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MGM Grand Towers Faces Lawsuit

By
Real Estate Agent with Simply Vegas

Last night on our local news i watched an interesting story about how Las Vegas MGM Grand Signature Towers is being sued by Condo owners. This lawsuit has been going on for several months now and it is no surprise that there have been allot of disgruntled buyers of MGM Grand Signature Towers Condos. The lawsuit alleges that the buyers were mislead by sales staff when they purchased their condos and a stipulation in the contract specifically covered MGM in case a sales agent made a promise that held no merit. MGM is now having to have this lawsuit go before a jury to find out whether or not the Condo buyers were in fact mislead into purchasing Condos with in MGM Signature Towers by promises of extremely high financial gains. This is a perfect example of why any High rise Condo buyer must have proper representation before they even consider purchasing any style High rise Condo, whether it be a Vacation home, Primary residence, or Investment like a Condo Hotel. The Condo buyers in the Lawsuit said they had promises made to them by sales representatives that stated they would receive higher nightly rates than what they are now currently receiving by having their condos enrolled in the MGM resort rental program. People have to keep in mind that nobody can make you any type of promise as to what you will receive in the future because no one can control what happens in our daily lives like WAR, economical down turns, tourist trends, and especially future nightly room rates & if they do make you an outrageous promise run and run fast. If you are interested in buying a High rise Condo for what ever reason i can guarantee you only 1 thing and that is you need to be represented by a professional who understands what your needs are and has your best interest before anything. The disgruntled Condo buyers that have this on going lawsuit with MGM must not have had proper representation because it was said that they purchased their condos form any were between $600K-$800K and were promised nightly rates to be $300 + per night. Now with that said lets do some simple math to figure out if this would have even been a halfway decent investment, lets say they got extremely lucky and their condo was rented out every night for $300 which would equal $9000. The average cut for a condo hotel is 60-40, 60% going to the owner and 40% going to the resort, this is not to bad because you would be left with $5400, but this would mean your condo was rented out every single day of the month which is highly unlikely. Lets cut the number of days your condo was rented by half which would mean that it was only rented for 15 days out of the month. This would total $4500 and now subtract the 40% and it would leave you with $2700 and i don't think that their mortgages were any were close to that with purchase prices of $600K-$800K do you? Like i stated earlier in this post it is a MUST you have proper representation when purchasing a High rise Condo for what ever the reason.
Donna Yates
BHGRE - Metro Brokers - Blue Ridge, GA
Blue Ridge Mountains
Makea:  Very interesting post and I look forward to reading your blogs.  Las Vegas!  How exciting and I'm thrilled to have you as an associate so I can keep up with what's happening with you and your area.
Apr 30, 2008 09:56 AM
Makea Turner
Simply Vegas - Las Vegas, NV
Thank you for reading my post and I am very happy to have you as a associate also. I try to keep up with whats going on with the market here in las Vegas both good and bad
Apr 30, 2008 11:21 AM
Anonymous
Sneak

I believe there is a $900 HOA fee as well.

Aug 04, 2008 09:26 AM
#3
Anonymous
Jack

I am an owner at the Signature. I am not in the lawsuit. The numbers you posted in your final paragraph are close to what I myself calculated for my property. I'm one of the 'lucky' ones in that had more realistic expectations than other owners.

However, those numbers aren't even close we actually end up getting after all the other fees they charge us. A major part of the problem is all the fees we are charged AFTER they split our share. We actually end up with roughly 20%.  One month MGM collected more than 6 thousand on my property and I only got $1200 out of it.

I am also in contact with many many other owners and I am very involved with discussions among them. The majority of owners feel very much trapped in this situation, many have foreclosed, others walked away from their deposits while others are trying to get rid of their units at an extremely low ball amount.

The Fees are so bad that for this month I ended up paying $500+ and MGM only rented my room for 4 days. Some owners feel the lawsuit won't help because MGM has their contract tightly one sided and well thought out and that there would be no way for us to win.

Recently MGM has been nickel and diming us on EVERYTHING.  So more and more owners are getting fed up and I get the feeling more lawsuits will be coming down the pipeline and more owners will be joining them.  Currently there are two lawsuits in the works and I am seeing more and more interest from other owners about what is going on with them.

I use the term 'lucky' loosly because financially I determined I could handle a storm, if you will. But, now banks aren't even refi-ing condotel loans. If that trend doesn't change in 2 years time I, myself, may have to foreclose, sell or walk away.

 

Aug 05, 2008 08:43 AM
#4
Anonymous
Anonymous

As owner of 1 bedroom I don't see how MGM splits the rent - it does not show in the papers sent to us. But these are what the charges I see each month:  Transient fee =$250.00, Assessment fee =$982.00, maintenance fee $160-$250, Reserve $250-$300 (for the repairs, but not so sure) - total charges $1600.00+ . If total rent is less MGM will charge me for the difference.  The average nightly rental income is only $130.00. 

I know there is a class action suit out there.  In case this lawsuit is won, what happened to those who sold or abandoned their units? Would they be rewarded? Anyone knows?

Sep 17, 2008 05:41 AM
#5
Terrie Leighton
Ferrari-Lund Real Estate - Reno, NV
Reno Real Estate Agent ~ Selling Homes in Reno

Wow ~ very interesting. Jack, being a owner invested, explains things quite well, doesn't he. i believe here in Reno, condo owners at the Grand Sierra Resort are going through tough times as well. Not good!

Sep 17, 2008 07:41 AM
Anonymous
jack

i have unit at tower b 27th floor. how is the lawsuit going? should join the lawsuit or not, please some tell me.

thanks

Jul 31, 2009 12:46 PM
#7
Makea Turner
Simply Vegas - Las Vegas, NV

Jack I donot know your current situation or your reasons for buying in this building. I cannot give you legal advice. I cannot only advise you to speak with an attorney about your specific situation.

 

Thank you

Jul 31, 2009 01:16 PM