[2006] SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify/retro [MERGED]

[vfollett]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

Hi Duke--

This is great news about requalifying an SVO sale...not something you hear about at all!

While I understand all of what you said, there is one more part of requalifying that is very important. When they requalify your resale resort, do they also then treat it as your "home resort", which will then get you the very real and important ability to reserve 12 months in advance, as opposed to the usual 8 months in advance for non-home resort owners?

An example would be that I had bought Westin Kaanapali in the resale market, then buy a unit anywhere from the developer, then ask the developer to requalify my Westin Kaanapali with full benefits, including designation as a HOME RESORT, allowing me to reserve at Westin Kaanapali 12 months in advance?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[grgs]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

An example would be that I had bought Westin Kaanapali in the resale market, then buy a unit anywhere from the developer, then ask the developer to requalify my Westin Kaanapali with full benefits, including designation as a HOME RESORT, allowing me to reserve at Westin Kaanapali 12 months in advance?

Even if you didn't get it requalified you would still have the owner's preference at from 12-8 months out. If you own that resort, you always have the right to reserve is at 12 months--even if you bought it resale.

Glorian

 

[seenett]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

To All -

Has anyone requalified a "SHERATON DESERT OASIS" week and know what their Starwood point values (StarOption & StarPoint) ? I am looking at a 2-bdrm L/O on the resale market that I would want to requalify, but do not have any idea what its point values would be. It was formally the Embassy Vacation Resort so this unit was not sold as a SVO originally and was never assigned a SVO point value. How will this be handled by Starwood on the requalify? Does anyone know? I may just have to call a salesman at the resort. The 2-bdrm I want to buy is a floating week good from week 1-52 so I would think it would be the same as the Platinum weeks currently being sold.

Thanks for the help -
Jon in AZ

I believe that pre-SVO sales, sold as year round float 1-52, are considered "gold" by Starwood. Seems they are splitting the difference between Platinum and Silver. See the StarPoint chart.

 

[grgs]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

I believe that pre-SVO sales, sold as year round float 1-52, are considered "gold" by Starwood. Seems they are splitting the difference between Platinum and Silver. See the StarPoint chart.

That's what I guessed they would do. It would be nice if that could be confirmed officially.

Glorian

 

[bender18]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

I am thinking of buying at Vistana Village so I just wanted to know if I buy Resale can I still get SVN and II? Also if I buy an additional week can I still requalify as a direct Sale or have the change the policy?

Thanks.

BTW since this is my first post to TUG BBS... http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/images/smilies/wave.gif
A Big Hello....

 

[DeniseM]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

I am thinking of buying at Vistana Village so I just wanted to know if I buy Resale can I still get SVN and II? Also if I buy an additional week can I still requalify as a direct Sale or have the change the policy?

Thanks.

BTW since this is my first post to TUG BBS... http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/images/smilies/wave.gif
A Big Hello....

Vistana Villages is a mandatory resort - in other words, resales are automatically included in the SVN and you can do external exchanges anyway, whether or not you're in the SVN. The only thing you don't get with an SVN Mandatory resale, is the option to convert to Starpoints, which isn't a good value anyway.

 

[DeniseM]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

Hi Duke--

This is great news about requalifying an SVO sale...not something you hear about at all!

While I understand all of what you said, there is one more part of requalifying that is very important. When they requalify your resale resort, do they also then treat it as your "home resort", which will then get you the very real and important ability to reserve 12 months in advance, as opposed to the usual 8 months in advance for non-home resort owners?

An example would be that I had bought Westin Kaanapali in the resale market, then buy a unit anywhere from the developer, then ask the developer to requalify my Westin Kaanapali with full benefits, including designation as a HOME RESORT, allowing me to reserve at Westin Kaanapali 12 months in advance?

Thanks so much for your help!

You don't have to requalify a WKORV week - it's a mandatory resort and SVN membership is included on a resale. And with ANY Starwood resale, owners can reserve at 12 mos. out. Doesn't matter that you bought resale.

 

[duke]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

You don't have to requalify a WKORV week - it's a mandatory resort and SVN membership is included on a resale. And with ANY Starwood resale, owners can reserve at 12 mos. out. Doesn't matter that you bought resale.

