Short answer: Cadence and Inspirada look like the same decision, but they are barely the same product. Inspirada is mostly built out and mostly resale. Cadence is about halfway through its buildout and is the valley's busiest new-construction address. Inspirada carries a documented City of Henderson improvement district assessment, and Cadence’s developer says its homes do not, so the tax bill for the exact address matters more than either community’s reputation. For most of the buyers I work with I would buy in Inspirada, and there are four clear cases where I would tell you to ignore that and buy in Cadence.
I'm Mike Roland. My team and I have helped clients buy in both communities, and I recorded a head-to-head video that runs them through six rounds. This guide goes further than the video. It adds outside data from Redfin, RCLCO, Clark County, the City of Henderson, the Bureau of Land Management and the Nevada Legislature, and it has the numbers I can source, the questions to ask before you write an offer, a decision table, and current homes for sale in both.
The scoreboard: six rounds, one answer
In the video I score each round. Here is the same scoreboard, with two changes. I do not rank schools in writing, and I no longer call the assessment round a draw, because the primary sources told a different story than the one I gave on camera. Zoning is set address by address and the district redraws it, so a written ranking goes stale and can send someone to the wrong place. The school section below tells you how to check your own address instead.
| Round | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Price and inventory | Cadence on price, Inspirada on move-in condition | Cadence starts about $100,000 to $120,000 lower for a house. Inspirada is mostly resale, so the homes are finished and settled. |
| 2. Special assessments (SID and LID) | Check the parcel | Inspirada has a documented City of Henderson improvement district. Cadence’s developer says its homes carry none. The tax bill for the exact address settles it. |
| 3. Location and commute | Inspirada for the southwest valley and airport, Cadence for the lake and downtown Henderson | It depends on where your week goes. |
| 4. Amenities and dues | Cadence on scale, Inspirada on walkability | Dues are closer than most people assume. Check the specific neighborhood. |
| 5. Schools | Not scored in writing | Zoning is set by address and changes. Check the exact address with the school district. |
| 6. Resale and appreciation | Inspirada | A longer track record. Cadence has more runway but competes with builders while it is still building. |
Cadence vs. Inspirada at a glance
Figures with a source are linked at the bottom of the page. Drive times and my own dues quotes are estimates, so confirm them for the exact address you are considering.
| Cadence | Inspirada | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is | East Henderson, along Lake Mead Parkway between Boulder Highway and the 215, closer to the lake. | Southern Henderson, off the 215 and up against the foothills, near Volunteer Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway. |
| Master developer | The LandWell Company. | Land bought at a 2004 Bureau of Land Management auction by a builder led consortium. KB Home was the majority land owner and first builder. |
| Size | About 2,200 acres, including about 450 acres of open space (developer FAQ). | Roughly 1,900 acres (1,953 acres sold at the 2004 auction). |
| Opened | Groundbreaking in August 2013, first home sales in December 2014, first residents in 2015. | 2007. |
| Planned homes | Up to 12,250 residential units at buildout, per the developer. Older materials said 13,250. | Approved for up to 8,500 homes, per the community. Early plans called for far more. |
| Build status | About halfway built. Roughly 5,200 homes occupied as of May 2024 (Review-Journal). Buildout estimated around 2031. | Mostly built out. Homebuilding is still going with KB Home, Toll Brothers and Tri Pointe Homes. |
| New home sales rank (RCLCO) | No. 5 nationally at mid-year 2026, with 657 sales. | No. 42 nationally at mid-year 2025, with 207 sales. Reported as winding down new home sales in 2026. |
| Builders | Beazer Homes, Century Communities, D.R. Horton, Lennar, Richmond American Homes, Taylor Morrison and Woodside Homes, among others. | KB Home, Toll Brothers and Tri Pointe Homes through Inspirada Builders, LLC. |
| Home types | Townhomes, paired homes, single-family homes, build-to-rent neighborhoods, apartments and a gated 55+ village (Heritage at Cadence). | Attached homes and townhomes, single-family homes, and gated builder collections. |
| Median sale price | About $530,000, up 5.8% year over year (Redfin, August 2026). | About $581,000 (Redfin, August 2026). |
| Price per square foot | About $233 (Redfin, August 2026). | About $255, up roughly 3% year over year (Redfin, August 2026). |
| Active list price range | Townhomes about $245,000 to $480,000. Houses about $315,000 to $890,000. | Townhomes about $385,000 to $778,000. Houses about $435,000 to just over $1.1 million. |
