Manhattan Club "gift" from my grandmother

My grandmother no longer wants her Manhattan Club (MC) time share and is gifting it to me. It is an every other year deal for 7 days or 3 weekends or any combination. The fee every 2 years is about $2000. I have two elementary age children and NY is probabally not where we will want to take a vacation at the moment. Could someone please explain to me how the banking process works? (any MC knowledge would be really helpful). Do I need to book a week with MC and then bank that specific week with the exchange people? My grandmother had a membership with RCI. I would like to use the week during spring break sometime in the future. (our vaction week is earlier then most schools) Or is the Manhattan club a total nightmare and I should tell her thanks but no thanks?! Thanks to anyone who shares their time and knowledge with me.

Welcome to TUG, you definately want to start by reading the free articles in the advice section...great way to get an intro to timesharing =)

http://advice.tug2.net

some are more applicable to your situation than others!

We used to own at MC but sold it when the annual maintenance fees got too high for us. Since the MF is so high now, I personally wouldn't deposit it with RCI because you probably would not receive an exchange of equal value.

The only time we ever exchanged our MC week was with Dial-an-Exchange and that was for a two bedroom, two bath condo in London. We felt like that was a great exchange.

If you don't think you'd use it yourself, I'd hesitate to accept it. I believe the MC does a bulk bank when it deposits to RCI. That means the owners direct MC to deposit their usage with RCI, but MC decides what weeks to deposit and the weeks are normally in time periods that the owners don't usually want to come there. Since MC has a 1-in-4 rule where exchangers can exchange in only once every four years, demand is high for the resort. That would make your trading power pretty good, but then again you're not likely going to get a trade of equal value.

Of course if you took ownership from your grandmother, you could reserve a week or weekends in the most favorable time periods that were available and then try to rent them. There's no guarantee that you'd be able to rent the time, but you certainly have the right to rent out what you own.

Thanks Karen

Thank you for the info and the articles. So I am gleaming that MC is a good tradable property. So if I deposite my week with RCI I may be able to get a nice warm spring break option? Or am I just being too hopeful?

funnymonkey said:

So if I deposit my week with RCI I may be able to get a nice warm spring break option? Or am I just being too hopeful?

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I imagine you'll be able to trade for a nice warm location, but it may not be to a property with a $2000 annual maintenance fee. That's what I meant by not getting an exchange of equal value. Also, the earlier you deposit and request, the better your chances will be of getting something for spring break. It might have to be spring break of next year. You can deposit your week and put in an ongoing request if you don't see exactly what you want online.

There might be an exchange company that you could bargain for a great exchange for MC - like a two for (2 for your week) - SFX comes to mind.

Also, Redweek translates a deposit into their exchange system as POINTS - which you then could use to get multiple weeks over a two year period of time.

Doing a 1 for 1 exchange with RCI is what Karen G was saying that $2,000 MF is way above the rental value of almost all other TS resorts.

I would look at SFX or Redweek. I am sure other TUGGERs will chime in with their suggest exchange strageries.

PS I just got an RCI Points exchange to MC for Sept 2010 ... I was so happy (and thanks again to Cindy of RickandCindy fame for that posting on the Sightings Thread).

I'd bet that the alternative trading companies would also like to have it as an exchange. Some that you could look into are SFX-resorts.com, dae.com, among others.

Since I only trade with SFX, I can give you a little insight there. You can join for no annual fee (Gold membership). Exchange fees for the Gold membership are $149. I know that if you deposit early enough with SFX, you can get up to 2 bonus weeks for $499 to anywhere in the world (depending on availability) or a week to Mexico for $299. These bonus are 1 BR units and for an additional $199 you can upgrade to a 2 BR. All of this is in addition to your regular maintenance fee, though.

Some people have had very good luck with SFX and others have been less happy. I for one have had a lot of success from them.

Well, $2000 every 2 years is a tad steep for someplace you don't really want to go. That's about $80 a month for 1 week EOY. Not counting membership fees into an exchange company. MC is nice, and in high demand. You could trade it for about any week anywhere, but to get close to equal value you'd have to put a certain amount of time into searching.

