# (2009) We bought a Gold week at Marriott Harbour Lake



## Hal (Oct 19, 2009)

We bought a Gold Week at Marriott Harbour Lake from SumdayVacations.com over the weekend. Obviously it has yet to close etc, but we are pleased with the buy ($2,150 for a 2-bed sleeps 8). This is on top of our existing Cypress Harbour, and Marbella Beach weeks, and our Disney DVC points. I think we are now fully timeshared out, although the prospect of selling some or all of our OKW DVC points to buy BLT is tempting. 

SumdayVacations have mixed reviews on the board but they are TUG members and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully this will be one of the positive threads endorsing them.


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## luvsvacation22 (Oct 19, 2009)

Congratulations! I hope the transaction goes well for you!


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## dioxide45 (Oct 19, 2009)

Hal said:


> We bought a Gold Week at Marriott Harbour Lake from SumdayVacations.com over the weekend. Obviously it has yet to close etc, but we are pleased with the buy ($2,150 for a 2-bed sleeps 8). This is on top of our existing Cypress Harbour, and Marbella Beach weeks, and our Disney DVC points. I think we are now fully timeshared out, although the prospect of selling some or all of our OKW DVC points to buy BLT is tempting.
> 
> SumdayVacations have mixed reviews on the board but they are TUG members and I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully this will be one of the positive threads endorsing them.



Harbour Lake gold prices have been all over the place recently. One recently went on E-bay for about $2700 and I have seen some end as low as $800 and $900.

IMO You got a decent deal, not a great deal, not a bad deal, but an average deal.

I took a look at this ad and it is surprising how so few sellers know anything about Harbour Lake. This ad like ours indicated that they were non lock off units. Though you should be able to lock off. With the limited number of lock offs available at Harbour Lake though you have to be on-line or on the phone at the 12 month mark to score a lock off.


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## ldanna (Oct 19, 2009)

Congratulation for your new Marriott week. And as dioxide said, lockoffs are first come, first serve basis. If you think about trading it, it's a great advantage during shoulder season.


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## london (Oct 19, 2009)

*Sumday Vacations*

We have recently purchased two timeshare weeks from Sumday Vacations, for the Resort on Cocoa Beach.

The closings went well, and we had the deeds in less than 30 days.

No problems at all. These were not Marriott timeshares, which will take longer to process due to ROFR.

I think you did fine with your purchase, at under 2500.00.


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## pcgirl54 (Oct 20, 2009)

Hal,
Congrats. Great deals are to be had this year. I bought a Barony Beach Gold week that is in the final closing process from another reseller.

 2k for a gold week is a good price. 

I have been watching BB prices for the last 3 or so years and although I got a terrific price right after I bought there was a week sold on ebay for 2k less same season. I rarely see BB Gold or Platinum for sale at low prices.


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## m61376 (Oct 20, 2009)

Congrats! Even if there were a few aberrations that actually did close at below 1K (just because something "sold" on Ebay at a certain price doesn't mean the deal ever really is consummated) you got a good price on something you can look forward to enjoying.


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## kamumma1 (Oct 22, 2009)

I think that's excellent!  We paid $16,900 2 year ago for a gold week


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## dioxide45 (Oct 23, 2009)

kamumma1 said:


> I think that's excellent!  We paid $16,900 2 year ago for a gold week



You own at Harbour Lake??? It isn't in your list of resorts


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## NJMOM2 (Oct 24, 2009)

dioxide45 said:


> You own at Harbour Lake??? It isn't in your list of resorts



It is listed but it is listed under the old name of Horizons Orlando by Marriott.


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## dioxide45 (Oct 25, 2009)

NJMOM2 said:


> It is listed but it is listed under the old name of Horizons Orlando by Marriott.



I know, that is why I was sticking my tongue out, but it did make kumamma1 update it


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## kamumma1 (Oct 28, 2009)

Thanks for the head's up


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## Hal (Nov 5, 2009)

Sadly the purchase didn't go well. We have just found out from Sumday that the following day after we had contracted to buy the week, been invoiced for it, and paid for it in cleared funds, Sumday sold the same week to another party on Ebay.   I have just received a Paypal refund from them. I am not a happy person. 

I think a complaint to Ebay and Paypal (one and the same) will be forthcoming to flag to them that, for Paypal, Sumday doesn't honor sales contracts; and for Ebay, Sumday sells weeks that have already been bought and paid for by someone else (me!).


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## aka Julie (Nov 5, 2009)

Hal said:


> Sadly the purchase didn't go well. We have just found out from Sumday that the following day after we had contracted to buy the week, been invoiced for it, and paid for it in cleared funds, Sumday sold the same week to another party on Ebay.   I have just received a Paypal refund from them. I am not a happy person.
> 
> I think a complaint to Ebay and Paypal (one and the same) will be forthcoming to flag to them that, for Paypal, Sumday doesn't honor sales contracts; and for Ebay, Sumday sells weeks that have already been bought and paid for by someone else (me!).



