tweet it to us at jer on fnc. thanks to all of you for watching. i'm paul gigot, hope to see you here next week. ♪ >> i'm bob massi. for 35 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas, ground zero for the american real-estate crisis. but it wasn't just vegas that was hit hard. lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. now it's a different story. the american dream is back. and nowhere is that more clear than the grand canyon state of arizona. so we headed from the strip to the desert to show you how to explore the new landscape and live the american dream. i'm gonna help real people who are facing some major problems, explain the bold plans that are changing how americans live, and take you behind the gates of properties you have to see to believe.

at the end of the show, i'll give you critical tips you need to know in the massi memo because information is power. and the property man has got you covered. [ woman vocalizing ] thanks for joining us. i'm bob massi. there comes a time when most people wanna change something about their home. it could be before you even move in or years down the line. but remodeling your home can either add tremendous value or turn into a major nightmare. it's critical to do it right. well, mike christensen, he runs peak one builders and restoration, a veteran-owned and operated general contracting company. >> a lot of the remodeling is high performance, energy efficiency, reducing costs. >> i asked him to bring me by a few of his homes. so, mike, you're going to show me actually two homes. one you're working on now, that actually has been gutted out. and then another home that's already finished. >> yep, two different stages.

so we've got, uh, basically, a house that's pre-drywall. and, uh, it's still in the rough-in stage. and then we're gonna go to a finished home that is an energy-rated home. >> remodeling projects usually come about when someone wants to update or change the layout of a home. energy efficiency is not usually something they think about. >> we get asked the questions, you know, we're only doing a remodel. does it make sense to update the portion of the house in a high energy efficiency manner? we know that the rest of the house isn't being touched. and the answer is yes. >> what was this room? >> uh, this used to be part of the old bedroom that was here, a very small bedroom that we are now turning into a laundry room. >> anytime you change something in your home, it's an opportunity to update what you don't see. think about what's behind the walls. one of the things that always concerns me with remodels is the plumbing part. >> yes. >> i can't tell you how many times i've had people come to me where they come home and they did a remodel and there's, you know, the -- the wooden floor is ruined. some -- a pipe broke.

>> yeah, so your general contractor should be running cameras down the drains to understand what he's dealing with before he gets into the -- the actual remodel. the more planning up front, the better of a streamline process and the better experience that that homeowner is gonna -- gonna have. >> you might be updating an outdated bathroom. what that means, well, you've got some outdated things like plumbing, ductwork band insulation. >> you'd be surprised at what we find when we tear drywall off. >> so, when you came in and you had the sheetrock taken off, you start looking up at this insulation. what are some things you noticed? >> uh, right away, we noticed that the insulation that was installed here clearly was a problem. because you've got gaps. uh, you shouldn't see any -- any space for air to escape up into the attic. because anytime you have that, you've got a, you know, energy loss. >> which costs the homeowner more money. >> a lot more money. >> particularly in the desert -- >> yes. >> in the summer. no question about that. insulation is one of the easiest yet most overlooked things to improve. you really need to understand how buildings work. as mike says, how a structure performs. >> building science is more looking at the entire envelope, the structure itself,

and how it goes together and how it breathes and -- and prevents air infiltration but also prevents heat loss and, um, losing your air conditioning out your windows or out your walls or out pipes that are going through the ceiling. when we talk about energy efficiency, the first thing we look at is how we, uh, seal those structures up. >> obviously, windows are as important as anything else. tell us about this window. >> windows play a very important role in the structure itself. >> this is thick, man! >> it's a -- it's a very well-built window. um, the thing that's important about this window is that the frame itself is what's called a thermally broken frame. and that means that the frame is actually split in two. there's an air gap in between that allows for, uh, less heat loss from the outside in. >> remodeling is a process that really requires planning and expertise. >> it's extremely important that the homeowner does their due diligence. >> this is not the time to call your cousin because he owns a couple drills and a saw and needs to make some money. and you can't just hire any contractor. >> really get involved with the contractor who's --

who has the experience, who's licensed, bonded and insured, and has the experience in -- in doing whole-house renovations or -- or whole-kitchen renovations. >> you gotta have a consultation to make sure they get your priorities straight. >> that's one of the initial things that we talk to our customers about, understanding what the wants versus needs are. >> one of the biggest concerns i've seen over the years are change orders on any type of project. if you're gonna ask that contractor to change something from the original architectural plans, make sure it's in writing. and make sure you know exactly how much it costs. on the peak one website, mike's got a list of questions that every homeowner should ask before signing anything. is the contractor licensed and insured and bonded? what other similar jobs have they done in the area? >> does he have experience doing these things while you're living in the house? because not everybody has the opportunity like this where there's nobody living in the house the entire time, so it makes it easier on everybody. >> now we're gonna go see another house that's finished. >> yes. >> that's energy-efficient. >> that's correct. >> let's go take a look at it.

