# Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge to be Sold/Liquidated



## bbakernbay (Oct 15, 2020)

*Job losses expected as Horseshoe Valley timeshares close down*
MR
By Marg. Bruineman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporterbarrietoday.com
Thu., Oct. 15, 2020timer3 min. read
Job losses are certain to result from the closure of two timeshare properties in Horseshoe Valley, a court broadcast over YouTube heard Thursday. 
Justice Barbara Conway of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto endorsed a proposal that Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge timeshare resorts close Jan. 6 and that they be marketed and sold. Administrator of the property, BDO Dunwoody, will become the receiver. 
“A lot of people are, unfortunately, losing their jobs” as the timeshare resaorts close and contracts for goods and services are cancelled, said Leanne Williams, the lawyer representing the boards for the timeshares. 
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Wyndham Vacation Clubs has the contract to manage the two vacation properties and also owns a significant number intervals, or weeks of use, in the properties. 
Wyndham spokesman Steven Goldsmith was unable to say what the precise impact would be and how many people could end up out of work as a result of the decision. 
“We are evaluating the evolving situation to determine the impact on our associates. In the meantime, we continue to provide outstanding management services to the resort owners,” he wrote in an email. 
Carriage Ridge has 78 units within three buildings on eight acres and Carriage Hills has 172 units in eight buildings on 20 acres running independently from Horseshoe Resort — a major ski and golf resort in Oro-Medonte Township, north of Barrie. 
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Justice Conway’s order follows a survey circulated to as many of the 11,000 timeshare owners as they could locate for more than 17,000 intervals, concluding that the majority wished to get out of their agreements of the aging and troubled properties. 
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“The people have spoken, the very point of the survey,“ she said Thursday. 
Because of the lack of interest there will be no financial restructuring of the properties and no charges to those who chose to exit. The boards of directors for both Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge will remain intact, working with the administrator as the properties close and are then sold. 
Representing three of the owners, lawyer Lou Brzezinski said there could well be a great deal of interest in the purchase of the properties. But the owners would like to see a rapid transition. He said for every $1 million in difference in purchase price, each interval owner receives only about $90. 
“Even if I get anything, I’ll be happy,” said Cheryl Chaytor, who is sad to see the demise of the timeshare resort she enjoyed for 20 years. 
Chaytor said she has learned from her experience and was a much more sophisticated purchaser in subsequent timeshare purchases elsewhere. But, she said, she doesn’t regret the purchase, which cost her $10,000 20 years ago. 
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Karen Levins, one of the ‘three amigos’ who hired Brezezinski through crowdfunding, said after all the contracts for management and services such as phone and internet are paid off, the remainder will be divided by the 17,408 integral owners. 
So even though the properties are considered valuable and even desirable, there are so many people with interests. 
“It’s pennies, because there’s so many owners,” she said. “At the end of the day, we will get almost nothing.” 
Just the same, it comes as a relief to Levins and others whose annual maintenance costs were climbing every year. The vacation units were operating at a deficit from 2015 to 2018 and as an increasing number of owners walked away, they left a greater financial burden to those who remained. About 25 per cent of the owners were considered delinquent. 

Part of the problem was that they had contracts in perpetuity. And as many owners were aging, they were concerned about their ongoing obligation for the resort property that had no market value. 
And as the buildings — which began development in 1997 — became older, they required more attention. Levins points to a $136,000 estimate to fix staircases in the buildings at Carriage Hills. 
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A timeshare purchase, Chaytor said, is not the same as a real estate investment which typically allows for a gain in value over time. 
“It wasn’t real estate that we got into. It was a vacation club,” she said. “I used it to the max, I don’t look back on it with any regret. You couldn’t believe some of the places we’ve gone (through the timeshare ownership).” 
But, she added, there are people that are devastated that the resort is closing.


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## bizaro86 (Oct 15, 2020)

Thanks for sharing. Shell has units at these resorts, I wonder how that will work given those units provide the inventory for points.


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## BingoBangoBongo (Oct 16, 2020)

Did these developments actually start in 1997?  Doesn’t seem very long if true?


