All 2008 Starwood Maintenance Fee Threads/merged (2/27)

[3DH]

Sheraton Mountain Vista maintenance fees finally up on MyStarcentral.

2 bedroom lockoff went from 847.35 to 1050.17. (All numbers include taxes but exclude ARDA and SVN fees.)

The fees excluding taxes are 976.34 for 2008 versus 765.85 for 2007. That represents a 27% increase.

Has anyone heard any reasonable explation for this? I just called SVN association management, and the rep had no good explanation.....stating that %20 increases are the average.....when she said this I didnt know whether to laugh out loud or scream! I restrained myself and said, surely you realize that over a %25 increase is kinda high. She replied, "that is why I dont own a timeshare." I asked her if anyone there could give an explanation, and she offered to have her supervisor call me.....so I am still waiting.

From what I read in the usless brochure that came in the mail with the fees bill, they acknowledge an "average increase of 15% over the 2007 fees." (I think ours rose more than that, too...) Below is their justification, or whatever you wish to call it...

"The increase covers rising costs in a variety of operational areas including wages, and operating expenses affected by supplier cost increases. Due diligence and careful, detailed reviews were done for all expenditures and services provided to you, always in light of the benefit they provide for the entire ownership."

"Three categories drive the majority of the increase, and represent 68% of the overall 2008 increase:" (Where the ---- did the other 32% come from???)

Replacement Reserves ("...roofs, exterior painting, paving, unit furniture (somebody check on that one!) and fixtures and deferred maintenance of certain items... an increase of $25 per week." (Ladies and gentlemen, that is $1300 per one bedroom unit...)

Special Projects "...villa balcony painting and trim staining, fitness equipment, humidifiers, living room lamps for phase 2, commercial washers/dryers and recycling bins. ...$36.55 per week increase.

Prior-year (Surplus)/Deficit Reduction "...operating deficit is projected for 2007. The Board approved reducing a portion of the deficit and this resulted in a year-over-year increase of $32.95 per week."

Increases in Front Office, Housekeeping, Administration and Engineering wages due to market wage adjustment made to retain/attract employees... $43.56 per week!​

Add those up and you get $138.06, which I assume is per 1 bedroom... if you own a two-bedroom, you can probably double that amount!

Well, that sums it up and shows you why we are paying way too much this year, IMHO!

 

[DavidnRobin]

Just curious. With any Starwood property, how are the MFs determined? Are they set by an HOA that is accountable to owners? Or does Starwood management simply tell the HOA what the costs are going to be and let the HOA deal with it? Also, do you receive an annual budget that has a break down of expenditures?

I'm wondering because SMV is a property that I had considered as a candidate for eventual ownership--in part because the MFs seemed reasonable for a one bedroom when locked-off. With the MF increase, I'm not so sure.

Lack of accountability is a feature that would really bother me...

Also, how long does it usually take for TS resellers to adjust their ads for the new MFs?

-- Keith

Keith -

I would not relay on what a reseller claims what the MFs are - they often have wrong MFs. The best way is to actually ask/watch here about what the MFs actually were.

They are generally 3 sub-components of assessments to SVO MFs in increasing amounts Master Association, Condo Common, and Vacation Ownership - with the VOA being the most (by far). There is a budget with breakdown sent out yearly.

The accountability is where the real issue lies (IMO) - a lot of threads here have some attribute that goes to this issue (such as the SVO rental program, WSJ unit/resort issues, etc. ). MFs seem to increase ~8-10% per year - this is out-of-control. No way inflationary 'costs' have increase an average of 8-10% year after year (that adds up fast!). Based on what - their say-so? I say this because much of this is not transparent at all - and in many ways is an example of the fox watching the hen house.

IMO - this is the biggest issue facing TSers - and will hopefully eventually create SVO HOAs that finally get representatives of true Owners - and not pawns of the SVO. The only way this will occur is when Owners get more involved - and this will only happen when they get pissed off enough and band together. With a large SVO Owners group (both globally and resort-specific)- this is extremely difficult.

