afternoon. america doesn't run on dunkin donuts but the blood, sweat and tear of men and women in blue. have a great weekend, everybody. buy a cup of coffee. >> 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 living in las vegas. i know people with all sorts of problems from trying to save their out from the major deals. unemployment and affordable homes. little does anyone know we would become ground zero for the american real estate crisis. now, it's a different time. the dream is back. we'll meet real people with the same problems as millions across america. and we'll dive deep into the city on the rebound because las vegas was a microcosm of america and now vegas is back.

when you're selling your property, some very simple things will give you bang for your buck. one is basically remodelling or decorating your home to make it attractive to any potential buyer. so important. and the result, they can be dramatic. we tag along with jennifer paxson. >> we bring furniture in so that people can see how they could live in this space. they have an emotional, they see the way they could live life. >> property number one, jennifer went way beyond traditional staging and worked with the homeowners and the cabinets very

traditional. what we're trying to do is bring the traditional style as well as temporary pieces. contemporary pieces are more what buyers look for today. more livable. more realistic. and it's more comfortable. in this room, what we're doing is changing the paint color because what this paint color does is it darkens the room. so we're bringing in some lighter colors. we're going to do bar stools. we're going to do accessories, bowls, pasta with pasta sauce. they can actually connect. and in this room is going to be a sofa, a chair, we put down the large area rug. a huge transformation when you see the after. we don't ever want to clutter a space. we want to access it. this room here is going to be the game room. we're actually installing real tvs. we're wribringing in a large po table, furniture like sofa,

comfortable chairs. this is the formal dining room. what we're doing in here again is painting to brighten up the room. we're bringing in a large formal dining table. with the chairs, set the table, bring in floral arrangements and things that are, again, going to have the emotional connection that we can entertain here. this is where we'll have friends and family and enjoy. we're now heading into the master bedroom. we're going to warm up the space by bringing in a large full size bed with the night stand lamp. >> last time i was here, there was nothing here. >> we've brought in all the master bedroom furniture. a few weeks ago, it was vacant and now that the furniture is in, you can imagine your thoughts sitting by the fire reading a book.

>> what is the difference between a stager and a decorator? >> we focus on decorating for a person. i decorate for you. only 10% of buyers can visualize what a home is actually going to look like with their furniture. home staging is appealing to 90% of the population. the most cheap and effective thing you can do is paint. it's the best thing to totally transform a home. >> property number two presented unique challenges. it's another beautiful home with a massive open kitchen that opens out and sends unbelievable outside area. >> we have a gorgeous outdoor living space. the pool with the bradoe, the water slide. this master bedroom, what we're going to do is here a large king size bed with tables and lamps.

we want the potential buyers to see the room and fall in love with it. >> the last house, it was magnificent. last time we were here, a lot of these things were beautiful in the sitting area with just first class furniture. what did you do in here? >> this room was completely vacant. what we've done is we've brought in all the accessories to warm up the kitchen. i like to make it have a homey feel. the spices are out. the pastas are out. just little touches like that that will connect them to the space and the living room, we've added a large sectional so they can see themselves and their family having somewhere to hang out. >> this magnificent pool area was nothing like this. >> no. this is more of a remodel. they've actually emptied the pool. they're staining, refinishing and sealing all the rock area. >> what input does the homeowner

have as relates to the proposals that you make? like, you may say, i think this room should be like oak and somebody said, oh, i hate oak. how do you understand that's really appropriate? >> what i try to do is just convince them. we are looking at your home as a product now. we want to appeal to the 90% of buyers out there. you know you want the majority of people to like the home when they enter it. >> people have to understand this is a million dollar home by you could do this with any home. that's an important message out there. great job. this is beautiful. thank you. >> there's no way to talk about properties without dealing with topics of credit. lending and debt. those things can seriously trip you up and haunt you for years. i'll tell you how to protect yourself and come out the other end successfully. plus, the behind the scenes of one of the strip's hottest condos. diabetes, steady is exciting.

