The Presidents Report!

The presidents report recently released it stated that owners privacy issues were discussed concerning the sharing of contact information. I am sure this discussion took place however I feel the larger issue was either overlooked.

The proposal that sparked the discussion, according to my sources, was the proposal of directories for the Associations.

Now technically, owner information is part of the Associations records and under the Michigan Condominium act you as an owner have the right to view these records. Additionally your owner information is accessible in the county tax / deeds records which are public information.

However, that is not the point of this post. My view is that the ability of owners to communicate with one another is paramount to a properly functioning Association. Now, as I have stated before I respect everyone’s right to privacy. If owner’s do not want to participate in a voluntary directory with personal contact information there are alternatives.

A good alternative is an internal Association mail system Identified by property /unit number.This method would allow owners to retain their privacy while enabling unrestricted private communication between one another.

The statement that “Boards have the final decision to allow distribution” is like your City Council saying they have the final decision on the distribution of the local phone Directory.

The Owner’s Council or the League of Shadows?

All others should be questioned.

Who is this shadowy council that meets on our behalf? Who are these hand selected individuals that represent us. Are they part of the Skull and Bones? Should we fear black helicopters snatching us off the Street?

Probably not, but I could not help from indulging in the suspicion and intrigue. I find it interesting that there is an appointed council that meets to represent owners at Boyne Mountain. Yet I as an owner have never been given a chance to share my thoughts with the council! Have you?

Who is the Wizard that appoints these select few?

Who are these appointees?

What authority has this council has been given, if any?

What would Dorothy do?

An HOA is established to provide governance of a private community. We as association members elect, as best we can, those we think will best protect our interests as a community.

A private council of a select few, hand-picked to debate and decide and institute policies on what is best for our communities is not my idea of fostering good communication. If Boyne wants owner’s input all they have to do ask. Further, this concept usurps the rights afforded to owners under the establishment of HOA’s and State Laws.

According to the presidents report a guest satisfaction survey shows the “Boyne Vacation Experience” between 82%-90% satisfaction rate. That’s great.

When was the last time they ran an owner satisfaction survey, a rental management satisfaction survey, owners services survey, or any other survey to express they hold value of owner input.

Nobody has ever said the skiing, water park, or spa was not fun. Taking a survey on the enjoyment of amenities, while potentially useful to improve performance, and stating that satisfaction is 82%-90% is like asking a kid if they are satisfied eating ice cream.

Maybe Owner’s at Boyne Mountain should establish an “Attorney’s Council” to foster better communication of our rights as owners, as protected under the law?

Q&A 2007 review from the annual meeting minutes of the MGL

It has been a year since the last Annual owners meeting so I thought it appropriate to reflect on the issues presented at the meeting and the progress made on them.

Some movement has been made as a return on your investment in the Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa. Last year “Owners” requested that Boyne present to them, a breakdown of the packages offered by Boyne so that owners have a clear understanding of the package system.

A year of owners consistently pressing the issue time and again had inadequate results until the announcement in the Annual meeting notice, which explains Brad Childress will be giving a presentation on revenues and packages.

Now I realize it is has been a whole year since we asked for the explanation but that’s about par for course around there. When was the last time your boss asked you for a project and after 10 months, accompanied by several requests, you turn in a product that is so poor that your second grade teacher would not provide a passing score?

Seriously, I hope Mr. Childress represents his bosses better than they represent themselves.

Now last year a great suggestion was made by an owner L.F. and he suggested “Top Management “ and the New Board of Directors get a list of questions from the owners and try to get them answered.

I do not know if “Top Management” and the New Board ever got together but I don’t remember any survey or questionnaires from either. Maybe, they’ll get together this year and address your concerns, then again maybe not!

Now L.F. also suggested that if we do not like the answers to sell our unit. Some owner’s have tried and to date only former Boyne Real estate Agents have had any measure of success. I will not count Foreclosures, Short sales, or “trade ups” as success. Now if I am misguided here please let me know by posting in the comments. A Mountain Grand Lodge success story would be uplifting.

Finally, for those that wanted to sell their units a former owner J.P. suggested that owners should be able to put signage inside of their unit advertising the sale and persons to contact. I guess the Board and Boyne forgot about that issue.

On the bright side there is always this year!

INCREASING RENTAL INCOME

Owners,

I am sure that many of you are concerned with your return on investment here at the MGL. I for one am looking for ways to increase income or decrease expenses. My cash outflow is significantly higher than my cash intake from rental, making this a very expensive investment, in fact I'm not sure if it is really an investment at all. Add in the loss in value from current market conditions and competition from Boyne and other nearby rentals the property looks to be nothing but a drain on my pocket book for years to come. I am not blaming anyone because I chose this property and at the time it looked good. I've had it for sale for 3 years and haven't had any lookers even at a price way below my cost. So I'm in for the long haul, so what can a owner do?

