MROP Special Assessment [Multi Resorts Ownership Plan]

[dioxide45]

No, that provision is not in the January 24, 2012 MROP bylaws, although it was in the bylaws I have from 2007.
The SA was effectively an extra year's assessment.
I've already reserved that extra week offered to those who have paid the SA.

FWIW, Shoreline Towers (Gulf Shores, AL) is no longer available for new reservations. I expect the pool of weeks will have to shrink due to delinquencies. Leased weeks (which I think Shoreline Towers were leased weeks) are likely easier to deal with. VRI manages that property too. Owned properties, if any are to be sold, likely will take more time. Certainly don't want a vulture 'vacation club' like Capital taking control of MROP.

Doesn't Capital now, or soon will, own VRI Americas which already controls MROP?

 

[gravityrules]

Capital did purchase VRI. MROP hires VRI for management services. So no VRI does not control MROP.

 

[goaliedave]

This situation will become more common for timeshare owners. I went through similar with the Shell/Wyndham Carriage Hills / Ridge. We owners voted against special assessment and sold the property for $60M instead so we'll each get a little back and be done with it.

 

[West]

Anyone have any updatged news on MROP Shoreline Towers. Can't get reservation and no one replys to emails or phone messages. We paid assessment and maintenance fees but no reservation and no responses.

 

[Carlsbadguy]

Has anyone on here stopped paying the MROP maintenance fees and wondering what has happened.

 

[gravityrules]

The delinquency issue has forced MROP to shrink the pool of resorts/weeks (MROP is a 'right to use' membership). By my count MROP is now down to 19 resorts.
MROP's pool of resorts/weeks has been a combination of owned units and 'leased' (if that's the right term) units. I suspect it was far easier to terminate the 'leased' units ... Shoreline Towers was one of the resorts terminated for 2023 onward. There was a September 2022 letter identifying 9 resorts that were being eliminated from the pool.

You should be able to call VRI at 800-748-4666, I just spoke with a representative yesterday. It did seem the rep was working remotely. It is possible VRI's Lake Forest, CA location is being affected by the rains, winds, and flooding in CA (if that's where they are working from).

 

[huntnet]

We own two weeks. We also received the sa letter with three days to pay..
We requested a copy of the bill of writes but to date we have not received a copy.
When letter received, we had two weeks reserved for Hawaii that was as fully paid for. They took away the reservations and would not allow them to be transfered to RCI.
With how mrop has been run and according to the bill of right I have found, I think they are not following the law.
We are most likely not paying. Last week we received a letter stating what was due and if not paid will proceed with collection.
I am wondering if anyone is interested in a class action law suit or what opinion of putting one together.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi @huntnet ,
Welcome to TUG

In my opinion - your better off -
"moving on"

1) If you wish to keep vacationing via timeshares - then acquire something that meets your needs & yearly budget.
The TUG free forum is a good place to start.

2 ) there is TUG information on
how " collections " work when the " debt"
Is MF only for a RTU / Non deeded ownership.

3) In my opinion - class action lawsuits for a TS that has no value generally have little or no return on investment.

 

[Passepartout]

We own two weeks. We also received the sa letter with three days to pay..
We requested a copy of the bill of writes but to date we have not received a copy.
When letter received, we had two weeks reserved for Hawaii that was as fully paid for. They took away the reservations and would not allow them to be transfered to RCI.
With how mrop has been run and according to the bill of right I have found, I think they are not following the law.
We are most likely not paying. Last week we received a letter stating what was due and if not paid will proceed with collection.
I am wondering if anyone is interested in a class action law suit or what opinion of putting one together.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a law firm willing to take on such an enterprise. They are in business to make money, and frankly, there isn't enough money here to attract their attention.

Move on. consider whatever you have spent to be sunk money. MROP was at one time a viable vacation choice, but that time has passed.

Good Luck and Welcome to TUG.

Jim

 

[dioxide45]

A lawsuit won't help and you will probably pay more than if you just paid the assessment.

