Strategy for buying Palm Desert or Scottsdale week for Summer use

Hi everyone,

I am a DVC member (Beach Club Villas), but have found I am frequently using our points there to book Club Intrawest in Palm Desert during Summer (which is not a great use of our points). We are a family of 4 (with 2 school age girls), and need to travel when they are out of school. I do not want to own at Club Intrawest, but would like to pick up a bargain on a Starwood 2bdr lockoff for use during a Summer week in either Palm Desert or Scottsdale. Both are easy to fly into from Bellingham, and we are very happy in the extreme dry heat during the Summer (we know what we are getting in to in that regard).

At the moment, I have been most interested in Westin Desert Willows (EOY) or Westin Kierland Villas. Both have fairly high (and similar) MF's, but the Kierland contract would have the advantage of giving us 56,300 Staroptions. Westin Desert Willows would only allow us to use it, or trade through II, and is also only EOY so we would likely look for another EOY contract for the opposite years.

Although most of the posts I have read say to buy Platnium (because the MF's are exactly the same but you can get the great StarOptions), I do not want to spend that much. I would like to spend less than 3K on the purchase. I want my family of 4 to be able to get 1 week in a 2 bedroom, or two weeks in a 1 bedroom during Summer Break each year. I am also okay with trading my 2 bedroom for a 1 bedroom at another resort (seeing as my season would not give me great trading power).

I do care about which resort it is, and am interested in these two properties because they are newer and (to my eyes) more luxurious and contemporary looking in the finishings.

I do not think I need a strong trader (I am not interested in trading for the Caribbean or Hawaii), and would probably be staying at the resort we buy at most of the time.

I know these summer weeks do not rent for much, but would still like to come out ahead if I buy a contract (ie. I would rather own and spend $1400 a year on MF for a 2 bedroom 1 week contract, than pay the same for a 1 bedroom 1 week rental).

Am I overlooking anything? Is there a way to own something more cheaply that can trade into these properties without actually owning there? I think I am experiencing information overload on this steep learning curve and need someone to sort me out!

Thanks very much!

You should not buy a summer week in any of these places. If you own a timeshare that allows you to join Interval International, you can buy cheap summer getaways at Westin Kierland Villas for a fraction of the cost of maintenance fees. I have not seen much inventory for Westin Desert Willow Villas in II, since it is a new resort, but in time I am sure there will be inventory in getaways, just as cheap.

Since it is VERY easy to trade into the desert in the summer, I would buy at a less expensive Starwood resort and use it to trade in through Interval International.

You can buy a 2 bdm. lock-off at Sheraton Desert Oasis for less than $1,000 all in, with a maintenance fee of $900.

You can split it into two 1 bdm. units and get 2 deposit with Interval International, and get TWO trades for a fraction of the cost of owning at WDW or WKV.

Then using the Starwood to Starwood priority in II, you can easily use it to trade for WDW or WKV.

Cost per trade-

$450 - maintenance fee (1/2)
$25 - II membership (1/2)
$114 - exchange fee
$589 total for 1 week's vacation (and you will get 2 weeks)

Compared to owning at WKV or WDW:

WDW 2 bdm. - about $1,412 a year
WKV 2 bdm. - $1,216 a year

*Note: 56,300 Staroptions are nearly worthless. For instance, the smallest unit (studio) at the popular resorts require 67,100 Staroptions.

*Right now, with my own SDO 1 bdm. deposit, I can see 16 exchanges in the Interval International online inventory at WKV for next June, including 2 bdm.'s.

I agree with ada903.

No need to own if what you want is to bake in the desert during the summer.

You can buy getaway weeks for $300-500, far less than maintenance fees for any of the above.

No upfront cost. No trading hassles. Buy as many (or as few) as you need each year. No ongoing, annual obligation.

The summer are weeks are available as II getaways for far less than the maintenance fees. There are not a lot available right now (but will be), but here's one example:

Westin Desert Willow Villas
One-Bedroom (Full Kitchen, so presumably the larger side of a lockoff)
Interval Member $487
Gold Member $462
Platinum Member $437
Aug 10 2012 - Aug 17 2012
Less $50 Off Getaways Sale Right Now

As it gets closer to summer, the price generally gets even lower. If you search this board, you might find some sample prices -- I remember a thread about rental rates that listed getaway prices.

I know Disney doesn't trade with II anymore, but perhaps you have a friend who is an II member who could book a getaway for you??? I know, someone will post that II prohibits renting getaways -- but, I don't buy it. It's excess inventory -- they want to get rid of it. Their system allows you to use the guest's credit card to pay for the getaway and guest certificate -- which is a funny way of disallowing something!

ada903 said:

You should not buy a summer week in any of these places. If you own a timeshare that allows you to join Interval International, you can buy cheap summer getaways at Westin Kierland Villas for a fraction of the cost of maintenance fees. I have not seen much inventory for Westin Desert Willow Villas in II, since it is a new resort, but in time I am sure there will be inventory in getaways, just as cheap.