| Special assessments | The developer’s FAQ says there are no SID or LID fees. Some townhome or condo neighborhoods may have other non-HOA assessments. | A City of Henderson local improvement district (LID), billed through the City’s administrator. The amount varies by collection. |
| Master association dues | Reported at about $40 a month in a 2024 developer promotion and about $75 in my own quotes. Confirm in the resale package. | $255 per quarter (about $85 a month) for several collections and $423 per quarter for Terraces, per the community’s FAQ in 2019. Confirm the current figure. |
| Parks and amenities | Central Park of about 50 acres, a residents-only pool, splash pad, adventure playground, lighted pickleball courts, amphitheater and neighborhood parks. | 85 acres of parks, trails and open space, five heated pools and a plan for 35 miles of trails. |
| Drive to the Strip | About 25 minutes in my estimate. | About 20 minutes in my estimate. |
| Drive to the airport | Longer than from Inspirada. | About 20 minutes in my estimate. |
| Nearby outdoors | Clark County Wetlands Park, Lake Mead and downtown Henderson. | Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, about 10 minutes away in my estimate. |
Sources: the Cadence developer FAQ, the Inspirada community FAQ, Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun reporting, RCLCO’s mid-year rankings, Redfin neighborhood data and the City of Henderson. Full list at the bottom. Active list price ranges are from my MLS pull on September 22, 2026. They are asking prices on homes for sale that day, not closed sales, and they change weekly.
How each master plan got here
The history explains a lot about why the two communities feel and cost what they do, so it is worth five minutes.
Inspirada: a 2004 land auction and a developer that did not make it
The land came out of a Bureau of Land Management auction in June 2004. A builder led group paid about $557 million for 1,953 acres, and the master plan opened in 2007. Early plans reported in 2006 called for more than 11,000 homes. Today the community says it is approved for up to 8,500, which is a big reason the streets feel the way they do.
The 2008 downturn hit the original master developer, South Edge LLC, hard. In December 2010 a syndicate of lenders filed an involuntary Chapter 11 petition over a $585 million credit agreement. That matters to a buyer today for one reason. Inspirada’s infrastructure was financed through a City of Henderson improvement district, and testimony to a Nevada Senate committee in 2015 described the City selling $100 million of local improvement district bonds on its own credit for the project, after the developer behind it had ceased to exist. I cover what that means for your tax bill in Round 2.
Cadence: a long runway, a cleaned up site and a busy sales office
The LandWell Company is the master developer. Groundbreaking was in August 2013, home sales began in December 2014 and the first residents arrived in 2015. The community had closed its 1,000th home by 2018 and had roughly 5,200 homes occupied by May 2024. Its developer says the plan allows up to 12,250 residential units and about 1.1 million square feet of commercial space. Earlier marketing materials said 13,250 units, so expect the numbers to keep moving.
One more fact to know. Cadence sits downstream of the World War II era magnesium operation in Henderson, and the land took industrial process waste in open ditches until 1976. A $135 million cleanup removed about 3.5 million cubic yards of soil, and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection cleared the land in phases, with final approval in 2015. This history is public and documented. I would rather you hear it from me than from a search result after you are in escrow, and our Cadence guide covers it in more detail.
Round 1: Home prices and inventory
Before I quote a number, you should know where it came from. I pulled the ranges below from the MLS on September 22, 2026. They are not from a builder website or a blog post written years ago. That matters, because the numbers published online for these two communities are all over the place. I found Cadence medians quoted anywhere from the low $300,000s to the mid $500,000s for the same community in the same year. A gap that wide means somebody is guessing.
| Cadence | Inspirada | |
|---|---|---|
| Townhomes | About $245,000 to $480,000 | About $385,000 to $778,000 |
| Single-family homes | About $315,000 to $890,000 | About $435,000 to just over $1.1 million |
| Redfin median sale price (August 2026) | About $530,000 | About $581,000 |
| Redfin price per square foot (August 2026) | About $233 | About $255 |
Townhome and single-family ranges are active list prices from my MLS pull on September 22, 2026. They are not closed sales and not a median. Medians and price per square foot are Redfin neighborhood figures for August 2026.
Read those ranges back to back. Inspirada's cheapest townhome costs more than Cadence's cheapest house. In Cadence, about $385,000 buys a single-family home. In Inspirada, $385,000 is where townhomes start, and on the day I pulled the data there was no house under about $435,000. That leaves roughly $100,000 to $120,000 of room underneath Inspirada's floor in Cadence, which is an entire price tier.
