Overinflated taxes and maintence fees

[Orlando owner]

Hello,
I am an owner at Tuscany in Orlando and I am fed up with the ever rising maintence fees. In my last 2 visits to 2 different properties in Orlando, I found that the people in the common areas, pool etc did not behave in a manner that would suggest they were owners, ie loud, foul langauge. I feel that HGVC is renting to anybody to make a buck. Then they stick it to the owners to pay for the maintence at the end of the year. Its a win-win for HGCV. Anybody out there feel the same about taxes etc.

 

[ronparise]

Hello,
I am an owner at Tuscany in Orlando and I am fed up with the ever rising maintence fees. In my last 2 visits to 2 different properties in Orlando, I found that the people in the common areas, pool etc did not behave in a manner that would suggest they were owners, ie loud, foul langauge. I feel that HGVC is renting to anybody to make a buck. Then they stick it to the owners to pay for the maintenance at the end of the year. Its a win-win for HGCV. Anybody out there feel the same about taxes etc.

I dont understand your complaint. Is it that fees are too high, or that HGVC rents units, or is it the foul language.

Perhaps its other owners talking about their fees that are doing the cursing. The renters are happy, they get to vacation on a budget

 

[timeos2]

You own at a resort that, like far too many, is under total Developer rather than owner control. They will cover all the costs (using high cost vendors they pick rather than open bidding for the work) plus their hefty overhead and you have no say. Buy only at owner controlled & properly managed resorts to solve the problem.

 

[dougp26364]

MF's always go up but, so do the fee's associated with home ownership unless you move before something breaks or needs replacement.

In the next few years I'm looking at:
New heating and cooling system
New hot water heater
Replacing our privacy fence
Replacing defective siding on our house and repainting
Replacing our roof in the next 5 to 10 years

Do you think any of these are less expensive than they were they were originally installed? I can tell you the sump pump we replaced 2 years ago and the back up hydraulic sump pump that replaced the failing battery back up sump pump weren't cheaper. How about employee salaries and/or the cost of their benefits. I know I expect a raise every year or I'm possibly looking at what other employers might offer. Do you really believe taxes and/or insurance costs go down each year?

As for the guests, I own several different timeshares. Three are associated with a hotel chain, the rest are not. Timeshare owners either don't treat the resorts as if it's there home or, they treat their own home's very poorly. We were just at Grand Timber Lodge in Breckenridge. Many parents turned their children loose and let them have run of the resort. There was yelling, screaming, destructive behavior et....... and this wasn't a resort like HGVC that has easy access to rental channels.

What I've observed since 1998 is that people are very hard on a timeshare unit. Perhaps they believe that since they're not paying to replace items directly, it doesn't matter. Or perhaps they allow their kids to jump on the furniture at home and maybe they put their dirty shoes on the tables in their own home as well. Perhaps their exchangers and don't feel the need to treat the resort property with respect. Either way, people/owners are very hard on timeshare units

 

[Talent312]

You've hit on two downsides of any hotel-based system:

(a) They let you use your points to trade into hotels, but then they turn around and let riff-raff from the hotel-side (the wrong side of the tracks) book the units that we won't be using in exchange.

2. They attempt to maintain a uniformly high-quality to match their owner's expectations, but then they turn around and make you pay for surplus amenities, like gardening, vacuum cleaners, paint and such.

Bastards!

If you want an owner-controlled resort where the primary focus is on keeping MF's low, you'll find older furnishings and lower-cost services in return. I own both, and there is a real trade off.

 

[timeos2]

If you want an owner-controlled resort where the primary focus is on keeping MF's low, you'll find older furnishings and lower-cost services in return. I own both, and there is a real trade off.

Your HOA even though owner controlled is apparently not doing the job up to your standards. But it may be to the wishes of the owners - if so that's how they want it.

At both of our Owner operated resorts they tried the low fee route but discovered that was counter productive. They since opted for top quality upgrades & renovations that are as good or better than branded resorts. The plus is its done using open bidding and our fees average about 1/3 less than branded. The best of both!

 

[bogey21]

You own at a resort that, like far too many, is under total Developer rather than owner control. They will cover all the costs (using high cost vendors they pick rather than open bidding for the work) plus their hefty overhead and you have no say. Buy only at owner controlled & properly managed resorts to solve the problem.

I agree. I sold my Marriott Weeks and purchased at carefullly selected HOA controlled Independent Resorts years ago. I got less luxury and lower MFs at 10% to 20% of the cost and never regretted the switch for one minute.

George

 

[hurnik]

Hello,
I am an owner at Tuscany in Orlando and I am fed up with the ever rising maintence fees. In my last 2 visits to 2 different properties in Orlando, I found that the people in the common areas, pool etc did not behave in a manner that would suggest they were owners, ie loud, foul langauge. I feel that HGVC is renting to anybody to make a buck. Then they stick it to the owners to pay for the maintence at the end of the year. Its a win-win for HGCV. Anybody out there feel the same about taxes etc.

Come live in NY. My property + school taxes have gone up about 10% every year.

Timeshares are just like owning a home. The taxes ALWAYS go up (well there's one county around here they actually went down, but that's a rarity). You should only buy at a resort that either has the lowest MF (I dumped my Tuscany HGVC and bought in LV instead) or if you need home resort ability, at the resort you travel to the most.

The other stuff you will see anywhere. Some people are just rude and inconsiderate and it doesn't matter where you go to sometimes.

 

[chriskre]

I own at I-Drive and have been several times. I've not seen this behavior you are complaining about. Could it be the kids out of school summer crowds? If so, try travelling off season. Orlando is full of kids in all the resorts and some are well behaved and others are well, just kids.

As for the MF's, I don't know what you pay but I'm paying around $1000 for a 2 bedroom. I don't find that excessive for the quality of resort. I'd love to see it cheaper but I don't want the quality to drop so you take the good with the bad. Taxes and insurance bills are also a little higher here in Florida than in many of the cheaper TS- land resorts like Vegas and Branson etc, but that's because costs are a little higher here.

Why don't you try using your HGVC points in the more expensive resorts in the club and just rent open season yourself in Orlando. That's what I do.