Did they get a higher price with the second sale?


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## abg1688 (Nov 5, 2009)

Hal said:


> Sadly the purchase didn't go well. We have just found out from Sumday that the following day after we had contracted to buy the week, been invoiced for it, and paid for it in cleared funds, Sumday sold the same week to another party on Ebay.   I have just received a Paypal refund from them. I am not a happy person.
> 
> I think a complaint to Ebay and Paypal (one and the same) will be forthcoming to flag to them that, for Paypal, Sumday doesn't honor sales contracts; and for Ebay, Sumday sells weeks that have already been bought and paid for by someone else (me!).



oops, I did not read your post correctly.  Great that at least you got your money back.. Leave negative feedback on eBay so the other buyers can beaware.


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## Stefa (Nov 5, 2009)

Make sure you leave negative feedback indicating that they did not honor the sale.  

At least they gave you a refund...


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## Hal (Nov 5, 2009)

aka Julie said:


> Did they get a higher price with the second sale?



Actually no, now that I check. I think they could be in serious trouble. I agreed to buy it for $2,150.00. This was inclusive of Sumday's fees.

They subsequently sold it on Ebay for $2,140.25; but it says "Your cost for the purchase of this timeshare will be the winning bid and the prep/tax/recording cost of $298.00 which will include the resorts transfer fee."

I would have expected to pay the resort transfer fee, so it looks like Sumday have sold it to a lower bidder subsequent to our having agreed to buy the week, and subsequent to our having paid for it, in order to increase their fees. Isn't that fraudulent/breach of fiduciary duty to their clients (the previous owners)?


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## dioxide45 (Nov 5, 2009)

Unfortunately I don't think E-Bay or Paypal will be of any help. You didn't buy on EBay, so you can't file negative feedback and Paypal is just an intermediary for transferring funds. Paypal has nothing to do with a contract and using them is not a contract to buy/sell.

I think if you are patient and watch EBay, you can find a better deal than you originally had. Gold weeks at Harbour Lake have been selling cheap on EBay.


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## Hal (Oct 29, 2010)

Just to bring this thread up to date, we found another 2-bed Gold Week for sale by Sumdayvacations on Ebay back in March - and bought it successfully through Ebay this time for..................$610 + closing costs of $298 = $908 all in. The sale went through OK and we are now owners at Harbour Lake too. 

One of the reasons it was so cheap perhaps was that there was no 2010 use, but that suited us, so we are planning our first visit to Harbour Lakes in 2011.


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## kjd (Oct 29, 2010)

Hal, you did the right thing.  Keep looking if you're interested in acquiring another Marriott.  My advice is to buy the best where you want to vacation.  The timeshare market is broken and it's an unprecedented time for knowledgeable buyers.  

When have we ever seen this?  Selection of 60-90 Marriott units for ebay auction.  No real ROFR threat from Marriott.  Lowest interest rates in 50 years.  Direct purchasers willing to take a bath if they have to sell.  Resale buyers also selling at losses. No end to this in sight.  Some of the other timeshare brands have units that are selling for nothing if you're willing to pay the maintenance fees.   

Good luck.  You didn't miss anything.  You got your money back and you're ready to look for an even better deal.


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## dioxide45 (Oct 29, 2010)

Hal said:


> Just to bring this thread up to date, we found another 2-bed Gold Week for sale by Sumdayvacations on Ebay back in March - and bought it successfully through Ebay this time for..................$610 + closing costs of $298 = $908 all in. The sale went through OK and we are now owners at Harbour Lake too.
> 
> One of the reasons it was so cheap perhaps was that there was no 2010 use, but that suited us, so we are planning our first visit to Harbour Lakes in 2011.



You got a good price given the low closing costs that Sumday has. However, the winning bid is pretty much in line with current pricing of gold weeks at Harbour Lake. We won an gold Harbour Lake auction last year for $809.

I think the lack of 2010 usage probably helped keep the price up. I remember seeing this auction. Auctions that end in the same year of usage don't always garner top prices because buyers have to reimburse the current year fees and will usually end up with a very poor week for usage and trading.

With usage beginning in 2011 no MFs were due at auction close and you can still book a fairly good week for next year.


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## JudyS (Oct 30, 2010)

Hal said:


> Just to bring this thread up to date, we found another 2-bed Gold Week for sale by Sumdayvacations on Ebay back in March - and bought it successfully through Ebay this time for..................$610 + closing costs of $298 = $908 all in. The sale went through OK and we are now owners at Harbour Lake too....


