ask-redweek-manhattan-club-settlement-owner-payouts

Thank you Redweek for keeping us informed. As an owner of a Penthouse-7 days per year, and in good standing between the dates specified in the settlement (2011-2014) I would like to keep my unit and receive none of the settlement except perhaps an adjustment on the fees I did pay. Going forward, I'm reluctant to pay maintenance fees that are currently outrageous and simply unaffordable. would you recommend that they be paid? Is this a question for the AG or is there any hint in the information you've received that would suggest that owners should hold back paying the fees until the new owners are established. It seems ridiculous to pay these fees, especially since you can't use your unit, without any promise of some restitution.

Thanks Jeff! So, if I understand your summation, the operation of the MC is being shopped around to prospective buyers and a claims administrator will manage distribution of the settlement funds. Fair enough. This will most likely be a time-consuming process. Who is, or will be, monitoring the operation of the MC until it is transferred to the new operators? The AG will vet the new purchaser but who is making certain that the egregious management practices do not continue until then?

Thanks Jeff!.

One of my tow Manhattan Time Shares is due for renewal on 11/18/17. On 10/02/17 I received a letter from the Manhattan Club stating that a payment must be sent "to avoid any interest or late fees being applied to your account. The additional fees would consist of 16% interest being applied to the Timeshare charges in the amount of $347.86 along with a $50.00 late fee bringing the total amount due to $2,774.51" Since there is no indicated final payment date, can I assume these penalties will be assessed after the renewal date? If I elect not to renew, I realize I cannot use the contract to book any rooms, but why I should pay maintenance fees on a room that I am not using? I have had these 2 contracts for approximately 16 years+. It appears that no consideration is being given to .owners before 2014.

RedWeek,

Another timeshare company that needs to be investigate is the Holiday Inn Club Vacation in their operation of the Silverleaf Resorts and treatment of these owner vs Holiday Inn Club owners. It seems HICV is renting units to anyone and owners are second place. Thanks!

Jeff and Redweek, thank you very much for research and updates. Personally I see a great chance of new litigations against TMC in the nearest future. Its still unclear what is the status quo of the club and the owners; it might take long years to figure it out. I stopped payments in 2014 and not going to continue.

thank you for your information and research. I do not want to pay any maintenance fees until there is new management in place. Also, I do not want to pay anything until TMC removes the mortgage that never should have been recorded since we paid for this POS within 60 days of purchase. How do I force them to release the mortgage?

I bought my timeshare in 2009 still paying my monthly fees. If I stop will I get in trouble.? Can’t afford it anymore.

I bought my timeshare in 2014 still paying my monthly fees. If I stop will I get in trouble.? Can’t afford it anymore.

Where can I find a copy of the final document for the settlement and restitution to existing owners? I am an existing owner of many years with an up-to-date maintenance record but I am wondering if I should continue to pay the outrageous maintenance fees.

Carol Newfield cnak@atlanticbb.net

We have been owners since October, 2013 at this point we wish to explore options for resale, though not sure if that is feasible. Would it be possible to update us to the standing of a settlement or in fact a buyout of TMC? We too are reluctant to continue paying the maintenance fees as we agree that they are outrageous. What are the consequences for not submitting maintenance fee payment? Would you be so kind as to bring us up to date to the pending situation? Thanking you in advance barbarachoward@gmail.com

We are owners AND so appreciate all your time and effort really on behalf of all of us!NBH

We bought two units in 1996 and always had difficulty getting reservations. We have never received any e-mails from the Manhattan club explaining what was happening, we only got threatening letters if our maintenance was late. We did not keep records of how many nights we lost. As stated in one of the comments they are not considering those of us who lost a great deal of time before 2011. Is there any information on the third party who may be buying the club and possibly relinquishing the properties to the third party buyer?

Hi I've had the Manhattan club for 20 yrs. plus Paid 18000.00 dollars and all my fees every year. Any thought on what i need to do if anything to get money back on the outrageous fees etc.,or just wait it out

Do you happen to know if TMC is buying back timeshares at fair market value at this time (July 2018)? The last time I spoke with a TMC rep, they said no sales were happening because TMC was in litigation. If they are not buying back, do you happen to know if they are selling time shares again and at what price? I've been an owner since 2002 and have paid my maintenance fees every year on time. Thanks for any information you can provide. Sincerely, Mary DeChristopher mary.dechristopher@gmail.com

1) How do I look into joining any law suits against The Manhattan Club? 2) Also, What is going to happen now that Bluegreen Vacations "BBX Capital" is taking over The Manhattan Club Can I get out as an owner and what about paying maintenance fees?

I am thankful for all you have accomplished in your efforts to help us with the problems of outrageous annual fees and difficulty making reservations. I heard nothing about this litigation until I received a questionnaire to complete about fees and usage issues. I have seen some information about a company that may acquire TMC, but have not received specifics, so I am not sure where this is all going. Is there a way this information could be more available? I have paid all fees since 2005. How would this affect the contracts that were moved to RCI? Is there more information on any buyout opportunities from the new owners? Again, thank you.

We received our first restitution check today. Thanks Redweek for staying on top of this. It was less than $200 but better than nothing.

The wonderful folks at TMC (whoever they are!) never bothered to tell us as “owners” that this stuff was going on...unbelievable! I thought we were really buying into something great when we purchased in the early 2000’s as I am a NYC lover. Our original maintenance fee at around $1,500 was a little high but seemed fair...now we are paying around $3,000 with taxes and this has become unaffordable, particularly for us older folk who don’t get regular raises in our payouts. I think it goes even higher next year...guess we have to make sure Mr. Eichner continues to get his”fair share.” And, finally, I recently learned that TMC rents its rooms to “outsiders” at less than what it costs “owners” in our maintenance fees on a per diem basis! It’s hard to find the words to express how I feel about all this!

If we cannot sell our TMC timeshare back to them, we will likely go deed-in-lieu at this point. There is no way we can rent it and compete with their lower prices on the website (it is less than our per diem cost of our dues) and we cannot afford the fees any longer (nor should we, considering what has been going on).

This makes us sad and mad. We thought we had bought into a little piece of the Big Apple to savor over the years after we had moved to the West Coast.

Gussie219