Not GaKaye but I will attempt to answer a few of your questions as best I can.

1. I agree that all time shares on St. Maarten are a risk and are not, to the best of my knowledge, deeded properties but are RTU. You should probably not spend anymore than you are actually willing to lose if things go bust because they can and do..

2. Thanks to all the various St. Maarten governments as far back as I can remember, there are absolutely no protections for any buyers regarding mismanagement or ultimate protection of purchasers with regard to the timeshare property purchase agreements.

3. You are correct, many timeshare owners are long time island visitors. We've been coming to SXM annually for 41 years and we have definitely made very good use of our timeshare weeks. But we visited for about fifteen years before we bit the bullet and bought at a property in an area we already knew we loved.

4. Yes, even those of us who love the island and our timeshares do not visit with blinders or rose colored glasses. We know there are issues with crime and safety there, but we also admit there are also problems here at home where we live and exist every day.

5. I don't think there is any accurate source of timeshare resale pricing. Basically, many unit owners who want out for whatever their reason are finding themselves giving back their units to the management company or in some cases, to the original developers and are happy to walk away, and some are giving them away to anyone who will take them off their hands.

The only caveat to that might be those who have very desirable units (penthouses?) in very desirable weeks (Christmas, Presidents week, Regatta and Easter weeks) in very desirable properties and even these people are not getting near the monies they hoped to realize on resales. Best suggestion - check ebay - we bought a week we really wanted there for $12.00.

6. Each option - floating or fixed has its own merits depending on your needs and the properties rules and regulations. We bought fixed weeks after visiting the island for fifteen years at the same time of year but our resort allows for internal exchanges in house within the same year. Others have great luck with floasting time but I always wonder how the developers/management can guaranty absolute certainty of some weeks not being oversold. I really don't know enough about the option but then, I don't need to.

7. Not sure what you're asking but my personal experience is I always hear people talking about the great deals they've gotten but I know for a fact, they can't get the best unit at the Towers for week 17 in a two bedroom unit because I own it and I use it almost every year. But that would be a personal opinion, wouldn't it!

8. I doubt the infor regarding AMFs and special assessments is available anywhere. Why would they want to give that info out?

9. Dawn Beach Club was an older timeshare on the island that was destroyed during a hurricane. Two schools of thought exist, but the bottom line was the developer either failed to pay the insurance on it or he paid the insurance and was paid by the insurer aand absconded with the monies, leaving the timeshare owners with nothing.

10. I know nothing about Royal Resorts so wouldn't dare to comment.

11. Ditto re lock off units.

Don't know if I helped or not but it's about the best I could do. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />