[ 2019 ] HGV. How can I stop paying Annual Maintenance Fees?

[Phil the Brit]

I bought a timeshare with Hilton Grand Vacations back in 2014. It initially offered a good return by swopping the ownership at Trump Tower in Vegas for points towards stays at any Hilton brand hotels.
With the erosion of the benefits by Hilton who pretty much are giving free wifi and free breakfasts to anyone who signs up for their Hiltom honors scheme it has become cheaper to just pay for Hilton hotel stays as we go. We always transfer our points to Hilton ones as we don't stay in Vegas now we are older and not in the best of health. Much better value to use them as their vacation points but no good if we don't use them.
We signed a "forever" contract and they won't let us out of it.
Anyone got any suggestions on how to get out of it, they won't buy it back. We paid the cost of the timeshare when we signed up so there is no mortgage owing.
I did look on websites for companies that would market it but most of them appear to be scammers who charge a fee and then probably do nothing. I don't want anything like the $70K that I paid for it, $5K to cover transfer expenses would do.
Alternatively I could just refuse to pay the annual fees but I am pretty sure they would come after me even though I live in UK.
Any helpful suggestions/experiences would be welcome.
Thanks
Phil

 

[rickandcindy23]

You can give it away on TUG to get out of it, but if you want any kind of return on your investment, you will be sadly disappointed. I cannot imagine your ownership being as worthless to you as you make it sound. Hilton is a much -loved system on TUG. It's one I haven't invested in, but if I spent that much money on something, I would want to use it, not sell it for a much-reduced price.

 

[GT75]

Tell us what room/season/points you own at Trump Tower. If you initially paid ~$70K, then I would expect that you could sell it for something. You won't be able to sell it before MFs are due (1/1/20).

 

[Phil the Brit]

Tell us what room/season/points you own at Trump Tower. If you initially paid ~$70K, then I would expect that you could sell it for something. You won't be able to sell it before MFs are due (1/1/20).

Thanks for your input GT75. I have a two bedroom full week at 10.500 points in platinum time period AND a standard/plus at 3750 points in gold time period. Both are full week.
I intend paying fees due 1/1/20 on that date.
Your further thoughts would be appreciated.
Phil

 

[Phil the Brit]

You can give it away on TUG to get out of it, but if you want any kind of return on your investment, you will be sadly disappointed. I cannot imagine your ownership being as worthless to you as you make it sound. Hilton is a much -loved system on TUG. It's one I haven't invested in, but if I spent that much money on something, I would want to use it, not sell it for a much-reduced price.

Rck and Cindy, thank you for your input. The Hilton Honors points my membership nets me every year is 356.000 HH points when I transfer them. If I kept them a HGV points they would of course be more valuable but as my wife is not in great health we don't travel as much as we used to, certainly not as far as Las Vegas.
Phil

 

[jabberwocky]

I’d suggest talking to a realtor who specializes in HGVC as you should be able to easily get a somewhat decent price for the 10500 plat week.

The gold week will be tougher to move but you should be able to get at least what you are wanting (I’d say even a bit more).

 

[GT75]

I have a two bedroom full week at 10.500 points in platinum time period AND a standard/plus at 3750 points in gold time period.

You should be able to sell the 2-bd platinum season for around $10K but I would expect that you will need to give away the gold season unit. The problem with HGVC Trump Tower is that the MFs are very high so that will affect your price. I would agree with @jabberwocky advice especially since you are in the UK.

 

[alwysonvac]

Welcome to TUG

Please share the latest 2020 maintenance fees for Trump Tower in LAS Vegas in this thread - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/2020-hilton-grand-vacations-maintenance-fees.296273/

This will help you locate maintenance fee for all unit sizes at Trump.

If we are missing reported MFs for various other unit sizes from resorts which you own, then please obtain the MFs from your 2020 billing statement or budget report.

I was able to obtain the 2020 Billing Statement/Budget Reports for my owned HGV resorts online. The resort's billing statement can be obtained by:

• Log into your HGV account
• Select OWNERSHIP tab at the top of HGV web site
• Select VIEW YOUR HOA INFORMATION button on the right for each resort which you own.
• Select OWNERS COMMUNICATIONS for 2019 year
• You should be able to download the 2020 Billing Notice
• You should find the MFs for each unit type toward the end of statement.

Note: The MFs stated in this billing statement, might be missing some real estate taxes. For example, the RE taxes are different for each season of the TS. Also, the Hawaii General Excise (GE) tases are not included in this statement for Hawaii resorts. Just make a note of that.

