A Decision That Cost Them
Years before Douglas joined the board, the association had made a decision that seemed financially sound at the time: they went self-managed, parting ways with a professional management company to avoid the associated fees and, they believed, to retain more control over their revenue. For a while, the logic held. But it left the resort without a structural partner when things went wrong.
“ In hindsight, we learned the hard way that without a strong partner, when you have disasters like hurricanes— which are not that uncommon in Florida— you are in a very bad situation,” Douglas says.“ We tried to handle everything internally, through our attorneys, insurance company, contractors, and public adjusters. But what they didn’ t see under the covers was the fact that we weren’ t making it.”
The delinquency rate tells the story plainly. By the time Douglas was deep into his board tenure, the percentage of owners failing to pay their maintenance fees had climbed to 50 %. That number doesn’ t just represent lost revenue— it has to be budgeted back into the annual operating plan, compressing resources on both ends. The resort was aging. The ownership base was aging. And the margin for absorbing a significant disruption was shrinking with every passing year. There was no operational plan to replace the owners who were“ aging out” and no longer paying.
When the Storms Came
The disruption, when it arrived, was anything but minor. Hurricanes Ian and Nicole made direct hits on the Ormond Beach area in late 2022, and the damage to the Maverick was severe. The storms tore the roof off the building.
The delinquency rate, already at 50 %, shot past 70 % once owners stopped paying maintenance fees for a resort they could not use. Insurance negotiations dragged into formal litigation. The settlement ultimately yielded after attorney fees far less than what was needed to complete the reconstruction. Reserve accounts were exhausted. The operating account was shrinking fast. The Board was discussing every idea possible, including bankruptcy. The board’ s attorney even suggested consulting someone with specific expertise in that arena.
Through it all, Douglas kept his promise to do his best to communicate with the owners. He had made an early commitment to post at least one update per month on the resort’ s website, and he honored it even when the news was hard.“ Sometimes I had to tell owners that things are not looking good,” he says.“ I didn’ t want to sugarcoat everything. They had a right to know. And sometimes the honest update was— we don’ t have money, we’ re floating along, we’ re trying to plan our next step. That’ s not an easy thing to write. But it was the truth.”
Lance’ s sons playing in the ocean
The resort kept two employees on site throughout the closure— the general manager and the head of maintenance— to manage the steady flow of contractors, adjusters, and the occasional owner attempting to walk the property. It was a closed property with an active board, a skeleton staff, and an enormous amount of work still to be done.
Enter Capital Vacations
The board interviewed multiple management companies and reviewed formal contracts from three serious contenders before making their decision. The process was deliberate— shaped by sunshine laws governing board communications, the logistics of scheduling formal meetings, and the weight of knowing that whatever they chose would determine whether the Maverick survived.
During this process, the board also experienced a brief partnership with another management organization before ultimately finalizing its long-term relationship with Capital Vacations. While that arrangement was short-lived, it informed the board’ s evaluation process and reinforced the need for a partner with the financial strength, operational expertise, and long-term vision to support the Maverick’ s recovery.