December 19, 2005
I have been a member of Fairfield Communities since 1987, originally buying in to the Patriot's Place Resort in Williamsburg, VA. I am sending you this correspondence to let you know that I am extremely distressed and appalled at your recent increase in the annual maintenance fees and with the additional $200.00 assessment. I went back through my personal records and have put together a chronology to give you an understanding of why I am taking the time to express my utter disgust with the way the finances have been handled over the years at Patriot's Place.
Maintenance fees in 1987: $ 229.00
Maintenance fees in 1997: $ 323.00 / an increase of $94.00 (approx. 41%) in a 10 year time span, a higher than inflation or COL increase over that period of time.
Maintenance fees in 1998: $ 323.00
Maintenance fees in 2006: $ 500.00 / an increase of $ 177.00 (approx. 55%) in the next 9 year period. Almost double the monetary increase of the previous 10 years.
In 1996 a letter accompanying the notice for the maintenance fees you informed us of an assessment of an additional $11.20 to purchase VCP's for the units. A reasonable amount of money but still an additional cost.
In 2000 a letter accompanying the notice for the maintenance fees, which jumped $ 52.00 from the previous year, informed us of an additional assessment of $25.00 to cover the costs of renovating 25 units a year rather then using the reserve fund. The letter also went on to say Following our 7 year plan of renovations, the Reserve Fund should be sufficient to continue an ongoing upgrade and renovation program. The reason for the increase in the maintenance fees stated they have increased from the prior year, but only to the level necessary to cover the increased costs to the Association.
In 2001 a letter accompanying the notice for the maintenance fees informed us of an increase in maintenance fees and another additional $25.00 assessment. The letter announced the completion of the renovation of the first 25 units; this included; All of these units received new wall coverings, carpeting, draperies, bedspreads and flooring. Some received new furniture (where it was needed.) I submit to you that I take pictures at every one of my visits and if this work listed was truly accomplished then my camera failed to pick it up! The letter also stated with the increase and the $25.00 special assessment that had already been approved by the previous board (?), we plan to do another 25 units in addition to the 25 units originally set. Therefore a total of 50 units will be done in 2001. Again the letter stated that the reason for the increase in the maintenance fees was Rising costs coupled with the aging of the units have made it necessary for the board to approve the following increases in maintenance fees in 2001: At this point I ask myself What was the special assessment used for?
In 2002 a letter accompanying the notice for the maintenance fees informed us of an increase of another $25.00, no special assessment this year however the letter described the cost of doing business as follows: Management closely monitors these costs, however the majority is beyond management's control.(?) Additionally, Patriots' Place is now seventeen years old and the cost of maintaining the buildings and equipment also projected to increase. It further stated Your enclosed 2002 budget reflects an increase of $25.00. As with any increase, there is always the same questionWHY? In response, $19.00 is directly attributed to the increased operational costs previously stated above. The remaining $6.00 is earmarked to construct a much sought after indoor pool & recreation facility. (?) Please be advised that a portion of your $6.00 increase will also provide Patriots' Place with a much needed upgrade telephone and data port system. Once again I did not see any of these projects or improvements listed, and also what have all the past Special Assessments gone towards?
In 2003 we were informed that our maintenance fees were not going to increase, the bill still did detail the additional $25.00 assessment from the previous year so the letter was not entirely truthful in that the maintenance fees were supposed to be $385.00 not $420.00. The letter also stated the We will be starting the second year of our four-year upgrade schedule shortly. What upgrade exactly was that referring to, that statement does not fit any time line that was previously detailed by Patriots' Place management or this letter.
In December of 2003 we received a letter describing Patriots' Place efforts to regain its Resort of International Distinction rating. I never heard of this rating prior to this letter or knew of a loss of this rating. The letter also described the inception of the now infamous Phoenix Project. The letter stated This accelerated project is currently underway and will encompass sixteen months of exterior and interior upgrades. Sir I still, to this day, have not seen any amount of exterior or interior upgrades that would constitute $3,000,000.00 worth of expenditures. Also I again ask the question Where have all the monies, that I have noted in this letter so far, gone? What has been done with the past monies to now need an additional $3,000,000.00 worth of upgrades to regain a status that has never even been mentioned up to this point?
