05/21/10

Welcome to The Puerto Vallarta Peninsula Condo Owners Website  

The purpose of this website is to give all the condo owners at Puerto Vallarta Peninsula Condominiums a place to know each other and to discuss problems and solutions in a reasonable and amiable way.   I will try to refrain from politicizing and emulate the native population which exhibits so much tolerance and good humor.  We are profoundly fortunate to be in a paradise not easily found.  If we all work together peaceably but united we can solve any problem.

My name is Sara Becker.  .  I am a Family Physician from Portland, Oregon.  The left picture is my condo and reminds me of what I am working for.  The center picture is my best friend and my son on the beach.  I am also a commercial pilot.  I hope to make PV my home someday

Our strength lies in communication and the ability to reason with the developer as an informed group.

I know there is much frustration over services, rental issues, repairs, inter-tower politics and now earthquakes.   Yes there are problems.  Even God had trouble with one of his angels.   I hope most of us will take the long view and realize that we can solve these problems because they are just problems.  We can and should treat each other with respect and with tolerance.  We are an international community who by our very presence here are not average people.    People will come and people will go subject to their own needs.   We are not developing a home we are developing a community.  Let us all work together so that the community we establish is one we can enjoy our friends, our family and the culture that surrounds us.   We have had hurricane winds and now an earthquake. (The locusts are next week)   The building is still there.   We will face some challenges but they are not insurmountable.

NEWS 05/21/2010 02:47 PM

Please be cautious placing organic material in the garbage disposal.  We had a major leak in Tower  III from organic material

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the due date for fees to be paid is the 10th of every month (as of the 11^{th maintenance fees incur in a 10% late fee penalty), electricity consumption before meter installation and reserve fund are now incurring in a late fee penalty as they were due on December 10th of 2009 (agreed & ratified at the annual meeting). The annual meeting minute was sent out last week if you did not receive it please let me know.}

^{oswaldo.peninsulat3@gmail.com}

Below are the minutes from the April 3 Tower 2 Civil Association.  Coming soon reference numbers for paying maintenance fees

2010 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTE.pdf

MINUTA ASAMBLEA 2010.pdf

Paul Christensen has left the board and we are grateful for the time and service he gave.  There are no compensations other than the hope of making this a better community. We wish him well in his new pursuits.  There is a new board member and I am working to get his picture and will add his name.

If you are coming to PV contact Maribel and let her know you are coming.  Her email address is
:maribel.peninsulat3@gmail.com.  This is important for security and for  helping you when you arrive. She also runs a concierge service .

Below is the administators power point for the meeting 2010 for Tower III

presentacion/Presentation  Torre III 2010

  Earthquake info for Puerto Vallarta 

I am going to try and do skype at the meeting.  Skype is a way to conference across the internet with video and audio.  I have never done this but am willing to.  Update:  The Skype worked but I was limited to three participants.  I learned some things but will continue to improve this.  One owner was able to submitted concerns to the meeting. I am sure I can make this work better with time

 Download the latest version of Skype 

Tower 2 specific news is further down

Tower 3 Board members and Staff

          Edward Meza             Dan Carrico                    Sergio Eichner              Jorge Agnesi                 Sara Becker                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                        
                    

                                 Maribel

 
Tower 3 Owners who have questions regarding their accounts should contact Oswaldo Toscano                  at the below email address for payment instructions and account numbers which are also recorded in the minutes of the association    Oswaldo.peninsulat3@gmail.comoswaldo.peninsulat3@gmail.com

Major Current    Goals of the Board of Tower 3

We all are reading everything, taking notes and assessing the whole situation as best and as fast we can.
 
We are trying to communicate everything through Sara so there will be only one unified voice from the board and no mix messages, rest assure that we are working but please be patience.
 
Right now we are focus on:
1.- Open the checking account, get reference numbers for each home owner so there wont be any problems allocating the deposits to the correct unit and try to facilitate the payment methods so it would be as easy as possible for foreigner and locals to pay the monthly fees, electricity and reserve funds.
2.- Understand the financial situation and get ALL delinquent home owners to balance. Without funds there is nothing we can work with and make improvements.
3.- Elaborate the building check list.
4.- Do the financial audit.
 
Regards
 
T3 Board   11/13/2009

Important announcement from the Tower 3 Board
 

 Major Current    Goals of the Board of Tower 3

We all are reading everything, taking notes and assessing the hole situation as best and as fast we can.
 
We are trying to communicate everything through Sara so there will be only one unified voice from the board and no mix messages, rest assure that we are working but please be patience.
 
