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Today s my last day to rescind. Help!

jamesr

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I stayed at and I bought the Westin Priinceville Villa timeshare for $33,500 and not sure if it is a good idea after reading forums. Is a resale a better deal? Please help me figure this out.thanks!

Details of my package:
2 bedroom villa
Biennial
Platinum
Floating
148,000 staroptions
86,00 star points
$1200 fees - is that annually?

James
 

GregT

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Marriott: Maui Ocean Club Lahaina Villas (3BRx5), Ko Olina, Shadow Ridge II, Willow Ridge, Aruba Ocean Club, DC Points HGVC: Flamingo, Sea World, I-Drive, Starwood Bella (x4), SDO, TradeWinds, Worldmark
I stayed at and I bought the Westin Priinceville Villa timeshare for $33,500 and not sure if it is a good idea after reading forums. Is a resale a better deal? Please help me figure this out.thanks!

Details of my package:
2 bedroom villa
Biennial
Platinum
Floating
148,000 staroptions
86,00 star points
$1200 fees - is that annually?

James

James, let's see if I can beat Denise's response time. :)

You should rescind. I encourage you to spend a little time here on TUG and then you can make your purchase decision (most likely resale).

You will need to weigh whether you are buying Princeville so you can go to Hawaii every year, whether you want the StarOptions so you can use the Starwood internal network or whether you want to trade with Interval International. The answer to that analysis may lead you to a different purchase decision/property (all of which are bought resale, for far less money).

Best,

Greg
 

jamesr

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Thank you so much for the quick response. I am reading TUG frantically and realizing I am paying way too much. I bought the time share thinking that after 10 yrs my 34k loan will be paid off and then I will have free vacations for life(minus the maintenance fees of $1200). I still like the idea but it looks like I can buy resale for z lot less and I don't lose much except being able to convert staroptions to points. They sold me on the fact that I am buying in Kauai but I don't have to stay there and can travel all over the world via starwood hotels in places like Italy. But most of the 500+ locations I can stay in are hotels and that means I would have to use star points not star options. Which means if I want to stay in a hotel in Italy I must convert options to points and that's a loss of about 50% of my options value. Am I getting this right?
 

csudell

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Greg - you beat Denise since she's in CA probably :)
maybe not since so are you. you are an early bird!!
 

Ken555

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$1200 fees - is that annually?

1. Rescind now. Follow the instructions and do it right.
2. Research timeshares at your own pace, take your time, this is a buyers market and will be for some time. You'll get great deals, and if you end up wanting to buy direct, don't worry the same (or potentially better) deal will still be offered to you by Starwood regardless of what they tell you.
3. It seems they didn't explain maintenance fees to you well at all. For timeshares, the MF is annually even for an every other year week... You'll find EOY weeks pay about (usually just over) 50% of the annual rate for the same week. In other words, the current rate is ~$2400 per use of the WPORV 2-bed week. Expect this to increase significantly over time...lots of threads here about it, but I'd budget 8-10% annually. It can easily and quickly become unaffordable for some buyers, forcing them to sell at a huge loss.
4. WPORV is a "voluntary" resort, which means if you ever sell the StarOptions which you have use of instead of the week at this resort cannot be transferred to a buyer. This is one reason resale weeks at this resort are selling at a considerable discount. I'd suggest researching mandatory resorts (read the Stickies at the top of this forum).

Best advice today is for you to quickly and thoroughly rescind properly. Make copies of your documentation, be sure you send it to them with proof of receipt, fax as well, etc. If today is the deadline, you may have trouble actually getting the documents to them before close of business. Good luck.
 

vacationtime1

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Here is an eBay auction where an annual Princeville week -- identical to yours except annual -- sold for $3,061.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380361061915?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

It is true that the resale week does not come with StarOptions or StarPoints, but if you are purchasing WPORV to use, it is a little bit cheaper.

(Note: anyone purchasing WPORV should be purchasing it to use, not to trade or convert to StarPoints, because the maintenance fees are extraordinarily high.)

