What should I buy? Going to rescind contract with MVC

[VABoyMom]

My husband and I just purchased a MVC and after poking around it seems like it is smarter to rescind and buy on secondary market.

A little background... we have 3 boys (currently 10, 9, 7) and are looking to vacation 1-2 times a year. We prefer 5 night vacations b/c we have a dog and don't like to be away too long but would consider longer vacations for further spots like Hawaii. My husband is a Marriott Platinum Elite member and prefers Marriott properties but not sure if it makes any difference. We would like to take at least one family vacation a year (2 bedroom) and perhaps a shorter getaway (NYC, Charleston, Sedona) for me and my husband.

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

Maybe Orlando or Hilton Head

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

Trade more than half

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Hilton Head, Orlando, Caribbean (all inclusive), Williamsburg, Cruise

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

5

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

School schedule

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

Yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

4 or 5 stars

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

20k

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

3k

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

Yes

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

Yes

 

[vacationtime1]

Your travel destinations are a good fit for Marriott. Your price point / quality demands are also a good fit for Marriott.

If you ultimately reach that conclusion, the question will be whether to buy points on the secondary market or weeks on the secondary market (or a combination).

The only advice I would offer (in addition to what OP has received on other threads) is (1) to rent a couple of times to focus you on what you like and what you don't like so your eventual purchase is exactly what you seek, and (2) take your time and research. It's a lot easier to buy these things than it is to sell them if you buy the wrong things.

 

[taterhed]

My comments will address a Marriott Legacy week resale. I think they are a better value and have more to give.
Points ownership is great, but you would need 7k points to get two weeks...and probably 4k to get 1 at higher resorts 2br. That's a lot of money and a lot of MF's. Perhaps a hybrid would work for you, But it's a major purchase and shouldn't be undertaken unless you understand the rules, costs and benefits clearly. Further, using points to pay for cruises etc... is usually a poor value as compared to booking a cruise externally or an all-inclusive.

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

Maybe Orlando or Hilton Head HHI can be expensive, Orlando is a good entry. I'd consider a 3br Grande Vista. Tough to trade for HHI in peak season though. You could buy a beach property, but trading for Orlando would be a bit of a waste..... both are great though.

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

Trade more than half

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Hilton Head, Orlando, Caribbean (all inclusive), Williamsburg, Cruise HHI, MCO, Islands, Williamsburg all well-aligned with Marriott. All inclusive? Not so much. Timeshares are not great values in the all-inclusive realm. Probably better off buying that week. Same for cruises. Really, Having a 2br with a full kitchen.....is better than all-inclusive in some ways IMO

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

5

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

School schedule

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

Yes Addressing your comments above (5 days etc...) you can use a legacy week for 7 days, 6 days, 5 days etc... You just loose the other days. You can join Interval Intl as a Platinum member and exchange a unit for two short-stay vacations. That would allow up to 6 days x2 with short notice (generally low-season >90 days out). Just a thought.


8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

4 or 5 stars

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

20k That's plenty....even for HHI in some views

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

3k A 3br Orlando is around 1700. You can check fees on TUG under Marriott stickies

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

Yes

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

Yes

 

[TUGBrian]

congrats on finding TUG in time to rescind and buy in the resale market!

 

[VABoyMom]

Thanks so much @taterhed !! You may have seen my other comment that we owned a property gifted to us by my parents in HHI (Kingston Cove which eventually had some foreclosures and led to high assessments each year). My mom offered us another property - redweek in Hilton Head - Players Club with RCI, basically we'd just assume the maintenance fees, RCI membership, and exchange fees if we decided to trade. Think that would suit our needs? It's not Marriott (we owned Monarch as well growing up my parents sold that) - it's been years since I've been to Players Club so not sure if that would meet our needs or 4 or 5 star resort, any insight?

 

[taterhed]

Thanks so much @taterhed !! You may have seen my other comment that we owned a property gifted to us by my parents in HHI (Kingston Cove which eventually had some foreclosures and led to high assessments each year). My mom offered us another property - redweek in Hilton Head - Players Club with RCI, basically we'd just assume the maintenance fees, RCI membership, and exchange fees if we decided to trade. Think that would suit our needs? It's not Marriott (we owned Monarch as well growing up my parents sold that) - it's been years since I've been to Players Club so not sure if that would meet our needs or 4 or 5 star resort, any insight?