Right now we are focus on:
1.- Open the checking account, get reference numbers for each home owner so there wont be any problems allocating the deposits to the correct unit and try to facilitate the payment methods so it would be as easy as possible for foreigner and locals to pay the monthly fees, electricity and reserve funds.
2.- Understand the financial situation and get ALL delinquent home owners to balance. Without funds there is nothing we can work with and make improvements.
3.- Elaborate the building check list.
4.- Do the financial audit.
 
Regards
 
T3 Board
 

here is a Yahoo talk group started by Chris Flake     mailto:leflake@gmail.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peninsula_owners/

 I will be posting pictures of the board members, administration and some of the workers who make our stay enjoyable and some background of each member

Below is the statement from Osweldo  who is assisting with administation and the Minutes of the Tower 3 General assembly from October 30, 2009

Minutes

General Assembly minutes of Tower 3 10/30/2009.pdf
 

MINUTA asambly     10302009.pdf

 
Fellow homeowners:
 
We had our first official assembly last Friday October the 30th and although in the coming days we will send the official detailed minute as well as some separate information regarding different issues we wanted to give you a heads up on the topics that were discussed and voted during the assembly:
 
1.- The Civil association is establish and everyone was all ready included, the official name is: Condominio Especifico Residencial Peninsula Torre III A.C
2.- We will start the process of receiving the building from the developer, (assets, financial resources and electricity issues), after a thorough analysis and complete satisfaction from the hole board members we will then officially receive the building.
3.- We accepted the budget for 2010 that was presented by Alarmen and the board will start analyzing it. No increase in monthly assessments fees for year 2010
4.- The healthy financial situation of our tower is imperative in order to properly operate therefore it was unanimously agreed that all delinquent homeowners either in maintenance fee and/or reserve fund should be up to date immediately. Further details will follow in the coming days.
5.- The official board was elected with the following board members, (alphabetical order): Jorge Agnesi, Sara Becker, Dan Carrico, Paul Christensen, Sergio Eichner and Eduardo Meza.
6.- By law we need to have during the first trimester of every year the annual association assembly therefore it is anticipated that another assembly will be held in the spring. Detail will follow with sufficient time for everyone to make travel arrangements.
7.- Fernando Alarcon of Alarmen was named administrator by the assembly and will be accountable to the board members.
8.- All communications will be primarily held by e-mail therefore it is important that everyone register their primary e-mail address with the administration.
9.- The board members will start working on the common issues and common areas prioritizing all the work ahead of us, at this point every homeowner should keep taking care of all the individual issues between them and the developer and as we move forward further services will be include on the administration of T3.
10.- Fernando Alarcon was named the person in charge of having the minutes notarized.
 
Regards and thank you for trusting us
Jorge Agnesi
Sara Becker
Dan Carrico
Paul Christensen
Sergio Eichner
Eduardo Meza

Minutes are being compiled in Spanish and English

Dear Tower III Homeowners and/or Reps.
Just a friendy reminder that the annual meeting for Tower III Homeowners, will be held as follows:

Friday, October 30th 2009
2009 “Condominio Especfico Residencial Peninsula Torre III” Annual Ordinary Meeting.
At 16:00 hrs. at the Business Center in Tower III

There will be a meeting for vote on the Civil Association for Tower 3 on October 30, 2009 
It is very important that as many owners attend as possible.  Each owner should attempt to be there but an owner , agent , or relative can control one proxy
aside from the vote on their own condo.

From Sergio Eichner

The following is the rules in Spanish and English for the common areas courtesy Sergio Eichner

Rules for Common area in Spanish and English

September 25, 2009 meeting regarding air conditioning and leaks

The following link details information regarding the Civil Association for Tower III

 Tower III Owners Informative Regarding Developer Issues and forming a Civil Association in Spanish and English

The translation in English (y Espanol)  of the Civil Association Bylaws for Tower III

Translation_of_By-Laws_Residencial_Peninsual_Torre_III[1].pdf
 

Translation_of_By-Laws_Residencial_Peninsual_Torre_III (text file)

Estimados Propietrarios  de Torre III Espanol.htm

A new link from Lemmus regarding our development owners might be interested in.  Note many of the units in the Tower 1 (or as Lemmus calls it Tower 3)
are sold.
 
http://www.lemmus.com/peninsulavallarta.html

Recent Email from Fernando Alarcon (administrator) regarding the agenda for the meeting. I have not altered any words out of respect and for transparency
 

Dear Mrs Sara Becker

Hope you are fine.   Here`s the answer to your doubts :

Alarmen is a company dedicated to the administration of condominiums and residences with experience since 1987.   Roberto and Cecilia were hired by Alarmen to administrate Peninsula.   The idea is that Alarmen takes care of the administration of the 3 Towers with Roberto and Cecilia.   The salary is paid by Peninsula Tower I and Tower III.

