# Resort Sold - Need Advice



## robert12ri (Nov 29, 2007)

After owning two weeks of timeshare at a resort on Dutch St Martin for over 10 years, the place was sold.  The new owner has announced that the resort is being coverted to Titled or Fractured Ownership at a very steep price. As a buyout, we are being offered a membership in Resorts One, a vacation club we know nothing about.  If we choose to stay with our weekly ownership, the Maintenance fees are more than doubling from $425 per week to $1000.

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## Tia (Nov 29, 2007)

Could be the time to get out, esp. since you know nothing about the vacation club they are offering at a much higher cost. 

Moderator-Maybe this question would see more traffic on the buying selling area?



robert12ri said:


> After owning two weeks of timeshare at a resort on Dutch St Martin for over 10 years, the place was sold.  The new owner has announced that the resort is being coverted to Titled or Fractured Ownership at a very steep price. As a buyout, we are being offered a membership in Resorts One, a vacation club we know nothing about.  If we choose to stay with our weekly ownership, the Maintenance fees are more than doubling from $425 per week to $1000.
> 
> Any advice would be appreciated.


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## scotlass (Nov 30, 2007)

Which one?  I am thinking of purchasing in SXM so I would like to know the status of this one.


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## robert12ri (Dec 26, 2007)

*Resort Sold*

The resort that has been sold and now has very high maintenance fees is Mary's Boon.  They are no longer selling time shares so you will not make a mistake and buy there.


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## Dave M (Dec 26, 2007)

robert12ri said:


> ...you will not make a mistake and buy there.


Not from the developer, but without info such as you have provided, someone could easily make a mistake and buy a week in the resale market. There are a number of them currently listed for sale (e.g., at Redweek).

It sounds as though either of the two choices you make will be costly and perhaps unrewarding personally. Thus, unless you really want to move into unknown territory, you should consider the third alternative, assuming it's available: simply let your ownership disappear in the conversion.

As a note, "vacation clubs" have a very bad reputation here at TUG, generally having very little value compared to the costs.


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## Kal (Dec 26, 2007)

I would definitely think hard about sinking any more money into Mary's Boon.  It is located right on the water and the very slightest wave surge from a nearby hurricane will submerge the place.  When St. Maarten was hit so badly in the 1990's, Mary's Boon suffered significant damage and it's just a matter of time.


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## Kola (Dec 26, 2007)

robert12ri said:


> .... As a buyout, we are being offered a membership in Resorts One, a vacation club we know nothing about.  If we choose to stay with our weekly ownership, the Maintenance fees are more than doubling from $425 per week to $1000.
> 
> Any advice would be appreciated.



It would be very helpful to know at least some basic facts about their buyout offer. Did you have a real equity in the resort or was it originally sold as a Right to Use deal ? If my assumption about RU is correct, how many years do you have remaining in your original RU contract ? From what I remember when we visited the island Mary's Boon had not much to offer as a resort. And that fact is clearly reflected in your modest maintenence fees. How much was your maintenance, say, five years ago ? You are the best judge of the level of their maintenance and housekeeping standards.  Given a high risk of hurricane damage and of the likely special assessment to keep the place open, maybe the vacation club deal is not a bad option. It's very difficult to judge without hard facts about the case.
Mike


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## silverfox82 (Dec 29, 2007)

Although I am not an owner I have been following this situation closely since I have close friends who are. Raul's letter (the new owner) seems vague in regard to the ts owners choices. He is converting 23 of the 37 rooms into titled residences so what happens if you now are an owner of a converted unit? Do they just put you in an unconverted unit that is available and what if there is no comparable unit available? Have the ts owners lost their equity after paying top dollar just a few years ago?. This situation stinks at best and it might be prudent to get a group of owners together to hire an attorney on island with experience in these matters to see if it's even legal. My friends paid a large amount of money for their 2 weeks, well in excess of the$8,900 value being offered for the resort one club, they have no desire to visit any other property at any other time of the year, period, and it seems they have had the rug pulled out from under their feet. Perhaps Raul will send out another letter to clarify the above questions.


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