talk about remodel, by the way. these doors are pretty serious. beautiful room. >> yeah, it's a great entertaining area. because the kitchen's right off the great room. this is where people are gonna spend most of their time. >> one of the complaints that you hear a lot of times when you have high ceilings like this, how do you properly insulate? how do you balance the air conditioning? >> yeah, these rooms definitely become a challenging point to keeping the energy efficiency throughout the building itself. but this area is probably the most important part of the house. um, so we get back to the building envelope itself and trying to seal the entire building by spray foam insulation and then batt insulation put up against that. >> so, if it's done properly, it saves the homeowners money, number one. and, number two, there's an easier balance of ventilation in the house whether it be heat or whether it be air conditioning. >> absolutely. >> it's a beautiful remodel. up next on "the property man," most properties i visit, well, they're pretty easy

to get to, but not this one. but, considering there might be $125 million worth of gold buried there, it's probably worth the trip. [ woman vocalizing ] (roger) being a good father is important to me so being diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer made me think of all the things that i wanted to teach my kids. (avo) another tru story with keytruda. (roger) my doctor said i could start on keytruda so i did. with each scan things just got better. (avo) in a clinical study, keytruda offered patients a longer life than chemotherapy. and it could be your first treatment. keytruda is for adults with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread... ...who test positive for pd-l1 and whose tumors do not have an abnormal "egfr" or "alk" gene. it's the immunotherapy with the most fda-approved uses for advanced lung cancer. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in your body and affect how they work. this can happen anytime during or after treatment and may be severe and lead to death.

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♪ >> thanks for joining us. i'm bob massi. if you're feeling adventurous and have a couple of extra million dollars handy, well, you could buy a piece of history in your very own gold mine buried under these mountains north of scottsdale, arizona. >> gold in the desert! they've struck it rich! the prospectors haven't found gold, but gold was here all the time. >> now, it's all for sale, including the rights to six patented gold claims located within it. i asked realtor preston westmorland to show me around. so, you know, this is quite a ride, my friend, to get up to this gold -- gold mine. >> oh, it's unbelievable. and what we're gonna see is the main discovery tunnel,

where they tapped in on the vein, went all the way into the middle of the mountain. and they carved it out. let's take a look. >> let's do it. in 1874, a chance discovery here sparked a gold rush. and the gold hill mine was opened on this beautiful 117-acre property. fantastic. >> there, you see the main vein they tapped into, right there. the whole hill was claimed. and that's why they call it gold hill. but it was one of the most active mining areas in the state of arizona at that point. it's one of the more remote locations in scottsdale. there's no cell service. you can't see anything. it's like you're 100 miles from any major city, yet you're a couple of miles from luxury golf courses and people sipping pinot in a wine bar. >> walk through the nearby town of cave creek and you could still feel that gold rush vibe today. >> the ore, it was so rich, they took it out by burro to cave creek, then trucked it to prescott on a wagon. they went on a train to san francisco. and then they shipped it all the way to england

for smelting. and they still make money on it. >> but, not long after the discovery came, a worldwide economic downturn. >> they canceled all the plants. so it became a very, very small worked mine. there were 14 guys and a blacksmith shop here. >> interest has been ignited a few more times over the decades, 1937 and again, 1963, when a geologist wrote that, if properly handled, it is destined to become one of the profitable mines of arizona. >> okay, we're gonna go inside now. but, before we go in, let's get some helmets on. >> all right. might be little falling rocks once in a while. >> there you go. never know. >> okay. >> and you see that these are where railroad ties used to be. and you see these little blue pieces? this is where the mining companies did assays. and they'd mark that with a location as they mapped the mine. >> one factor you have to look at is that the early miners got the easiest gold

