# I'm probably personna non grata at Marbrisa now



## SmithOp (Dec 28, 2014)

Just had a presentation and finished in 60 minutes.  They wanted to sell me a small contract here to boost me up to Elite.  I wasnt buying but told them I was open to a deal at the new Islander tower at HHV, trade in my previous developer purchase and get a 12.6k 1br premier plat. They managed to produce a price sheet, $68k list for what I wanted.  

Found out something, they can only sell CA properties here.  They said Vegas can sell CA too, but its not reciprocal.

It was an easy exit, they couldnt get me out quick enough, and I told them I would never be interested in owning here.  I wanted a point generating Hawaii property, the manager got what I was after, he did the math and break even was 6 years to overcome the higher buy in.  The young sales gal didnt get it at all, she kept saying you'll pay more for Hawaii fees. She said she owns a 3400 point here, she has to borrow to get a 2 br in Hawaii at Kohala gold season. She thought I wanted to stay in the units, only the manager David figured out I wanted the points.

At one point she said why did you book this if you knew you werent buying here?  I said because it was cheaper than using my points or open season BOOM! I got a 3 day weekend for $229 with $100 credit at 20/20 Grille, I'm going to enjoy the prime rib dinner tonight, only have to pay for drinks.


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## Talent312 (Dec 28, 2014)

That's a decent in-'n'out time. Preparation goes a long way to speed things up.
You didn't tweak their noses on the OS rate increases, not that it would matter.
.


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## USDave (Dec 28, 2014)

*Sounds like fun*

Sounds like your having fun anyway! 

If you get the chance tomorrow would you raise the Open Season issue see if they act dumb or give any justification that would be great! 

Have fun


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## SmithOp (Dec 28, 2014)

What I learned was the local sales staff do not have access to my HGVC data, if they did a little data mining pre-sale it would be easy for them to know what I own and my usage pattern.  They were able to look up my equity only.  I got the invite because I own a GPR Seapointe float 1br that is not converted, they wanted to sell me a small Marbrisa and convert the Seapointe to get me to Elite, it would have been 3 maint fees.  The young sales woman was clueless, she kept on about Hawaii HOA fees are higher, didnt see the advantage of the higher points at KL, GW, and now Islander. I did complain about higher open season fees but she wasnt aware either, apparently its a corporate initiative, they didnt notify owners or their sales staff.

I was offered the VIP package too, 7000 points for $1795, no booking fees.  There was an interesting wrinkle, she said I could use 5000 and trade to a variety of locations  and use the balance plus two free nights to come back for a presentation, getting two weeks usage out of 7000 points.  I knew the trade weeks would be off season excess, she wouldnt tell me the resorts, was purposely vague.

I pointed out that I already had 2 GPX bonus weeks booked during a buy one get one half off deal, paid $1300 for two weeks. I think it was the same inventory, bonus weeks.


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## VegasBella (Dec 28, 2014)

I got a phone call with that offer. It was a three or four day trip for $200-something. I have to admit I was tempted (we love Legoland) but I didn't bite.


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## nlehvac (Dec 29, 2014)

*Showing my Newbie Ignorance here ....*



SmithOp said:


> It was an easy exit, they couldnt get me out quick enough, and I told them I would never be interested in owning here.  I wanted a point generating Hawaii property, the manager got what I was after, he did the math and break even was 6 years to overcome the higher buy in.  The young sales gal didnt get it at all, she kept saying you'll pay more for Hawaii fees. She said she owns a 3400 point here, she has to borrow to get a 2 br in Hawaii at Kohala gold season. She thought I wanted to stay in the units, only the manager David figured out I wanted the points.[\QUOTE]
> 
> What is the advantage of a point generating Hawaii property over points generated elsewhere? Or is it that you didn't want to wait 6 years for the break even point, even tho the [higher?] MF's would continue well beyond?
> 
> Thanks for any explanation.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Dec 29, 2014)

SmithOp said:


> At one point she said why did you book this if you knew you werent buying here?  I said because it was cheaper than using my points or open season BOOM! I got a 3 day weekend for $229 with $100 credit at 20/20 Grille, I'm going to enjoy the prime rib dinner tonight, only have to pay for drinks.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



You can't be the first person to agree to the owners update just to get the reward for attending... Guessing she was new...

