Exiting Vistana Ownership

[Mauiwmn]

I’d like to thank Brian, Denise and all the amazing owners on the Vistana forum for 14 years of great advice and valuable insight.

Like many on this site, I discovered TUG after purchasing from the developer at Kierland and Princeville in 2006. All the useful information from TUG members helped us avoid additional developer purchases. We later purchased (2) WKOVR OFC resale from Syed.

We have loved owning and using our villas the past 16 years. The quality of our (3) home resorts and the network in general allowed us to enjoy countless vacations with our family and friends. We were lucky enough to visit nearly every resort in the network as well as enjoy a dozen stays at both Kierland and Maui.

We made the decision last November to sell all our villas, as moving to Florida changed our outlook and vacation needs. Syed was excellent to work with on the sales side. With a combined strategy of using and renting our extra weeks, we are actually breaking even as we exit. Sale details are noted below for reference.

The recent months of web site migration issues directly impacted the sale of our last Maui OFC resulting in both a delay of sale and reduction in sales price. There were multiple buyers at $39,000 with a Feb/March 2023 reservation which we were not able to secure for 1 unit due to the web site issues. I was previously able to reserve both OFC in Feb or early March over the last 10 years. Hopefully, the reservation issues are now resolved.

I do think the Marriott system will ultimately be fair to Vistana owners.
Looking forward to renting from TUGGERS and reading about your adventures.
Best of luck to all with the upcoming changes and rollout!

Recent Sales:

Resort:
Kierland PLT 2 BedLO- 148,100 SO Bought- $33,000 / Sold- $14,000
Kierland PLT 2 BedLO- 148,100 SO Bought- $33,000 / Sold- $14,000
Kierland PLT 1 Prem- 81,000 SO Bought- $19,000 / Sold- $ 9,000

Prince 2 BedLO EY- 148,100 SO Bought- $47,900 / Sold- $ 6,500 - Deedback
Prince 2 BedLO EOY- 148,100 SO Bought- $23,950 / Sold- $ 3,250 - Deedback

WKORV OFC 2 Bed LO- 176,700 SO Bought- $35,000 / Sold- $39,000
WKORV OFC 2 Bed LO- 176,700 SO Bought- $32,000 / Sold- $33,000

 

[Bill4728]

Enjoy the new lifestyle.

Wow you really took a hit on Princeville But we have heard all along that you'll take a huge hit when you sell a voluntary resort.

 

[Mauiwmn]

Yes, was lucky to sell it at all. We enjoyed it for 15 years and used those star options to visit other resorts.
The very high mf at Princeville are an issue as well.

 

[grgs]

Best wishes on the next phase of your life. So glad you enjoyed your timeshare weeks.

Just to clarify: did you deed back your Princeville units to Vistana and receive a payment for them?

 

[DanCali]

Just to clarify: did you deed back your Princeville units to Vistana and receive a payment for them?

It sounds like they did - but with Westin Flex it makes it easy for Vistana. Dump that it a trust and sell the points for $50K+...

The timing on selling the Maui weeks was probably very good. I don't know if those resale prices can hold up with the stock market down 20%+ from the highs. I suspect that impacts a lot of the potential buyers for that type of property.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Yes, was lucky to sell it at all. We enjoyed it for 15 years and used those star options to visit other resorts.
The very high mf at Princeville are an issue as well.

Congrats! And Best Wishes.
We gave away our St John weeks - could have gotten something for them, but time to move on.

Still have (and use) our EOY odd WPORV, but the MFs are tough. This was the only Developer purchase (pre-construction) of ours - even after knowing about resale. This is a long thread about this purchase (2007?). I got a lot of well intended criticism. Some spot on with future value.

Our cost was $24,800. I requalified a Mandatory VOI (we didn’t own a Voluntary) WKORV OFD. I don’t regret buying EOY WPORV for a few reasons. During our EOYo stays there (since 2009) we have been in the best villa locations (HH sections). Even great locations with SO stays.

With the purchase (same day Explorer Pkg, SP Incentives, SP discount, SPG AMEX Bonus, AA bonus miles) we ended up with a boatload of SPs.

From these SPs, we got some amazing Travel (European) experiences because the SPG Gold really paid off for travel we did (oddly enough). And travel experiences that we would not have done otherwise.
Seriously on the order of $15,000 when all said and done - we used them mainly for a work sabbatical: NYC, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Milan. 5th night free stays with some incredible room upgrades, and AA bonus miles for flights. I made an early YouTube video of our room (suite) in London - Marborough Room at the Park Lane.

So… with these travels and great villa locations, buying Princeville has not been an awful value. However, moving forward it may be time to rethink. Northern Kauai has really been impacted following the storms there. And the MFs are tough.

