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Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
#235487
09/26/2020 11:05 AM
09/26/2020 11:05 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 246
BlueGreenWater
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235496
09/26/2020 01:15 PM
09/26/2020 01:15 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,655 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Sadly, Sint Maarten has made lots of promises with regard to taking care of her timeshare owners but they’ve never followed through or kept any of them. Feeling bad for those who purchased here in good faith but I can’t say I’m too surprised by this.
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: pat]
#235500
09/26/2020 02:14 PM
09/26/2020 02:14 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Wow, well said, Pat. People purchasing in SXM to become timeshare "owners" beware, as SXM law has absolutely NO protection for you.
And not to bring up a sore subject, but what's happening with the Towers??
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235502
09/26/2020 02:32 PM
09/26/2020 02:32 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,655 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Edited to add:
The following is purely my personal opinion and is NOT based on any facts or truths I’ve come across.
As far as I’m concerned, the Towers is DONE. It has been mismanaged and mishandled by the on site Manager along with the Ansary family. They played fast and loose with Ennia monies and island property evaluations and while there have been promises about government looking into the situation, as far as I know nothing of any substance has happened to benefit the unit owners.
We are among the lucky ones in that we were Charter owners and had roughly thirty years of annual enjoyment before Irma hit and then the latest problems arose. We divested ourselves of our four weeks, much as we hated to do so, but we could almost see the writing on the wall.
As Kenny Rogers sang, ‘ you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run......” which is what we finally did.
I do feel bad for more recent purchasers and those who paid full freight for their weeks and it angers me that once again, the government has done nothing but make idle promises. And who knows? Perhaps I’m wrong and the Towers will rise out of the ashes again someday. But personally speaking, I doubt it!
Last edited by pat; 09/26/2020 05:20 PM.
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: pat]
#235503
09/26/2020 03:00 PM
09/26/2020 03:00 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Pat--thanks for your thoughts. I'm sure this situation has torn your heart in two. I saw a story in the Daily Herald the other day regarding Ansary, but it really didn't make any sense to me, so I didn't post it. It seems like there has been almost no news regarding the Towers, thus my question.
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235504
09/26/2020 03:28 PM
09/26/2020 03:28 PM
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,091 Massachusetts
boucharda
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Well that sucks....no argument about the no protection for "owners" . SO far we have kinda lucked out with SBR and it helps that it was an inherited two weeks....but....it had the same potential with the cluster frick of years back..but..so far it's fine.
Edit: I should add that it "is fine" for the "owners" of the buildings that still exist.....the ones that were destroyed kinda got screwed
Last edited by boucharda; 09/26/2020 03:30 PM.
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: boucharda]
#235511
09/26/2020 06:48 PM
09/26/2020 06:48 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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What happened with the ones who owned in the buildings that got destroyed?
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: San]
#235520
09/26/2020 10:34 PM
09/26/2020 10:34 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 18,899 Auburn, WA
SXMScubaman
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Any person who buys a timeshare on the island, from here-on-in, is a complete fool if you ask me. The government never passed the timeshare law - it just sits on the books - there is absolutely no protection for a timeshare owner. And if you currently own a timeshare, better sell it now and recoup some of your purchase price. I'm gonna predict there'll be another article published tomorrow about the Supreme Court ruling. I beg to differ but you're entitled to your opinion. I for one am a timeshare owner on sxm with no regrets.
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: San]
#235523
09/27/2020 06:46 AM
09/27/2020 06:46 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,567 Ohio
ruralcarrier
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Pretty much in agreement with you. Besides Covid, there are some t/s that never reopened after Irma and a couple of others that continue to make "owners" wait on the lengthy reconstruction process while continuing to take their $$.
Let the buyer beware.
J.D.
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: boucharda]
#235529
09/27/2020 08:59 AM
09/27/2020 08:59 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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boucharda--what is NOT a generalization is that SXM has ZERO protections for timeshare owners. That is a FACT. If you buy a timeshare in SXM, you are depending on the integrity of the timeshare management company to protect you. That has often put the fox in charge of the henhouse. And when the fox starts doing what it does to the chickens, don't expect the laws of SXM to provide ANY protection.