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>> nearly every person in america at some point in their lives will need to understand the complicated issues of credit, lending, and debt. but to really understand it all, you first have to go back about ten years before the credit bubble burst. housing prices were booming, and have to go back ten years before the credit bubble bursts. housing prices moving and mortgages were given away like candy. >> we're talking no income, no assets. stated income, stated assets that never were intended to be used on wage earners but got in the american dream. and have a cheap lending officer and they take production for production's sake, making loans and they skyrocket.

the two most common ways of saving a home for foreclosure is waiting for the banks to modify the loan or a short sale. >> you couldn't make too much money. and make too little. it's not little tiny piece of pie they cut out, you are going throu through. giving them your pay stubs, bank statement and hardship letters over and over again on a monthly basis. and really, getting nowhere. >> it's much better for us to keep a bar owner at home than to take the home back but many responsible people, those doing everything they could to stay afloat were often told that the only way they could get help was to make payments.

>> a lot of times they said, well, you can make your payments on time. but wink, wink, nudge nudge you're probably not approved because you're not making the payment. we have a stack of hundreds on our desk that are in default. now they have the hit on the credit. not getting a modification and now what do i do? >> even though things are getting better. sometimes for pennies on the dollar and to collect on it, it can get aggressive. times come for jeffrey smith, turn to payday loans to cover his expenses. >> out comes to the door and one of the people from the payday loan companies a manager. knocking on the door asking us for money. i'm sorry we're going through bankruptcy. i'm sorry, always have debt and pay up. get off my property. no, you have to pay up now and wouldn't leave. >> what if you don't even owe

the money? his wife, they were always very careful to pay their bills on time. keep their credit good. but that didn't seem to matter. >> we start receiving phone calls out of the blue and would call and ask for last name fernandez like mine and john or jeff or joudy and i thought it was end it. >> call early in the morning, late in the evening or on the weekend. it didn't matter. sometimes, we'd know when the phone rang it was some collection agency trying to collect. >> sometimes they would call and not a half hour later, they would end. we would tell it's the same number and how many times on the actually basis, 3 to 14. got and just wanted to stop.

eventually, dakota turning and hernandez a benefit they go through the collection companies go through and say, we'll violate the laws this many times and maybe one or two of the people like the hernandezs will seek the attorney and then recover off of those people scared and who want to pay the debt. and just to make the call stop. >> we were told they were in violation of federal law and that there was some recourse that could be taken to stop the harassing phone calls. when you get a phone call that is perceived to be a debt collector, you think, is there a bill i didn't pay and forgot about it? the debt across your mind. >> you kind of think about it, but we know we're very current on our bills and we took our credit scores and there was no credit problems. so as soon as i realized it, i thought, why am i on something i

don't owe? >> these people are pros. they're very disciplined people. they're not afraid of rejection. one thing i want to make clear that debt collection in general is a legitimate business. so i don't want to disparage the business in general, but if you look at some of the players in the game, especially here in las vegas, you see that the package they use like calling at odd hours of the day or multiple times per day, telling people they go to prison for a debt, telling people they've opened the case up against them and making up a case number. and file these cases. if people realize they did know, they'd probably say, yeah, owe $100 and settle for $50. that's a common tactic. i've seen it, as well as $16 in some cases they claim to owe $16 and no verification and no basis for it. they'll tack on fees on top of that. to make, oh, you're going to pay for this debt?

well now you have to make for our attorney's fees or our cost. >> if you're wondering what happened to joe hernandez or wife whose phone wouldn't stop ringing, they filed suit in federal court. >> it was filed, the calls immediately stopped. >> so many people have lost so much in the last several years because of real estate crisis and just enormous amount of debt. and they've been harassed by debt collectors. i'll give you a checklist of what your legal rights are if you're being harassed by debt collectors, and also see beautiful condo living on the strip, the center of las vegas. this is the property map.