We are heading to the HGVC Flamingo for New Years, got that as a last minute rental off eBay...  Of course HGVC figured out we were owners after getting the  guest certificate details... Just found out they called and my wife agreed to attend a "short 60 minute update on whats new in Vegas"  

Hoping our goes as quick and painless as your went...  I already know it will be longer than 60 minutes, as they have to shuttle us to sales center, wherever that is now...


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## piyooshj (Dec 29, 2014)

Good luck with the presentation. With our ordeal at some of the previous prez my wife flatly refuses to go to any of these owner updates no matter what they have to offer. I am fine attending to get the freebies but cannot attend alone


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## buzglyd (Dec 29, 2014)

Can I come by and have your leftover prime rib?


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## Talent312 (Dec 29, 2014)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Just found out they called and my wife agreed to attend a "short 60 minute update on whats new in Vegas"...



Pick out a watering hole to soothe your nerves afterwards.


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## SmithOp (Dec 29, 2014)

buzglyd said:


> Can I come by and have your leftover prime rib?




Oh no, Josie left some in the fridge this morning, we had to leave early to make the long ride back to Sac.  I was going to invite you but didnt want to impose during the holidays.  We just went for some long beach walks to work off the holiday dinners in AZ, it was a nice stopover.  Walked Solana Beach and had lunch at Pacific Coast Grille Sat, then Pt Loma Seafood for crab sandwiches Sun and walked Spanish Landing.


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## SmithOp (Dec 29, 2014)

nlehvac said:


> What is the advantage of a point generating Hawaii property over points generated elsewhere? Or is it that you didn't want to wait 6 years for the break even point, even tho the [higher?] MF's would continue well beyond?
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for any explanation.




The advantage is one maintenance fee vs three!  I'm already paying about $1500 yr for 8700 points, they wanted to add a 3400, plus convert the Seapointe float for another 4200 to get me to Elite.  The 6 year break even was the higher up front cost of the Hawaii unit, year 7 forward the annual costs were lower.

I want more points on a single maint fee, I plan on getting at least 20 years usage so it would have cost more in the long run with three deeds. I could have sold what I have and bought a resale, but since I bought developer I can get what I paid in to trade up.  I would advise someone that doesnt own to buy resale of course, but I drank the kool aid twice before I found TUG. Bonus points help offset the upgrade cost.

I called direct sales today, I'm trading in what I have and bumping up to a 10,500 point single deed, my maint fees will remain the same, plus 25,000 bonus points.  All Hawaii properties are 15% off list right now, some higher.  They started out offering me a 24,000 point GW Penthouse for 100k, 20% discount and HH conversion at 50:1. 

I dont intend to stay in that unit, I'll point stretch in gold season smaller units.  I can stretch the bonus points in a 1br to almost two months. Points are points.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Dec 30, 2014)

Talent312 said:


> Pick out a watering hole to soothe your nerves afterwards.



Vegas on New Years Eve, pretty sure i can find a friendly watering hole..


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## 1Kflyerguy (Dec 30, 2014)

SmithOp said:


> I called direct sales today, I'm trading in what I have and bumping up to a 10,500 point single deed, my maint fees will remain the same, plus 25,000 bonus points.  All Hawaii properties are 15% off list right now, some higher.  They started out offering me a 24,000 point GW Penthouse for 100k, 20% discount and HH conversion at 50:1.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



Sounds like you were pretty serious about making the upgrade, and might have made a move at Marbrisa if they could have found the right package to offer...

Glad you found something that works out as a better deal in the long term for you...

I will probably check to see what kind of deal i can get on a small upgrade from my 5000 Vegas Strip unit.  Wouldn't mind trading up a bit if the numbers make sense, but guessing my idea of a deal and theirs might be different...


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## SmithOp (Dec 30, 2014)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Sounds like you were pretty serious about making the upgrade, and might have made a move at Marbrisa if they could have found the right package to offer...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I couldnt convince my wife, so the deal is off.  She wants to go resale if we get more points.


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## Jason245 (Dec 30, 2014)

SmithOp said:


> I couldnt convince my wife, so the deal is off.  She wants to go resale if we get more points.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using the strange new version of Tapatalk



Mathmatically, this makes the most sense.

If you are doubt, just complete the following formula:

Purchase price /(Normal price you would pay for a rental accomodation - MF you would pay) = time it takes for the initial cash outflow to be recouped. 

The bottom number is fixed, the top number is the only thing you have control over. 