If you do requalify a mandatory resort like WKORV you will 1) have StarPoints and 2) Elite status.
Duke

 

[nodge]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

To All -

Has anyone requalified a "SHERATON DESERT OASIS" week and know what their Starwood point values (StarOption & StarPoint) ? I am looking at a 2-bdrm L/O on the resale market that I would want to requalify, but do not have any idea what its point values would be. It was formally the Embassy Vacation Resort so this unit was not sold as a SVO originally and was never assigned a SVO point value. How will this be handled by Starwood on the requalify? Does anyone know? I may just have to call a salesman at the resort. The 2-bdrm I want to buy is a floating week good from week 1-52 so I would think it would be the same as the Platinum weeks currently being sold.

Thanks for the help -
Jon in AZ

Starwood just confirmed the “requalification” into the Starwood Vacation Network (“SVN”) of my pre-Starwood (Phase I) Sheraton Desert Oasis (“SDO”) 2-Bdrm Lock-Off year round float week 1-52 that I purchased re-sale. (Thanks Duke!). As noted by Seenett (above), it was “requalified” as a “Gold” unit (81,000 StarOptions / 44,000 StarPoints).

Starwood’s sales staff was all over the map on this issue during the purchase of the corresponding developer week, which I purchased via the phone and mail. I eventually learned that Starwood assigned every interval unit at SDO, including pre-Starwood sold units, a StarOption and a StarPoint value when it took over the development. If you know the contract number for a particular interval unit, I was told that any salesperson at any SVO property can look-up the StarOption & StarPoint values assigned for that unit. I was also told that these pre-assigned values are not negotiable.

My biggest concern with bringing my SDO unit into SVN at the 81,000 StarOptions level was whether I could still book a week in a 2 bedroom L/O unit at SDO during platinum season (which “costs” 148,100 StarOptions). I was told that StarOptions apply only for exchanges into other Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO) properties (and/or exchanges into a different season at your home property), so I could still book a week in a 2 bedroom L/O unit during platinum season at SDO under the original SDO contract terms.

Hope this helps. - Nodge

 

[duke]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

Starwood just confirmed the “requalification” into the Starwood Vacation Network (“SVN”) of my pre-Starwood (Phase I) Sheraton Desert Oasis (“SDO”) 2-Bdrm Lock-Off year round float week 1-52 that I purchased re-sale. (Thanks Duke!).

Nodge,
Congrats! What developer unit did you purchase? What was the process to requalify? How did SVO document your requalification?
Duke

 

[nodge]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

Nodge,
Congrats! What developer unit did you purchase? What was the process to requalify? How did SVO document your requalification?
Duke

Duke,

Our new developer unit is at the Westin Kierland. (We have family in Scottsdale. Like the fact that the Westin Kierland is a “mandatory” resort that is an easy and cheap flight from home. It has relatively low maintenance fees when compared to other top tier SVO properties. It is in a stable jurisdiction with well established and enforceable timeshare ownership laws (i.e. fee simple ownership instead of the relatively new “renewable trust” offered in Cancun). Also, being in the middle of a suburban desert, it will not likely get hit by a hurricane or other natural disaster.)

The process to requalify the SDO unit was as follows:

My salesperson tracked down internally the necessary approvals and then confirmed to me via email that my SDO would be “requalified” into SVN at 81,000 StarOptions / 44,000 StarPoints. She then mailed me the necessary purchase and sale documents for the developer unit, which were completely silent about this requalification issue.

Accordingly, I printed out her email and attached it to the purchase and sale agreement. In the section of the agreement that lists all of the documents that are part of the agreement (Section 4, “Your Acknowledgment”), I hand wrote in a reference to the e-mail. Specifically, I wrote “(g) E-mail dated [date redacted] from [SVO salesperson’s name redacted] (copy attached).”

I also hand wrote in the following language at the end of the agreement:

“19. Contract No. [redacted] (Sheraton Desert Oasis) will be brought into SVN (81,000 StarOptions) per [SVO Salesperson’s name redacted] E-mail dated [date redacted]”.

