$5,893.32 special assessment for Diamond's Point at Poipu

[petew Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petew]

7:00 P.M. October 20th

I believe the meeting is at 2pm

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I have an alternate plan which is not fully formulated yet, but which those involved might be able to work on.

First, it seems obvious that the way this is now being handled is contentious and has generated a considerable amount of ill will. You can tell by the way the plan is designed, with onerous penalties, that the powers that be anticipated opposition and dealt with that expectation with heavy-handedness.

Perhaps to the point that some owners now no longer want to be owners, regardless. Others will not want to pay this much and have a rehabbed old resort.

My plan: bulldoze the existing defective buildings and rebuild only as much resort as there are owners willing to pay. Those who stick it out and pay, get a brand new resort. Those who don't wanna pay, don't have to put up with a bunch of hatefulness.

Or, present various options, and let the owners decide.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I have an alternate plan which is not fully formulated yet, but which those involved might be able to work on.

First, it seems obvious that the way this is now being handled is contentious and has generated a considerable amount of ill will. You can tell by the way the plan is designed, with onerous penalties, that the powers that be anticipated opposition and dealt with that expectation with heavy-handedness.

Perhaps to the point that some owners now no longer want to be owners, regardless. Others will not want to pay this much and have a rehabbed old resort.

My plan: bulldoze the existing defective buildings and rebuild only as much resort as there are owners willing to pay. Those who stick it out and pay, get a brand new resort. Those who don't wanna pay, don't have to put up with a bunch of hatefulness.

Or, present various options, and let the owners decide.

I came back to add that we own six weeks. If we were presented with this predicament on any of them, and we had the option to pay to build a new resort, we would walk on all six of them. If we were being asked to rehab any of our resorts for $5800 per owned week, we would walk on all of them.

[rondiware Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rondiware]

Meeting

Thank you for attending and sharing the information. Looking forward to what you have learned.

[fivehorizons Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fivehorizons]

Sadly, I am a new (few months old) owner at The Point at Poipu.

Just got my $3,200 bill that is now due Jan 1st 2012. When I got this deed a few months ago, I was thinking "What a great deal for a yearly ocean view floating week 2br unit". I feel violated to some extent, and I also feel sick...

Not only do I get to pay an extra $2,000 (on top of the normal yearly fees) for the next 3 years due to this SA, I also get to enjoy the peaceful ambiance of major construction work around the resort during our stay! I have a fear that I am going to pay this extortion money, and chances are that this place is going to be closed in a few years.

FF

I feel the same way. We've owned here for quite some time and went on another "update tour" in July. We hadn't been to an "informational session" in quite some time and decided to hear what they had to say and pick up some Ohana Bucks in the process. They never mentioned anything to us about this upcoming assessment. They tried to sell us an additional week of course, but we already have more than enough points. We are booked to go back in May, but now I have no desire to go and listen to construction all day...the whole purpose of escaping to Kauai is to relax and detach from my crazy, loud life.
At this point we're looking to dump the timeshare. We paid it off 10 years ago. We've travelled all over the world with it (and bought additional points at Lake Tahoe.) I've more than recouped on my original investment. I've always been a big time-share advocate. So much so that several members of my famliy have also bought it. Now I just feel like a chump. Our bill is $4000. We just priced a trip out. We can fly our famliy of four from LAX to Lihue on Hawaiian Air, stay in the large condos next to the Hyatt for 10 nights, get a full size rental car AND two massages/dinner at Tidepools for under $4000... Right now the airfare alone is booking for $800 a person! Do the math. The timeshare is actually costing me WAY more money than a package deal would cost-and I own it in full. I'm livid.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I feel the same way. We've owned here for quite some time and went on another "update tour" in July. We hadn't been to an "informational session" in quite some time and decided to hear what they had to say and pick up some Ohana Bucks in the process. They never mentioned anything to us about this upcoming assessment. They tried to sell us an additional week of course, but we already have more than enough points. We are booked to go back in May, but now I have no desire to go and listen to construction all day...the whole purpose of escaping to Kauai is to relax and detach from my crazy, loud life.
At this point we're looking to dump the timeshare. We paid it off 10 years ago. We've travelled all over the world with it (and bought additional points at Lake Tahoe.) I've more than recouped on my original investment. I've always been a big time-share advocate. So much so that several members of my famliy have also bought it. Now I just feel like a chump. Our bill is $4000. We just priced a trip out. We can fly our famliy of four from LAX to Lihue on Hawaiian Air, stay in the large condos next to the Hyatt for 10 nights, get a full size rental car AND two massages/dinner at Tidepools for under $4000... Right now the airfare alone is booking for $800 a person! Do the math. The timeshare is actually costing me WAY more money than a package deal would cost-and I own it in full. I'm livid.

