TimeSharing Today. The Trusted Independent Voice of Vacation Ownership since 1991

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1 TimeSharing Today Issue The Trusted Independent Voice of Vacation Ownership since 1991 $4. #97 Jan/Feb, 2008 Maintenance Fees Range Widely An informal survey among TimeSharing Today subscribers shows a surprisingly wide range of maintenance fees paid by timeshare owners, from $315 for a two-bedroom unit at the Wharf to $1919 for a one-bedroom at the Manhattan Club. TimeSharing Today s online newsletter made a request to owners for the amount of their maintenance fees; many owners commented at length, others provided a simple listing of the fees. A number of resort managers also provided information. A representative sampling of responses follow. Our membership is with World International Vacation Club so it is not a specific resort or unit or week. Our membership is for a one-bedroom/2 weeks and is limited (can t use 2 weeks at Christmas and 1 week at spring break - week before Easter). We are retired so who wants to go those weeks anyhow? Our Membership fee was $748 ($374/week) in are maintained very well. For 2008, it will be $412/week for 1-bedroom and $462/week The Royal Resort fee includes the tax. for 2-bedroom. They are asking for a special assessment of $68/week for the We also own a week at 1-bedroom and $76/week for the 2-bedroom. Marriotts Desert Springs Yvette Villas II. We haven t received the maintenace bill Orange Tree Golf Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona for 2008 yet. The 2007 fee Unit Size: One Bedroom was $741 plus about $ Annual Maintenance Fee: $ for property tax. Again we believe that the resorts are We own at two Marriott properties in California: Desert well maintained and don t Springs II and Newport Coast. Both have fees approaching anticipate any special assessments. $800 for This hurts; in less than 5 years they have jumped from slightly over $600 annually! Gary & Barbara Tamblin Additionally, several Marriott properties charge daily parking fees of $20 to $30! We have 4 timeshare units and here are the fees, etc for 2006 Unfortunately these fees are going to cause us retired people or 2007, since two of the sites are every other year - even. to seriously review the enjoyment of timesharing ownership as it was at one time. Does the industry not understand that this is 2006 (EOY - Even) not good business? Kahana Falls, Maui 2 bedroom with lock out $937 ( but will William Cinquini. Napa, CA increase in 2008 due to the hostile environment on Maui towards condos and taxation.) Westgate Town Center, Orlando, FL, four-bedroom - $953/yr Bay Club, Kona, Hawaii 2 bedroom $950 Orange Tree, Scottsdale, AZ, one-bedroom - $567/yr Northeast Vacations, Vernon, NJ, 144 Points - $667/yr 2007 Eagle Crest, Redmond, OR 2 bedroom $573 We own two weeks at the Royal Islander in Cancun. The Schooner Landing, Newport, OR 1 bedroom $626 with a $700 maintenance fees are $767 per week. We have owned since 2001 assesment fee in 2007 to shore up building 4 from slipping into and there have been no special assessments. The resort is about the sea. 15 years old. I don t anticipate any assessments because they (Continued on page 11)

2 TimeSharing Today Page 11 Jan/Feb, 2008 Maintenance Fees Range Widely (Continued from front page.) We re so glad you are looking into this, since at our resort, Pend Oreille Shores Resort in Hope Idaho, we try so hard to keep our maintenance fees in check. One other issue that you might consider is that some maintenance fees include property taxes and others don t; that can make a substantial difference in some areas. These maintenance fees include property taxes and we are a very, very unique resort in that we charge the same maintenance fee for a one and a two bedroom units (it s a long story!) Maintenance Fee: $ Maintenance Fee: $ Maintenance Fee: $422 Pend Oreille Shores Resort started in 1983 so we are almost 25 years old and we have NEVER had a special assessment. Thanks for all you do for the timeshare industry and for our owners, who love your magazine (it s in every unit thanks to you!) Lisa Derr General