If you can not figure out the MFs from this billing statement, please feel free to PM me.
Thanks

Here are the asking prices at one of the resale agent sites. There are basically more sellers than buyers and some of these sellers will never get what their asking for due to their unrealistic asking price. If you want to avoid the 2021 maintenance fee, you’ll want to be the lowest asking price or very close to it. I agree with the others the Studio Gold season will be the toughest. The market is flooded with low point weeks.

 

[alwysonvac]

Here are the frequently mentioned resale agents

Judi Kozlowski @ http://judikoz.com/Search.aspx
Seth Nock @ http://www.sellingtimeshares.net/category/listings/hilton/
Diane Nadeau @ https://www.timesharebrokersales.com/hilton-timeshares/index.php
Syed Sarmad @ https://advantagevacation.com/hilton-grand-vacations-club-for-sale-and-resale/
Carl Thoms @ http://timeshare-resale.com/

 

[Phil the Brit]

Thank you for all that have contributed with information, it is much appreciated.
I phoned HGV and they will not buy it back. They have a company which they recommend and are going to email me the information.
Phil

 

[rickandcindy23]

Thank you for all that have contributed with information, it is much appreciated.
I phoned HGV and they will not buy it back. They have a company which they recommend and are going to email me the information.
Phil

Do use the brokers mentioned above and not the Hilton recommendation. Too bad Hilton doesn't have a resale department. Marriott has one, which I have used to my benefit.

Good luck to you.

 

[tombanjo]

I’d be interested to know who HGVC is connected with. In any case, getting a few quotes on what market values and closing costs would be is smart.

 

[GT75]

They have a company which they recommend and are going to email me the information.

Please report back on HGVC recommended brokers and what you decided to do.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Not surprised HGVC wont take back Trump because it is an affiliate. They only take HGVC developed.

I believe Judi Koz is one. Perhaps HGVC takes a cut for the referral so higher fees?

 

[alwysonvac]

Not surprised HGVC wont take back Trump because it is an affiliate. They only take HGVC developed.

I believe Judi Koz is one. Perhaps HGVC takes a cut for the referral so higher fees?

HGVClub at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is actually considered a “developed” property.

In 2012, Trump International Hotel Las Vegas sold approximately 300 condominium units to Hilton Grand Vacations - https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/hilton-grand-vacations-makes-trump-purchase/

 

[alwysonvac]

In 2015, I reached out to HGVC to see if they would buy my week. Here’s what I posted.

They appear to be helping owners find a broker - See below
The resale price range they sent me was realistic (similar to the prices found on Seth's and Judy's websites).


I emailed the following on Saturday:

Dear HGVC Resale Department,

We want to get rid of our xxx weeks. I was wondering if HGVC is interested in buying these weeks back.

We own blah blah blah...​

NOTE: I received an automate response that it can take up to five business days for the Resale Dept to respond.

Here's what I received today:

Hello Mr. & Mrs. xxxx,

If you are interested in selling your timeshare interval we can list the timeshare for sale on the resale market. We work with a network of resale brokers that will advertise to find you a buyer. Below you will find the suggested listing price range for your timeshare intervals:

nn-nnnnn $x,000.00 to $x,000.00
nn-nnnnn $x,000.00 to $x,000.00

This is only a suggestion based on current resale market analysis. You may list your property at any price you wish. The broker commission due on the sale of your Hilton interval will be 25% of the sales price or a minimum of $500. Please understand that listing your timeshare interval for sale does not relieve you of any financial responsibility for fees that may come due on your account during the selling process.

Would you like to receive a listing agreement to begin the selling process?​

 

[CalGalTraveler]

HGVClub at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is actually considered a “developed” property.

In 2012, Trump International Hotel Las Vegas sold approximately 300 condominium units to Hilton Grand Vacations - https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/hilton-grand-vacations-makes-trump-purchase/

300 condo units? Sounds like a lot. How many units are in that building?

 

[alwysonvac]

300 condo units? Sounds like a lot. How many units are in that building?

Based on the linked article the 64-story building has 1,232 units.


The following is from Wikipedia

The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is a 64-story luxury hotel, condominium, and timeshare located on Fashion Show Drive near Las Vegas Boulevard, just off the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, US, named for real estate developer and the 45th and current President of the United States Donald Trump. It is located down the street from Wynn Las Vegas, behind the former site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on 3.46 acres (14,000 m2), near the Fashion Show Mall, and features both non-residential hotel condominiums and residential condominiums. The exterior glass is infused with gold.

