# Reason I am against Polo Towers Special Assessment !!!!



## ljane (Mar 10, 2006)

I am quite unhappy to hear the present managament at Polo Towers is still try to get the $1500.00 (plus) special assessment passed.  

I am the first to agree this need done; as the units have not been touched since we have owned for over 7 years.  I am totally against the present management doing the update.  We own 8 weeks of Timeshare (all Gold Crown and 5 Star resorts) and this is the highest maintenance fees we pay with nothing being done to update the units since we have owned.

Give me new management and they will get my vote to update. What happened to the maintenance fee money that was to be for keeping the units undated?  POOR MANAGEMENT!!!
Ljane


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## dougp26364 (Mar 10, 2006)

I agree that management has been poor but the HOA, which is controled by the management has to take a hit on this one also. 

We own four timeshares in Vegas, the Villa's at PT's, the Suites at PT's (skyview unit not included in the SA), HGVC on the strip and the new Marriott. PT's only collect a little over $50 for their reserve while Marriott and Hilton both collect a little over $100. Guess which resorts are maintained and which are not?

Why the HOA doesn't just increase the reserve fee by another $50 or $60 is beyond me. If they had done this years ago, this "new" SA would probably have never been necessary.

As it is, it's to late now. They would need to collect $150 for the reserve, and even then the updates couldn't get done within the next 7 to 10 years as the money slowly trickles in. Something really needs to be done now. It's unfortunate that, as owners, we've been pleased to not worry about the low reserve collections until it comes home to bite us in the back end.

While I am not pleased with how the resort has been managed, changing management companies now won't help either. The barn doors been left open and the cattle are already out. Even a new management company will be faced with the same problem. How to renovate without the money to do it. IOW, any new management company is going to be asking for an SA also.

My biggest problem, and probably a lot of other owners problem as well, is how the last SA was handled. How many years from passing to completion did it take to get that very small childrens water park put in? Oddly enough, they finally got it done about the time they started asking for another SA for the unit upgrades. Funny how that happened isn't it? I think that because of that, there are a lot of owners who don't trust them to do what they say with the money they're asking for. I know I'm leary about it.


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## cluemeister (Mar 11, 2006)

*$1500?*

The facets newsletter says the Special Assessment is $788 for a 1BR and $1180 for a 2BR.  I'm not sure where the $1500 figure came from.

I bought a unit resale, and support the SA.  Worst case for us is the SA passes, and then it takes a looooong time to update.  We get tired of waiting, and sell the unit on ebay.

I think attempting to punish the HOA by witholding the SA is counterproductive.   If the SA passes, then the owners need to let the HOA that we're watching carefully, and constantly remind them with phone calls and emails/letters.  As a former condo board member, I can tell you that pressure from a wide group of members does have an effect.

Having owned at a new condo development before, I've seen developers underprice mf's.  I was on a board when we had to play catchup, and it's painful.  But it is necessary.


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## timesharejunkie4 (Mar 19, 2006)

Might as well vote for the SA, they are going to get it one way or the other and "the other" will  be much more costly in the long run. The refurbishments need to and will be done. If the SA is not passed they can raise the MF's 15% per year and in 5 years time they can be as high as $1263for a 2BR. Once they get that high and the units are redone do you think the MF's will go down? (LOL) If the SA is passed the work will be done quicker (they say 9 months but I wouldn't count on that) but it will still be quicker than if the money needed is collected over a few years.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 19, 2006)

timesharejunkie4 said:
			
		

> Might as well vote for the SA, they are going to get it one way or the other and "the other" will  be much more costly in the long run. The refurbishments need to and will be done. If the SA is not passed they can raise the MF's 15% per year and in 5 years time they can be as high as $1263for a 2BR. Once they get that high and the units are redone do you think the MF's will go down? (LOL) If the SA is passed the work will be done quicker (they say 9 months but I wouldn't count on that) but it will still be quicker than if the money needed is collected over a few years.



I'm glad you found the percentage MF's could be raised per year. I'd been to lazy to look for it. I had thought 10% per year but I can easily believe 15%.


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## cluemeister (Mar 19, 2006)

*Also to consider*

If the SA doesn't pass, and they raise the MF's 15% a year, I don't think the MF's will go back down once they're up around $1200.   

Then it will be much more difficult to sell this timeshare because it will have Marriott's MF's without the prestige, reputation, or quality of a Marriott resort.

