and also, don't forget. send me your questions or your stories at propertyman@foxnews.com. i'm bob massi. thanks for watching. [ woman vocalizing ] >> i'm bob massi. for 32 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas. i help people with all sorts of real-estate problems, from trying to save their homes to closing major deals. 8 years ago, 6,000 people a month moved here looking for employment and affordable homes. little did anyone know that we would become ground zero for the american real-estate crisis. now, it's a different story. the american dream is back. but even today, i still get over 300 e-mails a week from people. they just want to know how to navigate the new landscape so they can live the american dream. we're gonna meet real people who face the same problems as millions across america, and we'll dive deep into a city on the rebound, because las vegas

was a microcosm of america, and now vegas is back. [ woman vocalizing ] 5.5 million people bought a home last year in america, and more than 2 million of them share one critical thing in common -- they have never done it before. so how do you take on something so huge if you've never done it before? well, we decided to tag along as a first-time homebuyer went shopping. this is gino. he's a pilot looking for a three-bedroom starter home near a major airport. kathryn is his realtor. she'll be helping him every step of the way. representing the seller is geoff. kathryn's already shown him two homes. next up is a three-bedroom, 1,900 square-foot home in henderson, nevada. >> gino, the home we're gonna look at now is a home that was built in 2000.

it's right around the square footage that you were looking for -- three-bedroom, two-story home. i think you'll really like the backyard, as well, so should we go take a look inside? >> all right, let's go. >> great. ♪ >> come on in. >> thank you. >> the nice thing about this house, which is somewhat unusual, is we have a downstairs master, so it gives you the functionality of a one-story for ease of livability, but you have the use and space of a two-story. [ tires screeching ] >> hold on. back up a minute. before you even step foot in the house, there's some critical things you got to know. number one -- always really understand your finances. outside of getting married, well, buying a home -- it's the biggest commitment you're ever going to make. many first-time buyers calculate what their mortgage payment would be, but there's a lot more to just knowing what your mortgage payment's going to be. >> their taxes, their homeowners' association, their energy bill -- they need to be really comfoableith at amou, anso aood ent ll

>>hat ingss totep o -- alto somody atig understands the area, exactly what your needs are. >> the biggest thing in buying a house is making sure that your agent's in it for you as the buyer and not for the deal. >> your realtor -- they're gonna be the guide. they're gonna take you through this entire process from beginning to end. >> how long have they been in business? that would be one of the questions i would ask. how many homes have they actually sold? >> the third thing to do before stepping inside any type of home is find the mortgage lender that you're gonna be able to work with. >> you want to make sure that your lender has their act together and really has you pre-approved, not pre-qualified. they've look at your bank statements, tax returns -- all your income and assets. >> otherwise, what happens? well, you find yourself that dream home, comes time to closing -- lender doesn'tdeal. okay, now we're ready to go house shopping.

the important thing now is to know exactly what are your priorities. >> as a pilot, i'm gonna be gone a lot, so i'm looking for a safe area, an efficient area, some place close to the airport. >> this is a home you're gonna live in for a long time. make sure you find out certain things -- what's the crime rate in the area? have there been a lot of foreclosures? what's the history of the values in the area where you intend to buy? >> what are the h.o.a. monthly dues on this? >> the monthly dues on this are $25 a month, so really affordable. that's gonna be mostly a landscape association, so they're not gonna be super hard on you. >> this is critical. if there's a homeowners association, you need find out exactly what the monthly dues are, any assessments, the rules and regulations, and how they enforce them, because they are basically your government in the area where you live. >> so upstairs, we've got your loft that we talked about earlier, secondary bathroom here, which is a full bath -- tub/shower combo. this bedroom, actually, is great

'cause it's got a huge closet. let's go down to the backyard, and i'll show you what we've got down there. >> excellent. >> so what do you think so far, gino? >> um, so far, so good, actually. it's got everything i'm looking for -- size, functionality. the only thing that i would, i guess, worry about, is stuff like the roofing. when's the last time it was done, or are we up-to-date on the water heater, the appliances? >> one of the things that we're gonna do, gino, is when we find the right house for you, we're gonna have the home professionally inspected by a licensed and bonded company. >> the home inspection is so critical to understand what you're buying. every home you buy is as-is, the good and the bad. >> i guess, we'll just work on financing and -- >> i'll let you two get back to the office for the offer. >> great. thank you so much, geoff, for showing us the home. >> it was great to meet you. >> i appreciate it. >> good to see both of you. how are you doing? >> good to see you. >> you know, i was wondering -- what's the like, maybe the four or five top things that you want to discuss with a first-time buyer of a home? >> buying a home for the first