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From what I understand (and I could be wrong), I would not have access to II as a member -- Disney however will allow me to deposit a week and access some of the II resorts through them. I do not have any other timeshares, so do not think I would be able to access the summer getaways.

You can't deposit DVC with II - it's exclusively with RCI.

Here is another angle - buy the smallest 1 bdm. at SDO - every-other-year deed - to get into II and use the strategy I posted above + have access to the II Getaways.

You should be able to buy a small 1 bdm. every-other-year deed, at SDO for FREE and free closing costs.

Maintenance fee is $295 year - with an every-other-year deed you pay half the maintenance fee each year.

Every-other-year you will have a 1 bdm. to deposit, and every year you can buy as many Getaways as you want!

DeniseM said:

Since it is VERY easy to trade into the desert in the summer, I would buy at a less expensive Starwood resort and use it to trade in through Interval International.

You can buy a 2 bdm. lock-off at Sheraton Desert Oasis for less than $1,000 all in, with a maintenance fee of $900.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that post... I will look at that as an option. It seems like there has been a flood of SDO on Ebay, some even being sold for a $1. It was a bit of a red flag for me, seeing so many unsold units, and so much availability. Are there only certain units I should be looking for?

If you want a two bedroom unit over a one bedroom, it will be a little less expensive to own an SDO unit and trade in rather than buying Getaway weeks.

I have successfully traded into two bedroom WMH units the last 4 years with my either small one bedroom SDO unit or my Sheraton Vistana week. I prefer WMH, but all the Palm Desert Marriotts have also been available. So far, I have only seen 1 bedroom WDW units available.

Glorian

marmite said:

Thanks for that post... I will look at that as an option. It seems like there has been a flood of SDO on Ebay, some even being sold for a $1. It was a bit of a red flag for me, seeing so many unsold units, and so much availability. Are there only certain units I should be looking for?

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I strongly recommend you only buy a 1-52 float unit or a "true Platinum" unit (floats 1-21 & 50-52) at SDO. You should be able to pick up one very inexpensively. If you only intend to trade with this unit, I would only buy the small one bedroom size or a 2 bedroom lockoff. No need to pay the extra mf on a larger one bedroom, unless you intend to stay there.

Glorian

marmite said:

Thanks for that post... I will look at that as an option. It seems like there has been a flood of SDO on Ebay, some even being sold for a $1. It was a bit of a red flag for me, seeing so many unsold units, and so much availability. Are there only certain units I should be looking for?

Click to expand...

It's the nature of the market right now - not really a reflection on the resort.

For the best trading power in II, I'd buy a small, Platinum, 1 bedroom. This resort has 2 bdm. lock-offs - one side is a large one bedroom and one side is a small one bedroom. You can by a 2 bdm., or a large 1 bdm., or a small 1 bdm. at this resort.

If you can't find a small Platinum week, I'd buy a small 1-52 floating week.

Many sellers don't really understand what a true Platinum week is.

A true Platinum week will have a unit number in this range -
1064, 1072, 1081-1100, 2064, 2072, 2081- 2100, 3064-3072, 3081-3100

And the deeded weeks will be: weeks 1-[21], 50-52

Here is the floor plan to make it a little clearer -

marmite said:

Thanks for that post... I will look at that as an option. It seems like there has been a flood of SDO on Ebay, some even being sold for a $1. It was a bit of a red flag for me, seeing so many unsold units, and so much availability. Are there only certain units I should be looking for?

Click to expand...

I have talked to several of the independent sellers of SDO units. The sellers that I have talked to are elderly or their heirs.

elaine

DeniseM said:

If you can't find a small Platinum week, I'd buy a small 1-52 floating week.

Many sellers don't really understand what a true Platinum week is.

A true Platinum week will have a unit number in this range -
1064, 1072, 1081-1100, 2064, 2072, 2081- 2100, 3064-3072, 3081-3100

And the deeded weeks will be: weeks 1-12, 50-52

Click to expand...

Deeded Plat weeks are 1-21 & 50-52. (I'm sure Denise just made a typo.)

Glorian

DeniseM said:

You can't deposit DVC with II - it's exclusively with RCI.

Here is another angle - buy the smallest 1 bdm. at SDO - every-other-year deed - to get into II and use the strategy I posted above + have access to the II Getaways.

You should be able to buy a small 1 bdm. every-other-year deed, at SDO for FREE and free closing costs.

Maintenance fee is $295 year - with an every-other-year deed you pay half the maintenance fee each year.

Every-other-year you will have a 1 bdm. to deposit, and every year you can buy as many Getaways as you want!

Click to expand...

What a brilliant strategy this is. AWESOME!

elaine

grgs said:

Deeded Plat weeks are 1-21 & 50-52. (I'm sure Denise just made a typo.)