 

[bnoble]

What's more, what is the basis for the suit? "I am not happy to have to pay this" is not a winning argument. You need "they were not allowed to do this" and it appears the language that limited any SA without a vote is no longer part of the governing documents.

Instead, I think there are just two choices. One: this SA is not worth paying, in which case don't pay it and ignore them. Two: this SA is worth paying, in which case pay it and continue. Based on what (little) I know, I wouldn't pay it, as (a) this is unlikely to be the last one and (b) there is nothing to hold on to for an eventual liquidation because it is a membership not owned property. No upside that I can see, unless like some others I had an upcoming booked vacation that I thought was worth an extra $1K to take.

 

[West]

At this point I would love to move on. I am getting nothing for my money. MROP reservations confirmed my Shoreline Towers reservation for June 24, 2023. Shoreline Towers say they have no reservations from MROP. Emails to the Board of MROP results in no return responses. If we quit paying what happens? Do they have a right to put us in collections?

 

[huntnet]

Anyone have an update regarding the none payment of the special assessment?
Here is our update.
We were contacted last week by phone. A collection agency now wanting us to now pay them.
They threaten to garnish wages if we did not pay.
Anyone else get contacted that did not pay the SA?
Anyone hear of any of those that defaulted were contacted?
Being a right to use membership, not really sure what they will be able to do.
Like to hear what is going on with others so we can see what they are doing. I think that might be helpful to us all.

We also have sent emails to the BOD, but have not received any documents requested or any answers to questions.
Anyone that is still in MROP, are you able to get weeks reserved?
I have heard that is is still hard to get weeks and make reservations.

Thanks for any info!

 

[Passepartout]

Anyone have an update regarding the none payment of the special assessment?
Here is our update.
We were contacted last week by phone. A collection agency now wanting us to now pay them.
They threaten to garnish wages if we did not pay.
Anyone else get contacted that did not pay the SA?
Anyone hear of any of those that defaulted were contacted?
Being a right to use membership, not really sure what they will be able to do.
Like to hear what is going on with others so we can see what they are doing. I think that might be helpful to us all.

We also have sent emails to the BOD, but have not received any documents requested or any answers to questions.
Anyone that is still in MROP, are you able to get weeks reserved?
I have heard that is is still hard to get weeks and make reservations.

Thanks for any info!

I did not pay the SA. Or, for that matter, the MF for 2-3 years. They apparently sold the debt to a collection arm of II. My wife (an attorney) wrote to them on letterhead demanding to see the proof they had that we even owed the debt. Eventually, we got a letter that if we didn't pay, we would be locked out of their system and not be able to make reservations. (boo-hoo!) Still did nothing and the last we heard was that on (date certain) there would be a foreclosure sale and that was that. So much for THAT $1.25 eBAY purchase.

 

[JulieAB]

Anyone have an update regarding the none payment of the special assessment?
Here is our update.
We were contacted last week by phone. A collection agency now wanting us to now pay them.
They threaten to garnish wages if we did not pay.
Anyone else get contacted that did not pay the SA?
Anyone hear of any of those that defaulted were contacted?
Being a right to use membership, not really sure what they will be able to do.
Like to hear what is going on with others so we can see what they are doing. I think that might be helpful to us all.

We also have sent emails to the BOD, but have not received any documents requested or any answers to questions.
Anyone that is still in MROP, are you able to get weeks reserved?
I have heard that is is still hard to get weeks and make reservations.

Thanks for any info!

I gave away my two weeks to friends a few years ago, before the assessment. Not sure if they're on this forum, but I know they've been reserving/using their weeks (nice weeks too). They mentioned they got a couple extra weeks for the assessment too. They always call in to reserve though and don't use the online system.

 

[gravityrules]

I gave away my two weeks to friends a few years ago, before the assessment. Not sure if they're on this forum, but I know they've been reserving/using their weeks (nice weeks too). They mentioned they got a couple extra weeks for the assessment too. They always call in to reserve though and don't use the online system.

Some MROP info:

I can confirm that an extra week was given for paying that 2022 SA on time (that was determined relatively soon after the SA due date).

