Home Views from the Notch Introducing the Villmarksauna Reorganization Opportunity

Introducing the Villmarksauna Reorganization Opportunity

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First a bit of history

The Villmarksauna condominiums were built in 1978 with a Scandinavian theme. The Nordic trail called Langlauf, meaning “cross-country running or racing on skis,” runs along the far side of the buildings. To help make it feel even more Nordic, the top floor of each stairwell had its own sauna. Some of you may remember that the adjacent Nordland building had outdoor hot tubs when Villmark had its saunas!

In the mid 1980’s, Smugglers’ began offering timeshare properties to visitors who wanted the benefits of Resort ownership during specified times in the year in lieu of whole ownership. Instead of selling all of the Villmarksauna homes as whole ownership, some were converted to timeshares. When first introduced, it was unclear to us whether our buyers would want the benefits of real estate ownership or would prefer membership interests in an entity that owned a condominium, so we experimented. Smuggs offered some condominiums as deeded timeshares and some as membership in a Club Corporation timeshare.

The membership model provided a Certificate to a not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the laws of the state of Vermont. The Certificate represents the interests of the member, ie; Club Owner, in that condominium for a particular week. These Certificates were our first introduction to timeshare and were only issued for condominiums V14, V19, and V22. They are essentially a stock certificate.

Our experiment taught us that most buyers wanted real estate rather than a Certificate; whether for tax purposes, financing opportunities, or just simply to own real estate. As a result, all subsequent timeshare condominiums throughout the entire Resort were designated as deeded ownership.

Proposed Future

Forty five years after Villmarksauna was created, Club Owners have begun to ask if there is a way to sunset their ownership. They have diligently paid their maintenance fees and wish to transfer their ownership.

Some Villmarksauna Club Owners have already stopped paying their maintenance fees; whether due to financial hardship, changes in the family circumstances, such as death or divorce, or selling to a Timeshare Reseller who stopped paying the maintenance fees. The ownership is no longer used or paid for. The rest of the Owners of that home must cover the operating cost that is left unpaid. [see FAQ below for an explanation.]

Through reorganization, it will be possible to allow Club Owners to exit their ownership, move to a different home, and also convert the Certificate ownerships to deeded ownerships. The Villmarksauna Reorganization Opportunity (VRO) objective is to ensure the financial health of the Villmarksauna condominiums. Smuggs will facilitate this deed back program, deed swaps, and Certificate transfer in the case of the V14, V19, and V22 Owners. Combining the abandoned weeks with the weeks Owners want to give up in an exit solution will mean the remaining weeks are owned by families who wish to enjoy the condominium and will pay the maintenance fees going forward.

The Villmarksauna Reorganization Opportunity (VRO) plan is to free up all 52 weeks in one or more condominiums so they may be converted to whole ownership. There appears to be a market for whole ownership in contrast to the diminishing demand for ownership in a timeshare condominium.

Selecting V14, V19, and V22 to be the vacated homes allows the not-for-profit corporations to be converted from the Certificate ownerships to deeded ownerships. By making them whole ownership, only one deed per home need be prepared instead of a deed for each week of ownership – a more streamlined and economical avenue.

In order to consolidate weeks that are being vacated into one or more homes, we will facilitate moving other Villmarksauna Club Owners to another condominium in Villmarksauna or another timeshare building at Smuggs. For those of you in V14, V19, & V22 who wish to continue your vacation ownership, you will be given priority in selecting an alternative that takes into consideration your specific preferences and circumstances.

Some Villmarksauna Club Owners have indicated a desire for a new location, different weeks, and additional weeks. There is some flexibility available for the particular building, size of home, Fixed week, and a Float week.

Frequently Asked Questions

It appears there is now a critical mass to make a reorganization effort viable. Smuggs owns approximately half of the weeks in each Villmarksauna timeshare condominium. Not many Villmarksauna Club Owners take advantage of purchasing one of the Smuggs-owned Float weeks each year. We’re eager to see these weeks be better utilized. Plus, the unpaid maintenance fees in abandoned weeks are a burden for us all and must be addressed in order to sustain the Villmarksauna property.

The annual Maintenance Fee is calculated based on the cost of operation, care, upkeep, and maintenance of your condominium. All of the Owners in your condominium share this cost equally. If someone doesn’t pay, the costs still need to be covered. The Declaration for your condominium governs its management, including the creation of a budget to cover its obligations. Thus the budget reserves for the “Allocation of Uncollectible Fees” as a contingency to ensure there’s sufficient revenue to pay all of the expenses. These budgets are posted on the Owner Network under “Association Info & Docs” in the subnavigation.

