Special Assessment

[drpaddack]

Has MVC ever leveed a special assessment on owners for hurricane or other natural disaster?

I would love to purchase a resale at Maui Ocean Club but have heard horror stories from other timeshare owners regarding special assessments (other company not MVC).

 

[Lv2Trvl]

Yes. Kauai Beach Club! The big dig!

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[TheTimeTraveler]

Has MVC ever leveed a special assessment on owners for hurricane or other natural disaster?

I would love to purchase a resale at Maui Ocean Club but have heard horror stories from other timeshare owners regarding special assessments (other company not MVC).

If special assessments aren't put into place (due to a natural disaster) then you can count on much higher maintenance fees during the following few years.

I think some of those who own in some resorts in Florida, or Hilton Head have experienced this situation.




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[JIMinNC]

Has MVC ever leveed a special assessment on owners for hurricane or other natural disaster?

I would love to purchase a resale at Maui Ocean Club but have heard horror stories from other timeshare owners regarding special assessments (other company not MVC).

Yes. Of course they have. Hilton Head and Florida resorts have had them in the last few years. The HOAs have to recoup the cost of the large insurance deductible that comes into play in the event of a named storm. As an owner, you have to pay to make the repairs one way or another, since the owner of any property pays for the operating and maintenance costs needed to keep the resort in operation.

 

[drpaddack]

If special assessments aren't put into place (due to a natural disaster) then you can count on much higher maintenance fees during the following few years.

I think some of those who own in some resorts in Florida, or Hilton Head have experienced this situation.




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Makes sense, I guess if you want a little bit of paradise you roll the dice and hope for the best.

 

[CPNY]

Makes sense, I guess if you want a little bit of paradise you roll the dice and hope for the best.

Many times, it’s why desert properties are better on maint fees.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Many times, it’s why desert properties are better on maint fees.

You may think that, depends where. Palm Desert for example sits right by the San Andreas fault though. Been on it there.

 

[CPNY]

You may think that, depends where. Palm Desert for example sits right by the San Andreas fault though. Been on it there.

Welllll good point lol. In my mind I was thinking primarily Vegas and AZ properties

 

[JIMinNC]

Makes sense, I guess if you want a little bit of paradise you roll the dice and hope for the best.

But if you are considering Maui Ocean Club as you said in the OP, the odds of hurricanes there are small. Of course Iniki devastated Kauai in 1992, but since then there have just been a few close approaches. As hurricanes get toward Hawaii latitudes/longitudes they tend to start falling apart due to sea surface temperatures and upper winds in that part of the Pacific. As Iniki showed, it can happen, but it is much rarer in Hawaii than in the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S. where fall ocean temperatures are higher and upper winds generally more favorable. In Hawaii the greatest risk actually might be a Tsunami from an earthquake somewhere in the Pacific.

 

[Luvtoride]

Makes sense, I guess if you want a little bit of paradise you roll the dice and hope for the best.

Drpaddack, I hardly think this is a gambling analogy?! If you’re not comfortable with the idea of annual maintenance fees that can and do increase ( with and without natural disasters) don’t purchase a TS. You can always purchase rentals in the places you want to go or that haven’t been hit by hurricanes.


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[Davey54321]

There doesnt have to be a natural disaster for a special assessment to be levied... The Aruba Ocean club needed a roof replacement 10 years ago and owners there were hit by one for 3 years I believe. And I may be wrong but I believe this kind of thing has happened before with Marriott properties purchased (not purposely built by them) for timeshare repurposing use...

 

[Dean]

Has MVC ever leveed a special assessment on owners for hurricane or other natural disaster?

I would love to purchase a resale at Maui Ocean Club but have heard horror stories from other timeshare owners regarding special assessments (other company not MVC).

HI has only had a couple of direct hits from Hurricanes over the years though it frequently feels the affects. I don't think of this issue in terms of SA vs not but rather the risk in general to dues and how well the resorts are managed. HI has risks due to weather, costs of all types of things due to isolation, political risks with taxes and risk of labor costs among others. The weather is likely the least of our worries (I don't own there but do 2 other HI resorts). If the current prices and dues at say a 5% or so increase year over year doesn't scare you, you'll be fine. They do have insurance which would cover most of the costs if something major happened though you might have to pay a years dues and not be able to use in a major situation.

 

[rthib]

I would be worried about politics than hurricane in HI. Someone has to pay for all the free stuff and time shares are an easy target.

 

[SueDonJ]

Has MVC ever leveed a special assessment on owners for hurricane or other natural disaster?

I would love to purchase a resale at Maui Ocean Club but have heard horror stories from other timeshare owners regarding special assessments (other company not MVC).

Yes. All of the South Carolina (Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach) Marriott timeshares have been hit multiple times in recent years with hurricanes/named storms resulting in extensive damage and SA's for repairs. Prior to this run it had been decades since these areas had been hit.

As JIMinNC says above, the reason is that catastrophic insurance coverage kicks in for those storms. With the typical property insurance there's a dollar-value deductible but with the catastrophic coverage the deductible is percentage-based on the total value of the property and the total damage repair estimates, per event. Annual Maintenance Fees account for the property insurance annual deductible but not for the catastrophic insurance deductible. There are two schools of thought among owners as to whether this amount, which at the max can be in the millions, should be parked in an account somewhere waiting for a storm that can't be predicted and may not happen for decades. I'm one who doesn't want Marriott to be sitting on collected dues unless they correlate to a predicted schedule and purpose. It's certainly not fun to have to pay SA's but I much prefer paying the lump sums as needed.

Florida resorts have also been hit similarly but I don't own there so can't say for sure if the exact same metrics are in play.

 

[SueDonJ]

There doesnt have to be a natural disaster for a special assessment to be levied... The Aruba Ocean club needed a roof replacement 10 years ago and owners there were hit by one for 3 years I believe. And I may be wrong but I believe this kind of thing has happened before with Marriott properties purchased (not purposely built by them) for timeshare repurposing use...

This is a good point. Aruba Ocean Club isn't the only resort which had to levy an SA for major repairs following water intrusion damage that hadn't been anticipated and/or accounted for in the resort BOD's budget considerations. A few years back Monarch on HHI faced a similar issue, which if I'm remembering correctly was found/repaired in conjunction with a regularly-scheduled refurbishment for which Reserves had been collected in the annual fees, but an SA also had to be levied because the facade/window repairs turned out to be more extensive than anticipated.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

You may think that, depends where. Palm Desert for example sits right by the San Andreas fault though. Been on it there.

Hi Steve !

Just so that people don't get afraid to go to the Marriott's in Palm Desert, I'd like to mention that in the Palm Desert area, the fault(s) are actually north of Hwy 10 and Marriott is south of Hwy 10. So the fault is perhaps 5 to 10 miles away. But it is certainly fairly close. Areas like Desert Hot Springs and parts of Indio and Coachella are closer.

But that does bring up a question .... I wonder if DSV, Shadow Ridge or JW Marriott have had any issues/damage from earthquakes in the 20 or so years that they have been standing. We live about 10 or so miles from the Lake Elsinore fault. Far enough away that in 20 plus years we have had no damage (except for a spice jar that fell over).

 

[Steve Fatula]

I would not be afraid, not saying that. But the "big one" can still do a lot of damage there and it will cut off the area (lookup online). Yes, DSV is not sitting right on the fault line. I would say it's closer to 10 miles away, you can see it. I have been going there for over 20 years, as far as I have heard, there has been no damage of any consequence. Just saying a special assessment is not impossible there. I don't think flooding is likely, that big flood 2 or so years ago did not impact that area.