Tower 1 opened on March 31, 2008, with 1,282 rooms. It has two restaurants: DJT, the developer's initials, and a poolside restaurant, H2(eau). Trump announced that a second, identical tower would be built next to the first tower, but the plan was suspended after the mid-2000s recession. It is Las Vegas's tallest residential building at 622 feet (190 m). In September 2012, the Trump Organizationannounced that it sold roughly 300 condominium units in Trump International Hotel Las Vegas to Hilton Worldwide's timeshare division, Hilton Grand Vacations.​

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Thank you for all that have contributed with information, it is much appreciated.
I phoned HGV and they will not buy it back. They have a company which they recommend and are going to email me the information.
Phil

Phil; Whatever you do be sure that you don't pay a nickel up front! Any monies required up front equals a scam.

Personally? I would think you may want to place an auction on eBay and be rid of it quickly. You may not get top dollar but you'll be done with it.

Welcome to TUG and best of luck.





.

 

[Phil the Brit]

Do use the brokers mentioned above and not the Hilton recommendation. Too bad Hilton doesn't have a resale department. Marriott has one, which I have used to my benefit.

Good luck to you.

RickandCindy..........Can you say why you say.........Do use the brokers mentioned above and not the Hilton recommendation
You also say hilton does not have a resale dept. HGV does have a resale dept, they just don't buy back in certain properties including Trump tower in Vegas.

 

[Phil the Brit]

I’d be interested to know who HGVC is connected with. In any case, getting a few quotes on what market values and closing costs would be is smart.

Tombanjo........posting it today

 

[Phil the Brit]

Please report back on HGVC recommended brokers and what you decided to do.

GT75......posting it today

 

[Phil the Brit]

Phil; Whatever you do be sure that you don't pay a nickel up front! Any monies required up front equals a scam.

Personally? I would think you may want to place an auction on eBay and be rid of it quickly. You may not get top dollar but you'll be done with it.

Welcome to TUG and best of luck.





.

Timetraveller, I am aware of the scam companies who take money up front. I will definately NOT be doing that.
Thanks
Phil

 

[Phil the Brit]

Here is the email and contract from HGVC that I received yesterday......................
The attachments are the contracts.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. ******,
Thank you for choosing Grand Vacations Realty, LLC, a subsidiary of Hilton Grand Vacations Company, as your listing broker in the selling process of your vacation interval.
Attached to this email as a PDF or a Microsoft Word document, you will find the Listing Agreement to be completed, signed and sent back. You may return via e-mail as a scanned document with signature or by fax with a signature. Please include the best contact number in which to present offers on the first page.

If you are having problems viewing the PDF you may not have a compatible program. You can download a free version of Adobe Reader at http://get.adobe.com/reader/. To print this document from Microsoft Word with the correct margins, please open the attachment. At the top of your screen, click on the View menu and select Print Layout. You can then print by clicking on File at the top of your screen and selecting Print. Whichever method you choose, you must follow up by sending the original signed documents back to us through the mail.

Please mail the original signed document back to the following address:
Hilton Grand Vacations
Attn: Jan Anderson, Resale Dept.
6355 Metro West Blvd.
Suite 180
Orlando, FL 32835

The listing agreement is a net agreement. Please indicate the price you would like to list your property on the second page and sign at the bottom. To do this, consider the price you want to receive for this property and add 25%. Commission is 25% or a minimum of $500.00 per transaction, whichever is greater. The suggested price range for your 2BD unit is $12,000 to $14,000; for you STP unit is $2,000 to $3,000; which includes the commission. You will be contacted with every offer.

Grand Vacation Realty will take an aggressive approach to selling your Hilton interval. We work closely with a worldwide network of quality brokers that specialize in selling timeshare. When we receive the paperwork back from you, your property will be entered into the Timeshare Multiple Listing Service, TSXchange, as well as advertised on multiple Internet sites. Please return the documents as soon as possible. Listing your unit does not relieve you of any financial responsibility for outstanding loans or fees that may come due on your account during the selling process. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at 1-800-579-6129 or 407-722-3721. You can also email our department at resale@hgvc.com.

My staff and I will work closely with you to keep you informed and updated on the sale process. Once again, you will be contacted with every offer.

Very truly yours,
Resale Department
T 800-579-6129
6355 Metro West Boulevard, Suite 180, Orlando, FL 32835
E resale@hgvc.com W hiltongrandvacations.com
http://hgvbrandstudio.com/images/logo-hgv.png

Any comments would be very much appreciated by fellow posters.
Many thanks
Phil

 

[hurnik]

Do use the brokers mentioned above and not the Hilton recommendation. Too bad Hilton doesn't have a resale department. Marriott has one, which I have used to my benefit.

Good luck to you.

Hilton has a Resale division (they bought back my developer week and then I purchased resale). However, what they will "sell" your unit for and what you could get it for via the other brokers is a bit different. The same resale department also works with the same brokers for *selling* resale units as well (one of my resales actually came through the broker which was through Hilton resale dept.)

Granted, this was like 7 years ago or something, so perhaps things have changed. I used to have an email address for them.