Glorian

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Ooppsss! Thanks for your help Glorian!

grgs said:

I strongly recommend you only buy a 1-52 float unit or a "true Platinum" unit (floats 1-21 & 50-52) at SDO. You should be able to pick up one very inexpensively. If you only intend to trade with this unit, I would only buy the small one bedroom size or a 2 bedroom lockoff. No need to pay the extra mf on a larger one bedroom, unless you intend to stay there.

Glorian

Click to expand...

If I were to stay at SDO (which I could, I just thought Keirland would be nicer to stay at), I would want a large 1 bedroom to stay in. The only reason I thought of getting a 2 bedroom-lockoff, is that it would give us an option of staying for 2 weeks in a 1bdr or renting the other side if we only wanted a week.

A two bedroom is not a must, but ultimately 2 weeks in a large 1 bedroom would be nice. It wouldn't matter if we had to change resorts or not, I could be happy spending one week at SDO or Keirland and then moving to another resort.

So even though I want to stay during the lowest season, I should still be buying Platnium?

Marmite - SDO is OK, but WKV is really fabulous. You should buy at SDO and use it to trade into WKV. It's super easy, and a much better value.

A Platinum week will give you the strongest trading power, so yes, a Plat week, or a 1-52 floater.

Are you concerned or confused about the trading aspect?

Look at post #11 again. This strategy for staying at WKV for 2 weeks a year is actually cheaper than buying at SDO and staying there.

This is how it would work:

Year 1 - you pay a maintenance fee of $295 and an exchange fee of $114, and deposit your SDO small one bedroom with II, and you exchange it for Westin Kierland Villas for a 1 week vacation.

PLUS, for $500 or less, you rent a Getaway at WKV, so you have a 2nd week.

Year 2 - you pay your maintenance fee of $295, and you rent 2 Getaways from II for $500 or less per week - and you have 2 weeks vacation at WKV.

repeat

marmite said:

If I were to stay at SDO (which I could, I just thought Keirland would be nicer to stay at), I would want a large 1 bedroom to stay in. The only reason I thought of getting a 2 bedroom-lockoff, is that it would give us an option of staying for 2 weeks in a 1bdr or renting the other side if we only wanted a week.

Click to expand...

As Denise said, I was suggesting that you buy an SDO unit and use that to trade into Kierland. Both Scottsdale and Rancho Mirage/Palm Desert/Palm Springs are very easy trades in the summer.

Glorian

DeniseM said:

If you can't find a small Platinum week, I'd buy a small 1-52 floating week.

Click to expand...

I believe I see a floating week EOY available, but it doesn't say if it is a small one bedroom or not. Would the MF of 332.00 (payable each year) be for a small or large one bedroom? Can you tell from the MF?

Thanks, this sounds like a great way to go.

marmite said:

I believe I see a floating week EOY available, but it doesn't say if it is a small one bedroom or not. Would the MF of 332.00 (payable each year) be for a small or large one bedroom? Can you tell from the MF?

Thanks, this sounds like a great way to go.

Click to expand...

That's the maintenance for for an EOY Large one bedroom.

Is it on ebay? You can copy and paste the url here and we can take a look at it.

Here are the maintenance fees at SDO:

EOY Sm. 1 Bdm. - $295
EOY Lg. 1 Bdm. - $332.27
EOY 2 Bdm. L/O - $474.20

Sm. 1 Bdm. - $529.91
Lg. 1 Bdm. - $624.54
2 Bdm. L/O - $908.41

You will have the additional expense of the Interval membership. The retail price is $84/year, but there are generally discounts, often two years for the price of one. When it is time to join, ask the friendly Interval representative; if s/he cannot help, query us for the then-applicable discount.

DeniseM said:

Is it on ebay? You can copy and paste the url here and we can take a look at it.

Click to expand...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300601566777#ht_3547wt_853

marmite said:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300601566777#ht_3547wt_853

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Based on the mf it is a large one bedroom every other year (EOY) unit. Unfortunately, it doesn't state definitively that is a one bedroom deluxe unit (that is how the larger one bedroom units are described). They don't give a unit number either, which is the way to tell for sure. You could send the seller an e-mail and ask for the unit number.

Glorian

marmite said:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300601566777#ht_3547wt_853

Click to expand...

That's a large one bedroom, and they want $324 for the closing - with a little patience you can find a small 1 bdm. with free closing.

Also, first usage isn't until 2013 - I'd look for an even year with usage starting in 2012, because you will have to pay half the maintenance fee in 2012 any way.

You may even be able to find one with first usage this year and the maintenance fee already paid for this year. You can deposit it with II up until the last day of the year.

I have to run out for a few hours.... it is hard to tear myself away because I want to find the perfect unit right now! I do agree it would be better to find something I could use in 2012. I would love to book some summer weeks. I will follow up this evening

Thanks everyone!