Las Palomas Banditos

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so now they don't pay again.I'll bet they are paying the Squirrels tho.they also are charging $5 to replace an 80 cent cfl litebulb.Out with WWG and the Secret Squirrels! Step aside Jimmy and Benny!

Can you be more specific?

Ernesto, you need to give these guys a break. They have been very busy implementing their new brilliant Parking Pass/ID sticker program. Unfortunately, the magic marker on the parking pass smudges in the heat and the pool is now littered with stickers that fall off in the water.

Back to the drawing board to control those pesky owners, WWG financial issues can wait!

Just think of all the rental money that should have come in...with the occupancy rates during Semana Santa and Memorial Day!!!!

ernesto said:

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so now they don't pay again.I'll bet they are paying the Squirrels tho.they also are charging $5 to replace an 80 cent cfl litebulb.Out with WWG and the Secret Squirrels! Step aside Jimmy and Benny!

know your facts 1st amigo. replacement of lightbulbs is handled by the rental company, not by the HOA- thus no squirrels or birds have any control of the pricing structure used by the rental company. although i agree that the replacement cost is excessive, it is something that your HOA has no control over. I would assume if you wanted to keep the cost down you would replace your own lightbulbs with energy efficient ones next time you go down- (thus avoiding the need for someone else to replace them). again, that would involve common sense, so never mind.

curiousgeorge said:

Ernesto, you need to give these guys a break. They have been very busy implementing their new brilliant Parking Pass/ID sticker program. Unfortunately, the magic marker on the parking pass smudges in the heat and the pool is now littered with stickers that fall off in the water.

Back to the drawing board to control those pesky owners, WWG financial issues can wait!

don't worry george the same program will be implemented at other resorts along sandy beach (nothing new and something that is being done in many places). thank you for bringing up your concern of the product (stickers, parking pass)- it has been noted and like anything else hopefully will be corrected. Don't worry guys, WWG financial issues are still #1 priority and concern. although this means we can't just let anarchy rule the resort while we negotiate a final solution (we still have to fix and correct issues at large). by the way, we saw a miracle over the past two weekends (and current weekend)... 'guest of owner' reservations some how dropped by 80% compared to the 4 previous weekends (amazing that so many owners no longer have friends staying for free and are now somehow paying for their stay- very strange).

dry heat said:

don't worry george the same program will be implemented at other resorts along sandy beach (nothing new and something that is being done in many places). thank you for bringing up your concern of the product (stickers, parking pass)- it has been noted and like anything else hopefully will be corrected. Don't worry guys, WWG financial issues are still #1 priority and concern. although this means we can't just let anarchy rule the resort while we negotiate a final solution (we still have to fix and correct issues at large). by the way, we saw a miracle over the past two weekends (and current weekend)... 'guest of owner' reservations some how dropped by 80% compared to the 4 previous weekends (amazing that so many owners no longer have friends staying for free and are now somehow paying for their stay- very strange).

80% is very impressive. It is important work you do to ensure that all condo owners become part the hotel and retain no independence.

And here we go again.....but where's the beef????

curiousgeorge said:

80% is very impressive. It is important work you do to ensure that all condo owners become part the hotel and retain no independence.

it's important that all owners don't have to compete against each other on price. meaning owners don't undercut each other or screw each other from rentals, but maybe that is not so important. I know its unique in that EVERY SINGLE RESORT enforces that all like units (size, location) have the same rental rate. But, maybe you know more than all the other resorts throughout the world. If you wanted independence you should have purchased a home in a location with no association or rules- you could then have all sorts of independence and do anything you like.

dry heat said:

it's important that all owners don't have to compete against each other on price. meaning owners don't undercut each other or screw each other from rentals, but maybe that is not so important. I know its unique in that EVERY SINGLE RESORT enforces that all like units (size, location) have the same rental rate. But, maybe you know more than all the other resorts throughout the world. If you wanted independence you should have purchased a home in a location with no association or rules- you could then have all sorts of independence and do anything you like.

