SUNNYBROOK SWIM CLUB

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. What is the difference between a Summer Rental Membership and a Bondholder?

Bondholders have purchased bonds that entitle them to discounted annual dues (approximately a $200 annual savings) and partial ownership in the club.

 

2. How do I purchase a bond?

To purchase a bond, you must inquire with Membership Management to see if bonds are available for resale. Since the number of bonds sold is limited, each year the Club evaluates the number of people who no longer wish to be bondholders and attempts to resell those bonds to new buyers. There is typically a waiting list and preference is given to prior year Summer Rental Members for new bond purchases.

 

3. I have a bond and want to sell it. What should I do and expect?

All resignations must be in writing and sent to PO Box 36, Landsdowne, PA 19050 along with the member’s bond by April 30 of the current year. The bond must be endorsed and dated. Note: bonds purchased circa 2010 and later did receive a paper bond. Whether you have a paper bond or not, bond liquidation requests must be received in writing with a signature. The Club Treasurer will handle reimbursement once the bond has been sold. Bonds neither appreciate nor depreciate in value. You should expect that it may take up to two years to receive your funds back.

Please note: if as a bondholder you have not paid your annual dues or a bond dormancy fee for one year before making your request to liquidate, your bond's value will be decreased by the dormancy fee. If as a bondholder you have not paid your annual dues or dormancy fee for two consecutive years before making your request to liquidate, your bond's value will be zero because you have forfeited your bond's value to cover your annual dues and the Club has taken a loss on your owed dues. If you do not pay your annual dues, you risk forfeiting your bond to the Club.

 

4. What if I have only paid for half of my bond and I want to liquidate it?

If you have paid for the first half of your bond and not the second half and you want to liquidate your bond, you have two choices. Option 1: You can finish paying the other half and inform us that you want to sell your bond. Option 2: We can convert your prior year membership to a Summer Rental Membership and refund you the difference. Why only these two options? Bond purchasers receive discounted annual dues and in order for the Club to be made whole, the membership must be converted to a Summer Rental.

 

5. I have sent in my request to liquidate my bond. Why don't I get my money back immediately?

Our by-laws require the Club to sell bonds and receive the full payment of the bond before we can give the money back. So for example, if you request to liquidate your bond in 2014, the Club needs to find a buyer and that buyer can purchase the bond over two years or can pay for the bond in one year. If the buyer chooses to split the payment, you will need to wait until the second half of the bond is paid in 2015 to receive your refund. If the buyer pays in full, then your bond can be refunded immediately. The club does not split refunds. However, if a bond is purchased and paid in full, we do our best to refund bondholders in the order in which the requests to liquidate have been made.

 

6. I am a bondholder but I won't be around this Summer and I do not want to liquidate my bond.

That's OK. Instead of paying your full annual dues, you can pay the bond dormancy fee and keep your bond. You can only do this for two consecutive Summers, however. We do not permit bondholders to use the dormancy fee for more than two years. The Club loses money when this happens.

 

7. My children are all grown-up and don't use the pool.

That's ok. We can reduce your membership dues to a smaller family size. And if you passed the magic age of 65, you're entitled to our reduced rate for seniors. Getting older has it advantages.

 

8. We have two nannies and we want them to use the pool with our children.

Nannies are permitted. Simply add them to your annual membership.

 

9. There used to be a sign-up website for membership. What happened?

We discontinued using that solution because it did not meet our needs. PAI has more experience at managing membership in a manner that is very similar to how Sunnybrook manages membership and we really like that they handle all of the details. PAI will likely add a web site registration feature in the future.

 

10. What the heck is "Mail Chimp" and why do I get emails from them?

Mail Chimp is an email management system that makes it easier for the club to send broadcast emails to its membership.