Take Care. Happy Travels.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Congratulations. Sounds like you had a good ride and some great vacations. You have gotten the most from your ownership. You didn't want to save some of your SOs to book St. John from Florida?

Did you use Syed to sell? or did you DIY? If DIY what method worked best to sell?

 

[yannick007]

Congratulations! I reached out to you a few weeks ago, after we returned from Maui, to inquire about one of your WKORV OF listings posted here. You mentioned that you had just sold it and encouraged us to reach out to Syed. We did, were able to get under contract quickly, and learned from him today that it passed ROFR. We're so excited to stay for the week that's reserved next March. Had we not found TUG, we never would have seriously considered a timeshare. Many thanks to you @Mauiwmn; enjoy Florida and your future travels. Thanks also to all who have contributed here and helped us get a "crash course." We know we still have much to learn and are excited to be part of this community.

 

[grgs]

We gave away our St John weeks - could have gotten something for them, but time to move on.

I must have missed this update. It feels like the end of an era!

 

[DavidnRobin]

I must have missed this update. It feels like the end of an era!

WSJ Thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[grgs]

WSJ Thread.

I'll take a look.

 

[Mauiwmn]

Best wishes on the next phase of your life. So glad you enjoyed your timeshare weeks.

Just to clarify: did you deed back your Princeville units to Vistana and receive a payment for them?

Yes, we deeded back to Vistana as there was no real market for them. We actually got more for them from Vistana then we could sell them for.

 

[Mauiwmn]

It sounds like they did - but with Westin Flex it makes it easy for Vistana. Dump that it a trust and sell the points for $50K+...

The timing on selling the Maui weeks was probably very good. I don't know if those resale prices can hold up with the stock market down 20%+ from the highs. I suspect that impacts a lot of the potential buyers for that type of property.

Yes, I agree. We were lucky with timing on 2 fronts, the declining stock market and the Marriott merger. Definitely fewer buyers now given inflation and the bear market. The next big piece of the puzzle will be mf and how much they will increase given the tight labor market and inflation.

Maui and Kierland was both desirable resorts on all levels-mandatory, relatively low mf, high rental income and high tourism. I think both will continue to hold their current value and possibly increase given their points value in the Marriott DC program.

 

[Mauiwmn]

Congrats! And Best Wishes.
We gave away our St John weeks - could have gotten something for them, but time to move on.

Still have (and use) our EOY odd WPORV, but the MFs are tough. This was the only Developer purchase (pre-construction) of ours - even after knowing about resale. This is a long thread about this purchase (2007?). I got a lot of well intended criticism. Some spot on with future value.

Our cost was $24,800. I requalified a Mandatory VOI (we didn’t own a Voluntary) WKORV OFD. I don’t regret buying EOY WPORV for a few reasons. During our EOYo stays there (since 2009) we have been in the best villa locations (HH sections). Even great locations with SO stays.

With the purchase (same day Explorer Pkg, SP Incentives, SP discount, SPG AMEX Bonus, AA bonus miles) we ended up with a boatload of SPs.

From these SPs, we got some amazing Travel (European) experiences because the SPG Gold really paid off for travel we did (oddly enough). And travel experiences that we would not have done otherwise.
Seriously on the order of $15,000 when all said and done - we used them mainly for a work sabbatical: NYC, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Milan. 5th night free stays with some incredible room upgrades, and AA bonus miles for flights. I made an early YouTube video of our room (suite) in London - Marborough Room at the Park Lane.

So… with these travels and great villa locations, buying Princeville has not been an awful value. However, moving forward it may be time to rethink. Northern Kauai has really been impacted following the storms there. And the MFs are tough.

Take Care. Happy Travels.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

David,

I agree with everything above. I know how much you loved your time at St John but there is a time to move on as you stated.

We loved Princeville as well, wish we had just owned the EOY there though as that was perfect.

I totally forgot about all the SP we got with our 5 developer purchases. We got over 1 Million SP! We used those for Starwood suites, first class airfare, etc. We too visited places we would never have gone without those SP-St Regis in Italy, etc. I value the SP at $25 per 1,000, so that is $25,000 of value that offsets our purchase price losses.
Taking the SP value into account, we came out ahead after 16 years of ownership with net sales prices, net rental income and SP value received,

 

[Mauiwmn]

Congratulations. Sounds like you had a good ride and some great vacations. You have gotten the most from your ownership. You didn't want to save some of your SOs to book St. John from Florida?

Did you use Syed to sell? or did you DIY? If DIY what method worked best to sell?

We sold Kierland and Maui thru Syed. He has such a large pool of buyers and sellers that is speeds up the process. I briefly tried to sell them myself but had little activity from Redweek or TUG ads.

