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'We are out in the cold'

Tax problems force a timeshare to be auctioned off.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published December 10, 2006

There will be no more summers splashing by the pool or lazily lounging at the beach.

After 23 years of vacationing with his family at Camelot Condominium, Robert F. Watson can now only drive by the boarded-up building and wonder about the place that he said was essentially stolen from him and hundreds of other timeshare owners.

"We are out in the cold," said Watson, who lives in St. Petersburg. "All my nephews call it Uncle Rob's Beach, and that is the biggest shame, that all the kids and my family are not going to be able to enjoy it anymore."

Camelot, a Pass-a-Grille hideaway for about 1,000 timeshare owners and their friends, was auctioned off two weeks ago and closed after county tax officials said the building management had failed to pay its taxes since 2003.

But Watson and other timeshare owners said they were never told of the building's tax problems.

Camelot's troubles symbolize how little protection timeshare owners have against a negligent condominium association board. Because there are so many timeshare owners and they own such a small portion of the property, the county is not required to contact them individually if tax payments are not made. Notices are instead sent to the condominium board.

The sale of the property is final, said Sam McClelland, Pinellas deputy tax collector.

"I have great sympathy for these people," he said, "but their remedy is not with the county."

Tax officials and timeshare real estate agents said it is rare for a building to get to the point at which it is auctioned off.

Condominium boards are supposed to audit their financial records each year. St. Pete Beach police were investigating whether the money was embezzled.

John Predmore, who became president of the board about 2003, did not return several requests for comment, nor did other board members.

Camelot's troubles began in 2003, when the condominium did not pay its taxes for the first time since it opened in 1982.

The Tax Collector's Office sent several certified notices of tax delinquency to the board. All were signed by someone, because the letters were not returned, McClelland said.

Finally, in September, the county sent a letter to the board explaining that it had two months to pay the back taxes plus interest - a total of about $180,000 - or the building would be auctioned off Nov. 29.

On the day of the auction, no one showed up on Camelot's behalf, and the building was sold to Luke Investments of West Palm Beach for $2-million, about a half million less than its assessed value.

The condominium board has about three months to claim the sale's profit, about $1.8-million, or the money goes to county coffers.

Lee Rightmyer, a St. Petersburg lawyer representing the board, said he was unsure whether anyone received the county's notices but that the county should have notified the individual timeshare owners.

Rightmyer said the association can pay the back taxes.

"Our goal is to nullify or reverse the tax deed sale," said Rightmyer, who was trying to figure out what the best legal course would be.

Meanwhile, the timeshare owners, who were charged about $300 a year in association fees, said they never suspected that anything was amiss.

As late as November, they were receiving tax bills from the condominium association.

In the past few years, new carpeting and tiles were installed in some of the rooms, and the property always seemed to be well cared for.

"It was shocking," said Carol Murrary of St. Pete Beach, who had to turn away family visiting from Maryland when she found out that she could not use her timeshare.

Luke Investments plans to reopen Camelot as a hotel resort in January, said Tara Mitchell, a manager at the company. Mitchell said she hopes the timeshare owners will consider staying on as customers.

"We are made out to be the bad guys, and we just are doing what we do," she said. "We are not the ones that created the problem."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 493-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 9, 2006, 20:30:02]