This is not true for owner occupied/furnished condos, in fact it is rare from my experience. I have vacationed in many places in the world, and have rarely experienced this. I have used VRBO and other owner rental sites for well over a decade, and have rented multiple places in many countries and many many places in Mexico and this is one of the only times I have ever stayed in a rent controlled facility (We did use a rental pool condo BTW). I have even stayed at sites that used Hotwire and Priceline and still checked in through the front desk with NEVER an issue or discussion. I do agree that in some facilities there are similar price standards, but those are normally more time share type places where the interiors are all identical and actually fully mantained by an association or management group (I have stayed at these and have friends who own some of these also). I am a believer though that if someone bought under these rules they should abide by them, that is assuming ALL the rules are being followed by both sides. I have heard and read a number of things that seem to indicate all is not kosher with the rental pool, HOA, and Managment group, and that what people agreed to or signed up for, is not what they are getting either. As we are looking to potentially purchase here, I welcome all comments (well maybe not all, but I have thick skin).

I live here and own a home here. I cannot imaging and never have been able to imagine, being part of a HOA, particularly in a condo setting. Nor can I imagine giving authority for the use of my property to a third party and giving up my rights so they can make a profit ! Why do you all do that?? Rather I guess the question is why did you agree to that ?????

Back when, because they were told in a rental pool all the money the owner will pocket even after expences IMO

You are correct Terry. The rules changed when stuff got tough there. They are still changing at the whims of the developer and a few self appointed HOA personnel. Those are the ones I refer to as the "Secret Squirrels" They are the only ones able to talk to the principals and hold closed door meetings amongst themselves. They also enjoy special priveleges in exchange for ratting out other owners that don't play by all the rules set forth in the original agreement as well as new ones enacted after the developer stole about $3 million from everyone here. (this was according to the Squirrels in January, but they have since recanted and softened their stance after THEIR accounts were brought current.

dry heat said:

know your facts 1st amigo. replacement of lightbulbs is handled by the rental company, not by the HOA- thus no squirrels or birds have any control of the pricing structure used by the rental company. although i agree that the replacement cost is excessive, it is something that your HOA has no control over. I would assume if you wanted to keep the cost down you would replace your own lightbulbs with energy efficient ones next time you go down- (thus avoiding the need for someone else to replace them). again, that would involve common sense, so never mind.

First and foremost...I'm NOT your amigo. You don't seem to have a good grasp of english grammar. When I said "they don't pay again" it obviously refers to Las Palomas and they are the ones replacing lightbulbs for $5, not you Secret Squirrels, although it IS hard to distinguish between your priorities most of the time.

the rental bylaws of the resort have always been the same. if you rent or lease your unit, you must do so via the rental management company. for owners who don't rent their units, this arrangement provides a contribution to the general HOA fund- thus keeping hoa costs down for all owners, provides some regulations of what type of renter comes to the resort, provides a set of regulations to protect all units such as # of people in a unit, how old someone can be to rent a unit, expectation of a unit so that a guest has somewhat of a similar experience regardless of what unit they stay in, authority to the HOA security to remove an unruly renter from the premises. for rental owners it provides somewhat of a level playing field in that the pricing will be similar for 'like' units- it is up to you then to either furnish it based on the minimum standards or exceed those standards in order to gain a competitive edge. and many other reasons why most resorts will have a rental management company when you have 400+ rental units in a development with 400+ non rental units.

here is a simple solution.... buy your own lightbulbs!!!! I agree, I think the price that the rental operator charges for a lightbulb is excessive.
that's too bad ernesto, I thought we were amigos- since we are starting to get a good idea as to who you are with your 100+ rants. the developer, secret squirrels and many many owners read these posts- thus it may be a good idea to think before posting half truths, slandering comments and lies. Then again, please go on.

"I thought we were amigos- since we are starting to get a good idea as to who you are with your 100+ rants".

This is starting to get "Big Brother" creepy.

Good Dry, if that's so, let's hear from the developer and Secret Squirrels other than you. You've had facetime with them so bring it. Alot of the people on this forum SHOULD know what is really going on at LP.

