Frenchman's Cove EOY

[jimf41]

Just picked up 2 EOY Plat odd years at FC from Marriott.

Price 38,100 (18,050 each)
Closing 1100
points 120,000 ( 40k ea plus 20k self referral ea)
Paid on Marriott Visa 195,500 points.

Went thru sales rep at FC but he had me call Corporate for the EOY offer. I did not try to bargain on the points or price so maybe some of you interested in this offer could do better. I got the usual line about this offer is only good for a week or so.

This is for info on those interested in EOY at FC. I do not wish to start a discussion on buying resale or developer. EOY weeks are not even available resale at this time and annual weeks at a significant savings are few and far between.

 

[johnmfaeth]

I will add that you did pretty good on closing costs. Here are the USVI government fees alone:

- Dept. of Finance Real Estate Tax Certificate - 2 x $25 (required for recording to show taxes are paid up.
- Deed recording costs - about 2 x $35 (varies by # of pages recorded)
- 2% real property transfer tax - 2 x $362

So the fees alone are $844. Deed creation and all the slow government dealings on two deeds for $256 is a great deal. It's a much longer process than the states.

 

[jimf41]

John
Correction on the closing costs . I checked the contract it's $1139 not $1000. Still looks like I did OK on those though. All the other costs are accurate IAW the contract.

 

[mariawolf]

Still waiting for those gold EOY's to come up there--want to be able to combine with my every year to go at Thanksgiving sometime!

 

[mtnpilot]

Just enjoyed an "owners update" at Summit Watch and talked a lot about Frenchman's Cove. EOY Gold units are currently being sold for a "limited time" according to the sales associate.

 

[SDKath]

So sorry for the naive question but I am new to Marriott. Why is this a big deal? Are EOY impossible to get or are they not normally sold?? Just trying to understand the value.

Thanks. Katherine

 

[pfrass]

So sorry for the naive question but I am new to Marriott. Why is this a big deal? Are EOY impossible to get or are they not normally sold?? Just trying to understand the value.

Thanks. Katherine

Some resorts do the EOY thing, others don't. It would seem particularly useful in a location like the Carribbean, where you may not want to go yearly, secondary to the extra effort and expense of getting there. As you can see, though, they usually sell for more than half of the every year rate. In this case, however, the original poster got two every other years for minimally more than Marriott is selling the annual units (about $3,000). Additionally, I suspect you would make out better selling two every other years than one annual unit, but that is just a guess. It does offer a measure of flexibility that is appealing.

 

[johnmfaeth]

Hi Pfrass,

When I first got involved in Caribbean TS I would have sworn on a stack of bibles that the points you listed about EOY, ABSOLUTELY MUST be true. They are very logical and seem to make a lot of sense.

I thought that would be further compounded by their scarcity, most resorts do not offer them.

But I have never seen that in action in an established timeshare in the Carribean.

If you look at resorts like the Wyndham Elysian Beach and Wyndham Bluebeards Beach Club on St. Thomas. Or the Caribbean Palm Village on Aruba. The resale EOY's consistantly go for 40% or less of the price of an annual unit. They are truly white elephants.

The FC EOY units will be very interesting to watch long term and eventually appear on the resale market. Perhaps the higher Marriott values will cause the market to give a premium long term. The resorts listed above are midrange and resell for a few grand for annual. Price difference is much less dramatic.

Love to hear any other theories based upon actual facts, I still don't fully get why the evidence contradicts PFrass's seemingly common sense conclusions.

 

[jimf41]

The last price I had for an annual platinum at FC was $35,900. I got that at the sales pitch last January. The price is $18,050 each but my addition is not what it was in the 5th grade apparently. Total cost for two would be $36,100 not $38,100 as I previously posted.

I never thought EOY units were worth it but as I discovered on this board if you buy two at the same time the price is very near the cost of 1 annual unit. In this case it appears to be $200 higher. The units I bought were odd year units and I have already reserved 2009 usage. I'm hoping that by 2009 some EOY even year resale units become available on the market as my eventual goal is to spend the entire month of February in St Thomas. EOY units are good IMO at places where there is a long travel period and/or you want to stay more than 1 week. Hawaii, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia come to mind. I wouldn't buy one on the East Coast where it is very easy for me to travel and you don't lose a day from jet lag.

I'll have my 9 year old grandson check my addition before posting any numbers in the future.

 

[sugar apple]

I did EOY Platinum FC for odd years and Gold Aruba on even years. I think the EOY deal is great!!!

 

[icydog]

Like John said, If you plan on using your weeks and not selling them in the forseeable future, then the every other year plan works great. I can tell you, however, from my own experience, few people want to buy an eoy contract. Even in Hawaii, where they are common, it is much more difficult to sell an every other year for 40% of an annual contract.

 

[pfrass]

Thanks John M and Icydog for setting the record straight on the data. I was more or less giving a personal viewpoint on some possible benefits of EOY. It is a bit counterintuitive that the EOY would not be worth at least half of what the resale of the annual units are, but it is what it is.

I guess, as with most of the timesharing issues, the value is to the individual. Certainly for the OP, the EOY has value and he was willing to pay a little more to have it, as it likely would for me. I'm not sure I can envision a significant disadvantage. For those that prefer annual usuage in the same season, that is obviously available as the standard.

I kind of like the idea of EOY in two separate place, perhaps FC alternating with a place like Aruba or St. Kitts for a little variety, but that apparently is not the norm.

Best wishes to OP for happiness with his purchase.

 

[thinze3]

Like John said, If you plan on using your weeks and not selling them in the forseeable future, then the every other year plan works great. I can tell you, however, from my own experience, few people want to buy an eoy contract. Even in Hawaii, where they are common, it is much more difficult to sell an every other year for 40% of an annual contract.

I disagree with that statement. I have been watching Marriott Waiohai and Ko Olina. Both resorts have recently been selling for about $17.5-19K for mountainview annuals and about $11-12K for mountainview EOY. These prices are down a couple thousand $ from last year.

 

[Steel5Rings]

Still waiting for those gold EOY's to come up there--want to be able to combine with my every year to go at Thanksgiving sometime!

EOY Gold was just released. Price was just a hair over $16K.

 

[johnmfaeth]

I was referring to what may happen in 5 years or so with the FC in particular. It may buck the trend also. No predictions, just current realities at the resorts I mentioned and others with EOYs (in the Caribbean region).