and the richest gold first. and anything else takes a lot more work. >> well, we're in the middle of the mountain, where, apparently, the early miners found unbelievable wealth of gold ore. this is, apparently, where they found the most gold. because they have hollowed out the mountain. you can't even see the top. and there's all kinds of tunnels that go off each side. a lot of this was dug out in the 1880s and 1890s, probably, all of it by hand. >> but, even though testing has estimated that there could be hundreds of thousands of tons of gold ore buried here, no actual mining has been done since the 1930s. >> it's amazing the work they did by hand back at the turn of the century. mine shut down about 1935. never been mined by modern, commercial standards. >> well, the price tag has come way down. but it's still going to be a bit out of reach for the average buyer. >> for 2.9 million, you get a whole gold mine. and i think the big question

has always been, below this ore body, is there another ore body? and some of the geologists i've talked with seem to believe there is. but owning a gold mine has always -- comes with a lot of risk. and sometimes you get a nice reward. but it's the chance that you'd have to take. >> the land is zoned to allow the construction of one home per acre. >> normally, when you show a house as a realtor, you go in and you -- you hope that the toilets are flushed, there's no food on the sink. when i get a call to show the gold hill mine, you might make sure there's no rattlesnakes in the tunnel, the bobcats are not anywhere nearby, you don't run into mountain lions. and it's just a whole different, uh, realm of -- of real estate property. i -- it's quite exciting. i like it. >> amazingly enough, this isn't even the only gold mine preston has listed for sale. eighty miles west is octave, arizona, and the octave gold mine. >> was a party of men back in 1863. and they saw gold all over the rocks. and -- and the story is that one guy

pried 300 ounces of gold in one day off the rocks. >> from 1895 until 1925, the 25 miles of tunnels at octave produced more gold than most mines in america. >> what my seller did was quite brilliant. he bought the entire octave vein from the bottom of the desert floor to the top of the mountain. >> more than 200,000 ounces of gold and 75,000 ounces of silver were pulled from the ground here. and there's likely to be much more still buried. it's one of arizona's most historic properties. and, for the right price, all 266 acres can be yours, along with its patented gold claims. two live-in caretakers protect the site and its minerals. and the land comes with an 1,100-square-foot home. >> it depends on power from wind generation and solar cells. there's a tv tower on the site. and the rental income from that produces enough to pay all the taxes. the road continues all the way to the top of the mine, where there's about a 300-foot cleared area.

could be a helipad or a place for a -- a really neat house that borders a national forest. >> all that plus a gold mine. up next... did you know that you could actually buy a home using a reverse mortgage and never make a mortgage payment on it? i'm gonna tell you how. [ woman vocalizing ]

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comcast business. beyond fast. ♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. you know, we've talked on this program before about reverse mortgages and how they could be a good way to refinance for some homeowners who are over 62. now, there are people who are actually buying homes using reverse mortgages. so i called my good buddy, reverse mortgage expert josh shein, to help me explain

how this works and introduce me to some folks who went through it. josh, how you doing, buddy? >> hey, bob. how are you? >> we meet again, huh? >> good to see you. >> good to see you, sir. >> we're gonna talk all about reverse mortgages. first, let's head in and meet a couple who used one to purchase their home. >> and it's a beautiful home. >> you're gonna love 'em. >> 'kay, let's do it. starla and carl kramer downsized last year after carl retired. starla has been a licensed realtor for over 25 years. >> i was at an open house. and a gentleman came in, was telling me about reverse mortgages. and i really wasn't familiar with the concept. and so we researched it, asked questions and decided to buy this little 1,841-square-foot home. >> they sold their 3,200-square-foot home for $500,000. they were able to put down $143,000 in cash. and they used a reverse mortgage for the rest, a single transaction with no payments. >> this allowed them to keep the rest of the money

in their pocket, use that money for whatever else they wish. >> many people don't realize that, in 2009, hud introduced the hecm for purchase program to allow seniors to buy a new home. >> we kept the rest of the proceeds from the big home to invest in other things. >> so how does it work? well, it allows you to obtain a reverse mortgage with some of the proceeds from the sale of your previous home or from other savings and assets and buy your next home in a single transaction. >> this is a traditional loan. the difference is, instead of you balance going down and you making payments every month, the payments you would be making are being added to the balance. and the balance is going up a little bit every month. >> no matter how long you live in the home or what happens to its value, you only make one down payment, and that's it. for as long as they remain in the home, they will never have to make a payment. >> carl, we're sort of old-school. we pay your mortgage every month. this whole idea of "you mean we're not gonna have a payment?" how did you react