As an owner, what do you think of the idea I suggested above? Post #152.

[nlions Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close nlions]

When you visit a Diamond sales office, be ready to bend over.

Its an incredible "water intrusion assessment" that varies by points held. 3500 points have the pleasure being gouged $594 up to 51000 point holders getting Diamond Resorts 2012 gift of a bill for $8700. As a Diamond customer I plan on spending quite a bit of my time making certain anyone considering buying from Diamond understand how they feel they have the right to increase assessments at whatever rate they like. In my case, our annual assessment is doubled.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

How are you newbies finding this thread?

Search engine?

[waimea'smom Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waimea'smom]

Notes from today's Irvine meeting

How are you newbies finding this thread?

Search engine?

Yes, through Google.



I attended the meeting today and just a couple of quick notes I have.
1) The insurance claim was supposedly denied for three exclusions (construction defect/faulty workmanship exclusion, gradual deterioration/wear and tear exclusion, and dry rot exclusion).
2) The Board decided it was not worth it to sue, and claimed that no competent plaintiffs attorney would do so on a contingency basis.
3) They claimed it would cost 2x this amount to demolish and rebuild the units.
4) They claimed that it was a chemical reaction from the pressure treated wood, salt in the air/sea water, and non stainless steel materials that has led to the corrosion of the nails/connectors.
5) Our reserve fund paid out about 1.8 million dollars to analysts/attorneys in assessing the situation and we currently have only about 2 million in the reserve fund.
6) The schedule of work is as follows: 2012 - building 4; 2013 - building 6, then 2; 2014 - building 3, then 8; 2015 - building 9, then 5; 2016 - building 7, then 1; 2017 - building 10, then Lobby, then shop = only one building will be out of service at a time. If you own a fixed/fixed week (as we do) you will be put in another unit if yours is being serviced, they will "attempt" to put you in a similar view category
7) 9 general contractors were invited to bid, 7 elected to attend a mandatory pre-bid meeting in April of 2011, 4 elected to submit bids and Layton Construction (a Kauai based firm) was chosen for their bid -- which was also the lowest bid
8) Deeded owners make up 63% of inventory, the Collective makes up about 35% of inventory, and Developer is about 2% of inventory and have been assessed their portion of the 65Million accordingly ($41,456,853 to deeded owners, $22,972,175 to trust points owners, and $1,393,771 to developer).
9) The breakdown of the $65 million is as follows:
56.8 million (about 51.5 in actual costs, plus a reserve of 5 million for overages)
2.3 million in consultant fees
3.8 million (assuming a delinquency rate of 10%)
989,000 in credit card surcharges (we are all paying this despite whether or not we are charging our fees or paying by check)
1.7 million in administrative costs (this really irked me -- it is the cost of Diamond's running of the project - don't they already get paid a salary?)
Total: $65,822,529 = $5893.32/interval
10) I asked what if if they have more defaults then 10% will we be assessed a further surcharge - they said yes. What if there are less than 10% will their be a refund he said yes.
11) Total cost to Diamond = $7,313,113 ($1,393,771 in unsold inventory deeds and $5,919,342 in unsold inventory points)
12) If you bought after discovery was made, they claimed you were told of it in section 4.1 of your disclosure agreement!
13) They claimed we were notified in meeting minutes, on the website and other ways prior to this bill going out - a claim many of us dispute.
14) They were actually rather rude during the meeting. Frank Goeckel (not sure of the spelling) said he was talking to us with respect - he wasn't he was rude and condescending. When someone said no he wasn't, he replied "Then I don't have to talk to you any longer."
15) When someone asked if they could surrender their deed to Diamond, and Frank said no, they asked if they could sell it to someone else, he said, "You can try." I can't really put into words here the tone he used, but it was sarcastic.
16) When people tried to explain it was difficult for some to pay this bill, he stated, "Some people have already paid it."
17) They claimed Hawaii law precludes them from releasing a list of owners (I'm pretty sure that is not correct). I don't doubt their lawyers told them not to, but deeds are recorded in the county of Kauai and a matter of public record. When a man said that the state REQUIRES the release but the Dept. of Real Estate said they could not enforce it (it had to be done by civil suit) they replied "Do what you think you need to do."
18) They stated that of the 5 member board, only 2 are Diamond employees.
19) They said that the two year statute of limitations on warranty of construction would run from time of occupancy - so building 4 and 2 would expire before the project is even done. But they said that they are trying to get warranties on the supplies for 20 years.
20) They are taking the payment plan under advisement and may possibly reconsider it -- but with the caveat that even if changes are made, you would have to be paid in full to occupy or make a reservation for that year.
All in all, I was actually glad to see owners turn out, but unhappy with the condescending and rude nature of Frank and Elizabeth Brennan -- who both made snide remarks. Admittedly they were in a hostile crowd with a lot of angry people but they were both pretty rude. Linda Riddle did the bulk of the presentation but maintained her composure and was polite, if a bit overwhelmed.

