[2008] Southcape Resort

[ecwinch]

I find it curious that, with all of the issues facing Southcape, not one owner has asked questions about them, nor has a single owner asked what they can do to help.

The question of trustees, etc. hasn't changed in twenty years and it's no different now, except that there are new trustees who actually want to fix the problems. Not one question about what's gone on the past twenty years with the former developer. Not one question about how did the resort get into this situation and what is being done to correct the neglect of the last twenty years.

We do have real issues at the resort and I'd like to talk about them and I do want input from owners about what needs to be done to fix things. I'm just not going to respond to name calling, libel and innuendo.

Now if we could only focus on the problems facing Southcape . . .

Ok:

What has gone on the past twenty years?

How did the resort get into this situation?

What is being done to correct the neglect?

What real issues confront the resort today?

 

[ecwinch]

E.bram

You are correct. What you may not know is that the problem is not with the inventory that NEVS purchased, even though NEVS isn't obligated to pay maintenance fees. The maintenance fees that NEVS would pay on their weeks would be roughly $300,000. NEVS assigned their rental rights for the weeks to the association and, based on previous years, the rental income is projected at about $300,000 for 2009. Remember, NEVS did not have to do this and NEVS has voluntarily given up that income.

Probably more important are the almost 600 delinquent owners that the previous trustees let slide. That's about $350,000 a year in non-paying owners. We have hired a professional collection company to start the collection process to recover as much of that money as we can. The total delinquent balance that we inherited from the previous trustees is over $2,500,000. For the first time in twenty years, we're making a serious effort to collect that money. Why the previous trustees didn't do it, I don't know.

If you think there's a better way to handle it, I really would like to know.

Were these owners allowed use of their units, or are these units that are delinquent with no action to foreclose or collect?

It is ironic that you bring this issue up, as Sou13 has shared with me a owners newsletter from when the previous trustees assumed control. They pointed to the same issue as the main problem that they were focused on solving. That newsletter is dated August of 1990.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

Just curious. Are any owners interested or just Eric who is not an owner?

 

[Russ45]

Just curious. Are any owners interested or just Eric who is not an owner?

Being an owner for only a couple of years I'm not so much interested in the past 20 years, but I would still like to know, as I'm unclear on still, how long current board members serve, how long is an elected board member's term, what about the master deed is conflicting with MGL 183b, if anything, what other controlling documents are in play, and what steps are the Association or NEVMS taking to clarify. If you can't answer the legal questions here could you please have your attorney present at the May 16th meeting or refer my questions to them?

 

[ClamsCasino]

Yes, I've been an owner at Southcape for 6 years and would like to know what is going on at the resort. Short-range; Long-range plans. Can we please consider an upgrade the children's playground - it's a borderline hazard and accident waiting to happen. Has there been any thoughts of small restaurant/snack stand on premises?

 

[NEVMSLLC]

Hi Clams

Thanks for your question. Frankly, we haven't given much thought to the playground area. I just came back from inspecting it with the resort manager and your suggestion is a good one. I'll begin looking at plans for upgrading that area immediately and it is now on my list of things to do. I don't think it will be expensive but I agree that it's something we need to do.

As far as a snack stand or some other food service, we have a problem with space and no where to do it that I can see. Also, getting a license from the town and the board of health would be very problematic as it would probably be prohibitively expensive to meet the BOH requirements. We are looking into having an outside company come in to the resort on a weekly basis to offer traditional Cape Cod Clambakes for all of our guests and owners. They provide the license, insurance, etc. and bring a complete service and clean up. We're looking at pricing at the moment.

By the way, there are a lot of things we can do at the resort to create activities for owners and guests and we're planning to start a number of those things this season. We're also putting a survey together so owners can give us an idea of what kind of things they'd like to see. I hope to have it ready for the annual meeting and I'm looking forward to a lot of response.

