The Vue

[Mobuchu]

Views from the Vue

7-11-10

[Spartan]

Awesome.

[mad_park]

The Observer confirming what I predicted - many buyers are unable - or unwilling to close. Don't think many lenders are going to loan someone 95% LTV at 2006 prices.

http://www.charlotte...wont-close.html

[Spartan]

Well, on the plus side, Pine Street has reopened and the sidewalks and landscaping are complete.

[HopHead]

The Observer confirming what I predicted - many buyers are unable - or unwilling to close. Don't think many lenders are going to loan someone 95% LTV at 2006 prices.

http://www.charlotte...wont-close.html

Congrats. Please pick up your prize on the way out the door.

On a serious note, MCL will have to be realistic and drop the prices on these units if they expect to move them. Arlington is a good example of that now. You can get a 1,000 sqft condo facing uptown for under $300k now... Pretty far below that amount I think too. If I was in the market to live in a new condo, I'd be all over something like that.

[SmellyCat]

So if no one closes - and I imagine that's a very real possibility since most everyone who plunked down a deposit has seen their equity vaporize - will this soon become Charlotte's newest luxury apartment rental complex?

[atlrvr]

I positive that their current loan terms don't allow for it to convert to rental, and I doubt that would be granted a second loan mod, because the construction lender has to assume that there is no way at the current debt level that it could ever break even as a rental, which means it would never qualify for permanent financing. I think the developer knows his only chance of getting out of this with any cash is to press forward and try to close the units. Hopefully there aren't restrictive enough covenants that prevent him from closing (i.e. too few units under contract, appraisals too low, etc.)

If no units close, and it goes back to the bank, all bets are off, but I'm willing to bet the economics on this project still make more sense as a condo development than apartments. In other words, I bet a condo developer would pay more to buy this out of foreclosure than an apartment developer. The units are too big on average.

[Urbanity]

While I think this project is nowhere near the imminent collapse as some media and critics are suggesting I do agree that the stand by MCL to remain firm on original unit pricing is going to probably be difficult to maintain.

[sleightofhand]

While I think this project is nowhere near the imminent collapse as some media and critics are suggesting I do agree that the stand by MCL to remain firm on original unit pricing is going to probably be difficult to maintain.

MCL is going to have to meet some of these buyers half way. The fact is folks were contracting on 2 bedroom 2 bath units at 600k back in 05 & 06 and not only could they not get a loan for that amount the bank will not appraise those units at 600k today, more like 400k. I think its going to be very interesting to see what MCL rolls out to assist buyers in closing. Otherwise I'm assuming the Vue is going to have alot of bank owned homes.

[SmellyCat]

MCL is going to have to meet some of these buyers half way. The fact is folks were contracting on 2 bedroom 2 bath units at 600k back in 05 & 06 and not only could they not get a loan for that amount the bank will not appraise those units at 600k today, more like 400k.

Right, no to even mention the fact that when these were originally contracted, they were supposed to have fancy high end appliances like Sub Zero fridges, Viking stoves, etc, which were ultimately dumbed down to more standard GE Profile types. And I'm not even sure what other corners were cut throughout the building, but I'm sure there were many besides the tacky storage-door looking roof replacing the cool looking spire.

If I'm a contract holder and MCL continues to play hardball, I think the best - and perhaps only - plan of action is to walk away and ultimately this will force MCL to have to reprice all their units at true market prices. If I still want my unit, just go back in at the resale price which will be 30-40% lower than my contract price. Sure, your deposit is gonzo, but its sure better to bite the bullet on 10-20% then be in the hole 30-40% if you close on the unit at the contract price. That's why I'm confused why anyone in their right mind would accept the original contract price in this market. MCL cannot possibly believe its own rhetoric about the true value of these units.

[sleightofhand]

If I'm a contract holder and MCL continues to play hardball, I think the best - and perhaps only - plan of action is to walk away and ultimately this will force MCL to have to reprice all their units at true market prices. If I still want my unit, just go back in at the resale price which will be 30-40% lower than my contract price. Sure, your deposit is gonzo, but its sure better to bite the bullet on 10-20% then be in the hole 30-40% if you close on the unit at the contract price. That's why I'm confused why anyone in their right mind would accept the original contract price in this market. MCL cannot possibly believe its own rhetoric about the true value of these units.