I have not stayed there or seen the resort. TUG has a reviews section; the resort is reviewed pretty well.....but it's not a 4-5* resort. More along the lines of 2-3 based on what I've seen and read. Not demeaning the resort, it's just not in the same category as a Marriott or HGVC.

This particular ownership has no resale value and might be difficult to even give away.
Maybe you could pay the MF's this year and have a great week at the beach to explore and visit the property and/or some resorts you're interested in?

I really can't comment on whether you would like the resort or not.....but I wouldn't make any long-term commitments without visiting first....Someone on the board can probably comment on the trade-power in RCI.

 

[VABoyMom]

@taterhed Just looked online - we'd hate it. The maintenance fees are only $500/year during a red week if that's any indication. Looks more like a motel. I just signed up as a member thank you for the recommendation!

 

[taterhed]

@taterhed Just looked online - we'd hate it. The maintenance fees are only $500/year during a red week if that's any indication. Looks more like a motel. I just signed up as a member thank you for the recommendation!

You're welcome.

Just a quick point: Different strokes for different folks. Some Tuggers love smaller locally managed resorts that feel like home and are managed by owners. They might not be 10 story concrete towers with granite and stainless, but they are quite popular. Others only look to the hotel brands and often fight to get into those palaces on peak weeks. Yes, I think it is a converted hotel, but so is the Marriott Kauai Beach Club and Maui Ocean Club (original phase).

Just mentioning... folks are quite proud of their ownerships from the top to the bottom of the spectrum.

Now, Read here on how to change your membership status indicator from Guest to Member: New Members read here

Also, as a member, you can now look at the TUG resort reviews here: RESORT REVIEWS

 

[VABoyMom]

And good point - my brother would be perfectly happy and proud to own a property such as this. Thanks to my husband traveling regularly he has become accustomed to the lifestyle at JW Marriott lol.

Did enter the codeword but hasn't updated yet - hopefully within the hour!

 

[taterhed]

And good point - my brother would be perfectly happy and proud to own a property such as this. Thanks to my husband traveling regularly he has become accustomed to the lifestyle at JW Marriott lol.

Did enter the codeword but hasn't updated yet - hopefully within the hour!

You're now showing as a member. Welcome!

Gosh, it sure feels good to help somebody avoid a big financial mistake.....same as somebody did for me!

 

[VABoyMom]

HAH! Wanted to provide an update - I sent an email to the "new member administration" with the letter to cancel the contract yesterday (still will do certified mail as well tomorrow) but within MINUTES my phone started ringing - it was the sales person to check to make sure that was "really the case" - like someone had broken into my email and drafted a fake letter?! It really left a bad taste in my mouth that the sales person would follow up to see if everything was okay. I didn't answer and then she texted me asking what happened. Clearly I had changed my mind. Anyone else have this happen?

 

[VacationForever]

Marriott does read the TUG board. Also, the sales folks have a decent guess as to which buyers may rescind. When we bought our hybrid package from Marriott last September, there was a week that we preferred over what we bought, the sales folks said the week that we wanted would quite likely go back to their pool and they said by X date they would know and they would contact me when that week came back and we could swap out the purchase. I simply said that they were expecting the buyer to rescind their purchase, and they said yes.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Points ownership is great, but you would need 7k points to get two weeks...and probably 4k to get 1 at higher resorts 2br.

That is generally true, but, with 5 night stays it becomes a little less costly since the OP said they prefer 5 night stays. Looking at Williamsburg, 5 nights in July S-R is 1500 points. Orlando is 1,375. Both are available for booking now, 3-4 months in advance. So, that's <3,000 points. If you did a hybrid deal, the other week could be used or traded for those week stays. Still, points are more expensive (but flexible) but you can easily get shorter stays if that is important as you mentioned. It would likely still be over budget with hybrid. MF fee wise this would be in budget. Hybrid would not be bad if you like more flexibility and some less in advance stays of varying duration. 6,000 equivalent hybrid deal would run around $42,000+ I think, MF would probably be ~3k. This is quite a lot more than resale week only though. Just saying you don't need as many points necessarily.

Definitely not a good value for cruises! Since you enjoy locations with Marriotts, probably best to do resale weeks since you could occupy a fair amount.