For a large resort like WKORV - there are about 280 units - times 52 weeks - that is alot of VOIs. The challege is overwhelming for owners to make substainial changes.

Do most SVO Owners even know who represents them? No.
Do SVO Owners have a easy way of contacting other SVO Owners? No.
Do most SVO Owners care enough (or have the time) to find out about how to even initiate change? No.

An owner writes to SVO and gets a computer generated (or corporate-speak)response saying they care - yes, they care... they care about the EPS (bottom-line) for Starwood first and foremost (as with all corporations - except the one I work for, of course...).

I would postulate that most SVO are apathetic because they just want their VOI without the hassle - and why they bought their TS from SVO in the first place.

 

[DeniseM]

Keith - The Starwood HOA's are completely dominated by Starwood. Most of the member's of the boards are Starwood EMPLOYEES! Starwood does the minimal amount of notification about HOA meetings and members are not welcome or encouraged to attend HOA meetings.

 

[wannagotoo]

Mon2Rey, I called the number that was on the statement and asked the fellow about the billing we received for the fees at WKORV-N. He said that eventhough the statement said 2007, that pays the fees for this year. We will not receive another statement until the end of 2008. This is very different than what you were told. Should we try for a third call and see if we can break the tie?

 

[LisaRex]

I called and was also told that the MFs invoices were going to be sent the first week of February. That's an entire month of interest that SVN has lost out on because of their incompetence. I'm sure they'll pass along the loss to us owners next year.

The reason for my call to SVN was to, once again, confirm that the villa listed on my deed is OF. The agent confirmed this. I asked for this in writing and she said she couldn't do that but assured me that it was listed as OF in her files and therefore all was good. I questioned why, given that view is so important at WKORV, there is no indication anywhere as to what view I paid for. She had no answer. I then asked for her to fax me a property map which indicated the building numbers. She said they didn't have anything like that.

When I asked why I hadn't received my confirmation of my July '08 rental, she discovered that the e-mail address was the previous owner's e-mail.

I swear, a high school student could create a better system than SVN.

 

[MON2REY]

Wannagoto,
I purchased our unit from the developer in '06 with first use in '08. Did you do the same or did you get yours resale or right-to-use in '07? If so, possibly that exlains the difference. Just a thought.
Jim

 

[wannagotoo]

MON2REY, We purchased in 05, with use of 2 units in 07 and all 4 units in 08. Thanks for your information, I will call them again because it seems that my information is not correct.

Today's call after alot of background information given:
Yes, the bills were for last year but we have it in our system that you don't have to pay for two of the units. "Could I get a statement that indicates I don't owe for two units?" No, it's in our system. "If it were in your system that I don't owe, why did I get a statement?" Because you recently upgraded two units and they weren't recorded early enough so that the information was part of the billing. "They were upgraded in March of last year and I received no confirmation could you please send one?" No, we have it in our system. "But I don't have it in my system, could I have a hard copy please or could I have access to your system that has that information because mystarcentral doesn't have the correct information?" That is in our system and we can't send out information until it has been recorded.

Also, her idea of the statements for '08 is that they should be sent in about 2 months and the amount will be around $1,653.05.

There is never a consistent response. If you talk to one representative you get one answer, another representative, another answer. I am still not sure how units are assigned, if I can call and add a request without changing the time stamp, or if we will retain any of the benefits that caused us to buy 4 units in the first place.

 

[myip]

I have the same problem with upgrade. I have no ideas as how much I own. In mystarcentral.com, I own them money. When I called, Starwood says I have a credit on my account. I am going to call them again in March. Hopefully, by then, my bill is all straighten out.

 

[wannagotoo]

myip, you are the eternal optimist! Let me guess, your credit is "in their system?" I don't understand why their system doesn't have a "print" or "send" command.

 

[myip]

myip, you are the eternal optimist! Let me guess, your credit is "in their system?" I don't understand why their system doesn't have a "print" or "send" command.

My credit is in their system. Don't know where it come from...

 

[Denise L]

Regarding the due date for WKORV maintenance fees, if it is due on January 21, can I pay it on my AMEX on January 21 online, or will that not get posted because it is a holiday?

