Just Purchased Westin Lagunamar

[sherilah]

Also, I do agree with the others, that if you are going to buy from the developer, you might as well buy a resale unit and have it requalified.

What does "requalified" mean? Sorry, I'm a newbeeeee!

 

[Beaglemom3]

I'd just like to say that I am in the process of closing on a resale, 2 bed, Westin St John, annual week 32, with 81,000 StarOptions. I will not get StarPoints, but at $12,000, I can live with the price difference.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not gloating or anything like that. I am grateful that I followed this thread for a year and bought resale, thereby saving a lot of money.

StarPoints would be nice, but saving ~$20k from what the developer is asking is better for my travel and financial needs.

You can have the best of both worlds by requaling.

The requalifying thread here is invaluable information.

 

[capjak]

We actually bought a 2 bdrm lockoff, platinum season $42k, 148,000 SO + an additional EOY studio for an extra $7k that's worth I think 22,000 SO.

.

Whats a requal?

That is the ability to take a resale and requalify it into starwood so that you get all the benefits as if you purchased directly like you did your cancun timeshares.

For example:

You could purchase Westin Mission Hills 148,000 staroptions and 72,000 starpoints resale for $11,000 annual use and than go to starwood and purchase your same Cancun 2bd room for 42,000 under the condition that they "requalify" your WMH so that you earn staroptions and starpoints annually.

Go to the FAQ at the top of this forum for more in depth examples etc...

If you rescind you could do this and end up with 296,000 staroptonis a year or convert to 144,000 starpoints per year. Now that will get some nice vacations.

 

[gmarine]

Hello,

My husband and I are new to the ts world. We recently returned from Maui, bought Kaui, then after reading many TUG posts, rescinded our offer. We really loved SVO over the other TS companies out there. I had already been speaking to a Starwood rep about other possibilities, but got caught up in the ts presentation in Maui. After a lot of thought, we purchased a 2 bedroom lockoff platinum season at Lagunamar. In addition, we decided to pay the extra $$$ and purchase the EOY option during gold season.

We are VERY excited about the Cancun property, since we see ourselved going to Cancun in the near future. We are also excited about going to the other Starwood properties, as well as using points in the reward's system. We were NOT excited about Kaui when we purchased it...we were going to use it to go to other Starwood properties...just so you know where we are coming from!

Just curious as to what you guys think of the Lagunamar. I know it has yet to open. Do you think it's a good deal?? Do you think it'll trade well???

Like I said, we are new to the ts world, so any thoughts would be appreciated!!

$20K plus is way too much just for the ability to trade for points. And hopefully you paid cash and didnt consider financing a timeshare purchase this large.

Your admittedly new to timesharing. Rescind then take your time to learn before you jump in and spend $49K.

 

[sherilah]

Whats a requal?

That is the ability to take a resale and requalify it into starwood so that you get all the benefits as if you purchased directly like you did your cancun timeshares.

For example:

You could purchase Westin Mission Hills 148,000 staroptions and 72,000 starpoints resale for $11,000 annual use and than go to starwood and purchase your same Cancun 2bd room for 42,000 under the condition that they "requalify" your WMH so that you earn staroptions and starpoints annually.

Go to the FAQ at the top of this forum for more in depth examples etc...

If you rescind you could do this and end up with 296,000 staroptonis a year or convert to 144,000 starpoints per year. Now that will get some nice vacations.

Now I'm REALLY confused...I thought you wouldn't get starpoints if you purchase resale....????? So you're saying you can buy something resale and tell Starwood you'll buy another piece as long as they'll "requalify" your resale????? Do they normally do this????

Like I said previously, I've been talking my husband's ear off about timeshares. He meant it when he said 3 strikes we're out...if we rescind this offer, he/we will be done. I should've bought my TUG membership before all of this!!

 

[Beaglemom3]

Now I'm REALLY confused...I thought you wouldn't get starpoints if you purchase resale....????? So you're saying you can buy something resale and tell Starwood you'll buy another piece as long as they'll "requalify" your resale????? Do they normally do this????

Like I said previously, I've been talking my husband's ear off about timeshares. He meant it when he said 3 strikes we're out...if we rescind this offer, he/we will be done. I should've bought my TUG membership before all of this!!

I think that by reading everything on the many threads here, you would stand to gain, or keep in your pocket, a lot.

I think this may be hepful. There are others, too
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24046&highlight=requal+resale
and http://www.tug2.net/advice/Starwood_Vacation_Network.htm

 

[VacationPro]

Now I'm REALLY confused...I thought you wouldn't get starpoints if you purchase resale....????? So you're saying you can buy something resale and tell Starwood you'll buy another piece as long as they'll "requalify" your resale????? Do they normally do this????