to that initially? >> i didn't have a problem with not having a payment. >> exactly. >> that's just fine. >> we've had a mortgage for so many years. every month, on the 15th, a big chunk of cash would just automatically go out of our bank for auto-pay. and now on the 15th of the month, we kinda go, "wow, let's go to a movie!" you know. >> and what's nice is we've had some equity gain in the house in the last year. >> now, five years ago, ralph and mary, they did a reverse mortgage on their $550,000 home. >> and i thought, "wow, what a way to leverage your -- your money." >> parker turk was their mortgage broker. >> and it was during that process that we started to explain in the future how he could downsize using a reverse mortgage to purchase the next home. >> and that's when they came back to you, about a year and a half later? >> they sold their big, nice house, were able to, you know, recognize a really nice gain. >> i immediately called parker, and we initiated the sale of this home the same way. >> through the hecm for purchase program, they bought the new house with a reverse mortgage, keeping the leftover cash for their day-to-day expenses. >> if the market tanks, you're gonna lose

the equity in your house. but even if you own your house and the market tanks, it's exactly the same thing. what you're doing is receiving your equity up front, which is, i think, a smart move, if you have a plan. >> so what are the rules? well, the youngest title holder must be 62 years or older. >> at that age, you'll be able to borrow approximately 50 to 52 percent of the value of your home. as your age goes up, your ability to borrow increases. someone who, for example, is in their mid to late 80s can get up to 60, 65, even 70 percent. >> the home must be a primary residence. it has to be a single-family home, two- to four-unit home, or an fha-approved condo. the borrower must complete a hud-approved counseling session -- >> ensuring the borrower and consumer understands what they're going into, understands that they still own their home, understands that their balance is going up a little bit, and understands, most importantly, that they're responsible for paying taxes and insurance and maintaining the home. >> she would ask several different ways

during the interview to make sure we were really clear on that our equity would go down as years went on. >> one of the perceptions is that those who are concerned about leaving their children something, they feel that their kids basically will get nothing. >> as with any -- any mortgage you have, the bottom line is you look to sell the home. whatever you sell it for less the mortgage payoff, that difference, that equity is left to the family, left to the kids, left to the heirs. >> clients, when i try and explain the benefits of a reverse mortgage, they say, "oh, no, i think they come and take your house away." well, we've lived in our home free for 12 months now. and we haven't made a payment. and our home would sell for about 30,000 more than we paid for it. we'd get all that equity back. >> and it's a non-recourse loan, meaning that they cannot come after you personally for any of the debt. >> if the value does drop and the balance of the loan becomes higher than the home value, no one's ever responsible for paying the difference, not the homeowner and ultimately not the heirs down the road.

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♪ >> time now for the massi memo. earlier, we met some couples who had actually purchased their home using reverse mortgages. they put down a large down payment and took out a loan for the rest of the purchase price and never have to make another payment again. this is important

for you to understand. you, as the homeowner, continue to own and maintain the title of your home for as long as the property remains your primary residence. all too often, the optics and the perception of reverse mortgages are you give up your title. you do not. the question i get the most about reverse mortgage is, what about the fees? as with all loans, there are fees. and this is where you need to shop around and compare. there are mortgage insurance premiums. there's origination fees, servicing fees and other third-party charges. all too often, however, people spend the end of their lives with little or no cash flow and lots of equity in their homes that really does nothing for them. it's important to evaluate your individual situation and decide what is right for you. that's all the time we have today. as always, check out our website for more information -- foxnews.com/propertyman.

