JonesQC
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Posts posted by JonesQC
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Anyone heard an update of how many units have been sold? I'm wondering how sales were impacted by the Wachovia layoffs and uncertainty.
I was in the sale center this past Sunday and they were in the low 60's. I think 63 was the number.
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A nice view from the top floor in Catalyst. I didnt realize the Church St side condos (at the top) would have such a nice view. I imagine this will look awesome when 220 S Church is there with its amenities deck and overlooking the top half of the Wachovia tower.
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Knowing Novare and their business I doubt they want that situation to arise any more than I do.
You are spot on here. If sales are slower upon closing dates (mine is set for Jan 31st) then they will probably offer more incentives and/or lower priced units. If this happens the contract for any unit in this development states that if you live in a similar unit (ie, on the same floor, same floor plan) and that unit is discounted or other incentives are offered then those incentives or discounts must also be applied to the earlier contracts.
To clarify, on the date that I put a contract down the office provided a list of what the same floor plan asking price was for on my floor and the 5 floors above and below me. If these prices or incentives become more favorable then I am also entitled to them.
Basically, its a price protection. In my opinion, it takes the risk out of getting in "too early." Is this how everyone else sees this statement in their contract?
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Congrats to everyone who has bought into Catalyst already. I too recently bought a 1 BR unit and am really excited.
There aren't a whole lot of choices for upgrade options, but one of them relates to the sound system in the unit. The provider is DirecPath and while their product looks good the price seems a bit high. Has anyone has a chance to check prices elsewhere or is their cost reasonable?
Summary of one package I was looking at:
$5280 - includes 5 in-wall Jamo speakers for surround sound in living room, 2 speakers in the bedroom, and 1 speaker in the bathroom and an IPOD docking station that links to speakers.
Any help would be appreciated.
I ran into the same thought process. I used the $6k in incentives to put the hardwoods in the living room and kitchen and put the audio package in the bedroom and bath. The audio package I chose was ~$2025. I liked the idea of having flush speakers in the drywall on day 1 in the living area, but I already have purchased the majority of a home audio set and decided to leave the 5 in wall out. I then applied the difference ($2945) to have the place painted, upgrade the hardwoods and I used just over $800 in the inventives. Since the first 100 contracts also got the Whirlpool Washer and dryer as well as the SS fridge I thought that was enough upgrades for now. The Ipod docking station seemed pointless to me since it would have been attached to the wall in the bedroom. Perhaps they can change the location of this but I can buy a $2 cord and plug it into my AV receiver and have the same thing.
Keep in mind that the unit is prewired for the audio no matter what audio package you select. If you decide to put speakers in the future you can shop around and customize your own setup which is what I plan on doing in the living area. Even if $$ were not a concern, I would opt out of the 5.1 setup and customize my own a few pieces at a time. This is coming from someone who could also use the $2945 to get a flat screen and upgrade my AV receiver - I think this would make me much happier on move in but just my 2c.
I also know your question is asking if Jamo is a quality brand. I checked them out at Jamo.com while I was in the sales office and they appear to be quality components and are a Klipsch group company.
What floor and side did you choose? I am on 5th floor, MLK side.
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I know this is probably a little too detailed, but I'm curious - did they give any information about what "Brazilian hardwood" entails? Like, where the wood comes from, specifically, if its certified by any governing body like the FSC, etc?
Good question - All I know is it is Brazilian Cherry Hardwood. If you go by the sales office this is the flooring they have for their model unit.
Maybe I'm spoiled by my parking situation at Avenue now, but I don't see myself hauling groceries and crap from Target across an uncovered walkway between the garage and residences all the time when I've spent $300,000 on a unit.True - but $70 for a non-exclusive spot or $150/month for a dedicated spot is justifiable considering the entry points for the complex in my 2 cents. You are correct though - I was a bit surprised that there was not an option to purchase a spot. For me this was not a dealbreaker because I work from home and will not be coming in and out of the complex enough to fight for a spot but I can see how this might be an issue for others. Just curious, how much was a spot to purchase at Avenue?
Just curious, what do you mean by a fixture as opposed to a canopy?When I think of a canopy I think of a covered top and side setup where even if rain was blowing sideways you would be protected. There is a canopy which protects from rain but it appears to be half for looks to spice up the walkway between Catalyst and the parking garage and half for protection against the elements.
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I got in the sales office on Friday of last week and put my 3% down on a park side 1 BR unit.
I was very impressed with the model and the amenities value. The model unit they had was the L2 I believe. They announced a HALO residential suite package which is included in the HOA - check their website out for more info but basically as you drive in and out of the parking garage you can control the thermostat and save $ on your heating / cooling. Check video of who is paging to come up to your unit, pay HOA, order dry cleaning / food services, valet, etc all from the HALO system on your TV, PC, or Blackberry. Parking spaces were $70 per month or you could get a reserved spot for $150/month. THey also had the option for a storage unit in the parking garage starting at $5k.
