Advise requested on purchase in Key West, FL

[Lutz4tx]

We are looking at purchasing a timeshare in Key West over weeks 43 and/or 51. Both are weeks that we frequently stay there. Since we admire the historical aspect of KW, we are considering the Banyan Resort. We are also seriously looking at two units at Coconut Beach Resort for the phenomenal water view. In addition, we are considering the Hyatt Sunset Harbor for close proximity to Duval and occasional water view. These are all a toss up to us as all three are drastically different in my opinion due to location near or away from the Duval action and with or without a water view. We have never stayed at any of the three. Only stayed in homes or hotels.

Our questions are:

• Is anyone familiar with the management of each of these properties?
• Do you have any information on maintenance, management, reserves, etc. that you can share with us. How is each property managed?
• How do each hold up in storms? Are they built well and withstand most weather issues?
• Did maintenance cover expenses from the recent storms or were special assessments issued? How promptly did they take care of repairs, etc.
• Is management easy to work with?
• How often have maintenance fees increased?
• Are between owner exchanges difficult?
• Are there any hidden expenses that we should be aware of?

We own many vacation properties in Texas and Florida, but have never owed a timeshare. So, it is a little concerning to us in regard to the management and the unknown or increased expenses.

Input is greatly appreciated.

 

[AJCts411]

I'm relatively new to week ownership at sunset, but not to KW. For Sunset, 2018 assessments were up a little after the hurricane. Like 100 I think as they pulled scheduled maintenance forward from 2019 to 2018. No talk about special assessments that I've heard about.

I visited the Sunset property the first week that the airport re-opened after the hurricane hit in 2017. The property (still closed at that time)received water infiltration..wind driven, and the landscaping took a hit. ALL what I viewed was minor, even with a pretty significant hurricane event. Sunset was already scheduled for a pool deck upgrade as well as remodeling in the kitchens, bathrooms done last year I believe. (might have that reversed)
Everything I found out about Sunset before buying was positive.
Week 43 might be an expensive on as Fantasy fest falls on WK 42 or 43, certainly a very busy time.

Maintenance fees are higher at Sunset, but they are 99% two bedroom.

We went to visit friends at the Banyan, seemed like only minor landscaping type damage, minor property damage. I personally think Sunset and Banyan are about equal, Banyan more "old key west" and Sunset more modern. Location wise, both are close to the action, but far enough away for some quiet. Banyan might have an location edge in that it is on the Duval street loop...a free bus loop.

I don;t think you can go wrong with either.

 

[Lutz4tx]

I'm relatively new to week ownership at sunset, but not to KW. For Sunset, 2018 assessments were up a little after the hurricane. Like 100 I think as they pulled scheduled maintenance forward from 2019 to 2018. No talk about special assessments that I've heard about.

I visited the Sunset property the first week that the airport re-opened after the hurricane hit in 2017. The property (still closed at that time)received water infiltration..wind driven, and the landscaping took a hit. ALL what I viewed was minor, even with a pretty significant hurricane event. Sunset was already scheduled for a pool deck upgrade as well as remodeling in the kitchens, bathrooms done last year I believe. (might have that reversed)
Everything I found out about Sunset before buying was positive.
Week 43 might be an expensive on as Fantasy fest falls on WK 42 or 43, certainly a very busy time.

Maintenance fees are higher at Sunset, but they are 99% two bedroom.

We went to visit friends at the Banyan, seemed like only minor landscaping type damage, minor property damage. I personally think Sunset and Banyan are about equal, Banyan more "old key west" and Sunset more modern. Location wise, both are close to the action, but far enough away for some quiet. Banyan might have an location edge in that it is on the Duval street loop...a free bus loop.

I don;t think you can go wrong with either.

Thank you for the input. Sunset was our original preferred property having visited KW many times. Great location and it appears, from the exterior anyway, to be attractive and maintained. Our preferred week 43 is available, but it is unit 511. Hesitation is that it is ground level. Concerned about foot traffic, noise, blocked views, and in a storm...extensive damage and flooding (hence mold). Also, cannot find any interior images of the unit anywhere. We know the layout, but listing is not showing any photos available. It is impossible to buy from Texas when there isn't any idea of what the interior looks like. If you have images of recent updates to the units that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AJCts411]

Layout... there is one online at keywestfltimeshare.com. Sorry, No pics.
View...the cruise ships have to leave by 4 pm I believe.
Interior...they are remodeling, its a Hyatt so I'd expect that standard. Property maintenance seems very good.
Noise...quite a few boat people around, tour operators and the like with the ships. Even an occasional delivery truck in the alley (front st.) Minor to me.
water damage/Storms...I have not read about any odor complaints, and after the 2017 hurricane hit,with minor damage, no concerns. Stood up well.

 

[Lutz4tx]

I was recently sent images of the unit next door to the one we are considering. They advised that all units were just upgraded to the same kitchen remodel and furnishings. Standard but nice.

Since the unit in question is ground floor, now curious if ground literally means ground or if it is elevated at all. Would a view, when ships are gone, of the sunset be an option from this unit 511?

 

[Lutz4tx]

Sunset Harbor Unit 533 is available week 8 but asking $23,000. Seems very high.
Week 43 is $16,500.
What is a fair price for either of those weeks?

 

[alexadeparis]

The ground floor units open onto a boardwalk, so they are steps up from from a literal ground level. like 1/3 of a flight.
I personally would go with the Hyatt for flexibility of use in the system with points if you decide not to use one year, and the location is close to Duval and down a quiet street, and depending on the unit, you MAY get a sunset view. Look for a property map.