For the 4th of september reunion i will send the invitation to all the condominium so they can assist.   This are the issues to discuss :

 

1. List of attendance
    
2. Situation with The electricity company (CFE)  and the situation with CFE with DCL
3. Financial statements of the Tower III.   The accountant Victor Bernal will present this information that showsth incomes and expenses for the month of July.
4. Discussion of the Constitution for the Civil Association and the authorization for this Association to run the founds.
5. General issues.
    

I have asked him to clarify the numbering of the towers , internet access for the meeting and what is the state of the titles.

Important Notice
 

There will be a meeting at a place yet to be determined probably Tower 3 on September 4, 2009 at 3 PM to form a Civil Association for Tower 3.

I am working with Roberto Perez to try and have this live over the internet.  I suspect it will be held in the lobby of  Tower 3 (not one as I am fond of misstating )

A Civil Association or (CA) will allow the owners of Tower 3 to deposit their maintenance funds to its account, pay  bills , keep an accurate accounting of the monies and to do audits.  The CA will give the owners of Tower 3 control over their maintenance and reserve funds.  It will also be a legal entity to allow us to work with Tower 2 committee and to negotiate with Philipe Tomei and the development company  DCL.   A lawyer, Manuel Martinez who is the Tower 2 lawyer is drawing up the papers . Currently the developer pays Fernando Alarcon to administer the building.  Cecily (CC) and Roberto Perez are his employees. There has been some talk of the developer Mr. Philipe Tomei hiring a new company from Mexico City to run the complex. 

CA 101

What is a Civil Association?  A CA is a legal entity in Mexico.  It would allow the owners of Tower 3 to manage the money from maintenance fees.  As of now there is no legal way for the owners of Tower 3 to represent themselves.  It would allow us to collect fees, pay bills , perform audits past and present of our monies and develop budgets.  It would allow us to negotiate with the developer and Tower 2.  Until we form a Condo regime (hopefully in January)  there is no other way for us to control our money. As it is now we have no input into the financial process as we have no legal representation under Mexican law.

How is it formed?   The lawyer, for Tower 2, Manual Martinez, is drawing up the papers and will present them on September 4.  Once they are signed by the signers then we are a recognized legal entity.   The major question is who will be the signers of the CA. Anyone who is  a native Mexican or who can furnish reliable identification under Mexican law can be a signer.  There is some legal liability to being a signer since the CA can take out a loan on its own.

Who should be the signers of the CA?  Those of us who have put in time on this feel Fernando Alarcon, Cecily and Roberto Perez should be the signers since this is what they are basically doing now.  Since we the owners instead of the developer would be paying the bills , we would have more direct control of the administration.  Fernando and his employees would be working for us instead of the developer.  There are ways to ensure that check security is in place which Sergio Eichner is more knowledgeable about than I

Can others be signers?  Yes, but there is a small commitment of time and responsibility.  Mexican law requires definitive identification. The lawyer is hopefully sending me the details of this. Fernando the current administrator of Tower 2 and 3 will grant us insurance or bail (fianza in Spanish ) from a third party to cover any misuse or fraud.  It is like bonding in the US.  It will cost some money but will hopefully cover any mistakes or errors in our startup

Can I trust the current administration when they now work for Philipe.    In the movie Patton,  George C Scott takes a general, Omar Bradley,  who is working for General Eisenhour and says to him "Now you are working for me."  The committee who has worked on this feel that this would be a good solution.  Certainly anyone else who wants to be a signer can do so.  Let me know and I will forward your name to the attorney. Roberto worked very hard to restore services during the power outage.

What about having the lawyer Mr. Martinez be a signer?  It could be done as I understand it but the expense could go to better administration.

Who controls the Budgets and makes new ones?   The CA will make a current budget and report to the owners.  It can also legally inventory and review past budgets and expenditures.  Most importantly we control our own money and can get an accurate accounting from our CA.  We can collect from delinquent owners and ensure bills are paid appropriately

What about the condo regime?  the condo regime can only be formed after papers come through from local government.  With a new political administration coming to power in January hopefully  we can form a condo regime which is the best legal entity to represent us.  But , we cannot do it now and we need to create a entity to manage Tower 3

Why form a CA when we may have a condo regime in place soon? Anyone who had the luxury of sitting in the dark in July knows that we need better control and accounting of our home now.  Tower 2 cannot negotiate for us or with us because our tower has no legal representation under Mexican Law.  When the condo regime is formed the CA will report to the condo regime.  It will not take the place of the condo regime. 