At the other end, Inspirada runs past $1.1 million, and the top of that range is the Toll Brothers luxury collection. Cadence tops out around $890,000. So Inspirada has the higher floor and the higher ceiling. The two communities actually compete in the middle, roughly $435,000 to $890,000. If your budget lives there, you have a real decision to make. If your budget is under about $400,000, the inventory today is in Cadence.
Active inventory moves from week to week. If you are reading this months from now, the shape of those ranges will probably hold, but the exact numbers will not.
The real trade: finished and settled, or new and more space
Inspirada started building in 2007, so most of what you shop there is resale. The homes are five, ten or fifteen years old, with mature landscaping, finished streets and neighbors who have been there a while. Cadence opened in 2014 and is about halfway through its buildout, with an estimated completion around 2031. You can buy brand new from half a dozen or more builders, pick the lot and pick the finishes.
That is the trade. In Inspirada you are buying a finished community at a finished price. In Cadence you get more house per dollar, and you get it with construction trucks going past on the way to the next phase. Neither is wrong. If a dirt lot across the street for a few years would bother you, you already know which one you are.
One more point on buying new. Cadence is not only for-sale homes. It also has build-to-rent neighborhoods and several apartment communities, so read each listing carefully and know exactly what you are looking at.
Who is selling the most new homes: the national rankings
RCLCO ranks master-planned communities across the country by new home sales every six months. It does not count resales, so the ranking measures how much new inventory a community is still putting on the market.
| Period | Cadence | Inspirada |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-year 2024 | No. 4, with 726 sales | No. 38, with 261 sales |
| Mid-year 2025 | No. 3, with 722 sales | No. 42, with 207 sales |
| Mid-year 2026 | No. 5, with 657 sales | Not reported in the sources I reviewed |
Source: RCLCO mid-year rankings, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Nevada Business Press for 2024 and 2025 and published by RCLCO for 2026. Cadence appears in the top five in each report. Inspirada was reported as set to wind down new home sales in 2026.
Here is how I read that. Cadence has been one of the five best selling master plans in the country for three straight reports, which means it keeps adding new homes and builders keep competing for buyers. That is good for choice and for incentives. It also means that when you resell a Cadence home you may be competing with a builder’s new inventory down the street. Inspirada has largely finished selling new homes, so what you shop there is mostly resale. That matches what I tell clients about finished and settled versus new and still building.
Round 2: Special assessments, the second bill on the house
This is the round I made the video for, and it is the one where I went back to primary sources for this written version. Here is how these assessments work, and what the record shows for each community.
How an improvement district assessment works in Nevada
Under Nevada law (NRS Chapter 271), a city or county can create a special improvement district (SID) or local improvement district (LID), sell bonds to pay for infrastructure such as roads, sewers, street lights and parks, and repay those bonds through assessments on the parcels that benefit. A few facts a buyer should know:
- Clark County describes a special assessment as a lien on the parcel that is separate from real property taxes and billed separately, typically twice a year, with the cost split by benefit.
- If an assessment goes delinquent, the County begins the foreclosure process within 60 days.
- State law sets the installment term at not less than 2 and not more than 30 years from the ordinance’s effective date, so the remaining years differ by phase.
- An owner may generally pay off the unpaid principal at any time with accrued interest, and the ordinance may require a prepayment premium. Ask for the exact payoff terms.
- In Henderson, LID bills and payoff amounts are handled by the City’s assessment administrator, and the City’s finance department page explains how to request a payoff or status letter.
Inspirada: a documented LID
Inspirada has a City of Henderson local improvement district, and the community’s own FAQ confirms it and says the amount varies by collection. The financing history in the section above is why it exists. I have seen figures quoted online for the remaining balance, but I could not confirm them in a primary source, so I will not repeat them. Ask the City’s administrator for the payoff on the exact parcel.
Cadence: the developer says none, so verify
Cadence’s developer states on its FAQ that there are no SID or LID fees, and adds that some townhome or condo neighborhoods may have other non-HOA assessment fees, with no dollar amounts given. You will see both claims online, with some sites saying Cadence has bond debt and others saying it does not. In the video I told you Cadence has assessments too. I could not confirm that against a primary source for this guide, and a developer statement is a claim, not a tax bill. I have seen buyers surprised by assessments in escrow in Henderson, so my advice is the same either way. Treat every parcel as unknown until you have read its bill.
