Special assessments

Can anyone tell me how long I can legally be saddled with special assessement fees? We purchased two fixed weeks at a Wyndham property in July 2002 and have been assessed $275 per unit every year along with the yearly Maintenance fees. Is there a way to stop the bleed?

larry444 wrote:

Can anyone tell me how long I can legally be saddled with special assessement fees? We purchased two fixed weeks at a Wyndham property in July 2002 and have been assessed $275 per unit every year along with the yearly Maintenance fees. Is there a way to stop the bleed?

Are you certain that these are indeed "special assessments" and not finance charges (or an amortized "conversion fee" to allow your fixed weeks to also have an assigned Wyndham points value?) Ten straight years of annual special assessments is VERY unusual (unheard of, in fact, at least in my own experience). While your special assessment amount is quite small (...by customary special assessment standards anyhow), nearly ten straight years of SA's seems absolutely NUTS.

Have you ever had any conversation with (or requested or received any explanatory information from) the management entity for your particular Wyndham facility? Some Wyndham entities have an entirely separate owners' association (i.e., one which is NOT Wyndham itself). Wyndham Sea Gardens comes to mind as one such example.

If yours is a coastal FL, hurricane prone Wyndham facility (Wyndham Santa Barbara, at Pompano Beach, for one specific example) which has been trashed by hurricanes in the past and was slow to rebuild, recurring SA's MIGHT make some sense, but I have STILL never before even HEARD of nearly a DECADE of annual special assessments in ANY situation...

You won't likely get a well informed answer here in these forums, particularly since the specific resort at issue is unidentified; I'd be looking elsewhere for an explanation. Whoever sends you this annual special assessment bill (presumably a POA or management entity besides Wyndham), is the one and only entity you need to tirelessly interrogate on this matter for a full and detailed explanation. An annual special assessment imposed every year for a full decade is just plain NUTS --- no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Please let us know what you learn.

"Can anyone tell me how long I can legally be saddled with special assessement fees?"

I agree with Ken's comments suggesting you may have mischaracterized what you are calling a special assessment fee but I thought I would add a footnote that addresses your initial question.

One who purchases a deeded timeshare purchases the property subject to a declaration filed in the county deed records by the developer prior to the sell of the first unit. Few, if any, potential timeshare purchasers are provided a copy of this declaration during the timeshare sales presentation and few buyers bother to access a copy but be very aware that the terms set out in this declaration set out your legal obligations. This declaration allows the directors (initially named by the developer) to set the annual maintenance fee along with any special assessment fees that they determine are necessary.

Most declarations I have read require the HOA (directors) to maintain adequate reserves to properly maintain the property and to cover unforeseen contingencies. These reserves (an accounting term) are analoguous to the depreciation reserves that a business maintains in the ordinary course of business. There should never ever be a need for a special assessment if the reserves are properly funded from day one. Unfortunately, most developers keep the annual maintenance fees low initially to promote the sell of the timeshares and fail to properly include an amount in the maintenance fee to adequately fund the reserves. This practice results in underfunded reserves and leads to special assessments in later years.

Yes, you are legally "saddled" with the special assessment fees and have little recourse other than paying the fees or selling your timeshare. Failure to pay will lead to a foreclosure and a ding on your credit score. Your rather limited legal recourse would be a suit against the directors alleging they breached their fiduciary responsibility to the owners by failing to maintain a proper reserve. Most directors carry liability insurance to protect themselves but as a practical matter the likelihood of your winning such a suit are slight. I suggest you pay the fees or sell the timeshare.

Thank you for the information. Yes these are indeed special assessments and nothing else, spelled out clearly in the letters apolozing for once again requesting more money to complete repairs to the property. The repairs are just normal wear and tear over the years. Also only fix week owmer are paying. The special assessment are only to help pay off loans made against the property. Yet they rent units, own a golf course and a country club used by people in the area of the resort.

Thanks Ken These are indeed special assessment spelled out clearly in the correspondence from the resort. I am trying to get information from the resort, not reaching a actual person leaving voice mail for a return call. The resort is Fairfield Plantation .

Can you tell me what section of resort you own at? I am looking at buying a converted fixed week at the lake Tara townhouses III, 126k points, from eBay. The fees listed are $45 monthly, which was verified via the estoppel letter I saw from seller. But I am leery that this is not entirely accurate, and seeing your post on special assessments makes me wonder. Do these SA's get billed separately from maintenance fees? If so, I don't think the estoppel letter would indicate anything about SA's. Thanks! -Alisha