and send us your property stories and questions at propertyman@foxnews.com. i'm bob massi. and i'll see you next week. [ 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. eight 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. we're gonna meet real people who faced 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 ]

thanks for joining us. i'm bob massi. what if you could change your whole neighborhood or even an entire city? i'm gonna introduce you to some people who are doing just that, with amazing results. downtown las vegas has a rich history, but as the famous strip got built up and the suburbs grew outward, well, much of old vegas -- it became abandoned. then came the recession, which devastated the entire area. attorney oscar goodman was mayor at that time. his wife, carolyn, now is the current mayor. >> when you become the mayor, you see the first signs of blight. i didn't even know what the word meant at the time. windows were becoming boarded up in the downtown. i had been around the country. i went through various downtowns, and i saw what looked to me like war zones -- rubble and the like. and i didn't want that here for las vegas. >> things were looking pretty bleak for vegas, especially downtown, and despite the financial troubles, the city had already committed to moving out

of this building, which housed city hall, the municipal court, and the metropolitan police department. that would have left this enormous campus simply empty -- another massive hole in already depressed downtown las vegas. but tony hsieh, the c.e.o. of online retail giant zappos -- he approached the mayor. rather than constructing a new headquarters for the rapidly expanding zappos, well, tony hsieh had an idea. he wanted to take over and repurpose the old city hall. the end result was the largest ribbon cutting ever... >> cut! [ cheers and applause ] >> ...with every single zappos employee taking part. it was just the beginning of what some people say saved downtown las vegas. let's go take a look at exactly what they did. >> as you know, it's a historic building. the building's over 40 years old. it was the very first city hall that the city actually built itself to be the government seat. there was the metropolitan police department here, the municipal courts. for us, it was an adaptive reuse of an old building. so, we respected the exterior of

the building. we added a very modest neon sign on the outside, but, really, the magic is on the inside, where we really transformed the building and zappified it, as we like to say. >> and that they did. not only does it not look like a courthouse and city hall anymore, it doesn't look like any corporate office you've ever seen. the unique zappos culture has taken over. in all the days i've practiced law, i remember walking in here, and i remember what was here -- a lot of the city attorneys and things like that. and now another extension of zappos -- walk into a room that is full of stuffed animals. we have these plastic balls. we have zebras. >> this is just part of our culture. >> there are some things from the old building that zappos couldn't resist leaving alone, like the decor of the company gym. this is the old holding tank, where they used to bring the prisoners in the city. >> this is for our employees here to come and work out. most of the second floor of the old city hall in this part of the building was the old city jail. they used to bring the prisoners through the basement, and, actually, they would land here on the second floor, where they would be processed, given a nice

uniform to wear, and stayed a few nights. >> another historic piece of old vegas was left untouched -- the old city chambers, which is now zappos' corporate meeting space. >> this we left exactly the way it was when it was city council. you can tell by the design -- the stereotypical late '80s, early '90s. >> oh, absolutely. and to have a company like yours to come in and sort of preserve this is really very nice, you know, because it's sort of a part of the past. >> exactly. you know, for us, preserving this historic building, especially the exterior of the building, which is covered -- almost 90% of the building is all travertine marble. we respected that. >> thank you so much for calling zappos. my name is shannon. and who am i speaking with today? >> the call center is the backbone of our operation -- over 600 strong, from our 1,600 employees. they're located in this area and several parts of the building. these folks are on the phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, helping our customers out. >> and filling the old city hall with thousands of young zappo employees had an immediate effect on the surrounding area. >> so much of what tony hsieh has brought to town, which truly

has electrified us, 'cause, boy, have we gotten international focus on us because of this youthful, energized collision of people, and it's so exciting. >> when we come back, zappos decided to transform not just their headquarters but all of downtown, using a giant, fire-breathing praying mantis. it's something that could come to your city very soon. [ woman vocalizing ] (roger) being a good father is important to me so being diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer made me think of all the things that i wanted to teach my kids. (avo) another tru story with keytruda. (roger) my doctor said i could start on keytruda so i did. with each scan things just got better. (avo) in a clinical study, keytruda offered patients a longer life than chemotherapy. and it could be your first treatment. keytruda is for adults with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread... ...who test positive for pd-l1 and whose tumors do not have an abnormal "egfr" or "alk" gene.

it's the immunotherapy with the most fda-approved uses for advanced lung cancer. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in your body and affect how they work. this can happen anytime during or after treatment and may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you experience new or worsening cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, severe stomach pain or tenderness, nausea or vomiting, rapid heartbeat, constipation, changes in urine, changes in eyesight, muscle pain or weakness, joint pain, confusion or memory problems, fever, rash, itching or flushing, as this may keep these problems from becoming more serious. these are not all the possible side effects of keytruda. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including immune system problems, or if you've had an organ transplant or lung, breathing, or liver problems. (roger ) before i'd think of the stuff i might miss. but now with keytruda, we have hope. (avo) living longer is possible. it's tru. keytruda, from merck. ask your doctor about keytruda.

