[Moved as requested] Denise -- I meant to post this on the maintenance fee thread. I don't want to get in trouble for posting twice. Can you move it or should I copy it over to that thread and delete this post?
David -- I found the following clause in the Bay Vista docs (bold added by me):
(b) Rental. Provided that the Association has properly and timely given notice to notice to a delinquent Owner pursuant to the Declaration and to any affiliated exchange program, the Association is permitted to rent a delinquent Owner’s Vacation Period and any appurtenant use rights and apply the proceeds of such rental, net of any rental commissions, cleaning charges, travel agent commissions, or any other commercially reasonable charges reasonably and usually incurred by the Association in securing rentals, to the delinquent Owner’s account. The notice of intent to rent must be given at at least thirty (30) days prior to the first day of the Owner’s Vacation Period, and must be delivered to the Owner in the manner required for notices under the Declaration. The notice of intent to rent, which may be included in the notice required by the Declaration, must state in conspicuous type that: (i) the Association’s efforts to secure a rental will not commence on a date earlier than ten (10) days after the date of the notice of intent to rent; (ii) unless the Owner satisfies the delinquency in full, or unless the Owner produces satisfactory evidence that the delinquency does not exist pursuant to the Declaration, the Owner will be bound by the terms of any rental contract entered into by the Association with respect to the Owner’s Vacation Ownership Interest or appurtenant use rights; and, (iii) the Owner will remain liable for any difference between the amount of the delinquency and the net amount produced by the rental contract and applied against the delinquency pursuant to the Declaration, and the Association shall not be required to provide any further notice to the Owner regarding any residual delinquency pursuant to the Declaration. The Association is not required to: (i) solicit rentals for every or any delinquent Owner’s Vacation Period; (ii) rent the rights associated with the entire Vacation Period; or (iii) obtain the highest nightly rental rate available or any particular rental rate. However, the Association must use reasonable efforts to secure a rental that is commensurate with other rentals of similar Vacation Periods.
Whether they're doing this or not is a different issue. I also don't know if the language is the same in all the resort docs, but I would bet there's something similar in all of them.
The rental rates probably wouldn't totally offset the delinquencies at some of the resorts (e.g., SVR, which would have to compete with RCI's ridiculous rental rates, as published by Nodge from time-to-time). But, I would think a disciplined rental program would go along way toward reducing the delinquencies at WKORV/N, WPORV, WSJ, HRA, etc.
As owners, we should be demanding to see a detailed plan for renting delinquent owners' weeks. As I've stated before, I would love to see an "adopt a week" plan at WSJ (and HRA). I'm sure skiers would love to see the same at the ski resorts, etc. But I'm concerned that the last sentence in the above clause may mandate that SVO attempt to obtain a commercial rate. If they're successful at doing so, fine. But, if not (especially if they're waiting until the 30-day mark to put something up for rental and reducing the proceeds by daily cleaning fees and high commissions), I really wish they'd publish available "discounted rentals to cover delinquencies" to other owners. They could use mystarcentral, for example. It would be a "win win" for all non-delinquent owners (i.e., discounted rental rates and reduced maintenance fees due to not being required to cover the shortfalls caused by delinquent owners). It also would be prudent for owners to insist that the "rental commissions" mentioned in the clause are reasonable under an "owner rental" program.
I realize this isn't a simple process, e.g., maintenance fees are due on Jan 1. What do you do when a January owner doesn't pay? Drastic times call for drastic measures. With proper notice (e.g., 2011 use year), I would not be opposed to a rolling due date (e.g., maintenance fees for fixed week owners are due 6-months in advance of the use date to allow for timely notifications and rentals if unpaid). I haven't had enough coffee to figure out how to deal with floating weeks ... but something needs to be done. We can all sit back and hope the economy improves and delinquencies disappear, or we can be proactive in protecting our interests.