Manager Pinestead Reef Resort, Traverse City, MI Unit Size Annual Maint. Fee Studio $ Bdr $ Bdr $ Bdr $ I belong to Capistrano Surfside Inn,- California My assessment for 2008 is $ for a one bedroom plus a $ fee for Replacements. We are 24 year owners of a two bedroom unit at Mt. Retreat located at Arnold, CA. This is a Gold Crown Resort. There have been no special assessments. Current home owner dues are $660. The county does not collect property taxes from this resort or from individual owners. Dan Ashton, Hi Marriott - Desert Springs, CA - twobedroom- $ plus Property Tax $ Carriage House, Las Vegas - twobedroom- $ Los Abrigados, Sedona AZ - two-bedroom- $ We own at Westgate Lakes in Orlando, FL. We own week #1 on the odd years. The unit is a 3-bedroom/3 bath lock off unit that can be split into a 2-bedroom and a studio and used separately or as one unit every other year. We have owned since 2001 and not had any special assesments but our maintenance fees are approximately $725, which is way above the average. Kathy Philbrick We have two weeks in a one-bedroom unit at Magens Interval Resort in St. Thomas. Last year we had a special assessment of $710/week to catch up on depleted reserves. Also, our maintenance fees increased 15% to $659/week, and we were told that additional increases of 15% a year for the next couple of years to get the operating income up to what is required. We also have 4 weeks at Ocean Club in St. Martin - 3 weeks in a one-bedroom unit. Maintenance fees are $ for all 3 weeks. One week in a studio unit, maintenance fee is $ There haven t been any special assessments at Ocean Club in several years. Bob Buck Schooner Landing Resort, Newport, OR, 42 units, one and two bedrooms Maintenance fee - $ Special Assessment - $ No other anticipated Special Assessments. Jeff Peterson, Resort Manager First there is taxes: I own a one bedroom, every odd year at Coronado Beach Resort in San Diego,CA. This is week 16. The tax from the state of California $52.48 each year. My fee this year is $ (double this and you will have what it would cost a year = $842.86, plus tax = too much!) It does trade well. The whole year is red and it is a gold crown resort. So far they have not added any special assessments. This is a fairly new resort. But they replace stuff too, too often. I do not feel it is necessary to do so. It is lovely to stay across from the Hotel Del Coronado, but I only go every 4 yrs or so due to air travel costs. Now I also own two units at Mariner s Pointe Resort in Crossville,TN. This is a RID or now a silver star resort. This resort has had many legal problems not of its choice. Due to all of the legal mess, and non maintenance by the prior owner, it has been slow progress to get everything fixed up. But wonders are being done. First was a fitness center, large indoor hot tub, etc. Then an elevator for the 3-story onebedroom units. Replacing the appliances, carpet, furniture, thermal sliding glass doors ( they were fogged up) on the two- for back issues, message boards, Resale Value Tracker and much more

3 TimeSharing Today Page 12 Jan/Feb, 2008 bedroom units. Paint, replacing the pool structure, and now the decking. It is constant, but there is improvement. So the cost of my one-bedroom week 23 costs $ this year including the $10 tax from the county/city. The cost of my two-bedroom week 45 costs $ this year including the $10 tax. Week 23 is a red week;, week 45 is a white week. I am less than 2 hours by car from this resort, which is a hidden jewel compared to many others that I have traded to. Also this resort is owned by the timeshare owners. No one else. Carol Bradley We own at Blue Tree Resort Lake Buena Vista, FL two-bedroom (red). Our maintenance fee this year is $511. This is $20 lower than last year. Club Donatello has a special way of showing ours fees: For a studio such as mine, the fees are $795, with $655 going to operating funds for daily operations and the other $140 going Reserves/Capital Funds needed for repair, replacement, and maintenance of our capital assets and equipment. Just a way to avoid calling it an assesment. Bart Westgate Vacation Villas Size Maint. fee