how to buy at resale?

[joemckinney]

Apologies for the noob questions here but I'm currently staying at Westin Nanea on a timeshare offer ( 5 nights for $798) and went to the sales pitch.

I had done some research and am in sales so I'm comfortable saying 'no' and was trying to get out of the pitch quickly.

Honestly, the pitch was pretty good. They hit the emotional, financial aspects and maintained a professional and friendly tone. I said no, they brought in the manager - we discussed the deal, said no again. Then they brought in 'corporate' and offered another 5 nights in a 2br for $2K, 100K Bonvoy points but required another pitch.

I had done some research here - I'd rather put $2K toward a resale purchase than buy another sales pitch.
1) do I buy on ebay, or where?
2) how do I know what comes with the purchase ? ( offer at retail had star options, hotel points, gold status - does any of that transfer over in the secondary market)?
3) I saw a flyer at whaler's village tonight for a timeshare resale service - they had a printed page of their current offers - are these any different from what i'd find on ebay?

 

[CPNY]

Apologies for the noob questions here but I'm currently staying at Westin Nanea on a timeshare offer ( 5 nights for $798) and went to the sales pitch.

I had done some research and am in sales so I'm comfortable saying 'no' and was trying to get out of the pitch quickly.

Honestly, the pitch was pretty good. They hit the emotional, financial aspects and maintained a professional and friendly tone. I said no, they brought in the manager - we discussed the deal, said no again. Then they brought in 'corporate' and offered another 5 nights in a 2br for $2K, 100K Bonvoy points but required another pitch.

I had done some research here - I'd rather put $2K toward a resale purchase than buy another sales pitch.
1) do I buy on ebay, or where?
2) how do I know what comes with the purchase ? ( offer at retail had star options, hotel points, gold status - does any of that transfer over in the secondary market)?
3) I saw a flyer at whaler's village tonight for a timeshare resale service - they had a printed page of their current offers - are these any different from what i'd find on ebay?

Where are you looking to buy? What are your intentions, do you intend on visiting the same resort or different resorts? What time of year can you travel? If you have kids and are restricted to summer and school breaks, that would make a difference on what and where to buy. I’ve purchased resale from a few places, eBay, the marketplace here, and sellmytimesharenow (don’t be afraid of their ridiculous,out unrealistic ad prices. I got a 2 bedroom plat for 800 that was being offered for 20K

if you like vistana properties make sure you buy a mandatory resort, one where you can use the staroptions at all network resorts. Nanea is not a mandatory resort, if you buy a resale there then you can only go there or use an exchange company.

 

[joemckinney]

Thanks for the questions - it helps my research and understanding.


>Where are you looking to buy?
I'm somewhat indifferent to this. We've been to Maui a few times and like it. I assume the Maui rental market is strong so I'd lean that way.

>What are your intentions, do you intend on visiting the same resort or different resorts?
Different resorts and locations most likely. Not stuck on Maui every year ( or every other)

> What time of year can you travel? If you have kids and are restricted to summer and school breaks . [...]
yep, kid centered. but also open to rental/ exchanges that make sense ( give up summer week in HI for winter week in UT for skiing)


I appreciate the pointers to other resale sites. I assumed Nanea was a mandatory location but will look more into those details.
Seems like I can get a screaming deal at Westin Kaanapali North - just trying to figure out the catch.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Congrats on finding TUG- too many don’t.
You first need to research exactly what you are looking for in TS ownership, and willing to spend for that ownership now and in future.

Because w/o that info - the answers are... Depends


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CPNY]

Thanks for the questions - it helps my research and understanding.


>Where are you looking to buy?
I'm somewhat indifferent to this. We've been to Maui a few times and like it. I assume the Maui rental market is strong so I'd lean that way.

>What are your intentions, do you intend on visiting the same resort or different resorts?
Different resorts and locations most likely. Not stuck on Maui every year ( or every other)

> What time of year can you travel? If you have kids and are restricted to summer and school breaks . [...]
yep, kid centered. but also open to rental/ exchanges that make sense ( give up summer week in HI for winter week in UT for skiing)


I appreciate the pointers to other resale sites. I assumed Nanea was a mandatory location but will look more into those details.
Seems like I can get a screaming deal at Westin Kaanapali North - just trying to figure out the catch.

If you can get a deal at WKORVN take it! Another great deal would be WKV and book at 8 month mark in Maui or other locations. Cheapest buy in would be Sheraton vistana villages, key west or Bella phases only phases that are mandatory there. Low buy in and decent maint fee. Ski weeks in Sheraton mountain vista is pretty easy to get, holiday and schools breaks are a bit tougher. I have an atlantis spring break week booked, I was able to get at 8 months in advance but you have to book it at midnight 8 months out sometimes for desired weeks.

another option is DC points with marriott. The buy in will be much higher than a mandatory vistana resort.

