West 57th Ownership issue

[ConejoRed]

I am posting this for a friend who is trying to assist her parents with their West 57th ownership. Her mother was diagnosed with ALS two years ago and can no longer travel. Somehow they were able to get HGVC to allow them to roll both their 2016 and 2017 unused points to 2018 (apparently there was a fee involved). So at this point, there is 10,100 in their HGVC account, of which 3750 is from 2018 and the rest banked points from 2016 and 2017.


They are working with HGVC on buying the unit back because they will not be able to travel there any longer and were given the following two options:


Option #1

We can cancel your contract and mail you a check in the amount of $9,727.00. If you accept this option, we can send documents within 4 to 5 weeks for both of you to sign and notarize. After the Warranty Deed records, we will cancel the membership and send you the check. You may use the points from 2018 by confirming a reservation prior to the cancellation of the membership. However, do not use the points from 2019 or 2020.




Although you will no longer be a member of HGVC you will be able to keep your Hilton Honors membership according their terms of use and at the tier that you have earned directly with Hilton Honors. If you are interested in this option, please contact us as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that this option may change without notice and is not guaranteed for a future date.

Option #2

We can list your property on the resale market. If you decide that you would like to sell your property on the resale market a listing agreement will be provided to you by email, mail or fax. We work with a network of resale brokers that will advertise to find you a buyer. The suggested listing price range for your property is $12,000.00 to $13,000.00. This is only a suggestion based on current resale market analysis. You may list your property at any price you wish. Please understand that this does not relieve you of any financial responsibility for outstanding loans or fees that may come due on your account during the selling process. The broker commission due on the sale of your Hilton interval will be 25% of the sales price or a minimum of $500.


They are leaning toward Option 1 as the simplest way to get this done before the new maintenance year given that listing it for their suggested price, minus their commission is basically what they are offering to buy it for.


So, the question now becomes how can they use up as many of the points that they have before the contract changes hand, and given that they can’t travel, which means they will need to be reservations for other family or friends, but not a lot of time to do it in. They know that the 2018 points can be used to make HHonors reservations that can later be canceled and the points put back in the HHonors account (yes they know it is not necessarily a good use for them, but at least better than just not using them at all), but do any of you great Tugger minds have any suggestions on how best to get at least some use out of the remaining points from 2016 and 2017? Could they offer to makes reservations to rent at West 57th under the rules since it is their home resort? It would be a lot of rentals to arrange and coordinate and given their situation and probably not feasible given the short window. Is there a way to bank them with RCI outside of the corporate account if they open an individual account etc.? They were told they can make RCI reservations with the points now, but once the reservations are made, they will become "unchangeable" when the unit closes as the corporate account will close down. I don’t think the family wants to make a bunch of RCI reservations (and incur those associated fees) as they will just basically be just random dates and locations that they could not change later. Or is there a way to change them after the corporate account is closed?


The family would be grateful for any suggestions!

 

[magmue]

It sounds like that would be a gold season studio? How much time do they have to respond to HGVC's offer? Enough time to take a flier at trying for a quick sale via Tug or Redweek? There are 2 of these listed on Redweek currently for $12,500. If they could get $11,500 on the private market and get the sale finished before 2019 MF due, they would be up by another $1700.

 

[brp]

Could they offer to makes reservations to rent at West 57th under the rules since it is their home resort?

According to the rules, they are only allowed to rent a Home Week reservation, and not any others. Despite what the rules say, it is very much possible to rent other reservations to "friends."

Cheers.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I don't think they could sell it quickly unless they are significantly lower priced on Tug and Redweek, so not sure there would be a significant gain vs. the HGVC offer.

The answer ultimately depends on how much effort they want to put into this. I imagine they are stressed with health concerns, so if it were me, I would opt for easy because the difference in return is < 2 - 3k so your friend will better off removing this from their plate and moving on.

Sell to HGVC and convert the points to HHonors or RCI (if feasible). However, make sure that whatever they choose, the points could be used by family or friends without adding more stress.

 

[tombanjo]

considering there is an ad in the market place for gold season unit the same as the one in the above scenario for $7,800 - and has been unsold since June, take option one. Trying to make more out of it and dealing with the great unwashed public is probably not worth it. Interesting how they have "a network of resale brokers" - me wonders who, and if there is a magic ROFR number they give them.

 

[JohnPaul]

Also, bear in mind that there are a lot of fees on a real estate transaction in New York.

I think the biggest focus of the poster was how to use up 3750 points before year end.

 

[Talent312]

To use expiring points (you can't save 'em cuz they're already saved) book something.
for a stay before 12/31. If they can't use 'em themselves, buy a GC for a friend/relate.

Frankly, in their situation, simpler is better. Let HGVC take it back and eat the loss.
<my 2 cents>

 

[ConejoRed]

Yes, this is a Gold studio week and I agree that Option 1 is best at this point as it will be over and done with. I have suggested the HHonors conversion for 2018 so that will take care of the 3750 2018 points so what is still outstanding is how to use up the remaining 6,000+ points. My friend lives in So Cal so could book some weekends in Carlsbad if there is availability and she and her family could do some extended weekend getaways, but even doing that will take a few reservations (and the corresponding fees and guest certs). Not a lot of options for using those at this point is what it looks like.

 

[Intheknow]

Once the transfer of ownership occurs, unless you already booked the reservations, you will no longer have an HGV account or an RCI membership. The key is to confirm all reservations before transfer of ownership is finalized. Also, anything confirmed is final and you will not be able to cancel because you will no longer have an active membership.