Diamond Resorts raises maintenance fees again!

I just got my 2012 maintenance fee bill. It increased 14.5% over last year. Since DRI took over ILX in 2009 my maintenance fees have risen by 41%! This should be criminal. They won't even take it back and if I don't pay they will ruin my credit rating. The fees have risen to the point where it is a losing deal. I could rent a week for less than the maintenance fees. What a terrible and frustrating situation.

Bob

Bob, It is my belief that the time share industry, one of the most egregious being DRI, is milking time share owners using maintenance fees to do it. I don't know whether it was precalculated or stumbled upon, but it appears that the way time share bylaws are drawn up, the managing company always gets its way. You, or some sucker who purchases your time share will pay what they demand in maintenance fees or they set the collection agency on you. I believe this to be nothing more than legalized EXTORTION! I bought a lock out (2 attached sleeps 6 units) at Powhatan Plantation Resorts in 1992 when it was opening and never switched to points. I still have a deeded week. Since then, it was bought out by Sunterra, and then by Diamond Resorts. My maintenance fees have risen an average of 7.5% per yr whereas the average cost of living has only gone up an aveage of 2.5% over that same period. I've been able to reconstruct most of my time share maintenance/refurbishment history for the resort. Year Amt 1992 328 1993 345 1995 345 1996 345 1997 385 1998 ? 1999 406.25 2000 409.25 2001 ? 2002 539.85 2003 614.85 2004 ? 2005 842 2006 608 2007 838.25 2008 930 2009 1161.64 2010 1215.08 2011 1215 2012 1233

In the latest budget, nearly 20% of my maintenance cost and a total for the resort of over $3M went to "Resort Management". I am currently taking them to task to break down these costs for me in order to identify what percentage is being pulled away as profits. I am trying to gather more facts and figures before presenting it to the Virginia Attorney General and my Congressmen. I also want to get a copy of the covenants, bylaws, and any other governing documents.

Are you on the point system or have a deeded week? How many points do you have or is it deeded. If deeded what is its point equivalency? Can you provide me a history of what you paid for it and a history of your maintenance/ refurbishment costs?

Besides taking political/Attorney General action, I also want to use this data to expose DRI on the Web with as much concrete information as I can collect as well as use it to sit outside their Williamsburg sales office and alert potential customers of their pending costs as well as the great discounts they can get by buying in the secondary market.

DRI really angered a sleeping giant when in April, when I called, they told me they would take back the property and that I had until November to execute the Quite Deed to make it happen. When I called in September, they told me they stopped taking back property in July. Had I known there was the faintest chance that could happen, I would have executed the Quit Deed in April.

Have a wonderful Christmas season, my friend.

Bill

Extortion is right. Pay up or they will ruin your credit rating.

Here is how my maintenance fees have grown: 2009 $635 2010 $788 2011 $782 2012 $896

In 2009 we paid $14,200 for a deeded silver membership with ILX Resorts. DRI took over in 2010. In January 2011 our membership was changed to a points-based system. So what happened to the deed recorded in Coconino County, AZ?

I just checked getaways at Interval International and I find a week at Los Abrigados in Sedona, our home resort, for $729. Others in Sedona are found as low as $227. So the maintenance fee has far surpassed the value of the accommodations.

I didn't think they were still selling deeded timeshares at Los Abrigados in 2009. They tried to convert me to their point-based "premiere vacation club" many times before then (I never went for it). This past visit DRI tried to get me to convert my deeded TS to their points system for $8000 (for the least amt of points they would do). I said no thanks. I already has paid $10,900 in 1993 for something I can't even give away, so why get in any deeper.

These people are nothing short of crooks. We can all thank the corrupt Republican Arizona legislators, who are completely owned by the developers, for making sure there is no protection for gullible citizens from these scammers, and no limit on how much the scammers can bleed us.

One solution I am thinking of: find some homeless person who does not care about their credit rating and pay them $50 to accept transfer of ownership of my TS.

i have worked in the industry for 3 years and that's crazy. at the resorts i worked at the homeowners assoc. not the developer collects and spends the maint. money. the developer just sells the product, so you need to talk to the homeowners are doing stuff correct. the homeowners aren't allowed to make a profit. so if they went up expenses went up. how that much??????????? look into it.

chris: you should know that many developers maintain ownership of enough of the deeded units to easily keep a controlling plurality of votes in their homeowners' associations. Individual owners have no practical way to get in touch with each other to even try to exercise any control over the developers.