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♪ >> i'm bob massi, the property man. when tony hsieh and zappos plopped themselves down in the middle of downtown las vegas, well, things started to change. but then he decided to really shake things up and transform the entire area. ♪ he launched a massive private-redevelopment program called the downtown project. >> the project itself has been funded entirely by tony hsieh. so, there's $350 million been

put into this project. $200 million went into property -- just buying real estate -- so the project itself owns 65 acres of land in downtown. $50 million went into funding a whole bunch of tech companies to try and bring innovation and creativity downtown. $50 million went into small businesses -- everything from hairdressing salons to amazing restaurants, food and beverage, bars, juice bars, yoga studios, just to really try and kind of be a catalyst for change for this community. >> along comes tony hsieh and zappos, and they take over the old city hall, and he brings in the critical mass, where we now have the little grocery stores. and a week ago, i actually went to a bookstore in the downtown. it was phenomenal -- i mean, a real bookstore in downtown las vegas. >> i came to las vegas about 14 years ago and been working in the casinos and cooking as a chef natie yng h alws th sheet ty hsieh andt

suddenly had a $250,000 loan. >> tony walked in to where i was at, and he said, "what size restaurant do you want?" and eight months later, i had my own restaurant. i paid back the loan in a year and three months, so it's a win-win situation for everybody. it's been amazing. across the street, there was a motel 6 right when i moved in here, and that was pretty much it. now there's five restaurants in the very close vicinity of here and other small businesses that are coming in. >> john curran is head of rgg, the downtown project's housing-development arm. >> here we've got glutton, which is sort of a gourmet-comfort-food concept. and right next door, it's got vegenation, which is an all vegan, or plant-powered, as they call it, restaurant. >> ♪ fremont street just can't be beat ♪ ♪ when lady luck shines on me >> downtown las vegas area had long been blighted, but they didn't want to disneyfy old vegas, so on the outside, the

old vegas vibe remains, while the inside is completely transformed. >> so, john e. carson was a 64-unit extended-stay residence hotel. each of the units was like 10'x10'. it had a sink and a closet in it and a shared toilet. >> the old john e. carson hotel may look the same as it has for decades on the outside, but it is now the home of new stores like the doughnut store. >> this very cool, kitsch, retro kind of design doughnut shop that has the best doughnuts in town. >> if there's something standing and in good shape, like the john e. carson was, we're really not going to tear it apart and reassemble it, so you get this sort of collision of the old and new. >> it's so exciting, what they're doing. there's an old medical office converted into the beat, which is a coffee shop -- really cute. but all those examining rooms made into individual art galleries. ♪ >> and they have life is beautiful, which is a special event. you know, you talk about the burning man? well, they used a similar concept, but they make it into an urban experience, and they

have music, they have speeches, they've got artwork, they have a cooking fair. i mean, it goes on for three days and nights. it doesn't stop. i remember our first first friday here when i was the mayor. i guess it's like 14 years ago. 30 people came. now they get 20,000 down there. ♪ >> the local barbershop -- been around for decades, and they have seen the neighborhood transform around them. >> it's changing dramatically, and we love it here. the neighborhood was pretty bad. when we moved down here, it was all base -- you know what i'm saying? -- drugs, prostitution. but now it has -- there wasn't even restaurants down here at the time. a lot of people are starting to walk around and smile. it's a smiling area now. >> ♪ never seen the sky so blue ♪ >> an old motel, long run down and abandoned, has been brought back to life as a swanky boutique hotel, but that classic old vegas vibe remains.