In 2017, Smuggs introduced the Farewell Smuggs Program as a way for Club Owners to exit their timeshare ownership in a graceful manner after years of enjoying their Smuggs experience. Due to a greater supply of timeshares compared to the demand and the internet making it cheap to buy a resale, the value of timeshare properties at Smuggs has fallen. Farewell Smuggs provides a guaranteed exit for Club Owners who simply want to stop paying their maintenance fees. They execute a deed that relinquishes their ownership at no cost to them and with no compensation. The program is offered annually and guarantees that the Owner who deeds back their property is released from all future maintenance fees. The new Owner will pay those maintenance fees going forward. The Farewell Smuggs Program is not available to Villmarksauna Owners due to the mixture of ownership models in the Villmarksauna Association.

Similar to the Farewell Smuggs Program, the Villmarksauna Reorganization Opportunity offers Villmarksauna Club Owners the opportunity to give up their timeshare ownership at no cost and with no compensation. You would not be responsible for finding a new Owner or paying any future maintenance fees. Smugglers’ will prepare all of the paperwork and handle the legal and administrative costs to transfer the ownerships, whether as a deed swap, deed back, or Certificate transfer. Any remaining benefits will be terminated at the time that the property is transferred to a new owner per the Benefits Agreement.

Fourteen of the 24 condominiums in Villmarksauna are timeshares. All timeshare condominiums are broken into 1 week ownerships, with two of the weeks, #16 & #45, designated as the maintenance weeks. The other ten condominiums are whole ownership with one deeded Owner owning all 52 weeks.

Roughly half of the weeks, #1-12, #25-34, #51-52, were sold to individuals/families as Fixed weeks. A few spring and fall Float weeks are also privately owned. Smuggs owns the majority of the Float weeks during weeks #13-24 and #35-50 (26 weeks, not counting the two designated maintenance weeks.) You have the right to buy a Float week annually for use in RCI, Wyndham or visiting Smuggs in the shoulder season. Smuggs pays the Float week maintenance fees if they are not used by a Villmarksauna Club Owner.

The ownership model of these condominiums is not ideal for long term management. The Certificates often are misplaced or lost, requiring the Owner to sign an affidavit to receive a new one. Deeded ownership, on the other hand, is executed with a Notary Public and recorded at the Cambridge Town Clerk’s office. The deed database is now searchable on their website. An attorney can conduct a title search and prepare a deed when the Owner is ready to transfer their ownership. In contrast, the Certificates are prepared by Smugglers’ Accounting staff. They are not notarized or recorded. For these reasons, we would like to convert V14, V19, and V22 to deeded ownership with only one Owner per condominium. The timeshare Owners in these three condominiums will be given priority in selecting an alternative that takes into consideration your specific preferences and circumstances.

Most likely, yes. It all depends on how many Owners in your condominium wish to retire their ownership or move to another condominium or building. We may need to assist in consolidating exited ownerships in a few other Villmarksauna condominiums depending on the number of deed back, Certificate transfer, and condominium swap requests.

Not necessarily. Most of the Villmarksauna Club Owners will not have to move their ownership. Some Club Owners have indicated that they would consider moving. VRO may be able to accommodate that. Sign up now and rank your preference of a unit/week within Villmarksauna and for a different timeshare building at Smuggs. Options for a different unit size, Fixed week, and Float week are given. It’s too early to know what the availability will be, but we will provide as much choice as possible later this Spring.

No, VRO is only available for Club Ownerships of 1, 2 and 4 weeks in the following buildings: Aspen Highlands, Balsams, Birches, Evergreen, Maples, Mountain Laurels, Oaks, Pines, Sycamores, Tamaracks, and Willows.

Yes, as long as your current benefit package(s) has not expired. An addendum will be made to your existing Club Recreational Benefits contract reflecting the change of ownership (building, unit, and week).

For those of you who change your unit, we will try to keep the same week and condo size if that’s your preference. The 2023 maintenance fee for 2-bedroom condos at Smuggs ranges from $887 – $1,182. The 2023 average fee in Villmarksauna is $987. The newer condos in North Hill and West Hill have the higher fees, but they also have a dedicated community center, pool, and exercise room that’s covered by those fees.