time can sometimes be a bumpy ride. we want to make sure that the financing is in order, that they're comfortable with the financial commitment that they're making, also that the home suits their needs. >> how important is it for the homeowner to understand what we call the cc&rs -- the make-up of the homeowners association, if there's a management company? >> one of the advantages of what we call cc&rs is that it's gonna maintain and help you maintain your property value so that there's a continuity to the neighborhood. your next-door neighbor isn't gonna paint their house purple with pink spots. >> one of the things that i've seen happen over the years that becomes very controversial is the earnest money deposit, which is sort of the good faith money, gino, that you put down, saying, "i believe i want to buy this home," subject to the conditions of financing, and you're happy with the home. it's a common problem sometimes, though, isn't it, where the earnest money goes hard and they can't get it back.

>> you're absolutely right. as a broker, it's probably the most disputed item that i've seen in my career. also you have what's called a due diligence period, which is typically anywhere from 10 to 15 days. >> this is your time to make sure there's no hidden surprises waiting for you. all the more reason -- have that home inspection. >> if we decide to make an offer, we'll receive what's called a seller's real property disclosure report. it's gonna disclose any information as far as the condition of the home. >> unfortunately, you don't get to pick your seller, so the truth and the veracity and the integrity of that seller on that disclosure statement is as good as the person that discloses it. gino, thank you for your time. >> appreciate it. >> kathryn, you're the best. >> as always, a pleasure, bob. >> my pleasure. thank you. up next, i'll introduce you to dennis and judy. like many americans, well, they got into trouble when the economy took a nosedive. >> the values -- they turned completely upside down, and then my son was unable to make the

payments. >> he's very good about managing the money and everything, and i just could see his pain, you know? >> sure. >> it was not good. >> and then it even forced me to get a second job. >> in order to maintain the payments. >> i worked seven days a week for three years. >> but this is a story about perseverance and creativity just like america, and the light at the end of their tunnel just might be a lesson for all of us. [ woman vocalizing ] when you think about success, what does it look like? is it becoming a better professor by being a more adventurous student? is it one day giving your daughter the opportunity she deserves? is it finally witnessing all the artistic wonders of the natural world? whatever your definition of success is, helping you pursue it, is ours. t-i-a-a.

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♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. i'm gonna introduce you to dennis and judy. in 2006, they moved to las vegas with their adult son right before the real-estate market crashed. >> we all lived together, and then it was kind of crowded, so i said to judy, i says, "you know, there are condos that are for sale right now -- one bedrooms." we figured we were gonna put my son in that condo. >> vegas is still booming. i mean, everything -- the prices are -- you're paying premium. >> oh, yeah, definitely. >> no question about it. >> definitely.

>> so, you know, around 2008, 2009, things started getting bad. >> the values -- they turned completely upside down, and then my son was unable to make the payments. >> so at that point, then, you're making a condo payment, what you're living in, and you're making your son's condo payment. >> correct. >> right. >> so when the prices started bottoming out, did you start contacting the lenders yourself to see if they would help you out? >> well, they just didn't cooperate. >> now, i'm assuming that you had to turn over a lot of your financial information. >> oh, definitely. >> what type of things did they want? >> pay stubs, bank account statements, checking account statements, any investments we might have had. >> but when push came to shove, the banks were just not interested in doing much about loan modifications. >> one of the things that a lot of homeowners experienced in dealing with the banks and trying to work something out is a never-ending updating process. often the banks would ask for financials or your last two pay stubs or your most recent tax returns. >> you are going through these

call centers and getting a different representative every time you call in, and you're not getting anyone that has any knowledge about that particular file or about that client or borrower. >> and then, if nothing happened internally within their department in 30 days' time, they were again asking for the same information, and you had to provide it again. >> how did that make you feel, turning all that very proprietary, personal information over to give to a lender? >> violated. i felt violated. >> you were keeping current on your payments. >> oh, yeah. definitely, yeah. >> how important was keeping your credit good? >> oh, very important, because we've had it for so long good, we didn't want it to go bad, you know? i mean, you work so hard and so long for that, especially him. he's very good about managing the money and everything, and i just could see his pain, you know? >> sure. >> it was not good. >> and then it even forced me to get a second job. >> in order to maintain the payments. >> i worked seven days a weeks