Points of interest off the top of my head--1) Pelican--"Owners" shut out of their units, with almost no warning, while they were rented out, then sold to SBR, and new units built right in front of other units, blocking their views,; After Irma-- 2) SBR--some buildings demolished--what did the "owners" in those building get?? 3) Ocean Club--Demolished by Irma, owners got zero 4) The Towers--Ansary has apparently taken the insurance, rents out units, yet the t/s owners can't use the building, no resolution there, any time soon. "Owners" apparently get zero there either. 5) Royal Palm and Flamingo--THREE YEARS post Irma, still no resolution there, "owners" expected to continue to pay t/s fees for four years without being able to use their properties. Meanwhile the management company has business interruption insurance and they get paid regardless. And they plan on a whole bunch of "owners" just walking away during this time period, so they can sell their units all over again once they re-open. So far, that's working out pretty well for them. With COVID, there is a 6 week stoppage of work, which somehow in the timeline of Diamond Resorts, has translated into six MONTHS of delay in reopening. Both resorts could have been razed to the ground and rebuilt quicker. 6) The Atrium--decides to do renovation of the building this year, apparently seeing the writing on the wall regarding COVID, shutting out the "owners" for 7 months or so, I guess supposed to reopen soon. 7) Sonesta building downtown destroyed by Irma, will become a Planet Hollywood, supposedly, timeshare owners get zip.
Were there timeshares at Mullet Bay? Don't remember...
Is that enough??
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#235538
09/27/2020 10:24 AM
09/27/2020 10:24 AM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,655 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Carol,
The original Mullet Bay Resort was NOT a timeshare program. They sold ownership and management of units but maintained as their own the actual property the units were built on - a very different concept from timeshare where actually all one owns in most cases is the paper the details are printed on.
As to the why of timeshare, we went into it with eyes wide open, knowing we wouldn’t spend more than we could afford to lose comfortably and we did have a thirty year run at The Towers with no regrets of ownership there. Do we regret what ultimately happened? Of course we do but still, no regrets as to the thirty years of pleasure our four weeks gave us every year.
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: pat]
#235541
09/27/2020 11:05 AM
09/27/2020 11:05 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Pat--I knew that most of the units at Mullet Bay were wholly owned, but I thought that some were timeshare. Thanks for the correction on that. Sorry your run at the Towers ended the way it did..
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: SXMFOX]
#235542
09/27/2020 11:09 AM
09/27/2020 11:09 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Fox--Timeshare in the US at least provides some protections for the t/s owners. Even if you disagree with the concept (which frankly I do), you have some legal protections, including here in Florida a 3 day right to cancel after you purchase. Helped a friend do just that, not long ago.
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235545
09/27/2020 11:11 AM
09/27/2020 11:11 AM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,655 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Thanks, Carol. Life happens and really, in the end, all you can do is make the best of it.
And like I said, thirty years is a pretty good run and as much as I loved our specific unit at the Towers, their shenanigans allowed us to discover the BSV which turns out to be even more to our liking. So in the end, we won anyway.
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: SXMScubaman]
#235546
09/27/2020 11:12 AM
09/27/2020 11:12 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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SO--amazing that you admit that! So why didn't they just raze the buildings??? Obviously because it was in THEIR best interest to do it that way. They still get paid their business interruption insurance AND they get a lot of people to just walk away. Best of all worlds for them. And NO, the work stoppage was not anywhere close to hurricane season. As I recall, it was approximately April.
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235551
09/27/2020 11:35 AM
09/27/2020 11:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,322 Vancouver, WA
Todd
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It comes down to doing your research and making a decision that you can live with. Like buying a car, some people don't mind the depreciation when buying new cars, some do. Timeshares have worked well for us, no regrets.
I prefer the Isle seat
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235631
09/28/2020 09:16 AM
09/28/2020 09:16 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Story in the Daily Herald today. LinkInteresting, the article states that the Morgan Resort is due to open in March, 2021...
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#235633
09/28/2020 10:48 AM
09/28/2020 10:48 AM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,460 île staten
Bobcat
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Say Carol, how many properties have been at that location named Caravanserai? Three, going back 30 years? Too bad they didn't honor the timeshare contracts. I remember when Sonesta took over a bankrupt resort on Aruba, they honored the timeshare contracts, the resort had a hotel section as well.
Last edited by Bobcat; 09/28/2020 10:49 AM.
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: Bobcat]
#235636
09/28/2020 10:58 AM
09/28/2020 10:58 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,022 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
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Bobcat--not sure. I think it was always Caravanseri, since I have known it.
Carol Hill
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: BlueGreenWater]
#235639
09/28/2020 12:56 PM
09/28/2020 12:56 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,655 Brookfield, CT.
pat
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Bobcat,
It was Caravanserai, the little sister resort to Mullet Bay in the 70s when we first visited there and it stayed that way for quite a while, I’m thinking. I believe it morphed into Club Munday (timeshares?) at some point and perhaps back to Caravanserai again, but I’m thinking there may have been one other name in there before the final debut (debacle?) of Caravanserai before it became Alegria and whatever it is today.
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Alegria apparently wins at the Supreme Court
[Re: Bobcat]
#235659
09/28/2020 02:32 PM
09/28/2020 02:32 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,460 île staten
Bobcat
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