2010 Maintenance Fee Thread

[DeniseM]

I just updated the master list in post #1, however, I'm missing some info. from some posts - especially for SVV and SBP.

It would help me out if you can include the following:

Resort name
Resort Phase
Unit size
Lock-off or dedicated 2 bdm.
EY or EOY

Please do not include the ARDA fee, SVN fee, or special assessment, if you are going to post a total, or subtotal it without those figures.

 

[jeff01]

2010 Maintenance Fees (not including SVN & ARDA fees)

Sheraton Vistana Villages
Key West Phase
Dedicated 2 Bd Rm - EY
$1,062.73

Sheraton Broadway Plantation
Palmetto Phase
Dedicated 2 Bd Rm - EOY
$354.23

 

[Troopers]

My last 3 exchanges were:

2007 Westin St. John 1BR premimum- President's Week (1 week)
2008 WKORVN 1BR premimum- Spring Break (8 nights)
2009 Harboside 1BR premimum- President's Week (1 week)

Nice!

If you don't mind, can you report your SVN exchange success in this thread? I think the thread is useful. Thanks!

 

[RLOGO]

Nice!

If you don't mind, can you report your SVN exchange success in this thread? I think the thread is useful. Thanks!

Done........

 

[Troopers]

Done........

Many thanks!

 

[Moniks]

Vistana Fountains Condominium

Hi:

I am new here. We own 2 weeks at [at a Starwood timeshare]

We have owned these for over 18 years, and every year the maintenance fees have just kept rising ! We bought them outright, so have no mortgage.

We are at the point where we want to get rid of these 2 weeks. We have used RCI to bank the weeks and have used the weeks around the world, but there too, in addition to the yearly fees, RCI charges booking fees.

I have repeatedly called Vistana Realty number, but have yet to speak to an agent. Call the purchase # and someone will pick up right away! I have left numerous voice mails, as I want to check if they will do a re-sale for me of the 2 weeks.

Could someone guide me on how I can sell the 2 weeks we own.

thanks,

..Moniks

 

[tomandrobin]

Hi:

I am new here. We own 2 weeks at Vistana Fountains - wk 20 & wk 32.

We have owned these for over 18 years, and every year the maintenance fees have just kept rising ! We bought them outright, so have no mortgage.

We are at the point where we want to get rid of these 2 weeks. We have used RCI to bank the weeks and have used the weeks around the world, but there too, in addition to the yearly fees, RCI charges booking fees.

I have repeatedly called Vistana Realty number, but have yet to speak to an agent. Call the purchase # and someone will pick up right away! I have left numerous voice mails, as I want to check if they will do a re-sale for me of the 2 weeks.

Could someone guide me on how I can sell the 2 weeks we own.

thanks,

..Moniks

Welcome to the Starwood forum!

Denise will probably edit your thread soon to take out your ownership information.

If you truly want to get rid of the weeks, list them on ebay for $1 and see what you can get. Resale of Vistana Weeks are not that high, so I would not expect too much of a return.

Tom

 

[DeniseM]

Hi Moniks and welcome to TUG! - Right now, because of the economy, the resale market is flooded with timeshares that people just want to dump. Right now there are over 200 timeshares on ebay for under $100. In fact, I recently picked up a Vistana Falls week for free.

So right now is the worst time possible to try and sell your timeshare - in this economy you would have to just give it away. If you are OK with that, then list it on some of the cheap and free resale websites for $1 and throw in the transfer cost for free. You can get a basic professional transfer for about $100.

I personally use these cheap or free websites to post my Ads:

The free TUG Classifieds (click on Marketplace in the red bar at the top of the page.)

www.craigslist.org (free)

www.redweek.com
* Membership $14.99 for 12 Months
* Timeshare Rental Postings - $19.99/ea for 6 Months - $49.99/ea for 12 Months

www.myresortnetwork.com
$19.95 posting fee ($24.95 for a float week ad)

There is also a list of resale websites at the top of the Buying, Selling, Renting board that you can take a look at.

Good luck!

 

[tlpnet]

Westin Mission Hills

Just got my paper MF invoice for 2010 MF's.

