New to ownership

[dallasbelletr]

Hello - I just bought in Myrtle Beach - Sheraton Broadway at the Beach. I have never done this before and was wondering if any of you had any good tips or cautions. I'm a bit nervous about this purchase - more so b/c it's new to me and I do not know how it works. I have 81000 options and it is "floating" so I understand that to mean I don't have a set week to use. Some of my questions are....
1. Is it difficult to reserve in a resort other than your home resort?
2. Do the option amounts for each resort ever change? - My husband was concerned that buying 81000 options now may allow us to visit other resorts now, but in 5 years (for example) will that no longer be enough to visit elsewhere without increasing the number of options we own?
3. My husband was also concerned about how much the maintenence fees could increase / year. It looks like some resorts experienced a decrease or a slight increase...do they send something that shows why there is a need for an increase?
4. I was reading some of the posts and there are many who are buying more than one....and I was just wondering why - are there different benefits to buying at the different resorts?

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can offer. We are pretty excited about being able to schedule our vacation for next year.

 

[Passepartout]

Welcome to TUG. Happy 4th. Many here are Starwood owners and will be more informed than I am, so I will defer to them.

MOST IMPORTANT- you don't mention whether you bought a resale or from the developer. If from the developer, rescind as quickly as you can. Your purchase can be had on the resale market for pennies on the dollar. Time is of the essence to get out of an expensive mistake.

1) not difficult at all to reserve internally (Starwood). Reserving outside through an exchange company a little more but not bad. You join the exchange co. (II, SFX, others) reserve your week at your home resort system, then deposit it to the exchange co and choose your exchange.

2) Generally, points are points and 'point inflation' isn't an issue.

3) most often MF increases are dictated in your contract- either a set amount per year (5%) or it is linked to some index.

4) TS owners (and TUGgers) are addicts. We don't know how much of a good thing is too much!

Welcome. Hang around here and learn how to best use what you have and welcome to timesharing- the most pleasant thing you ever forced yourself to do!

Jim Ricks

 

[LisaRex]

MOST IMPORTANT- you don't mention whether you bought a resale or from the developer. If from the developer, rescind as quickly as you can. Your purchase can be had on the resale market for pennies on the dollar. Time is of the essence to get out of an expensive mistake.

They had to have bought from the developer since they received StarOptions (SOs). If you buy a SBP unit on the resale market, you will not be a member of SVN, will not be given SOs and will not be able to trade internally.

To answer your questions, MFs do rise. Count on 10% per year increase. They usually include a letter from the HOA with the budget and explanation as to why their MFs are rising. However, most Starwood HOAs are comprised of Starwood employees and executives, so don't expect cost control to be high on their priority list.

The number of SOs you have will never change, however they may change the number of SOs needed to get into other resorts, though this has only happened a few times. 81,000 SOs will get you into any 1 bdrm unit in the network during platinum season, subject to availability. MyStarCentral.com has a StarOptions chart that you can print out if you don't have one so that you can review your options.

As far as ease of exchanging in SVN, generally speaking, it is very easy to get into Hawaii resorts most weeks of the year if you call once the exchange window opens up. It is very difficult to get into Westin St. John (WSJ), especially during the winter. It is somewhat difficult to get into Harborside at Atlantis (HRA) during prime and summer weeks. Less difficult to get in during hurricane season. All other resorts should be fairly easy to get into once the 8 month exchange window opens up.

To give you anecdotal evidence, I've exchanged into both WSJ and HRA once for the weeks I wanted when I wanted by calling at exactly 8 months out. I was locked out of WSJ in 2010 when I tried securing a 2011 week despite calling several times a week. I easily got into Westin Kierland Villas (WKV) for one night during shoulder season when I called at 90 days out.

All Starwoods participate in II, which is the external exchange company. If you own a Starwood, you can enjoy the 3-day priority when only Starwood owners can see Starwoods that come into the system. I don't know how many bedrooms you own, if you have a lockoff, or what season you own, but your next priority should be learning how to use II to your benefit. 81,000 SOs are nice for trading internally should you want to get into WSJ or HRA, but you can maximize the return on your investment by using II and doing things such as splitting your lockoff and depositing them separately, using instant searches to upgrade to more bedrooms, etc.