 

[taterhed]

HAH! Wanted to provide an update - I sent an email to the "new member administration" with the letter to cancel the contract yesterday (still will do certified mail as well tomorrow) but within MINUTES my phone started ringing - it was the sales person to check to make sure that was "really the case" - like someone had broken into my email and drafted a fake letter?! It really left a bad taste in my mouth that the sales person would follow up to see if everything was okay. I didn't answer and then she texted me asking what happened. Clearly I had changed my mind. Anyone else have this happen?

Better question would be: "did anyone else NOT get a call?" Ours was a good call....not a bad one.

 

[VacationForever]

Better question would be: "did anyone else NOT get a call?" Ours was a good call....not a bad one.

Nope, not one salesperson had called us immediately after we bought from MVC or Vistana at times when we rescinded.

 

[taterhed]

That is generally true, but, with 5 night stays it becomes a little less costly since the OP said they prefer 5 night stays. Looking at Williamsburg, 5 nights in July S-R is 1500 points. Orlando is 1,375. Both are available for booking now, 3-4 months in advance. So, that's <3,000 points. ..........Just saying you don't need as many points necessarily..

One other thing, you said your ideal vacation is 5 nights. You should note that unless you own at least 7,000 Marriott Vacation Club Destination Club Points, you can't book just 5 nights until 10 months out. People can book 7 night stays at 12 or 13 months out, so by the time the 10-month window for shorter stays opens up, a lot of those peak season trips you say you plan to take will not be available. Orlando may be an exception since there is so much inventory there, but I think you can assume that Hilton Head summer will be very hard, if not impossible, to book at 10 months out.

Yes, but.... Maybe Orlando & Williamsburg @ 10 mos summer, but not HHI or Hawaii IMO. A 2bdr at a popular HHI or Hawaii resort runs 4-6000 points for a week. Can't/wouldn't do less than 7 in HI, won't get it in HHI. So, points are not cheap for this...Hybrid maybe, but still, why not buy 2 weeks for the price of 1 Hybrid and save money? Lock-off equals more weeks.

Not an easy/cheap answer with points vs legacy and money vs value and school sched vs availability. I know.

 

[taterhed]

Nope, not one salesperson had called us immediately after we bought from MVC or Vistana at times when we rescinded.

We got calls from both Marriott and HGVC when rescind/cancel.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Yes, but.... Maybe Orlando & Williamsburg @ 10 mos summer, but not HHI or Hawaii IMO. A 2bdr at a popular HHI or Hawaii resort runs 4-6000 points for a week. Can't/wouldn't do less than 7 in HI, won't get it in HHI. So, points are not cheap for this...Hybrid maybe, but still, why not buy 2 weeks for the price of 1 Hybrid and save money? Lock-off equals more weeks.

Not an easy/cheap answer with points vs legacy and money vs value and school sched vs availability. I know.

Agreed. Just taking places they said they wanted to go. Those 2 are available today via points for this summer, 10 months not an issue. But definitely not Hilton Head. You would want to trade into Hawaii with hybrid. I don't think lockoff matters since they have 5, but could later. But I do agree weeks better. Hawaii available this summer via points even today, 10 months not an issue. Just too many points to get in, 4500 in August or June for mountain view.

Everyone is just always saying you can't get in, I find you can via points in many places even a few months out. And even within 30 days. Orlando was available within 30 days for a week all summer months last year. As was Hawaii, Williamsburg. That flexibility can be nice, just comes at a steep price.

 

[taterhed]

Yea, I wish there was an easier way to enroll.... When we considered the hybrid...it was still 35k years ago. We've done ok with Worldmark and x2 Marriotts.

 

[VABoyMom]

So I just finished reading all of the New To Timesharing and FAQs - I still want to clarify one thing...

Say we own a higher value property (summer fixed week, 2 bedroom unit on the beach in Hilton Head). If I go to space bank I'm given a set number of points for that week that I can spend however I want? Or because it's a weeks program I have to trade for a set week? What if I trade for a much lesser property (like Massanutten or Williamsburg) - will I have any residual "value" or points leftover to use for a following trip say if I wanted to trade up in a future year to go to Hawaii?

We'd like to vacation in Orlando more frequently but from what I've seen there is a lot of inventory and not as high value as say a beachfront property. Hawaii would be like one time trip with the family I'm guessing until we are retired so not sure it makes sense to purchase there. We'd love to do a winter ski trip out West once or twice as well but I think somewhere more local would make more sense given our circumstances.

 

[VABoyMom]

Another questions - how is Wyndham? I see their points for sale for hardly anything. Are those properties not as nice as say Marriott? I assume there is no ROFR for that developer? We definitely like 4 and 5 star resorts - would Hilton or Hyatt or DVC be another good option?

