More On The VUE

The VUE remains the biggest topic in this marketplace. Standing 51 stories tall, and looking front on to the Charlotte skyline it can hardly be missed. But the size is only one of the reasons it is a Big Topic here.


Born in the heady real estate days of the mid 2000’s, it promised to deliver a location, style, and ambiance that would be unsurpassed. Several other towers that were planned or in the works have either never developed (One Charlotte) or have disappeared due to legal and zoning battles (210 Trade Street).

The sale center for The VUE was prominently located at the center of town, on the corner of Trade and Tryon.

Back in the mid 2000’s per square foot pricing downtown was comfortably over $300, and in the case of Fifth and Poplar, The VUE’s next door neighbor, the prices were well over $350. A natural progression of value would have pushed the pricing levels to somewhere between $450—$500. Initially, all sales were handled internally by the developer. Several times during the sale cycle, changes were made to the staff. Some of the contracts that were written were done directly by that team, with the team acting as a Dual Agent, meaning representing both sides of the transaction.

Those of you who have purchased new from a developer will recall that the contract you signed was written specifically to cover the developer in almost every instance, only the 7 day right of rescission remained.

The VUE is complete now, just work on interior finishes or build out’s. Closings began in September, and of this writing, two units have closed.

Contract holders have received notices to set their closing, and they are finding that the appraised value of the property, that is the number that a lender gauges the amount of a loan they are willing to give, is coming in anywhere between 15% to 35% below the contract price. Faced with not being able to secure a loan for the balance of their purchase price, they will need to bring additional dollars to the closing.

The developer is sticking with the contracts in hand and can sue for non performance if the buyers do not close. Courts have upheld contracts when a buyer has the means to close.

There are no mulligan's in real estate. When you make a purchase make sure you have proper representation going in.