As the previous posts recommend: rescind, research, resale.
 

rickandcindy23

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Greg - you beat Denise since she's in CA probably :)
maybe not since so are you. you are an early bird!!

Denise is always in CA, because she lives there. :rofl:
 

RX8

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Denise is always in CA, because she lives there. :rofl:

Did you see all the TS she has in her profile? The odds are she ISN'T in CA at any given moment. :)
 

LisaRex

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$1200 fees - is that annually?

Yes, instead of billing you every other year for the full MFs (~$2400), they bill every year for slightly more than half. It's also a clever way of adding in the annual SVN fee (~$125+) during non-use years, too.

The good thing about the newly announced ability to bank SOs is that you have the ability to use one side of the lock-out during year 1 and the other side during year 2, provided you pay the $79 banking fee.

$33k is definitely way too much for the ability to convert SOs to SPs, but having 148,100 SOs is pretty sweet because it allows you to exchange and get a 2 bdrm platinum at any of the top tier Starwood resorts. Unfortunately, WPORV is a voluntary resort so you will not be given SOs for resale purchases. Being voluntary is a real detriment to moving this property, which is a shame because it stifles getting the timeshares into the hands of owners who are willing to pay those high MFs.
 

jamesr

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thank you. I am rescinding today asap. The instructions say "mail or deliver by today." That means I just need it postmarked right? Im mailing from CA to FL.

James
 

Ken555

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thank you. I am rescinding today asap. The instructions say "mail or deliver by today." That means I just need it postmarked right? Im mailing from CA to FL.

James

Fax, mail, fedex, do it all. Not sure if that means postmark by today or receive by today, so cover your bases. And when you fax it get a fax confirmation sheet for your records to prove it was sent today.
 

YYJMSP

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Thank you so much for the quick response. I am reading TUG frantically and realizing I am paying way too much. I bought the time share thinking that after 10 yrs my 34k loan will be paid off and then I will have free vacations for life(minus the maintenance fees of $1200).

When you consider "free vacations for life", you need to take in to account:

1. The $34K you paid up-front. If you figure "for life" is 20yrs, you really paid $1700/yr in simple math (not including what you lost by not investing that money during the same time period).

2. The interest on the 10yr loan. If you took one of the developer 12% loans, your $34K will be paid back with an additional $20K :eek: of interest. So, simple math again, add another $1000/yr to the "for life" cost.

3. Maintenance fees are $1200/yr for the every-other-year ownership now. Assume that they will increase by at least 5%/yr. So in 20 years, you will be paying $3500/yr. Average that out, in simple math, to $2300/yr more to the "for life" cost.

That comes out to $1700 + $1000 + $2300 = $5000/yr for every-other-year usage.
 

ronparise

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The fact that you say "Please help me figure this out.thanks!" tells me you are not sure about your purchase......Rescind and dont buy anything until you are sure.

You can always go back to the developer, but I doubt that you will
 

Ken555

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That comes out to $1700 + $1000 + $2300 = $5000/yr for every-other-year usage.

"Simple math" can be a real downer sometimes. Even a resale purchase doesn't look great in this view (but much, much better).
 

DavidnRobin

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wait! - don't rescind - that will make me feel better about my fuzzy math justification in buying from the Developer - plus we need more SVO Owners to keep the house of cards from collapsing. just think about what would happen if everyone rescinded and bought resale... :ignore:
{just a little humor before the weekend}
 

jamesr

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Thank you everyone. I spoke to the sales person and sales manager and emailed them my cancellation. The sales manager urged me to cancel if I wasn't comfortable. Nice guy. This forum was a huge help. I feel good about my decision.

PS: This whole situation makes me ask though...when is it good to have a time share?

James
 

gravitar

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PS: This whole situation makes me ask though...when is it good to have a time share?