Prop. tax Total 2BR $707 Westgate Lakes Size Maint. fee Prop. tax Total 3BR $815 Averages are very misleading. In Hawaii, at the Bay Club, the average maintenance fee is $ All maintenance fees in Hawaii are higher than $ Also in Hawaii, maintenance fees are required to retain 10% of the fees for refurbishing of the resort. In the 12 years I have been an owner at the resort, we have never had a special assessment for anything. The units were completely refurbished in K Lucy Larkin, Kohala Coast Timeshare Resales Hawaii Maintenance fees for a two bedroom (one week) at the Kona Coast Resort, in Hawaii is as follows: $ $ $852 Larry Ringsted I have been an owner at Powhatan Plantation, Williamsburg, Virginia for fifteen years. In 1997 Sunterra Corporation acquired the property. It had been rated as Gold Crown. The HOA was controlled by Sunterra s Sales Department. The property then deteriorated and both Gold Crown and then Silver Crown were lost, and the property is now rated as the worst-rated property in Williamsburg. There are ten RCI properties there, with all but Sunterra rated as Gold or Silver Crown. The property couldn t even qualify for a Hospitality award. The propertry has since been sold to Diamond Resorts of Las Vegas. Diamond now wants to increase maintenance fees to upgrade the property with luxury appointments, but at the expense of the 22,000 owners. Diamond disregards the for back issues, Resort Report Cards, articles on resorts and much more

4 TimeSharing Today Page 13 Jan/Feb, 2008 fact that Sunterra used the early maintenance fees to beautify the gardens and ponds to attract prospective buyers. Almost no funds were left for maintenance of the owner-units, thus causing the loss of the Gold and Silver Crown ratings. The owners have since been assessed and some work has begun. Before any luxury improvements can be made, Diamond must pay for Sunterra s failures by spending ten or more million dollars to restore the units that Sunterra destroyed in their spending of maintenance funds to make sales. Three additional timeshare properties are now being built to add to the local competition, and Powhatan Plantation will again fall behind the other properties. Diamond/ Sunterra has also terminated the Owners Advisory Committee (which I founded in 1997) so as to not hear complaints about Diamond-Sunterra Resorts. Many owners will soon learn of this charade and thousands will soon be trying to sell their units. Meanwhile the property continues to deteriorate. Richard Velzy, Midlothian, VA Polo Towers : Two-bedroom units at $850 per unit maintenance fee. Last year a special assessment of $2500 which previoiusly had been voted down; however the developer somehow got it through on the last go around. The last two times I stayed there, the rooms where in terrible shape, and so were the furnishings. Supposedly there was a sinking fund for all this, and maintenance should be done on a 5 to 7 year replacement cycle with painting and carpets more often. Mayan Palace, Royal Myan : two-bedroom $805 per unit. Jockey Club - one-bedroom uits at $490 per unit maintenance. Paradise Village : 9600 points at $350. Wydham Resorts (formerly Fairfield) $600 a year for 450,000 points. Marriott Palm Desert - two-bedroom units at $900+local property tax. John Beyer $390 for one-bedroom at Ocean Landings Resort & Racquet Club; we own 4 weeks $422 for two-bedroom (same maintenance fee for all sized units) at Summer Bay Las Vegas; we own 3 weeks $660 for one-bedroom at Maui Schooner; we own 2 weeks $595 for one-bedroom at Pono Kai; we own 2 weeks $600 for two-bedroom - Kona Coast II $784.for two-bedroom -Kona Coast II These are 2007 maintenance fees (including taxes) Arline Vitale Size - Maint Fee The Wharf - 2 BR - $ Fairfield Glade - 2 BR - $ Fairfield Williamsburg at KIngsgate - 2 BR + 1 BR Lockout - $ Fairfield Williamsburg at Patriots Place 1 BR + S Lockout - $ Sunterra Resorts - Powhatan Plantation- 2 BR + 2 BR Lockout - $ Walter A. Shurden We re owners of three weeks at Winner s Circle in Solana Beach (San Diego area), California. Our current fees are $582 per year, and the fee is the same no matter what size unit