Residents' Committee
Alan Martin, FCA (Chairman)-(LS) • Denis Hopkin-Solicitor,Retired Solicitor-(TO) •
Bill Dawson, Retired Chartered Surveyor-(LS) • David Scholes, MBA, FCCA-(PDM) •
Jenni Crawford-B.Ed-(TO) • Keith Massey-(TO) • Brian Davies-(TO)
The Residents' Committee is an elected body of your fellow timeshare owners which meets with the senior management of CPV Management Services Ltd once a year, or more often as the occasion requires.
Under the terms of the Management Agreements between each timeshare owner and CPV the Committee is elected every three years, the last occasion being in 2008. The Committee is given no executive powers but has the right to receive from CPV each year a list of all timeshare owners of each apartment, a breakdown of the costs comprising the maintenance charge and an explanation of any proposed change in the maintenance charge. Also it has the right to receive notice of any additional Rules and Regulations proposed by CPV and, if required by the Committee and at the cost to the timeshare owners, "accounts properly certified by a Chartered Accountant". The Committee never require this because, since the Company is registered in the UK the annual accounts of the Company are prepared in accordance with the UK Companies Act and accounting guidelines and are a matter of Public Record.
In the crisis years of 1990 - 1993, when CPV was technically insolvent the Committee took action to raise and to supervise the repayment of loans from the timeshare owners sufficient to avert the insolvency. During this period, the Committee met every month and became very closely involved in all aspects of the day-to-day decision making processes of CPV. The Committee also assisted in the introduction of strict budgetary control procedures including detailed budgets and forecasts; a pre-planned schedule for refurbishment and maintenance and periodic strategy reviews for the resorts.
Day to day management of the business is now with CPV but the Committee continues to be closely involved in the annual budget review and forecast, the setting of the annual maintenance fee and the formulation of the business strategy. The Committee's work has contributed to the control of an annual maintenance fee which has since 1993 consistently ranked among the lowest of those charged on the Costa del Sol by competitors of CPV.
The Committee meets the senior management of CPV in Spain each September to discuss, negotiate and - if necessary - challenge the budget review and forecast and to agree the amount of the maintenance fee for the year ahead. Two particular matters are always important when reaching agreement on the budget - the assumptions on the rate of Spanish inflation and the exchange rate between the Euro and Sterling. In the years of fairly stable inflation and currency rates between 1997 and 2004 assumptions were generally uncontroversial and acceptable and the Committee was able to agree the maintenance fee proposed by CPV. Since 2004 these assumptions have been more debatable and the Committee have suggested and negotiated cost savings which have resulted in a reduction of proposed increases of maintenance fee by 8% in 2004; 2% in 2005 and nearly 5% in 2008 and 2009.
During their annual visit to Spain the Committee tour the resort sites and inspect individual apartments to ensure that standards of equipment and furnishings and scheduled maintenance are being maintained and carried out. During the year comments or complaints from Owners in letters and emails received by members of the Committee are passed on to and discussed with CPV. Also, members who are on holiday at CPV resorts take the opportunity to meet fellow owners and RCI exchange visitors to find out their views of the resorts.
For the annual visit to Spain CPV provides accommodation on a self-catering basis for Committee members in vacant apartments within the resorts and pays towards the cost of travel and reasonable out of pocket expenses during the stay, which lasts three days. For their services the Committee members also receive an honorarium in the form of a payment of £250 a year, which is set against the amount of their management fees. This deduction is met by the shareholders of CPV and so not borne by CPV itself.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Committee, please send us a brief Curriculum Vitae together with a note of the expertise you can bring to the Committee and why you would like to join the Committee. You will be expected to be able to contribute sufficient time to spend a working weekend in Spain in September each year and to take time to study the annual budget, which, with its supporting schedules, can run to 50 pages or so. Also, you may have to attend additional meetings, if necessary, which will normally take place in the U.K.
Please send your application to CPV Management Services Ltd., Aztec Country Club, Calle Libra s/n, Urb. Riviera del Sol, 29649 Mijas Costa, Malaga, Spain.