What to do before you write an offer
- Pull the actual tax bill for that exact address from the Clark County Treasurer. Not the community average and not what a sales agent says the neighborhood runs.
- Look for any special assessment line, and ask for the payoff balance in writing.
- Decide whether you will pay it off at closing, carry it, or negotiate for the seller to pay it off at closing. Whatever you decide, put it in the contract.
- Get the Nevada resale package so you see the exact current dues and any other charges before you close.
- For a new build, ask the builder in writing whether the lot carries any improvement district or other non-HOA assessment, and what it will be.
I have watched buyers find out about a $20,000-plus assessment eleven days into escrow. It is an unpleasant conversation, and about ten minutes of work avoids it.
How Nevada’s property tax cap fits in
Nevada caps the annual increase in the property tax bill on an owner-occupied primary residence at 3 percent (NRS 361.4723). Other property, including second homes and rentals, gets a higher cap of up to 8 percent, according to Clark County. That cap applies to property taxes. Special assessments are billed separately from property taxes, so the cap does not limit what an improvement district collects. It is set by the district’s schedule and the bonds behind it.
Two practical points. If you are buying as a primary residence, you will see the 3 percent cap work in your favor on the tax portion as values rise. If you are buying a second home or an investment property in either community, ask what cap applies to you and plan for the higher one. I cover the full Nevada move, including how the cap resets, in the free relocation guide linked in the video description.
Round 3: Location and commute
Inspirada sits in southern Henderson, off the 215 and up against the foothills. In my estimate it is about 20 minutes to the Strip, about the same to the airport, and about 10 minutes to Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. If you hike, having Sloan Canyon close is a real perk. It covers roughly 48,000 acres, includes petroglyph sites, and is quiet on a weekday. Inspirada is also closer to the employment corridors most of my clients drive to, and closer to the St. Rose Dominican Siena campus.
Cadence is in east Henderson along Lake Mead Parkway, between Boulder Highway and the 215, closer to the lake. It is close to downtown Henderson and the Water Street District, which has changed a lot in the last several years. The Strip is a longer run, more like 25 minutes in my estimate. The Boulder Highway corridor near Cadence has seen real investment. If your impression of east Henderson comes from years ago, go drive it before you rule it out.
These two locations are not equivalent. If you head to the southwest valley or the airport every day, Inspirada wins on the clock. If your life points toward the lake or downtown Henderson, Cadence is the quicker one.
If you are relocating and trying to work out which one fits, tell me where you will drive on a Tuesday. That is usually a five minute conversation, and it saves a lot of second guessing.
What is changing around each community: roads and construction
Both communities depend on the same freeway corridors, and several projects are under way. Plan on construction for the next couple of years, and test your commute at your own hour.
Near Cadence. Cadence sits inside the City of Henderson’s East Henderson Redevelopment Area. The City’s Reimagine Boulder Highway project covers 7.5 miles inside Henderson and has been reported at an estimated $185 million, up from $120 million, with completion expected around August 2027. The City received a $39.9 million federal INFRA grant for the corridor. Next to the community, Cadence Crossing, a Boyd Gaming casino at 920 N. Boulder Highway, opened in March 2026. It is next to Cadence, not inside it. Henderson has also said it plans to extend the I-215 widening east between Stephanie Street and the Henderson Bowl interchange to fix the Lake Mead Parkway ramp to westbound I-215.
Near Inspirada. Widening of I-215 between St. Rose Parkway and Stephanie Street is under way, with full completion reported as expected in September 2028. The City also lists projects with no published dates, including a Lake Mead Parkway corridor study, a Via Inspirada trail and replacing the Via Inspirada and Bicentennial double roundabout with two signals. Check the City’s current projects page for the latest status.
What this means for you: both daily drives could change in the next few years, in the short run for the worse because of construction and in the long run for the better. It is one more reason to drive each route at the hour you would actually drive it.
Open space near each community
Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. The Bureau of Land Management manages about 48,438 acres here, which Congress designated in 2002. It includes the Sloan Canyon Petroglyph Site, with more than 300 panels and nearly 1,700 designs, and the North McCullough Wilderness. It is the big back yard for Inspirada. One practical note: the BLM closed the Nawghaw Poa Road access from November 12, 2024 to November 11, 2026 for visitor center construction and moved parking to Democracy Drive, so check the BLM page before you plan a visit.
Clark County Wetlands Park. About 2,900 acres on the east edge of the valley, including a 210-acre nature preserve and a nature center that opened in 2013. It is the open space neighbor to Cadence’s side of Henderson.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area. About 1.5 million acres, and closer to Cadence’s side of town in my experience. Confirm drive times for your address.
