First it was the housing market, now it's the condo market. It's almost a given in Las Vegas ... buy low and sell high. But Saving You Money's Jim Snyder
has a story that one attorney says could badly hurt the condo market in
Las Vegas. The glossy invitation asks you to imagine living at the
luxurious Vegas Grand Condominiums. Investors said that unless they
fork over more money, "imagine" is all they'll be able to do.
"The base price is four hundred, eighty-nine thousand."
"What did you agree to?"
"Two fifty-one."
With
original offers in the 200 and 300 thousand dollar range, the price is
going up faster than the building. That's good news if you got in on
the ground floor. Or is it? "Imagine my disgust when I get a similar
package in the mail that says, it's not a half a million dollars any
more, it is eight hundred and seventy-four thousand."
Bruce,
Kevin and Dona all bought into the condo craze more than a year ago. "I
plan to live there. That's my residence." They all attended a Vegas
Grand sales event, put down anywhere from five thousand to 25 thousand
dollars and signed letters of intent to buy a unit in a building at the
corner of Flamingo and Swenson. "I would periodically visit the sales
office where they would gleefully say, look at what the base price of
your unit is now! It's six hundred and ten! Aren't you glad you got in
when you got in?"
That all screeched to a halt when they got a
notice in the mail telling them they had two options: pay a revised
price almost double the amount they agreed to, or get their deposit
back with five percent interest. "Personally, my feeling is, they have
dollar signs in their eyes and they know that if they can get rid of me
they're going to make a whole lot more money off my unit."
The
buyers we talked with weren't the only ones to get the letter. A class
action lawsuit has been filed, saying the contract that was signed does
meet the state's requirements for a purchase agreement, an agreement
Bruce says he want's the Vegas Grand to honor. "As far as I'm
concerned, I have a reservation that says a price in it and that's what
I expect to pay for the unit."
We talked to a representative
for the developers of the Vegas Grand and they said because of the
legal nature of the complaints they wouldn't be able to comment.
To learn more about the class action lawsuit you can visit the web site that was set up by clicking the link above.