WMH 2BR LO EY - $1,484.76
2009 MF - $1,338.59
Increase - $146.17 - 10.9%

This does not included property taxes which are billed separately by California. I never thought I would be happy to see ONLY 10.9%, but given the increases on my other weeks, this isn't that bad.

-tim

 

[tlpnet]

Westin St. John

Denise,

I like that you're putting all of the resorts at the top like you did, but IMHO WSJ should not be listed there yet. Those numbers came from the PROPOSED budget which was included with the notice of the Board meeting. Not to say that they won't be rubber stamped, but until billed, don't think you should list them. I have those budgets on several other resorts if you decide that MF's should be posted from proposed budgets.

-tim

OK Denise - they were rubber stamped - now posted on MSC so you can remove "proposed".

WSJ 3BR Pool Villa EY - $3,439.31 ($480.29 - 16.2% increase)
WSJ 3BR Pool Villa EOY - $1,719.66 ($240.15 - 16.2% increase)

This does not include property taxes still to be assessed by USVI (a whole other topic...). These numbers DO include the 3 year additional assessment for the remodel/roofs.

Assuming the rest of the Virgin Grand (Hillside) units were rubber stamped, the fees (EY) are:

Terrace Suite - $1,719.53
Townhouse Suite - $2,992.79
2BR Townhouse - $2,866.05
2BR Premium - $3,439.07
3BR Premium - $3.439.31

-tim

 

[DeniseM]

Tim - thanks!

Can you please list the totals and assessments separately?

In other words, the total MF (without ARDA or SVN fee) + assessment amount.

 

[tlpnet]

Tim - thanks!

Can you please list the totals and assessments separately?

In other words, the total MF (without ARDA or SVN fee) + assessment amount.

Denise,

WSJ's a little different from the other resorts with SA's because they are not listed that way on either the invoices or on MSC. This is one of the issues that WSJ owners have because we don't really know the amount of the SA each year. We received a letter last year stating that it would increase owner's MF's for 2009, 2010, and 2011 by an average of $625 per week (no breakdown by unit type). Therefore, there is no breakdown to post, just a note that it is included.

David - please let us know if I'm wrong.

-tim

 

[jcbuncc]

Westin Ka`anapali Ocean Resort Villas North

[I want to start a comprehensive list of all resorts at the top of this thread and the only way to keep it at the top is to put it in your post - hope you don't mind! Thanks for starting the thread! DeniseM ]

2010 Maintenance fees without ARDA or SVN fee

Lakeside Terrace (Silver 2 bdm.) - $526.73
Lakeside Terrace (Plat 2 bdm.) - $894.61

Sheraton Broadway Plantation (1 bdm. Dlx) - $391.15
Sheraton Broadway Plantation (1 bdm.) - $500.48
Sheraton Broadway Plantation (Premium 1 bdm.) - $712.03
Sheraton Broadway Plantation (2 bdm.) - $881.62
Sheraton Broadway Plantation, Palmetto (2 bdm. L/O) - $967.40
Sheraton Broadway Plantation, Palmetto (Dedicated 2 bdm. EOY) - $354.23
Sheraton Broadway Plantation (2 bdm. L/O) - $1103.18


Sheraton Desert Oasis (EOY Lg. 1 bdm) - $325.62
Sheraton Desert Oasis (Sm. 1 bdm.) - $518.63
Sheraton Desert Oasis (Lg. 1 bdm.) - $ 611.25
Sheraton Desert Oasis (2 bdm.) - $889.08

Sheraton Steamboat Springs (EOY 2 bdm.) - $714.93

Sheraton Mountain Vista (Small 1 bdm.) - $651.11
Sheraton Mountain Vista (Large 1 bdm.) - $810.01
Sheraton Mountain Vista (2 bdm. lockoff) - $1,160.92

Sheraton Vistana Resort - Cascades (2 bdm) - $835.06
Sheraton Vistana Resort - Cascades (s bdm. L/O) - $1065.11
Sheraton Vistana Resort - Falls (2 bdm.) - $714.50
Sheraton Vistana Resort - Fountains I (2 bdm.) - $801.69
Sheraton Vistana Resort - Fountains II (2 bdm.) - $942.52
Sheraton Vistant Resort - Lakes (2 bdm.) - $923.27
Sheraton Vistana Resort - Springs (2 bdm.) - $795.19

