Been a while -- glad I checked!
Hi everyone. I was a regular for many, many years but have gotten away from the trading scene and my daily visits to TUG. Now I only own 2 ocean city units at the Waves and Sea Time which we use/rent.
I'm not surprised by your comments or the fee increases. This was the first year in the last 8 that I didn't attended the annual HOA meeting due to a prior commitment but I do have a good framework for the internal workings of the resort.
I feel the HOA board does a good a job as they can with what they've been dealt. Here's the framework they have to work with: The resort was built by a corrupt developer who didn't finish what he started and left the resort in debt. Most of the off-season weeks were never sold and are still "owned" by the association. The owners at that time banded together took control of the resort requiring a substantial outlay of captial which was only recently repaid. The resort is in a highly seasonal location. Hence, only a quarter of the year (summer) is viable for renting or trading purposes.
References to the aging population are to the owners who did purchase from the original developer. They are defaulting on their maintenance payments and there is little the association can do about it. You see, in most cases, it would cost more to cease the property than its worth. Which brings up the seasonal nature of Ocean City.
There are really only 3 months of the year when most people will pay to travel to Ocean City. Historically, during that period, a premium will be paid for a week of accommodations (by the way, if accommodations aren't enough for you in OC, you're staying in the wrong location). The past few years have been very poor for rentals due to the economic situation (high gas prices). I even mention this because the HOA owns several full-time (52 week) units which it rents to bring in income towards the budget. Poor economy, fewer rentals, higher taxes, more defaults, all result in higher maintenance fees for those that remain.
No one will buy the off-season weeks. Off-season, there are so many units available in OC that consumers have a choice as to where they stay and how much they want to pay. In season, they choose either what they can afford or what's left. Would you buy a deeded (every year, forever) white or blue week given you could pick up the phone and rent a place on the beach for a few dollars more when ever you wanted one? Is so, you don't have to, the association will give you one. I guarantee it. Just give them a call. That's most of the problem.
I believe Ocean Time was fully sold by the developer and therefore had/have a larger owner base to keep fees from spiraling upward. Plus they don't have a pool to maintain, only paying a small fee for use of the Waves pool every year. The Waves is too small, only about 24 units. Ocean Time must have more units than that. And Sea Time has much smaller fixed costs because there are 4 times as many units, and due to their building configuration being high rises.
The special assessments were required due to the aging building and furnishings. Because of the issues left by the developer and the HOA having to get out from under what was left, there was no reserve fund and some repairs were postponed due to lack of funds. That is behind them as of a few years ago and the HOA is now addressing the building, inside and out. As an example, a large portion of the funds earmarked for exterior building resurfacing and roof coating was recently required to shore up the structure under the pool (not something Ocean Time or Sea Time EVER needs to be concerned with). That money will need to come from somewhere...you guessed it, another special assessment next year.
You can blame the rental agency if you want and you can bad-mouth the management company too, but they're not the reasons for the poor rentals or high fees. The fact is, the owner base is too small right now to support the resort and there doesn't seem to be any way to increase the numbers.
It may sound like I'm being argumentative but I'm really not. I'm a realist. All I'm trying to do is give some perspective about the situation that exists. I can tell you that the HOA will GLADLY accept ANY suggestions you have. They've probably heard it before but they will listen.
My experience with the management company has been miserable at best. But I know several other people that would say the same about their OC resorts and they are not all managed by the same management company. I think the seasonal nature of the area contributes to that problem as well. 