Even if you run negative (MF are more than you would pay for rental) by $500 for 10 years, you would still come out ahead for a long while.


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## buzglyd (Dec 30, 2014)

The problem with converting your Seapointe float is that it is EOY. You'd only be over the 14k point threshold every other year. It probably wouldn't work that way.

When I bought my 6200 point Seapointe, (which made my total 13200 points) the seller offered a FREE EOY 4200 Seapointe. 

I turned it down.


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## nlehvac (Dec 30, 2014)

SmithOp said:


> The advantage is one maintenance fee vs three!  I'm already paying about $1500 yr for 8700 points, they wanted to add a 3400, plus convert the Seapointe float for another 4200 to get me to Elite.  The 6 year break even was the higher up front cost of the Hawaii unit, year 7 forward the annual costs were lower.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



  Thanks for answering! I guess I missed the 3 deed part!! And the rest is helpful, too. If only I knew if we're going to buy a house in Hawaii or not to know how much we'd use our (Hawaii) points other places in the world!!


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## SmithOp (Dec 30, 2014)

Jason245 said:


> Mathmatically, this makes the most sense.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




My wife didnt need a formula, she read my horoscope this morning, lol.







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## nlehvac (Dec 30, 2014)

ROTFLMAO :rofl:

It worked for Nancy Reagan


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## 1Kflyerguy (Mar 12, 2015)

I was just cold called by GPR for a similar offer, 2 or 3 nights @ $229, or $280 in exchange for a short presentation... 

It sounds like they were kind of hard-sell in the presentation, is that typical for Marbrisa or GPR in general? 

I have a work conference in San Diego at the fall, and it might be nice to have my wife join me for a few days at the end of the conference..


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## SmithOp (Mar 12, 2015)

1Kflyerguy said:


> I was just cold called by GPR for a similar offer, 2 or 3 nights @ $229, or $280 in exchange for a short presentation...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




They released us quickly once they realized I wasnt interested in buying Marbrisa, they are only licensed to sell CA properties.  I was interested in a high point Grand Islander pre-construction deal at the time.  We didnt even tour the model.

Im used to having a private presentation in offices, they use an open concept room with everyone meeting at tables, very rah-rah lets all buy, I expected them to ring a bell and applaud every sale.

Make sure you understand where you are staying,  we wanted one of the Marbrisa lockoff studios near the new pool but there wasnt one available, we had a room at the Sheraton hotel.  There are a lot of negative reviews of the GPP hotel rooms, I wouldnt take one of those.


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## presley (Mar 12, 2015)

1Kflyerguy said:


> I was just cold called by GPR for a similar offer, 2 or 3 nights @ $229, or $280 in exchange for a short presentation...
> 
> It sounds like they were kind of hard-sell in the presentation, is that typical for Marbrisa or GPR in general?



Like SmithOP said, you'll probably end up in a hotel room, which you may be okay with. 

They contact me with this offer on a regular basis. I was going to do it last July (because I wanted a weekend stay in July) and then they said it would be a hotel room at the Sheraton and I said no.

AFAIK, the same sales people do all the presentations for all 3 properties there. So, I'd assume they will have the same techniques.  They must be good as I always see people walking around with new member packets.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Mar 12, 2015)

presley said:


> Like SmithOP said, you'll probably end up in a hotel room, which you may be okay with.
> 
> AFAIK, the same sales people do all the presentations for all 3 properties there. So, I'd assume they will have the same techniques.  They must be good as I always see people walking around with new member packets.



Thanks both of you for the feedback.  The guy on the phone promised a presentation at Marbrisa, but the room would be at Pacific Palisades.. No conversation about the type of room, but guessing its a studio.


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## presley (Mar 12, 2015)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Thanks both of you for the feedback.  The guy on the phone promised a presentation at Marbrisa, but the room would be at Pacific Palisades.. No conversation about the type of room, but guessing its a studio.



There aren't any studios at Palisades. It will likely be a hotel room.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Mar 12, 2015)

presley said:


> There aren't any studios at Palisades. It will likely be a hotel room.



Oh, so they will probably give a One Bedroom penthouse ocean view to put me in a buying mood...  maybe not....

Actually think we have decided against the offer... I not a big fan of spending vacation time on the presentations if i have no plans or thoughts of buying.. besides we did just visit Carlsbad last fall, so many other places to visit..


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