Westin St John Master Thread - Part 3 [Dec. 2017 and forward]

[SandyPGravel]

How much are the taxes on the various unit types? Have the 2019 maintenance fees been announced yet for WSJ?

I also have a 2 BD TH unit, but mine is a week 9. Taxes are $281 for my week.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Yeah, a credit toward next years late fees...

I am okay if they credit towards next year. Just ridiculous for them to send Property Tax bills after they are due - and then add steps to get the penalty/interest waived. How hard would have it been just to remove the penalty/interest on their side?

 

[TravelTime]

I also have a 2 BD TH unit, but mine is a week 9. Taxes are $281 for my week.

So you pay MFs plus separate taxes? That really does increase the annual costs.

 

[DavidnRobin]

So you pay MFs plus separate taxes? That really does increase the annual costs.

Correct. I think (but not positive) that only one other WSJ phase (BV) pays their Property Taxes separately (outside their MF bill).
Add in the BS ‘Environment Fee’ of $175 - and it really starts adding up.
(I still predict that the fee will be overturned in the court as it is inherently unfair since it is same fee no matter the occupancy that is counterintuitive to the intention of the fee - IMO)

 

[DavidnRobin]

Duplicate

 

[DavidnRobin]

I received clarification from the STJ Tax Assessors Office.
You can pay online and get credit towards next year, but you will need to call them after paying online to get the money credited towards next year.
Otherwise, pay by mail and include the waiver letter.
Hope this helps.

 

[Henry M.]

Bay Vista does not pay separate property taxes. In fact, owners get letters saying not to pay the taxes if they get a bill, because they are included in the maintenance fees.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Bay Vista does not pay separate property taxes. In fact, owners get letters saying not to pay the taxes if they get a bill, because they are included in the maintenance fees.

Good to know. I thought a BV owner said they were billed (previous thread) and I had thought that only VGV was billed separately.

I wonder how many BV owners send in payment? LOL
I assume CV and SB also have their taxes included in their property tax bill.
Recall - a few years ago - USVI tried to increase the bills by ~2.5x and they had to rescind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NNerland]

It depends on the villa and week.
We pay $156 per week for a June 2Bd TH (VGV).
And $175 per week as an ‘environmental fee’

MFs for 2019 have not been disseminated yet. It will be interesting to see what the MFs are.
I see from some HOA newsletters that talk of rebuilding replacement reserves - to me that translates to higher MFs.
We shall soon see.


NICK WROTE

I posted a letter from the Coral Vista Board -- they stated many positives for 2019. We have to remember that the units are back to Day 1 when it comes for what they need to reserve for due to the insurance replacement and the fact they budgeted for the Insurance Deductible. They do want to build the Deductible Pool back quickly and there will be a tremendous increase in Insurance Premiums. However, I believe in the short term (3-5 years) we won't see much in terms of dues increases. The reason being everything is NEW so replacement costs of so many things...including Mechanical (which is a big one) are kicked much further down the road.

Just wanted to pass that on as the letter that Coral Vista shared and I am sure BV and Hillside will send that out soon - the update.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Thanks. I saw the letter...
You expect them to be negative?
Replacing Replacement Reserves equals increasing fees (or eliminate service). What is other choice?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cubigbird]

Thanks. I saw the letter...
You expect them to be negative?
Replacing Replacement Reserves equals increasing fees (or eliminate service). What is other choice?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MFs at WSJ are already very high. How much can you raise them so that owners don’t start walking???

 

[DavidnRobin]

MFs at WSJ are already very high. How much can you raise them so that owners don’t start walking???

WSJ-VGV has coverage for the Hurricane Deduction at least.
There are Owners already walking - even before Irma


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[okwiater]

At least one of the HOA letters (I believe it was CV) suggested that MFs would be at or below pre-Irma levels. Although it’s true that they need to replenish the hurricane deductible reserve, there probably isn’t a need to fully fund the replacement reserves since insurance is paying for all the units and their furnishings to be brought back to new.

 

[SandyPGravel]

I did the same and left it under our villa I wish there was someplace we could rent to store items from year to year!! Like @slip does in Kauai- I hope someone was able to use it post Irma.
I am going to do same thing next year - $80 for a 2-person inflatable kayak - what a deal!

Little Lameshure Bay

We bring two 50# bags and a carry-on. Oddly, our bags make it the carousel before we do (on Alaska) coming and going. Not sure how we could get by with less - very impressive.

On Maui - there are now Lyft and Uber available.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where else did you paddle to? We put in at the head of Leinster bay trail out to Waterlemon by ourselves. And a second trip to Hurricane hole out to Princess bay to the mangroveswith our guests. We would have gone farther but the boat we rented for our traveling companions had a blown seam and by the time we got to Princess they were sitting in 4 inches of water(clear bottom inflatable). I don't think we'll be doing much paddling in 2019. Only staying a week and this will be the first trip for our guests. We have secured an all day charter around the island with FlyAway Charters. I can't wait to see the parts of the island I haven't been able to before. Any suggestions as to a must see? Leah from FlyAway said we can circumnavigate the entire island with several snorkel stops with an all day charter.

 

[SandyPGravel]

I received a PDF copy of the waiver letter today from Vistana. If anyone would like it, PM me with your info and I will forward it. Letter does not contain any personal info.

 

[TravelTime]

I am going to St John next week. Lucky me! I would like to check out the Westin St John but I know it is closed. Does anyone know if it is possible to visit the Westin St John grounds?

