MF for Hacienda del Mar

[Edward Druy]

I just received my invoice for the 2020 maintenance fee for Hacienda del Mar. As mentioned in the sticky, there was a 50% increase over 2019, and it is now around $2300 annually. Because of the hurricane, we have not been able to use the resort for the past two years, and since our contract is for April, we will again not be able to use it for 2020. Does anyone know if this 50% increase is a one time hit and it will revert to prior years in the coming years? Knowing that I cannot use the resort until 2021, I feel that the 2020 MF is unfair. How can there be a maintenance fee for a resort that was virtually totally destroyed by the hurricane, and has not had an occupancy permit since that time. Much of the rebuilding was financed by insurance, and I don't understand the hefty increase.
is there an easy way to get out of this property? I didn't pay much for the unit back in 2015 and I would give it away or donate it to charity if I can unburden myself from the maintenance fee.

 

[SteelerGal]

As I understand, it’s not a one-time increase.

 

[travelhacker]

I just received my invoice for the 2020 maintenance fee for Hacienda del Mar. As mentioned in the sticky, there was a 50% increase over 2019, and it is now around $2300 annually. Because of the hurricane, we have not been able to use the resort for the past two years, and since our contract is for April, we will again not be able to use it for 2020. Does anyone know if this 50% increase is a one time hit and it will revert to prior years in the coming years? Knowing that I cannot use the resort until 2021, I feel that the 2020 MF is unfair. How can there be a maintenance fee for a resort that was virtually totally destroyed by the hurricane, and has not had an occupancy permit since that time. Much of the rebuilding was financed by insurance, and I don't understand the hefty increase.
is there an easy way to get out of this property? I didn't pay much for the unit back in 2015 and I would give it away or donate it to charity if I can unburden myself from the maintenance fee.

I don't own at Hacienda del Mar, but I've seen some maintenance fee statements and the total regular maintenance fee is $1883.14, there is a ONE TIME fee of $420.10 for a total of $2300.

While I do feel bad for Hacienda del Mar owners, I really don't know what HRC could have done differently to make it more fair for owners:

1) I know the one time fee is painful, but it was a total loss and all insurance policies have deductibles. This will pay for the remainder in the deductible.
2) The regular maintenance fees are $1883.14 (when taking out the one time fee) -- which is about middle of the pack for Hyatt properties (Sunset Harbor, Highlands Inn, etc have very similar maintenance fees).
3) One year owners only paid half of the fees of the previous year before the hurricane, but got full access to their points to book at other properties.
4) Subsequent years, owners still got access to use their Hyatt points, even though other owners couldn't book Hacienda del Mar.
5) This year nearly all maintenance fees increased across the board at HRC properties and a very significant portion of that was because of a rise in insurance costs. It would appear that ALL HRC owners are paying for a rise in insurance cost as a result of the total loss to Hacienda del Mar.

 

[Edward Druy]

I feel better knowing this is a one time fee. It is much more in line with other properties. What I still have trouble understanding, though, is how a maintenance fee can be levied when a property is unusable. I thought these fees were used for general maintenance when occupied: grounds keeping, routine maintenance, support staff,etc. If a property doesn’t incur these costs while being rebuilt, why is the MF being levied? Hyatt shouldn’t have ongoing maintenance costs while the property is being rebuilt.

 

[alameda94501]

I don't own there but each Hyatt property sends out an annual statement of what the fees breakdown is. Likely there are quite a few expenses that are fixed, and others that still run when down (electricity for example -for construction). It's like a condominium with 100% of the property being common area, so there's no one else to pay any expenses except the members.