Also, I will take the advice to rent and see what else is out there before jumping into any purchases... Just doing the research I can now.

 

[VABoyMom]

Looking at Williamsburg, 5 nights in July S-R is 1500 points. Orlando is 1,375. Both are available for booking now, 3-4 months in advance. So, that's <3,000 points. If you did a hybrid deal, the other week could be used or traded for those week stays. Still, points are more expensive (but flexible) but you can easily get shorter stays if that is important as you mentioned.

Curious, how are you finding out what points values are? Are you referencing this? http://www.marriottvacationclub.com...Tools/resorts/charts/pdfDisplay/2018_full.pdf

Is the same point value assigned for weeks that you own?

 

[taterhed]

Another questions - how is Wyndham? I see their points for sale for hardly anything. Are those properties not as nice as say Marriott? I assume there is no ROFR for that developer? We definitely like 4 and 5 star resorts - would Hilton or Hyatt or DVC be another good option?

Also, I will take the advice to rent and see what else is out there before jumping into any purchases... Just doing the research I can now.

Wyndhams are typically considered less quality than the major brands (MVC, HGVC, Westin, Hyatt) but have some very nice properties in some locations. You can also book higher quality properties based on what's available. But, I'm not an expert....others will answer your Wyndham questions. Overall, I'd say 1-2 stars lower quality than HGVC or Marriott. Reservations/ownership system has become a bit complicated and draconian compared to some (my opinion).

Hyatt: very nice quality, very high price, limited locations. Confusing new program (which will probably not be popular). I'm not expert.....but others are.

DVC: great resorts, high prices. Period. VERY high demand. Limited locations.

HGVC: Probably the best next to Marriott IMHO. Flexible, affordable and high quality. Less locations (thus my -1 point) and trades in RCI--NOT Interval. RCI has more resorts/locations and less quality. Interval has more quality resorts, but less availability/locations. Internal trading/point reservation program with some rules that might dictate choice of home resort etc... Very important to purchase correct amount of points to meet your needs and get an ownership at good price, correct season and good MF ratio MF/point. I'm not expert others are. Hawaii resorts are in Honolulu (Oahu) and Big Island. So, it's big city or big island.

 

[taterhed]

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Curious, how are you finding out what points values are? Are you referencing this? http://www.marriottvacationclub.com...Tools/resorts/charts/pdfDisplay/2018_full.pdf

Is the same point value assigned for weeks that you own?

That is the point guide. It lists the number of points required to make a points reservation.

If you are a legacy week owner, point value has no meaning to you at all. It's merely nice to know. If you are a pre-2010 owner of a Marriott week, you can 'enroll' your week for points and selectively use points on some years (elect) or not. If you 'elect' to use points, you are given the assigned point value. This program is generally not available to new owners (some exceptions but expensive) unless you purchase a 'Hybrid package' from Marriott: buy a week from Marriott resale and then buy the equivalent number of points (equal). The you are a points owner and can 'elect' to convert your legacy week to points when you choose each year. This is the $35k+ option mentioned in the threads.

If you are an MVC 'points' owner, (resale or developer) the points charts represent the number of points required to make a reservation for a given size of unit at a resort for a week or by day etc.... So, if a week at the Grande Vista 2br unit in July is listed for 2900 points (not sure, made it up--look it up in the link you posted) then that's how many points it takes to reserve a week.


I'll stop blabbing and let others speak for a bit. Sorry for the long posts.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Curious, how are you finding out what points values are? Are you referencing this? http://www.marriottvacationclub.com...Tools/resorts/charts/pdfDisplay/2018_full.pdf

Is the same point value assigned for weeks that you own?

Yes, that is one way to get those point costs to stay. The point value for enrolled weeks is not the same, it's a fixed number typically less than what it costs to stay during high season, so, we rarely if ever will trade our unit for points, we will exchange instead. A week at my home resort costs 3,775 points during high season, but traded for points, I only get 2900. I trade my lockoff each year and often get 2,900 points value out of just it. We only travel as a pair, so, that lockoff gets us a great week somewhere every year for almost "free" since we use our owned week. This year, it was traded into Canary Islands, but we've done all over the world with that lockoff. It's our most valued TS! Hawaii, Hilton Head, Cabo, Chile, Australia, etc all from lockoff trade. We also use a lot of getaways through II.