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Just bought...still can rescind...Opinions?

godzilabob

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Hi guys...
just bought Koolina... $33,400 2br lockoff mountain view. Received 150,000 points plus 85,000 (2006's points if i paid $1100). for a total of 235,000 points.

I told the sales rep that I knew about buying resale, and he was totally unfazed...said it was worth the extra couple of $$$ because I'd get the services of an advisor in addition to the points which would be worth a week of resort time plus airfare pretty much anywhere (except france) i wanted to go. So after 4 1/2 hours of deliberation, I decided to purchase, knowing I could indeed rescind if need be.
What do you think???
Thanks
bob
 

timeos2

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Use the one chance you have to take your time

You are basing your reasoning on what a sales weasel thinks? You may know about resales but apparently not enough to make an informed decision yet. Rescind, study and when you know what the value of the purchase and points really is THEN buy retail if you still think its a good value for you. I'll bet after you really study resale you'll decide it isn't. The retail deal will still be there if you do decide thats the better way to go. The chance to rescind will be gone, forever, in a few days. If on day 8 you decide its a mistake you are already too late. Rescind.
 
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ArtsieAng

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I'm pretty sure that you are entitled to an advisor, whether you purchase from the developer, or not....You can't believe everything that you are told at these presentations.

Others will chime in, and give you their opinion.

Good Luck!
 

riverdees05

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Rescind, study, learn and then decide what you want to do. Be sure when you rescind that you do it by the requirements in your document. When you send your letter, be sure it is registered or certified mail with a return card. You can always get the deal you got, but you only have a certain number of days to rescind. Isn't it great to have a second chance?
 

Spence

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I went to a presentation at Surf Club in Aruba today. The weasel wanted something like 27.9K for a Gold OV. Saw one on eBay for 16.5K with no bids... The 'advisor' and points aren't worth 10K. The liar even told me if I bought resale I couldn't do anything but use Aruba!!!
 

ArtsieAng

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Spence said:
I went to a presentation at Surf Club in Aruba today. The weasel wanted something like 27.9K for a Gold OV. Saw one on eBay for 16.5K with no bids... The 'advisor' and points aren't worth 10K. The liar even told me if I bought resale I couldn't do anything but use Aruba!!!


Spence.....I bought a 2bdrm OV Platinum at the Surf Club, from Marriott......did this before I found the timeshare boards. At any rate, I paid much less than that for platinum season.
 

Smooth Air

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Another vote for walking away. To me it is not worth the extra $$$ for the points. Resale is usually significantly less than buying direct from Marriott.
 

armlem2

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I too will chime in for rescinding. For what I understand anyone can get an advisor. I would guess you can learn more than most advisors by studying here and reading posts. I doubt any would have thought I could get a 2bd ocean front unit at Aruba surf club for a Harbor Point AC. But I did. Once the the to rescind is up it is gone for ever. As a salesman I'll tell you if you call back 2 months from now I will sell whatever I can at that time. Good Luck
 

gores95

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ArtsieAng said:
Spence.....I bought a 2bdrm OV Platinum at the Surf Club, from Marriott......did this before I found the timeshare boards. At any rate, I paid much less than that for platinum season.

Just got back from Aruba Marriott on Tuesday...took the Surf Club preview on Monday. Prices for the 2 BR lockoff were (looking at my sheet as I am typing) $26,500 OV Gold and $33,100 OV Platinum. I am currently looking at resales but would NEVER pay that much just to be able to exchange Marriott Rewards points.

They were offering 125,000 Marriott Rewards points for purchasing but only if you financed and were willing to pay three months of interest (arouind $600).

If you can get a OV resale from $15-16K it is a much better value IMO.

Marc
 
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JimC

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Call and ask if you want an advisor assigned. The only difference in buying from Marriott is the ability to trade for reward points. Ko Olina's maintenance fees plus the Marriott surcharge makes the points very expensive and not a good deal in my view.
 

