Celebrity Resorts acquired ownership of the Brigantine property after Leisure Resorts went bankrupt. Long-term owners (including one or two TUG members) who served on the HOA for years were ousted. There has been no HOA for several years.
Maintenance fees are now about double what they were ten years ago. There was a Special Assessment (around $1100.) levied in 2007 with no advance notice given to the owners. When the SA notices were mailed to owners, they were given a very short period of time to pay--about 30 days, I think. This created a financial hardship for many seniors on a fixed income who have been owners since the 1980's. When they called to discuss the situation, they said they were treated in a very harsh, threatening manner. Collection letters, with late fees added, began arriving soon thereafter.
After Celebrity came into control, the annual owners meetings were not held for several years. When owners inquired/complained, a meeting was scheduled 2 years ago in October. The notices mailed with the time and date arrived after the meeting date. They were postmarked the day before the meeting.
Last year members began calling on a regular basis in August asking for details about the time and date of the annual meeting. The Front Desk staff either had no idea, or had vague information. This time the notices arrived about one week before the meeting, which was held at a VFW hall, difficult to find, about a mile or two from the resort, on a Friday morning in October at 9:00 a.m.. . It was pouring rain. Yet about 100 owners showed up. (For many years, the meetings had been held in the meeting room at the resort in the late afternoon). A slick team made a presentation re: the progress (or lack thereof) of the renovations.
During the meeting, the team leader (can't remember the guy's name), when questioned about several issues, including the parking and day privilege changes, claimed that the bankrupt prior owner (Leisure Resorts) had left no papers behind so they had no idea what the owners were entitled to. An elderly, polite, very well-spoken gentleman stated that he had been on the HOA for years and had tons of boxes of paperwork at his home, including copies of his ownership papers. He offered to provide any documents they wanted. I have no idea if anyone from Celebrity Resorts followed through on this offer, but me thinks they did nada.
It was evident during the meeting that many of the owners felt a great deal of affection and loyalty to the resort. They spoke about all the great family vacations they have had through the years with their children who are now adults coming with their children. You could hear the hurt in their voices re: the way they had been treated when they could not immediately come up with the sudden Special Assessment payment. It's a shame that Celebrity does not appreciate the value of having loyal long term owners, who have hung in during the years when the resort was decaying due to lack of proper maintenance.
Does anyone know if the HOA can legally be discontinued when a new resort group obtains ownership through bankruptcy. Does the bankruptcy "wipe out" former agreements?
Clearly there is a need for an attorney to look into the entire situation. The annual meetings were resumed only after the owners pushed for it. The laws pertaining to timeshares in New Jersey are said to be very strict. Perhaps they could be asked to investigate. The main problem is that so many of the owners are seniors who are not computer savvy.
Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.