Round 4: Amenities, HOA dues and walkability
Cadence is built around a destination. Central Park is about 50 acres with a residents-only pool and a 2,000 square foot splash pad, a 5-acre adventure playground, lighted pickleball courts, an outdoor fitness court, a pavilion and an amphitheater used for community events. The Review-Journal described a free residents bike share at Cadence in 2016, and I have pointed it out to clients as something I have not seen elsewhere in this valley. Ask whether it is still operating. There are neighborhood parks as well, including Desert Pulse Park with the Dakota Dog Park, Citrine Sky Park, Blooming Cactus Park of about 7 acres and Desert Symphony Park with a skate park. A sports park of roughly 100 acres has been planned, with Little League and softball fields, multi-purpose fields and basketball and pickleball courts, and it was still in design in late 2024, so ask what has opened. For daily errands, the Village Center is nearly 30 acres and has been marketed with Smith’s Marketplace and EoS Fitness as anchors. On raw acreage of recreation, Cadence has the most of any master plan in Henderson in my view.
Inspirada takes the opposite approach. Instead of one big central park, the amenities are spread out. The community has 85 acres of parks, trails and open space, five heated pools and a master plan calling for 35 miles of trails. The association’s parks page lists five parks (Aventura, which is over 20 acres, plus Potenza, Capriola, Solista and Attesa). Our own count of seven includes the newer Montagna and Sentiero parks. Across the parks you find tennis courts, soccer fields, pickleball, volleyball, basketball, dog parks and splash pads. The design idea is that you walk to the park instead of driving to it. A town center with outdoor shopping and restaurants was described as upcoming back in 2019, so ask what is open today.
Which is better depends on how you live. If you want a destination where the whole community shows up on a Saturday, that is Cadence. If you want to walk a couple of hundred yards to a pool on a weekday evening, that is Inspirada.
What the dues look like
Dues are closer than most people assume, and they are the least reliable number in this whole comparison because they change and vary by neighborhood. Here is what I can support:
- Inspirada. The community association’s FAQ in 2019 listed $255 per quarter, about $85 a month, for several collections and $423 per quarter for the Terraces. An older association schedule showed $95 a month. Privately gated builder collections carry their own sub-association dues on top.
- Cadence. A 2024 developer promotion cited master dues of about $40 a month, with the developer covering the first year for buyers. In my own quotes I have used about $75 a month at the master level, plus neighborhood fees. Newer villages can differ.
Call it close at the master level, then check the specific neighborhood. The monthly number that matters is master dues, plus the sub-association, plus any assessment on the tax bill. Get the Nevada resale package for the exact home.
Round 5: Schools, and how to check your own address
I am careful here, and I would ask you to be careful too. Clark County School District boundaries move, and information from even a year or two ago can point you to the wrong zone. So I do not rank schools in this guide, and I would not buy a house on a rating you read on a website.
Here is what to do instead. Every home is zoned for specific elementary, middle and high schools based on the address. Look up the zoning for the exact address through the school district, confirm it again when you are under contract, and visit the schools your address feeds this year. Ask us for the current zoning on any home you like. Ratings are a ten thousand foot view of something you would experience up close for years.
A real buyer story: the tiebreaker is almost never the house
We worked with a couple relocating from Southern California. They both worked hybrid, and they had decided on Inspirada before they got on a plane. They loved the parks and the finished feel, and the location was closer to the airport for the one who traveled. We toured Inspirada first. Then I drove them through Cadence, mostly so they could say they had seen it, and one of them got quiet in the car.
For what they had budgeted, Cadence got them an extra bedroom and a three-car garage, brand new, with nobody else's twelve-year-old carpet in it. They went back and forth for two weeks. What broke the tie was not the price and it was not the house. One of them drove the commute from both at 7:00 on a weekday morning, and from Cadence it was 19 minutes longer each way. They bought in Inspirada. They paid more and got less house.
A year in, they told me those 19 minutes twice a day were the best money they spent. It is the difference between making dinner and missing it. The lesson is that the tiebreaker is almost never the house. It is the thing you do every single day without thinking about it.
Round 6: Resale value and future appreciation
This is where I think people get it backwards. Inspirada has a track record. It has been trading since 2008, it went through the downturn and it came out the other side. There is no guessing about whether the community works, because it already has.