for three years. >> these are people that had always made every single payment on time, never missed a bill, had perfect credit, had worked their whole lives to really do the right thing and to maintain that, and the banks basically said, "well, if you're still making your payments, we're really not gonna look at you." >> you're good citizens. you've always paid your bills. you had good credit. how did it make you feel as a relation to the lenders, particularly hearing on the news how they're getting billions of dollars of our tax dollars? >> that's what bothered me. that's what made me feel violated, because they were getting all this money and they weren't giving it out. they weren't helping anybody. >> weren't helping the american people. >> right. >> they turned to their mortgage broker for help. >> dan was a mortgage broker, and he worked with the frank napoli group. >> it was truly heartbreaking at times to sit across from someone who was in a situation where all they wanted was a piece of the american pie, you know? they wanted to own their home -- the american dream. they wanted to own a home. they went out, they found what they wanted, they signed up for a mortgage, they paid whatever they had to pay for the house

because the prices were so over-inflated at the time, and they worked so hard to try to keep their property, and it just got to a point where they just couldn't do it anymore. >> the decision was i want to short-sell the two condos. i can't do it anymore. >> short sale basically meant, by definition, that you owed "x" amount of dollars. >> correct. >> the value of the home was much less. >> right. >> and you're basically going to the lenders and you're saying, "i want to bring a buyer in to buy it for the present value." >> right. >> you tried to short-sell. any luck? >> at the beginning, no. it took a while because what happened was the institutions -- they were waiting for appraisals to come in, and they didn't like the appraisals they were getting, so they were sitting on it and not selling it. they just hung out for more. they wanted more, more, more. >> as they struggled to stay unr condos, ironically, the huge drop in real-estate prices meant that they could afford to buy and live in a new home. you were able to qualify, though, working two jobs, retirement, i'm sure, from your job back east. >> correct. >> even though you had these

other condominiums. okay. so you get into this home. you're making all the payments. at some point, you then made a decision. it probably was very difficult for you. >> we took over this home, then it forced me to work even more because now i had to pay for this home and work with the other two condos, and i couldn't do it. i mean, i was getting older and i said to judy, "i can't do this. i'm not 30 years old anymore." >> yeah. >> i'm pushing 60. >> yeah. >> i can't do it. >> so they told the lenders that if the short sales wouldn't work, well, they could just have the underwater condos back. what you basically were in is what we called a few years ago, was a strategic foreclosure. >> mm-hmm. >> how did that make you feel? >> horrible. >> terrible, because i know incurred the debt. i'm not a person to say, "okay, i incurred the debt -- screw it. i'm not gonna pay it." i did feel bad. i really felt terrible. >> eventually, the bank agreed to short sales. >> we were just so far under that we had to file a chapter 13

bankruptcy. >> which is basically what they call a wage earner's reorganization. >> correct, so we're paying the creditors back at full, less the interest. >> over a five-year period? >> mm-hmm, yeah. >> if there were no other options left, bankruptcy tended to be your hail mary to get you out of that debt, and not everybody -- it wasn't a great situation or a resolution for everyone. >> now, chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation. all the debts are wiped out. chapter 13, on the other hand, is a method of paying your debts back over time. >> it's 100% paid back. what they're letting you go for is this interest, 'cause they freeze everything at that point and it's a full payback of what you owe. >> and it basically -- it made you feel better because you're responsible citizens. >> right, right. >> so why was a bankruptcy needed? because short sales could still leave money that is owed. even if the banks agree to write off the debt, which they don't

always do, the i.r.s. will then treat it as taxable income if it is not a primary residence. >> we're responsible for the difference of what the short sale is, and we couldn't -- >> you mean the deficiency of what was owed? >> and we wouldn't be able to pay that. the i.r.s. would come for the deficiency, and we couldn't pay that. >> so that's why we were told we had to put the condos into the bankruptcy. >> if you owed $100 on the condo, and it was worth $50, and you sold it for the $50, the difference -- the i.r.s. would send you a 1099 saying you have to pay income on that -- income tax on that. so that's what you threw into the chapter 13 bankruptcy. >> right. >> and so now, at this point in time, tell us about your present situation. >> the two condos are sold. we're in a home that we like. it still requires me to work two jobs to keep it up, you know? i have to keep it up. judy's working a lot of hours. >> yeah. >> but we're happy where we are, and it's what we had to do. >> well, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. >> the short sales and bankruptcies allowed dennis and judy to get back on their feet. now they are rebuilding their

