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Festiva resorts is now managing the Sandcastle Condominiums in PTown, Cape Cod. On my recent visit they invited me to the office review the recent owners meeting.
The agent told me that RCI was probably not going to continue with Sandcastle as a resort. That RCI was giving up weeks exchanges. That I could become a member of Festiva Points System by PAYING THEM to take over my deed - and sign a Quitclaim deed.
So they want my deeded week (for life) and I am to PAY THEM to take it??? In exchange I will get points to use Festiva or Interval Int. I checked Festiva on the web - numerous complaints, being sued or investigated in several states by the Attorneys General - lost their case in MO, etc.
They said this was NOT A SALE of any kind but an exchange of ownership - yet their documents state SELLER and BUYER on every line. They being the seller and I being the buyer, investigate before you sign.
Click Here To Post Your Own Complaint
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The woman in the lobby is hurting Sandcastle's reputation; she sits there, glaring at everyone that comes in, no identification as a timeshare rep, and someone may well believe that she is a Sandcastle rep, when she is not.
Our assessments are going up to pay for these underhanded, aggressive con artists to destroy our resort!
Thank you
for info and links and addresses. The website that may help you cancel is:http://www.theownersadvocate.com/
I am not selling anything. Do your due diligence on anything anyone tells you.
It seems quite clear though that so much of what is going on at the resorts taken over by Festiva is troublesome, that you can trust your feelings and you would be wise to treat anything they or their allies do or say as suspect.
They have done all this at numerous resorts in the US and internationally. Same patterns of abuse, assessment etc.
Go to the blog, leave a comment, which can be private, and you can join a group that is doing something about this.
Chris
We met with them at the Sandcastle and were told we had an assesment of over $800 and would have to change to the point system for over $5400. We are in our 70's and on a fixed income. They said they would help us out by taking our time share back for nothing. They so frightened us that we did sign it over to them.
I now realize we were scammed and do not know what to do about it.
Ans still, the MA AG doesn't think there is enough harm being done for them to get involved?
This was our experience exactly except that we are not going for it. Check out the various timeshare owners compliant websites before you decide to give up your deed to Festiva.
We have an email group of Sandcastle owners. If you respond to my email I will put you in touch with our group if you haven't found us already.
Chris
Please send your ownership information - name, weeks/units owned, to scresponds
Chris
Southcape is also on the same developer deed and is in this mess too, so Southcape owners should reply as well.
We want our resorts back!!!
The sooner, the better.
We have an Sandcastle email group. If you respond to my email address, I will put you in touch with our email list.
Chris
I am replying to your email to be put on the email list. Thanks,
Kathy
Please respond to scresponds
Welcome aboard.
Chris
I see your reply here but I never got an email from you directly to my email address so I don't have your email.
If you cannot email me directly from here. Look on TUG (Timeshare User's Group) under any Sandcastle post for ChrisH. You can email me from there in a private message.
Chris
And writing 'paid in protest' on those payments.
As far as we know, management has not sent any owners a notice and owners will not be aware and therefore not be in attendance.
If you are an owner, PLEASE ATTEND.
Please respond to scresponds
Welcome aboard.
Chris
also own week 34 unit 231.
This will allow developers to sell delinquent units in bulk at auction, blocking out individuals from obtaining prime weeks and allowing the potential for takeover of Owner's Association voting rights in the bulk purchase. Plus it may greatly decrease OA revenue from these bulk sales practices.
This bill has some good points that will help owners in financial straits a way out of their timeshare, but leaves Owner's Associations in a bad situation.
If you live in the state of MA write/email your BOTH local legislators AND the legislators where your timeshare is located.
If you live outside of MA you should write/email to the legislators in the district where your timeshare is located.
