before you offer.

Special assessments

A special assessment is a one-time charge on top of monthly dues, levied when reserves cannot cover a repair or replacement. In a tower the triggers are predictable: elevator modernization, exterior glazing and sealant, cooling towers and chillers, garage waterproofing, and pool-deck rebuilds. The reserve study shows which of those are coming and whether the money is there.

Ask the association for any assessment levied or approved in the last several years and any under discussion. If one is pending at closing, the purchase contract decides who pays it, so negotiate that line before you sign rather than after.

Insurance and property taxes

The association carries a master policy on the structure and common elements; you carry an HO-6 condo-owner policy for your finishes, contents, liability, and loss of use. Ask for the master policy declarations page in the resale package and match your HO-6 to it, including loss-assessment coverage, which pays when the association bills owners for a covered loss that exceeds the master policy.

Property tax on a condo-hotel unit is assessed by the Clark County Assessor like any other parcel. Nevada's partial abatement caps annual increases at 3 percent for an owner-occupied primary residence and up to 8 percent for other property; because most condo-hotel units are second homes or rentals, plan on the higher cap.

Inspection and appraisal in a tower

A high-rise inspection is narrower than a house inspection and different in kind. Inside the unit the inspector checks the fan-coil or heat-pump HVAC unit, the water heater, plumbing shutoffs, window and slider seals, the electrical panel, and any balcony door and railing. The building systems (elevators, roof, chillers, garage) are outside the inspector's reach; the reserve study and the association's maintenance records stand in for them.

Appraisals in a tower lean on closed sales inside the same building, adjusted for floor, exposure, and line, before looking at nearby towers. In a small building with few recent closings the appraiser may reach further, which is one reason the aggregate sold statistics on this page matter: they are the comp set your lender's appraiser will start from.

The sequence, offer to keys

One: line up financing that fits a condo-hotel (cash, portfolio, or specialty) and get the lender's written confirmation for this building. Two: set a building alert so you see units the day they list; owned inventory in a condo-hotel is a small share of the tower. Three: tour with the floor, exposure, and rental-program status of each unit in hand. Four: write the offer with resale-package, inspection, and financing contingencies, and ask for the management agreement and current fee schedule.

Five: read the resale package inside the five-day window, reserve study and rules first. Six: inspect the unit and confirm the deeded or assigned parking and storage in the association records. Seven: bind the HO-6 policy against the master policy. Eight: schedule the move with the building; most towers require an elevator reservation, a move-in deposit, and a certificate of insurance from the mover. Nine: close through escrow and title, then file for the primary-residence tax cap if you will live there.