Spence

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ArtsieAng said:
Spence.....I bought a 2bdrm OV Platinum at the Surf Club, from Marriott......did this before I found the timeshare boards. At any rate, I paid much less than that for platinum season.
gores95 said:
Just got back from Aruba Marriott on Tuesday...took the Surf Club preview on Monday. Prices for the 2 BR lockoff were (looking at my sheet as I am typing) $26,500 OV Gold and $33,100 OV Platinum. I am currently looking at resales but would NEVER pay that much just to be able to exchange Marriott Rewards points. They were offering 125,000 Marriott Rewards points for purchasing but only if you financed and were willing to pay three months of interest (arouind $600). If you can get a OV resale from $15-16K it is a much better value IMO. Marc
OK, I got the paperwork out... they only wanted 26.7K today for OV Gold. Angela, the price goes up every other week according to the weasel.
 

m61376

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Like everyone else above said- RESCIND NOW and be careful to follow the instructions. Send the letter certified mail.

We visited Ko'Olina in July, our first time at a timeshare and absolutely fell in love. I found Tug and read everyone's posts for months and opted to buy resale. We landed up buying in Aruba because, being on the East coast, we knew we'd enjoy going there more often and trading back to Hawaii on occasion because the flight was just too long to do annually.

At any extent, the only difference between buying from the developer and buying resale is the ability to trade for points. IF you feel you want a vacation advisor you can still call and get one.

There are many other discussions on this, so read through the Marriott board, but to summarize: although a few of the point gurus value their usage more, most people feel that points are worth 1-2 cents a point. That means that for your annual MF of $1100 (even more for 2007) + the ~$104 exchange fee, you give up use of the timeshare (that you laid out thousands of dollars for) for the year and get 85,000 points. Thus, the points have cost you ~1.5 cents upfront - so you've almost paid the value of the points and gave up use of your unit for the year. While wonderful hotel packages, esp. in Europe, can be booked, it is all subject to award availibility. Furthermore, Marriott can (and has) changed the point requirements over time. Logic dictates that the cost of trading: the annual MF's and the number of points required for vacation packages - will both increase over time. The point exchange value of your unit will remain at 85K. Thus, the cost of the points will only increase while their value will likely decrease (although the cost of hotels and rising airfare rates would factor in here).

You are talking about saving a substantial amount of money buying resale. It definitely makes sense to read, learn and then make an informed decision. Despite what the salesman told you, you will be able to buy next week or next month directly from Marriott. You don't have to rush. Personally, I know I have much better use of the thousands of dollars I saved than padding Marriott's coffers...it didn't take long for everyone here to convince me to buy resale.
 

Hoc

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godzilabob said:
...said it was worth the extra couple of $$$ because . . . .

You mean the extra $15,000? Double? The points aren't worth it, in fact, in my book they're not even worth the amount you have to pay in annual fees to get them. Realistically, they're probably worth about a penny a point, so you will pay an extra $15k to get an extra $2,350 worth of points, plus another $1,000 worth of points for each year you forfeit your $1,200 or so in annual fees and trade your unit for points.

Rescind. Do your research and see if you agree. Then buy resale. If you don't agree, then you can always buy with the incentives from Marriott later. The deal -- or something close to it, or even better -- will still be there 6 months from now.
 

vacationlover2

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Just in your shoes

We visited the Marriott in New Jersey. Ended up buying Aruba 2 BR Gold GV for $22,700. Came home, did a bunch of research, ended up cancelling and am now in the process of purchasing an Aruba 2BR Gold GV for much, much less through resale. RESCIND AND BUY RESALE! I could hardly sleep after I signed that $23K contract. Now I'm happy and looking forward to many, many vacations.
 

timeos2

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Sleep better - buy resale

vacationlover2 said:
We visited the Marriott in New Jersey. Ended up buying Aruba 2 BR Gold GV for $22,700. Came home, did a bunch of research, ended up cancelling and am now in the process of purchasing an Aruba 2BR Gold GV for much, much less through resale. RESCIND AND BUY RESALE! I could hardly sleep after I signed that $23K contract. Now I'm happy and looking forward to many, many vacations.
VL2 - Congratulations! You did the smart thing. Lets hope the OP is also listening.
 