 

[Mauiwmn]

Congratulations! I reached out to you a few weeks ago, after we returned from Maui, to inquire about one of your WKORV OF listings posted here. You mentioned that you had just sold it and encouraged us to reach out to Syed. We did, were able to get under contract quickly, and learned from him today that it passed ROFR. We're so excited to stay for the week that's reserved next March. Had we not found TUG, we never would have seriously considered a timeshare. Many thanks to you @Mauiwmn; enjoy Florida and your future travels. Thanks also to all who have contributed here and helped us get a "crash course." We know we still have much to learn and are excited to be part of this community.

Fantastic! I am so thrilled that you were able to find the unit you wanted so quickly and with a March 2023 reservation. Enjoy your OF Maui South. They are truly the best villas in Maui!

Thank you for the well wishes. We are headed to Pebble Beach this summer for a week of golf on the 3 main courses there- Pebble, Spy Glass and Spanish Bay. ️

 

[Mauiwmn]

[

Congratulations. Sounds like you had a good ride and some great vacations. You have gotten the most from your ownership. You didn't want to save some of your SOs to book St. John from Florida?

Did you use Syed to sell? or did you DIY? If DIY what method worked best to sell?

Forgot to respond that we do love St John but will just rent the weeks we want there rather than trade SO.

 

[KS2beach]

I’d like to thank Brian, Denise and all the amazing owners on the Vistana forum for 14 years of great advice and valuable insight.

Like many on this site, I discovered TUG after purchasing from the developer at Kierland and Princeville in 2006. All the useful information from TUG members helped us avoid additional developer purchases. We later purchased (2) WKOVR OFC resale from Syed.

We have loved owning and using our villas the past 16 years. The quality of our (3) home resorts and the network in general allowed us to enjoy countless vacations with our family and friends. We were lucky enough to visit nearly every resort in the network as well as enjoy a dozen stays at both Kierland and Maui.

We made the decision last November to sell all our villas, as moving to Florida changed our outlook and vacation needs. Syed was excellent to work with on the sales side. With a combined strategy of using and renting our extra weeks, we are actually breaking even as we exit. Sale details are noted below for reference.

The recent months of web site migration issues directly impacted the sale of our last Maui OFC resulting in both a delay of sale and reduction in sales price. There were multiple buyers at $39,000 with a Feb/March 2023 reservation which we were not able to secure for 1 unit due to the web site issues. I was previously able to reserve both OFC in Feb or early March over the last 10 years. Hopefully, the reservation issues are now resolved.

I do think the Marriott system will ultimately be fair to Vistana owners.
Looking forward to renting from TUGGERS and reading about your adventures.
Best of luck to all with the upcoming changes and rollout!

Recent Sales:

Resort:
Kierland PLT 2 BedLO- 148,100 SO Bought- $33,000 / Sold- $14,000
Kierland PLT 2 BedLO- 148,100 SO Bought- $33,000 / Sold- $14,000
Kierland PLT 1 Prem- 81,000 SO Bought- $19,000 / Sold- $ 9,000

Prince 2 BedLO EY- 148,100 SO Bought- $47,900 / Sold- $ 6,500 - Deedback
Prince 2 BedLO EOY- 148,100 SO Bought- $23,950 / Sold- $ 3,250 - Deedback

WKORV OFC 2 Bed LO- 176,700 SO Bought- $35,000 / Sold- $39,000
WKORV OFC 2 Bed LO- 176,700 SO Bought- $32,000 / Sold- $33,000

If it wasn't for you we would have never ventured into the timeshares! Wanted to Thank you for all the advice and helping us navigate thru the process-purchases-and getting biggest bang for our options. Also def Syed was wonderful to work with as well- very trusting upfront. Remember you still have a sister with timeshares when you need/want to go somewhere

 

[aimersyo]

If you don't mind me asking, who is Syed? I am new to the forum and am thinking about potentially selling my Westin Flex Star Options. Thanks!

 

[Henry M.]

Syed runs https://advantagevacation.com/

 

[Mauiwmn]

If you don't mind me asking, who is Syed? I am new to the forum and am thinking about potentially selling my Westin Flex Star Options. Thanks!

If you don't mind me asking, who is Syed? I am new to the forum and am thinking about potentially selling my Westin Flex Star Options. Thanks!

Syed Sarmad owns Advantage Vacations and is a TUG member.

 

[Mauiwmn]

If it wasn't for you we would have never ventured into the timeshares! Wanted to Thank you for all the advice and helping us navigate thru the process-purchases-and getting biggest bang for our options. Also def Syed was wonderful to work with as well- very trusting upfront. Remember you still have a sister with timeshares when you need/want to go somewhere

So thankful you are enjoying your timeshares. I will certainly take you up on sharing a vacation!