No, if you’re swapping with another 2-bedroom, 1-week ownership. If you wish to have a Float week too (ie; a 2-week deed), the one-time cost will be $1000 for that extra week to be added to your ownership. This means two maintenance fees will be due each year with this new deed. If you wish to upgrade to a 3-bedroom (1-week ownership), then the one-time cost will be $1000 for the new 3-bedroom unit (doubled if you want a 2-week ownership). For example:
Swap your Villmarksauna (1-week ownership) to a 2-bedroom (1-week ownership) = $0
Swap your Villmarksauna (1-week ownership) to a 2-bedroom (2-week ownership) = $1000
Swap your Villmarksauna (1-week ownership) to a 3-bedroom (1-week ownership) = $1000
Swap your Villmarksauna (1-week ownership) to a 3-bedroom (2-week ownership) = $2000

Yes, all Villmarksauna maintenance fees were due by February 6, 2023. If you have not already paid your 2023 maintenance fee please contact Concord Services immediately to avoid collections. After completing either a deed back, deed swap, or Certificate transfer any overpaid maintenance fees can be either refunded or applied as a credit towards future maintenance fees.

Depends, if you participate in the deed back or Certificate transfer (V14, V19, or V22) option you will no longer own that week. If you participate in a deed swap then your ownership will change and you may be able to use your new ownership. All depends on the timing of the executed deed and your previous ownership. Our goal is to have all exits (i.e. deed backs/Certificate transfers) completed by June 17, 2023, Week #24, so any weeks from Week #24 onward will no longer be yours to use if you exit your ownership.

2023 is the only year we anticipate facilitating this reorganization.

Enrollment concluded on April 30, 2023. Starting the week of May 1st, we will begin to follow up with those of you who wish to retire your ownership. Owners of units 14, 19, and 22 will be contacted as well with next steps for those Club Corporations. After which we’ll address the requests for moving to new units/weeks. Preferences will be allotted in the order in which they are submitted according to availability. Thank you for your continued patience while we work through this important project.

If you did not complete the survey and would like to exit your Villmarksauna ownership, please email Lisa Howe at [email protected].

Two week ownerships and four week ownerships (Holiday Club) are deeded as one property. The Fixed and Float weeks cannot be split and disposed of separately. Our “Up a Notch” program sold single Fixed weeks and we might be able to utilize this program for deed swaps. There are also the even/odd year ownerships, which have 1 week ownership per year.

Ideally, you must have booked your Home Week Reservation for 2023 or Winter 2024. Your home will need to be available for the new owner in the next season. Please check with RCI if you are interested in VRO.

Ideally, to be considered for this program your week(s) that occur on or after June 17, 2023 (Week #24) must be available for occupancy by the new owner. It is your responsibility to check with RCI to see if they have filled your week(s). If they have not assigned an inbound guest to your home, they may allow you to withdraw your week(s) from the RCI system. You must not have used the week for an exchange to remove it from the RCI system.

You will have the opportunity to use those banked weeks or accumulated points until their expiration date or the last date of your membership, whichever occurs first, as long as you keep your RCI fees current during that time. For those who wish to swap their Villmarksauna ownership for another, Smuggs will facilitate the ownership changes directly with RCI at no additional cost.

Maybe. If you choose to exit your ownership there are special instructions on how to remove your Villmarksauna week from Wyndham Points. This option is time sensitive and must be acted upon quickly. If you wish to retain your Wyndham membership, but wish to swap your Villmarksauna ownership for another, Smuggs will assist in the facilitation with Wyndham.

Any weeks that start prior to June 17, 2023 (Week #24) may be used by you or a person designated by you, as long as you are current with your financial obligations. Any weeks that start on or after that date must be available to be used by the new owner. If you have made commitments for your future weeks and you are not able to cancel them, you might not be able to participate in certain options offered within VRO. A number of owners have plans for their Summer week that they would like to keep. If possible, we will prepare the paperwork and file the deeds following those Summer commitments. We cannot make that arrangement for Winter weeks though.

If your home is listed for sale with a broker, you may not participate in this program, unless you receive a written cancellation of your listing and submit it to Smugglers’. Read your contract carefully to determine whether or not you are able to cancel your sales agreement in order to participate in VRO.

We ask for your patience as we administer this reorganization. It’s extremely challenging to respond to calls and emails while verifying applicant information and qualification (ie fees are paid and ownership is available for transfer to a new owner.) Please DO NOT CALL or EMAIL us during this process; we will contact you with the status of your application later this spring.

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