 

[Ski-Dad]

Joe

You are definitely on the right track here. There are two schools of thought: (i) Buy where you want to go; or (ii) Buy something that trades well from a value perspective. There are a variety of other perspectives that fit in between these two ends of the continuum. You have gotten some good advice here.

I am relatively new to all of this. At the moment I am of the Value Trader school of thought, which is not at all surprising if you look at how I live. I am the guy that buys 4 to six year old vehicles and drives them for two to four years. I want to drive a very nice car, and I am not prepared to pay $50 - $70 K for a car. My most recent was a six year old BMW 5 series awd wagon that I bought for $8K; drove it for 3.5 years; and sold it for $5.5K. It cost the original owner $6-7K per year capital cost to drive the same vehicle I got to drive for $750/yr capital cost. I use the car as as an analogy to timeshare value trading.

If you are looking at Value Trading in timeshares a few options are:

Vistana

1. Sheraton Desert Oasis - ideally a two bedroom lock-out. Can be purchased for next to nothing and has a low maintenance fee ("MF");
2. Sheraton Broadway Plantation - again ideally a two bedroom lock-off. Same principle as SDO above; or
3. Sheraton Vistana Village - voluntary unit. Again ideally a 2 bedroom lock-off. Others have written more extensively on the SVV options, which you can read elsewhere.

All of these trade with a Vistana preference.

Marriott

1. Marriott Grande Vista - 2 bedroom lock-off. Similiar to SDO above except a buy-in will be a few thousand dollars; or
2. Marriott Grand Chareau - 2 or 3 bedroom lock-off. Same principle as MGV.

The Marriott units have a priority in the Marriott system, which is the real value in spending a bit more capital up front than the Sheraton options.

RCI Points
The above Sheratons and Marriotts trade in Interval International ("II"). There are some decent traders in the RCI system, but they tend not to be brand names like the above. The trick iis to buy something that has a low or free buy in and low MF (most important). You want a MF to points ratio that is less than $0.01 per point. Vaction Village - Grandview at Las Vegas is a good example, in particular their 61K and 122K point units.

I have purchased a few SDO small one bedroom units that have a annual MF of $688 and a Vacation Village Grandview. I have successfully traded into a few Marriott two bedroom units at a total cost (MF + exchange fees) of approx $900. I am getting a unit that carries an annual exchange fees in the $1700 - $2500 range.

Traveling during non peak weeks is relatively easy, but targeting peak school holidays takes planning and some fortitude to keep searching. Its a bit of an arbitrage game. Having traded in II and RCI, I prefer II. More quality options and (in my view) the RCI search engine is very clunky and slow. This is an issue if value trading, as I check almost everyday. The II experience has been better for me in terms of both process and outcomes.

As a final aside, I note your interest in skiing. Skiing is my real passion. There are definitely some good ski weeks to be had with some planning and scrounging.

 

[celica7101]

Just to contrast -- in addition to trading within II or RCI , as he is pointing out, having a timeshare within the Vistana network (either purchased thru developer or at one of the 6 "mandatory" resorts) will also yield some flexibility and give you the ability to have a ski-week somewhere.

Joe

You are definitely on the right track here. There are two schools of thought: (i) Buy where you want to go; or (ii) Buy something that trades well from a value perspective. There are a variety of other perspectives that fit in between these two ends of the continuum. You have gotten some good advice here.

I am relatively new to all of this. At the moment I am of the Value Trader school of thought, which is not at all surprising if you look at how I live. I am the guy that buys 4 to six year old vehicles and drives them for two to four years. I want to drive a very nice car, and I am not prepared to pay $50 - $70 K for a car. My most recent was a six year old BMW 5 series awd wagon that I bought for $8K; drove it for 3.5 years; and sold it for $5.5K. It cost the original owner $6-7K per year capital cost to drive the same vehicle I got to drive for $750/yr capital cost. I use the car as as an analogy to timeshare value trading.

If you are looking at Value Trading in timeshares a few options are:

Vistana

1. Sheraton Desert Oasis - ideally a two bedroom lock-out. Can be purchased for next to nothing and has a low maintenance fee ("MF");
2. Sheraton Broadway Plantation - again ideally a two bedroom lock-off. Same principle as SDO above; or
3. Sheraton Vistana Village - voluntary unit. Again ideally a 2 bedroom lock-off. Others have written more extensively on the SVV options, which you can read elsewhere.

All of these trade with a Vistana preference.