In 2004 you just incorporated the special assessment of the last two years in to our regular yearly maintenance fees. You stated that Over the last three years we have been working diligently to restore the Resort's International Distinction rating. You stated, referring to the Phoenix project, Projects of this magnitude are difficult and costly and are funded through the reserve portion of the maintenance fees. The increase in reserves to 15% will allow the resort to continually improve interior and exterior renovations even after the monumental effort called Project Phoenix that will take place in 2004. If you are trying to follow the same logic in your explanations of cost increases that I have been trying to follow, by now you should be as thoroughly confused as I am! I also believe that you started to notice the large amount of owners who were allowing their properties to default, refer to the long list of weeks that you tried to auction off. The costs associated with these un-owned weeks were being paid from somewhere
In 2005 we went up another $40.00 on the annual maintenance fees. The same old song and dance was listed in the accompanying letter As a result of these initiatives and the previously constant maintenance fees (WHAT?), a larger than usual increase was necessary in order to cover both natural inflation and essential improvements. Almost 10%? What inflation? What about the increase in the property value of Patriots' Place Resort over all these years, you have not one time mentioned this value! At this point in my saga I actually called Mr. Carusone and he explained the following to me concerning the once again rising maintenance fees. You had just invested $3,000,000.00 in to the B side units - Project Phoenix / the reserve account was never properly managed from the resorts inception. All the wood siding was being replaced with vinyl, aluminum also. There was lots of wood rot due to the humidity, you were replacing sub-floors in most units and upgrading flooring, also adding humidity controls to the renovations. Wow, what a mouthful to which I again ask What has all the past monies been used for? Why do we continue to need more money year after year for the same things over and over again?
All this finally brings us to this years most absolute absurdity, another $40.00 increase in maintenance fees and an additional $200.00 assessment due solely to your incompetence and mismanagement of the resorts funds over the last 18 years, all of which you now expect the Fairfield Owners to pay for! Your excuse once again is that RCI has down-graded the resort citing Unit maintenance is the reason for the change in status and it has been of concern to RCI for several years. We have no chance to regain a Silver Crown designation unless we make the needed improvements to our Resort. The current financial situation does not allow for the needed renovations. I can not continue to ask enough times; What have you and your staff been doing with all the monies we have chronicled in this letter? The rest of your excuses listed in your 2006 letter are cute, along with your nice chart, but that's all they are; cute excuses.
At this point I really feel that you are trying to squeeze out the interval week owners! I also believe that you will see an enormous number of owners default on the maintenance fees and the assessment this year. I want you to know that I am submitting copies of this letter to:
Mr. Ed Ashnault
Mr. Ron Lukas
Mr. Dan Carusone
CEM Services at Cendant Owner Relations Department
Orlando, Florida Better Business Bureau
Williamsburg, Virginia Better Business Bureau
RCI
I am researching people at the executive levels of Fairfield Communities, Cendant and RCI to send copies of this too. Last but not least I am submitting a copy of this letter to Clark Howard here in Atlanta, GA. Do your own research and find out what he thinks of this kind of stuff at clarkhoward.com.
I demand that you re-call the $200 assessment and reimburse any Patriots' Place owner that's already paid it. Do what the business situation requires when you get in financial straits, release the ones responsible for the mismanagement of past funds, and resign if it's you! Cut staffing to the bone and get your books in order without passing your costs on to the consumers/owners. I am very disappointed to have to write a letter such as this. In the early years of my Fairfield membership I thoroughly enjoyed my weeks at Patriots' Place and all the other resorts that I exchanged to. Over the years the availability of resorts to the interval owners has diminished to only a handful compared to the overall resorts in the Fairfield Communities holdings. At this point I do not anticipate remaining a Fairfield member nor will I recommend Fairfield to any of my friends, co-workers or relatives who would be considering getting involved in a time-share type program. My future with Fairfield depends completely on the response/s that I get to this letter. I hope that you are willing to take the necessary steps to right the wrongs that have been done to the Patriots' Place owners over the last 18 years and establish a level of business integrity that will allow the resort to succeed and grow in the future.
Russell
Locust Grove, Georgia
U.S.A.