>> we are an 86-room hotel. all 86 rooms are individually designed, unique to one another -- different artwork, furniture, and layouts, as well. >> in the old days, this was basically -- really did become somewhat of a rundown motel, correct? >> this originally was a travelodge built in 1962. with the changes that have been happening in the last couple of years, what we've seen is that a lot of people are coming down here and gravitating down here, just to come hang out and take downtown in and just hang out. >> well, i can tell you this -- this is definitely not a room from 1962. >> no. not at all. >> this is beautiful. >> thank you. the gold spike was a casino way past its prime. >> i was scared to go into the casino for fear of getting a secondary lung disease. now it's a boutique hotel. >> that used to be in the pit, where we used to have table games. >> yep. >> there'd be gaming machines all throughout here. you know, it's just one of those things where it used to be a lot smokier back then, as well. what you see here monday through friday during the day is you walk in and there's people working on their computers. we use it more as a co-working space, and as we get later on into the evening, the lights get

dim, the music gets a little bit louder, the happy hour starts, and it morphs into a party pretty much every night. so while people work in the day, they party at night. >> but how do you know if a business will succeed? well, you could try them out first by putting them in a shipping container. ♪ container park is a collection of businesses which inhabit 30 reconstructed shipping containers and 41 metal tubes. they plopped them down on the former site of an old run-down motel and put a giant treehouse playground in the middle -- out front, a giant, fire-breathing praying mantis that tony hsieh got at burning man. mark rowland runs dtp ventures, which supports the businesses created by the downtown project. >> there are lots of small businesses working out of these little containers, and it's shops only, so it's a little bit of a business incubator. >> so, let's talk about these containers. like, for example, i'm looking at this barbecue. >> yep, big ern's bbq. >> so, this is a container? >> that's an old shipping container repurposed. >> they came from a shipping

yard in southern california, and we repurposed them, you know, redecorated them, insulated them, and did whatever we had to do to get them to be habitable structures. we've got six food-and-beverage outlets, which range from barbecue to tacos to gourmet hot dogs and a vegan restaurant. the largest container in there is about 1,200 square feet, and that's a toy store. they have all the coolest toys in the world, according to them. there's a lot of sort of boutique, fashion, crafts. >> not every business survives, and the downtown project has certainly seen some come and go. >> some businesses have started and stopped, and a bunch of businesses have started and grown. the other good thing about the project itself is we have a ton of people that can help. all these businesses, whether it's marketing support, finance support, operational, human support, so that they can actually run their business as best they possibly can, flourish, and continue to grow. i moved over here two years ago, and this was a vacant block of land. there was nothing here. and then as soon as the containers went in and the playground went in, it was the first time i'd literally ever seen young children, mothers with strollers, walking down the streets. >> in downtown las vegas.

>> downtown las vegas. >> that's really amazing. is this something you think that should go to other places in the united states, other cities that have been going through tough times? >> not just the united states. >> all over the world? >> could be globally. >> yeah. up next, you've heard of buying a fixer-upper, right? how 'bout buying a 1.2-million-square-foot fixer-upper? we'll meet the man who did this, plus an update on a story we brought you a few weeks ago of a couple fighting to keep their home. stick around. [ woman vocalizing ]

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♪ >> thanks for staying with us. i'm bob massi, the property man. sometimes when everyone is running one way, you'll find one person going the other direction. that's the case with roland sansone, and he might just save an entire neighborhood by doing it. if you think buying a house is a

big investment, how about buying 75 acres of fading shopping mall? as shoppers flock to the internet in the ever-expanding suburbs, malls across america have faced some real tough times. but that's where one man sees an opportunity to not just bring back the american shopping mall but revitalize an entire neighborhood in the process. throughout the 1970s, the boulevard mall -- well, it was the place to shop in las vegas. it was the first and the most popular shopping mall in the area. but as time marched on, the mall and its surrounding area fell on some hard times. now developer roland sansone is taking a major gamble. he bought the boulevard mall for $54 million and is sinking more than $25 million to complete it. >> this is the old dillard's building. it's approximately 200,000 square feet. it's been vacant for about eight years, and when we purchased the mall, a large portion of the mall was vacant and abandoned. we felt that it had a lot of

potential. the upstairs will probably never be retail again, so we're converting it, as you can see, into office use. we are taking the downstairs and cutting it up for retail. the actual exterior of the mall hasn't seen much change in it. it was built back in the '60s. we are creating a completely new facade on the outside. we're bringing the inside out. >> we've got a lot of out-of-the-box things going on. for example, we've got entertainment, like free magic show on the weekends, live music, live dj. >> the shopping is gonna be like a secondary aspect. the experience will be number one. what we're doing is we're creating what will almost be like a downtown disney feel to the outside. it's awnings, large walkways, landscaping, music. >> ironically, it was the recession and the real-estate crash that allowed them to make this happen. >> a lot of the malls had a lot of heavy debt, which then required large rents, and with the malls going into foreclosure, people like us were