Is this not unnecessary duplication?  No because now we have no control over our finances or destiny.  As long  we do not exists as a legal entity,  we are at the behest of the developer.  Until we form a condo regime we will have no say in our home or its finances.  No one can deal with us because we have no standing under Mexican Law.  We are just a rabble now.

Why would the developer agree to letting us form a CA?  I do not have a good answer for this.  He has notified us that he will sign the papers required under Mexican law to allow a CA formed by us to administer the building.   I think there are some disputes as to who owes what for management of the common areas and this may be a way to resolve this from the developers view.

I don't understand any of this? For those of us who are American and Canadian we have to remember we are guests in Mexico and bound by their laws.  The events have made it clear that we need to assume responsibility for running our home Tower 3 and to have an entity that can under law work with Tower 2 and the developer.

What is the downside of a CA?  We may find out some things a few of us would rather not know.  But ignorance is a bliss only if you are incredibly ignorant. It will cost some money.  I am told by the lawyer and tower 2 committee  that it was not very expensive.  I have heard the amount of around 2-3 thousand USD from sources who have done this. 

What if I cannot be there?  We hope to have internet connection and communication.  Remember, this is the first of many steps.  We need to fix the airplane before we can go anywhere.  There will be at least one more meeting in October or November to review and resolve the initial steps here. A voting procedure has not been formally set up but I am in communication with the lawyer.

What about the power?  The developer Mr. Tomei has made a substantial deposit with the electric company to resolve this issue.  Please be aware several Tower 2 committee members,  several owners including one who furnished his personal jet airplane , the directors of the electric company, and Mr. Tomei worked together to resolve this.  I am hopeful there will be no more blackouts.

What else?  At some point , we are going to have to help Tower one develop the regimes and knowledge which Tower 2 helped us learn. We are a very lucky community to be where we are.  At some future date we will be grateful we resolved all this with wisdom and grace

What else have we learned?  When you have highly motivated , intelligent and successful people as we are that we can resolve issues peaceably.  There will be other difficulties ahead.  There are many issues such as air conditioners,  delinquent owners, security,  dispute resolution, and maintenance of the buildings (particularly the reflecting pools).  Personal communications, negotiation and sometimes crisis are required to resolve issues.  Anger, threats , loud voices , and posturing do not seem to work well in the Mexican Culture. We need to keep the big picture of gaining financial control and legal recognition to resolve other issues

Be aware that this information is dynamic.  As it is reviewed by others I will revise it to correct any errors or misconceptions.  This Q&A is my best summary at the time of writing that I can devise.  In the interest of fostering understanding and participation as quickly as possible, some of this information may be changed to reflect more accuracy.   Any errors are mine 

 If there is a mistake let me know and I will correct it.  My thanks to Dewey Desler and the tower 2 committee, Mike Kennedy , and particularly Sergio Eichner.

Sara Becker                                                                           

Tower 2 Committee Notes

I have permission from the tower 2 committee specifically Dewey Desler , secretary of the tower 2 committee and Rod Hoffman, communications chair of tower 2  to make the following documents available to the Peninsular Condo owners.  I urge all owners to read these and to commit to staying informed. Until we have our titles in tower 3, we can best learn and benefit by the efforts of the tower 2 committee

MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TOWER TWO PENINSULA CONDOS

May 2009 Newsletter Board Tower 2

Possible 2009 Peninsula Board of Directors Goals Tower  Two

Summary of Accomplishments and Challenges Tower Two Committee

Security Notice

Because of concerns over security I have removed email addresses and names from the website.  See notice from US State Department dated February 20,  2009

In the space where names were listed I have placed links to the State Department and associated links.  Not only do we need to look out for each other, we need to look out for ourselves.  Please see the area on lower area regarding security.  Please see the warning by the state department.  Consider picking up taxis in the garage by the security area and returning to the same instead of picking up taxis in front or by Starbucks.