I then signed the agreement and mailed it back to SVO. SVO initially balked at my modifications to the agreement, and told me that I would have to re-sign everything without those terms added. They express mailed me a new agreement to sign. However, shortly thereafter, I received an SVO signed copy of my original agreement that included the hand written additions. In other words, SVO signed off on my modifications to the Westin Kierland purchase and sale agreement that specifically listed the requalification of my SDO unit as a term of the new developer week purchase.

About a week later, I received another express mail from SVO with paperwork associated with requalifying my SDO property. It included the original SVN enrollment paperwork dated the day the original owners bought the property in 1998. Their names had been crossed out and my name was written in. I signed it and mailed it back to SVO, and my SDO was “requalified.”

Just for fun, armed with my 81,000 staroptions I called SVN to see if I could use ‘em to get into the Westin Maui (WKORV) next February. Even though I didn’t call at the crack of dawn 8 months out, they had availability! Very cool.

-Nodge

 

[saluki]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

Way to work 'em, nodge!

Did you buy a Premium 1BR Platinum Season or 2BR Gold Season @ Kierland? Do you mind telling us the price?

 

[nodge]

Re: SVO Resale: Yes you can requalify as direct sale

Did you buy a Premium 1BR Platinum Season or 2BR Gold Season @ Kierland? Do you mind telling us the price?

Saluki,

The specific details of my developer week purchase can’t help folks much since inventory changes regularly.

I should note that despite the Starwood internal memo floating around (reported earlier in this thread) that apparently requires an annual developer week purchase in order to requalify an annual resale, the folks at Westin Kierland repeatedly told me that ANY developer purchase is sufficient to requalify an annual resale. Accordingly, the purchase of a cheap every-other-year (EOY) developer week is sufficient to requalify an annual platinum resale week (at least if the developer week is purchased from the salespeople at Kierland).

To save folks a phone call, I just called the Westin Keirland to inquire about its current (as of July 17, 2006) inventory and pricing. Here is what they told me.

The following inventory is currently available:

Platinum Season: Nothing available (They may have one one-bedroom premium (big unit – 81,000 StarOptions) available for $22,900 (annual usage), but the sales rep didn’t know for sure at the time of the call and wasn’t willing to find out without me submitting a written offer for it).

Gold Season:
2-Bedroom L/O (81,000 StarOptions) ($22,400-Annual usage or $14,995-EOY usage) (3 units available)
1-Bedroom deluxe (small unit – 37,000 StarOptions) ($13,995-Annual usage or $9495-EOY usage)

Silver Season:
2-Bedroom L/O (56,300 StarOptions) ($15,400-Annual usage or $10,495-EOY usage)
1-Bedroom Premium (large unit – 30,500 StarOptions) ($11,995-Annual usage or $8195-EOY usage)

If you purchase an EOY unit, you have a year to purchase the other half at a discounted price. The discounted price for the second half would be the difference between the above-noted annual usage price and the price paid for the EOY usage. However, the second purchase is subject to having inventory available at that time, which could be unlikely in most categories if you actually waited a year to make the second purchase.

The sales reps I spoke with confirmed that purchasing the second half would entitle a second resale to be brought into the SVN. If you want to go this route, however, I strongly suggest getting all of this IN WRITING at the time of purchasing the FIRST developer unit. I’ve learned that what sales reps promise can differ significantly from what appears on the final paperwork.

Hope this helps. -Nodge

 

[formerhater]

Will all this work for existing owners who then make a resale purchase and requilify it by making a developer purchase? Just curious...

 

[duke]

Will all this work for existing owners who then make a resale purchase and requilify it by making a developer purchase? Just curious...

Yes, you need to make the resale purchase first then a new developer purchase.

 

[conkyjoe]

Reselling the DEV week after retro week qualified

Greetings,

Are there any contract pre-conditions which revert a "retro-ed" week back into a "non-qualifing StarPoints week", if at a later date the DEV week were to be sold?

Gratefully,

 

[nodge]

Conkyjoe,

Both my developer week purchase paperwork AND my “requal” week paperwork are silent about what happens to my “requaled” week’s SVN status if I sell my corresponding developer week.

Since you apparently haven’t bought your resale week yet, and since it can take several months to close on a resale, I suggest getting an SVO salesperson on-board now (with lots of emails back and forth documenting your intentions) so that there are no surprises as SVO “interprets” this policy down the road.