I think the lenders are going to force this scenerio. Units were contracted at crazy prices. What few qualified buyers there are still will not be able to get loans because the bank want appraise the units at said prices. MCL will be forced to lower them or else.

[dubone]

Is there a chance that it would be in BofA's best interest to close on mortgages for these units since it will mean that MCL won't walk away from the building overall?

Maybe it is a dumb question. But it seems that since BofA is already involved, they may be better off to get people to close on the units than not.

[mad_park]

Is there a chance that it would be in BofA's best interest to close on mortgages for these units since it will mean that MCL won't walk away from the building overall?

Maybe it is a dumb question. But it seems that since BofA is already involved, they may be better off to get people to close on the units than not.

If I were a lender I'd rather only deal with one foreclosure and have full control of a building than deal with potentially hundreds of foreclosures on individual units and not have any direct control over the main property itself.

[jms54]

If I were a lender I'd rather only deal with one foreclosure and have full control of a building than deal with potentially hundreds of foreclosures on individual units and not have any direct control over the main property itself.

The banks need to get an independent appraiser to make a loan. That was one of the things that got us into this mess. Besides that, most banks do not keep the home loans they make but sell them. So if the properties were infact appraised at a much higher price than they were worth and then sold to investors, when a foreclosure came, there would be no equity--sound familiar.

BofA will not have this option. The lenders will however probably have to approve price reductions above a certain amount as they, not the developer, are the ones holding the bag on this development. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems like real estate sales in uptown have picked up in the past few months, but at much lower prices. The Vue does look to be a very superior product and they can probably do quite well with sales if they are priced appropriately.

[AuLukey]

I must say that the Vue at night is not so bad. The "crown" actually looks a little cool when it is lit up at night. Examining this building independent of skyline, it isn't all that attractive at night; but IMO as a part of the skyline, it blends in quite well and adds a great bit of depth and height.

[nonillogical]

While I still like the scale and amount of street-level retail, they put the thinnest sidewalk i've ever seen with a planting strip in front of it :/

[cltheel.sdl]

I am photo starved...can someone snap some pics of the street level for me?

[nonillogical]

i ride home on 5th every day, i'll try and remember to stop for some cell pics

[SmellyCat]

wondering if anyone's heard an update on the Vue - have any units closed?

[Urbanity]

The only update I have is no purchaser related - They were testing the crown and pool deck last nights like crazy. Everything would go on for a while and then everything would go off. Not sure what was going on.

[QC-NC]

I am photo starved...can someone snap some pics of the street level for me?

Here you go CLTHeel... hope you enjoy.

1. Night shot this past weekend (another queen city crown)

2. Day shot a few minutes ago

3. Zoom on the Pool Deck & recently placed furniture... wow luxury indeed. Almost enough to have a pool balcony restaurant grilled?!

[cltheel.sdl]

Wow, thanks for the pics! Not bad looking at all! The crown kind of looks like it's floating there right now...I'm sure that will change once more residents move in and light up their units.

[Spartan]

I must say that the Vue at night is not so bad. The "crown" actually looks a little cool when it is lit up at night. Examining this building independent of skyline, it isn't all that attractive at night; but IMO as a part of the skyline, it blends in quite well and adds a great bit of depth and height.

It does look really cool when you are coming into town on the Brookshire at night.

[nonillogical]

took a few street-level shots on my phone last Friday. its hard to get a sense of it with such a narrow field of view and these pics aren't great, but except for the planting strips and NARROW sidewalk, its nice. i'm sure that they'll pave over them if the right businesses move in, like they did in some places on Elizabeth Avenue. the retail spaces are boutique or cafe sized, not full-service restaurant sized, which is encouraging for some retail diversity.

Edited August 31, 2010 by nonillogical

[49er]

wow, I am impressed. There is A LOT more retail that I expected there.