Help with Marriott Vacation Club - Harbour Lake

[chazman88]

Hi All,

A few years ago (im thinking something like 8 - 10) my parents bought a membership to the Marriott Vacation Club with a holding at Marriott's Harbour Lake, Florida.

From what ive worked out I think they bought 1 week every year, in the "gold" season, in a 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom "lock off" villa. This apparently meant that they could go to Florida every year for 1 week and have access to the full Villa or "lock off" part of the villa to turn it into a 1 Bed 1 Bathroom and have 2 weeks every year.

Unfortunately a couple of years ago my dad passed away and my mum isnt interested in traveling anymore so she has just been paying the anual dues and losing the week each year.

My mum doesnt want to keep paying out each year (I think the dues are about $1500) and has asked me to look into the best way of selling it etc.

I suggested that we look at the possibility of renting the weeks out but really dont know the market or value of what she owns.

So i have a few questions!

1. Does any body know the current value of the holding if she wanted to sell it?
2. Where is the best place to look at selling it?
3. Is it possible to rent out the week each year?
4. What could we rent it out at?

If we rented it out it has to atleast cover the dues each year, there is no point keeping it and loosing money each year.

Im hoping somebody here might be able to answer some of my questions.

Thanks

 

[KewZee]

Look at redweek - they have units for rent and resale for your market research purposes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pedro47]

I feel your Mother could rent this villa and recover her MF. IMO.

 

[Dean]

Hi All,

A few years ago (im thinking something like 8 - 10) my parents bought a membership to the Marriott Vacation Club with a holding at Marriott's Harbour Lake, Florida.

From what ive worked out I think they bought 1 week every year, in the "gold" season, in a 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom "lock off" villa. This apparently meant that they could go to Florida every year for 1 week and have access to the full Villa or "lock off" part of the villa to turn it into a 1 Bed 1 Bathroom and have 2 weeks every year.

Unfortunately a couple of years ago my dad passed away and my mum isnt interested in traveling anymore so she has just been paying the anual dues and losing the week each year.

My mum doesnt want to keep paying out each year (I think the dues are about $1500) and has asked me to look into the best way of selling it etc.

I suggested that we look at the possibility of renting the weeks out but really dont know the market or value of what she owns.

So i have a few questions!

1. Does any body know the current value of the holding if she wanted to sell it?
2. Where is the best place to look at selling it?
3. Is it possible to rent out the week each year?
4. What could we rent it out at?

If we rented it out it has to atleast cover the dues each year, there is no point keeping it and loosing money each year.

Im hoping somebody here might be able to answer some of my questions.

Thanks

I bought a Platinum every year week there a couple of years ago for less than that years maintenance fees and I got the week and that included the closing costs. I'm not optimistic it has any value. I'd contact MVC to see if they'll just take it back given the circumstances, if not I'd look at the TUG marketplace, redweeks and Ebay. An alternative is you could take it over and use it if it fits in without your plans, situation and finances. In the interim you might try to rent it until you get movement otherwise, I don't have a good feel for the prices there for Gold but I suspect it'll be less than the fees but better than the last couple of years.

 

[samara64]

I would contact Marriott Exit team at 866.682.4547 and give them the week number or phone # on account and they can tell you if they can take it back for free.

This will be your best option in my view. Renting a gold Orlando week is not the best option. If it was Grande Vista, I might have tried.

The other option is to enroll it in the DC program and keep it. This is worth it so you can use the points to go anywhere Marriott has resorts. This is worth a lot and people pay 10,000-30,000 for it. It should be free for her if she bought before June 2010.

Also if you do not have a Redweek membership, you can do a free one just to see what is listed. Gold season (summer) asking price is between $1100 and $1700 which does not make any sense to even put an effort in it.

 

[samara64]

Another option is to enroll the week if you can and elect points every year and rent the points out. You should get 1,950 which should cover MF and in years where you want to use it, you will have a nice vacation. I would do this myself if it was me.

 

[chazman88]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replys. It does indeed look like the ownership is indeed fairly worthless.

We have already spoken to Marriott and they have said that we do have the option of "deed back" which sounds alot like we just give it back with no further costs. Unfortunately we have had to pay this years maintenance fees to even have this as an option, so was just hoping to recover this costs.

Ive had a little look at the DC program but looks like 1950 points wont exactly go far and apperas that the average renting value is $0.60-$0.70 per point (does this sound right??) so even if we rented all the points each year it wouldnt cover the maintenance fees.
Also im slightly confused whether we would have the ability to bank and/or borrow points if we were to enroll?

Thanks

 

[CPNY]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replys. It does indeed look like the ownership is indeed fairly worthless.

We have already spoken to Marriott and they have said that we do have the option of "deed back" which sounds alot like we just give it back with no further costs. Unfortunately we have had to pay this years maintenance fees to even have this as an option, so was just hoping to recover this costs.

Ive had a little look at the DC program but looks like 1950 points wont exactly go far and apperas that the average renting value is $0.60-$0.70 per point (does this sound right??) so even if we rented all the points each year it wouldnt cover the maintenance fees.
Also im slightly confused whether we would have the ability to bank and/or borrow points if we were to enroll?

