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Bought a HGVC yesterday during a presentation, rescinded the purchase today

KIRKREW

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So we bought a TS yesterday during a HGVC presentation in Hawaii. We purchased an EOY at the Parc Soleil for 14k getting 3400pts EOY with 15,000 bonus points. After we purchased it I began doing research and came across this forum.

I followed the instruction listed on the "notice of mutual right of cancelation of timeshare purchase" we both signed the form. I emailed it to hawaiicancel@HGVC.com I received an email back stating my request to cancel is being processed and to allow 10-15 business days for the refund. Should i also still mail in the paper form or do you think the email reply is sufficient?

With that said above, we are still interested in purchasing a TS as we feel it will add value to our vacations we take annually. I would like to request feedback from the group on what TS group you think would benefit us best. We currently take 1 adult vacation and 1 family vacation annually.

1) Where do you want your home resort to be? Does not matter to us, We reside in California.

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? we would like to travel to other destinations annually

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Hawaii, Bahamas, Mexico, Florida, Disney

4) How many people do you usually travel with? 2 adults, 2 kids (5&7 years old)

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

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

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? 10k

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? $1500

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
 

theo

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So we bought a TS yesterday during a HGVC presentation in Hawaii. We purchased an EOY at the Parc Soleil for 14k getting 3400pts EOY with 15,000 bonus points. After we purchased it I began doing research and came across this forum.

I followed the instruction listed on the "notice of mutual right of cancellation of timeshare purchase" we both signed the form. I emailed it to hawaiicancel@HGVC.com I received an email back stating my request to cancel is being processed and to allow 10-15 business days for the refund. Should i also still mail in the paper form or do you think the email reply is sufficient?

By all means, also send your rescission in writing by USPS certified mail. You do not want to rely solely on email exchanges for such an important matter.
You really have no idea who sent you the reply, or (more important) whether they even have the authority to address rescission matters in the first place. Moreover, your rescission instructions might very specifically require submission of signed, hard copy rescission document. Hilton is a reputable operation, but I still wouldn't leave this to chance over a single piece of paper and a few bucks in postage.

Postmark date is all that matters (not the date of receipt or delivery). Do it!
 
Last edited:

Panina

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So we bought a TS yesterday during a HGVC presentation in Hawaii. We purchased an EOY at the Parc Soleil for 14k getting 3400pts EOY with 15,000 bonus points. After we purchased it I began doing research and came across this forum.

I followed the instruction listed on the "notice of mutual right of cancelation of timeshare purchase" we both signed the form. I emailed it to hawaiicancel@HGVC.com I received an email back stating my request to cancel is being processed and to allow 10-15 business days for the refund. Should i also still mail in the paper form or do you think the email reply is sufficient?

With that said above, we are still interested in purchasing a TS as we feel it will add value to our vacations we take annually. I would like to request feedback from the group on what TS group you think would benefit us best. We currently take 1 adult vacation and 1 family vacation annually.

1) Where do you want your home resort to be? Does not matter to us, We reside in California.

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? we would like to travel to other destinations annually

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Hawaii, Bahamas, Mexico, Florida, Disney

4) How many people do you usually travel with? 2 adults, 2 kids (5&7 years old)

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

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

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? 10k

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? $1500

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
Congratulation on finding tug in time and saving 14k.

You can probably get a 3400 point HGVC resale just for closing costs as I did. Being you have young children, I'm assuming your younger and have years of timesharing use ahead of you. Being you can afford a resale contract with more points, over the years it will be more cost effective. For example a gold week 1br at a resort I own is 3400 points. If I got a platinum week 1 br I would get 4800 points for the same maintenance fee.

Spend time educating yourself on Tug before you buy, resales are always available.
 

Talent312

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Congrats on finding us in time to rescind.
E-mailing may be fine, but follow the instructions in your contract to the letter.

BTW, aside from too-typical sales weasels and absurd retail pricing, HGVC...
is a rather decent system, very flexible for users, and good to resale buyers.
.
 

KIRKREW

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The salesman called me today in regards to my cancellation and offered 20k bonus points. He asked why we were canceling I told him due to the cost and after doing some research I found that it may be cheaper to buy a TS from a private seller. Below is what he sent me.

I just wanted to follow up with some resale information.

First right of refusal- Hilton reserves the right to acquire property sold through the aftermarket. We spent 7 million dollars last year and we don't need to police the aftermarket. Once an offer is made, if less than 70% of what we are selling the property for, we will exercise our right.

