We own a week through the rci points program. Have had it for 15 years and this year the resort sent us a bill for $1200 saying they've added a dormer and this is our share of the cost. Is this a normal thing to expect?
You are the "beneficiary" of a "special assessment". The fact that your particular week is in RCI Points is not relevant to this '"special assessment" --- you are a deeded owner at that particular resort and all other deeded owners are equally "lucky" recipients of this same unwelcome news --- and bill.
I do not know your resort, or the identity of its' management company, or the composition of your HOA / BoD, but a surprise special assessment of that size for such a (seemingly non-essential) "improvement" appears (to me, anyhow) to reflect poor planning and / or inadequate financial "reserves".
The latter (or both) could be the direct result of maintenance fees being kept too low for too long. If so, such an approach (I do
not claim to know if this is what has actually occurred at
your place) is basically "penny wise and pound foolish" planning and poor financial (and property) management.
It is also possibile that there are a lot of owners at your facility not paying their maintenance fees and / or a lot of HOA-owned weeks (on which no one pays any fees either). In such instances, the remaining owners who
are paying their maintenance fees then have to pick up the slack and shoulder the additional financial burden created by those non-performing intervals which are contributing nothing toward property maintenance.
No one wants, likes or appreciates a surprise special assessment, but the unfortunate reality is they they do indeed occur in condo land, including at timeshare properties. I am sorry for the unexpected delivery of this untimely and unwelcome "Christmas present" on your doorstep.