lives and paying off all of their debt. dennis and judy really thought out their strategy, and they used some really great real-estate professionals. and they did everything right. bankruptcies and short sales -- well, they're the last resort, and they're great options. and they can be very valuable. i have some great tips on how to do it right at... up next, we'll review what we learned today in the massi memo. [ woman vocalizing ] when it comes to small business, she's in the know. so strap yourselves in for action flo! small business edition. oh, no! i'm up to my neck in operating costs! i'll save the day! for plumbers and bakers and scapers of lawn, she's got insurance savvy you can count on. you chipped my birdbath! now you're gonna pay! not so fast! i cover more than just cars and trucks. ♪ action flo

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♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. and it's time now for the massi memo. remember first-time homebuyer gino? well, he didn't end up buying that home, but he did decide to buy another one that kathryn showed him. you know, we covered a lot today from first-time homebuyers to

those struggling to pay the bills. the lesson -- you got to protect yourself, and how do you do it? do your homework. today, we met a couple who really struggled to pay their bills when things went bad. but guess what. they did their homework, and they successfully, actually, did a tricky bankruptcy and two short sales. remember this -- bankruptcy should only be used as your last resort, and i call it hitting the restart button. the most common is a chapter 7. simply put, your liabilities are discharged, and you can rebuild your life. it may not be the best way for you to go all the time, so listen -- get a competent bankruptcy attorney, and they will help you decide what's best for you. up next, the property man -- well, i'm heading down south to florida. we have some fascinating property stories and information from the sunshine state, so stick around and see this sneak peek. we're coming right back. [ woman vocalizing ] at ay bank, no branches equa gre rat. i's fact nd olikeacatns equagettg caied ay.

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that's inmovement.com. promo code freeship. stand up for your health. at ally bank, no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like grandkids equals free tech support. oh, look at you, so great to see you! none of this works. come on in. ♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. well, i've shown you vegas, and now the property man is heading to florida -- tampa, orlando, palm beach, miami, and many stops in between. here's a sneak peek at what's coming up in season 2. what if you could build the ideal community from scratch? well, it's happening right now on a massive scale. >> lake nona is 11 square miles of an integrated, highly collaborative community. >> they've got schools and hospitals and neighborhoods and universities and recreation.

>> with a foundation of technology running through it. >> an entire city built from the ground up with the goal of improving how we live, and it's working. i'll take you behind the gates of some of florida's most exclusive luxury homes... >> welcome to one of the most pristine and private lakes on the lake butler chain. >> ...where cameras have not been allowed until now. >> ordinarily, we don't allow cameras in here to film these magnificent homes, but you're in for a special treat. >> florida is one of the many states that just seems to constantly take a beating from mother nature. but i've got the ways to keep your family safe. >> these rooms are engineered for 250 mile-per-hour winds. if the whole house collapsed around it, it is an entity unto itself. >> legendary coach lou holtz and his wife -- lucky to be alive after their home burns to the ground. >> this happens every day. i've been doing this 35 years. this is a very common occurrence.

>> it's taken a month to don in the difficult task we had ahead of us. >> where do you even begin after such a devastating event? i'll tell you. america's changing, and that includes where people live and how they get around. >> a new generation of workers -- the millennial generation all want to be close to where they work and close to where they want to play, close to where they want to shop. >> transit-oriented development could reshape how you live, work, and play, and sooner than you might think. all that plus how to sell your timeshare, how to shop for a home, the best landscaping tips, and much more. i'm gonna sit down with regular americans and help them through the same problems faced by millions -- foreclosure, divorce issues, h.o.a. battles, and on and on. there is lots to cover when season 2 of "the property man" starts this december. be sure to send me your questions or property stories at...

and check out our website at... i'm bob massi. i'll see you next week. [ woman vocalizing ] >> i'm bob massi. for 34 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas, the center of the recent real-estate crisis. lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. now, well, it's a different story. the american dream is back. and nowhere is that more clear than the sunshine state of florida. so we headed from the strip to the beach to show you how to live the american dream. i'm gonna meet real people who are facing serious problems, take you behind the gates of properties you have to see to believe and give you the tips that everyone needs to navigate the new landscape because information is power. and the property man has got you covered. [ woman vocalizing ]