We look at year to year but I thought it might be of interest to take a longer term look. The Monarch Owners website has a link to a chart showing the yearly MF's from 1988 on. I have owned since 1995 so I thought I would dig deeper into my MF’s .
- In 23 years I have paid abo$19,900 in MF’s broken down as $12,700 Operating Fees (64% of MF), $5,690 Reserve Fund (28.5% of MF) and $1,510 in property Tax (7.5% of MF). There have bee 3 one time assessments totaling $650 and a current assessment of about 300 (2016/2017 of 150 per year). This is included in the reserve fund. Note we have 2 more years on the assessment.
- I think in the early years the reserve fee was a learning curve since this was Marriott’s first timeshare. The reserve fee was on par with taxes (about 10% of the total MF). It was way to low. I am going to compare 1998 to 2015. This takes out the learning curve in the early years and the assessment in 2016-2017. I am Trying not to skew the results. In 1998 my MF broken down was $341 Operating Fee, $100 for Reserve Fee and $40 for property tax for a total of $481. In 2015 it was $794 operating fee (increase of 232% over 1998), $304 for the Reserve fund (increase of 300%) and $103 for property tax (257% increase) for a total MF of $1,202 (increase of 250%).
- In 1998 the Operating Fee was 71% of my MF, the Reserve fee was 20% and Property Tax was 9%. In 2015 it was 66%, 25% and 9%. Again the percent of the reserve fee is understated in 2015 because of the current 4 year assessment.
So what does it mean…the older you get the more you spend on healthcare…. Gee, at 61 I am shocked.
My average cost for my week over the 23 years was about $865 per year or 123 per night for my stay. If I assume my week is now worth 0 this becomes my cost of 23 years of family vacations. This doesn't seem like a bad deal to me.
Was it $865 per year just looking at maintenance fees? You should factor in the depreciation of the timeshare over the 23 years you have owned it as well. Otherwise, when you sell the timeshare you would technically take a big capital loss unless you expect the resale value to be larger than the price you paid, which would be a first for a Marriott timeshare.
[Monarch upcoming renovation 2018 thread merged into this thread re the ongoing refurbishment/Special Assessment at Monarch <-- SueDonJ]
The current renovation at Monarch will include two structural changes, which most owners do not know about. We think many will be upset when they see the changes.
First is the removal and filling in of the “aquarium” corner glass window. All these aquarium windows held up during hurricane Matthew, yet management says the insurance is requiring them to be changed to be hurricane grade or removed. Estimates of $400,000 for the complex of 120 villas seemed too much for BOD, so all units will lose 20-25% of their view. We priced a Marvin corner hurricane grade window at $3000 each. Yet, the new front door at $4500 each will exceed that cost of the window replacement. Current doors are fire grade but management wants auto closers. Simple hinge springs or commercial closers at $50 would do the trick, but management says no.
Second is the replacement of the serpentine wall between the Master BR and LR with a straight wall. This is a loss of a design feature, which has won many awards. Building this type of wall is difficult and time consuming. To date we have talked with many owners and have never found one who does not like the artistic wall. However, management claims that they have complaints all the time about the curved wall. The money spent to straighten the wall could have been used to replace the “aquarium” with a new hurricane version. This change will “add” a few square feet to the LR but will make a dresser in the BR very tight to the bottom of the bed.
We feel the BOD is not as transparent as implied in the earlier posts. As owners we never hear or read anything other than the annual newsletter. We have gotten updates via owners meeting with management while on vacation but that information is slanted to give the best news and withholding anything we might find controversial. Our experience with BOD via Liaison is that it is a one way street. We never get a BOD reply, not even a thank you for your thoughts.
I am a one year 'new' Monarch summer owner, a second week ready to close shortly. I haven't actually been on the property since I first stayed there in 1996, and I can't wait to be back!
From my research, I would back the board decisions I have seen so far. From the two schools of thought, I go against the grain and would much rather have a SA for certain upgrades and keep the lower fees.
After attending board meetings at numerous resorts, the overriding theme seems to be "we have this much money in the reserve fund, what upgrades shall we make? Or "We still have X dollars left over, what else can we come up with to do?" Too many times a nonsense idea from an 'outlier' board member gets approved just because there is reserve money left over, and the rest of the board just capitulates so they can move on.
If a SA is required, the board seems to focus much closer on what is really 'required' and strives to get the best bang for a buck.