Here are the only two ideas that I can come up with.
1. Appeal property taxes, has anyone done this at the MGL? What was your outcome? Property values have certainly dropped my guess is 10-20%.
2. Employ a outside rental agency to handle rental and cleaning at a reduced price.

Of course renegotiating your loan or refinancing is a possibility, however I currently have about the best loan I can hope for in this economy.

What other ideas do you have?

Gene Carlson

Associated or disassociated?

Before I begin lets visit our old friend Webster

associated

One entry found.

Main Entry:

¹as·so·ci·ate

Pronunciation:

\ə-ˈsō-shē-ˌāt, -sē-\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

as·so·ci·at·ed; as·so·ci·at·ing

Etymology:

Middle English associat associated, from Latin associatus, past participle of associare to unite, from ad- + sociare to join, from socius companion — more at social

Date:

14th century

transitive verb1: to join as a partner, friend, or companion2obsolete : to keep company with : attend3: to join or connect together : combine4: to bring together or into relationship in any of various intangible ways (as in memory or imagination)intransitive verb1: to come or be together as partners, friends, or companions2: to combine or join with other parts : unite

synonyms see join

disassociated

One entry found.

Main Entry:

dis·as·so·ci·ate

Pronunciation:

\ˌdis-ə-ˈsō-sē-ˌāt, -shē-\

Function:

transitive verb

Date:

1603

: to detach from association : dissociate

— dis·as·so·ci·a·tion \-ˌsō-sē-ˈā-shən, -shē-\ noun

The last post about community was great and well researched, great post!
Recently, while reviewing the newsletter Boyne Property Management staff put out I had some thoughts about communication among association members and the challenges we face.

First, let us start with the current situation. Currently, if I want to speak with any other member of my associations, who I do not personally know, I cannot.

Now in residential associations this is not an issue. You can either, go door to door to introduce yourself and begin a conversation or you can drop a letter or flyer in a postbox.

Your neighbors may want to talk to you, they may not, but at the very least you should have the ability to communicate unimpeded. Your neighbors may choose to listen to you, or ignore you, but your right to free speech within your community exists.

Now I will admit I have been encouraging the Boards of my associations to create a directory of members. The focus of this effort is to give all owners the right to speak to their neighbors, should they choose or the right of owners to ignore their neighbors should they choose.

The Presidents summary clearly states that the purpose of the Owner’s council is to foster good communication of issues that are common to all properties. To “garner higher level of owner input into the planning process and discuss issues on the company level. It is important to communicate back to the owners with the Presidents summary.”

Now in theory that sounds great! However, how does the process work? What is the flow chart for communication? Who is on the owner’s council? How do you get on the owners Council? What authority does the owner’s council have? Where do they meet? Have you ever been invited to attend one of their meetings? If you cannot speak with other owners how do you know what the issues are? Boyne Newsletters? I digress so let me refocus.

To foster good communication one must be able to communicate through some medium, unimpeded. i.e. person to person via phone, email, or online communities or via letters with the U.S. Postal Service.

It is through this communication among owners / members that issues are discovered, solutions, ideas and resolutions found.

Now the issue of privacy is a concern of all. I enjoy my privacy and the right to it as much as the next person. Furthermore, just like my home and neighborhood I would not give out my neighbor’s personal information. However, if a determined individual or company wants your information all they have to do is go to the county tax records to find out who owns that property and from there your personal public information is just a few records checks away.

I guess my point is I do not fear my neighbors nor their knowledge of my name or how to contact me in fact I encourage it. I do however, distrust those who impede my neighbors’ right to free speech / communication, with me or anyone else in my associations, whether I agree with that speech or not

Just ask yourself this, what is the name of your next-door neighbor of the street you live on? Now ask yourself who owns what used to be 500K investment next to yours at Boyne?

Collection of People or a Community?

Reflecting upon the content and purpose of this online forum made me think further about the purpose of utilizing this medium to communicate. I started to think about what differentiates this collection of people from a community.

Let’s start with the definition of community:

A muti-generational group of people, at work or play, whose identities are defined in large part by the roles they play and relationships they share in that group activity. The community derives its cohesion from the joint construction of a culture of daily life built upon behavioral norms, routines, and rules and from a sense of shared purpose. Community activity also precipitates shared artifacts and ideas that support group activity and individual sense-making. A community is multi-generational, that is, it exists over time and individuals. In short, a community differs from a collection of people by the strength and depth of the culture it is able to establish (Polin & Reil, 2004).

