Update from WSJ-VG HOA BOD
March 29, 2013
Dear Fellow Virgin Grand Villas Owner:
We recently returned from the March 2013 Annual Association Meeting and Board Meeting of our timeshare condominium owners association (which lasted for six hours in the usual windowless conference room), and we are writing to report to you on developments relating to our property.
Resort kudos
One piece of excellent news is that The Westin St. John’s rating on tripadvisor.com has gone up from 3.5 stars to 4 stars, likely reflecting the many improvements in the resort. Also, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) members voted our resort the best beach resort in the system. In addition, SPG periodically sends its Gold and Platinum members a “thank you” card that they can hand out to employees who are doing a particularly good job; these cards are worth 500 StarPoints to any owner who submits one. We gave out more of these cards than owners at any of the other resorts, and more individual staff members received them than at any of the other resorts – a reflection of the excellent service we have been receiving.
Recent improvements
These are among the recent improvements to our property that were reported at the meeting:
- Much improved internet bandwidth, from 1.5 to 30 megabits per second
- Improved television signal quality
- 70 new beach chairs, 26 new beach umbrellas, and replacements for all of the pool and beach floats
- Trees are about to be trimmed to improve views from the hillside villas
- Continued installation of photo-voltaic cells to keep our electricity bill down
Keeping energy costs down:
Let us focus for a moment on the cost of electricity, as this is the most troublesome, though in some ways the most controllable, of our operating costs. The cost is a combination of two factors: how much electricity we consume, and what we pay per kilowatt hour. Consumption has declined substantially in recent years, from an average of 93 kWh per occupied room in the years before the recent refurbishment of the resort to a forecasted 65 kWh per occupied room this year. This has been made possible through changes in our air conditioning, hot water, and lighting systems, and as a result of better insulated doors and windows.
The next step in reducing consumption is up to us owners. We can significantly reduce costs, and therefore avoid higher than necessary maintenance fee increases, by turning off lights and televisions, and turning up the thermostat to reduce the air conditioning, whenever we leave the unit to go to the beach or pool. In addition, during months when the night temperature is not very high, it is possible to sleep with the patio door screened rather than closed and the fan operating.
Although consumption has decreased substantially, the cost per kWh purchased from the electric company is constantly increasing, from 31 cents per kWh in 2010 to about 50 cents now, and it is likely to go higher. Therefore, as you know, we have been installing photo-voltaic cells where possible, which pay for themselves in 7 to 8 years at present electric rates, and in shorter periods of time as cell prices continue to fall and electric rates continue to rise. There are photo-voltaic arrays on the flat portions of the roofs of buildings 41, 43, and 44, and building 42 will get them within the coming months. In the next phase, we will install an array of photo-voltaic cells behind building 32; these will have motors to keep them pointing toward the sun as the earth rotates. We are also exploring other alternative energy sources, as we do not have room for enough photo-voltaic cells to meet all of the needs of Virgin Grand.
Delinquencies
Collection of maintenance fees is running at about the same rate as in recent years, and we continue to have to make up shortfalls for approximately 5% of owners who do not pay their maintenance fees and are consequently barred from using their units. We also are moving as quickly as is legally possible to foreclose on the units of seriously delinquent owners so that their units can be re-sold and produce revenue for the association.
Bargain sale of association-owned units coming soon!
Some owners who were delinquent have turned their deeds over to the association to avoid a foreclosure lawsuit. As a result, the association currently owns 54 unit weeks. You may recall that we conducted a bargain sale to existing owners of association-owned weeks. We are going to do it again.
Watch your incoming email for a notice in May or June; we will be selling some weeks for as low as $500 (for a studio) to $7000 (for a pool villa) in low season, or somewhat more in high season (and the association will pay any real estate taxes that were billed before the closing date which remain unpaid). Particularly, if you already own a week adjacent to one that is placed for sale, you may be able to benefit from this sale and have a longer stay in St. John each year without spending more for air fare. This is a win-win opportunity: Virgin Grand owners will be able to buy additional weeks at very deep discounts, and the association will receive annual maintenance fees from the buyers of units that at present do not produce revenue, which causes existing owners to have to pay more toward the association’s fixed expenses.
Real estate taxes
Tax bills for 2011 will be going out very soon, if they haven’t been sent already. Tax bills for 2012 are expected this summer. We understand that the assessments for 2012 will be based on full value rather than 60% of value, so expect a substantial tax increase. There is nothing we can do about this, we are sorry to say.
Owner exchange, rental and sale bulletin board
As you know, we have been working with a website development company to develop an online bulletin board through which owners could offer their units for sale, rent, or exchange to other Virgin Grand owners, list weeks that they want to rent or buy, and list their contact information in a constantly updated owner directory. This project has been progressing at a much slower pace than we expected, but the site is almost ready for beta testing (the two of us will be among the testers), and after testing it will be ready for use. It is frustrating that this has taken so long, but we hope to have it “live” within a few more months.
Special rental offer
As we mentioned in a previous report, Virgin Grand Owners can rent villas by the day, at a substantially discounted rate, at westinresortstjohn.com/vg-owners. This presents an opportunity to extend your stay at the resort by a few days, if a unit (such as a unit that is developer-owned, or one for which use had been denied to a delinquent owner) is available. Since air fares are usually lower on Tuesdays (particularly) and other weekdays, compared to weekends, you may be able to get a few extra days in St. John without paying much more, by renting through this offer and flying on a day with less air traffic.
Upstairs in buildings 41 and 42
Some owners in buildings 41 and 42 have asked that a wall be installed to turn the large room upstairs, which currently can be divided by sliding partition boards, into two rooms, each of which would offer privacy. According to the legal advice we have received, the association’s governing documents prohibit this unless all of the owners of the 52 weeks in a particular unit (such as 4210) agree. The Board requested Management to try to poll the owners of those weeks to determine whether, for any such unit, all the owners agree. If they do, a permanent wall will be installed; the cost to the association is minimal, and such a wall is already provided for in the reserve budget in the event that the pertinent owners ever agree to this change.
Term limits for owner-elected directors
An owner suggested that the By-laws be amended to impose term limits on owner-elected directors (except directors elected before such amendment). The Board will consider this suggestion in the near future.
Election of board member
The three-year term of one of us (Philip Schrag) expired at this meeting, but was extended through re-election by the non-developer membership to another three-year term.
Sincerely,
Your owner-elected directors,
Philip G. Schrag
phil.schrag@gmail.com
Bob Werbel
robert.werbel@yahoo.com
). I know a Tugger that just purchased one on the list (offered 40% less). I haven't been to Islandia site for a while, but quite informative. Majority of these are way over-priced compared to the resales that I am aware of.