MROP website now shows 16 locations so the pool has shrunk a bit more.

They did sell Jackson Pines (12 units in Jackson Wyoming) for $7 million.

The 2024 annual MROP board meeting that was scheduled for April 20 was cancelled and has not yet been re-scheduled.

 

[jss223]

Anyone have an update regarding the none payment of the special assessment?
Here is our update.
We were contacted last week by phone. A collection agency now wanting us to now pay them.
They threaten to garnish wages if we did not pay.
Anyone else get contacted that did not pay the SA?
Anyone hear of any of those that defaulted were contacted?
Being a right to use membership, not really sure what they will be able to do.
Like to hear what is going on with others so we can see what they are doing. I think that might be helpful to us all.

We also have sent emails to the BOD, but have not received any documents requested or any answers to questions.
Anyone that is still in MROP, are you able to get weeks reserved?
I have heard that is is still hard to get weeks and make reservations.

Thanks for any info!

I received a letter from the collections agency with lots of fees and threats, and intend to respond.

 

[peteybob35]

I received a letter from the collections agency with lots of fees and threats, and intend to respond.

We just got a letter too, anyone know the best way to respond?

 

[Volkyro]

We just got a letter too, anyone know the best way to respond?

You want to respond with a debt verification request, sent via certified mail, and catered to the laws of your specific state. You can usually find samples of these with a google search (I have a sample currently for MD and TN and maybe FL if anyone needs one). If they start calling, tell them very clearly: I do not believe the debt is valid, and from here forward you may only contact me via mail. Unless you have a really aggressive agency or some pretty lax state laws, that should stop the calls. A proper debt verification letter will get some agencies to stop, others will keep sending mail. Usually they'll fail to meet all the requests in your debt verification letter, and you can continue to reply telling them they've failed to meet the legal requirements of your state. I'd keep all mail they send and copies of what you send, but I'd bet eventually the mail will stop as well.

 

[chapjim]

There's a federal statute called The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1692g), which limits what debt collectors can do. It's an easy read as statutes go but here's a link to a summary prepared by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

What laws limit what debt collectors can say or do? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

There are laws that limit what debt collectors can say or do. Learn about your legal protections from debt collectors.

www.consumerfinance.gov

 

[FunnyFarm]

The rescheduled 2024 annual meeting is scheduled for December 12th 5PM PST.
For us diehards still out there.

A few points I've seen:

The Capital Vacations relationship is being enhanced in that you can convert a MROP week into CV points and use their inventory of resorts.
The conversion rate is poor.

In the past, I've been able to get a 2 BD Red week 3 out of every 4 years with 75 MROP points. (Within MROP-not trading to RCI/II)
It looks like 75 points converts to 175k CV points which gets maybe a split week somewhere. Can't come close to a Hawaii week with that.

Capital Vacations reservations does not yet understand how MROP works yet.
MROP/Resorts West sold several variations of weeks packages such as rotating R/W/B as well as annual points (Red=100, W=75, B=50).

CV/VRI Reservations (MROP support line) could not see my points available nor could they say what available use year or info on the week they see on their end.

While trying for a reservation they have to go week by week throughout the year at a specific resort to find an open spot, can't search for an open window.
Anyone else have recent experience booking with the new system?

Looks like the best spots (within MROP) are completely booked at 16 months out, those few in the know must be working the system.
Comment from last years annual meeting Q&A was that many members were taking the HI weeks to trade.

17 locations left

Annual budget around $7M currently running at 500k deficit.

 

[gravityrules]

I think the conversion rate offered for a 'Red' MROP week is 250K CV points. At this point I don't know if conversion is a one way door or if that is an annual choice.
I would have to really dig into CV charts to have any idea what that could theoretically get you. I say 'theoretically' because I suspect you would have bottom of the barrel priority in CV points.
My assessment of CV's business practice is to always have something to sell to their 'owners'. Lots of unhappy owners posting that couldn't get much that they wanted with their CV points.