Also, for those of you that are on the fence. For the first 100 contracts they threw in $6,000 of upgrades plus stackable washer and dryer, and all of the stainless steel appliances including the Whirlpool Gold fridge. I knew about the fridge going in but the 6k was nice and unexpected. You could use this as upgrade cash or to lower the price of your unit. I was able to upgrade to the 5 inch Brazilian hardwoods throughout the kitchen and living area, put in wall speakers with IR controls in the bedroom and bathroom, and have the unit prepainted using the $6k. The ceilings absolutely are above the Avenue. They are smooth and the office indicated they were not cast with plywood. I was not a big fan of the Avenue ceilings but realyl appreciated the look of these. As mentioned before, they did offer the option to drywall the ceiling but not remembering how much the upgrade was, I didnt think it was worth it. If the ceilings will actually look like they do in the model, I will be very pleased.
THey had the cabinets, hardwood, granite, and carpet standard and options set for even and off floors. I preferred the granite on the odd floors better so went with an odd floor unit.
The units started at $170 on the amenities side and at the $218's on the park side. On the park side it was about $2k per floor as you went up. Keeping in mind these are phase 1 prices, though, I would imagine they will go up as sales close.
lets see - other than that Floor 1-5 will close by Jan 31st, 6-10 Feb 25th, etc...about a month apart. There is not a closed canopy between the parking garage but there is a covered fixture that their model showed. Their preferred lender is BoA and they will provide up to $4k in closing cost but Catalyst has about a dozen lenders that are "preferred", just the BoA rep was present on Friday. They will have 3 entrances to the lobby which includes an entry from the 5.5 acre park. This was really exciting as they will bring a walkway from the park that leads to the Catalyst entrance across MLK.
If I missed anything that you want to know just ask - If I know Ill let you know.
All in all, very excited for this to be my first home.
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Realtors who sold x amount of units in Novare's Avenue have been given priority appointments on Friday, the day before the sales office opens to the general public. I have one of these apointments confirmed but have to be out of town now.
MOD EDIT: Welcome to UP, but please review the rules. The second half of this post was over the line for pushing real estate services.
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The Catalyst website has been updated with a few renditions" of the pooldeck, clubroom, and lobby. All which are fairly on par with the Avenue IMHO. I wish they had a rendering of what the workout room will be like.
Pool:
Lobby:
Clubroom:
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So Half of the 27th floor is up now so we are a couple days away from the residential part being completely topped off. All we have left is like 1 floor on the sides and 1.5-2 floors in the middle of decoration, at least from what I understand of the renderings. So my question is, when are they going to start selling these condos exactly? I guess this is as close to spec tower as charlotte can get.
My source tells me the the Sales Center is opening up June 21st.
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^Catalyst agents say they will open the office 'soon' to everyone -- they really aren't sure of a date. It does depend on them getting a couple more units they hold at Avenue sold, but they have few so I've been told possibly May, if not soon thereafter.
If you are interested you can register on their website and get 'in line' with those that have also signed up. If they do it like they did Avenue, you can have an agent or not have an agent, they didn't discriminate in terms of getting people signed up. They also don't lower your price if you don't have an agent, so you might as well have someone work for you on the deal, you'll pay for it either way!
At Avenue they set up times and appointments from the waiting list and over the period of about a week got everyone in, through, and signed up when the finally opened up sales.
Great info on how Avenue put folks in line from the website. I signed up back in November and wonder when the website was first put up.
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Great picture, River. I am new to this board, but not to this thread. I have been eyeballing this project for a year and drove by again today and they were still working as of 6:45PM. Thanks to everyone for keeping the pictures and comments coming.
As my interest has precipitated into wanting a place to stay, I have spoke with several Uptown/Center City real estate brokers. The common denominator is that the sales office is supposed to open "soon", and that they will begin presales "soon." My question is, for those who are interested in getting into The Catalyst, what steps are you taking to make sure we get in early? I understand that the units will not begin to sell until Avenue sells x amount of units, but is the leasing office going to release a majority of these to brokers or are they going to allow individuals to bring their own broker in?
3rd Ward Midrise Projects
in Charlotte
Posted · Edited by JonesQC
I was a little concerned about this as well since I put a contract down the first day of sales. I look at this in two ways
1) As the first round of closing dates approaches (Jan 15th I think) they would have to discount the units if they had not sold 50% of the units. If they have not sold 50% I believe they have to open up the opportunity to allow the contract downpayments to be refunded.
This is good for those of us who really want to move in and get a discounted unit
or
This would give us an option to get out of the contract.
2) They will contract with a investment property developer and have them purchase enough units to hit 50%. Since they are only allowing 25% investor units (vs primary home units) the second half of sales could be EXTREMELY slow.
Either way, I think sales will have to pick up. The Catalyst is one of the most affordable units in downtown. With the AAA Stadium and the park breaking ground in the Fall, and hopefull Wachovia turning around their next two quarters might be enough hope. This is still a place I really want to call home so we shall see.