My regret was when they insisted it was illegal to provide the owner list, I should have challenged that because deeds are recorded with the county as public record. Even if they don't disclose the info of points owners, they should with deed owners, perhaps even with an opportunity for an opt out provision. Also, they are changing the exterior structure of the buildings. I took some photos of the new plan (with a yellow top floor, and brown bottom floor) and of some of the corroded materials on display. I put them on the new Facebook page.

[waimea'smom Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waimea'smom]

Here is the photo of the materials on display.

http://www.travellifeisshort.com/displaytable.JPG

Here is the photo of the proposed new exteriors.

http://www.travellifeisshort.com/newbuildings.JPG

[conrocks Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close conrocks]

I'm sure the meeting(s) are within the laws regarding notice required. What difference would it make if it were 20 days or two months? Many would still complain about whatever date it was and/or forget / be unable to attend. Annual meeting are often required to give at least 60 days notice yet attendance is often very low.

The problem is NOW - the work will begin SOON - waiting or delaying the meeting makes zero sense from a number of views. If it's THAT important to you you'll make the time to attend. Otherwise it's a very hollow complaint.

We just got the notice last week with the bill about the meeting on the 19th in Irvine and on the 20th in San Francisco. So thats a lot of notice. Is anyone reviving that deeded owners group? CDOPP Home Page

I have talked to several deeded owners and they are very upset because they thought the reserve should be used and that Diamond is not maintaining the place. There are facilities built close to the ocean around the world. I served on condo painted grey that floated in the ocean but it had to be maintained.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

From the report of the meeting, what is apparent is the arrogance of a developer dictatorship at this resort. The wording of the Hawaii statute have been noted in this thread, and DRI is clearly in violation on the membership list issue.

The key thing is that deeded owners make up 63%. That is a large enough block, especially given this dramatic wake up call, to force the developer / management to ride off into the sunset. Why are you deeded owners allowing the tail to wag the dog? You need to organize and send this arrogant mutt to the pound. You need to take them to court and get that membership list, and then organize, and let the majority rule, not the arrogant developer minority.

[nlions Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close nlions]

Thanks waimea'smom for the details of the meeting

For me as an owner, its become crystal clear Diamond is now displaying true colors when faced with a financial issue at a property. They know they have the owners in a position of pay or default. They've made their problem our problem and are only reaching in our pockets to solve it. For me, my first efforts will focus on internet information sharing and handing out informational flyers at all Diamond sales locations. I feel compelled to provide information to prospective buyers so they know what to expect if they have the misfortune to deal with Diamond. They only care about bottom line so its time they felt some of the pain they are inflicting on owners.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

3) They claimed it would cost 2x this amount to demolish and rebuild the units.

As to this point, as it is an option I have suggested, I would want to know more . . . get my own "owners" version of the estimate, and see how the idea of doing that option only with the support of those owners who wanted to continue ownership.

How much have they budgeted for fighting a major owner revolt?

Does the damage include the "Pool" and the main common building, which is the furthest from the water?

Perhaps there are enough owners willing to pay $10,000 per week to rebuild fewer buildings . . . and let the owners who simply want out, out.

Life's to short to force a square peg into a round hole.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Posted in another Internet forum, DRI CEO:

stephenjcloobeck@diamondresorts.com