Sheraton Vistana Villages - Bella (1 bdm.) - $596.91
Sheraton Vistana Villages - Bella (2 bdm.) -1,194.19
Sheraton Vistana Villages - Bella (2 bdm. L/O) - $1,534
Sheraton Vistana Villages - Key West (1 bdm.) - $563.37
Sheraton Vistana Villages - Key West (2 bdm.) - $1,062.73

Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas (2 bdm.) - $ 2,346.36
Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas (2 bdm. Dlx) - $3,076.69

Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North (2 bdm.) - $2479.60

Westin Kierland Villas (EOY 1 bdm.) - $398.88
Westin Kierland Villas (2 bm. L/O) - $1,237.30

Westin Mission Hills
2BR LO EY - $1,484.76

Westin St. John - these figures include the SA of Approx. $625, but do not include taxes
3BR Pool Villa EY - $3,439.31
3BR Pool Villa EOY - $1,719.66
Terrace Suite - $1,719.53
Townhouse Suite - $2,992.79
2BR Townhouse - $2,866.05
2BR Premium - $3,439.07
3BR Premium - $3.439.31


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vistana Resort - Springs

Operating Assessment - $616.81
Replacement Reserve - $95.48
Estimated Real Estate Tax - $82.90
SVN Fee - $0.00 *
ARDA Contribution - $0.00 **

TOTAL - $795.19

Increase over 2009 - $98.77 / 14.2%

* No charge - additional week
** Not paying​

2 bedroom lock off - ocean view - float week (2009 increase of $708 from 2008 and $827 from 2007)

Maintenance Fee(s) $ 2,479.60
Tax - If Applicable $ 0.00
Membership Fee - If Applicable $ 113.53
Other* $ 0.00
Interest $ 0.00
Late Fees $ 0.00
ARDA ROC PAC Contrib.** $ 5.00
Sub-Total
Current Year Charges $ 2,598.13
Total Due $ 2,598.13
Projected Fees for Next Year $ 2,593.13 ​

 

[stive1]

Smaller One bedroom Vistana Cascades.

Maintenance Fee(s) $ 583.99

Tax - If Applicable $ 90.18

Membership Fee - If Applicable $ 0.00

Other* $ 0.00

Interest $ 0.00

Late Fees $ 0.00

ARDA ROC PAC Contrib.** $ 5.00

Sub-Total
Current Year Charges $ 674.17



This includes $251.34 special assesment and would be $422.83 with out it.

 

[mdk442]

Our MF went up 26% over last year
Sheraton Vistana Villages
2 BR L/O
$1648 are the fees ($1305 for 2009)

When I called got the same BS about people not paying. If I need to pay more to compensate for others than I should get additional days to stay or starwood points.

 

[DisneyDerek]

Err... not to change the topic further, but this type of post deserves a response. Summer weeks at WMH are the most available, as compared to any other time of year. If you don't reserve in advance, however, you may not get the week you want. When did you first call to make your reservation? 12 months out? 8 months out? or 3 months out? It makes a big difference...

As a point of comparison, II had (as they tend to have every year) many, many units at WMH available for getaway weeks during the summer for as little as $250 or so per week. They also have plenty of availability at the three Marriott timeshares in the Palm Springs area as well.

Ken, sorry for the late reply. We booked 90 days out as we were trying to book a weekend stay from July 31st-Aug 2. We haven't had a problem in the past getting rooms at the Westin Mission Hills Villas on summer weekends so I was a little surprised when there was no availability for the remainder of 2009 (excluding 2 or 3 midweek dates). We typically breakup our points to allow a long weekend 2 bedroom stay at the Westin Kierland followed by a trip to Westin Mission Hills. Since my wife and I both work, we allowed my in-laws to use the remainder of our points to book one of the 2 available mid-week options at Westin Mission Hills. Hope that answers your question.