Authorize-Hilton does not authorize any website to resell our property which means you are purchasing a lifetime ownership through another company. You won't know if their payments are up to date or if they've paid HOA dues for the year.

Benefits- Hilton reserves the right to remove benefits from resale owners at any given date. Elite status is reserved for Hilton owners that purchased from the developer only. Also over 40% of our owners upgrade in the future. All you do is pay the upgrade difference and you receive an owners discount plus more bonus points. We keep you at one HOA fee and upgrade your points. With resale you are adding additional HOA fees if you ever want to get more points. So you might save a couple thousand dollars initially but you are in the red after if you add any more weeks.

Bonus points- We are offering 20,000 bonus points on this purchase. This equates to 28 nights in a 1BD suite at any of our properties. At $450 a night for a 1 BD, thats a $12,600 dollar value. If converted to HHONORS, that's 500,000 points which will never expire.

So to summarize, if Hilton doesn't exercise their right and you save 30%, we offset that difference with our bonus points. This is why most families choose not to purchase through resale. You have the lowest HOA with the most amount of points in the entire program and always have the option to upgrade later.

Regardless of what you decide, it was great meeting both of you.
I just wouldn't want to see you spend 6 hours of your vacation day in Hawaii with me, just to let the ownership go because of resale.
 

Talent312

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This is BS. Ignore it. "How do you know a TS salesman is lying? -- His lips are moving."

You can buy a HGVC resale for ~ 30% of the retail price (`$1/point). While it won't count toward elite, resale buyers get every other perk of a retail buyer. HGVC reserves the right to remove benefits from all buyers, retail & resale, and even to close "the club," but isn't about to tick-off retail buyers by devaluing their private sales. Bonus points are not insignificant, but they go poof in two years (use 'em or lose 'em), and when they're gone, you're stuck with a TS for which you still paid too much. BTW, 500K HHonors points = 10N in a Hilton, maybe 15N in a Hampton Inn... and you still paid way too much.

Walk away, don't look back. and don't communicate with this weasel again.

.
 

GT75

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I agree with @Talent312. What he has told you is the truth concerning HGVC. It really is a great system, but you can get all of the same benefits buying resale except elite status.

My suggestion is to rescind now (follow the instructions exactly as stated). After that is completed, then take your time and research what would be best for you and your family. For example, with HGVC, you can use that to get into Florida, Mexico (via Fiesta Americana) and Hawaii. But, it doesn't have anything in the Caribbean.
 

LannyPC

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The salesman called me today in regards to my cancellation...

Wow, that was quick. Only 48 hours or so. Did he call you at home or while you were still on vacation?

Regardless, this is just further proof why most TUGgers recommend to people who are in the process of rescinding a TS purchase to not take any phone calls from unknown numbers as it could be the sales people trying to get you to change your mind about the very wise decision to rescind.

Anyway, just stick with your decision to rescind.
 

KIRKREW

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When he called yesterday he left me a message saying he needed to talk to me prior to canceling the contract that's why I called him back. He followed up after the phone call with a text saying I had until yesterday evening to go forward with the purchase otherwise it would be canceled. I also sent the hard signed copy by certified mail just to insure it would be canceled if the email wasn't sufficient.
 

rickandcindy23

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You can still buy Hilton resale. Hilton is building a resort on Maui, has several on the Big Island and several on Oahu. There are Hiltons in So Cal, Hiltons in Orlando, and other areas of Florida. Bahamas could be tough, but you could always look into Staroptions later on.

You should definitely talk to someone like Seth Nock at sellingtimeshares.net He has a handle on Hilton resales. The Hilton system is great.

I know Seth would recommend one of the Hiltons in Las Vegas because the fees are lower and it's cheap to get Platinum. I saw one listing for 7,000 annual points, $11,000.
 

KIRKREW

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So now that we have rescinded I have a few questions going forward.

We are interested in Hilton still, but the process is still not clear going forward;

  • When looking a resorts, how critical is it that we buy at the resort we feel we would travel to most? For instance if we think we would travel to Hawaii more than Florida, should we buy in Hawaii, or is it easy to book another resort using point?
  • How critical is the Gold vs. Platinum status when buying? Are points in total worth more value than a status? Looking around i see some ads where i can get a greater amount of points with a lower status.
  • Is there any advantage of purchasing Hilton vs Marriott?