TS developers are criminals plain and simple.

all i know is that they are always trying to sell the units. they don't want to pay maint, on any units. if what your saying is true, then i wonder how many units they need for a controlling interest. i know they can't make a profit, but i guess any resort can hide money someway. did you think about just giving it back or not paying, i don't know there policy if they lien your home or it will affect your credit. there are companies that will take it for free, and then you'll get out of maint forever. you must way it. 10 years x 1200 year is $12,000.

do you have a week ( fixed or floating ) either way they are very hard to sell. i'm not telling you to convert but eceryone wants points. the weeks owners are like having a black and white tv. the points are like the colored tv. i would look on google and see if what company will take it for free. there are alot of them. trying to sell weeks, especially fixed for a certain week is impossible to sell unless you find someone that wants to go away that week forever in that size unit. if you have a floating it will be easier, but still hard. i had marriott and disney and sold mine for 80% of purchase price. it sounds like i got extremely lucky, but that was in 2002 and 2003. good luck. hope you resolve your issue.

Bob & Bill, We are in the same boat. I will try to pull together some information. We have owned since 1998 with a fixed week at Greensprings Resort. Converted over to point in 2005... I think.

I wish/hope we can do something about this.

Will be in touch. Frustrated in Maryland

For all, I am about to park my car twice a week along an entrance road to DRI's Sales Office for the Greenspring Resort. Right now, the draft 40"x60" sign mounted on my car rack currently reads:

B E W A R E I would NEVER BUY TIMESHARE FROM DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL!

LISTEN 90 MINUTES, STOP, DEMAND YOUR GIFT, & RUN

- Diamond Resorts Intl(DRI) Internet Complaints Abound - DRI is not accredited by Better Business Bureau - 60% of HOA Board of Directors are Paid DRI Employees* - Annual Maintenance Fee for Lock Out unit is $1233* - Annual Maintenance Fee increased 32.6% since 2007* - DRI says one thing, does another * I own at the Historic Powhatan Resort

I can back up each of these facts. Any changes, additions, or improvements are welcome. I am also anxious to hear detailed stories from those who are enslaved by the point system of the DRI "Club".

Bill

The only thing I would suggest is that you make a video and post it on Youtube.

i have read the complaints here and i also have a timeshare in maui and kaanapali and i am paying 1233 also and i have two weeks. i want to know what our options are as it is out of control and i spend more on my maintenance fees that i did for the property

if you are paying $1233 for two weeks in Hawaii you are doing very well. I would not complain unless you have a very bare bone property. Many pay in excess of $1,000 in maintenance fees for one week.

Also, if you are paying more in maintenance fees than what you paid for the property, that is not unusual if you bought resale. You are doing fine. If you were to go with the gentleman who brings up all of those options his company offers according to him, you would more than likely be buying from the developer and thus, pay significantly more for those "benefits". Avoid them.

i am paying that per week and it is out of control. look at the postings. it is very hard to even rent these things to cover your fees. i have a floating ocean view for 2 weeks a year. i need to understand what the price per week that is reasonable and wel received.

IN RESPONSE TO YOUR SALES PITCH PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH: I'm in the business and they are all not like this. you should try to rent it out through redweek and use that money to pay maintenance or stop paying for it. RESPONSE: I've had my unit advertised for 4 months now for less than my maintenace...no takers. I've also tried to give my time share(s) away using full disclosure of how maintenance costs have increased to where they are today...also no takers.

they will take it back eventually. timeshare are great if you have the right product. RESPONSE: You can take this route if you want to be hammered by collection agencies and lose your credit rating.

example: my company- if you don't use the points you have the option of to put them in a special account and they never expire, they can be used for gift cards to every major store. so if you want to buy a computer you can, food you can, home depot shoppping. we also can convert your into our points so you can use them just like our ownership, but of course you have to own with us. RESPONSE: As I recall the sales pitch, I would be required to spend quite a bit of money for this privilige.

hate to say it but you need to walk away from it or combine it with a company that can help you use it better. RESPONSE: Gimmicks are everywhere. Anything for a buck! I've been listening to time share presentations since the late 80s. I generally go anymore just to see what new gimmick/approach they've come up with.

that's your choices. don't pay a resale company any money upfront. you can give it to someone for free but who what's those high main. fee's. RESPONSE: As I've said before, you have got to be a real low life to unload your albatross on some unsuspecting smuck. I will reserve comment on those who actually sell this ______.

the guy with the posting is incorrect. if they are so bad, why would he tell people to sit for 90 minutes, take the gift, and leave. RESPONSE: The sign is meant for those who have already paid their $25 deposit and are potential lambs to the slaugher.

that's the problem, do you know who pays for the gift? you do! its's a cost of doing business. RESPONSE: Correction: The business does and they offset their expenses, potentially through our maintenance costs.

i have had heard of owners that pay 8,000 in main fee's and offset them by 10 different options and don't pay one penny a year. RESPONSE: I hear that same case time after time when I've attended time share presentations. Must be careful to consider the source.