Like I said previously, I've been talking my husband's ear off about timeshares. He meant it when he said 3 strikes we're out...if we rescind this offer, he/we will be done. I should've bought my TUG membership before all of this!!

I'm sure if you explain this as a decision to delay the purchase and explain that you can get much more by going the route suggested here, he will understand. You can essentially get 296,200 SOs for around $50K or 148,100 for $42K.

There are many SVN pros here, listen to them and you will save a great deal of money and will learn how to maximize the value you receive. I come here regularly and I am still learning the finer points.

 

[sherilah]

I'm sure if you explain this as a decision to delay the purchase and explain that you can get much more by going the route suggested here, he will understand. You can essentially get 296,200 SOs for around $50K or 148,100 for $42K.

There are many SVN pros here, listen to them and you will save a great deal of money and will learn how to maximize the value you receive. I come here regularly and I am still learning the finer points.

Honestly, it sounds like a pain in the butt to start searching for a resale, rescinding (which we already did a week ago w/Kaui), all the paperwork again, making a deal, waiting, etc. We don't go away THAT much to have all of those staroptions. In fact, I don't know what we'd do w/them!!!

When my husband says 3 strikes, I'm seriously out! He'll take the loss just so he doesn't have to it from me! It's all we've been talking about for the last month! We almost bought a destination club membership, which is a whole other ball game.

I do appreciate everyone's effort and advice.

 

[DeniseM]

How hard is it to get into St John or Harborside in the summer months? Is it easier if you do it exactly at 8 months or is it better to wait till the 3 month mark? Many times, we go away less than a week....

These are the 2 hardest exchanges in the Starwood system, especially St. John and it is really difficult to get a Resv. for less than a week, because you can't do it until 90 days out, and by then everything is usually gone at the more popular resorts. The Starwood system works best for weekly reservations and in general, timesharing requires advanced planning - like 12 mos. out, to get the reservations you want.

Also, is everyone pretty much happy w/Starwood as far as timeshares go???

At the top of the board you will see a poll entitled, "If I could go back and do Starwood all over again," that addresses this question. You will see that about 31% of the people polled would buy Starwood all over again, with no changes, and about 2/3, would do something differently. You will also see that about 31% would buy resale if they had it to do all over again and only about 3% would go back and buy from the developer!

For a good background on how Starwood works, and in introduction to many of the finer points, like requalifying, be sure to check out the Starwood FAQ at the top of the board. It will answer many of your questions about Starwood.

 

[SDKath]

Tell your husband to look at the numbers. Anyone with a bit of patience will see that you just saved your family $20,000 to $30,000 by taking the advice above.

Katherine

 

[Ken555]

Some people just like to burn through money. If that's you, then keep the developer week and you'll be very happy with it. If you want to save, then rescind and buy resale. 'nuf said.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Rescinding is easy - relax and take your time. You have just potentially saved a lot of money.

If you plan to move forward in the future and you have decided on SVO (as we did) - decide where you want to go and how many weeks of vacation you can handle.

Since you live in the LA area - I would consider buying at Westin Kierland (if Scottsdale fits you) in the Spring season - the MFs are cheap compared to other resorts - it is a great resort and you can use it to do a SVN exchange (at 8 months) and it is a Mandatory (must be in SVN and transfer if sold). You will be able to exchange into most resorts (except WSJ and HRA will be difficult, but not impossible). Plus - you can drive there.

If you want Cancun - buy resale - if you want 5*/PFL (need 5 weeks essentially) and you want to travel around on SOs/SPs because you have even more weeks - then read and learn - many have done here relatively cheap.

If you figure you want more SOs - and are going to requal - there are other SVO VOIs to buy to requal (some close to you) - because a big advantage of requaling is that for a Voluntary resort bought resale now can be like you bought it from SVO (w/ the SO-SP conversion). If you do not want 5*/PFL -I wouldn't worry about Elite status. Remembering that the re-resale value is less.

Bottom-line - lots of ways to meet you vacation needs and the more time you spend researching - the more value you will find.

We did not go the cheap route - but we have some sweet vacation spots and units. We could have saved some $, but you can't take it with you - and certainly it is a investment in vacation - and not a financial investment. We can go - exchange - rent etc, (and do). Enjoy.

 

[LisaRex]

I've never been to Lagunamar but I've personally visited two Westin properties. They are all really, really nice and I think that you and anyone you bring to Cancun (including your husband) will be very impressed. So if you're okay with overspending, then I think you'll be very happy with the quality of what you bought.

I was never interested in requalifying, either, because that involved buying two timeshares. I don't want two timeshares. So if Lagunamar is where I wanted to be most years, then I'd buy there. And since you also want to trade within SVN, which is nothing to sneeze at, then you're one of the few people who has no recourse but to buy from the developer.

