Spinnaker French Quarter Resort has been sold - the end is near

[dougp26364]

 

[dougp26364]

 

[dioxide45]

Are you even still an owner?

 

[davidvel]

I wonder what the developer sold all these units for collectively originally.

 

[dougp26364]

Are you even still an owner?

Yes, maybe, perhaps, I’m not sure.

I agreed to surrender the week, filled out the paperwork they sent about our deed…… and then we heard nothing. No transfer title paperwork. Nothing.

One way or another the timeshare is done. Whether we receive a check or just never hear from them again is fine.

 

[dioxide45]

Was there ever a termination vote or did the property reach it's governed sunset date?

 

[gravityrules]

How many units were there at French Quarter? Spinnaker info says 48, AI search shows significantly more ... could be different because of lock-offs.
If 48 is the correct number that's less than 100K/unit.

 

[TUGBrian]

so what is that, 1800 an interval to the owner (ballpark)? assuming the 4.75m is the net proceeds after everything else is paid for.

 

[dioxide45]

so what is that, 1800 an interval to the owner (ballpark)? assuming the 4.75m is the net proceeds after everything else is paid for.

It certainly isn't net proceeds. The letter indicates "purchase price". There will be real estate commissions and closing costs. Then who knows what other legal fees involved. There may be monies in operating funds and reserves that perhaps need to be taken into account.

 

[TUGBrian]

id assume that as well!

though one would also assume they would take something like that into account when drafting an email to ALL owners, knowing full well owners are going to do the math based on the price in the first line lol.

 

[dougp26364]

Was there ever a termination vote or did the property reach it's governed sunset date?

There was no termination vote and the property did not reach the sunset date.

 

[dougp26364]

How many units were there at French Quarter? Spinnaker info says 48, AI search shows significantly more ... could be different because of lock-offs.
If 48 is the correct number that's less than 100K/unit.

I believe there there was 6 building with 4 floors each and 4 keys per floor. That would be 96 instead of 48. Each unit was a lock-off. If they’re counting how many condo’s they can sell, that would make 48 if they redesigned them as 3 bedroom condo’s (2 bedroom master with 1 bedroom lock-off side.

I believe that would make 4,992 potential intervals if they sold all 52 weeks instead of holding a week back for maintenance/deep cleaning. We owned an EOY deed, so the number of owned deeds could be considerably higher.

 

[dougp26364]

id assume that as well!

though one would also assume they would take something like that into account when drafting an email to ALL owners, knowing full well owners are going to do the math based on the price in the first line lol.

If we get a check, my bet is it’s less than $100. As it is, after 4 or 5 years of trying to get rid of this deed without having to default is good enough. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

 

[dioxide45]

There was no termination vote and the property did not reach the sunset date.

I went back and read the letter in post 1 and it says "owner-approved plan to terminate the timeshare program and complete an orderly sale of the property". Perhaps there was a vote and you weren't involved because you were no longer an owner after the deed back?

 

[dougp26364]

I went back and read the letter in post 1 and it says "owner-approved plan to terminate the timeshare program and complete an orderly sale of the property". Perhaps there was a vote and you weren't involved because you were no longer an owner after the deed back?

That’s entirely possible. We didn’t pay the MF bill this year because we had elected to relinquish the deed. However, this wouldn’t be the first time we had done a deed back, transfer a deed or sell a deeded week. Every time we’ve transferred a deed there was paperwork that required a notary. We sent in the form stating we were electing to deed the week back, but have never heard anything from Lemonjuice. We also received a MF bill, which we ignored.

Have they foreclosed on the deed and we never received a notice? Does Lemonjuice hold enough deeds they didn’t need any votes from those remaining owners with deeds still in their names? Regardless we apparently won’t have to worry about it. I will say communication has been sparse at best. If we receive a check then fantastic. If we don’t receive a check, which is what I’m planning on, fantastic. I’m simply glad I don’t have to be concerned with a collection agency contacting me for unpaid MF’s because Lemonjuice didn’t follow through on our request for the deed back option.

As with everything that has to do with the poor management of this resort, the disorganized ending isn’t a surprise. It won’t surprise me if there are complaints filed with the Missouri AG or class action lawsuits filed because owners like myself never received paperwork to actually deed their ownership back to Spinnaker or Lemonjuice. The entire situation seems shaddy at best. I just want out and will be glad when it’s over.

 

[dougp26364]

Edited below

 

[dougp26364]

I should have just added the original post to the previous thread, but thought it deserved a fresh start rather than getting buried. Going back to that previous thread and reading the correspondence from Lemonjuice sheds a little more light on what’s occurred over the last year.

My guess is they have enough deed backs and/or deed transfers to other Spinnaker properties to account for the 67% necessary to accelerate the sunset clause and terminate the timeshare.

For those whose deed was not transferred, if the MF’s are delinquent, this will either disqualify those owners from participating in the distribution of the sales proceeds or that amount will be deducted from the final check. In our case that would likely mean we won’t receive anything. For those who paid this years MF’s, it looks like they’ll receive a portion of the proceeds but it’s unlikely that amount will cover the MF bill once all the expenses come out of the gross sales proceeds.