 

[bdh]

Sunset Harbor Unit 533 is available week 8 but asking $23,000. Seems very high.
Week 43 is $16,500.
What is a fair price for either of those weeks?

Hyatt Sunset Harbor:

Has a great Old Town location and is on the harborwalk. Very nice pool that is in sunshine all day - but if you want shade, just follow the shade provided by the palm trees as the sun moves across the pool. With the property's back toward Duval, there is no noise drifting into the pool or balcony side. Both units are in Building 5 (the most requested building at HSH) - all units in building 5 carry a little bit of a premium price tag, the higher the floor the higher the premium. 533 is a top floor townhouse unit, while 511 is a ground floor lock off unit. There are four units at HSH that are generally considered to be the best - 533, 534, 524 and 532 (most folks put them in that order with 533 being #1). In Hyatt's point system, weeks 1 - 17 are all 2200 point prime season weeks - however, weeks 4 - 14 are what I'd call ultra prime. Week 42 and 43 are Fantasy Fest weeks (FF toggles back and forth between 42 and 43 year by year) - so those weeks carry an elevated price as FF is a huge draw for KW (all the hotels and B&B's raise their prices and have 3 to 4 day minimum stays during FF).

$23K for week 8 in 533 is on the strong side (by $2500+/-), but it is not "very high". 533 has two balconies overlooking the harbor and sunsets - you'll never complain about the view!

$16.5K for week 43 in 511 is a tick strong (by $1000+/-). If it was up one floor (unit 521) or two floors (unit 531), the price would be $17K to $19K. The knock on 511 is that its a ground floor unit - while the unit is on the harbor and facing the sunsets, the view is extremely limited as its not up high enough to look out over the pier/water. The other knock on the 511, 521 and 531 stack is that they are on the alley next to the Margaritaville Resort - so pick up/delivery to Margaritaville creates some early AM (6:30 - 8:30) noise. The 511, 521 and 531 stack also has the smallest balconies of any units at HSH.

All of that said, if you aren't going to be using the deeded week you purchase, it makes no difference which unit you buy. A note on exchanging into a HSH week different than what you would own - due to the demand for HSH, it can be extremely challenging to get a prime week. If you are going to use the deeded week you purchase, be particular about which unit at HSH you buy as that will be the unit you'll be in every year. FWIW: If you're looking to exchange into different weeks in KW, you may want to consider buying at Hyatt Pinon Pointe as its yearly MF are in the $1050 range.

RE: Hurricane damage/costs

There has been no talk or indication of a special assessment as insurance covered what limited damage there was from Irma. The bulk of the damage was to landscaping and the pool/spa heat pumps. There was water intrusion into units in the 111, 121 and 131 stack - water blew in thru/around the sliding glass door in 131 and then migrated down to 121 and 111.

The $108 increase in 2017 to 2018 MF is solely due to the combining of planned renovation projects to 2018. Rather than impact owners/guests over multiple years, the HOA elected to do the pool deck renovations, the common walkway & unit balcony wood floor replacement, the unit bathroom upgrade & tile replacement, and the unit carpet replacement all at one time in the summer of 2018.

Bayan:

Has a similar advantage of being close to the happening end of Duval like HSH. Bayan is a nice KW property, has more of the original KW vibe as the property is eight older homes that were converted to TS. Every unit at Bayan is a different layout. Most are 1 bd units - not sure how many 2 bd units there are, but only a few (depending on how many are in your typical travel plans, you may need to be very very specific which unit you pursue). Has a small pool that is in shade pretty much all day. Being located on Whitehead and being one block closer to Duval, expect night time music from Duval to filter onto to the property.

Coconut Beach:

Similar building appearance as HSH. (Both Coconut and Sunset Harbor were developed by the Spottswood family - Coconut was built as an independent TS, then Spottswood teamed up with Hyatt for Sunset Harbor). Coconut's location is at the slower and quieter end of Old Town (if that's a positive or a negative depends on what each individual is looking for in the way of a vacation/TS) - but is right next to the wonderful Casa Marina and Louie's Bark Yard. Very nice pool area directly on the Atlantic. The units are a little smaller than HSH and they all share a common balcony/walkway (in lieu of individual HSH balcony).

I was recently sent images of the unit next door to the one we are considering. They advised that all units were just upgraded to the same kitchen remodel and furnishings. Standard but nice.

Since the unit in question is ground floor, now curious if ground literally means ground or if it is elevated at all. Would a view, when ships are gone, of the sunset be an option from this unit 511?


View attachment 6252 View attachment 6254 View attachment 6255 View attachment 6256 View attachment 6253

The cruise ships are supposed to be gone by sunset, however that is not always the case. If watching the sunset from 511, you would see most it - but doubt you would see the last 5 minutes of it as the sun melts into the ocean. FWIW: There is some mixing of units in the photos that were sent. The three pictures in the upper left are unit 532 (townhouse floor plan) - while the bottom three are of the 511, 521 or 531 stack (lock off floor plan). There are several different unit floor plans at HSH - look here for the various layouts.

http://www.bywindkal.com/HSH Layouts.html

 

[Lutz4tx]

I cannot thank you enough for the detailed response. You have also made us feel very comfortable in our decision to buy at HSH. Pleased to hear of the many continued updates to the property. We opted for unit 533 (had no idea it was the preferred unit by many) as the view of the water, sunset, and boats are the main reasons we chose this property. We intend to purchase two weeks there for personal use. Looking forward to many years there! Thank you again for your wealth of knowledge.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Week 8 is a PRIME winter week for anyone living in the NORTHERN USA.