Marriott

1. Marriott Grande Vista - 2 bedroom lock-off. Similiar to SDO above except a buy-in will be a few thousand dollars; or
2. Marriott Grand Chareau - 2 or 3 bedroom lock-off. Same principle as MGV.

The Marriott units have a priority in the Marriott system, which is the real value in spending a bit more capital up front than the Sheraton options.

RCI Points
The above Sheratons and Marriotts trade in Interval International ("II"). There are some decent traders in the RCI system, but they tend not to be brand names like the above. The trick iis to buy something that has a low or free buy in and low MF (most important). You want a MF to points ratio that is less than $0.01 per point. Vaction Village - Grandview at Las Vegas is a good example, in particular their 61K and 122K point units.

I have purchased a few SDO small one bedroom units that have a annual MF of $688 and a Vacation Village Grandview. I have successfully traded into a few Marriott two bedroom units at a total cost (MF + exchange fees) of approx $900. I am getting a unit that carries an annual exchange fees in the $1700 - $2500 range.

Traveling during non peak weeks is relatively easy, but targeting peak school holidays takes planning and some fortitude to keep searching. Its a bit of an arbitrage game. Having traded in II and RCI, I prefer II. More quality options and (in my view) the RCI search engine is very clunky and slow. This is an issue if value trading, as I check almost everyday. The II experience has been better for me in terms of both process and outcomes.

As a final aside, I note your interest in skiing. Skiing is my real passion. There are definitely some good ski weeks to be had with some planning and scrounging.

 

[SteelerGal]

Agree w/ Ski Dad. I own in the MVC family and my prized units are SDO. Inexpensive and have great exchange power. I use my weeks to exchange into more expensive resorts.

 

[CPNY]

Agree w/ Ski Dad. I own in the MVC family and my prized units are SDO. Inexpensive and have great exchange power. I use my weeks to exchange into more expensive resorts.

I’m sure you see much better inventory than my SVV units lol

 

[carpie99]

I’m sure you see much better inventory than my SVV units lol

Is there any way to validate that SDO had higher trading power than SVV?

 

[CPNY]

Is there any way to validate that SDO had higher trading power than SVV?

Idk but I’m not seeing much with my SVV Lately. Could just be the time of year I guess idk

 

[Ski-Dad]

How can we test SVV vs SDO trading power? With my small 1 bedroom SDO I can see 2 bedroom Marriott Newport Coast Villas in Oct and November, 2020. Can SVV see these? What is a good test of relative trading power?

 

[DannyTS]

At the end of the year I noticed the availability was lower, it is starting to go back to more normal levels now.

 

[vacationtime1]

How can we test SVV vs SDO trading power? With my small 1 bedroom SDO I can see 2 bedroom Marriott Newport Coast Villas in Oct and November, 2020. Can SVV see these? What is a good test of relative trading power?

I see the same units with my small side one bedroom shoulder season WKV unit. It would be a good data point if someone with an SVV unit could chime in here.

 

[byeloe]

I see the same units with my small side one bedroom shoulder season WKV unit. It would be a good data point if someone with an SVV unit could chime in here.

with a 2bd SVV plat or gold I see 3 units at newport coast all 2 bedroom. Two in late october and 1 in mid november

 

[vacationtime1]

with a 2bd SVV plat or gold I see 3 units at newport coast all 2 bedroom. Two in late october and 1 in mid november

Can you search using only the one bedroom side of your SVV units? That would be the apples-to-apples comparison of trading power.

 

[byeloe]

Can you search using only the one bedroom side of your SVV units? That would be the apples-to-apples comparison of trading power.

I knew that would be best, but my SVV are not lock offs

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If you are still on Maui contact, Syed Sarmad a local resale broker www.advantagevacations.com. He's located in the Lahaina Whalers Mall and is an expert on Maui TS and could help you with the pros/cons of each option.

 

[CPNY]

Can you search using only the one bedroom side of your SVV units? That would be the apples-to-apples comparison of trading power.

I see the same however a 59 dollar upgrade fee. Shouldn’t i not have to pay the fee being I have platinum or is that discounted?

 

[CPNY]

8

Can you search using only the one bedroom side of your SVV units? That would be the apples-to-apples comparison of trading power.

With my 2 bedroom, no upgrade fee.

 

[CPNY]

I see the same units with my small side one bedroom shoulder season WKV unit. It would be a good data point if someone with an SVV unit could chime in here.

My one bedroom unit comes with a 59 dollar upgrade fee. Not sure if it’s supposed to be higher, but I’m platinum. My 2 bedroom come with no upgrade fee

 

[vacationtime1]

My one bedroom unit comes with a 59 dollar upgrade fee. Not sure if it’s supposed to be higher, but I’m platinum. My 2 bedroom come with no upgrade fee

My upgrade fee with the one bedroom WKV unit was $99; I have low status at Interval (whatever comes with VSE membership).