 

[ClamsCasino]

Thanks for the response. I really do think that having a nice playground for the children would be beneficial to the resort. It would also be great if there were some walking - or biking - trails around the resort - much of the area in back of the units particulary Condo II side is wasted space - privacy is nice but the BBQ areas are not used or needed. Have to go to Rte 28 to get some excercise. I like the clambake idea - the pie night was getting pretty lame. On another note, since tennis went the way of racquetball, do we need 3 outdoor tennis courts to maintain. I think 2 is plenty and that area in front could be used for something else...

 

[Sou13]

Call me nobody?

"I find it curious that, with all of the issues facing Southcape, not one owner has asked questions about them"

So what have I been asking? Questions such as what becomes of the votes of the non-MF paying weeks? Better still, why are MF-paying owners not entitled to vote on anything?

I've said right from my very first post that I will not discuss legal issues, period, and I meant it. If there are questions other than legal ones, I'm happy to answer them, otherwise, you can ask away but this is not the forum to address those issues and I won't be baited into it.

I find it curious that, with all of the issues facing Southcape, not one owner has asked questions about them, nor has a single owner asked what they can do to help.

The question of trustees, etc. hasn't changed in twenty years and it's no different now, except that there are new trustees who actually want to fix the problems. Not one question about what's gone on the past twenty years with the former developer. Not one question about how did the resort get into this situation and what is being done to correct the neglect of the last twenty years.

I guess the owners who haven't cared the last twenty years still don't care what happened and what's being done to fix things. We do have real issues at the resort and I'd like to talk about them and I do want input from owners about what needs to be done to fix things. I'm just not going to respond to name calling, libel and innuendo.

So let's go, folks. If you really do care about the resort, let's have a discussion about Southcape.

And by the way, Fig, I'm not the least bit anxious to get rid of Eric. I have a lot of respect for him and I respond to him even though he's not an owner. I do that for one reason, he actually listens and, even though we don't always agree, I think we at least respect each other enough to try and understand the differing viewpoints. If we had more owners like Eric, I'd be delighted. Now if we could only focus on the problems facing Southcape . . .

 

[Sou13]

From that 1990 newsletter

"It is ironic that you bring this issue up, as Sou13 has shared with me a owners newsletter from when the previous trustees assumed control. They pointed to the same issue as the main problem that they were focused on solving. That newsletter is dated August of 1990."

The first annual meeting of the Southcape Community Association, Inc., that included Southcape Condominium Trust I and Southcape Condominium Trust II was held at Southcape on Saturday, July 28, 1990. Over 150 members attended the meeting. The joint meeting was made possible because on November 17, 1989, Rich DePhamphilis, Ed Conforti and Fred Sateriale resigned as trustees of Southcape Condominium Trust II and Southcape Community Association, and Bob Woods and Vince Barth became the new trustees. Shortly thereafter, Joe Bottari and Bill Graham, trustees of Southcape Condominium Trust I and the two new trustees delegated the management of Southcape to the Community Association.

. . . . .

We have collected $ 541,346.79 in maintenance fees from the members and paid out $ 2,112.15 to run the resort for you. We will try to collect the maintenance fees from the delinquent members. If they do not pay, we will put a lien on their property and foreclose on the weeks that we can resell. In the meantime, a delinquent member will not be permitted to use the Southcape resort or exchange for another resort. Any money remaining at the end of the year will be put into a reserve and used to refurbish the units.


. . . . .

The tax situation is a mess. The case was settled, but is not binding on 1990 and the future. The units were assessed for more than they were in 1986 to 1989, and we have appealed that assessment. The money that was returned for the past years was spent to pay the bills and keep the resort open. There is no way we can refund any money to you from the tax refund. We are sorry. This was before our time. We are trying to reduce the assessed value and the taxes for 1990 and the future. Your share of the real estate taxes is approximately $66.00 of the maintenance fee per week of ownership.

. . . . .

