"We paid $32,000 and then bought an additional sudio for $10,900 to qualify for Elite status so we could have the option of banking starwood points yearly if we didn't use all our alloted time."
Please rescind. Learn a little more on TUG before buying any TS.
You say you want to go to WKV or Palm Springs. If that's the case, why are you buying at Lagunamar? Buy where you want to go in the season you want to be there. (And, I say that owning 3 weeks of Lagunamar 2-br TS in Platinum season.)
Your ability to bank Staroptions is very limited at Starwood Elite Level 3. You can convert annually only until July 1 of each year. That flexibility is not worth the $11K you have spent.
Of all your options of buying in Scottsdale or Palm Springs, probably the best would buying a true Platinum resale at SDO. You would be limited to going there in season or trading in II. You will have to be attentive to what you are doing in II, but you should be able to make good trades in II that get you to Starwood or Marriott in Palm Springs in Platinum Season.
The next best option is a Platinum resale WKV. These units do not come up often on eBay. When they do, a 2-br Platinum at WKV sells at $17-20K on eBay. You would have to spend more with a TS broker, but they are available for much less than the $32K you paid for Lagunamar. The Staroptions transfer with a resale purchase at WKV, there is no ROFR and all you lose is the ability to convert to Starpoints. (That's not much because, if you can't visit, you can drop either or both units into II where they will trade well. You will always lose less of your Starwood investment by buying a mandatory resale unit.) Because the Staroptions transfer at WKV, you will be able to trade into WDW or WMH in Palm Springs at 8 months before arrival - assuming availabilty exists.
It is also never a good economic decision to buy your first TS directly from Starwood. If, at some later date, you decide to get to a truly usable Elite Starwood level (like 4 or 5 Star), you can cut your investment getting there by having a resale unit somewhere to retro when you make a purchase of $20K or more in the mainland US or Mexico. Right now you don't have that unit to retro back into Starwood's SVN to re-acquire the tradeable Staroptions and ability to convert the week into Starpoints and have the retro also count for Elite status. That's another reason for rescinding this purchase. And, Starwood will always be ready to sell you a TS!
I am 5 Star Elite. It's great. But, you have to have the time to take the vacations, the money to invest, the money to pay the MF and the money to get to the TSs and the money to spend while you are on all those vacations. It's expensive. Elite is not worth it for most people. Probably the worst thing you can do with TS is to overbuy.
There is a lot to learn on TUG. Rescind and learn how best to use the SVN system to your advantage before buying an expensive week (or two) from the developer. ... eom