Tombo ...
From what you have written here am I safe in assuming that what was once a week that was helping to support the resort could change hands and at some future time still be exchanged but not help support the resort any longer?
Could this scenario happen? Mr. Brown owns a week in July at Sandcastle and has paid his MFs and SAs diligently through the years. He turns his deeded property over to FAC and gets his points. A few years down the road Mr. Brown gets fed up with trying to get a decent week at a resort and is tired of paying MFs and membership fees in II or any other system. He quits the FAC. Now this week in July no longer has a paying member of FAC. Does this unit join the Developers bag of tricks as an unpaid unit and in doing so, it no longer supports the resort?
Jean
Yes, at most Festiva affiliated resorts any unpaid, reposessed inventory becomes festiva's property to own, sell, and vote. Most of the time they start out at resorts by buying all of the HOA owned inventory or unsold inventory from a prior developer. Any developer weeks which haven't been converted to Festiva Points are festiva's as are any unsold or reposessed festiva points. Festiva pays no MF's, assessments, or taxes on any festiva owned week or points. So yes when Mr Brown quits paying for his points festive will own the points, vote the points, resell the points, but they won't pay any associated expenses for upgrading or maintaing any resort that the points have an underlying deed for.
It is worse than that. Mr brown owns nothing but some imaginary Festiva points. If festiva shuts it's doors or files bankruptcy, the points unlike a deeded week are worthless. If Festiva remains solvent and even if Mr Brown still pays his FAC dues each year, Festiva doesn't have to send a penny of Mr brown's money to the resort he used to own a week at because he is no longer paying to maintain a particular resort he owns, he is paying to be a member of Festiva Adventure Club.
If Festiva likes resort A and has a lot of sales for resort A, they can shift money paid into the festiva Adventure club by members who used to own weeks at resorts B, C, and D and pay all of the expenses at resort A. The people who used to own at resorts B,C,and D no longer own anything there. When they pay their annual MF's and assessments, Festiva can spend their money anywhere they want and for anything they want. It is no longer a particular resort's owners or mf's, it is now Festiva Adventure Club's money to spend as Festiva sees fit. Festiva can spend extra money on a resort where they own a lot of unsold inventory renovating and maintaining it better to help sales while putting very little cash towards the upkeep at resorts where they are almost sold out like resorts b, c, and d. Then festiva can then assess and/or raise MF's at resorts b, c, and d to cover the shortfalls.
Of course Festiva owes the resorts x-$ per week owned at the resort, and they supposedly have to pay that. Actually they don't because they control the votes on the board. They can reduce the amount owed per week to a level that will not support resorts B,C,and D using their festiva appointed board. Then of course all weeks members at B,C, and D will have to pay higher MF's and possible assessments to cover the money siphoned out to other Festiva resorts. Also if things get tough they can simply give the weeks they own back to resorts B, C, and D and walk away from them. They get to keep all the former owners they converted to Festiva points from the resort as paying FAC members while leaving resorts B,C, and D without enough owners to survive.
These are not probable scenarios, but these are things that could happen because of the way that Festiva makes you pay FAC for 30 years because you joined their points club, but guarantees you nothing but access to their club's available inventory. It is stated that resorts in the FAC are subject to change, so what you used to own is not necessarily a resort you will be able to continue to visit.
