Maintenance Q&A

If your question has to do with annual maintenance, you will probably find it here...

Q. When is my maintenance due?
A. All accounts are due in full by January 1 of each year, and become past due at the end of the first business day of the year. Accounts that have not been paid in full by that time will be subject to a $25 one-time (per year) late fee, as well as 15% annual interest (which is posted approximately once per month when we mail out reminder notices).

Q. I didn't get a bill, so I didn't pay on time.
A. In accordance with Florida Statute, your account is payable on time even if you do not receive a bill - and you are subject to late fees and interest if the account is not paid on time, even if you do not receive a bill. We send bills out every year just after our budget meeting in mid-November. If you have not received your bill by December 1st, CONTACT US. We can send you a new bill if you wish, and we can also give you your total amount due so that you can pay on time even if the bill never does arrive.

Q. How can I pay my maintenance bill?
A. You can pay by check, money order, cashier's check, or credit card, as long as your payment is in U.S. funds. You can also pay in cash in person at the resort. (Please don't ever send cash through the mail!)

Q. Can I pay by phone?
A. Our agreement with our credit card company stipulates that we have to have a signature for all charges. You can return our credit card form by mail or fax. Both the address and fax number are on the form. The fax number goes to a fax machine that is located in the bookkeeping office, which is a one-woman office, so you don't have to worry about the form "floating around" before it gets to the right person.

Q. You have my credit card information on file from last year. Can't you just automatically charge the same card again?
A. For one thing, that would mean we wouldn't have a signed credit card form on file for this charge, which is what we're required to have. For another thing, we don't have any way of knowing what payment method each of our 4,692 owners wishes to use, and it wouldn't be feasible for us to try to keep track of that. You are responsible for sending your payment in on time each year, in whatever form you prefer.

Q. Can I pay online?
A. YES! Click here!

Q. It's really hard for me to come up with this much money all at once to pay my maintenance and taxes every year. Can I pay in installments so I don't owe as much at the end of the year when it comes due?
A. Absolutely! Send your payments, in whatever form you prefer, at whatever intervals work for you, as you normally would. Just be sure to write your unit and week number on your payment. As long as your account is paid in full by January 1st, you won't have any late fees or interest to worry about. We also now have the ability to automatically charge installments to your credit or debit card. If you would like to sign up for this, click here and send email to the bookkeeping department.

Q. I've been told that I should pay my maintenance in advance so I can bank my week early. How do I know how much to pay?
A. If you wish to pay in advance so you may bank early (or put your unit/week up for rent), you may pay based on the current year's amount. At the end of the year when you receive your bill, you'll pay any difference in the maintenance, as well as the taxes (you are not required to pay the taxes ahead of time in order to bank). We have our current year's maintenance amounts posted online here, so if you know your unit number (it doesn't matter what week it is) you can look up your amount. If you don't know your unit number, click here to contact the bookkeeping department to request an amount.

Q. Someone else is paying my bill. What do I need to do?
A. Just have them write your unit and week number, along with your last name, in the "memo" section of their check, or make a note on the credit card form to let us know whose account the payment is for.

Q. I own weeks in both the East and West Associations. Can I pay with one payment?
A. No. Our accounts are separate for the two Associations, so we cannot accept combined payments for unit/weeks in both Associations (i.e.: both buildings). If you combine your payment by credit card, it will be cancelled if we catch it in time. If we do not catch it in time, an administrative fee of $25 will be posted to your account and you will be required to pay it prior to using either of your unit/weeks. If you combine your payment by check, it will be returned to you. If you do not pay by separate checks prior to the due date, you will be charged a late fee.

Q. Can I send you a post-dated check?
A. No. Especially between mid-November and mid-February, we process literally hundreds of payments per week. There's no way we can guarantee your check won't get deposited before the date on it. Which means either it bounces on your end, or causes extra paperwork on our end.
If you are making advance payments on your account, we would really prefer that you go online to your bank and set up automatic payments (or have us set them up through your credit or debit card), rather than send us a fistful of checks and ask us to deposit them on a certain schedule. Similarly, if you are making advance payments by credit card, we would prefer that you either let us set up automatic payments (see above) or send a credit card form in each time you wish to make a payment. Please note that if you are paying in arrears, you MUST contact us to arrange a payment plan PRIOR to sending in a credit card form, or you will be charged the full amount due on your account, as indicated on our credit card form (not including ARDA).

Q. You keep talking about a credit card form. Where can I get one?
A. Credit card forms are sent out each year with the maintenance bills, and each month with reminder notices (if your account is past due). If you do not have a form, you can download one in .pdf format here or call us and we will fax one to you. (Note regarding .pdf file: You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to read the .pdf file.) After you download the form, you should be able to fill out everything but the signature on your computer and then print the form to sign it before mailing it or faxing it in. We still need a signature even if you fill out the form on the computer, so please don't email it back to us - we cannot accept attachments anyway!)

Q. My account is in collections, and no one at the Resort will talk to me.
A. Maintenance must be paid in order for the property to be maintained (and improved!) -- and if you don't pay it, the other owners must pay your share. This isn't fair to anyone. In order to ensure that our accounts stay as current as possible, we have a very stringent collections policy. Generally, this is enough for most of our owners to stay current. However, at any given time, we do have some owners who are seriously delinquent. Those accounts are sent to a collection agency for special handling. Our agreement with the collection agency includes the caveat that once we have turned an account over to them, the account is theirs. So if you have been contacted by them about your account, please don't call us for help. The only thing we will be able to do is refer you back to them. The name of the collection agency we use is Continental Credit, and they can be reached at (800) 525-6000.

Q. I bought my unit/week in the middle of the year. Why are you charging me a full year's maintenance? Shouldn't it be pro-rated?
A. If buying your unit/week in the middle of the year caused you to only be able to use a part of the week, then you would only pay a proportionate share of the maintenance fees for that week. But no matter when you buy your unit/week, you will have use of the entire week for that year. Therefore, you are responsible for the maintenance fees for the full week.

Q. I have another question you haven't answered here.
A. After 9+ years working with Canada House, I think I can honestly say there's very little chance you could ask me something I've never been asked before. However, there are LOTS of questions I haven't covered here. If I've left something out, please contact us.