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## Harmina (Oct 16, 2020)

BingoBagnoBongo said:


> Did these developments actually start in 1997?  Doesn’t seem very long if true?


Yes , we bought a fixed week at Carriage Hills in 1997. At that time there were only 3 buildings. I think if they hadn't expanded to phase 2 and phase 3 the resort would have survived.
We loved our time up there......it is a beautiful area.  We also had great exchanges.  We have no regrets with our purchase. Great memories were made up there.  
We are happy that the issues are resolved as far as closing the resort down.  At least we won't have to carry the load of the ever increasing MF's that we incurred due to the delinquent owners.
Feel sorry for the staff who have lost their jobs. Some have been there since they opened.  They were a great team.


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## moonstone (Oct 16, 2020)

Harmina said:


> Feel sorry for the staff who have lost their jobs. Some have been there since they opened. They were a great team.



Yes, the resort employed a lot of local residents both for full time and part-time jobs. Our DD worked there first in housekeeping then at the concierge desk during high school and the first summer of university. The resort is only 10-15 minutes from our home so it was easy to get her there after school or on weekends and she made pretty good money for a student. She made some good friends working there who she still keeps in touch with. There are a lot of new fancy (expensive) homes being built south of the resort on the part of the golf course that was sold and the impression the original locals get from the folks moving in is that the timeshare downgrades the look and appeal of the area. I think many will be happy to see it gone unfortunately. So sad.


~Diane


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## Harmina (Oct 16, 2020)

The timeshares were there long before those who are now building up there.  If they think the timeshares are not appealing, then they should not have bought property  there.
That is the same as people who build next door to a farmer and then complain about the smell.  Do your homework folks....
I love the Horseshoe Valley area. The way the timeshares are designed & situated on that property blends in perfectly with the surroundings.
My aunt and uncle lived up there on Line 13. I have been going up there since I was a little girl.
Diane,  since you are local, you probably know my cousin who owns Big Curve Acres. His daughter, Christine also worked at CH.


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## Maple_Leaf (Oct 16, 2020)

moonstone said:


> I think many will be happy to see it gone unfortunately.


I think the Skyline guys that own Horseshoe Resort are dancing a conga line in their Toronto offices.


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## BingoBangoBongo (Oct 16, 2020)

moonstone said:


> There are a lot of new fancy (expensive) homes being built south of the resort on the part of the golf course that was sold



Have parts of the actual golf course been sold.  I can't imagine these resorts closing will help them if owned separately.  

What are thoughts on what will happen with this property?


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## Harmina (Oct 16, 2020)

Maple_Leaf said:


> I think the Skyline guys that own Horseshoe Resort are dancing a conga line in their Toronto offices.


I agree, Diane. I heard through the grapevine years ago that Skyline that bought Horseshoe was planning on putting a self contained city up there.


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## moonstone (Oct 16, 2020)

BingoBagnoBongo said:


> Have parts of the actual golf course been sold.  I can't imagine these resorts closing will help them if owned separately.
> 
> What are thoughts on what will happen with this property?


Yes a 9-hole section of, I believe the Highlands course,  (between Lines 3 & 4 north of Bass Lake Sideroad) was sold a few years ago and much of it has been built on already. Lots of people who built or bought homes backing on the golf course many years ago were very angry that they would be getting houses at their back fence instead of green open space. If they had bothered to check with the Township before their purchase they could have found out that the golf course was already zoned for residential use decades ago. 

~Diane


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## moonstone (Oct 16, 2020)

Harmina said:


> The timeshares were there long before those who are now building up there.  If they think the timeshares are not appealing, then they should not have bought property  there.
> That is the same as people who build next door to a farmer and then complain about the smell.  Do your homework folks....
> I love the Horseshoe Valley area. The way the timeshares are designed & situated on that property blends in perfectly with the surroundings.
> My aunt and uncle lived up there on Line 13. I have been going up there since I was a little girl.
> Diane,  since you are local, you probably know my cousin who owns Big Curve Acres. His daughter, Christine also worked at CH.



