Newbie, Kings Land

[letsgobobby]

That's good feedback. I am having a hard time attaching a value to Max because I just can't concretely pin down what it actually gives beyond the vagaries of "more properties", like which ones? If it's super great, I don't mind the idea but it still sounds like it's a developing idea. Swallowing retail is a bit easier if it's a great product.

I was a touch cavalier in picking the points, not realizing that the 1BR basic rooms have the lanai facing the parking lot. We like the resort, but I'm not sure I love that layout. A heap more points probably doesn't help out a ton, (despite the objectively better value) since we typically are more into adventure travel (we backpack a lot) and picking spots comes down to the opportunity cost of where else we could stay/do, but a resort every few years somewhere nice is a pretty sweet.

rescind.

you have way too few points to be useful, your MFs are way too high for the points, and you paid way too much.

even if we say your bonus points are worth 3 years of your fees so let's generously say $4000 (probably less), you are way overpaying for your deed and as others have said, Max isn't worth much because you won't be able to reserve any high demand resorts at the six month mark.

i bought an eoy resale that gives me 11,200 points for MF of about $1500 and it cost me $1400 including all closing costs. you can find better deals than that.

 

[GT75]

Thanks, @ABCTravels, I have my thoughts/suspicions about HgvMax, but I really like others to provide real experiences. I know that we here on TUG certainly make mistakes (I know that I have), but I expect TUG members to correct them.

I also know that there is a couple of former DRI properties that I would like to exchange into but I am not willing to put hard-earned cash into it for some crumbs. I actually don't mind sticking with the legacy HGVC properties. I am trying to resist FOMO from the salespeople. Honestly, HGV has made this HgvMax program look wonderful on paper (during sales presentation) but I believe underneath it is basically a facade.

 

[ABCTravels]

Honestly, HGV has made this HgvMax program look wonderful on paper (during sales presentation) but I believe underneath it is basically a facade.

I agree. We would never advise anyone to buy MAX. It appears that some (most/all?) can be rented on the Hilton website as a regular room reservation, so I don't think anyone is missing out. We're just hoping to use it since we overpaid for it.
Whistler was one of the places we wanted access to and... ... not going to happen via the timeshare.

 

[CPNY]

Hi all,
So, I did the thing. Bought retail at Kingsland. THEN I went and found this resource, which is great! I can rescind until Monday, which I've been vacillating on based on this forum. Here's how the deal broke down:
$18,025 (which included the week I'm here now) for 7680 points every even year (that probably suits our travel style the best) with maintenance fees of 1,368. It's platinum 1BR at Kingsland (we enjoy this area very much). 21,760 in bonus points (I aimed for 4 weeks of the 1BR gold). Paid it off right away, no financing. I'm aware of the "club fees" annually on top of the MF.

So NOW (of course) I know that resale is the way to go in terms of initial purchase price, but the things that complicate my math are the bonus points (seemed decent) and HGV Max. Max really gets me... it's still not obvious after a couple of days of reading here what it specifically grants. My purchase includes Max and from reading here it also looks like it's $7,000 to add on to resale contracts + some misc fees. I can't tell *which* places Max specifically opens up, and especially the booking window around whatever those places are. As far as I can tell from what I have, it's just the same 9 month window, but I've seen conflicting reports here. For example only, is The Crane only available via Max and not from an older resale HGV contract?

With Max included and the bonus points, the retail price compared to resale + add on Max doesn't seem God-awful. It also seems like Max doesn't transfer with the deed if I ever sold it off.

If I wanted some more points later on, can you pick up a resale contract and mingle those points with the Max points? I wouldn't mind ending up at a premium 1 bedroom point rate eventually. I'm not really concerned about status, either, I don't see this becoming our lifestyle thing. Kind of liked the idea of having a points pool to play with and for the 30 day cash deals from time to time (easy for us, no kids).

Or just scrap it all and pay cash for rentals from time to time?

Unrelated, I found the sales pitch to be low pressure and didn't mind chatting with my guy at all (this was my second pitch from him).

Thanks for any advice, y'all.

do yourself a favor and find a post office that's open on sunday's to send that rescission letter.

 

[rc51]

do yourself a favor and find a post office that's open on sunday's to send that rescission letter.

That's what I will do. My contract listed a fax and email option, too, so I'm going to at least get the email off tonight. It was very clear that I had until midnight on Monday as well.

