Inverness at Walden Phase II

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

Because I am guilty of starting the thread about the "free" timeshare at Inverness at Walden Phase II and some of our forum members took advantage and obtained some of the weeks, I decided to take a trip up to Lake Conroe, north of Houston to do a feet on the ground walk about at this resort.

I visited on Friday, 7/27/07, about noon. While there, I met a lady named Linda who is employee of their maintenance/make ready crew. She has worked at the resort for about 6 years.

The resort is located in the Walden on Lake Conroe subdivision/development. This is an upscale residential area on the west side of Lake Conroe. Lake Conroe is about 60 miles straight north from downtown Houston. There are several timeshare complexes in the Lake Conroe area. There are several golf courses in the same area. Lake Conroe is an area that has permanent residences as well as vacation homes. It's a large lake with lots of water activities, fishing and entertainment.

The resort has 40 units. There are 8 2BR units and 32 1BR units. Linda indicated that as many as 4 units are kept out for resort maintenance. The resort is not on the lake. Next door to the resort is another timeshare complex, First Fairways of Walden.

My understanding is that within the last 2 or 3 years, all of the units have had their furniture and appliances replaced. About half of the units have had carpeting replaced. Linda indicated that later this year they hoped to complete replacing carpet in the rest of the units.

My impression of the resort was that it is well kept, clean, neatly landscaped. There is a nice pool. The complex backs up to the Walden golf course which winds its way through the development itself. Linda indicated that guests at Inverness used to be able to get a golf pass for a week for like a $100 but the golf course had been sold and that guests no longer had a discount offered to them. It costs $60 per round with cart included.

Linda kindly showed me the inside of one of the 1BR units. It was a nice size, clean, probably 600 to 700 sq. ft. It had a galley kitchen with a stacked washer/dryer in the kithchen area. The bedroom and living area furniture looked to be in good shape.

Overall, I had good impression of the management and maintenance of this resort.

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

Photos

Here's some photos that I took while visiting on 7/27/07. The reason the parking lot is empty is because check in is on Friday (the day I was visiting) and I was there between check out and check in times.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Thanks Mike

This is great info, I appreciate you posting it since I own a 2 bdr and I recently sold a 1 bdr to a friend (for a $1).

Did you happen to get any information about who is on the HOA board and how to contact them?

I'm trying to get info on the RCI points designation in the Resort Directory. I'd like to try to head off an attempt to charge exhorbitant fees for conversions. At least, I would like to voice my opinion on what would be reasonable to charge for a conversion.

My emails to Koch Management about the topic have been ignored and at least 1 other member of TS4M's has tried to determine who is on the HOA board and is getting the runaround with the resort referring them to Koch and Koch referring them to the resort.

Thanks again for posting this info, it's good to know that it seems like there will be no need for special assessments in the near future, always a concern when you buy from a distance.

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

I was unable to find out any information from Linda about the HOA. There was a telephone number posted on the office door to call: 936-582-1012. I suspect that the best time to call the office is on Friday morning during check outs and late afternoon early evening for check-ins. Houston is in the Central time zone. We do observe daylight savings time.

I think Judy S has made some contact with Koch about the HOA and will probably post her converations here in this thread.

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

Mike, a big THANK YOU for driving up there to check out the resort! The pictures are very helpful, too. Len (Philsfan), thank you for your comments, too.

I'm the person who has been trying to get ahold of the HOA. I'm considering picking up some units here, but I wanted to find out what the resort's condition was, whether any special assessments were looming, etc.

As Len (Philsfan) said, I hadn't been getting anywhere on this -- Koch Management referred me to the resort; I left the resort manager (Tina) a message and got a message back telling me to call Koch Management.

However, I did eventually get through to Tina recently. Apparently, she had misunderstood my message and thought I wanted to know if units were left for sale, which is why she referred me to Koch Management. When I spoke to her, she told me many of the same things that Mike learned from Linda. There was a $100 special assessment a little while ago, which paid for all new kitchen appliances. Also, the furniture has recently been replaced. The main upgrade currently planned is the carpeting, and that shouldn't require a special assessment, she said. She also told me that Koch Management has been very assertive in keeping up the condition of the resort; they became the management company 15 years ago, and Tina said at that time, most of the units weren't even usable.

Tina said that President of the HOA board is named "Mr. Morris" and that he was very enthusiastic about the resort. She said that she would pass my phone number to him, so hopefully he will give me a call.

As for the timeshare next door (First Fairway at Walden), my belief is that this resort and Inverness at Walden II were originally different phases of the same timeshare, and that is where the "II" comes from in the name of Inverness at Walden II -- it was the second phase. However, the two resorts have separate HOAs and they now have different management companies.

There is also a master Property Owners Association, the Walden Community Improvement Association, that is in charge of some of the amenities in the Walden area. Here is some information on these shared amenities, I found it at Walden on Lake Conroe: A Lake Conroe Community
While Lake Conroe embodies natural splendor, its origins are actually man-made. Construction of the 21,000-acre lake began in January 1970 and was completed in 1973. Five thousand acres of the lake are located within the Sam Houston National Forest....
In addition to the lake, a 536-slip marina, a breathtaking 28-hole golf course, a 16-court tennis facility, swimming pools, children's playgrounds and "hike and bike" trails are among the many recreational amenities available to Walden residents.....Walden on Lake Conroe is planned for 5,190 dwellings. There are estate homes, single-family houses, patio homes, townhouses, condominiums and a variety of commercial and institutional facilities including the Walden Yacht Club, Racquet Club, Golf Club and Marina.

