MVC resale and DC bundle- good deal?

You will notice that this is my first post because I am an excited soon-to-be MVC owner. I want to share my experience with you all 1) as an example for future MVC buyers 2)ask the TUGgers' wisdom on 'do you think I get a good deal?'

I attended a presentation on MVC without knowing anything about it during our recent stay at St. Thomas Frenchman's Reef for the Thanksgiving week. We were a bit skeptical when we attended the presentation, but were absolutely sold on the idea that we can vacation with Marriott for the rest of our life (we are in our mid-20s), so we bought 3500 DC at the end of the presentation at $9.7 pp (normally at $11.40, but the on-tour discount is at $9.70pp). 225K MR were given as part of the on-tour incentive.

After we committed $$ to the MVC program, I still felt that I know very little about the program. Gladly, I found TUG and redweek during my 10 day cancellation period. I spent hours and hours on these two BBS and came to know more than what the sales person probably want me to know, I discovered the resale + DC points bundle! It's interesting that we later on read through the contract, and there are explicit lines saying that sales reps are not allowed to promoted resale. The purpose of getting the resale week is to lower the overall cost. We want to travel around the world, not to go back to our home resort every year, so the bundle seems to fit well with our purpose. We decided on the Newport Coast Gold 2bd one for $8500. It converts to 2700 DC point and the MF is about $1200 (correct me if I am wrong).

So after back and forth with the sales person, here is our final deal

Newport Coast at $8500 (convert to @2700 point)
3000 DC point ($9.70pp)
300K MR
That brought us to $37600 for 5700 points, meaning it's $6.6pp.

Do you think this is a good deal? Anything I should be cautious of?

Thanks TUGgers!

You may think you got a good deal, and that's all that really counts. I think it's a lot of money out of your pocket.

Personally, I think you should have just bought a few Marriott resales on the private market, and use those to exchange into locations where you wanted to be. This way you could have saved thousands of $$$$$$.

Not a good deal at all. Buy a resale of save $$$$$ or rent without the committment of yearly fees. Also, if you are financing this purchase through Marriott its even worse. Financing a timeshare is never a good idea. Drop this deal and take your time to look around at what it best for you. And make sure that whatever you buy, if anything, DONT FINANCE IT. If you cant afford to pay cash then dont buy anything.

I am probably not in the majority here, but I think you got a pretty good deal, especially when you consider the MR points incentive and the ability to enroll your Newport Coast week in the DC program (and I assume they are waiving your DC enrollment fee?). My main skepticism is that there is still not a viable resale market for DC trust points. I think this will get resolved eventually with a Marriott buy-back program at maybe 50% of what you paid, but it is the hidden negative at the moment. If you like the idea of vacationing frequently at Newport Coast and also using the points option annually, don't worry about the naysayers. Yours is one of the cases where I think buying points might be appropriate.

Many of the naysayers will likely not put any value of the ability to be in the DC, but I think it is a HUGE benefit, even if you seldom exchange your week for points.

gmarine said:

Not a good deal at all. Buy a resale of save $$$$$ or rent without the committment of yearly fees. Also, if you are financing this purchase through Marriott its even worse. Financing a timeshare is never a good idea. Drop this deal and take your time to look around at what it best for you. And make sure that whatever you buy, if anything, DONT FINANCE IT. If you cant afford to pay cash then dont buy anything.

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The OP said nothing about financing the purchase so I assume he/she is paying cash and can afford it. I agree 100% that you should never finance the purchase of a timeshare.

BocaBoy said:

The OP said nothing about financing the purchase so I assume he/she is paying cash and can afford it. I agree 100% that you should never finance the purchase of a timeshare.

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I assumed the OP might be financing it because they said they are in their mid 20s. If they are in their mid 20s with the ability to spend $37K cash on a timeshare they must be making a ton of $$$.

To the OP, to be in your mid 20s and commit yourself to a $37K purchase plus fees that will increase every year, please make sure you have everything else first. House, cars etc. Timeshare is a luxury purchase so dont spend that much money unless you have 37K in disposable income.

We are financing the $37K partially, but not with Marriott. Their rate is like 11%! I've found elsewhere that we can finance it for 3~4%.

gmarine said:

I assumed the OP might be financing it because they said they are in their mid 20s. If they are in their mid 20s with the ability to spend $37K cash on a timeshare they must be making a ton of $$$.

To the OP, to be in your mid 20s and commit yourself to a $37K purchase plus fees that will increase every year, please make sure you have everything else first. House, cars etc. Timeshare is a luxury purchase so dont spend that much money unless you have 37K in disposable income.

