[ 2014 ] Any Barrier Island Station Duck Owners - My husband is running this year

For those who are still interested in Barrier Island Station Duck, my husband and I were there for a few days last weekend. The exterior work on the 300 Building was just about done - I think they were finishing up some roofing. The 100 building has been started and should get done before the peak season but it is unlikely they will be able to start on the 500 building. The plan is still that all the critical exterior work will be done before the interiors are started. Given the current membership of the Board, I am hopeful that maintenance fees for next year will reflect a sufficient increase to maintain the property and reestablish some reserve. I don't know if when all is said and done, there will be sufficient funds remaining from the assessment to get the interiors to where they should be. I personally would have preferred that the assessment be sufficient to do the interiors because I think there is going to be an "uprising" if interior work isn't done or if there is a need for an additional assessment to do it. To my knowledge - unless more owners decide to turn in their weeks - there are about 200 weeks that will be for sales and just about all of them are not peak season.

That's actually good news

Fayeoctober said:

To my knowledge - unless more owners decide to turn in their weeks - there are about 200 weeks that will be for sales and just about all of them are not peak season.

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200 weeks abandoned is not bad at all, considering the size of the resort. I've seen several weeks pass through Ebay, so I know there is PCC activity at the resort. I suspect that if the HOA inventory of abandoned units spikes, you may see someone like Capital Resorts buy that inventory for their vacation club like they apparently did at Hollywood Beach Tower and La Costa Beach Club. SPM is demonstrating at these resorts that a good strategy is to scare away the owners that are unwilling to pay the MFs required to make the resort sustainable.

I was just at Barrier Island Station Duck and Barrier Island's Ocean Pines

I took a drive through both resorts to check out the renovations going on. I have been an ongoing owner at this resort since 1984. It's good to see things taking shape at these two resorts. Both are oceanfront resorts in beautiful Duck. I took some pictures of the exteriors of the 300 and 100 Buildings. The new exteriors, decking and stairs look wonderful. The plan is to complete all exteriors before moving on to the interiors.

I just received my Spring Newsletter from the resort. Below is an excerpt regarding the renovations.

Renovation Project: We are very excited to announce that renovations have begun and are progressing as scheduled. A construction permit was issued on November 3, 2014, and demolition commenced immediately on Building 300. The demolition included removal of decks, pilings, siding, exterior trim, doors and windows. New pilings, new windows,
doors, decks and roofing have been installed. Upon removal of the siding some deterioration to the sheathing and framing was found and required additional work to repair. The chimney chases were deemed structurally unsound and have been permanently removed. Electric fireplaces have been installed in the existing hearths. Construction on Building 300 is now 95% complete. Work on Building 100 has begun. The siding, trim and exterior decks have been removed. Damage to the sheathing has also been repaired. New pilings have been installed on the south side and is underway on the north side. Photographs of the renovations are included in this newsletter. Plans to begin work on Building 500 have been postponed to next fall
due to the additional work needed for Buildings 300 and 100.



The Newsletter also addressed folks that want to get rid of their timeshares since they no longer use or cannot manage all the stairs, or can no longer afford the fees.

Question: Can the Association buy back my unit? Many of you have asked if you can return your week to Barrier Island Station Duck Interval Owners Association for various reasons. The two most common are that there are too many steps to climb or you are retired and no longer able to afford the maintenance fees.

If you would still like to come to the resort but need to change your unit, your first option is to request an internal trade through RCI. Our resort is still a high demand property throughout the RCI Exchange System. Our units still have a high trading power. If you are unable to use your unit, you may want to consider depositing for exchange through RCI. Owners have first priority on an exchange. I have used this option successfully many times when I needed to exchange my week for an alternate summer vacation
week.

Your second option, if you are currently a Weeks owner is to convert your Weeks unit within the RCI Exchange System for Points.
Points gives you the flexibility of booking hotels, taking a partial week vacation or applying the points towards other travel
services.

Your third option is to rent your unit. You can do this on your own or rent via SPM. Diane Forbes is our new Rental Manager and can be reached at (252) 261-8101. If you own a lockout unit, it may be possible for you to rent one side of your unit and still enjoy a vacation at Duck.

Finally, if you would prefer to sell your unit, I am pleased to advise that the Board has just signed an agreement with SPM to establish a Marketing Desk at the resort. There will be two sales representatives assigned to our resort that will assist our owners in selling their weeks or converting them to points. They can also assist you with getting additional discounted weeks.

This is also great news on collections of SA Fees from Spring Newsletter

Special Assessment: Great News! The special assessment collections are currently over the budgeted amount. More owners paid their special assessment than expected. Also, 25% of the future years’ budget was collected. A big thank you goes out to our owners for their commitment and support of Barrier Island Station Resort.

No one likes special assessments. However, they are a lot easier to swallow when the SAs are used appropriately, the management and HOA appear to be heading in the right direction, and long overdue upgrades are being made. I paid a lot of SAs in 2014. So far though, I have been pleased with the results at each of the resorts that had them. Fortunately, these resorts are sharing information and pictures of the ongoing renovation projects through Newsletters and social media. It helps soothe things when you're paying out the big bucks to be able to see the improvements.

A SPM strategy that works

Egret1986 said:

Finally, if you would prefer to sell your unit, I am pleased to advise that the Board has just signed an agreement with SPM to establish a Marketing Desk at the resort. There will be two sales representatives assigned to our resort that will assist our owners in selling their weeks or converting them to points. They can also assist you with getting additional discounted weeks. [/B]

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SPM has been using Palmetto Marketing as an on-site market maker, buying and selling units and keeping them off Ebay. Owners know there is a market for their unit at Palmetto and if you want another week that's where to look. This strategy has supported timeshare prices at SPM-managed resorts that use it.