The only matter I might bring up to my husband at this point is the view category. Let's say you bought an ocean view villa from the developer for $30,000. You could undoubtedly buy an ocean FRONT view on the resale market for the same or less. To ME, the view trumps SVN membership. Your mileage may vary.

(If you did buy OF, you should realize that your view category does not travel to other resorts. You won't get OV/OF anywhere but Lagunamar.)

 

[sherilah]

Thanks to everyone's replies....we are not going to rescind this offer...it's done, so I won't be asking any more questions about that. Thanks for looking out for us, though!!

What have you guys heard about Lagunamar? I know it hasn't opened yet....just curious as to what anybody knows about it!

Thanks!!

 

[tomandrobin]

Its in the heart of Cancun, directly on the Gulf. Looks to have a pool bar. Will be built in three phases. In phase 2 and phase 3, there will be a couple direct water front units that will be available for purchase (for a premium). It will have an infinity pool.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Thanks to everyone's replies....we are not going to rescind this offer...it's done, so I won't be asking any more questions about that. Thanks for looking out for us, though!!

What have you guys heard about Lagunamar? I know it hasn't opened yet....just curious as to what anybody knows about it!

Thanks!!

At least you inquired and made an informed decision. There is a lot of info here on TUG - so make sure you lurk ever so often.

One thing you didn't mention was what view/unit-type you bought (and how much?) and what were you SP incentives for buying? {or maybe I missed it...} One thing - if you want to negotiate - is to try and squeeze more incentive SPs out of them.

It is good to bank as many SPs as possible - and get an AMEX SPG card to build your points. We are up to 350K SPs and are going to use some this weekend to go up to the wine country (Sonoma) for Robin's BDay. Two nights at 8500 SPs/nite (upgrade) for a room that has a $300 rake rate - probably $220 at discount - not too bad for SP usage.

Best of luck - come on back and say hello - and share you vacation experiences.

 

[SDKath]

David

Sounds great! Which hotel are you staying at? I loooove the SPs for these 1-2 day overnight stays that would otherwise be too pricy for us to splurge on...

Katherine

 

[sherilah]

At least you inquired and made an informed decision. There is a lot of info here on TUG - so make sure you lurk ever so often.

One thing you didn't mention was what view/unit-type you bought (and how much?) and what were you SP incentives for buying? {or maybe I missed it...} One thing - if you want to negotiate - is to try and squeeze more incentive SPs out of them.

It is good to bank as many SPs as possible - and get an AMEX SPG card to build your points. We are up to 350K SPs and are going to use some this weekend to go up to the wine country (Sonoma) for Robin's BDay. Two nights at 8500 SPs/nite (upgrade) for a room that has a $300 rake rate - probably $220 at discount - not too bad for SP usage.

Best of luck - come on back and say hello - and share you vacation experiences.

Thanks, David. We paid $42k and are getting Platinum 148,000 SO's and 80,000 SP's. In addition, we are getting an EOY gold for 7k, 22,000 SO's, 15,0000 SP's. Should we try to milk them for more since we are w/in the rescind period|?

We actually opened up two AMEX cards, one for each at 12,000 SP's a pop. We are actually charging our purchase, so we're going to get lots of points that way.

Have FUN in Sonoma. Have you been? I was up there last year for a wedding, and was in Napa a few months ago. It's beautiful. LOTS of amazing wine!!

 

[sherilah]

It's a 2 bedroom lockoff...

 

[grgs]

One thing you didn't mention was what view/unit-type you bought (and how much?) and what were you SP incentives for buying? {or maybe I missed it...}

I believe they're all sold as Ocean View. See Denise M's Lagunamar page:

http://www.freewebs.com/denisetravels/starwoodnews.htm

(note: Since the above information was posted by Denise, Starwood has adjusted the Plat season Staroptions to 148,100 for the 2 bd LO; 81,000 for the 1 bd prem; 67,100 for the studio)

When we were in Cancun this past June, I walked by the resort on the beach side. It does look like most of the units should have a decent OV. Of course, it's hard to be sure until one see the actual view from inside the unit.

I am looking forward to exchanging in there, but it probably won't be for a few years yet.

Glorian

 

[DavidnRobin]

Thanks, David. We paid $42k and are getting Platinum 148,000 SO's and 80,000 SP's. In addition, we are getting an EOY gold for 7k, 22,000 SO's, 15,0000 SP's. Should we try to milk them for more since we are w/in the rescind period|?

We actually opened up two AMEX cards, one for each at 12,000 SP's a pop. We are actually charging our purchase, so we're going to get lots of points that way.

Have FUN in Sonoma. Have you been? I was up there last year for a wedding, and was in Napa a few months ago. It's beautiful. LOTS of amazing wine!!