Yes, I agree, people cant complain about things that were there before they bought. Those new homes have just been built in the last few years and the timeshares have been there over 20 years.  DH & loved having the timeshares so close for mini-getaways when our kids were little. We were close enough to get home in a hurry if the grandparents were having trouble or there was an emergency. This is a beautiful area and I am sorry that so many people will not be able to exchange into the resort to explore the area.

We live off the 7th Line at the far north end of the Township so not really close to your cousin's.  I have only been to Big Curve Acres as a chaperone for brownies/cubs trips, years ago. It is a nice place and very popular for kids. We were going to take our little grand daughters there this summer - maybe next year! 

~Diane


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## karibkeith (Oct 17, 2020)

moonstone said:


> There are a lot of new fancy (expensive) homes being built south of the resort on the part of the golf course that was sold and the impression the original locals get from the folks moving in is that the timeshare downgrades the look and appeal of the area. I think many will be happy to see it gone unfortunately. So sad.


The homes were built adjacent to a golf course, Half the course has been sold off to a developer, the other half is fields of weeds. Will the fancy home owners be happier with the row housing proposed along Line 3? Does anyone expect to see the timeshare buildings ripped down?
We lived in this area for many years and I loved the timeshare properties there.


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## karibkeith (Oct 17, 2020)

Some observations from a non-owner.
I am interested in what happens here as a timeshare owner elsewhere. However, there are some things that seem odd. It is report that Carriage Ridge has 78 units within three buildings on eight acres and Carriage Hills has 172 units in eight buildings on 20 acres . So that total 250 units at 51 weeks (1 week maintenance) totaling 12,750 intervals. Elsewhere, it is reported that there are 17,408 integral owners. What did they own?
Being affiliates of Shell/Wyndham meant partly if not all in a points system? Did this allow them to oversell?
This is an evolving process where at one point exiting members would pay an exit fee. Does this mean they would no longer be owners and ineligible to share in sales proceeds? Why would someone pay to exit when the place is being shut down and put up for sale? Will any proceeds be shared equally by those who voted to exit and those who voted to stay? Will the members who want to stay have any recourse? Are there any law suits other than the one appointing BDO as administrators and receivers?
Just curious!


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## CanuckTravlr (Oct 17, 2020)

With respect to the number of owners vs. number of "intervals", some units could be EOY, which might account for the extra owners.  Also, I believe most of the units were 2-bedrooms.  In the ones we stayed in the 2nd bedroom could be used as a studio lock-off.  I don't know if any of the units were actually sold as separate 1-bedrooms and studios, but that would also increase the number of owners.  Just some thoughts off the top of my head.


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## Harmina (Oct 18, 2020)

All the units were sold as 2 bedroom lock offs.  There were EOY owners as well as every year owners. Most weeks were sold as floating weeks - red weeks, blue weeks, and white weeks.
The season of the weeks determined the cost.  We owned week 26.  It was a great trader as it took in Canada Day and Independence day.
We did use our one bedroom side most years and traded with the studio in the 23 years that we owned.


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## silentg (Oct 18, 2020)

We stayed there a few years ago. It was nice, but we were visiting in Canada Niagara Falls too so we didn’t spend much time at the resort. Too bad it’s closing.


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## Maple_Leaf (Dec 27, 2020)

A follow-up article from the same reporter...








						Closure of Horseshoe-area timeshares expected to be a blow to local economy
					

Employees of the Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge timeshares north of Barrie in Horseshoe Valley who are losing their jobs with the closure of the re...




					www.thestar.com


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## Maple_Leaf (Jan 7, 2021)

The end of the line for timeshares in Horseshoe Valley








						It's officially the end of the line for Horseshoe-area timeshares
					

'We don’t want to set the number. We want people to take advantage of this opportunity to come in and come in as high as possible,' lawyer tells the court




					www.barrietoday.com


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## Ironwood (Jan 7, 2021)

Maple_Leaf said:


> The end of the line for timeshares in Horseshoe Valley
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Interesting that both resorts are being offered for sale with no asking price.  The suggestion is they wish to maximize the selling price (of course) but could it really mean there is virtually no market for such real estate.  The pandemic/lockdown doesn't help either.  Knowing the area as I once lived within a short bike ride, I would suggest the complex would make a desirable 55+ residential complex.  But you would have to be independently able and mobile.  There are no transportation services there.  Craighurst a four corners with some services is about 4 km away, and there is Orillia to the north and Barrie to the south.  It's a beautiful area in all seasons.