Find them at:
www.mass.gov/.../city_town.htm
1) The Bill should state in MGL183B Section 29B:ii conduct of sale
a) That the Owner’s Association (OA) consisting of all owners not currently in default will have final say in the method of disposal of such units.
b) That any type of auction or sale would be at the discretion of the OA and that an OA ballot VOTE would be required with 51% (or 66%; or 75%;or a majority) or more approve prior to such as decision for an auction to be held.
c) That management can only proceed with the balloted approval of the OA.
d) That any owner may submit a statement to be included in the ballot.
e) That management may also submit a statement to be included in the ballot.
f) That all owners be notified by USPS mail of the opportunity to submit such as statement for a ballot.
g) That said ballot be mailed by USPS mail to all owners.
h) That this mailing be a separate mailing containing only information discussing the ballot and the sale of units and not general resort issues, updates etc.
i) That the ballots are to be returned within a certain time frame, but not less than 30 (60) days from the date of mailing.
j) That the OA has the right to choose the method of auction.
k) That the OA has the right to choose the Auction firm.
l) That the OA may request bids in choosing the Auction firm.
This allows resorts in serious financial trouble to allow bulk auctions IF THEY SO CHOOSE
and those resorts NOT in financial straits to choose an ALTERNATE SALES method.
Further, as this House Bill 4496 relates to other areas of the Massachusetts General Laws section on Timeshares (MGL 183B)
2) It would also be important to ask your legislator to rescind the contract cancellation section (MGL 183B:38:14(i) of 3 days) and replace it with a more appropriate timeframe such as 10 days or seven business days, allowing for the purchaser to review of all documents and for consultation with one's own attorney or bank, or loan company prior to the completion of the purchase.
All owners of Timeshares in MA should express their concern.
In this letter, Hagberg introduced himself and the other two companies NEVS and Outfield Mktg. and mentioned Festivia...etc...
I was contacted by Festivia and urged to meet with someone who would fill me in on what is happening at the Sandcastle and that as an owner, it was in my best interest to know about the "changes"....It was ominous...what changes? I agreed to meet with an Outfield representative in my home here in Florida.
When we met, he was all smiles and was keen on befriending me and letting me in on a "good thing". He told me that deeded weeks are a thing of the past...that my RCI book was getting smaller and smaller and that my weeks were virtually worthless..He said Sandcastle owners were jumping on the bandwagon to trade their deeded weeks for Festivia Points....thats why there are fewer and fewer resorts in the RCI book and eventually deeded weeks will be non existent....He then offered me an "opportunity" to "trade" my deeded weeks for Festivia points for a fee of about $3500 per week but that if I acted today he may be able to get me "deal" on the cost.
He told me my timeshares were not worth anything now. To prove this, he opened his laptop, asked me if had ever heard of EBAY and showed me Sandcastle timeshares on his laptop for sale on ebay and many were "free" or cheap...he then pushed on to say that the burden of assessments and maintenance will bankrupt people and that I should consider what I would do if I were to be hit with a hugh assessment.
He told me that he knew for a fact that there was going to be a large assessment on the Sandcastle coming and that as more and more of the deeded owners took advantage of his offer and switched to Festivia points...there would be fewer deeded owners to share the burden of the assessment....he said "what will you do then?" I think I shrugged and said I was not interested. He was clearly angry... I said I would not pay to give my timeshares away in exchange for "points" ...I was not concerned about his assessment prediction and that if it happened, I could always walk away from my units....he said I couldn't do that ...I would be sued....etc. and so on...he stayed almost an hour...I could not get rid of him...he had me scared and he knew it...I asked him to leave..said I heard enough and was not interested..He was very angry...he slammed his laptop shut...said I was making a big mistake...that virtually all the owners of Sandcastle were converting and I would be left with hugh assessment debt.
I again asked him to leave pointing out that I had agreed to a 1/2 hour and we were way beyond that.
He left angry and said..."you'll be sorry for not taking the deal today while I can get you the special discount on the price...all bets are off after that...You will be assessed and you will have to pay or be sued..
I said something like "we'll see" and I escorted him to the door.
