Hoc
TUG Lifetime Member
I've been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now. When I first started timesharing, owners' annual fees were around $350 or so per week owned. Now, in the last nine years or so, they have climbed to the point where they are almost all in the thousand dollar range or so. Virtually every one of my timeshares this year declared a special assessment, usually in the $200 to $300 range.
I'm just wondering whether these annual fees are truly justified based on cost increases, or whether the management company has inflated their staff, management salaries, and fees to the point where the interests of the owners have gone by the wayside. I realize that the prevailing thought is that management companies have a contractual relationship with the owners. However, in some instances (such as the case of DRI, where the owners have no choice but to keep them as management based on the contracts) I wonder whether they can be said to have a fiduciary relationship with owners.
A fiduciary relationship differs from a contractual relationship in that a fiduciary has a duty to act in the best interest of the owners, a duty of loyalty, a duty of competence, and a duty to avoid self-dealing. What do you think? You think there is a basis for a claim against management companies for racking up unnecessary fees in a bad economy at the expense of owners? Any specific examples?
I'm just wondering whether these annual fees are truly justified based on cost increases, or whether the management company has inflated their staff, management salaries, and fees to the point where the interests of the owners have gone by the wayside. I realize that the prevailing thought is that management companies have a contractual relationship with the owners. However, in some instances (such as the case of DRI, where the owners have no choice but to keep them as management based on the contracts) I wonder whether they can be said to have a fiduciary relationship with owners.
A fiduciary relationship differs from a contractual relationship in that a fiduciary has a duty to act in the best interest of the owners, a duty of loyalty, a duty of competence, and a duty to avoid self-dealing. What do you think? You think there is a basis for a claim against management companies for racking up unnecessary fees in a bad economy at the expense of owners? Any specific examples?