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Confused a little

Goalie30

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Hi,

We bought a SVO a couple of years ago. We were told that we would be able to use our week during the year we are entitled to or we could use it outside the SVO system. When we called to do so,(we bought every second year on Orlando), we were told if we convert the week and use it through Interval. Can anybody help us please, at the moment we feel totally ripped off, we are thinking of selling. George at SVO the salesman we believed in what he was selling us, maybe we should have not been so trusting.

Regards
 

LisaRex

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Hi,

We bought a SVO a couple of years ago. We were told that we would be able to use our week during the year we are entitled to or we could use it outside the SVO system. When we called to do so,(we bought every second year on Orlando), we were told if we convert the week and use it through Interval. Can anybody help us please, at the moment we feel totally ripped off, we are thinking of selling. George at SVO the salesman we believed in what he was selling us, maybe we should have not been so trusting.

Regards

I'm confused as to what you're confused about.

"...we were told if we convert the week and use it through Interval."

Please complete your thought here.
 

slum808

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Hi,

We bought a SVO a couple of years ago. We were told that we would be able to use our week during the year we are entitled to or we could use it outside the SVO system. When we called to do so,(we bought every second year on Orlando), we were told if we convert the week and use it through Interval. Can anybody help us please, at the moment we feel totally ripped off, we are thinking of selling. George at SVO the salesman we believed in what he was selling us, maybe we should have not been so trusting.

Regards

I believe what they were trying to tell you is that there is no internal banking system. If you own a EOY, let say even years, you can not book a reservation through the resort on an odd year. What you can do is become a member of Interval International (II), and bank your week there. You can then use your banked week to try and exchange back into your home resort. II fees will apply. I'm not sure what resort or season you may have, so I can say how difficult the exchange would be.
 

DeniseM

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Have you read the Starwood and Interval International FAQ at the top of this forum?

Also - I recommend that you first try to figure out how to use your timeshare, because the sad truth is that it has no resale value - you would probably have to give it away.
 
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alexadeparis

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I believe what they were trying to tell you is that there is no internal banking system. If you own a EOY, let say even years, you can not book a reservation through the resort on an odd year. What you can do is become a member of Interval International (II), and bank your week there. You can then use your banked week to try and exchange back into your home resort. II fees will apply. I'm not sure what resort or season you may have, so I can say how difficult the exchange would be.

Actually, if the OP purchased a mandatory unit, there is now a choice to bank staroptions, for a fee. (not sure what that is). That sort of works like an internal banking system, no?
 
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jarta

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Actually, if the OP purchased a mandatory unit, there is now a choice to bank staroptions, for a fee. (not sure what that is). That sort of works like an internal banking system, no?

"George at SVO the salesman we believed in what he was selling us"

It's a developer week. No first use year has been disclosed by the OP. I assume the first usage year was 2011.

If it's odd year usage and no SVN reservation and no II deposit was made during 2011, the 2011 use has completely expired. Gonzo!

If it's odd year usage, there are no StarOptions to use or bank during 2012 and there is no available week to deposit in II until January 1, 2013. The next odd year usage would be in 2013.

The StarOptions from any week purchased from Starwood, all mandatory resale weeks and any voluntary resale weeks which have been retroed can now be banked for up to 2 years. 2011 was the initial banking year and, as a practical matter, only 4 and 5 Star Elites could bank 2011 StarOptions because of the last date the StarOptions had to be banked. The dates for banking are extended and fees for banking StarOptions drop depending on how many weeks are owned in the SVN. More is better. It's all in the Sticky. Salty
 

Goalie30

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We don't want our Timeshare

We bought a timeshare a couple of years ago and we just want to get rid of it. We are paying for the timeshare over the next 8 years but due to a job loss we can't afford it anymore. We don't want to wreck our credit rating just want to relieve our burden, can anybody help us with ideas on how to do it.

Thanks
 

DeniseM

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We bought a timeshare a couple of years ago and we just want to get rid of it. We are paying for the timeshare over the next 8 years but due to a job loss we can't afford it anymore. We don't want to wreck our credit rating just want to relieve our burden, can anybody help us with ideas on how to do it.

Thanks

If your timeshare isn't paid off, it will be difficult if not impossible to get rid of, because the balance that you owe is likely to be more than the resale value. Except for the top hotel affiliated resorts, most timeshares are selling for 0-10% of original retail.

Now that you have posted, you are very likely to be contacted by scammers who will offer you deals that are "too good to be true." Here is the sniff test - if there is any upfront fee to you AT ALL - no matter what they call it - it's a scam. They will simply steal your upfront fee, and ride off into the sunset, leaving you owning the timeshare.
 

vacationhopeful

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Sorry, no one will take over your payments as almost all TSs can be had for under $20 with you paying closing, current years MFs, resort transfer fee, etc.

DO NOT PAY ANYONE any monies when they tell you they have a buyer, corporate travel/conference connection ... etc. It is a SCAM ...a RIPOFF ...a con.
Go look on eBAY and discover the truth ...

At best, the Timeshare chain or HOA may take back the deed to YOUR unit -- but most want 2 years of MFs paid and loan paid off.

Others will also tell you --- sometimes, a particular resort might do something better, if you share that ... you will get a better answer.
 

DeniseM

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*I see that the OP bought a Starwood timeshare, and posted on that forum in the past, so I'm merging the threads for continuity.

Welcome back - If you bought DIRECTLY from Starwood - you have Staroptions and you can use them for Starwood Vacation Network trades.

If you bought RESALE, you may not have Staroptions, in which case, you need to use II - which is not a bad thing. With a little effort on your part, you can trade into some of Starwood's top resorts through II.

RESALE:

Sheraton Vistana Resort - NO Staroptions

Sheraton Vistana Villages - You may have Staroptions IF you bought in one of these phases: Bella and Key West phases only.
 
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LisaRex

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If it's in either the Key West or Bella phase, it may have some resale value, but I doubt it will be worth more than what you owe.

Another sad lesson as to why you should never finance a timeshare.
 

pathways25

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If it's in either the Key West or Bella phase, it may have some resale value, but I doubt it will be worth more than what you owe.

Another sad lesson as to why you should never finance a timeshare.

Here is a rare case where it might actually be beneficial to owe money on a timeshare (if it's owed to Starwood). Starwood will take back deeds in lieu of foreclosure. The OP should call loan servicing, tell them that they can no longer make the payments due to job loss and ask for a deed in lieu. Starwood will usually take the deed back instead of going through the time and expense of a foreclosure.
 
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