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>> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. more than 500,000 americans buy condos or co-ops every year.

if you're thinking about joining them, go to foxnews.com/propertyman, and welcome back, i'm bob massy the property man. go to foxnews.com/propertyman and i'll tell you what to look for and watch out for. first, let's check out unique here in the las vegas area. you can find luxury condos just about any city in america nowadays, so what makes these special? the old cliche location location location. built in 2010 and part of the city's center development right smack in the middle of the las vegas strip. city center has been called a city within a city. 67 acres of shops and restaurants and hotels and apartments surrounded by that famous las vegas strip. the building to the bright yellow color. by the way, they were built tilting outward at 5 degree angles.

let's get it. >> we're at the las vegas boulevard. the famous strip. obviously, this is a spectacular place. tell us about this particular set-up. >> this residence is one of the two bedroom condominiums. we're on the 13th floor. kitchen area dining area and the decor. what is standard if you look at the kitchens, for example, the appliances, the countertops, all the stuff standard whether you go to a studio or that matter, three bedrooms. our success is really based on where we are. if you move the buildings, our numbers would be completely different. >> vegas has always been known for a destination place to come and hang out. never for like, midtown manhattan where people come and buy facilities like this. buy a condo to live here.

or invest in. so that's a big change. >> i think so. and it's starting to change more in what we see. in other words, we first started, you would see a lot of the investor market coming. over the last year, it's changing. nice as the hotels are, it's still a hotel room. this is their place, sleep in their own pillow. >> obviously a bedroom. >> go into the master bedroom. see the bathrooms. these are the standard finishes we have throughout the building. let's talk about the price range. this is $1300, a little over 1300 square feet. as you see it here, fully furnished, you're looking at $ $025,000 million. >> we'll check out the $2 million apartment in a minute but first, most owners will tell you that the best part of the

condo are the amenities. owners are able to take advantage of these facilities like game rooms. there is no exception. >> we just came from this spectacular looking condo with the view that's unbelievable. how can anything get better than that? and then get this, 37th floor. if anybody had any doubt as to where we're located, this is it. sunshine 360 days a year. life is good. >> we're on the 21st floor and this is a two bedroom with a medium room. over 2200 square feet. i do imagine the media room or the man cave. >> let me take you to the man cave. >> this is the living room here. this is the great spot, obviously, to come here and

unwind. you've been in the real estate business. >> yes. >> in general, when somebody is buying a condominium, what kind of questions do you think they should be asking you, the person that's representing or any other condominium for purposes of answering that, what direction do you give them? >> i think it's important when people buy condominiums, it's not just buying their little residence. you really are part of a bigger picture, in this case for example, we are towers. the association, for example. you know, and the financial standings of the association is something you want to look into. in any condominium purchase, regardless of where you are. let me show you the master bedroom. >> i would never expect to see this kind of closet in a facility like this. this residence here, perfectly suited for the individual pool makes las vegas their primary home. how cool is it that you get to own a piece of what's arguably the most famous boulevard in the world? >> no question about that.

>> thank you so much for your time today. the beautiful amenities and views. thank you, buddy. >> when we come back, we'll review some of what we learned today in the massi memo.

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open up the letter. don't be afraid of it. make sure it's a debt you owe or don't owe. you have rights. write a letter and say, hey, it's not my debt. prove to me that it is. check your credit report, it's not your credit report. say that's not my debt. remove it. do you have rights? don't be afraid of that. debt collectors can't threaten to garnish your wages or put a judgment against you and take your kids away. they do these type of things. they're not supposed to call you late at night. those type of people can be abusive and there's specific laws that say you can't do that. so don't fear it. the biggest problem i have so many times, we get e-mails. anxiety creates confusion and frustration which leads to more fear and problems. if you get a registered letter or certified letter, go get it. it's very important. that's all we have time for

today. but there's much more on foxnews.com/propertyman. be sure to send me your questions and any property stories. propertyman@foxnews.com. this week on the journal editorial report, russian warships launched cruise missiles into syria. gary castpera and the battle for the house speaker takes another unexpected turn as the divided gop struggles to find a leader to unite behind and hillary clinton moves left, breaking with president obama on its specific trade deal. will it help her with democratic voters? find out after these headlines. congressman paul ryan will only say that he's thinking and praying on