I often wonder this about my other bills sometimes, so I usually pay them a couple of days early if the due date falls on the weekend or a holiday. However, in this case I owe $1787.20, so I wouldn't mind waiting until the last moment to pay .

 

[DavidnRobin]

Regarding the due date for WKORV maintenance fees, if it is due on January 21, can I pay it on my AMEX on January 21 online, or will that not get posted because it is a holiday?

I often wonder this about my other bills sometimes, so I usually pay them a couple of days early if the due date falls on the weekend or a holiday. However, in this case I owe $1787.20, so I wouldn't mind waiting until the last moment to pay .

Like the bill says - due on Jan 21 - therefore, pay with your SPG AMEX on that day. This is what I plan to do - especially since my AMEX's billing cycle is on the 19th.

 

[Carolyn]

So what's next?? WSJ

We recently closed on a 1BR WSJ resale. I haven't received a bill for the mf yet. When can I expect that? We are already II members (until 2015) but I guess I still have to pay some mandatory fee to II every year because I now own WSJ?? Should I contact II and tell them of our purchase so it can be included online with our other resorts? Or will Starwood do this? I just don't want a second II account opened in our name even though I feel we are paying twice for the same membership. Thanks.

Carolyn

 

[DeniseM]

My understanding is that you will be required to have a separate Starwood Acct. for your WSJ week and your II membership fees are included in your Starwood MF. You might want to look at the Starwood & II Article in the Owner's Resources sticky at the top of the page.

I'm going to add your post to the MF thread which has more info. about WSJ MF's.

 

[Denise L]

Like the bill says - due on Jan 21 - therefore, pay with your SPG AMEX on that day. This is what I plan to do - especially since my AMEX's billing cycle is on the 19th.

Thanks. I just paid mine. I hope the double points post. My closing date is the 28th, so it won't matter if I wait, it will still be due in February. Oh well. It appears to use today's date as the posting date.

It is great to pay my dues two months before our trip . Usually we don't go to Maui until November or December, and then it seems like a lot of money in January. Now it seems like a "bargain" compared with renting a two-bedroom . I must just be in a good mood (so far) this morning !

 

[DavidnRobin]

no WSJ MFs posted yet...

 

[marcmuff]

Oops - Wrong thread!

 

[pointsjunkie]

harborside mf's 2008

just got the budget for 2008 and thank goodness it did not go up too much. 1 br deluxe $1200.54 1 br prem 1287.44 and 2 br l/o 2323.53. it went up less than $100 from 2007.

 

[mariawolf]

Yes it went up less than $100 but it seems to me last year we were told that it wouldn't go up at all for 2008 since it was such a huge increase in the 2007 amount! I know I got something to that effect either in writing or in a phone call!

 

[pointsjunkie]

i don't remember getting any information about the mf'S NOT GOING UP IN 2008.

 

[sharktzu]

All I know is that I feel very poor today after paying the MF for the year yesterday.

 

[myip]

Starwood has bad record keeping.

My credit is in their system. Don't know where it come from...

Now they tell me I own them money. It is unbelievable that I own them 2008 maintenance fees that I have already paid. Pissed me. I will have to call them tomorrow.

 

[wannagotoo]

myip, This problem occurs when only they have access to "the system" and if you call and talk to 3 different people you get 3 different answers. I have requested a confirmation letter that MF's are not due on 2 of the 4 units because I am convinced that the next person I talk to will have a different idea of how much I owe. They have problems generating letters from "the system." For a company as big as Starwood, I am very surprised that their accounting system is so limited.

 

[abcmanzer]

Notification of Maintenance Fees

I have checked on-line at MyStarCentral.com and see that my MFs are paid in full, but it looks like it is referring to 2007, not 2008. We are new resale owners at Harborside, and I don't want to screw up our first responsibility as new owners. How/When will we be notified about the need to pay our MFs?

 

[DeniseM]

Have you read the MF thread here? Lots of info. there.

I am going to move your post to that thread.