Thank you in advance!
 

jehb2

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So to summarize, if Hilton doesn't exercise their right and you save 30%, we offset that difference with our bonus points. This is why most families choose not to purchase through resale. You have the lowest HOA with the most amount of points in the entire program and always have the option to upgrade later.

I read this post (email from salesman) yesterday morning and I had to read it again. I mean I've heard their BS for years but I'm amazed / facinated that he actually put it in print.
 

jehb2

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He followed up after the phone call with a text saying I had until yesterday evening to go forward with the purchase otherwise it would be canceled.

Is he suggesting that if you did nothing then the sale would be canceled?
 

GT75

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We are interested in Hilton still, but the process is still not clear going forward;

You are asking great questions. I will try my best to address both of you questions (I can only refer to HGVC):

How critical is the Gold vs. Platinum status when buying?

In most cases, Maintenance Fees (MFs) are determined by room size (studio,1 BD, 2 BD, etc) at each resort, not season. Since, you will get more points with Platinum season, your MFs/points will be less. You will pay your MFs each year. In any purchase, always consider the total cost (initial + MFs over time). Sometimes, that TS might look attractive at first or could be even free, both the MFs are horrible. There is a Sticky in the HGVC forum for MFs. In that Sticky is a link for the properties with the lowest MFs (http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?...ith-the-lowest-mfs.249249/page-2#post-1988917).

buy at the resort we feel we would travel to most?
. There is a difference of opinion on the answer to this question. If you buy where you plan to go most often, then you will be able to make a Home Week reservation (book exactly what you own for 1 week usually Sat-Sat [including season and room type]) at 12-9 month window. So, this is very restrictive and specific.

Club window opens (< 9 months) where you can book anything/anywhere available using whatever points in your account. So, some will say that they have never been to their home resort or ever made a home week booking (points are points). Others will suggest that you purchase where you plan to go most often, because that option will never be taken away with a rule change.

For me, I have some that I have specially to use for Home Week booking (such as ski weeks at Park City and Breckenridge) and then I have others which I only use for points. So the answer depends on what you are trying to do. I did buy in only locations which I would like to go (in other words, there are some HGVC locations that I have no plans to ever go there).

Is there any advantage of purchasing Hilton vs Marriott?
I really can not answer that question since I don't own both. I have seen those that do say that they own each for different reasons but both are good programs.

I hope that helps. Good luck and take your time. There will always be TS resales. In fact, you are coming into the buyers market at the end of the year. You may be able to find a good deal because owners don't want to pay next years MFs.
 

taterhed

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So now that we have rescinded I have a few questions going forward.

We are interested in Hilton still, but the process is still not clear going forward;

  • When looking a resorts, how critical is it that we buy at the resort we feel we would travel to most? For instance if we think we would travel to Hawaii more than Florida, should we buy in Hawaii, or is it easy to book another resort using point?
  • How critical is the Gold vs. Platinum status when buying? Are points in total worth more value than a status? Looking around i see some ads where i can get a greater amount of points with a lower status.
  • Is there any advantage of purchasing Hilton vs Marriott?

Thank you in advance!

You are doing, almost exactly, what we did a few years ago: Bought HGVC, rescinded. Almost bought Marriott (gnats whisker) and then didn't sign. We bought 2 Marriotts and 2 Worldmarks afterward. (resale)

We purchased one unit at a location we would not normally use (trader) and one at a location we always use (Hawaii). Guess what? We could easily trade for Hawaii every year with the trader we bought. That's what we do. 2 weeks in Hawaii; one from the trader, one from the home resort.

Do NOT buy in Hawaii unless you have some special reason.... MF's are almost always higher (and resale price too). Trades are always possible (especially during shoulder/off season) and renting the occasional Hawaii unit might be cheaper the in the (very) long run. There are affiliates that might offer good Hawaii values, but that's another kettle of fish. Again, consider whether you'll really go to Hawaii every year....usually the only smart reason to buy in HI.

I would buy the highest season I could afford that would allow enough points/unit size to accommodate my families needs and vacation plans. You have school-aged children. School-break travel almost always equates to Diamond/Platinum/Uber status points. Check the calendars and see. Seven year-olds like staying up late and don't like naps (if I remember correctly), 5 year-olds want to stay up late and don't want to take naps--but need them (?). Seriously consider a 2 bedroom plan. This allows friends or family etc.. to travel with you or gives you the option to book smaller and save points/lock-off. Also, Having separate rooms with kids and adults can sure make family time more enjoyable.