able to come around and pick up these malls at a discount and able to offer discounted rates to people. >> like any city over the years, things change, and this became a blighted area. tell us about what's happened with malls all over the country. >> certain parts of the cities or towns got forgotten or left behind and became blighted. as the neighborhoods turned, these 100-plus malls around the country have become abandoned. now you have what you see -- opportunity for those of us that have a vision for changing the malls into something else. >> particularly in today's day, where so much is done on the internet, a lot of people think malls are extinct. >> it's fun because many people said it can't be done. old malls like this should be torn down and turned in to an apartment complex or something else. but i feel people still want to shop in air conditioning. it's about a new experience. it's about entertainment, dining, and shopping all included as one. >> and now we're gonna walk into a place that was abandoned for years, and, again, you're gonna revitalize that. let's go take a look. >> right. empty for about eight years, so let's see.

>> now we're in here, which, basically has been, as you said, abandoned for eight years. >> finding a big-box user today is, i think, next to impossible. >> what does that mean -- a big-box user? >> 200,000 square feet, which is what this building is, so we're cutting the building up to accommodate smaller users. >> makes it easier to market and get tenants? >> yeah. it's risky because we're doing something without having a tenant signed up. >> it's gonna create jobs and energy and families coming together again. >> it'll create hundreds of jobs -- not a hundred but several hundred jobs. >> this is a pretty aggressive move. so, what do some of your colleagues think about you coming in and doing this venture? >> actually, most of my friends think i'm a little crazy, and they think my vision's a little off the wall for what i have planned for this mall. all i got to say is come back in six months and see what it's gonna look like. >> it's like the american dream again, you know? it's like, "look, believe in us. believe in who we are." and the other thing i liked is you are using local contractors, people in the community, to make

this happen. >> turning what used to be a big box into several different things -- family entertainment downstairs, office use upstairs -- says that with just a little creativity, you can actually transform these old malls that were built back in the '50s and '60s, because i believe you shouldn't abandon america's malls. >> up next, an update on a story we brought you a few weeks ago of a couple fighting to keep their home. stick around. [ woman vocalizing ] i can't believe it. that grandpa's nose is performing "flight of the bumblebee?" ♪ no, you goof. i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. nice. i know, right? ♪ [nose plays a jazzy saxophone tune] believe it. geico could save you 15%

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♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. a few weeks ago, we met karen and dennis. they hit hard times when they both lost their jobs and the insurance company said they need a new roof. they fell behind on their payments and even turned to selling things on ebay to pay for their bills. i told them the only way out was a loan modification and explained how to approach the banks to get one. time now to check in and see how they're doing. tell us what's happened since the last time we saw you. >> well, we did get a loan modification, and it took a big -- and thanks in large part to your efforts, as well... >> thank you. >> ...we have our head above water at this point, and we're beginning to reorganize things here and inside the house. >> it's taken a whole year. >> now, i know that there was a period of time that you had made payments, so part of the modification was what on what

was owed? >> they put the part that i had missed payments for several months in a row -- they put that at the very end of the loan, so we still have that coming up. >> right. but that's the end of the loan? >> that's the end of the loan. >> so, we have a modification -- signed agreement between all parties? >> yeah. >> okay. you saved a little bit on your monthly payment, which helps. >> couple hundred. it helped. >> everything helped. >> yeah, definitely. >> but, more importantly, what you were concerned about was what was owed. were they gonna make you come up with that money? that allowed you to take a deep breath. >> that's right. >> and so with that -- now, i know you're working now. things are better with you, employment-wise. things are good with you. you successfully made it through some tough times. >> really bad, yeah. >> what's your message to those people who still find themselves wanting to keep their home? >> find someone like you. [ laughter ] >> it's true. >> just keep going and keep going. don't lose faith. >> that's it for today. 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 ] welcome to "the journaling editorial report." giving us a glimpse into the cases 0 former trump attorney michael cohen and former campaign chair paul man fot. but do the sentencing memos on friday give us an indication of where the russian probe is headed and whether it spells trouble for president trump. let's ask kim strassel who has been following this story from the first. let's take this from the top in order and talk a