Auction Jan. 4 on time-shares at Smugglers’ Notch

[BWolf Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BWolf]

The article is here: Stowe Reporter > News > Local News > Auction Jan. 4 on time-shares at Smugglers? Notch

“We haven’t had to do foreclosures before,” said Bill Stritzler, owner and managing director of Smuggs. “Normally we’re able to work out a deed in lieu of foreclosure, but that wasn’t the case with these individuals.”

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I think this is a pretty powerful statement.

“Some people didn’t want their units anymore and some just walked away,” Riley said.


Hopefully they walked away because economic conditions forced them into foreclosure and not as a matter of convenience.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

I'm surprised that they didn't send a notice of this auction to all Smuggs owners. I'm sure there are folks that might be interested...unless it's a scare tactic to get these people to pay their fees. It's hard to imagine someone walking away from a timeshare that they probably paid over $20,000 for, without trying to at least recover some of the purchase price on ebay or sell it privately.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

In the past, this resort has always attempted to secure a deed in lieu of foreclosure- to avoid the cost and legal process involved. The quote in the OP confirms this, but doesn't shed any light on why this change has occurred. I wonder if these are actually individual owners, or if this is a case of business ownerships that have dissolved and so are no longer able to transfer title back to the resort.

The other possibility is that like many other resorts, the Smuggs HOA is no longer able to transfer these reacquired weeks back to the developer (who doesn't want to accept the responsibility for the annual fees until sales begin to pick up again).. This economy has certainly created some increased friction between associations and developers as the difference in their goals has become more pronounced.

I'd love to be able to find out how these ownerships are currently deeded, to discover who the defaulting owners are- but I don't have access to public records for that area. If anyone follows up on this, or attends the auctions- please share what information you can discover.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

I wonder if these are actually individual owners, or if this is a case of business ownerships that have dissolved and so are no longer able to transfer title back to the resort.

I wonder if these are deeds that were placed in a PCC-created entity that was subsequently bankrupted.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

I'd love to point the finger in that direction, but....

I wonder if these are deeds that were placed in a PCC-created entity that was subsequently bankrupted.

While I'd love to place blame on the PCC's- I personally don't think that's very likely in this instance.. The most active are all associated with resellers that would understand there is resale value associated with Smuggs, and they would have likely sold the ownerships before the foreclosure process got to this point.

The "recreation package" fees charged by Smuggs to resale buyers seem very high at first glance, but not when savvy buyers consider the benefits received. Even the off season weeks seem to have some marketability.