Hope this helps. Welcome to Tug. I hope you find this place to be very useful to you.

 

[DeniseM]

Please review this FAQ about rescinding - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74493

This timeshare sells for less than $1,000 on the resale market - you should rescind immediately.

 

[dallasbelletr]

why?

Please review this FAQ about rescinding - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74493

This timeshare sells for less than $1,000 on the resale market - you should rescind immediately.

Thanks for all the information...I guess I need to learn more about the whole resale thing....If I buy on the resale for $1000 do I get the options to travel to other resorts and is it for life or are there other fees attached to it? If you know of a good web site to learn more about this I would really appreciate it.

 

[DeniseM]

in my opinion is a good deal to be able to travel anywhere in the world on top of the timeshare property. Please explain why should i backout?

Because you paid far more than this timeshare is worth - please read the info. I posted for you above. It doesn't make financial sense to finance a timeshare for many thousand dollars, when you can pay cash for a resale for less than $1,000.

Buying a 1000 dollar time share limits me to that area only

I'm sure a timeshare salesperson told you that, but it's not true. You can trade a resale through Interval International (an exchange company.)

and for a thousand dollars i can prchase it for life? For a thousand dollars really?

Yes - In this economy, most timeshares are selling for 0-10% of retail. The market is flooded with cheap resales.

Again - Please read the info. I posted above for you - it explains exactly why you should rescind.

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks for all the information...I guess I need to learn more about the whole resale thing....If I buy on the resale for $1000 do I get the options to travel to other resorts and is it for life or are there other fees attached to it?

ALL timeshare owners have the option to trade their timeshare for other locations. An exchange fee is about $110 to trade. Note that with your developer purchase, you automatically pay an membership fee to Starwood every year for about the same amount.

If you know of a good web site to learn more about this I would really appreciate it.

This is it - you have found the best source for timeshare info. on the net.

HOWEVER - right now you should rescind BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!!

Then come back and take your time to learn about timesharing with no pressure.

BUT RESCIND FIRST!!!!

 

[jarta]

dallasbelletr, ... It may be hard for you to believe but you are getting good advice from people who say you should rescind.

Never make a timeshare purchase from a developer, like Starwood, unless you: 1. have a plan of action (long term) and, 2. know a sufficient amount about how the internal (SVN) and external (II) trading sytems can be best used to help you achieve your long term plans efficiently and 3. know the resale market and how it fits into 1 and 2.

Timeshare purchasing should not be made on impulse after looking at all those wonderful glossy pictures and having a timeshare salesperson tell you half-facts designed to let you assume whatever you think he/she said in answer to your inquiries. The salespersons are intimately aware of what their system can or cannot do. You are not - even though you think you may understand completely what they are saying.

There are times and circumstances where buying from a developer is appropriate. However, it is not for everyone and certainly not the appropriate thing to do for your first Starwood timehare resort purchase.

Do yourself a favor. Rescind and follow the TUG Starwood forum for a couple of months before doing anything. I love owning at Starwood resorts. I own 7 weeks at Starwood places. However, if I were you, I'd rescind. ... eom

 

[dallasbelletr]

Thank you all so much for the information! It is not too late for me to rescind and I am so glad I found this site. I know there is a lot more I need to learn and you are right...it is hard not to get sucked in. Any other suggestions or information is greatly appreciated!

 

[Passepartout]

See, I told you that the most knowledgeable people in the Starwood timeshare world are right here! Take what Denise says to heart. Rescind. and then learn what you need to know to join us in truly joyful timeshare vacations.

Send the 'I hereby rescind contract #such and such' exactly as the instructions in your contract say- and to the address listed. Very likely different than the sales office you bought from.

Best wishes- again, a warm welcome to TUG- this is the most knowledgeable timeshare site in the world. Use it to learn.

Jim Ricks