englishowner

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godzillabob

I have bought two weeks from Marriott sales reps in Europe, would not call them weasels but would say they are very good at their job. However I am not sure that I would be brave enough to buy resale as my first timeshare purchase, timeshares do not always have a great reputation especially over here in England. Since I have been a member of TUG I have learned so much, so much in fact that if I were to buy another week I would probably not buy from Marriott. However I only feel comfortable about this due to what I have learned as a Marriott Ownwer, and from reading this forum. A lot of people on this forum give amazing, worthy advice, but it is the advice of been there, got the t shirt people, and I would even count myself in that bracket now. Not sure i could be so confident about my first puirchase, but you are in right place to hear all sides of argument. I had bought two Marriott weeks before I realised a site like this existed. Can only add that the only difference about buying from Marriott seems to be the advisor and if the Owner Service in USA is anything like that in Cork, you will not have a problem, as service is second to none. Make your decision on what you feel most satisfied with, don't let Marriott sales pitches sway you ,but don't let long in the tooth Marriott owners influence you either, a vast majority of us bought directly from Marriott in the first place, loved what we got so much, we came back for more, and then we start to realise there are other ways to buy into this product, hindsight is a truely wonderful gift! Hope if you decide to stick with purchase you are have no regrets, equally if you decide to rescind, it won't be end of world, you will either find a great offer on ebay etc, or Marriott will keep sending you offers which you will find equally hard to refuse. One thing I will say is I have never had one regret about owning my weeks, I sometimes just wish i had known about this site before I bought my second week.:hi:
 

m61376

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englishowner said:
godzillabob

I have bought two weeks from Marriott sales reps in Europe, would not call them weasels but would say they are very good at their job. However I am not sure that I would be brave enough to buy resale as my first timeshare purchase, timeshares do not always have a great reputation especially over here in England. Since I have been a member of TUG I have learned so much, so much in fact that if I were to buy another week I would probably not buy from Marriott. However I only feel comfortable about this due to what I have learned as a Marriott Ownwer, and from reading this forum. A lot of people on this forum give amazing, worthy advice, but it is the advice of been there, got the t shirt people, and I would even count myself in that bracket now. Not sure i could be so confident about my first puirchase, but you are in right place to hear all sides of argument. I had bought two Marriott weeks before I realised a site like this existed. Can only add that the only difference about buying from Marriott seems to be the advisor and if the Owner Service in USA is anything like that in Cork, you will not have a problem, as service is second to none. Make your decision on what you feel most satisfied with, don't let Marriott sales pitches sway you ,but don't let long in the tooth Marriott owners influence you either, a vast majority of us bought directly from Marriott in the first place, loved what we got so much, we came back for more, and then we start to realise there are other ways to buy into this product, hindsight is a truely wonderful gift! Hope if you decide to stick with purchase you are have no regrets, equally if you decide to rescind, it won't be end of world, you will either find a great offer on ebay etc, or Marriott will keep sending you offers which you will find equally hard to refuse. One thing I will say is I have never had one regret about owning my weeks, I sometimes just wish i had known about this site before I bought my second week.:hi:

What you say is true, but I don't think you need to buy directly from Marriott in order to be confident about your purchase. There are plenty of people here who have the expertise to help guide you in what to look for and how to execute a resale purchase. If you are insecure about buying directly from a private seller, there are a few very reputable agents used by other people here for resale purchases that can make the process a bit easier; whether you find the best deal on one of the private listing sites, Ebay, or via a realtor is a matter of luck. If you buy through a reputable agent (with emphasis being on reputable) the process is quite a bit easier.

We were lucky enough to have the best of both worlds- found the best price through a reputable agent; it has made the learning curve much easier for us.
 

Eric

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I agree John. In fact the only people that are bigger weasels than timeshare salesman are those damn people on HOA's. They are always looking to get things for free and try and justify it by saying they deserve it, blah blah blah.





timeos2 said:
You are basing your reasoning on what a sales weasel thinks?
 