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Yes, they will waive our enrollment fee.

I know that you can get bargins with purchasing on the 3rd party resale market, but our travel style is that we do not want to go back to our home resort every year, we want to travel around the world . And the DC program gives us the flexibility to book where ever we want to go. I know you can also exchange your home resort with II, but with all the discussions I have seen, it is not a guarantee and often you have to wait for months before you know if you have reserved where you want to go. So, it really comes down to a peace of mind at the end.

BocaBoy said:

I am probably not in the majority here, but I think you got a pretty good deal, especially when you consider the MR points incentive and the ability to enroll your Newport Coast week in the DC program (and I assume they are waiving your DC enrollment fee?). My main skepticism is that there is still not a viable resale market for DC trust points. I think this will get resolved eventually with a Marriott buy-back program at maybe 50% of what you paid, but it is the hidden negative at the moment. If you like the idea of vacationing frequently at Newport Coast and also using the points option annually, don't worry about the naysayers. Yours is one of the cases where I think buying points might be appropriate.

Many of the naysayers will likely not put any value of the ability to be in the DC, but I think it is a HUGE benefit, even if you seldom exchange your week for points.

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FionaS said:

We are financing the $37K partially, but not with Marriott. Their rate is like 11%! I've found elsewhere that we can finance it for 3~4%.

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Even at 3-4% it makes the purchase that much worse. If you cant afford to pay cash, dont buy it. I doubt you will find ANYONE on TUG who will advise you to spend 37K on a timeshare that you have to finance. Also, keep in mind your maintenance fees will go up EVERY year.

I see where you are coming from, we plan to pay it off in 2 years, so the extra cost on interest rate is probably about 1k. We think that's not too bad.

Yes, the MF will go up every year. But the general feeling I have from TUG is that although MF goes up every year, people are still happy with their TS. The MF goes up for everybody, not just for myself. So I don't see why this is a reason not to buy TS. If this is a no-reason, then I might never buy a TS in my lifetime.

On a similar note, when would be the perfect time to buy TS? at what age?

gmarine said:

Even at 3-4% it makes the purchase that much worse. If you cant afford to pay cash, dont buy it. I doubt you will find ANYONE on TUG who will advise you to spend 37K on a timeshare that you have to finance. Also, keep in mind your maintenance fees will go up EVERY year.

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FionaS said:

.....when would be the perfect time to buy TS? at what age?

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The perfect age is as young as possible, assuming that you have the time, money and desire to use it. The longer you own it the longer the period you can "amortize" the upfront costs.

FionaS said:

I see where you are coming from, we plan to pay it off in 2 years, so the extra cost on interest rate is probably about 1k. We think that's not too bad.

Yes, the MF will go up every year. But the general feeling I have from TUG is that although MF goes up every year, people are still happy with their TS. The MF goes up for everybody, not just for myself. So I don't see why this is a reason not to buy TS. If this is a no-reason, then I might never buy a TS in my lifetime.

On a similar note, when would be the perfect time to buy TS? at what age?

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My point is that your paying 37K for a timeshare, which most on TUG would call ridiculous in its own right. Then your paying finance charges plus maintenance fee increases.

Your right about most on TUG being happy with their timeshares but the vast majority havent spent anywhere near what you are considering. Its a large amount of money that you dont have, and the minute you close the purchase its worth a fraction of what you paid.

You seem to have your mind made up. Good luck to you.

gmarine said:

Your right about most on TUG being happy with their timeshares but the vast majority havent spent anywhere near what you are considering. Its a large amount of money that you dont have, and the minute you close the purchase its worth a fraction of what you paid.

You seem to have your mind made up. Good luck to you.

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You're being a bit rough here gmarine. There are a good many of us who bought at full developer prices long before discovering TUG or the resale market.

This couple got a better deal than I ever got, and I've been extraordinarily happy with our purchase. We've sure had a ton of great vacations and stayed in some really nice properties over the years. I too strongly prefer the DC program to the hassle (my opinion!) and restrictions of trading. So, that they got this below normal developer pricing, and got into the DC program w/o the current (insane!) enrollment fee is pretty good.

And anyway, lighten up.. It doesn't work for you. But take a step back and you might realize that it may work very well for someone else.

To do a meaningful calculation need to know total MF. It appears $1,200 is just for one piece.

And, what does this equate to in terms of Interval/unit? 2 one BRs and one 2 BR in prime season???????

Ball park calculation if lost earnings on $37K are $3,700 and annual MF are $2,300 you are paying $6K plus $37K pretty much vaporizes!