This update is especially necessary because this is Vegas.  Keeping up with the upscale trend on the strip is a must.  I faxed my vote yesterday.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 20, 2006)

Whatever they do, the MUST increase the reserve so that this doesn't happen again. $50 per two bedroom unit is HALF what all our other resorts put into reserve. IMO, the low reserve has a lot to do with the current request for an SA.


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## cluemeister (Mar 20, 2006)

*Agreed*



			
				dougp26364 said:
			
		

> Whatever they do, the MUST increase the reserve so that this doesn't happen again. $50 per two bedroom unit is HALF what all our other resorts put into reserve. IMO, the low reserve has a lot to do with the current request for an SA.



I agree.  Otherwise, when they want to a) add washers and dryers  or b) add a jacuzzi or c) tear off that horrible neon and build a new classier sign or d) other,  there will be no funds for it.


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## dougp26364 (Mar 21, 2006)

This appears to be a vote that will never end. I wrote to the HOA yesterday to see when the voting period was up and when the results of the vote would be known. They told me it had been extended another 45 days.


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## cluemeister (Mar 21, 2006)

*New deadline?*

Another 45 days takes us into mid-June.  Last time the HOA extended the deadline, it was at the end of December for another 120 days until the end of April.  Sounds like they're getting closer to a quorum.


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## timesharejunkie4 (Mar 22, 2006)

I was just there and they said the extension would take it until May 15. They are trying to get a hold of everyone who has not voted.


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## JillChang (Mar 29, 2006)

I own villas at Polo Towers, but I am interested in buying Polo Tower Suites as well.

I think I would only buy if SA goes through and the property is kept in top shape.  Nothing worse than a 5 star location with a 3 star condition.

With all the developments around PT, this renovation is a must!


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## babu (Apr 3, 2006)

doug

i am so curious as to why you bought 4 ts in vegas.?   do you trade them or rent them?   did you buy them resale?   andthat's a lot of mf, Yes?

babu


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## dougp26364 (Apr 3, 2006)

babu said:
			
		

> doug
> 
> i am so curious as to why you bought 4 ts in vegas.?   do you trade them or rent them?   did you buy them resale?   andthat's a lot of mf, Yes?
> 
> babu



Basically, they kept building a better mouse trap. Contrary to the best advice, all have been purchased directly from the developer.

The first was just a flat out mistake. We took our first vacation in over a decade and went to Vegas. I had no idea what a TS tour was and we bit. Since we had failed to take vacations for so many years we decided that if we purchased a TS, we'd use it. That thinking was correct as we now take 4 to 5 weeks of vacation every year.

We purchased the second week with the thought that we could LO our two bedroom units and get 4 weeks per year. At that time Vegas was a bargain and we enjoyed staying there. We purchased a preconstruction Skyview unit at Polo Towers on the 18th floor. The developer price at that time was $14,900 for the two bedroom unit. Since we had paid $18,900 for our original 2 bedroom unit, it seemed like a bargain. Since it was preconstruction we were supposed to received exchange certificates (not accomadation cert) until the unit was ready for occupancy. This was the begging of my distatisfaction with the management and developement at PT's, but that's another story.

We eventually upgraded our tower 2 unit to a Villa's unit at PT's.

We had been reading about HGVC on these forums and, on one of our trips to Vegas, we decided to check it out. Hilton has one of the most flexible points based exchange systems we had seen and we decided that we wanted to own in the Hilton system. Originally we purchased a gold EOY unit at the HGVC LV Hilton. Then, our of curiosity and a desire to stay during platinum time, we checked out the LV Strip location for Hilton and upgraded to an every year platinum season unit (7,000 points)

Finally, we already owned one Marriott resort and knew how much we liked it. We also had become very disatisfied with the poor maintenance at PT's and wanted to own something on the south end of the strip that we knew would be kept up to standards. So we purchased the Marriott unit.

Polo Towers has always traded reasonably well for the area's we've requested. At this point, PT's has become exchange units for us. I don't see us occupying those units again in the near future. Instead we'll occupy the Marriott and Hilton units when we go to Vegas.