to long to go over but you have to know how to use your program, have a good program, work with your rep, and it works out fine. 2,466 a year x 10 years is 24660 if they don't go up. your looking at 30,000 how they have increased in the past. walk away or combine it to elliminate it, hope i helped. RESPONSE: As before, consider the source.

taking a tour for a gift , to get even with the company is crazy, not all reps are bad. think about it, if a person came in just for a gift to see you ( make no money for your family )or you could of been helping someone that was interested ( and had a chance of making money for your family ) which one would you chose? that is why some reps are bad, they get even with people like that, they'll say anything because you are wasting there time.if they need the gift that bad they shouldn't be on vacation, they should be home saving money to pay bills. he wants to take advantage of reps and the company, and then complains becaus ethey took advantage of him. its a two way street. treat people like you want to be treated. hope i helped. RESPONSE: Its all a cost benefit trade off. Is 90 minutes worth 90 minutes (more often 2 or more hours), of a couples time and the chance they may actually "take advantage of this one time offer"? My recommended response is ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Would someone please post their history of annual costs for joining and then being a member of the DRI Club, the longer they've been a member, the better?

william, i just re-read your posting. you have been doing timeshares tours from the 1980's, there is gimmeck for anything and anything for a buck, that's exactly the problem. why do you need the buck so bad. your complaining and complaining and have been doing tours for 30 years???????????? after all that time, you don't know how timeshare works? or you do know and put up with it for a gift. that's nuts. i had some compassion for you and wanted to help, but your an expert in duing tours. i know of 10 companies that take it for free but i am ethcal and won't do it because i work for a company that sells them. by the way, its not my albatross - its your. right about offsetting gifts with your maint cost. stop doing tours and reciving gifts! owners do 67% of tour, so they can complain all they want but still come in for the gift, GREED! tour are greedy and that is why they come in. if you don't reccommend people taking 90 minutes like you posted, why have you done it since the 80"s. this is the bottom line.

there are alot of companies that take timeshare for free and for a cost. you don't want it - sell it, give it back, don't pay,rent it, give to charity- look at the cost to keep it and i'm not a layer but i think it automatically goes to your kids becasue it is real estate when you die , so they own it and must apy the maint. you are part of the problem, don't take tours and make peoples maint go up , then compalin about maint going up. go on a tour and tell the rep your here to find out about your program, if there are things i like- i will upgrade, if there are things i don't like- i will not upgrade. i can make a choice today but i don't know what it will be till i hear all the information. can we please keep this to 60-90 minutes, btu i will stay longer if it sounds good. that's it- respect for each other! enjoy your vacation! don't put yourself through it if you don't like it. reps only want to see people that are interested, not muchers, so if you get a bad rep you won't like your tour because you are wasting his time and can't make money to support his family, reverse roles!

Look, DRI and their ilk are just thieves. Period. I'm paying $870 for one (floating) week at a property which has not been updated in years. This works out to just under $125/night to stay someplace where they only make up the room and replace the soap every 3 days, where there is no free coffee or breakfast, where half the TV's are those old CRT jobs, and where the WiFi is next to useless unless you are in the lobby.

For the same rate per night I could stay in several nice hotels where my room would be made up every night, the WiFi works, and I get a very decent free breakfast. Not only that but they wouldn't have $11,000 1993 dollars of mine in their pockets.

Accept that you were a huge sucker and got ripped off, and thank your Republican representatives for being good whores and making sure that there was no regulatory oversight of unscrupulous resort developers which could have made it more difficult for them to swindle naive and trusting folks like us.

Finally, a word to some of the more recent posters on this topic: Please learn to use at least 3rd grade English. Not only is your spelling and grammar awful, but it is often impossible to determine what you are trying to say. I'm sure there must be some remedial classes at your local community college -- that is unless your Republican representatives have made sure that the funding for such programs was cut.

there are also companies in florida that monitor this site and attempt to contact you and tell you they can sell your timeshare for almost what you pay. it is pathetic. there is no answer on this site that provides a reasonable out for those of us stuck with diamond resorts. as i said earlier i am paying now 2500 for two weeks in kaanapali resort and i would caution anyone from ever buying a timeshare as there is no end to the increases you will incur on maintenance fees. it is obviously a scam and if someone on this site has any reasonable option for dispersing their timeshare, please do share as i haven't read anything remotely helpful on this thread.

I agree about buying a Time Share. However, I have found a few ways of reducing some of my costs. Some years, I use my points to defray most of my maintenance costs. This year, I used them to get a plane ticket across country to visit my family. I have also had success in renting one time share through this website. Nevertheless, now that I am older and cannot use it anymore, this is a hassle!