Frenchman's Cove Newbie Questions

[SpikeMauler]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance. I'm interested in buying a timeshare at Frenchman's Cove or Westin St john. I was wondering what kind of resale value these Villas would have after I purchased one of them(I'm not buying this as an investment,I'm just curious about resale values). I spoke to a Marriott salesperson and was told a 2bed 2bath villa was $36,100 for a platinum week. I looked for resales and cant find too many listed below this price. If I purchase from Marriott,how much of a resale value am I looking at 10,15,20 yrs down the road? If you can, give me a best case worst case educated guess. As far as Westin St John,I'm not sure of Westin's prices(I'm waiting for a call from Westin),but I did see 2bed 3bath resales in the winter weeks I want starting at $41,000 and up. I'm not sure if thats a good price or not.Would I be better off buying a Westin resale or the full price Marriott? I'm trying to learn as much as I can before buying,and would appreciate any advice given.
Thanks Again

 

[jimf41]

Spike,
I own at FC and stop in at Westin St John when we're on that island. Two very different resorts. Two very different Islands IMO. Both are nice and they are close enough for day trips back and forth. As far as resales there aren't too many at FC. FC is small with only about 200 units planned and maybe 100 completed at this date. I expect there will be more in the future but nothing like Aruba where there are over 1000 units just at the Marriott.

Go to trip advisor, tug resort reviews and the redweek reviews to get a better idea. If you haven't been to either resort see if you can get a tour or rent a hotel room for a week and explore both. Also look at the Ritz Carlton on St Thomas. It's pricey but very nice. There is a very inexpensive resort, the Elysian, located on St Thomas that is very nice also. There are also several on St Thomas that I'd stay away from. If you have a specific question about FC I'd be glad to answer it. I don't know too much about Westin St John except it seems to be one of the more difficult trades. My eye doc goes there every year and he prefers getting two suites at the hotel to getting a TS there.

 

[SpikeMauler]

Thanks Jim. I appreciate the input. I've visited the Islands numerous times and like them both(tho I slightly prefer St John's beaches). I'm heading down there for 7 days in October. 3 days at Westin, 4 days at Marriott. I spent the day last year at Morning Star beach and liked it a lot. The things I basically want to know are: If I buy at FC, what might the Villa be worth 10 to 20 yrs from now? Is it historically(timeshares in general) less? More? Would FC be different because of limited availability or location? I'm just looking for an idea for cost analysis purposes.
Thanks

 

[CatJ114683]

If I buy at FC, what might the Villa be worth 10 to 20 yrs from now? Is it historically(timeshares in general) less? More? Thanks

I'm sure there will be some contradiction of my conviction, but you should not buy a timeshare as a financial investment. If anyone can project the value of anything 10 to 20 years from now, I would love to know the secret. (Wish I knew that secret 16 months ago when we bought our 8 cyl/16mpg ginormous SUV that we had to wait 60 days to take delivery on!!! And to have our son, daughter-in law and grandchildren move across country!!!)

 

[McFail]

Comments in no particular order-

I'm not pushing TUG but access to the reviews is a tiny investment to get accurate opinions of both places from both owners and non owners.

You are not only buying a particular place you are also buying into either the Starwood or Marriott systems. This affects how you can reserve your week, trade your week or use it for points. You should understand how both work. One system may be better than the other for you.

Remember that the asking price is not the sell price for resales. I am not sure if FC is in the ROFR database but if you search here you may be able to find some history of current resale prices. To resell a TS and get 100% back from your developer purchase price usually involves an amazing amount of luck or a very astute buyer. Some cases of this happening for Marrriott owners is being one of the first buying pre-construction and then flipping it 5+ years later at a break even price.

NW

 

[IslandJoe]

The Westin-St. John is thr only timeshare on St. John. It will probably go up more in value as there is no alternative and probably will never have any competition. But for the same reason, I believe a winter week sells for $80,000. Because there are only 2 hotels on St. John (Westin & the Rosewood Resort) the timeshare will rent for $1000 per night in the winter. It really depends on how you plan to use as it would be an expensive exchange unit and that is why owners rent instead of exchanging.

 

[mariawolf]

We own at Frenchman's Cove and have stayed with friends who own at the Westin St John--we went with them about 5 times and our last visit saw the FC units and when you compare the price it made our decision. St John is double the price and although I think St John is gorgeous and the beaches are great I am one of those that likes to go a resort and enjoy the amenities there--not in to public beaches with no facilities.
As another poster said this is not an investment except as a vacation investment--unless you buy way early on--we did at Harborside and our unit is still worth more than what we paid--otherwise .you will likely always sell for less
Our St John friends have made money on their first purchases but bought other units later on and can't sell for what they paid.
My advice is to buy where you see yourself going all the time--don't buy to trade as it is always harder than the sales folks lead you to believe.

 

[SpikeMauler]

Thanks Maria and Joe. I'm not looking to buy for investment purposes, and I wouldn't expect to recoup the original purchase price if I ever resold. I'm just curious about resale values(depreciation rates),and the cost-effectiveness of (myself) renting a villa yearly as opposed to buying it.
Thanks