 

[tomandrobin]

I am going to St John next week. Lucky me! I would like to check out the Westin St John but I know it is closed. Does anyone know if it is possible to visit the Westin St John grounds?

no, but all beaches are public

 

[DavidnRobin]

no, but all beaches are public

Beaches are public but you cannot necessarily access them thru someone’s property - including WSJ.

My approach is that it can be simpler to ask forgiveness than permission. Especially with a laid back place as STJ. However, WSJ does have a Security Dept.

I would love to see pictures of B34 if you happen to drive up the hill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DavidnRobin]

Where else did you paddle to? We put in at the head of Leinster bay trail out to Waterlemon by ourselves. And a second trip to Hurricane hole out to Princess bay to the mangroveswith our guests. We would have gone farther but the boat we rented for our traveling companions had a blown seam and by the time we got to Princess they were sitting in 4 inches of water(clear bottom inflatable). I don't think we'll be doing much paddling in 2019. Only staying a week and this will be the first trip for our guests. We have secured an all day charter around the island with FlyAway Charters. I can't wait to see the parts of the island I haven't been able to before. Any suggestions as to a must see? Leah from FlyAway said we can circumnavigate the entire island with several snorkel stops with an all day charter.

We have done the circumnavigate STJ with Island Roots. They have permit for Hurricane Hole, but not sure post-Irma that it would be good to snorkel there, but interesting to see. Lots of sailboats ended up on mangroves and were just removed.

Otherwise - really weather/sea dependent. The island off of STJ (Flanagan’s?) was really cool, but can be rough.

Spot off Marys Point - but sea dependent.

Reef Bay if possible - there are some large Eagle Rats there.

Off of Blue-cobblestone beach/Booby Rock

We did a trip around STT with Island Roots as well - STJ is better.

If you are a fan of Survivor - Captain Jason Siska (Island Roots) was on Survivor around 2008. Great guy. He is also part of STJ Fire&Rescue, and great teacher for novice snorkelers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TravelTime]

Beaches are public but you cannot necessarily access them thru someone’s property - including WSJ.

My approach is that it can be simpler to ask forgiveness than permission. Especially with a laid back place as STJ. However, WSJ does have a Security Dept.

I would love to see pictures of B34 if you happen to drive up the hill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If I can get in, I will take photos!

 

[cubigbird]

Looks like the occupancy taxes in USVI are set to increase significantly. Has anyone seen this??

https://viconsortium.com/news-2/map...s-to-raise-occupancy-tax-by-up-to-20-percent/

 

[TravelTime]

Looks like the occupancy taxes in USVI are set to increase significantly. Has anyone seen this??

https://viconsortium.com/news-2/map...s-to-raise-occupancy-tax-by-up-to-20-percent/

This is a bummer for timeshare owners and regular visitors to the Virgin Islands. On the other hand, most tourists who visit occasionally will not care or be aware of the increase. Since it will supposedly help the resorts to rebuild more quickly, it might offset a maintenance fee increase, assuming it is implemented correctly. I am always skeptical when governments get involved.

 

[cubigbird]

This is a bummer for timeshare owners and regular visitors to the Virgin Islands. On the other hand, most tourists who visit occasionally will not care or be aware of the increase. Since it will supposedly help the resorts to rebuild more quickly, it might offset a maintenance fee increase, assuming it is implemented correctly. I am always skeptical when governments get involved.

Isn't that is what insurance is for and the MFs should reflect reserves to cover the deductibles?? I see this "tax" as unnecessary and more of a scheme to pad more profits for the hotel. There is no way that any of this will trickle down to MFs and result in lower fees. An increase of taxes has never lead to prosperity!! Taxes and nightly fees are already high in USVI. MFs in USVI are already some of the highest in the entire world. At what point do tourists just travel to cheaper locations? Today's tourist is a price shopper. Let's attract tourists by raising taxes!!

 

[dioxide45]

This is a bummer for timeshare owners and regular visitors to the Virgin Islands. On the other hand, most tourists who visit occasionally will not care or be aware of the increase. Since it will supposedly help the resorts to rebuild more quickly, it might offset a maintenance fee increase, assuming it is implemented correctly. I am always skeptical when governments get involved.

Isn't that is what insurance is for and the MFs should reflect reserves to cover the deductibles?? I see this "tax" as unnecessary and more of a scheme to pad more profits for the hotel. There is no way that any of this will trickle down to MFs and result in lower fees. An increase of taxes has never lead to prosperity!! Taxes and nightly fees are already high in USVI. MFs in USVI are already some of the highest in the entire world. At what point do tourists just travel to cheaper locations? Today's tourist is a price shopper. Let's attract tourists by raising taxes!!

It looks like this increase in tax would only impact cash based rentals. Like renting through Marriott.com. The USVI already has an additional environmental levy that applies to timeshare stays. That said, it seems that based on the article, they can charge the additional tax, simply because they can. They claim to already have high occupancy rates compared to their neighboring islands that actually already have lower occupancy taxes.

 

[steve1000]

I am a Bay Vista owner and received a notice of a Board of Directors meeting scheduled for November 9. One of the new business agenda items is "Due Date for 2019 Assessments". I don't know if this relates to a special assessment or if it relates to our annual maintenance fees. I have not heard anything about a special assessment so I think it refers to the annual maintenance fees but I would think the deadline for payment of the 2019 maintenance fees would be routine. So I am somewhat puzzled.