Tropic Leisure Club is a Scam?

I was the Sales Manager there, and, while I can say that I have no love lost for the owners, ,whom I do not like, they are not 'scamming' anyone. It's true that the property need LOTS of work (ecept for the restaurant, which is owned by Kirsty and Ryan, not Magens Point...GREAT restaurant!!). Many of the owners are trying to sell them due to the rise in Maint.Fees and lack of amentity upgrades. There is a huge hole in the ground where they are supposed to be building another section, and some of the owners that have bought into it are upset that it is not done yet, which it was supposed to be by the beginning of '05 and is still a hole in the ground. I don't have many good things to say about the property, but it is truly not a scam. They give you what you pay for. Whether you feel it is *worth* what you paid for it is a personal matter. Just MHO.

Thanks for your input. It's weird to explain, when I drove onto the property, I thought I was taken back in time. There was this dirt pile with weeds growing so you knew not much renovation had taking place. I met some dude named Jeff (I'm not sure of his capacity). He was not in the least helpfull.

Enough.
Thank you.

Jeff? Little short guy with thinning light brown hair? That's the General Manager, Jeff Higgs. I just re-read the original post and, I guess I missed it the first time, but Mike and Mercedes Shelby have been owners, along with the real money guy who is their parnter, for about 20 years. Is there a new owner that I don't know of? Where did you hear that owners keep changing? I mean, the Shelby's have been a constant fo a looonnngg time.

Marty - in terms of owners, I was referring to the timeshare owners that keep changing (sometimes a timeshare ownership for a specfic week/unit will change as many as 3 times in one year).

On average, each unit annually receives approximately $20,000 in maitnenance fees.. With an increase of 10%, that's another $2,000. Now let's multiply that by the number of units at Magens. What is Mike and Mercedes doing with all of the money? The property has age and they are definitely not re-investing into the property. The Shelby's may be a constant for a long time, but they have certainly taken the money and run at the same time.

Thanks for your feedback. By the way, are you the forum spokeperson for this message board, or are you engaged in another business allowing you the opportunity to help others?

Thanks again.

"in terms of owners, I was referring to the timeshare owners that keep changing (sometimes a timeshare ownership for a specfic week/unit will change as many as 3 times in one year)."
-Oh! THAT is for sure! Haha! I always sent the owners to www.timesharestogo.com tog et rid of their weeks, as Tommy Tubbs (the owner of the site) doesn't take a commission until he sells it. Good guy to sell something for you.

"On average, each unit annually receives approximately $20,000"
-In TLC? No, it's a bit more than that, if all 52 weeks are sold in that unit. If memory serves (which it may not! Haha!), with a Maint. Fee of $481/year, that works out to $27,196 each year per unit...times 32 units! That's $870,272/year!! And that doesn't include the money he takes in for the one and two bedroom units in Magans Bay Villas Club!! But, none of thethe TLC units are completely sold out yet.

"in maitnenance fees.. With an increase of 10%, that's another $2,000."
-That's $87K for all 32 units!!!

"Now let's multiply that by the number of units at Magens. What is (are) Mike and Mercedes doing with all of the money? "
-Since there are still unowned weeks, they aren't bringing in what we would calculate. As an owner, you can request the numbers (money brought in vs. money spent) to see where it is going, but, and I don't want to stick up for them, the cost of operations is mighty high. Just the water alone is approximately $104,000 per year. Then you've got electric, housekeeping, maintenance, management, front desk, administration, insurance, taxes, etc...it all adds up. Granted, they aren't the best managers of money, but it is against the law for themto pocket any of the money.

"The property has age and they are definitely not re-investing into the property."
-Every dime goes into running it. You'll see that when you get the P&L statement. But the place *is* rundown looking.

" The Shelby's may be a constant for a long time, but they have certainly taken the money and run at the same time."
-Well, they have mismanaged it, that's for sure, but they pay themselves a salary as employees of their place. The Maint. Fees come in twice a year, and you can always tell when SPS has released the money, as lots of things get done during the first few weeks of the money being in the bank. Just before they get the check in the account, they are scraping to pay salaries. I had to wait for over a month to get my sales commissions! And this is money that I brought in!! Anyway, rest assured, they don't want trouble with the law, so they don't pocket any of the Maint Fees.

" By the way, are you the forum spokeperson for this message board,"
-Huh? Spokesperson? No, I am just a board frequenter.

"or are you engaged in another business allowing you the opportunity to help others?"
-After I left Magens Point, I took a job as Project Director for the Welcome Center in downtown Charlotte Amalie, then I resigned that position to be just a salesperson, then I quit. I hope to start a new job as a salesperson for Terra-Chem on Monday (selling chemicals to hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc.). So, I only post to be nice and to be helpful to others.

"Thanks again."
-Anytime

Marty, didn't realize you left the Welcome Center. Moved out of town, and haven't been by the place in a while. Good luck at Terra-Chem.

Marty,
Stop by my office sometime this week or call me (774-3944) - I can put you in touch with the fleet from VICL - maybe we can do some sort of "sale" for them and help you pick up some new clients. Always happy to help another recovering time share salesman.
Pamela.