Included with this newsletter is a copy of the tax information given to the IRS and State. Any member may review the receipts and disbursements upon request in the resort office. We have nothing to hide. The next meeting will be held at twelve noon on the last Saturday in July, 1991, at your resort. A public address system will be used and all matters to be discussed must be submitted in writing to the resort before May 31, 1991. If you wish to serve as a trustee, please submit a letter summarizing your qualifications and reasons why you should be elected.

. . . . . .

Were these owners allowed use of their units, or are these units that are delinquent with no action to foreclose or collect?

It is ironic that you bring this issue up, as Sou13 has shared with me a owners newsletter from when the previous trustees assumed control. They pointed to the same issue as the main problem that they were focused on solving. That newsletter is dated August of 1990.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

Sou13

Your questions are all related in one way or another to a legal issue and i'm not going to address them in a public forum. My position still hasn't changed on this.

Clams

We were looking into walking trails, etc. The main problem is that years ago, the trustees had an opportunity to retain acres of land behind Condo I and decided not to pay the taxes and so the resort lost the land and the use of it. The town is developing a recreation area almost across the street from the resort and that will have lots of trails, etc. within a short walk of the resort.

Believe it or not, the barbecue pits get a lot of use in the summer and it always difficult to take something away that owners have come to expect. With respect to the tennis courts, while they don't get a lot of use from owners and guests, we do rent time on both the indoor and outdoor tennis courts and they generate over $100,000 a year in income to the association. If we had room for two more indoor courts, we could more than double that income. Unfortunately, there's just no room.

One thing we have done is to reclaim the horseshoe area behind the indoor tennis courts. They were so overgrown, I couldn't even find them. The pits have been redone and the whole area cleaned up and it's looking great. We're planning on a weekly horseshoe tournament for owners and guests with prizes for the best scores at the end of the week. We're trying very hard to put "fun" back in Southcape.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

Their 1990 newsletter sounds great. Too bad they didn't do it. How come you didn't hold their feet to the fire? Where've you been the last twenty years?

 

[Sou13]

I've been wondering the same thing

"Their 1990 newsletter sounds great. Too bad they didn't do it. How come you didn't hold their feet to the fire? Where've you been the last twenty years?

It looks as though I'm the only Southcape owner online today so I'll answer. I've been wondering the same thing! Read my posts and you'll see that I've been lamenting the lack of involvement and have resolved to change my ways!

So long as the unit was ready and waiting for me, I wasn't worrying about what was becoming of the resort. But now that we're being contacted by Outfield Marketing to tell us about "changes" we old timers are not too pleased!

I've been wondering what ever became of those newsletters we were supposed to be getting. I may have been on a recycling spree back then and my search for them may be in vain.

Previous to 1990 I may not have even received anything from Southcape other than the MF assessment because I had a mortgage and wasn't eligible to attend the annual meetings. But from 1990 on if I can't find anything it doesn't mean I never received anything. There should be archives at the resort for us to review. How about producing them at the annual meeting? I'm willing to personally guarantee that there will be more than 14 members present in 2009!

Their 1990 newsletter sounds great. Too bad they didn't do it. How come you didn't hold their feet to the fire? Where've you been the last twenty years?

 

[NEVMSLLC]

I know there will be more than 14 owners and I couldn't be more delighted!

As far as I've been able to tell, neither the trustees nor the resort kept records of annual meeting minutes, newsletters or even trustee meetings. I suspect because there weren't any trustee meetings. We're still looking through old boxes when we have time and everything we find like that is going to be filed and archived, I just don't hold out much hope.

At the Sandcastle, there aren't even any minutes of last year's meeting so how do I move to approve them tomorrow? I have no idea!

If you do find more information, if you'd be willing to pass them on to me, I'll promise to archive them and make them available to any owner that would like access to them. I think they're important.

By the way, even with a mortgage, you'd have been eligible to attend the meeting. The evidence of your ownership is your deed.

I also hope you'll believe me when i tell you that I want owners involved. Over the last twenty years, the trustees were in NJ and had little contact with owners. They were very difficult to get hold of. I'm at the resort just about every day and I talk with owners all of the time. It's not just NEVS and it's not just the owners, it's all of us together.

