Eric-
That's really the smartest thing you can do at this point. Again, follow the recission directions exactly, and if you are still there don't let the salesperson intimidate you; regardless of what you've been told, you can get the same offer in the near future if that's what you ultimately feel is in your best interests. However, even if you really want DC points and not week ownership, we can still recommend an alternative way to achieve that and still save very substantial amounts of money.
After you've sent off your recission, post back here and let us know the answers to LAXMom's questions above: where you want to go, when you want to travel, flexibility for planning and dates, unit size needed now and perhaps 5 years down the road (and will your family dynamics and travel needs likely change in 5 years or so), and where you live (general region, since sometimes drive to destinations are worth considering for costs).
Read the stickies at the top of this forum and feel free to ask lots and lots of questions. Don't buy anything until you feel comfortable you really know the system and you can make an educated decision about purchasing.
Basically, there are a few ways to go about obtaining new ownership:
- direct purchase- except for European properties, Aruba and St. Kitts, Marriott has switched over to a points system. Basically, you purchase the DC points (like you did) and can use them like currency to make reservations at various properties, subject to availability. For some high demand weeks, where the weeks were long ago sold put, that means that one of the week owners has to have traded in their week for points for the time to be available. So buying points doesn't guarantee you a Christmas or New Year's ski week, Caribbean or Hawaii week- they still have to be available to reserve.
On the positive side, point purchasers have access to reserve any resort and reserve the view, and you are not limited to check in days or length of stay. On the negative side, you are paying a lot upfront and in on-going MF's for this flexibility, you still have to hope that what you want is available, and point costs can go up over time (although the program is in its infancy so we don't know if this will be an issue down the road). This is the most costly way to get into the program, but is the easiest.
Besides initial outlay, you will be saddling yourself with a very high annual MF and, as of right now, Marriott does not have a way to transfer full usage rights if points are resold, which means that, should you need/want t sell them in the future, you will have a virtually worthless product but still be obligated to the annual MF's.
-Decide where you'd like to visit most often and buy a week there on the resale market. Use II to trade when you want to. Learn the ropes here and this will absolutely be the most cost effective way of getting into the program and enjoying timesharing. If you buy a week you have the right to reserve a week in your season in your purchased view every year; the week is subject to availability but you are always guaranteed a week in your season at your home resort, and you have a deed of ownership. Depending on where and when you want to travel/buy, in this economy resale weeks are selling for as low as a dollar and up into the thousands, but all are a fraction of their purchase price from the developer (or what Marriott was charging until it switched to selling only DC points).
The very strong positives here are much, much lower cost (both up front and generally in MF's) and guaranteed use of your home resort. As opposed to point ownership, you have to rely on II for a trade and you have to reserve for a week with specific check-in days. Only you can decide if the substantial cost savings is worth the more limited flexibility.
Resale weeks purchased after June of 2010 cannot now be enrolled in the DC program. We don't know if they will be allowed at some point in the future, but you can only base your decision on what is today.
-A possible third option which I'd really explore IF you ultimately decide you want points: Marriott is selling some resale weeks which they will allow to be enrolled in the DC program if the purchaser also buys 2500 DC points. The negative here is that the resale weeks from Marriott are in many cases double or more what you could buy them for in the general resale market, but it can be a great way to lower your overall per point cost and there are some weeks that are relative bargains point wise and MF wise (particularly ski weeks, so its especially attractive if you are a skier), and you also get to own a deeded week which has high rental value.
The only negative here is that you would have a mixture of trust and legacy points, but many people here feel that over time there will be little distinction and you would be saving a lot of $$.
This is a very simplistic summary or differing options which you certainly should make sure you fully understand before buying anything.
Good luck, and hope we can help you make a decision that will help you have years of wonderful vacation memories! Please don't let any of this discourage you from ultimately buying, but take the time to understand the system and make an informed purchase.