As to it being a freebie TS, there are thousands of those available just about anywhere you'd want to go. If your spring break is a different week as the majority, that's easy.

If you decide to keep it, there is a wealth of knowledge here, and you'll love timesharing. But I think I'd tell Grandma, 'Thanks, but no thanks'. Welcome to TUG!

Jim Ricks

The Manhattan Club is floating weeks, and you can break up your weeks as stated and book nine mths. out or one yr. if you book the whole week, if this is a one bedroom two bath unit, and you would rather rent out the week and rent a warm sunny resort when you want, you normaly can get about $300 over your maintaince fees if you book, in demand weeks like, xmas , US open week, spring break, ect. But befor you think your children will not like NYC, take them there for three or four days,most kids realy loves NYC, my kids and grand kids love the caribbean, but give them a choice of the caribbean and TMC in NYC and TMC NYC wins every time

My 2 cents

First, do you actually want to spend time in Manhattan? If you don't then a MC timeshare isn't for you. You do NOT need to join RCI or any exchange company to use a TS if you book directly with the TS.

Second, MC is not a good TS to trade because of its high maintenance fee. You could trade MC for many high class TS but doing so would make no sense. For example, does it make sense to trade a TS whose MF is $2,000 for a TS whose MF is $1,000 (still extremely high)? You could purchase the TS you really want to go to and pay a MF lower than the Manhattan Club's.

You may want to decline this "gift."

If the maintenance fees are not a stretch for your budget, I would take it. Your kids would probably love NYC. Kids get older too. In the meantime, I would book the MC over holiday periods and do direct exchanges with DVC members, Marriott owners, etc.

If the Maintenance would be a stretch I would pass.

Keeping in mind that the $2K is an ongoing obligation, at least until it increases...

The fees never end. Is it a value for you?

It is sad to say as MC was one of the stellar resorts when it first opened. But now it is no longer a top resort in condition and the value for use or trade at $2000/year just isn't there anymore. All too typical of developer managed resorts that seem to quickly have fee increases out of line with use value and that tend to be much higher than independently managed resorts. Once fees reach those levels it is rare they go down and, as mentioned, they are for as long as you own. Think very carefully about why they are giving this away and if you really want to take on such a commitment until you find someone to take it over (and plan on even higher fees by that time).

Be sure.

Thanks

Thank you to all of those who have lent their knowledge to me. I am still on the fence as to what to do with it. Really my main worry at this point is getting into a TS with such a high MF and not being able to get out. After reading some of the posts I have looked and it seems that people are trying to give MC TS away. There is also getting the deed recorded to consider and the fees associated with that. Can anyone recomend a title company in NY to handle it if I do decide to move forward? Again Thanks for all your time. You all are a really helpful group.

funnymonkey said:

Can anyone recomend a title company in NY to handle it if I do decide to move forward?

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Call the owner services dept. at MC and ask them who they use to close their transactions. Real estate transactions are more complicated in NYC than elsewhere and you want someone who is well versed in all the requirements. I can't remember who they recommended when we closed ours, but they did a great job.

But, give this a lot of thought. You've been given some great advice in the posts in this thread. Personally, I wouldn't take this gift.

I got my Welcome Letter from my exchange into MC. Seems there is ALSO a $25 per DAY activity fee ($175 per week). And there statement about parking was along the lines of valeted to offside parking and is extremely expensive (notice how discouraging that is meant to be and how no upper limit to the cost it might be).

I would seriously have to decide it a $2,000 MF and $175 activity fee and no out-of-the-world parking cost might have me thinking "do I really want or need this?"

funnymonkey said:

Thank you to all of those who have lent their knowledge to me. I am still on the fence as to what to do with it. Really my main worry at this point is getting into a TS with such a high MF and not being able to get out. ...

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That is the big issue to consider. If you take the timeshare, you are taking on that obligation.

Don't do it unless you are sure that you are ready to do so. It's a one-way decision.