Ernesto you should sell the condo and move down to Santo Tomas.The coastal Highway will make in possible to drive to San Carlos for lunch.Lots are cheaper now,build costs (honest costs) are around 105 bucks a foot.You can rent your house to anyone you want!

Anytime something informative needed to be shared has been done so via the proper channels (via email to all owners either by the developers representative or the SC). If we have nothing concrete to share or definative or something that could change the next day, why share it if it means nothing. I have been a part of a few company buyouts and if the day to day or week to week negotiations were shared as a play by play- we would be confused, frustrated and angered. These issues take time and won't be solved overnight, its a 250million+ project that currently involves a team of lawyers from both sides plus countless other people. I wish it was a simple situation. Hopefully more will be shared soon regarding the progress of owners taking over the HOA and other issues (countless as we know). If you look back at the communication by the SC, I believe an email has been sent every couple of months or so with the status at the time. For an owner at Las Palomas you sure seem to be someone that wants your own home to be destroyed, slandered and not want anyone to visit it (my gut tells me that something a lot deeper is going on in your situation to just bring up half-truths and generalizations just for the sake of wanting attention). eventually your words are going to lose luster and everyone will just read them as... angry ernesto must either not be able to rent on his own again or is having financial difficulties.
To keep the conversation going why not ask or bring up an exact point rather than a generalization. It is a lot easier to answer these points and of course easier for all those you are concerned about to understand.

Sounds like you found your meds again Dry, Good, Stay on 'em.

I have a more simple question. You two both seem to be very involved in the rental situation of Las Palomas. Can you give us a general idea of the occupancy rates? Do most people come down for just the weekend or for a full week? I understand that different owners will market their properties better, but I was trying to understand general trends. For those of us new to RP, are there strong months and dead months? Is it changing in one direction or another? It is hard to read trends from VRBO on this area, because it looks like most people remove many of their comments for some reason (there seem to be lots of date gaps on comments). We were impressed with the facility, even if we are extremely worried about the politics, so we continue to try an understand IF we should risk buying there.

I'll state that I don't own at Las Palomas....but a friend of mine dies...and is a full time resident. From what he's told me (hopefully I haven't misnderstood....I'm sure that dry heat will correct/chastise me if I've misstated), is that the resort/HOA is controlled by a Mexican group, and it has been impossible to get changes made that they don't agree with.....they have deep pockets and even legal recourse has not been possible.

summerfrost said:

I have a more simple question. You two both seem to be very involved in the rental situation of Las Palomas. Can you give us a general idea of the occupancy rates? Do most people come down for just the weekend or for a full week? I understand that different owners will market their properties better, but I was trying to understand general trends. For those of us new to RP, are there strong months and dead months? Is it changing in one direction or another? It is hard to read trends from VRBO on this area, because it looks like most people remove many of their comments for some reason (there seem to be lots of date gaps on comments). We were impressed with the facility, even if we are extremely worried about the politics, so we continue to try an understand IF we should risk buying there.

I would say between the months of March - August, October the average renter stays longer (ex. 4 nights). Very common to have renters stay a full week during these months. I would say the average owner could book half the month during this time period. During the other months the average renter stays 3 nights. The slowest months are Nov - Feb (Jan and Feb are literally dead in hardly any renters). Many resorts are trying to work the Canadian market since many vacation those months.

rockyptjoe said:

I'll state that I don't own at Las Palomas....but a friend of mine dies...and is a full time resident. From what he's told me (hopefully I haven't misnderstood....I'm sure that dry heat will correct/chastise me if I've misstated), is that the resort/HOA is controlled by a Mexican group, and it has been impossible to get changes made that they don't agree with.....they have deep pockets and even legal recourse has not been possible.

The resort is controlled by a Mexican Group. However in my opinion this will be changing soon (hopefully within the next few months). The goal is to eventually have the owners control the HOA (I believe we are heading in this direction). Yes, they have a team of lawyers, however so do we (owners). it has been a long drawn out process involving tedious (sp) negotiations back and forth for a long time. I think we are finally at the end.