Eric

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your right Spence. The only peeople who are bigger weasels than timeshare salesman are the people who try and hoard RCI and certain resort inventory along with bait n switch for certain inventory for rentals , for their only person gain.



Spence said:
I went to a presentation at Surf Club in Aruba today. The weasel wanted something like 27.9K for a Gold OV. Saw one on eBay for 16.5K with no bids... The 'advisor' and points aren't worth 10K. The liar even told me if I bought resale I couldn't do anything but use Aruba!!!
 

Peteyp97

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Rescind--I had bought a 2 br OV Surf Club

while doing a preview at Newport Coast Villas. Price (This was last August--05) was around $22,000 for a Gold week. Then I looked here, asked for opinions, rescinded, and found someone who I rented a week at the Ocean Club in Aruba from who wanted to sell his Garden View 2 BR Plat. Lock-off at the Surf Club. When I was at the Surf Club this past Easter they wanted $32000 for the same unit. I got mine for $15000!!!! ANd it passed the Marriott ROFR!
Going back in Feb.----Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

mesamirage

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I think its safe to say that 99% of the time you can just assume you will do better off by purchasing a resale vs from a developer. Besides half the fun is the hunt for a great deal, it brings a certain level of satisfaction to find a smoking hot deal on a resort you have your heart set on.

I guess the only bummer is knowing the seller is likely to have lost alot of $$$ because they attended a preview week/presentation and one of the TS snakes talked them into a purchase. Its an easy pitfal with lots of downside. I know I will personally never purchase from a developer even though I am tempted to find a way to requalify my resale purchases with Starwood. Even that situation is VERY difficult to justify from a financial perspective.

Good luck with your purchase, but please resind first and then continue to learn from TUG and all our great members before you open up that checkbook.
 

ArtsieAng

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Spence said:
OK, I got the paperwork out... they only wanted 26.7K today for OV Gold. Angela, the price goes up every other week according to the weasel.


Still, I paid about $10,000 less for my platinum, than what they are asking for it today. And I believe that I still paid a few thousand more than the initial cost.

My opinion is that if you are interested in trading your usage in for points, on occasion. Then you must purchase your timeshare the minute they go on sale. If you do that, it's usually not that bad a deal. To purchase so late in the game, is not a good idea in my opinion.
 

pwrshift

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I would rescind. I don't know what the 2007 maint/tax bill will be but suggest it is far too high to be traded in for just 85,000 points a year. Far better to rent it IMO as the cost per point at most Marriott timeshares is getting too high now, especially with the huge increases slated across the board (almost) for 2007.

Also...spending $33,400 and ending up with 235,000 points is not good incentive to make the difference. Just a few years ago, Marriott was giving 500,000+ points for a $20,000 purchase ... that many points would take 2 people almost anywhere in the world in business class to a top of the line Cat7 Marriott for 7 nights ... perhaps worth $12,000. 235,000 points doesn't measure up at all comparatively.

Buy resale, until Marriott wakes up again on points incentives.

Brian

godzilabob said:
Hi guys...
just bought Koolina... $33,400 2br lockoff mountain view. Received 150,000 points plus 85,000 (2006's points if i paid $1100). for a total of 235,000 points.

I told the sales rep that I knew about buying resale, and he was totally unfazed...said it was worth the extra couple of $$$ because I'd get the services of an advisor in addition to the points which would be worth a week of resort time plus airfare pretty much anywhere (except france) i wanted to go. So after 4 1/2 hours of deliberation, I decided to purchase, knowing I could indeed rescind if need be.
What do you think???
Thanks
bob
 
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Spence said:
I went to a presentation at Surf Club in Aruba today. The weasel wanted something like 27.9K for a Gold OV. Saw one on eBay for 16.5K with no bids... The 'advisor' and points aren't worth 10K. The liar even told me if I bought resale I couldn't do anything but use Aruba!!!

Wow that sounds high. Granted, we bought way back before the construction had really started, but we paid $15,000 for a Gold OV 2BR at the SC.
 
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