Marriott and Hilton offer a little more flexibility than PT's does. With Marriott, I can exchange our unit for Marriott Rewards points EOY. Next month we'll fly to Ireland and spend a week there in a Marriott hotel paid for with Marriott Rewards points. This year we're taking a cruise which is partially paid for with HGVC points. While I don't look to stay in the Hilton and the Marriott every year, I don't look to deposit either for exchange. I'll either use the unit, exchange for points or other services so long as I at least break even on my MF's.

Now at one point we did stay in Vegas a lot but, Vegas has become almost as expensive as any other destination so, we spend only one week each year there. The PT's units are exchange through I.I. The Marriott unit will be used EOY and exchanged for points EOY as will the Hilton unit. 

But, that's today. Check back with me later and I'm sure our usage will change again. That is one of the nicest things we've found about timeshare. As our life's have changed, timeshare has been flexible enough to change right along with us. Why a lot of people don't figure that out and complain about not being able to use their TS is beyond me.


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## babu (Apr 4, 2006)

thank you so much, doug!

i'll be getting the hang of this.....little by little with help from you and others here.
it's really learning how to use it.

thanks again,
babu


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## dougp26364 (Apr 4, 2006)

babu said:
			
		

> thank you so much, doug!
> 
> i'll be getting the hang of this.....little by little with help from you and others here.
> it's really learning how to use it.
> ...



Keep in mind that almost every one of us has purchased from the developer at one time or another. It's not the most evil or worst thing anyone can do and it takes some time to learn how to use your timeshare.

Do you know for sure which tower you are in. Are you in tower 3 or tower 2. I'm assuming from what you've told me that you have a tower 3 unit which is the Villa's at Polo Towers. The Villa's is not suffering the same problems that the towers are right now. However, if they don't start putting more than $50/year into the reserve fund, it won't be long before they have the EXACT same problems.

Sign up for I.I.'s online account. There you can view what units you have and preform search's for exchanges without depositing your unit. They will ask you for a reservation # and a reservation date if you have a floating unit before you're allowed to search. I'm wanting to say you can enter any 7 digit number and it will allow you to search. Of course you can't confirm anything until you actually deposit your unit.

If you don't plan on using your unit to travel to Las Vegas, deposit it as early as possible. For the last several years we've receive accomadation certificates as a bonus for depositing our units. That's an extra timeshare vacation, just for depositing your unit with I.I. 

AC's are limited in where you can go and the fee to use them is higher than the exchange fee but, it's still and extra weeks vacation. If you use your AC for a studio exchange, the cost is $199, for a 1 bedroom it's $249 and a 2 bedroom is $299. That would be the unit you choose to take and not what you've deposited. We've used AC's to get us into overbuilt area's with ease like Branson, MO and Williamsburg, VA. Both times we were able to grab 2 bedroom units. Both times they were 5 star resorts (Sunterra's Greensprings Plantation and Horizon's by Marriott).

If you haven't deposited you 2006 year and don't plan to use it, call I.I. and find out what dates you would need to reserve to qualify to an AC. Then call Polo Towers and reserve one of those dates and deposit your unit. Keep an eye on I.I. as we had to remind them to send us our AC this year. I've read others who have had the same problem.  

Remember, AC's are not guarenteed to be given every year. With the New Marriott and the new Westgate being built right behind PT's, they might not be given out to much longer. Of course the key word there is BEHIND Polo Towers. If this SA passes and PT's maintains it's accomadations, it's position right on the strip is still the best.


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## babu (Apr 4, 2006)

doug,

thank you for that clear presentation of the way it works to trade polo towers.  it helps me to form a clear framework to put information into.

we own a 2 bedroom villa in tower III.  bought in march 2003.

babu


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## dougp26364 (Apr 4, 2006)

babu said:
			
		

> doug,
> 
> thank you for that clear presentation of the way it works to trade polo towers.  it helps me to form a clear framework to put information into.
> 
> ...



Then you have one of the best units at Polo Towers. Keep in mind that the Villa's have a seperate HOA than the Suites. The Villa's are not subject to the SA now but, if they don't start putting more money into the resreve fund, they'll be in the same situation in a few more years. Presently the Villa's HOA only puts $50/year of your MF's into reserve for future needs. Marriott and Hilton both put in a little over $100. Marriott and Hilton maintain their resorts, Polo Towers has not. IMO, Polo Towers needs to start putting in twice as much money to the reserve fund as what it's currently putting in. Even if it does that, they've already lost several years of money that should have been collected and put into reserve.


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