Here we go again!

[harveyhaddixfan]

At Beachwoods in NC, the MF were approx $625 in 2014 before Gold Key took over. Then $725 ish the first year under them. After DRI took over, they jumped to $820 for 2016.

Well, Just got the HOA voting info in the mail today. Blah, blah, blah. They are raising them another 10% to $908.25. Surprise surprise.

They are saying there is a 25% delinquency or about $750k. There are 4386 intervals, with about 40-50% belonging to DRI. So that means close to half of the deeded owners aren't paying? I find that hard to believe. Even if we count it as a whole, 25% is 1096 weeks. At $820 a week, that's $899k. The math isn't adding up. A salesman must have written this letter.

Not sure what I'm going to do with this week.

 

[harveyhaddixfan]

Here's the letter that came with it.

 

[Ty1on]

Wait, are they installing the exhaust hood in the snack bar on the owners' dime? Do proceeds from the snack bar go to the association?

 

[harveyhaddixfan]

That's what it sounds like. And I'm sure it won't be cheap and nothing will come back to owners.

Also trying to figure out what the $167k in "other income" really is. I'm sure it's not the $25 a day resort fee from RCI exchanges. And if it's from rentals, that's all you got on over 1,000 rooms from the delinquent owners?

They'll probably take out the "developer subsidy" and jack us up another $150+ next year.

It's nearing the "too much for what you get" area. I've got a 2BR lockout so $454 per unit isn't too bad. I'm still po'd about them charging the daily fee to owners that exchange back in. Kinda defeats the purpose of being in RCI points.

 

[bizaro86]

Largest item is corporate overhead allocation

AKA money that goes directly to Diamond, over and above their management fee, that has no relationship to the resort

Second biggest expense is the managent fee. The combination of the two is 10x the allocation to reserves.

Given that bad debt expense isn't actual money out, about a third of the spending goes directly to Diamond

 

[RLS50]

I spoke with a real estate agent about a year ago, before Diamond really took over. When Gold Key bought Barrier Island Station, the property was in pretty rough shape. The number Gold Key found (according to the agent) was that almost 50% of the non-prime weeks were in delinquency when this was Barrier Island Station - Kitty Hawk (this agent owned a lot of units and does a lot of rentals there). So that 25% number that is listed in the letter might not be total hogwash.

However, it is kind of hard to believe that the HOA really had to "eat" all those fees and were not able to mitigate a larger portion of that total.

***********************

We know DRI is jamming us with Management fees and overhead because that's what they do. I just wish they would actually manage their properties better since they charge one of the highest management fee rates in the industry.

One common complaint in many reviews at all the former Gold Key (now DRI managed) properites in Virginia Beach and Beachwoods, is how there seems to be a serious lack of attention to details. Housekeeping and cleaning services also seem really poor and details are missed frequently.

Managing a property well is all about attention to details.

***********************

Reserves are still way too low

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I am not in RCI points and not an RCI member, but the idea that they charge daily resort fees to RCI points members is obscene to me. That almost feels like theft. Many legacy owners previous to Gold Key and DRI were in RCI points. It could take over 13 months to extract themselves out of RCI points. DRI should never have implemented that policy from Day 1. They should have given owners a 16-24 month window to get out of points if they wanted.

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On the positive side, I do hope DRI cleans up the terrible WiFi infrastructure that Gold Key never addressed. So hopefully Beachwoods will at least now have WiFi that isn't from 1996.

 

[DanZale2000]

High fees plus poor service

We know DRI is jamming us with Management fees and overhead because that's what they do. I just wish they would actually manage their properties better since they charge one of the highest management fee rates in the industry.

This is a spot-on point! High fees plus poor service is surely one of the more troublesome and telling aspects of the company.

 

[tschwa2]

That's what it sounds like. And I'm sure it won't be cheap and nothing will come back to owners.

Also trying to figure out what the $167k in "other income" really is. I'm sure it's not the $25 a day resort fee from RCI exchanges. And if it's from rentals, that's all you got on over 1,000 rooms from the delinquent owners?

They'll probably take out the "developer subsidy" and jack us up another $150+ next year.

It's nearing the "too much for what you get" area. I've got a 2BR lockout so $454 per unit isn't too bad. I'm still po'd about them charging the daily fee to owners that exchange back in. Kinda defeats the purpose of being in RCI points.

It's not just RCI guests. They charge that for any non owner (or owner) staying for the week. So any guests that are staying on a DRI point reservation and any RCI point owner even staying in their deeded week.

Don't forget many units are lock offs so this may mean that they are collecting $50 per day for any locked off units deposited with RCI or rented out or gifted to family and friends.

The reserves still are at an very very low level compared to the other chains that have the "quality" that DRI demands of their resorts. That is another $50 or so that has got to go up in the next year or two.

 

[pjbrunner]

DRI jacked up maintenance fees at Flamingo Beach in St. Maarten

DRI did the same thing at Flamingo Beach at St. Maarten. For years maintenance fees for a studio were at $596. Then DRI stepped in and within three years the maintenance more than doubled. They justified the increases by upgrades. This included some newer small appliances and higher thread count sheets. Last year the MF were $1,354 and we called it quits.

I do believe part of their strategy is to force relinquishment of units so they have more inventory to sell. But one of the by-products is increased relinquishment and hence lower MF participation which puts further strain on the MF structure for the remaining owners. The single largest MF increase had been a totally new management fee of $300 per unit per year.

It is now cheaper to rent at Flamingo Beach than to own.

 

[ralphieo]

DRI JACKED up fees

Who are the Board of Directors do you know? I'd like to know as Frank Goecke Diamond VP seems to be on several boards and his first line of business is raise fees. His job is to make sure Diamond stock hits a 12% return. One board I know of has 3 of 5 board members that are Diamond employees, how the heck can you get a fair budget. RIGGED
Take a look at TimeSharing Today issue #144 Nov/Dec 2015.

 

[Kozman]

Taking advantage of the DRI deed back program in 2015 was one of the best moves I've ever made. I cut my expenses by $3000 per yer and rising.

 

[Ty1on]

20% of revenues are going to corporate overhead and management fees. That's more than bad debt.

 

[dominidude]

about a third of the spending goes directly to Diamond

WOW