Thanks

Now you have priority access to vistana units through exchange with interval. So all the Sheraton and Westin properties can be booked through interval on an exchange, you’re not just locked into Marriott in Orlando. I’d explore more and see if the unit can be used by you before giving it away. Of course financial obligations sometimes get in the way of being able to keep it and that’s understandable. There are more options than just going to Orlando harbour lake or renting the unit. Take a trip to Aruba or Hawaii. Explore ALL options before wanting to give it back. Timeshares get a bad rep but you own in a pretty darn good system.

ask tons of questions here and learn more about the system and DC points if you can enroll. If you can enroll I’d enroll and keep it. Don’t forget the exchange in interval. You can also get availability that way.

 

[samara64]

Yes, even if you sell the points for $1300-1400 and you pay the $200 extra, I would keep it since if I give it back and want this type of a system, it is about $30K.

So ask yourself, can I ever use the Marriott system for my vacation in 5 years. I seldom took vacation when I was 20 and 30 but now I do 5 weeks a year. If you do not see yourself using it, then deed it back.

Renting your week in HL is not worth it if you can/will not enroll. You have til September for Marriott to take it back without paying pay for next year MF. So take your time to evaluate as there is no rush.

 

[Dean]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replys. It does indeed look like the ownership is indeed fairly worthless.

We have already spoken to Marriott and they have said that we do have the option of "deed back" which sounds alot like we just give it back with no further costs. Unfortunately we have had to pay this years maintenance fees to even have this as an option, so was just hoping to recover this costs.

Ive had a little look at the DC program but looks like 1950 points wont exactly go far and apperas that the average renting value is $0.60-$0.70 per point (does this sound right??) so even if we rented all the points each year it wouldnt cover the maintenance fees.
Also im slightly confused whether we would have the ability to bank and/or borrow points if we were to enroll?

Thanks

With a deed back I think they pay the closing which you might pay if you sell it yourself. You might try to rent this years week then deed it back. I doubt you'll cover the yearly fees either with enrollment or renting the week there but you might get close, maybe lose $300 instead of the entire amount. Unless you're going to do other things with the week, I don't think a gold week there is worth owning for either points or truly for usage either. But if you'll use it some and then rent additional points it might be worth considering keeping it just to have access to points by renting them. Also, if you do want to join Interval and use it for exchange, it is a lockoff and you likely could get your best value there if you're proactive and learn the system. You do have banking/borrowing options but they vary some with the ownership level. You may want to consider whether learning and using a timeshare is worth it for you but it would be for us if we were in your situation and didn't own otherwise.

 

[Steve Fatula]

I wonder if the OP had ever used, i.e. stay in, the timeshare? It might be interesting to try it once. For many timeshare owners, there is no comparison between staying in a timeshare and staying in a hotel. Sometimes, but not always, hotels are cheaper and the OP may be thinking that. But, hotels are lousy rooms for the most part. There is nothing like staying in a 2BR villa with kitchen, etc. It's like home.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Hi All,

A few years ago (im thinking something like 8 - 10) my parents bought a membership to the Marriott Vacation Club with a holding at Marriott's Harbour Lake, Florida.

From what ive worked out I think they bought 1 week every year, in the "gold" season, in a 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom "lock off" villa. This apparently meant that they could go to Florida every year for 1 week and have access to the full Villa or "lock off" part of the villa to turn it into a 1 Bed 1 Bathroom and have 2 weeks every year.

Unfortunately a couple of years ago my dad passed away and my mum isnt interested in traveling anymore so she has just been paying the anual dues and losing the week each year.

My mum doesnt want to keep paying out each year (I think the dues are about $1500) and has asked me to look into the best way of selling it etc.

I suggested that we look at the possibility of renting the weeks out but really dont know the market or value of what she owns.

So i have a few questions!

1. Does any body know the current value of the holding if she wanted to sell it?
2. Where is the best place to look at selling it?
3. Is it possible to rent out the week each year?
4. What could we rent it out at?

If we rented it out it has to atleast cover the dues each year, there is no point keeping it and loosing money each year.

Im hoping somebody here might be able to answer some of my questions.

Thanks

We own this exact unit and I can tell you it exchanges well on II.
We usually lock off and deposit both units.
A few years ago we enrolled in the destinations club and can elect points.
I agree if using this unit doesn’t appeal to anyone in the family selling, giving away or deeding back is your best option. If you reserve the highest TDI week you might be able to break even renting, but not worth the bother if you will never use it.
Good luck.

 

[gln60]

We own this exact unit and I can tell you it exchanges well on II.
We usually lock off and deposit both units.
A few years ago we enrolled in the destinations club and can elect points.
I agree if using this unit doesn’t appeal to anyone in the family selling, giving away or deeding back is your best option. If you reserve the highest TDI week you might be able to break even renting, but not worth the bother if you will never use it.
Good luck.

Hi...We have owned at Harbour Lake since its inception..back then it was called Horizons and there were only 2 bedroom units...Harbour Lake does indeed trade very well..as it’s a great choice for families with younger children..we also lock off and deposit both units,and have made great exchanges over the years..we also are enrolled in destination club but have never elected to deposit the unit to Marriot for 1950 points..although we also have purchased DC points to provide more flexibility