Marriott vs HGVC (resale): wow, big question. Lot's of info in the forum. My 2c

  1. Both nice resorts. I've stayed in both and like both very much.
  2. More Marriotts than HGVC. Period. Both in great locations.
  3. Marriott--would only consider weeks on resale. Points too D*** high on purchase and MF's.
  4. HGVC--Affordable points on resale, but complicated cost vs MF's vs booking considerations. Affiliate resorts have value, but long-term status??????
  5. Marriott (weeks) much better value with lock-off option. Much less flexible due to weeks (only) booking.
  6. HGVC (points) more flexible, but the ability to successfully book all the options (cash etc..) seems variable. Ask an HGVC expert, not me.
  7. Marriott: Interval Exchange with Marriott preference: IMHO, the premier exchange. Very good results booking Marriott resorts. Less resorts overall, but great quality.
  8. HGVC: RCI. More resorts (gazillions of timeshares etc... worldwide!) but variable quality. More 4-5 star resorts (numbers and variety) on Interval.
So, that's my opinion.

If you plan to take a 'week' of vacation every year, I'd suggest Marriott. If you plan to take 5 days of vacation twice a year, I'd consider HGVC. Also, look at the locations and review the exchange options.

Additionally, $10K will buy you a nice week of 2br timeshare use at Marriott or HGVC easily (or less). $1500 will not buy you MF's on that property. They might start right at $1500, but they will grow over $1500 in short order. Be aware of this.

Here's a thought: consider an EOY set-up: 1 unit (even) of HGVC and 1 unit (odd) of Marriott. Buy one to start and one when you feel like you need it. Maybe even an EOY Hawaii unit that you would really use EOY.

Finally, you might consider a Worldmark ownership to start/supplement your timeshare ownership. Worldmark offers tons of resorts on the left coast (sorry, WEST coast JKJK), and has great flexible rules that are perfect for families looking for a short vaca. Not only that, but they trade in II and RCI and can get you exchanges into those 'fancy' resorts if you are skilled in the magic of trading. Really.

Hope this helps. Just my HO and worth every cent you paid for it (nada)
 

KIRKREW

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Thank you for all the information!

We received our $14,000 refund today! I'm glad we found this site in time.

What is the deal with some of the eBay listings offering HGVC TS's for $100? Has anyone purchased a timeshare off eBay? Are there some companies to stay away from? Are theses scams?
 

taterhed

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Thank you for all the information!

We received our $14,000 refund today! I'm glad we found this site in time.

What is the deal with some of the eBay listings offering HGVC TS's for $100? Has anyone purchased a timeshare off eBay? Are there some companies to stay away from? Are theses scams?
Congratulations on the refund. But, before you go any further... Stop. You need to study and take time to understand what you want and what you need and then decide what is the best solution for you. Buying a timeshare on a whim is a disaster both from the developer and from resale. There is no rush, there will be amazing Bargains every single day. The hgvc experts here on tug will be glad to help you find an efficient affordable resale with enough points to accomplish your vacation goals. Just don't rush into it

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 

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What is the deal with some of the eBay listings offering HGVC TS's for $100?... Are theses scams?

First of all, I'll echo Tater Hed/Rob's advice above to be patient, analyze, and research what you really want and need before buying anything or taking anything for free.

As to why there are many listings for HGVC for $100, it is not necessarily a scam. It's just an owner wanting to quickly get rid of his TS, likely before the next MF comes. It could also be some sort of firm that supposedly specializes in helping owners get rid of their timeshares. They list them on places like E-Bay for a low price hoping that someone will buy it and thus getting the previous owner out of his TS.

A lot of the sales and listings on E-Bay are legit. It's just that many here on TUG don't like the way the sellers (not the owners) go about their business.
 

taterhed

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LannyPC is right.

Think of it this way: (the Shrek approach) Timeshares are like icebergs. The really painful part is not visible from the surface.

or....most of the 'cost' of the timeshare is in the fees: sellers fee, transfer fees, maintenance fees, document fees, closing fees etc....
 

Talent312

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Also, the low priced HGVC TS's on eBay prolly won't pass HGVC's ROFR (right of first refusal), which it holds at all it's resorts except Flamingo.

Someone thought they could buy one for $1.00. No. Can you imagine the killing HGVC will make when they sell it at full freight.
.
 
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