you own. We own one 1-bedroom and two 2-bedroom units at the resort. The fee has stayed at a similar level for several years, as long as we have owned our units here. The Clubhouse was totally rebuilt this year with no Special Assessment, and all the units have been significantly upgraded during the same period of time. (Most notable improvement: the addition of air conditioning to all units), again without Special Assessments. The Association Board maintains good communication with the owners, and they have a regular schedule of building refurbishments, with another cycle coming up in about 1 year. They set up prototype improvements, and then sequentially improve one building per year (in a 4-building complex). The Association also added an exercise room and an elevator last year, again without a special assessment. Is it any wonder that we own 3 weeks here? George & Jeanne Ronay Here is the 2006 maintenance fee of the timeshares I owe at Krystal International Vacation Club in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico:- two-bedroom, weeks 51 and 52: US$ 574/week/unit My timeshare is Peppertree Maggie Valley in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It is a two bedroom. The Maintenance fee for this year is $453. There is an upcoming special assessment of $200 per unit for rehab work that was more extensive than anticipated. This is the first special assessment. Roy Shelton, Jos Stam I own a two-bedroom unit at the San Luis Bay Inn, CA, annual maintenance fees, $605.00, no special assessments. David Miles Here are the 2008 Maintenance Fees for the Manhattan Club: Full one-bedroom suite with two bathrooms: $1, (including real estate tax) Quite a shocker. Maintenance Fee when we purchased in 1999: $ (including tax) John and Carla Webber Polo Towers, Las Vegas, Nevada. Maintenance fees on a two-bedroom unit is $832:00 and Special Assessment was $1180:00 payable over 3 years. Jeannine and Edmond Beloin for back issues, Resort Report Cards, articles on resorts and much more

5 TimeSharing Today Page 14 Jan/Feb, 2008 We own one-bedroom (over 800 sq. ft) units at Lawrence Welk s Desert Oasis in Palm Springs, California. The maintenance fee for each unit, in white week classification, is $571 U.S. Linda and James Schurman Unit Size - MainFee - Taxes - Sp Assess Berkshire Beach Club 1 Bdrm. $450 $50 $59 Vacation Village/Parkway 2 BR $499 $150 Nil Orange Lake Resort 2 Bdrm. $468 $101 $86 Gino & Lorna Lago Oasis Marigot on island of St. Lucia. 1 BR + kitchen in LR w/ sofa bed. 5 weeks for $2110 for upcoming year or $422 per week. The following are the maintenance fees we pay for various units Royal Sands-Cancun - $690 Kauai Coast-Kauai - $1171 Pona Kai-Kauai - $531 Waiohai Marriott-Kauai - $1297 Plaza Resort-Palm Springs - $595 Westin-Cancun - $800 All of these are a one-bedroom for one week. Paul Bostwick Club Ocean Villas II, Ocean City, MD. Due to a fire in April, 2005, renovations were needed. Some have been completed and now board of directors has decided to renovate rest of units over the next 3 years. They have increased our annual maintenance fees over these next 3 years to $879 to cover expenses (an increase of $409) and then promise that it will go back down once renovations are completed. Needless to say, at our annual meeting in October, members were not happy. We do realize that the renovations are overdue and we want the place to be maintained properly, but we have a lot of questions! It was the understanding when we bought that renovations would occur regularly and would be covered in our annual fees on a gradual basis. It appears that they let things go for too long and are now playing catch up. Lynne DeMinco Sandstone Creek Club, Vail Colo. A 5-star/Gold Crown club. One-bedroom plus loft, 3 baths, sleeps 8, 1500 Sq. Ft. in week 46. $ annual with no special assessments being considered. Same club: two-bedrooms, 2 baths week 34, 1050 Sq. Ft. $ Eagle Village at Tamiment, PA Unit Size: Sleeps 6 Pending 2008 maintenance fee: $470, $ $380 with a special assessment $49 for a new amenity center $380, $ $ $340 for back issues, message boards, Resale Value Tracker and much more