That isn't how I know either Barony Beach's or SurfWatch's boards to operate, despite the fact that they both collect appropriate Reserves in anticipation of well-planned refurbs. So while it's okay to have a preference for either method of collecting funds for refurbs (as needed in the form of SA as is being done at Monarch OR proportionally in advance as has been done at Barony and SurfWatch,) it's not okay to assume or intimate that any or all boards will be irresponsible with proportionally-collected funds. I honestly can't remember a TUG discussion about any Marriott board being that irresponsible.
By the way, I am in the camp of preferring SA's in the event that repairs/refurbs become necessary following a natural disaster such that the catastrophic insurance deductible kicks in. That's what happened when Hurricane Matthew blasted through Hilton Head last fall and I don't have any problem with them having had to increase the 2017 MF's to cover it. In such cases a board is simply unable to predict when or even if they'll need such funds, and I don't want them sitting on any monies that aren't specifically earmarked for a certain item at a certain date.
Well, I guess you and I have had very different experiences at Monarch.
Last year in the fall, a few weeks before Matthew, we were there for TS Julia, and the aquarium window admitted literally gallons of water into the unit. Not the first time I have experienced leaks, but certainly the worst. Perhaps the windows survived Matthew without being blown out, but they have been leaking for some years. Water incursion is an existential threat to a structure.
The notion that the unit will have a view reduced by 20-25% I guess depends on how and where one takes that measurement. Since the entire wall facing the patio/balcony is glass, removing a 12-15? inch glass panel hidden behind curtains won’t matter much to me, and will greatly reduce the likelihood of future water incursion problems with ‘aquarium’ glass joints.
Monarch units are small by Marriott standards and the curved wall arguably (1) wastes space in both the bedroom and the living room, and (2) limits furniture selection to pieces whose size matches the areas around the curve. Whether the ‘straight’ wall will reduce the size of the BR or LR or neither (by splitting the difference) remains to be seen, but the interior decorating options available to efficiently use space in furnishing the units greatly expands.
Finally, although I have only been going to Monarch for about 10 years, I have found the management to be responsive to questions and comments. The information in your post certainly was not news to me. (If you want to be informed, the best venue is attending the weekly owner update, which I do for every week I am present.)
You should also note also that the sliding glass doors also will be replaced, the soffit between the kitchen and dining area will be eliminated, all the soft goods will be replaced, a closet in the guest BR may become a ‘california closet’ or its equivalent, the area adjacent to the entry door may have a built in bench with storage, among other potential improvements.
The oldest timeshare in the Marriott family is about to become one of the newest by virtue of the mammoth renovations contemplated in the next two years. I told Birgit that my view was that ‘doing it right will produce a better result than doing it cheap.’ (And yes, I own multiple weeks there, so it will cost me.)
Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.
"do it right is not replacing a window with a wall, replace it with a window that does not leak.well windje2000 maybe you don't look out the corner window much, but a corner as two sided and the aquarium window over all in approved 6ft by 5ft or 30 sq ft which offer substantial light and to some a very positive view. So if you had only one living room window which leaked your solution is to replace it with a wall.
well windje2000 maybe you don't look out the corner window much, but a corner as two sides and the aquarium window over all is about 6ft by 5ft or 30 sq ft which offer substantial light and to some a very positive view. So if you had only one living room window which leaked your solution is to replace it with a wall.
Why can we spend $6,000 on a front door that good be fixed for much less but we can't afford to replace aquarium window with another window. The problem is that not all units have a positive view from the aquarium window but that is not a reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. Replace the windows with a view or are a good light source and only wall up the rest."do it right is not replacing a window with a wall, replace it with a window that does not leak.
Also windje2000 you might want to open your curtain, may be you would be surprised by the view.Why can we spend $6,000 on a front door that good be fixed for much less but we can't afford to replace aquarium window with another window. The problem is that not all units have a positive view from the aquarium window but that is not a reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. Replace the windows with a view or are a good light source and only wall up the rest.
I disagree with your assessment of the curved wall which by the way one several architectural designs, you will be spending money we can't afford to add some square feet to one room while robbing square feet from another. By the way this is in violation of the "master deed" which states that to "substantially change the original plans and specifications of the condominium property requires 75% approval by the owners.
Welcome to TUG. .Also windje2000 you might want to open your curtain, may be you would be surprised by the view.