 

[Ken555]

Ken, sorry for the late reply. We booked 90 days out as we were trying to book a weekend stay from July 31st-Aug 2. We haven't had a problem in the past getting rooms at the Westin Mission Hills Villas on summer weekends so I was a little surprised when there was no availability for the remainder of 2009 (excluding 2 or 3 midweek dates). We typically breakup our points to allow a long weekend 2 bedroom stay at the Westin Kierland followed by a trip to Westin Mission Hills. Since my wife and I both work, we allowed my in-laws to use the remainder of our points to book one of the 2 available mid-week options at Westin Mission Hills. Hope that answers your question.

Well, that explains it. Starwood deposits a large number of WMH weeks into II when they're available to do so, which must directly remove availability from SVN. You really shouldn't overly complain about availability <6 months, in my opinion, and reserving *anything* 90 days or less should be considered extremely lucky almost any time of year. It sounds like you have an expectation of availability which just isn't realistic - sorry.

 

[barndweller]

Villas of Cave Creek

Got my MF bill today.

This resort is all 2 bedroom units. We were recently offered a chance to join SVN free. I declined. My MF has increased 17% over last year. Last year we had a complete renovation of all units with no special assessment. The excuse given for the huge hike in fees is the Starwood party line: delinquencies.

2010 operating assessment 894.82
2010 replacement reserve 101.36
total due 996.18

I purchased in 2006. MF were 684.17 for 2007. I'm fed up with Starwood. I will lobby to get rid of them as our management company and hire VRI or TPI. Those companies have kept costs down and actively pursue deliquent accounts.

With the new system at II I have lost trading power and control of my reservation. Starwood has screwed owners of this independent resort bigtime!

 

[GeneNWendy]

Does anyone know why the MF at the Westin St. John for 2-bedroom premium units and 3-bedroom premium units are basically the same? I noticed on the sheet listing all the fees that the pool villa was also the same (just pennies apart). I would think it would cost more to maintain a unit with an additional bedroom, particularly if it has its own private pool.

 

[LisaRex]

GeneNWendy, I can't answer your question but I'd start by comparing square footage between the two units. If they are equivalent, then there's your answer.

 

[ada903]

I have an annual two bedroom at Sheraton Vistana Cascades and never received by maintenance fee dues in the mail, and the account shows zero due. I did not pay yet my 2010 fees, and I know they are due January 1 2010. I am wondering if everyone else received their billing statement already? I should probably call on Monday and ask what's happening.

 

[grgs]

I have an annual two bedroom at Sheraton Vistana Cascades and never received by maintenance fee dues in the mail, and the account shows zero due. I did not pay yet my 2010 fees, and I know they are due January 1 2010. I am wondering if everyone else received their billing statement already? I should probably call on Monday and ask what's happening.

Yes, I received mine quite a while ago. The last installment of the SA also came (can't remember now if that was in the same mailing, or a separate one).

The mf are due Jan. 5; the SA on Feb. 16.

Glorian

 

[James1975NY]

Denise,

WSJ's a little different from the other resorts with SA's because they are not listed that way on either the invoices or on MSC. This is one of the issues that WSJ owners have because we don't really know the amount of the SA each year. We received a letter last year stating that it would increase owner's MF's for 2009, 2010, and 2011 by an average of $625 per week (no breakdown by unit type). Therefore, there is no breakdown to post, just a note that it is included.

David - please let us know if I'm wrong.

-tim

Studio - $519.07 SA
One Bedroom - $692.12 SA
Two Bedroom - $865.17 SA
Two Bedroom (Premier) - $1038.15 SA
Three Bedroom - $1038.22 SA

 

[HenryT]

2010 Harborside Maintenance Bill

Just got the proposed Harborside maintenance bill for 2010. I was holding my breath but I knew it would be a big increase.

My 2009 bill for a 2 bedroom lockoff unit (Phase 1) was $2,485.27. The proposed 2010 bill is $2,979.24. Almost a 20% increase.

These timeshare vacations are getting more and more expensive. Oh well. It is a great resort.

 

[csudell]

I just got my bill and nearly had a heart attack - one bedroom deluxe 1517.13 and 1631.03 for a one bedroom premium. i will not be able to afford to keep my unit with an increase like this.