Could you rent similar for say for $5K?

swaits said:

You're being a bit rough here gmarine. There are a good many of us who bought at full developer prices long before discovering TUG or the resale market.

This couple got a better deal than I ever got, and I've been extraordinarily happy with our purchase. We've sure had a ton of great vacations and stayed in some really nice properties over the years. I too strongly prefer the DC program to the hassle (my opinion!) and restrictions of trading. So, that they got this below normal developer pricing, and got into the DC program w/o the current (insane!) enrollment fee is pretty good.

And anyway, lighten up.. It doesn't work for you. But take a step back and you might realize that it may work very well for someone else.

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The key sentence here is BEFORE TUG OR THE RESALE MARKET. The OP has the advantage of TUG and came here for advice. I'm being honest, I'm not going to sugar coat something that could end up being a huge mistake for them. Buying a timeshare for 37K that you have to finance is a horrible decision that many have made before they knew better. The OP has the luxury to avoid this mistake. Dont try to make believe that this decsion is smart for anyone. Its not.

Overall it's not a horrible deal. Many on Tug paid much more.

Many misinformed people bought FB at $37-$45.

Would you pay that today?

pacodemountainside said:

Many misinformed people bought FB at $37-$45.

Would you pay that today?

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Exactly the point I'm trying to make. The OP has the opportunity to avoid the mistake many have made.

There are a lot of variables to consider in your decision.
1) Your vacation patterns.
-If you like to go to the same destination year after year for a week at a time, buy weeks on the open market.
-If you take your vacations a week at a time and would enjoy the challenge of trading the week(s) you own for vacations in other places (via Interval International), then buy on the open market.
-If you prefer the option of taking shorter vacations and want flexibility on where you go and the ability to nail down your dates/locations ahead of time without a lot of hassle, consider the Marriott resale + Destinations points option.

2) Your financial goals. I would recommend talking with your investment advisor to see what (s)he would say about how this. Someone who knows you and your financial circumstances can offer a lot better advice than we can on TUG.
You will certainly hear that timeshares are not investments! We have been tracking both our expenses and the market value of the vacations we have received. We have really enjoyed maximizing the use of our package of points that came through a Marriott resale + points, and it appears that we will reach a break even in 7-8 years, but our vacation patterns may be much different from yours so don't use our experience as a benchmark.

You're doing the right thing to get all the advice you can from people who know the system. I am working on my TUG bachelor's degree and appreciate all the masters and doctoral level instructors who have offered their wisdom.

BocaBoy said:

The perfect age is as young as possible, assuming that you have the time, money and desire to use it. The longer you own it the longer the period you can "amortize" the upfront costs.

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I agree with this sentiment (ASSUMING THEY HAVE THE TIME, MONEY, AND DESIRE TO USE IT - that is a very important point). It is great to have a timeshare when kids come along and you can use it for its fullest benefit to create family memories (boy does that sound like a Marriott commercial or what). We bought our first Marriott timeshare (Maui Ocean Club) just when we were having our first child. Now with four kids and four weeks, we love all the vacation possibilities.

With four weeks in our portfolio, I do not plan to buy any DC points. But if the OP values the additional flexibility of points, then perhaps he got a good deal. I won't cast a dark cloud over his purchase.

Fiona,

If you were my son/daughter I would advise you to cancel unless maybe you earned over $200k per year, had your own home, and had started saving for retirement/funds for college for your children. No, I think I would still tell you to cancel. Why because you can do better than buying from Marriott and you still have time to rescind. Dont think that you wont have any problems getting reservations for the weeks you want. You will face the same challenges owners with weeks have. There is only so much inventory and its only available if someone else hasn't already reserved it or owned it. Your challenges should be no better/worse than weeks owners.

Cancel this as soon as you can. You can always buy again at this price if you really think its a good deal, which it isn't. You will never be able to recover the amount you are outlaying if you have to sell it.

To Each His Own

It is always interesting to see how when people have their opinion, they cannot see it any other way. Yes, on TUG many folks here have found that you can purchase resale for almost nothing. However, as has been stated all of the omnicient ones on TUG did not all buy their first timeshares resale. In fact, some of the most adamant ones who state to buy resale forget that the originally bought from the developer.