The problems at Southcape are not insurmountable, in fact, it's not even really that bad. Yes, there are changes that need to be made and yes, there are a lot of maintenance and renovation that hasn't been addressed in twenty years. The good news is we're fixing that and we're doing it now. We're going after the delinquent owners, we're selling the NEVS inventory and the faster we do that, the better we'll all be. The resort is close to being financially sound and I believe the new management practices we're putting into place will guarantee that the future of Southcape Resort is nothing but good. Despite what anyone may think, Southcape is very important to me on a personal level. It's not just business with me. A year from now, I want to be in a position where the owners are telling me how happy they are that they own at Southcape Resort. Stick with me, help me out and let's all make that happen.

 

[Sou13]

The truth is

"Stick with me, help me out and let's all make that happen."

The truth is that I'm kicking myself for not walking away from my nearly a quarter of a century of deeded ownership of a Southcape week after my meeting with Greg Hughes in November.

Now I'm stuck with having to pay nearly $1000 for 2009! It's just not worth it! If I don't come to Southcape I'm out $1000 for nothing but a lot of heartache over how many owners have been scared into converting to Festiva!

There's no way Festiva isn't going to get the upper hand when Outfield Marketing is part owner of NEVS and Outfield Marketing is there to sell conversions to Festiva!

I know there will be more than 14 owners and I couldn't be more delighted!

As far as I've been able to tell, neither the trustees nor the resort kept records of annual meeting minutes, newsletters or even trustee meetings. I suspect because there weren't any trustee meetings. We're still looking through old boxes when we have time and everything we find like that is going to be filed and archived, I just don't hold out much hope.

At the Sandcastle, there aren't even any minutes of last year's meeting so how do I move to approve them tomorrow? I have no idea!

If you do find more information, if you'd be willing to pass them on to me, I'll promise to archive them and make them available to any owner that would like access to them. I think they're important.

By the way, even with a mortgage, you'd have been eligible to attend the meeting. The evidence of your ownership is your deed.

I also hope you'll believe me when i tell you that I want owners involved. Over the last twenty years, the trustees were in NJ and had little contact with owners. They were very difficult to get hold of. I'm at the resort just about every day and I talk with owners all of the time. It's not just NEVS and it's not just the owners, it's all of us together.

The problems at Southcape are not insurmountable, in fact, it's not even really that bad. Yes, there are changes that need to be made and yes, there are a lot of maintenance and renovation that hasn't been addressed in twenty years. The good news is we're fixing that and we're doing it now. We're going after the delinquent owners, we're selling the NEVS inventory and the faster we do that, the better we'll all be. The resort is close to being financially sound and I believe the new management practices we're putting into place will guarantee that the future of Southcape Resort is nothing but good. Despite what anyone may think, Southcape is very important to me on a personal level. It's not just business with me. A year from now, I want to be in a position where the owners are telling me how happy they are that they own at Southcape Resort. Stick with me, help me out and let's all make that happen.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

Festiva is not going to "get the upper hand" at Southcape. If you really want, I can still make arrangements for you to have a membership in the Festiva Adventure Club. Just let me know and I'll make it happen.

 

[e.bram]

NEVM:
Why should sou13 or any deeded owner want to be a member of Festiva Adventure Club. What are the possible benefits for the expense and loss of the fee simple ownership deed. You are just adding another legal entity to deal with.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

E.bram

Festiva points are no different than RCI Points, Bluegreen Points or any other points system. They're really not for everyone. However, for those owners who can benefit from a points system, Festiva actually has one of the better ones in the industry. I have no idea whether points would work for Sou13 or not. I've been a member of RCI Points since they were first offered and I love it. I'll be joining Festiva personally before much longer as well. The way I choose to use my vacation time works perfectly with points. This is not the case for every owner. The increased flexibility is only one of the potential benefits. I know a lot of points owners with different systems and almost all of them are very happy with the points product.

