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The Vue


cooperdawg

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Have any of you confirmed about the VUE sales stats thus far? I spoke to a close friend, who's a real estate agent in the Uptown Charlotte area, and he told me today that he doesn't think the VUE will even break ground because they are having a difficult time selling 50% of the units needed for construction.

Could this just be a competitive rumor floating around? I just don't think with all the money spent on advertising that this won't be built. Obviously, they need to meet the selling requirements for funds to be released, but with all the advertising done so far, I would think they will be losing a boat load of money. I think they would do everything they can to sell it.

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It is definitely a rumor that was spilled by my RA; however, true or not true, it is definitely something worthy of considering because the sales department of the VUE is definitely advertising just about everywhere. It seems as if they are trying EXTRA HARD to push their sales. Not only are their advertisement pieces on the papers everywhere, but when I go to charlotte.com, I get pop-ups from their ad. I really think they've got some kind of deadline to meet prior to breaking ground, and at this point, they are doing everything they can to push the sales so that they can break ground on time. Otherwise, if not, they may not even build it. Perhaps, that's the reason why they are waiting to break ground, as opposed to The Epicentre, where they are building first, then selling. Seems like Ghazi is protecting his interest before he begins the hard work of putting it from the ground up.

The interesting thing I noticed while I was at the sales center back in early January, was that those attractive sales agents were telling me that I need to hurry and secure a unit because they are moving FAST. They also told me over 40% of the units have been already secured, which I didn't buy at all. My thinking was, who in the world would pay $450-$700/sq. ft. when I can get something for a little less quality, but just as good for much less. Perhaps, their selling techniques have drawn people away from purchasing their units, as I think it's too aggressive. If I'm going to dump $500,000+ on a home, you better give me some time to think it over. This isn't buying a car.

Regardless, if they end up NOT building this unit, I really wouldn't be too surprised. True, Ghazi and Co. spent a few million on the advertising and hiring of the saleswomen, and he may be out of that. BUT, he can just write that off a written expenses, whereas, if he were to build the VUE and ended up not being able to sell 50% of the units, he'd probably be bankrupt, as it'd cost WAY more to build this thing than to advertise and see what the market demands, at this point. Plus, I'm sure the recent quick rise of interest rates didn't help their cause as well, since I believe many of the buyers wouldn't have the funds to put 20% down on these units. Plus, in order to make these payments reasonable, I wouldn't doubt many would use the interest only option or ARMs, which these are very similar to the 30-year interest program now. Either way, I do hope the VUE does get built, but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if they announced they will not be anytime soon.

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Plus, I'm sure the recent quick rise of interest rates didn't help their cause as well, since I believe many of the buyers wouldn't have the funds to put 20% down on these units. Plus, in order to make these payments reasonable, I wouldn't doubt many would use the interest only option or ARMs, which these are very similar to the 30-year interest program now. Either way, I do hope the VUE does get built, but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if they announced they will not be anytime soon.

I think that the rise in Interest Rates will have less impact on a project of this magnitude since it caters to a more affluent market.

The type of people that purchace units at the Vue are typically "Well Heeled" individuals and more than likely have little interest in where rates go since they are not like 95% of the working world which depends on finacial instruments (ie ARM's etc) to purchace their dwelling.

I am very optomistic more so now than ever. Orlando's VUE is successful and their downtown dynamics are still behind where Charlotte is. IMO

The owners and developers of the VUE would not go through the hastle of renting out a Trade and Tryon Street address for their sales office plus put down gobs of cash on staff and advertising if they were not moving forward.

For what it is worth, most ALL sales reps will always use lines like "better hurry these units are flying". You have to understand that is what sales is. It is creating urgency to sale sale sale.

Whether or not that was an acutate statement by the sales rep is not really of concern. What is, is the first shovel in the ground on Pine street.

I think we will all be relieved and excited when that happens later this year.

Go VUE !!!

A2

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I bought mine back in September... I sort of waffled for about a week after visiting the sales center... between spending the money on a place I really liked or just getting something that was OK and a lot cheaper.

I ended up deciding to buy one of the A1 units because it seems unusually big for a one bedroom (1387 sq ft, w/ lots of actual living space) and has floor-to-ceiling windows on two floors, views of uptown, and great interior features (Sok tub, kitchen, etc). IMO, there's nothing else comparable in Charlotte.

I'm VERY excited about living there... I don't actually live in Charlotte right now, but I'm planning to move back by the time the Vue is finished in 2009.

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I bought mine back in September... I sort of waffled for about a week after visiting the sales center... between spending the money on a place I really liked or just getting something that was OK and a lot cheaper.

I ended up deciding to buy one of the A1 units because it seems unusually big for a one bedroom (1387 sq ft, w/ lots of actual living space) and has floor-to-ceiling windows on two floors, views of uptown, and great interior features (Sok tub, kitchen, etc). IMO, there's nothing else comparable in Charlotte.

I'm VERY excited about living there... I don't actually live in Charlotte right now, but I'm planning to move back by the time the Vue is finished in 2009.

Have u received any info from them recently talking about progress of the project???

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"Regardless, if they end up NOT building this unit, I really wouldn't be too surprised. True, Ghazi and Co. spent a few million on the advertising and hiring of the saleswomen, and he may be out of that."

Also, this one isn't Ghazi. Ghazi's doing 210 Trade.

Yeah, if Ghazi was doing this it would probably be in the construction phase by now. Oh well.

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Since the Vue is setting a new price and height benchmark, it's logical the sales will take a while, and their financiers will be cautious.

But they do need to get things cracking. Physical progress is a big confidence builder... and TradeMark and Avenue are taking shape. There must be some degree of sales impairment taking place. I suspect that may have a lot to do with the advertising binge. They need to keep the product "out there" in front of people's eyes.

Edited by MZT
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Yeah, I definitely have the feeling that that is the case. It seems they have a tremendous pool of capital to draw from. So by setting a slower pace, they basically draw from the cream of the uptown market over a longer period of time. That rough part was the early stage, where they must convince people to commit money early, but as they get closer, the money is not tied up as long.

There are certainly plenty of people in the Charlotte market that can afford $800k places, and size isn't necessarily an issue, so they accept the trade off in order to gain the security, view, a location.

I'm somehow more confident in Vue being a go than 210Trade and the Citadin towers, simply because of the vast resources and experience of the developer.

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210 Trade is most likely a go because it has no pre-sales requirements.

They still have to prove to the lender that they can actually build it for the pro forma cost. Sorry, The Vue developers have done dozen's of residential high-rises....the two developers for Epicentre and 210 have a combined total of 0.

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They still have to prove to the lender that they can actually build it for the pro forma cost. Sorry, The Vue developers have done dozen's of residential high-rises....the two developers for Epicentre and 210 have a combined total of 0.

Well i just posted what i heard in terms of "most likely" (not definite) for that reason.

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My thinking was, who in the world would pay $450-$700/sq. ft. when I can get something for a little less quality, but just as good for much less. Perhaps, their selling techniques have drawn people away from purchasing their units, as I think it's too aggressive. If I'm going to dump $500,000+ on a home, you better give me some time to think it over. This isn't buying a car.

You'd be surprised how much money is in Charlotte. Plus a project like this is very attractive to buyers from NY, California, and Florida. The Vue doesn't have to be affordable for you. They only have to be affordable for 410 people. I promise you for some people, they don't need to think it over. They'll "dump" 500k on a home in the blink of an eye. Sort of like "buying a car".

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