I believe that based upon what you have written, you have a good deal for what you want to do. First, you have received almost half price for the DC points which I think is good. I would rather pay $37,000 instead of $64,980 any time. Secondly, since you want to travel NOW and don't want to wait until your 40 or 50 to do so, you purchased now. Sounds fine to me. There is no resale market that I have seen for DC points as of yet, and even if you did Marriott still will charge you to make the points viable in the club. To get a valuable high demand weeks unit that is resale which will give you priority with II will more than likely have to be one in which Marriott will utilize its right of first refusal. Marriott is exercising that right these days as has been reported. Lastly, you have very clearly stated that you don't want to go to the same place all of the time and you want flexibility. Sounds like you know what you want to make YOU happy. You can squeeze three or four weeks of vacation out of what you have. You amy want to split your 2 bedroom into 2 weeks since it's only the two of you. You may want to rent one side and stay in the other. You would still have another 3000 points that you could get another week or two. In addition, if you select a good week to rent at Newport Coast from your gold time, you will find you can rent it out for a good price as well. I live near that property and can tell you that you may wish to visit it more than you think, but it is in a great spot that is desirable. The weather here is usually good to great year round. You can still use II and perhaps get an additional week from them through an Accommodation Certificate (AC) for letting them use your Marriott week.

You are in your mid 20's and can get many, many years out of your timeshare. I got mine in my mid 30's and can say that each time I go on vacation now I am glad that I have them. You should get plenty of usage from it that in time will be worth more than the $30,000+ that people spend on cars. What I also find positive is that if you have children you have room to grow with a 2 bedroom to accommodate them.

Could you buy resales cheaper? Absolutely, but they would not allow you to do the things that YOU want to do. You're looking at a lifetime. Yes, maintenance fees will increase for you and everyone else. If you can afford the purchase, that's your call and no one else's concern. You know your pocketbook and if you are able to pay it off in two years that's fine too.

Don't let these folks make you think you are ignorant or crazy. You are utilizing information that we have today. I would just share this one additional item, if you want more points for an occasion or two, I would not buy any more points. I would just rent them. There is more information here on this site that about renting if you desire.

Just another point of view.

Excellent point- we do have the time (arguably, at least we dedicate time for vacation every year), money (possibly....), and the desire (for sure!) to use it.

We are tempted to buy the TS also more thinking from the family perspective. When I was at Frenchman's Cove, I love the family atmosphere there. I believe after we have kids (maybe 5 years later), our family would enjoy far more at a more spacious place than getting 2 or 3 separate rooms at hotels. We know this is a quite a lot of money, but if we are going to invest in TS sometime in our life, why not now?

gblotter said:

I agree with this sentiment (ASSUMING THEY HAVE THE TIME, MONEY, AND DESIRE TO USE IT - that is a very important point). It is great to have a timeshare when kids come along and you can use it for its fullest benefit to create family memories (boy does that sound like a Marriott commercial or what). We bought our first Marriott timeshare (Maui Ocean Club) just when we were having our first child. Now with four kids and four weeks, we love all the vacation possibilities.

With four weeks in our portfolio, I do not plan to buy any DC points. But if the OP values the additional flexibility of points, then perhaps he got a good deal. I won't cast a dark cloud over his purchase.

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Thanks for putting yourself in my shoes

Great observation and recommendation, and thanks for putting yourself in my shoes.

I believe Gold season in Newport runs from Jan to early June, when do you think is a good time? We decided on Newport Coast because it is close to Disney, which my sister and brother and our kids (in the future) will enjoy; it is close to a golf course, which my father will enjoy; it is close to LA which my mom will enjoy, and California is where we want to eventually move to.

csalter2 said:

In addition, if you select a good week to rent at Newport Coast from your gold time, you will find you can rent it out for a good price as well. I live near that property and can tell you that you may wish to visit it more than you think, but it is in a great spot that is desirable. The weather here is usually good to great year round.

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Can you point me to a few renting threads? Thanks. :whoopie:

csalter2 said:

I would just share this one additional item, if you want more points for an occasion or two, I would not buy any more points. I would just rent them. There is more information here on this site that about renting if you desire.

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One thing all of the naysayers in this thread are ignoring is that the OP has found a pretty good way to meet her goals, which includes being able to use DC points. This is really the only way they can get into the DC program and in her shoes I think I would do the same thing. This assumes they can really pay off the loan in a year or two.

To me, the ease, the security, and the peace of mind one gets from buying through Marriott Resales is worth quite a bit. The closing will be easy, you won't have to be concerned about an unethical seller ripping you off, and there is a great bonus of 300,000 MR points.

Would a detailed financial analysis find that this is the cheapest way to buy? No it wouldn't, but there are other things that people value also. Buying through Marriott is kind of like buying jewelry at Tiffany's. You can buy cheaper elsewhere, but many people choose Tiffany's and are very happy doing so.