Just a step back here for anyone reading this not familiar with MROP. MROP is a small independent non-profit RTU TS plan that's been around a long time. They hired VRI in 2006 for management. VRI was bought out by CV a couple of years ago. The VRI name still exists but it's really CV now. Even before that purchase, CV had purchased other TS management firms (SPM, Defender, etc) so CV has quite a footprint in management of independent timeshares. So let's just say that in effect MROP is now managed by CV. All processes (customer facing and back end) have been or are being converted to CV. MROP's board is independent (at least for now). IMHO the board made some major mistakes through the CoronaVirus period that exacerbated a delinquency crisis. They have shrunk their pool of resorts

My experiences with the CV processes so far have not been positive. The people (working out of Myrtle Beach, SC) have been nice but their IT/back end process transition has been poor.

 

[FunnyFarm]

Capital Vacations tell me that my 75 point MROP/Resorts West membership is worth 175k CV points. Doesn't get much of anything in Capitals catalog.
75 points = 1 white week in the MROP system, 100 points = Red
CV tells me that MROP members opt in each year to convert to CV points.

Still waiting to see if they handle the points as they have in the past. No one seems to know at CV.

 

[FunnyFarm]

Update:
I've had some good emails back and forth with MROP and Capital Vacations. (although with some time lags)
The GM and Admin Asst at MROP have been swamped with calls and emails due to the changes but the good news is they are still there to assist with CV.
They were glad to help me with contacting the proper team at CV to help and to be available for issues that might come up.

Today I had a good phone conversation with a supervisor at CV who also was happy to answer questions and help me personally.
She assured me that the CSRs are trained (and being trained) on the MROP memberships like my points.
I will be able to use the points within MROP as I have in the past to mix & match as needed.

Points are not directly converted from MROP points to CV points in a fixed ratio.
MROP points are used to converts to a MROP week which is then assigned a CV point value.

It could be any MROP red week converts directly to 250k CV points as @gravityrules mentions that he's seen. I'm going to ask that question.
I'm just guessing but there might be some "trade value" adjustments based on the selected week, since a red week at MROP could be a 1 bed at Embarcadero (Newport, OR), 2 Bed Kala Point (Port Townsend WA), 2 Bed Cabana Club (Blaine, WA), 3 bed (Utah) or a 1 Bed Waikiki & Maui. Those are all different in perceived value in my book.
The Capital Vacations book has large variations in point values for room size, season & locations, that's why I wonder.

Capital points are only good January to 12/31 and do not rollover.
CV points can be used in as little as 2-day reservations.
Booking window is 10 months out.
Opting to convert to CV points is year by year choice whether to Opt-in or do nothing.

If Capital Vacation members have trouble getting what they want, I don't plan on converting anytime soon.
Looking at the CV point requirements one can't get the same value, it takes a lot of CV points to get to some prime reservations.
All their locations are Fly-to from Tacoma, WA so, for me, there is added expense as well. Heavily weighted to the East.

Based on the conversations I've had with them I plan to pay next years MF and continue on with MROP.
We'll see what ther annual meeting brings.

I'll be in MROPs Kuleana Club, Maui 1st week of December. Aloha

 

[gravityrules]

Update:
I've had some good emails back and forth with MROP and Capital Vacations. (although with some time lags)
The GM and Admin Asst at MROP have been swamped with calls and emails due to the changes but the good news is they are still there to assist with CV.
They were glad to help me with contacting the proper team at CV to help and to be available for issues that might come up.

Today I had a good phone conversation with a supervisor at CV who also was happy to answer questions and help me personally.
She assured me that the CSRs are trained (and being trained) on the MROP memberships like my points.
I will be able to use the points within MROP as I have in the past to mix & match as needed.

......

Based on the conversations I've had with them I plan to pay next years MF and continue on with MROP.
We'll see what ther annual meeting brings.

I'll be in MROPs Kuleana Club, Maui 1st week of December. Aloha

@FunnyFarm

How was Kuleana Club?
Were you able to listen to the Zoom Annual Meeting?