I checked with the Walden Community Improvement Association and they verified that yes, timeshare owners at Inverness at Walden II are entitled to use these amenities. (I didn't think to ask whether day use privileges were included -- I would tend to think that use would probably only be available while an owner was staying at the resort.) I see having access to these amenities ais a big plus. The person I spoke to at the Walden Community Improvement Association mentioned that the master POA has a lien on the timeshares, but I'm not sure if that's unusual, or just normal for these sorts of arrangements.

So, overall, I'm very pleased by what I've learned about this resort. I'm planning to call Koch Management tomorrow to "buy in." I spoke to them a couple of weeks ago, and there were still some summer 1 bedrooms available, although all the July 4th weeks and almost all two bedrooms are now gone.

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

Thanks everyone for the information. The pictures are great, Mike. I bought a 2-bedroom there - week 4. Haven't seen it yet, so am happy to see the pictures and hear about it.

Isn't it really hot in the summertime there?

Again, thanks.




Check out myspace at: www.myspace.com/angelmuriel

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

Thanks everyone for the information. The pictures are great, Mike. I bought a 2-bedroom there - week 4. Haven't seen it yet, so am happy to see the pictures and hear about it.

Isn't it really hot in the summertime there?

Again, thanks.




Check out myspace at: www.myspace.com/angelmuriel

Not this year yet with all of the rain we have had. It barely reaches 90 degrees.

Most years, Memorial Day through most of June is nice by our standards, highs in low 90's. This can stretch into July a little. Mid-July, August and most of September, they are our hottest months. Sometimes mid-September becomes pleasant. By October, the real heat wave is over but it will be remain warm for at least 3 to 4 months. I grew up here in the Houston area spending many Christmas' in shorts and bare feet.

Our climate is shorts and sweaters in the summer. Outside you need shorts. When you go inside, you need a sweater so you don't freeze due to air conditioning.

However, 3 years ago, we had a white Christmas, snowed Christmas Eve. It was very unusual and special.

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

Thanks for the info. I own 1bed week 25. I havent traded it yet, but it seems to be ok when i play around on rci.
It doesnt look to busy there.

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

latest postcard from Koch

latest postcard from Koch mentioned something like "2 for 1" sale

pay/buy one and get two ( do not know how the MF go after that though that is whether you have to pay one or two MF ) but for the first year it looks like ONE fee for maintenance for the two units ....in addition there would probably be 2 x 75$ closing costs to record the "quit claim deeds"

perhaps Judy S can update us on what she is told when she "buys in" on Monday

jerseywolfe

the resort is dual affiliated and thus can trade with either RCI or II

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

Thanks for the info. I own 1bed week 25. I havent traded it yet, but it seems to be ok when i play around on rci.
It doesnt look to busy there.

As I stated in my OP, I was there on Friday, noon. Friday is check out and check in day for the resort. I arrived in between the two time periods while they were cleaning units.

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

latest postcard from Koch mentioned something like "2 for 1" sale

pay/buy one and get two ( do not know how the MF go after that though that is whether you have to pay one or two MF ) but for the first year it looks like ONE fee for maintenance for the two units ....in addition there would probably be 2 x 75$ closing costs to record the "quit claim deeds"

perhaps Judy S can update us on what she is told when she "buys in" on Monday...

Yes, I will report back on what they tell me.

Lawgs, you don't have a scanner, do you? I'm not on their mailing list so I haven't seen the postcard, and I would love to have a look at it. I'd really like to have something in writing that tells me what the deal is that I'm buying. My guess is, the resort will just give me a verbal agreement over the phone, and take a credit card number, so I won't have anything written down saying what I'm supposed to receive. (Or maybe, you or someone else who received the postcard and doesn't need it could mail it to me -- that would be really nice!)

Muriel, my impression is that Houston does get hot in the summer. I think many of the guests at this resort would be Houston residents who would like to get out of the downtown area and go to a lake, where it's cooler, in summer.

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

sorry judy

think i shredded that post card since we were not interested, thus what was posted was just from memory they might have parallel offers going


since the earlier postcard offer mailed in June ....was

weeks must go

no annual MF until January 1, 2008

reply by August 1 2007 and get a free bonus week

call 1-888-525-9970

email km9970@hotmail.com ( Darlene is the name of the office person )

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

As I stated in my OP, I was there on Friday, noon. Friday is check out and check in day for the resort. I arrived in between the two time periods while they were cleaning units.

Mshatty

from a post card we got in February

At the Inverness II Annual meeting held Saturday February 10 2007 management proposed a change in check in day from Friday to Saturday for the TWO BEDROOM UNITS. This suggestion was enthusiastically approved by the board and the owners attending the meeting. Therefore, beginning with week 13, all two bedroom units will begin checkin/out on Saturday. Week 13 will begin on March 31 2007 for units 201 - 208.


it did not say anything about one bedroom uints

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

Thanks lawgs for the update.

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

Thanks anyway, Lawgs.

I didn't get a chance to call today, but I plan to tomorrow.