Notice the key terms in the definition that are centered on a shared purpose. The shared purpose that we have collectively is to assure the soundness of our investments in Boyne Properties for not only this generation but for future generations. I would venture to say that although we may have coalesced together unintentionally we did invest purposefully. The reasons for investment may vary whether it is a financial investment or personal investment centered upon the growth and development of familial joy and memories.

To continue to assure the soundness of our investments is not an easy task. We are disbursed throughout the country and may at times feel that we are in isolation. While this may be the case I propose to you that this forum can become a true online community of Boyne Property owners. As with any new community, there will be concerns that revolve around codes of practice for communication, rules for moderation, issues of privacy and trust but together we can work through the ebb and flow of communication.

Investments opportunities in condotels are fairly recent. Together we can build knowledge that will inform our decisions and contributions that will ultimately assist Boyne with its developments. This will create a mutually beneficial relationship as we, the owners of Boyne properties, will prosper in the log run.

Finally, I pose to you the contention that this forum must be democracy based on free speech. At times this will means posing difficult questions to which we will together find a solution. I encourage you to share your thoughts as it is a guarantee that you may be saying something that someone else is thinking.

For more information on the novelty of this type of investment, please visit the National Association of Condo Hotel Owners. http://www.nacho.us/

Polin, L. and Reil, M. (2004). Communities as Places Where Learning Occurs. In S. Barab, R. Kling & J. Gray (Eds.), Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning, pp. 16-50. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Leadership at Disciples Village

I would like to show my support and appreciation for the Board of Directors for Disciples Village. The Directors have shown good leadership and strong fiscal accountability for their Association.

The directors have done a great job of looking to future expenses and obligations of the association and have created a very strong budget analysis. This type of leadership will help to ensure that owners in the Village at Disciples Ridge can feel good about their investment.

Another sign of the leadership in The Village is the demand for clearly defined roles and services provided by those persons and companies hired by the Association. It is clear that the Board of Directors knows the importance of understanding what it is the Association pays for and being able to convey that understanding to its membership. This is a trend also being pushed by other Associations at Boyne Mountain.

The idea of an independent Audit or review of the management Company for ALL Associations at Boyne Mountain has been discussed. Dispersing the cost of an Audit across all of the Association may lend itself to a reduction in cost and provide a more accurate reflection of the Books.


The Directors in The Village are also showing their leadership by creating committees to assist them in the management and development of the Association. They are tapping into the resources of the membership to help them in this development. The Board of Directors has come to the realization that the resources knowledge and skills within its membership is a powerful tool to be used for the betterment of the Association. The educated and professional membership of the Association brings with it the diversity, experiences and knowledge that could rival any large corporation.

Developer? Owner? or Competion?

Recently there has been much discussion regarding a possible bylaw violation by the Developer of the Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa, a Boyne Managed Property.

For background on the issue, please refer to my earlier posts in September. I would further like to develop this discussion and the role of the involved parties.

The developer is claiming that they reserve the right to appoint a person to the Board of Directors due to the number of units he possesses and claims are for sale.
The developer states that they will not officially list the properties for sale out of respect for owners trying to sell their units in the Mountain Grand Lodge(MGL).

I will not digress into the ethical questions, appearances of impropriety nor the violation of agency, implied agency and Dual agency a defined by Michigan realty Law, that is created by this situation if you are represented by the developers real estate agents. Furthermore, I will not expound on market manipulation or supply and demand.

The developer claims his right to appoint a Director to the Board as a Developer. Conversely, the Developer turns right around and collects rental revenue as an owner.

The developer collects rental revenue in direct competition of us fellow owners.

Is the Developer the Developer or an owner?

Maybe the GM of the MGL, an employee of the Developer would like to explain the Developers position?

Let me know what you think take the poll on the right hand side of the page

A different view

Recently, a fellow owner of a Boyne affiliated property emailed me. This owner's concern was that this blog was leaning to the negative side.

As a result, the owner felt it might slow the acceptance and use of the blog.

I value the owner's comments and views of the blog and the insight in helping to promote the blog to other owners.

This blog is open for the entire world. People are free to comment, as they like, they can comment on any of the post in any manner they see fit.

I do not moderate the post for anything other than gross obscenities and materials that would be deemed or inappropriate to children.

This Blog is not a PR site for Boyne.

Not everyone will agree with the things I post.

If people read this blog and feel the site is negative, one consideration may be, that it is not the post so much as the actions (or in some cases the lack of) described within those posts.

Sometimes the truth is not always positive.

Currently I am developing some post that highlight some of the progress owners have made and continue to make as we open the lines of communication with one another.

If you have something you would like posted email me.

The sound of Silence

I am sure that Boyne and all its affiliates / partners would love to hear that sound from me, but alas, it shall not happen and it should not happen. The more resources I find for HOA's and the more news articles and legal briefs I find, I also discover the abuses that have occurred across the nation.