-Nodge

 

[conkyjoe]

Two Bedroom LO question...

Hmm,

If I had two resale weeks (1BR from x and 1BR Premium from y), then bought a 2BD LO dev week, could both 1BD resale weeks be "retro'ed" since a 2BR LO could be considered two seperate weeks?

Just curious...

Gratefully,

 

[jerseygirl]

I think you'd have to buy your 2-BR lockoff one EOY at a time. That's what they told me a couple of years ago -- not sure if the rules are still the same.

 

[Bill4728]

Hmm,

If I had two resale weeks (1BR from x and 1BR Premium from y), then bought a 2BD LO dev week, could both 1BD resale weeks be "retro'ed" since a 2BR LO could be considered two seperate weeks?

Just curious...

Gratefully,

Nice try but my guess would be NO. If you bought 2 resale weeks (any size) they would each need a developer week to allow "requalify" (also any size)
Note the sizes do not need to match, a 2 bd resale can be requalified with a studio developer purchase.

 

[Drageamon]

Hi people,

I have just bought a resale week at Sheraton Vistana Resort. I have been told by Starwood that it cannot be requalified because it is a voluntary resort. From what I can gather from you guys is that if I purchase a developers week then I can requalify my resale week? Is this correct because this is not what Starwood are telling me.

Thanks
Kelly

 

[Bill4728]

If you purchase a developer week (anywhere in the SVN system) and ask that they "requalify" your resale week at Vistana Resort as part of the deal, Starwood has told several people on this board, that you CAN do this. It doesn't matter if the resort is a mandatory resort or not.

 

[jerseygirl]

Did you buy Lakes or Cascades?

 

[msweaver]

Hi people,

I have just bought a resale week at Sheraton Vistana Resort. I have been told by Starwood that it cannot be requalified because it is a voluntary resort. From what I can gather from you guys is that if I purchase a developers week then I can requalify my resale week? Is this correct because this is not what Starwood are telling me.

The answer depends. Some resorts will requalify other SVN resort weeks, although I tried to do this with a developer purchase at Kierland and requalify my Mountain Vaist week and they would not do it. I would check with the sales folks at the resort you're interested in.

 

[nodge]

The answer depends. Some resorts will requalify other SVN resort weeks, although I tried to do this with a developer purchase at Kierland and requalify my Mountain Vaist week and they would not do it. I would check with the sales folks at the resort you're interested in.

MSWeaver,

I had no problem requalifying my Sheraton Desert Oasis resale with the purchase of a developer week from Kierland earlier this year. It's possible, but I doubt SVO has recently rescinded this policy.

Did Kierland deny your requal request over the phone, or were you face-to-face with a salesperson in Kierland at the time?

During my initial searching (all via phone calls to the various SVO properties), I found salespeople all over the map on this issue. The salesperson that I spoke with at Vistana Villages told me that requalifying a resale could NEVER be done. He was also extremely pompous and arrogant when telling me this, which I found downright offensive. The salesperson I spoke with at Westin Mission Hills told me it could be done, but gave me incorrect information as to how many staroptions, etc. my resale would qualify for. At Kierland, I was lucky enough to find a salesperson that was both helpful and knowledgeable about this issue. SHE spearheaded the internal approvals and made it happen.

I suspect folks that are striking out with Starwood are just speaking with new, lazy, or misinformed salespeople. Alternatively, if you've been CALLING salespeople, they may just not be ALLOWED to sell a timeshare to you over the phone based on your specific state's (or your case “district’s”) timeshare sales laws. For example, upon further questioning, the guy in Vistana Villages eventually told me that since I was in Oregon, he wasn't allowed to sell to me over the phone. He was really just using the "never been done" argument to get me off the phone. Since he was precluded by law from selling to me in Oregon, and since I wasn’t willing to fly to Orlando to meet with him, I was wasting his time and he gave me the brush-off.

Accordingly, if you really want to requalify a resale, it CAN be done. Find another salesperson.

If you still strike out and still want to pursue requalification of your resale, send me a Private Message and I'll give you the name and phone number of my SVO sales agent at Kierland. If SHE says that requals can no longer be done, THEN you can believe it.

-Nodge