Cadence does not have that history yet, and it is still building. The RCLCO data above shows why that matters. Cadence has been one of the five best selling master plans in the country, which means a steady flow of new homes. For the next several years, when you go to sell a Cadence home you are competing with builders who can do things you cannot, such as rate buydowns, closing credits and free upgrades. I see a real headwind on resale in any community that is still in active buildout. It is also part of the reason Cadence’s price floor sits roughly $100,000 under Inspirada’s.
The fair flip side is that Cadence has more runway. It has up to 12,250 planned homes and a lot of retail and recreation still filling in, and there is an argument that it could appreciate faster off a lower base. That is a maybe, not a promise, and nobody can guarantee appreciation in either community. The timeline matters too. If you will be in the house four to five years, the difference matters a lot. If you will be there for twenty, it mostly washes out.
| Resale factor | Cadence | Inspirada |
|---|---|---|
| Track record | Opened 2014. Still in buildout. | Trading since 2008, through a full cycle. |
| Competition when you sell | Builder inventory, incentives and credits. | Mostly other resales. |
| Supply still coming | Up to 12,250 planned homes, about halfway built. | Largely built out. |
| Upside argument | More runway as retail and parks fill in. | Proven community, finished surroundings. |
| Starting price (houses, my MLS pull) | About $315,000. | About $435,000. |
Who should buy in which community
If I am buying for most of the people I work with, I buy in Inspirada. It is finished, the location is better for the commutes my clients actually drive, and the resale story is proven. I would rather pay more for a community that is already done being built.
I also want to be straight about who should ignore that. Buy in Cadence if you want new construction and want to pick the lot and the finishes. Buy in Cadence if your budget is tight enough that an extra $100,000 of house genuinely changes your options. Buy in Cadence if you work from home and the commute difference is theoretical. And buy in Cadence if you like the idea of getting in while a community is still becoming what it will be. Those are all good reasons, and none of them is a consolation prize.
| If this is you | Lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You want new construction and to pick the lot and finishes | Cadence | Several builders, many plans, and build-to-order options. |
| Your budget is tight enough that about $100,000 of extra house changes your options | Cadence | The single-family floor is lower, and the product spread is wider. |
| You work from home and the commute difference is theoretical | Cadence | The location trade matters less if you are not driving it daily. |
| You like getting into a community while it is still becoming what it will be | Cadence | About halfway through buildout, with parks and retail still filling in. |
| You drive to the southwest valley, the airport or the employment corridors daily | Inspirada | The better clock for those commutes. |
| You want a finished community with settled streets and mature landscaping | Inspirada | Opened in 2007, mostly resale. |
| You want to walk to a park or pool instead of driving to one | Inspirada | Seven parks and five resident-only pools spread through the villages. |
| You want the longer resale track record | Inspirada | Selling since 2008 and through a full market cycle. |
| You want a destination park for the whole community | Cadence | Central Park of about 50 acres with a resort style pool and an amphitheater. |
| You want an age-qualified (55+) village | Cadence | Heritage at Cadence is a gated 55+ village. |
| Your life points toward Lake Mead and downtown Henderson | Cadence | Closer to the lake and Water Street. |
What I tell people not to do is pick based on the model home. Model homes are professionally designed to make you feel something, and every builder in both communities has good ones.
Three things to do before you choose
- Drive both communities on a weekday at the hour you would actually drive them. A map estimate at noon is not your 7:00 a.m. commute.
- Pull the tax bill on the specific parcel and find the assessment. Do this for every home you seriously consider.
- Walk both communities on a Saturday afternoon, not a Tuesday morning with a sales agent, so you see how each one is actually used on a weekend.
Buyer checklist before you write an offer in either community
- Get the tax bill for the exact parcel and the written payoff balance on any assessment, and ask the City’s assessment administrator to confirm it.
- Ask whether the home is owner-occupied primary residence or a second home, since the property tax cap differs.
- Ask which neighborhood sub-association applies, and get its dues and rules in the resale package.
- In Cadence, ask the builder or the master developer what is planned on the vacant land near the lot, and for how long construction is expected to continue.
- If you are buying from a builder, ask what incentives they are offering today, and think about how a future resale competes with the same builder's incentives.
- Know whether the home is for sale, build-to-rent or part of an apartment community. Cadence has all three.
- In either community, confirm whether the neighborhood is gated, and what that adds to the monthly cost.
- Look up the school zoning for the exact address, and confirm it again once you are under contract.
- Drive the commute you would actually make, at the actual hour.