While this isn't a forum on the benefits/detriments of points, I would point out that Festiva points at Southcape are optional, just like the choice of whether to join II or RCI or neither. No one is being forced to join points in any way at all. From a resort management perspective, we don't care if people join Festiva or not. There is neither an advantage or disadvantage to the resort. It's merely a question of personal preference depending on how you want to take your vacations.

If I were to dual affiliate the resort with both II and RCI would you still say it's "just adding another legal entity to deal with" or would you congratulate me for providing owners with more options on taking their vacations? Why is Festiva any different than II or RCI? It's just another option.

 

[e.bram]

What would be SC owner's chance of getting a week 26 thru 34 with Festiva points. If I have such a fixed week it is 100%.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

If you own a week 26 - 34 at Southcape, you come every year. If you're a member of a regular exchange, you never really know. It depends on what's deposited at the time you make your request. There are too many variables to give definitive answers. The advantage with point is that there is a set value for weeks 26 -34 and, when you make your exchange request, if one is available and you have enough points, your exchange is confirmed instantly. Even if you don't have enough points, you can usually rent extra points for a nominal fee to use to make an exchange. With points, the guess work and mystery is taken out of the exchange. If you have the points needed, you're going, if you don't you're not. What points does is commoditize the timeshare market so that relative values of weeks are exposed and transparent to everyone. No more "well, some red time is more valuable than other red time". Every week at every resort has a fixed value which makes the exchange much easier and harder for salespeople to mislead you.

I love points!

Just remember, no exchange can give you a week unless and until an owner deposits that week with the exchange company!

 

[e.bram]

NEVM: You state that thereis no difference between RCI poins and Festiva points. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. RCI points results from the owner leasing his(her) unit for three years(renewable at the owners request). The owner retains deeded ownership and first dibs on his "converted" (leased )week. Festiva points from what a understand has the owner surrender his(her) week to Festiva in perpetuity(Festiva now owns the week) and gives up all rights to his(her) original "converted" week.
So I beleive there is a great difference between these points systems.

 

[NEVMSLLC]

While there is a difference in the structure, in the practical application of points systems there's not a lot of difference. Points are points are points. Festiva is not the only one where owner's deed their week to become of member of the trust operating the system.

Many resorts, including a number that I work with, no longer sell deeded ownership at all. Many of them are selling a "timeshare license" where there is no deeded interest on the part of the owner at all. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is it eliminates the need for foreclosure if an owner refuses to pay maintenance fees. The cost of foreclosure can often exceed the value of the week so many resorts are stuck in a limbo if an owner refuses to pay.

The timeshare industry is changing and, in most cases for the better. No one has ever been able to convince me that a deed protects an owner any better than a beneficial interest in a trust, for example. It is different and many people don't like change, even if it's ultimately to their benefit. I've had this discussion for years with some of the top legal minds in the industry and I would never sell a deeded interest again if I had my choice. It's just not good for the resort overall.

 

[e.bram]

But I care about me , not the resort overall. I want to go to the Cape or New port on weeks 25 thru 34(when kids and teachers have off)guarenteed. The only way I can do this is with a deeded fixed week or RCI points(as far as I know). If another option NEVM please tell me, I am all ears.

 

[e.bram]

SOUTHCAPE should have a tea party. No TAXATION w/o representation!!!

 

[NEVMSLLC]

Whether it's points or regular exchange, you can only exchange into something that's been deposited. Whether they talk about it or not, even the regular exchange uses something similar to points to determine the relative value of one week versus another. At least with points, the exchange is transparent and you know exactly how many points you need to go somewhere. It's not at the whim of the exchange company.

Finally, if you really want to go to a very high demand area in the high demand season, the only way to be sure to get there is to buy a week. Otherwise, it will always be hit or miss. Fact is, you've got a better chance to get there with points than any other way.

Finally, you've got representation . . . you've got me!!

 

[e.bram]

NEVM:
How can you get me prime weeks thru your representation?
I guess like the Colonies had King George of England.
I would rather be represented by George Washington!