I felt shaken and confused and very scared. I had no one to talk to...I did not know any other owners back then and I wondered about the assessment.
Sure enough, the assessment letter from Cliff Hagberg and NEVS came shortly after that.
I am now in arrears on my assessments for my 2 units of almost $2000.... I have worked out a payment plan with Hagberg's people amounting to $100 dollars a month. I had no choice...if I want to use or rent my weeks, I have to pay the assessment or I will be denied the use of my timeshares.....(even though I paid the maintenance). This is totally wrong...no one put Hagberg in charge...we had no voice in improvements he is making, he refuses to acknowledge our right to know about bids, costs, etc. etc. We are footing the bill on this person's plan for renovation without any accountability to us. They have us over a barrel and this legislation BILL-4496 will just make it easy as pie for him to STEAL deeded timeshares from owners like me who are struggling to pay what he says I owe.
Please make this bill address the needs of timeshare owners like myself who are being controlled by devious, self-serving businessmen. This bill will put the final nail in the coffin...It will be too late when the Attorney General and others finally wake up to what we have been reporting as illegal fraud, theft and unscrupulous scare tactics aimed at timeshare owners like myself...we have only our single voices...we are trying to organize but without the cooperation of the management group (NEVS / Hagberg)...we are at a loss to count ourselves and talk to each other or lodge one comprehensive complaint. Please do not lose the forrest for the trees...our pain is many-fold...not all of us are able or willing to stick our necks out to write. Many owners are too scared. Please try to see the big picture and fix this bill and check with the Attorney General to read our complaints and our demands as owners before you give this bill your endorsement.
Thank you.
Your situation was much like mine, however my meeting took place at Sandcastle, and I also met with a very angry, rude, insistant and threatening sales rep, who told me my appointment was 'just a review of the recent annual owner's meeting in 2009.'
There is an article in the Boston Herald about Timeshare Sales practices in general, describing the reporters trip to Oak n' Spruce in the Berkshires for a promotional visit.
At the end of the article is an area to 'post comments'. This might be an excellent place to voice our concerns about what is happening at Sandcastle, about House Bill 4496 and /or about Festiva.
Please take the time to read the article, and if you are willing, post a comment, or even send your comments to the editor as well. See this link for the story:
bostonherald.com/.../...
This communication is my opinion and solely my opinion.
It should not be distributed, posted, emailed or otherwise published, in whole or in part, in any form, on any email list, or any forum of any type without my express written permission.
ChrisH
I'd appreciate some update as to the current state of repairs and use of the assessment funds. Could this be part of the referenced "newsletter"?
I look forward to receiving it.
Thanks for your continued efforts.
A.S.
I will be reporting via the regular email list on my week of July 3-10 within the next few days.
Just finishing typing it up.
Chris
I was interested in buying weeks 31 and 33 in units 325 /326 but have no idea who owns them or how to find out, can you help me.
Thanks
David
Jon said the short segment about Sandcastle will be aired on the 11 o'clock news next Monday night. ( It will probably be repeated on the morning news Tuesday)
For those of you who are out of state, you will most likely be able to watch the segment by going to wbztv.com/local on Tuesday and locating the story in the local news section.
Usually at the end of each story section you may also post comments! So here is a chance for more owners to air their views in the media.
Also, they are evidently working on the Sandcastle website now. There are a few new pics of the decks/outside.
The 'Owners' page has a short blurb about the snackbar and activities as well as the work in progress. It states that this is a 'test' page.
sandcastlecapecod.com/
Chris
Reach other Sandcastle owners at scresponds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the link for the news report from last night (Mon., July 26, 2010).
wbztv.com/.../...
Copied from the above report:
"Festiva Resorts gave us a statement saying complaints at the Sandcastle are largely related to the actions of Cliff Hagberg and Outfield Marketing, not Festiva. The company did say, however, that it will return property deeds to any Sandcastle owners who feel they were pressured to join Festiva."