I have included the informational bulletin from Roberto Perez re phone numbers, security,  and rules.  There is a statement about taxes
although my understanding is that if you don't own the title you dont have to pay the taxes.  A recent clarification from Roberto is that the comment in the bulletin on taxes pertains only to Tower 2.  Tower 3 is not even registered with the property tax people ( from individuals that tried to pay taxes in Tower 3)

Informational Bulletin From Peninsula Management dated Jan 2009

Committe notes

 Michael Kennedy has jointed the committee and held a meeting of available owners to discuss forming a Civil Association which is an entity that will allow the Tower 3 owners to more closely govern controll the finances of the condo.  See discussions in the Committee association notes and emails
committee Emails and Stewart title search.   There are also the documents submitted by the developer (in Spanish ) regarding a civil association the condo regime , regulations governing the owners and what is allowed such as pets.  There is also a proposal for an inspection of the building

"the meeting  2/20/2009) took place yesterday from 6:30 to 10 pm, from the homeowners side there was Jack, Janice and myself from the committee and Doris Fox and Mike Kennedy that asked to be present and from the developer and administration side there was Alejandro Baez, Alberto Lemmus, Fernando Alarcon, Roberto  and Cecilia the accountant and attorney which I do not remember their names. (Fernando will prepare the minute in english, I asked him to do it as soon as possible)."  From Sergio Eichner email committee member 2/21/2008  (additional in committee notes)

Developers notes from meeting 2 20 2009
 

A meeting took place of the Tower committe with Sergio Eichner,  Jack and Janice Acurizan, and the developer and his representatives on February 20 from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM.   Much of the information is in Spanish and a summary is going to be provided by Sergio.  We at Tower three owe a debt of gratitude to these individuals. I have added the information to the committee notes.

 I have also added a notes from Pete Smith who has provided a Spanish copy of a lawsuit involving Peninsula. See Below.  Hopefully translation to follow

LAWSUIT PDF.pdf

The committee particularly Sergio Eichner and Pete Smith have assembled some information regarding the project from the developer and the administrator.  I am pleased that a lot of issues have been discussed and formal written agreements are supposed to be forthcoming.  To summarize the developer has accepted responsibility for fixing the toilets, air conditioning and physical plant.

The developer and administrator have agreed to furnish in writing budgets on accounts, rules for the building and other issues.  They have agreed to be responsible for taxes until we have formal titles.

Stewart title in their response to me regarding the title search have encountered no issues that will prevent us from getting our titles. They have stated that until the condo regime is established the developer is responsible for the taxes.  However, all taxes must be paid for titling to occur.

Marineus is no longer part of the development

There is a lot if information in the emails and I have provide a link to them in the best chronological order I can provide.  Any errors are mine.  I am deeply grateful for all the time that the committee has put in and the good faith effort of the developer and the administrator. 

committee Emails and Stewart title search response.htm

There is a Yahoo talk group started by Chris Flake     mailto:leflake@gmail.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peninsula_owners/

Old news from 12/31/2008

There was  a meeting of Tower II owners on December 29.  It was well attended with establishment of an improved email contact list.  Mr. Alberto Lemus (Lemmus Realty)  and Cecilia of administration and Marineus attending.  There were assurances by Mr. Lemus that the air conditioning and toilets will be fixed.  He also did not see any inhibitions to eventually the deeds to the individual condos awarded.  Mr. Lemus stated that it does take time in Mexico to assemble all the documents and submit them to  the proper authorities.   No express date for closing was given.

Six  individuals were selected by the group to act as a conduit for information and to facilitate passage of questions.  No legal responsibility was designated at the meeting.  The hope is with improved lines of communication that there will be less frustration for the tower III condo owners.

 I wish to thank Roberto Perez and Cecily of Administration,  Mr. Alberto Lemus for all their help and courtesy which I was
very grateful for.   Any typing errors or misspellings are my fault alone.

The committee members who have agreed to coordinate with the developer Filepe and Aberto Lemus are:

Peter  Smith 10D III petesmith@mcdowellrice.com  Jorge Agnes 3B jorgeagnesi@prodigy.net.mx (note-address correction)
 Sergio Eichner  19A sergioeichner@hotmail.com      Sara Becker  17B   sara@sarabecker.com
and  Jack and Janice Arizcuren 8A janice arizcuren

Sergio had a meeting with a representative Alejandro Baez the legal representative  for the developer   and has some additional information he will pass on shortly
My current understanding from him is that we are not responsible for taxes if we do not have a deeded property.  More to come

Other concerns can be posted on the PV PEN Owners Discussion area
 

If there are new owners please contact me at my email sara@sarabecker.com

PV PEN Owners Discussion area
 

If there are any concerns, contact me at my email   sara@sarabecker.com