 

[Ski-Dad]

The $59 upgrade fee is standard for Platinum II Member going from a 1 bedroom to 2 bedroom and another $59 for a 3 bedroom.

The SVV 1 bedroom does appear to be pulling the same weight as the SDO small 1 bedroom. Is there another test, other than NCV, we can run to see if that holds consistent?

 

[aeroflygirl]

Thanks for the questions - it helps my research and understanding.


>Where are you looking to buy?
I'm somewhat indifferent to this. We've been to Maui a few times and like it. I assume the Maui rental market is strong so I'd lean that way.

>What are your intentions, do you intend on visiting the same resort or different resorts?
Different resorts and locations most likely. Not stuck on Maui every year ( or every other)

> What time of year can you travel? If you have kids and are restricted to summer and school breaks . [...]
yep, kid centered. but also open to rental/ exchanges that make sense ( give up summer week in HI for winter week in UT for skiing)


I appreciate the pointers to other resale sites. I assumed Nanea was a mandatory location but will look more into those details.
Seems like I can get a screaming deal at Westin Kaanapali North - just trying to figure out the catch.

If you are still on Maui, it would be worth your time to go to Advantage Vacations at the Cannery Mall and talk to Syed Sarmad. He can show you what is currently available and he knows what prices should pass right of first refusal.

 

[mdditt2000]

Joe

You are definitely on the right track here. There are two schools of thought: (i) Buy where you want to go; or (ii) Buy something that trades well from a value perspective. There are a variety of other perspectives that fit in between these two ends of the continuum. You have gotten some good advice here.

I am relatively new to all of this. At the moment I am of the Value Trader school of thought, which is not at all surprising if you look at how I live. I am the guy that buys 4 to six year old vehicles and drives them for two to four years. I want to drive a very nice car, and I am not prepared to pay $50 - $70 K for a car. My most recent was a six year old BMW 5 series awd wagon that I bought for $8K; drove it for 3.5 years; and sold it for $5.5K. It cost the original owner $6-7K per year capital cost to drive the same vehicle I got to drive for $750/yr capital cost. I use the car as as an analogy to timeshare value trading.

If you are looking at Value Trading in timeshares a few options are:

Vistana

1. Sheraton Desert Oasis - ideally a two bedroom lock-out. Can be purchased for next to nothing and has a low maintenance fee ("MF");
2. Sheraton Broadway Plantation - again ideally a two bedroom lock-off. Same principle as SDO above; or
3. Sheraton Vistana Village - voluntary unit. Again ideally a 2 bedroom lock-off. Others have written more extensively on the SVV options, which you can read elsewhere.

All of these trade with a Vistana preference.

Marriott

1. Marriott Grande Vista - 2 bedroom lock-off. Similiar to SDO above except a buy-in will be a few thousand dollars; or
2. Marriott Grand Chareau - 2 or 3 bedroom lock-off. Same principle as MGV.

The Marriott units have a priority in the Marriott system, which is the real value in spending a bit more capital up front than the Sheraton options.

RCI Points
The above Sheratons and Marriotts trade in Interval International ("II"). There are some decent traders in the RCI system, but they tend not to be brand names like the above. The trick iis to buy something that has a low or free buy in and low MF (most important). You want a MF to points ratio that is less than $0.01 per point. Vaction Village - Grandview at Las Vegas is a good example, in particular their 61K and 122K point units.

I have purchased a few SDO small one bedroom units that have a annual MF of $688 and a Vacation Village Grandview. I have successfully traded into a few Marriott two bedroom units at a total cost (MF + exchange fees) of approx $900. I am getting a unit that carries an annual exchange fees in the $1700 - $2500 range.

Traveling during non peak weeks is relatively easy, but targeting peak school holidays takes planning and some fortitude to keep searching. Its a bit of an arbitrage game. Having traded in II and RCI, I prefer II. More quality options and (in my view) the RCI search engine is very clunky and slow. This is an issue if value trading, as I check almost everyday. The II experience has been better for me in terms of both process and outcomes.

As a final aside, I note your interest in skiing. Skiing is my real passion. There are definitely some good ski weeks to be had with some planning and scrounging.

Ski-dad - Great information! Thank you.. Looking at Sheraton Desert Oasis i see a few resale options. If you purchase a timeshare will the points be deposited into your Vistana account? Is there a way to calculate how many StarOptions will be granted from a resale purchase at Sheraton Desert Oasis two bedroom lock-out for a week.

Thanks Mark