The one reason these abuses become known is because owners and investors decided to speak up.

One sound of Silence that I do hear is the Silence from Boyne and the employees designated to represent their interest.

It has been weeks since the GM of the Mountain Grand Lodge promised the Owners and Investors a breakdown of packages for the hotel anD still no word.

Ask them about the sudden and unexplained removal of a Board of Director appointed by the developer and still no answer. This is a pattern of behavior by Boyne just look at how they respond to complaints by the BBB, simple, they don't.

So if you own at:

Big Sky Resort, Montana

Boyne Highlands Resort, Michigan

Boyne Mountain Resort, Michigan

Brighton, Utah

Crystal Mountain, Washington

Cypress Mountain, British Columbia

Gatlinburg Sky Lift, Tennessee

Loon Mountain, New Hampshire

Sugarloaf/USA, Maine

Sunday River Resort, Maine

The Inn at Bay Harbor - A Renaissance Golf Resort, Michigan

The Summit at Snoqualmie, Washington

and you are not getting the response or respect you deserve then speak out.

We are not alone!

Many owners are still more than frustrated with their involvement with the Mountain Grand Lodge and Boyne. I think part of the reason is that concerned owner are speaking up and to one another and to the Board of Directors but the problems persist and the distrust of the developer, management agency and Board of Directors continues to grow.

There are more and more HOA's getting together on the web to share their ideas, concerns, solutions, and legal victories that surround the Abuses and criminal actions of those that run or manage their HOA.

The resources and networks grow daily. I have added several new links to sites to help Boyne Owner better manage their investment. Take some time review the sites. It is a shame to see the abuses encouraged and protected poorly run Boards and the corruption that ensues.

The good news is that we are not alone and as one site states " there is strength in unity"

Who this Blog is for

This blog encourages free speech by Boyne property owners to voice opinions, perceptions, facts, conjecture, stories and experiences as Boyne property owners. It is open to all property owners affiliated through Boyne USA including:

• Big Sky Resort, Montana
• Boyne Highlands Resort, Michigan
• Boyne Mountain Resort, Michigan
• Brighton, Utah
• Crystal Mountain, Washington
• Cypress Mountain, British Columbia
• Gatlinburg Sky Lift, Tennessee
• Loon Mountain, New Hampshire
• Sugarloaf/USA, Maine
• Sunday River Resort, Maine
• The Inn at Bay Harbor - A Renaissance Golf Resort, Michigan
• The Summit at Snoqualmie, Washington

While we encourage free speech we request all post be done so with civility and respect.

Lawsuits and Corruption

The other day I was surfing the web and landed on one of my favorite sites. I like this site because it has some good articles on lawsuits and corruption. The site is the HOA nut house and it is a great place to learn that most Associations have very similar problems.

I will post the links to the articles in the article links section. While the articles are not exact reflections of the activities of the developers, Association Boards, contractors, and Management companies at Boyne Mountain they are close enough to make one wonder....

Life after the Boyne rental management program

Hey there fellow owners and followers!

I just wanted talk about an issue that is near and dear to my heart, the rental management program (RMP) by Boyne. Most owners are in the program for various reasons, I am sure, but the trend is changing. Independent management options are becoming more common.


What is the reason for the trend?

Just like people who stay in the RMP, operated by Boyne, the reasons vary. I can say from my own experiences that the 50% cut of revenue they demanded is overwhelmingly insane and was a huge motivating factor for me leave.

I think the thing that really made me leave was the poor service and management of my accounts and unit. When you ask the people running the rental management program questions about packages or bring up issues of concern, they would give you the run around or in some cases lie to you. For 50% of my profits I had enough.

So what are your options?

Most areas have RMP's that can represent you or you can do it yourself. Now obviously this option depends on what you own where you own and what your association Bylaws are.

You may still have to pay a fee but at least you can negotiate the range and in most cases, it is not 50% of your revenue.

Other considerations....

If you do go with an outside manager you may have to advertise on your own, no more central reservations. However, the Internet is a great way to manage all of that. Also there are pay for systems that you can use to have your own central reservation system.

Most property managers handle booking and cleaning as part of their service you will have to check and see what their services include.

If you decide to do it yourself, you get all the work and but you also get all the rewards (profits) as well.

Really, it just comes down to developing a good system once you get that down it really is not very much work. There are some costs for things like advertising and websites (if you chose to build one) and reservation engines as well as payment gateways. All of these expenses can add up but even if you decide to use them all the fees and expenses are usually recovered very quickly in profit.

The one good thing about this trend is that as more people lean towards going it alone the easier it becomes and better ways are developed for independent management

I will be happy to share my contacts and service providers to any who are interested just let me know.

Robert