Correct me if I am wrong - you bought both an EY platinum (148.1K SO, 80K SP) for $42K and an EOY Gold (22K SO, 15K SP) for $7K. What are the MFs?

hmmm... To be honest {yes, I know you said you are set) - I would rescind the EOY Gold - since you should have no issue doing a SVN exchange at that time of year - and buy WKV resale and get more bang for your buck - and just exchange into Lagunamar - or other SVN resorts (buy at least 81K SO).

In fact - you could have bought WKV resale first - and then bought the Platinum Lagunamar and had the WKV requaled easily. WKV can close very quickly - especially if you can find a good price at SmartChoice.

Is it just the 2 of you? If so, you can buy a 1Bd Premium/Platinum EY at WKV (81K SO) for $10-12K (MF~$630), or for more (e.g. kids) - then buy a EOY 2Bd LO WKV (148.1K SO) for around the same price (MF ~$1100) - or a EY 2Bd LO Gold (81K SOs) for ~$8-9K. Either way - you can buy and close fast - and then buy the Lagunamar and have the WKV requaled.

Sorry - I know you don't want the hassle - and the husband issue - but not sure what you are trying to get out of the EOY. Funny - most here have one partner that deals with the TSs - and the other that doesn't want to be involved. If it were me - I would look at all routes of ownership.

If you do not want to hassle You could threaten to cancel the EOY unless they compensate you with more SPs. At least you could get a bit more SPs.

Sounds as if you are set with the Lagunamar Plat EY - but take a look at the recent EY WKORVN IV that just sold on eBay for 1/3 of what SVO sold them for. And WKORVN (like WKV) is a Mandatory resort (holds value better historically). That is a monster savings in buying resale.

yes - SVO salespeople hate TUG...
Enough said.

Good for you in getting the AMEX and using the card to purchase - we did the same and got tons of points when we bought EOY WPORV (~220K in total)

We live on the SF Peninsula - so yes... but it has been a while (sadly) - I just wanted to burn off some SPs and have a short get-away for the weekend (w/o traffic it is only about 60 mins away). We are actually staying in Petaluma (closest SPG hotel) - it is a quaint town and not to far from many wineries, plus the Sonoma County Fair is going on in Santa Rosa (close-by).

Best.

 

[LisaRex]

Correct me if I am wrong - you bought both an EY platinum (148.1K SO, 80K SPSounds as if you are set with the Lagunamar Plat EY - but take a look at the recent EY WKORVN IV that just sold on eBay for 1/3 of what SVO sold them for. And WKORVN (like WKV) is a Mandatory resort (holds value better historically). That is a monster savings in buying resale.

I don't know, David, it depends on the MFs. Taking the hit on the purchase price and having much lower MFs year after year may in Cancun may make more sense than being saddled with a TS in a location they don't want with really high MFs, then having to trade in, thus losing any owner's priority (e.g. high floor) they they have.

 

[sherilah]

I just asked my husband what the MF's are...he said 1200 something + 2 hundred something...then asked why I asked. I just said I was curious...I'm telling you, we're not budging! We pretty much wanted the additional piece to buy ourselves more time (July 1 vs March 31) in deciding what we're going to do for that year. He thought 7k was nothing

....it's not just the two of us. We have a 3 year old son (1 and DONE!) We like to do trips w/o kids w/other couples as well as family trips. We do many 2 nighters throughout the year. As our son gets older, we assume he'll bring a friend on family trips. Ts's will be perfect for that vs spending lots of $$$ on a suite at a hotel!! Plus, we like the idea of not having to go out for breakfast and/or lunch everyday. We were spending $50 a pop on breakfast while we were in HI for the TWO of us! I love the idea of waking up, having a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee on my balcony (even if it's a pool view), then heading down to the pool or excursion.

Do any of you ts-ers ever venture out of ts properties and do Club Med vacations, etc? I've been to Club Med Cancun....am kind of bummed to give that up...then again, I went there back when I was single!! Now, supposedly, it's a family village....just curious!

 

[gmarine]

Honestly, it sounds like a pain in the butt to start searching for a resale, rescinding (which we already did a week ago w/Kaui), all the paperwork again, making a deal, waiting, etc. We don't go away THAT much to have all of those staroptions. In fact, I don't know what we'd do w/them!!!

When my husband says 3 strikes, I'm seriously out! He'll take the loss just so he doesn't have to it from me! It's all we've been talking about for the last month! We almost bought a destination club membership, which is a whole other ball game.

I do appreciate everyone's effort and advice.

How about you rescind, then I will do all the work for you in finding a resale and even pay for the closing for just half of the 20K you will save?

 

[DeniseM]

I just asked my husband what the MF's are...he said 1200 something + 2 hundred something..

I think that's way low - look at this chart from Starwood.

I believe your annual week MF will be $1,347 a year

And your every other year MF will be $763 a year

Total - $2,110 per year

That may or may not include your II fees.

Do you plan on leaving the purchase price on your AMEX and making payments?