There is also an RSS feed that you would have to sign up for to view the video content.
At the end of the report there is a section for comments on this news report. You must register and provide an email address to use this function although your email won't be visible to the public and you can have a username, so that your name does not appear if you don't want it visible.
Owners at Sandcastle/Royal Coachman should take this opportunity to express their opinions on this public format.[/i]
See the 'register here' link under Add Comment at the end of the report on the WBZ website and shown below.
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The opinions in this post, are mine and mine alone, and should not be distributed via mail, email, internet posting or in any other format without my written permission.
You have a deeded week to Sandcastle. Probably long ago paid in full.
Now you can PAY them to TAKE your DEED and give you a Timeshare License instead. So far the payment have been about $3000 to $9000 range. Or they'll finance that for you.
Some examples of recent recorded transactions:
Intervals 26-35: Summer float - $5900 ND; Summer float - $3290 ND; Summer studio - $8900;
Intervals 21-25 and 36-41: Prime Float - Studio - $6295; Prime Float Studio - $6900; Prime Float Studio - $6900; Prime Float Suite - $3295*
Now until you sign here, on the dotted line, today and today only at this special offer price, YOU OWNED a deeded week FREE and CLEAR
ND = no designated on document;
*It is interesting to note that the Prime Suite cost less than the Prime Studio which doesn't make sense unless they are trying to get suite inventory.
By definition in the Mass General Laws - Chapter 183B Timeshare:
“Time-share license”, a right to the occupancy of a unit or any of several units during five or more separated time periods not coupled with a freehold estate or an estate for years."
Time-share estate. "Time-share estate" means any interest in a unit or any of several units under which the exclusive right of use, possession or occupancy of the unit circulates among the various time-share owners in the unit in accordance with a fixed time schedule on a periodically recurring basis for periods of or a specified portion thereof.
Freehold Estate: A freehold estate is an estate in which ownership is for an undefined length of time.
These are the categories:
Prime Float weeks = 21-25 and 36 -41
Summer Float weeks = Intervals 26 -35
Getaway Floating weeks = 9-20 and 42-48
And you can use your float week by making a Reservation, just follow these rules:
Reservations not more than 18 months or less than 7 days in advance of the requested period.
No accrual or carryover from the previous year.
No reservation can be made until all maintenance fees etc are paid up.
Bonus use: units not reserved 7 days in advance and deemed available, may be reserved 6 days (or less) in advance as a "Bonus" week by Getaway and Prime Float owners with a 'per diem' charge. I believe you can reserve these on a daily or weekly basis. No more than a total of seven bonus days may be reserved by any float week owner.
If you don't make a reservation, don't ASSUME you'll get your week. It's in the pool as far as I can tell. So call quick or you'll get week 9 and be at the beach in early February, if you can get there through the snow.
ANNUAL FEES are DIFFERENT:
These are the 2010 figures listed in the document. They don't appear to by unit size but by season. You'll notice that a summer studio is $550 while current studios are $354, and summer suites are $750 while current suites pay $512 in maintenance fees, and weeks owners pay their maintenance fees according to the square footage and common areas as described in the Master Deeds and Trusts.
Studios: Getaway week = $250
Studios: Prime Float = $350
Studio Summer Float = $550
not $354
Suite: Getaway Float = $350
Suite: Prime Float = $550 not $512
Suite: Summer = $750
not $512
You no longer own your week. You no longer have a deed. Your Timeshare License will expire in 2059. Your grandkids won't have to worry about inheriting it.
Or you/they can rebuy it at a new price , to be determined much later I'm sure.
Details can be found at the Barnstable Registry of Deeds. Search for this Document:
NEW ENGLAND VACATION SERVICES LLC (AS TR)
Declaration Of Trust
10-13-2010
BK-pg: 24904-224
Pages in document: 17
To see recent sales type in: SANDCASTLE INTERVAL OWNERSHIP TRUST
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