# Westgate Myrtle Beach Resort



## helen (Oct 1, 2007)

I just talked to a couple today that said they had bought a condo (pre-construction) from Westgate in Myrtle Beach.  I assumed they meant a timeshare, but the couple said that it is not a timeshare. They said it is a deeded condo that they will own all year.  They said that the Westgate property will be part timeshare and part condo ownership.  They said that the maintenance fees for the entire year will be around $400 and that whenever they want to rent the condo, Westgate would rent it for them.  They said that they would get getaways to Westgate and Marriott properties for around $100.  Further, they said that they got to pick from a selection of furnishings from Westgate as part of the deal.  So, the condo will be fully furnished.  It sounded to good to be true.  Has anyone heard of this?


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## borntotravel (Oct 1, 2007)

It definatelyl sounds off to me.  Generally, when you own a condo (even in non-tourist destinations) you pay a monthly maintenance fee which equals a lot more than $400.  I also don't know why they would get getaways into the Marriott for anywhere near $100.  As far as I know, Marriott doesn't even do that for their own owners.   

This whole deal sounds fishy to me.  To me, it sounds like the salesman really took them for a ride.  I hope they read and re-read their contract or have a professional look it over.


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## pedro47 (Oct 1, 2007)

Please tell that couple to keep everything in written.  A complete written contract spelling out everything.  In a condo we own in VA the condo fees are over $200 per month.  $400 per year is very low for maint fees.


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## dvc_john (Oct 1, 2007)

Sounds like one of those 'condo-hotels' that are being built all over Orlando these days. But the fees do sound suspect.

In a condo-hotel, you buy the whole unit. You can use it as much as you like within limits (ie, you can't live there). In the times you don't use it, they can rent it out for you. 
You can also submit weeks for a trade within an exchange company. 
I suspect the $100 getaway mentioned is not a true getaway (like an II getaway of unused inventory with no trade required), but rather an exchange of a week at this resort for another week at a different resort, and the $100 is the approx exchange fee (which is a little low for an II exchange).

Last January, I stayed at one of these places ("Floriday's Resort") in Orlando on an II getaway.


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## tomandrobin (Oct 1, 2007)

We own several condos at Myrtle Beach. Maintenance fees start around $400 per month for a one bedroom. There is no way that mf's would be that low for an entire year. 

I a side note, I did see where the resort was being built and got a e-mail solicitation. The rendering looked nice and the location is really good, IMO.


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## Art4th (Oct 2, 2007)

If it's Westgate, there's probably something fishy. I recently sold a 1BR condo at Avista in NMB and the maintenance fees were over $400 a month at the time of the sale. If your friend is paying $400 a year...they bought a timeshare, not a wholly owned condo.

Art


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## tomandrobin (Oct 2, 2007)

Art4th said:


> If it's Westgate, there's probably something fishy. I recently sold a 1BR condo at Avista in NMB and the maintenance fees were over $400 a month at the time of the sale. If your friend is paying $400 a year...they bought a timeshare, not a wholly owned condo.
> 
> Art



Congrats on being able to sell a unit in Myrtle Beach. The market is brutal down there now.


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## Art4th (Oct 2, 2007)

tomandrobin said:


> Congrats on being able to sell a unit in Myrtle Beach. The market is brutal down there now.



It was actually back in January when we closed, and the market wasn't great then. Is it worse now?


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## tomandrobin (Oct 2, 2007)

Art4th said:


> It was actually back in January when we closed, and the market wasn't great then. Is it worse now?



Yup, not much is moving on the resale side. I've had a unit list for a year and a half now. I have not gotten a single offer.


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## Art4th (Oct 2, 2007)

tomandrobin said:


> Yup, not much is moving on the resale side. I've had a unit list for a year and a half now. I have not gotten a single offer.



Wow...that's rough. We had ours listed with a discount agency for 6 months and got no action at all. When the listing expired we went back to the agent that we bought it through and in about a month we had an offer. We ended up taking a little bit less than we had hoped for, but we were glad to sell it. It's a great resort but the fees were getting crazy, and those winter months with the small rent checks were killers .


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## tomandrobin (Oct 3, 2007)

Art4th said:


> Wow...that's rough. We had ours listed with a discount agency for 6 months and got no action at all. When the listing expired we went back to the agent that we bought it through and in about a month we had an offer. We ended up taking a little bit less than we had hoped for, but we were glad to sell it. It's a great resort but the fees were getting crazy, and those winter months with the small rent checks were killers .



We relisted our unit back to the original agent also, but still no luck. Yeah the fees are getting out of control. I think all of our MF's have doubled since Katrina. Making it tough to turn a profit or break even.


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## rukrayz2 (Jan 1, 2008)

*Buy Myrtle Beach Condo Outright from Westgate*



helen said:


> I just talked to a couple today that said they had bought a condo (pre-construction) from Westgate in Myrtle Beach.  I assumed they meant a timeshare, but the couple said that it is not a timeshare. They said it is a deeded condo that they will own all year.  They said that the Westgate property will be part timeshare and part condo ownership.  They said that the maintenance fees for the entire year will be around $400 and that whenever they want to rent the condo, Westgate would rent it for them.  They said that they would get getaways to Westgate and Marriott properties for around $100.  Further, they said that they got to pick from a selection of furnishings from Westgate as part of the deal.  So, the condo will be fully furnished.  It sounded to good to be true.  Has anyone heard of this?


Your friend got it wrong.  I was looking to buy outright in November (invitation only w/refundable 1000.00 to keep out "browsers looking for a free vacation" during the weekend).  David would be there to speak to us.  The room. food, entertainment etc. was provided for free that weekend.  What turned me off was the 400K price! and 50% for Westgate to manage it for you if you were to rent it  (for me to buy I needed a positive cash flow)..... and you CAN live there if you wanted.  They send you ALL the information relating to price. fees, taxes, etc. however it wasn't sent to me until 3-weeks before the event.  They even include monogramed golf shirts for everyone to wear to the Friday night party (the tours were on Saturday)  they also said that I could use my current timeshare  as a deposite (I own 2 Westgate TS).  Anyway, I told them the reason I declined.  (I can buy a nice lakehouse for that kind of money) and there was no pressure from them for me to attend.  I have to admit the person I dealt with (from Sept to Nov....Greg) was very professional, and not an arm-twister.  He said that 400K was teh going rate based on market research in Myrtle Beach.  Also, they did indeed return my 1000.00.  FYI, they sold Park City condos outright and found a great demand for them.  Supposedly sold out the first day.  Initially when I was first contacted I thought it was a rip-off scam because a friend actually bought a 3-BR at Myrtle Beach, and he didn't get an offer to attend this offer.  It wasn't until I called a manager at Emerald Point, who looked into this for me did I find out they were indeed selling condos outright.  I called florida to get infor but nobody there ever heard of Westgate selling outright and told me it was a scam.  I guess it shows you how much employees don't know about their own company.  I threw away all the materials but I believe the maintenance was 400+ per month.


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## helen (Jan 2, 2008)

The whole thing sounds strange.  I, too, called Westgate and it appeared that the people were not aware of what the company was or wasn't offering.


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