You can always defer the decision to take on that obligation. Any time that you decide timesharing is right for you you can step in and assume that obligation. But once you step into that obligation it's there until you can move the timeshare ownership to someone else. And as you've become aware, that's often not easy to do.

vacationhopeful said:

I got my Welcome Letter from my exchange into MC. Seems there is ALSO a $25 per DAY activity fee ($175 per week). And there statement about parking was along the lines of valeted to offside parking and is extremely expensive (notice how discouraging that is meant to be and how no upper limit to the cost it might be).

I would seriously have to decide it a $2,000 MF and $175 activity fee and no out-of-the-world parking cost might have me thinking "do I really want or need this?"

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The daily fee only applies to RCI exchangers. The parking has always been a separate charge from a private facility.

Why not try it? If you don't like it sell it.

My parents own at the MC and love it. I don't think their maintenance is that high but they are one of the original owners so maybe it's less. I think it would be easy to sell if you found you didn't like it.

BklynJim said:

My parents own at the MC and love it. I don't think their maintenance is that high but they are one of the original owners so maybe it's less. I think it would be easy to sell if you found you didn't like it.

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The fees used to be low - $500 and the purchase cost high. The resale value was also high at that time. Then a few years ago the fees doubled and then doubled again - the resale price tanked and the ability to sell, even at a tiny price, disappeared as no one wants to take on the high fees and certainly doesn't want to pay for it! Its a whole new situation and not a good one. Add in that the resort is a shell of what it was (needs work) and things are not lookig good at all.

Karen G said:

I imagine you'll be able to trade for a nice warm location, but it may not be to a property with a $2000 annual maintenance fee. That's what I meant by not getting an exchange of equal value. Also, the earlier you deposit and request, the better your chances will be of getting something for spring break. It might have to be spring break of next year. You can deposit your week and put in an ongoing request if you don't see exactly what you want online.

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I believe the maintenance fee is 2K eoy.

BklynJim said:

My parents own at the MC and love it. I don't think their maintenance is that high but they are one of the original owners so maybe it's less. I think it would be easy to sell if you found you didn't like it.

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Huh?

The maintenance fee is the same whether you're an original owner or not. A MF of $2000 is exceptionally high, and it will almost certainly increase because MC requires renovation. Also, the MC is not easy to sell unless you're willing to sell for $1. Even for $1 I've seen MC TS go unsold on eBay.

I'm actually shocked that this is a hard decision. Just think about what can be done with $2000 every other year. Great vacations can be arranged for far less than that. For example, I own RCI points properties at Rayburn Country Club in Texas. One 3BR red TS gives me ~ 64,000 RCI points for a MF of $416. I booked at MC during the off-season for 64,000 RCI points. Therefore, my week at MC costs me a MF of $416 while an owner would pay ~ $2000 for the same week. This decision should not be this difficult.

Larry6417 said:

Huh?

The maintenance fee is the same whether you're an original owner or not. A MF of $2000 is exceptionally high, and it will almost certainly increase because MC requires renovation. Also, the MC is not easy to sell unless you're willing to sell for $1. Even for $1 I've seen MC TS go unsold on eBay.

I'm actually shocked that this is a hard decision. Just think about what can be done with $2000 every other year. Great vacations can be arranged for far less than that. For example, I own RCI points properties at Rayburn Country Club in Texas. One 3BR red TS gives me ~ 64,000 RCI points for a MF of $416. I booked at MC during the off-season for 64,000 RCI points. Therefore, my week at MC costs me a MF of $416 while an owner would pay ~ $2000 for the same week. This decision should not be this difficult.

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Good summary, Larry.

IMHO - the only reason to spend even one minute thinking about this is if the OP is interested in spending time at the Manhattan Club during peak demand periods.

Otherwise this is a no-brainer. The annual fees are too high to justfy any other reason for owning. And even if they intended to use it during peak periods it's still not clear that it's a good deal.

The simple answer everyone has been trying to tell you in a very nice way since it is a gift from your grandmother is JUST SAY NO!

How does one avoid the annual maintainence fee if you can't dump your ownership?

This resort has seen its better days. Booking is difficult, elevators are slow. I read about a list of charities that will take donations. My guess is that since Manhattan Club has first right of refusal, they might opt to buy it from you, but I'm not sure how they would figure the price in that event.

Any other advice on dumping this turkey?