Glad you eventually got the week you wanted! The delay saved you some big bucks, too.

Did you give negative feedback when Sumday backed out of the last deal?  If so, did Sumday in any way give you a hard time about the negative feedback when you did this current deal? Unfortunately, real estate sales are non-binding transactions on eBay, so giving negative feedback is about all you can do if the seller backs out. 



dioxide45 said:


> ....
> I think the lack of 2010 usage probably helped keep the price up. I remember seeing this auction. Auctions that end in the same year of usage don't always garner top prices because buyers have to reimburse the current year fees and will usually end up with a very poor week for usage and trading...


Good point! I greatly prefer sales where usage starts the following year, unless the timeshare is a fixed week, or current year usage is free (or both!) 




dioxide45 said:


> ... This ad like ours indicated that they were non lock off units. Though you should be able to lock off. With the limited number of lock offs available at Harbour Lake though you have to be on-line or on the phone at the 12 month mark to score a lock off.


So, you don't need to buy a lock-off there in order to lock-off your unit? Do other Marriotts works that way, or just Harbor Lake?  (I know Marriott charges a fee to lock-off, but I didn't realize the lock-off ability might not be written into the deed.)


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## dioxide45 (Oct 30, 2010)

JudyS said:


> So, you don't need to buy a lock-off there in order to lock-off your unit? Do other Marriotts works that way, or just Harbor Lake?  (I know Marriott charges a fee to lock-off, but I didn't realize the lock-off ability might not be written into the deed.)



I am sure that other resorts work the same. The ability to lock off is based on the resort and not written in to the deed. Grande Vista is the same. Not all units at Grande Vista are lock off capable, but all owners can lock off on a first come first serve basis.

At some other resorts like Ocean Pointe and Beach Place, I think all units were built with the lock off feature, so the first come first serve rule wouldn't apply.


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## JudyS (Oct 31, 2010)

So, it sounds like the rule with all Marriotts is: If any units at the resort you own are lock-offs, you can reserve one on a first-come, first serve basis (and subject to the usual Marriott reservation rules, such as reserving in the season you own.) Marriott charges a fee for this. 

This is very different from how most lock-offs work, and is useful information. Thank you!

If all units at the resort are lock-offs, do you still have to pay a fee to lock off the unit?


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## dioxide45 (Oct 31, 2010)

JudyS said:


> So, it sounds like the rule with all Marriotts is: If any units at the resort you own are lock-offs, you can reserve one on a first-come, first serve basis (and subject to the usual Marriott reservation rules, such as reserving in the season you own.) Marriott charges a fee for this.
> 
> This is very different from how most lock-offs work, and is useful information. Thank you!



How do other lock offs work?



> If all units at the resort are lock-offs, do you still have to pay a fee to lock off the unit?



Yes. You can book a lock off at time of reservation or you can book the whole 2BR and lock off later. The fee is paid when you lock off.


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## JudyS (Oct 31, 2010)

dioxide45 said:


> How do other lock offs work?


In most of the cases I'm familiar with, some units at the resort are lock-offs, and some are not. If you want the ability to lock off your unit, you have to buy a unit that's designated (in the deed) as a lock-off. 



dioxide45 said:


> You can book a lock off at time of reservation or you can book the whole 2BR and lock off later. The fee is paid when you lock off.


Thanks for the info!


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## indyhorizons (Oct 31, 2010)

JudyS said:


> In most of the cases I'm familiar with, some units at the resort are lock-offs, and some are not. If you want the ability to lock off your unit, you have to buy a unit that's designated (in the deed) as a lock-off.
> 
> Thanks for the info!



Harbour Lake is not like that (I believe there are a few others as well). When we bought (pre-construction) there were no lock-off units. Later when they added lock-offs, it was on a first come first served basis.  I secured a lock-off for the first time for 2011 reservation (after owning for 10 years).


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## saturn28 (Oct 31, 2010)

I have owned at the Marriott Harbour Lakes since it first openned, and I have never had a problem reserving a lock-off unit. As mention in other post they are on a first come basis. As long as you book one 10 to 12 months in advance of your check-in date, there should be no problem. However if you wait to the last minute there will likely be none left. One further thing, you do not have to own a deed lock off unit to request a lock-off.


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## dioxide45 (Oct 31, 2010)

saturn28 said:


> I have owned at the Marriott Harbour Lakes since it first openned, and I have never had a problem reserving a lock-off unit. As mention in other post they are on a first come basis. As long as you book one 10 to 12 months in advance of your check-in date, there should be no problem. However if you wait to the last minute there will likely be none left. One further thing, you do not have to own a deed lock off unit to request a lock-off.



This is generally true. However, if you are booking a prime week (Memorial Day week, Christmas, Presidents Week, Easter), the lockoffs will be gone on the first day of the booking window.


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