bHC points questions, Liberty Place

[Chris-ATX]

Maybe this is covered elsewhere, but I didn't see it when I searched.

We are looking at maybe getting a bHC deed (Liberty Place if we can find something which fits our goals, which who knows...). We really like LP and would enjoy getting priority booking window (assume this is the case there) as well as the lounge and other owner benefits (we've been there 2x this year!). But I have some questions:

• Do LP owners get priority booking at LP? (seems I should know this)
• Are the bHC points still lumped in with all our other HGVC points or are the different?
• We don't have to use our bHC points when we reserve at LP, pretty certain of that
• However, if we wanted to convert the LP points to HH, what are the restrictions?
  • Is it possible to keep the bHC points sequestered across the year in case we have "extra" (what is that?!) and want to convert?
  • How do we ensure we have the bHC points for the conversion?
  • It is possible all of our points could convert since we have the one deed?
• Are there any other considerations related to bHC points as opposed to "regular" HGVC points?
• Are we really just better off getting another Vegas deed and not worrying about it?

Thanks in advance for helping me think through this.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

1. LP does have a priority booking season for owners (12 months?). The bHC deeds are seasons, not weeks, so you can book within the season you are deeded for (varies by property) as far as 12 months out - but just like HGV if you book in the club season window you are required to book the entire week thereby utilizing all of the deeded points.

2. bHC and HGV points spend the same across the portfolio, but they are contained within two separate buckets in your HGV account.

3. You do not have to use bHC points when booking at LP if you are booking within the nine month window. If you opt to book during the club season window (12-9 months) then you will be required to use bHC points.

4. Restrictions will vary depending on whether you are in Max. We are Max Premier+ and we can convert any or all bHC points to HH at any time during the year @ 1:32 (I think the new club language makes this clearer, whereas it was vague before). I can't speak to what restrictions may or may not exist for any other tiers.

5. No other major considerations that I can think of, it's pretty straightforward in that outside the club season booking window the bHC points spend the same as HGV points across the entire portfolio.

6. In my opinion you're better off getting another Vegas deed and being sure to book LP exactly nine months out during general booking window. Typically it's not difficult to book LP nine months out, but it can be troublesome during peak season for last minute trips.

LP maintenance fees are VERY HIGH, ridiculously high. So if looking to buy there, be sure to take them into consideration. There are also restrictions on trading in the deed since it's a SC property - this was a detractor for us. We stay at LP more than any other property, probably three - four times per year (will be there next week actually) and we own exclusively Vegas deeds.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

They are difficult to come by but if you can find an Elara bHC Platinum 1BR Premier (20,140) it buys you into "the club" (for what it's worth) and has the benefit of a preferential MF ratio (<.09), probably making it one of the cheapest bHC deeds to maintain.

 

[Chris-ATX]

thanks for the feedback.

We've been to LP twice this year, though we also discovered we like Charleston much better "not in the summer". lol. We go to MarBrisa more than anywhere else (it's our original base). We are I guess stanard Max. We have 13,440 through retail MarBrisa. 11,200 Paradise resell already closed and waiting for a 11,200 Boulevard to finish closing (it better close soon so we can either blow the 2024 points or bank them!).

I thought the LP MF were high too. but found a listing with a 20,180 point 1 bedroom plus with supposedly $2000 MF+Tax. I'm skeptical till I see the Estoppel, but if true, it's reasonable and appears to track to the 2024 MF sticky. The other challenge with SC properties is getting past ROFR as I hear the developer is excercising... so who knows. I do know I like the $1500 we paid total for the Paradise deed. But we also love to travel all over, and the 1:32 conversion is intriguing.... We spent nearly a week in LON a couple weeks ago at Hilton Park Lane and loved using the HH for that (not from HGVC, mind you, just our regular account).

I've only ever seen 1 bCH Elara deed be offered (and it generated tons of replies on the FB group).

 

[HuskerATL]

LP is on of the bHC that acts like HGVC so you have a similar HW season. Other than that, you don't have priority booking. Good luck getting on via resale. Since all SC properties are owned by Strand, they tend to take them via ROFR so if you really want to own a week there, you may have to buy retail which will be expensive. Also, when you own SC properties, there are restrictions on trading them in. You can only trade them in for another SC property. Then, add in the high MFs ..

 

[GT75]

I thought the LP MF were high too.

I just found the budgets for HGVC, so I have loaded both 2024 and 2025 Liberty Place MFs into the db.