So I own three Starwood resorts. All 2BR Lockoffs. I needed to take 14 ppl to Cancun for a family thing. I didn't want to give up two of my weeks for 2 2BR Lockoffs there. so I deposited the studio side from each of two units with Interval International. Then I used those for instant exchanges for 2 2BR lockoffs there. (I had already confirmed that the instant exchange was possible for what I needed)

I paid two Starwood to Starwood exchange fees with Interval. I think it was about $139 each. I have what I want there and I still have the large one bedroom side from each unit available to either stay in, trade within SVN, convert to StarPoints or now bank.

From developer purchases I had a ton of StarPoints. I also travel a LOT for business. I used these points for 11 nights in Europe this coming May. 2 nights in a Le Meriden, Barcelona, 2 nights in a Westin in Venice, 2 nights St Regis Florence and 5 nights St Regis Rome. 11 nights total, 2 rooms at each location, that's 22 room nights. Cash value of the rooms if i had to pay for them is about 15,000 Euros. Would I have spent that kind of money for the rooms, Not a chance. Makes it a bit easier to deal with the developer purchases when the fuzzy math can wipe away some of the extra $ I did spend buying! :)

Read here, learn about buying resale, then buying from the developer and re-qualifying your resale purchase into the SVN program with full benefits. If that's what you are looking for.

As many here say, buy where you would want to go every year, in case something changes and that's all you can do. There is no guarantee that SVN will be here next year, that the resort wont kick out Starwood, that Interval will be here. All worst case scenarios but all possible.

There are a lot of great things about timeshares. As long as you have your eyes open can be flexible and LEARN how to use them to get the most value, its a great way to vacation

YMMV

Steve
 

Ken555

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In my experience, flexibility is key in gaining the most with the least in the world of timeshares. Can you travel off season, or must you travel during holidays or summers (ie school schedule)? If you have flexibility, then there are lots of inexpensive timeshares to purchase where you have (at least currently, and over the last five years) a good chance of having an excellent price per night at a great resort.

Tell us a bit more of your travel habits, time of year, how many weeks per year, where you want to travel, and we'll chime in with suggestions.

Glad to hear the sales office is cooperating with the rescind. They know once you're happy and know more about the system, if you don't buy resale, next time you'll call them. And, many people who buy direct buy more than one week over the years. They're not all evil by any means, but do sometimes (most of the time) not disclose enough information to both educate the buyer and the options (after all, it's not in their interest to tell the whole story).
 

MULTIZ321

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Thank you everyone. I spoke to the sales person and sales manager and emailed them my cancellation. The sales manager urged me to cancel if I wasn't comfortable. Nice guy. This forum was a huge help. I feel good about my decision.

PS: This whole situation makes me ask though...when is it good to have a time share?

James

James,

Does your purchase documents, mention that email is allowed for recision rights?

If not, I would also mail your recision letter with return receipt requested - make sure it is postmarked by the last date of your recsion period.

Good Luck and Welcome to Tug.

Richard
 

YYJMSP

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"Simple math" can be a real downer sometimes. Even a resale purchase doesn't look great in this view (but much, much better).

By my own simple math, I figure my own personal "for life" cost will be ~$25K/yr for (at least) 70+ studio nights a year, so ~$350/nt.

I chose to compare with studios, since I think that's quite similar to size/style of a nice hotel junior/standard suite, so the price is a break even on accomodation costs -- paying up-front forces you to actually take a break and go on those holidays, and there's definitely some value in that :whoopie:

As always, YMMV, IMHO, don't run with scissors, and buy high, sell low...
 

fishingguy

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very important point

MULTIZ321 makes an important point. You want to follow the rules for rescission exactly as they are written in the docs you were given. It's best to be safe, than get a big surprise later. [It would be too easy for them to say they thought you changed your mind after the email/phone call, since you didn't send the formal notification per the instructions.]
 
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Kildahl

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wait! - don't rescind - that will make me feel better about my fuzzy math justification in buying from the Developer - plus we need more SVO Owners to keep the house of cards from collapsing. just think about what would happen if everyone rescinded and bought resale... :ignore:
{just a little humor before the weekend}

:D But we have our reasons, right?
 
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