 

[chosshaul]

Is this resort still in good condition or no?
Guess there was no interest from other time share companies to purchase once all the current owners were dissolved ?

 

[gravityrules]

There's a glut of timeshare resorts for sale in Branson right now so not likely to be much interest in keeping this one as a timeshare. We have heard it many times that Branson, Orlando, Williamsburg, and Las Vegas are the most timeshare saturated markets. Suppose it's no surprise that some of the older properties are folding, particularly if they are independents or have been managed poorly.

 

[chosshaul]

Oh ok, must have read this wrong. I was thinking it was in New Orleans by the title thread

 

[dougp26364]

Oh ok, must have read this wrong. I was thinking it was in New Orleans by the title thread

A lot of people make that mistake. It was originally a Branson timeshare with a New Orleans theme.

To answer your question, the resort was not maintained but the MF’s were comparatively low with minimal amounts put into cash reserves. The kitchen table and chairs were heavy, well built and never replaced. Kitchen appliances were only replaced if/when they failed. They kept the old TV’s until they no longer worked and then replaced them with small, cheap flat panels. They did replace the beds but never replaced the bedroom furniture. The bathrooms were never updated. Spinnaker came in and made repairs to the pool, hot tub and pool deck, but that was about it. Even the key card system was ancient and, in some cases, rusted. Basically they probably needed to put more money into it than the sales price.

 

[jp10558]

There's a glut of timeshare resorts for sale in Branson right now so not likely to be much interest in keeping this one as a timeshare. We have heard it many times that Branson, Orlando, Williamsburg, and Las Vegas are the most timeshare saturated markets. Suppose it's no surprise that some of the older properties are folding, particularly if they are independents or have been managed poorly.

What boggles my mind is why was Williamsburg so appealing to timeshares?

 

[dioxide45]

What boggles my mind is why was Williamsburg so appealing to timeshares?

As a tourist destination, it seems Williamsburg was once more popular than it is today. Many timeshares were built in the heyday or in the decade following its peak in the 1980s.

 

[dioxide45]

I should have just added the original post to the previous thread, but thought it deserved a fresh start rather than getting buried. Going back to that previous thread and reading the correspondence from Lemonjuice sheds a little more light on what’s occurred over the last year.

My guess is they have enough deed backs and/or deed transfers to other Spinnaker properties to account for the 67% necessary to accelerate the sunset clause and terminate the timeshare.

For those whose deed was not transferred, if the MF’s are delinquent, this will either disqualify those owners from participating in the distribution of the sales proceeds or that amount will be deducted from the final check. In our case that would likely mean we won’t receive anything. For those who paid this years MF’s, it looks like they’ll receive a portion of the proceeds but it’s unlikely that amount will cover the MF bill once all the expenses come out of the gross sales proceeds.

I wasn't able to read the attachments as they were taking a long time to load, but even if Lemonjuice controlled enough votes to determine the outcome, I would expect they would still have to go through the legal motions, provide legal notice to the HOA members per the governing documents and have the vote. Wyndham had similar situation with the properties they pushed to bankruptcy. They controlled the outcome but still had to have the vote to determine the outcome through the legal process.

I watched the streamed meeting for Beach Quarters (a former Diamond property in Virginia Beach). There was a representative there speaking for Lemonjuice. They made the process sound rather complex and it seemed that in order to go through the sale and get the best sales price, it would require title insurance. Something that is really only possible with a lot of diligence in ensuring every interval deed has clear title. That means foreclosing on delinquencies, foreclosing on people who are dead. Going through quiet title for title defects. It sounds like a very long process. French Quarter seems like it steamrolled through the process in record time.

Also, if you never signed a deed to convey your ownership over then it seems you are still an owner.

 

[dougp26364]

I wasn't able to read the attachments as they were taking a long time to load, but even if Lemonjuice controlled enough votes to determine the outcome, I would expect they would still have to go through the legal motions, provide legal notice to the HOA members per the governing documents and have the vote. Wyndham had similar situation with the properties they pushed to bankruptcy. They controlled the outcome but still had to have the vote to determine the outcome through the legal process.

I watched the streamed meeting for Beach Quarters (a former Diamond property in Virginia Beach). There was a representative there speaking for Lemonjuice. They made the process sound rather complex and it seemed that in order to go through the sale and get the best sales price, it would require title insurance. Something that is really only possible with a lot of diligence in ensuring every interval deed has clear title. That means foreclosing on delinquencies, foreclosing on people who are dead. Going through quiet title for title defects. It sounds like a very long process. French Quarter seems like it steamrolled through the process in record time.

Also, if you never signed a deed to convey your ownership over then it seems you are still an owner.

There may be differences between Missouri and Virginia law, but yea, this hasn’t seemed to require a lot of owner participation.

A few things I do know.
1. I never remember receiving a form to vote to accelerate the sunset clause
2. We haven’t signed anything to transfer the deed
3. I did fill out their survey and indicated we were selecting the option to relinquish or deed
4. MF’s were due this year and I choose to not pay them

I would have remember a vote to accelerate the sunset clause and would have posted it on the other thread so other TUG members would be in the look out for theirs.