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## zilentbob (Apr 13, 2021)

Wow!  amazing what's happening over there.
I used to own at Horseshoe.  I figured this would happen, eventually.

My "selling" story,








						[ GONE ] Annual Red Week at Carriage Hills Resort, Barrie, Ontario
					

I have 1 Deeded Red Season week at Carriage Hills Resort in Horseshoe Valley, Ontario Canada. http://www.shellhospitality.com/en/Carriage-Ridge-Resort/gallery Take a look at the new Adventure Park which is a short drive away!   http://www.horseshoeresort.com/ontario-summer-activities.htm   The...




					tugbbs.com


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## zilentbob (Apr 14, 2021)

Oooh the drama ! 

2.2.5 Despite the enormous effort expended on this project by the Administrator’s staff, many emails received by the Administrator and numerous posts on Facebook were insulting and abusive towards the Administrator and, in some instances, the Court and Madam Justice Conway. Attached as Appendix “N” is a small sampling of such emails and posts. The commentary in these emails was unnecessary, inappropriate and served no purpose other than to upset the Administrator’s staff who are committed to assist the Members in extricating themselves from the contractual obligations they committed to in the past. Despite the foregoing, the Administrator continued its mandate for the benefit of the Members and conducted itself in a professional manner at all times. 

2.2.6 A consistent complaint received by the Administrator by certain Members was the* lack of fairness in the process* resulting from the fact that it was unlikely that every Member would be provided with the Member Survey by the Administrator due to incomplete contact information. Pursuant to the July 2020 Orders, the Administrator compiled contact information received from Equiant (the entity that invoiced Members their Charges), Wyndham, the Resorts’ websites, and the contact survey on the Administrator’s case website. 

2.2.7 Unfortunately, several Members commenced their own Member survey on Facebook without informing the Administrator. 
As a result, the Administrator received various emails from Members stating that they believed that they had already completed the Member Survey on Facebook. This caused confusion for some Members, which was disruptive to the process and increased the overall costs of the Administrator.


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## moonstone (Apr 30, 2021)

From our local paper today.   "The owners were told Friday that their claim on the property would be attached to the proceeds of the sale, which will be distributed according to a court order." 
Buyer lined up for Horseshoe Valley-area timeshare resorts, court hears - Orillia News (orilliamatters.com) 

~Diane


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## am1 (May 2, 2021)

Toronto Star









						Buyer lined up for Horseshoe Valley-area timeshare resorts, court hears
					

The Carriage Ridge and Carriage Hills timeshare resorts in Oro-Medonte’s Horseshoe Valley have a buyer, a court was told during a hearing broadcast ov...




					www.thestar.com


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## moonstone (May 27, 2021)

Buyer was announced today. Hotel chain purchases Horseshoe Valley timeshare properties - Orillia News (orilliamatters.com) 
"Sunray had not yet responded to requests for comment prior to publication on how the Oro-Medonte Township property, located south of Orillia, will be used and whether the existing buildings will remain."   Guess we will have to wait and see what they have in mind.

~Diane


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## moonstone (Jul 3, 2021)

New news on the possible fate of Carriage Hills and Ridge timeshare properties.









						Former timeshare resorts in Horseshoe Valley sell for $60M, could be converted to condos
					

'It depends upon where the appetite for condo sales are or what the appetite is for rentals... but it’s unlikely we’ll do any hotels up there,' says new owner




					www.barrietoday.com
				





~Diane


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Dec 17, 2021)

Latest update - Dec 17,2021

Former TS owners still waiting for proceeds of sale


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## goaliedave (Mar 1, 2022)

I'm an owner at both, claim deadline is April 11 and the owners list is a mess still. The receiver BDO has hired USA company Prime Clerk to sort it. We do court proceedings by zoom as some of us have paid for a lawyer to attend on our behalf to keep BDO somewhat in check.

Expectation is payout of $1000 per EY week. Smart people didn't pay the last 2 years' MF so saved $3000 they'll be better off.


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