 

[CPNY]

That's what I will do. My contract listed a fax and email option, too, so I'm going to at least get the email off tonight. It was very clear that I had until midnight on Monday as well.

perfect. If it were me, if fax, email, USPS, write it in the sky if I had to. I wish I knew about TUG and rescinded my first purchase.

 

[rc51]

perfect. If it were me, if fax, email, USPS, write it in the sky if I had to. I wish I knew about TUG and rescinded my first purchase.

Now I'm antsy about the timing, too. I'm starting to question if midnight on the first is actually Sunday night/Monday morning or Monday night/Tuesday morning. I signed on last Monday and I interpreted seven days to make it the Monday night, but....

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find a post office on Sunday, especially since I'm flying most of the day.

 

[CPNY]

Now I'm antsy about the timing, too. I'm starting to question if midnight on the first is actually Sunday night/Monday morning or Monday night/Tuesday morning. I signed on last Monday and I interpreted seven days to make it the Monday night, but....

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find a post office on Sunday, especially since I'm flying most of the day.

if they allow email and fax, I'd do both tomorrow! Id actually email it right now. I am not sure how the email works but if you and someone else signed the contract, make sure both are listed on the email? If you supplied them with an email address, make sure you send it from the same one. Read through the specifics on what you need to include for fax and email and begin there. You do not want to miss the date.

 

[rc51]

if they allow email and fax, I'd do both tomorrow! Id actually email it right now. I am not sure how the email works but if you and someone else signed the contract, make sure both are listed on the email? If you supplied them with an email address, make sure you send it from the same one. Read through the specifics on what you need to include for fax and email and begin there. You do not want to miss the date.

Yup. It actually came with a form letter from the state that just needs the signatures. I'm going to do that with my wife and include the cover page of the contact. Scan and send. Out to dinner now, but will do it shortly. Easy enough to use and internet fax service to send it that way tonight, too.

 

[CPNY]

Yup. It actually came with a form letter from the state that just needs the signatures. I'm going to do that with my wife and include the cover page of the contact. Scan and send. Out to dinner now, but will do it shortly. Easy enough to use and internet fax service to send it that way tonight, too.

perfect. get that done!!

 

[GT75]

Whistler was one of the places we wanted access to and... ... not going to happen via the timeshare.

I would also like to be able to exchange into HGVC(Embarc)Whistler either in the summertime or wintertime. Whistler is being added to the HGVC side but it looks like from the information we are getting, Legacy HGVC members won't be able to exchange via HGV. I can see how some people not understanding the TS mechanics to be enticed when it will be listed on HgcMax.

 

[SmithOp]

I would also like to be able to exchange into HGVC(Embarc)Whistler either in the summertime or wintertime. Whistler is being added to the HGVC side but it looks like from the information we are getting, Legacy HGVC members won't be able to exchange via HGV. I can see how some people not understanding the TS mechanics to be enticed when it will be listed on HgcMax.

If you want Embarc, seems like having an Interval trader is a better option, they just released a bunch there, check sightings.

 

[rc51]

One thing I found while going through all the fine print:

Qualification. As described at the beginning of these Club Rules, persons may be become HGV Max
members through the purchase of an ownership interest at a HGVClub Resort from an HGV Max
authorized sales center or by paying a one-time HGV Max initiation fee.

HGV Max is not available to persons who acquire an ownership interest at a HGVClub Resort via the
secondary resale market.

Bolding was mine, but maybe this is why people have been unable to add Max later?

 

[GT75]

or by paying a one-time HGV Max initiation fee.

This part of the rules has never been implemented by HGV. Many of us including myself have a retail purchase. Honestly, that really isn't my problem anyways. I don't think that HGV Max adds value (in fact I really believe it decreases value) to my ownership.

 

[rc51]

Some feedback for this (extremely!) helpful bunch of people on this thread. I sent the single page form letter that was at the back of the packet I got to the email address listed and I received a very nice email back from an actual individual that acknowledged the receipt and let me know that I should see the refund to the credit card in 10-15 days. For all of the horror stories that some people have had, I'll at least say this much: I did feel like the sales person I had was friendly and forthright and the cancel experience was handled very quickly and professionally. Credit where credit is due.

I do look forward to doing some more research and digging into the resale market. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that offered advice on this thread!

Quick question: as I've looked more, I see that the resale values vary quite a bit with the brokers for seemingly similar properties (points, seasons, properties). Is this typically due to owners just offering up at whatever amounts they want for their contracts or is it a good chance that I'm missing something?

 

[Bill4728]

At this point there are almost no Embarc owners buying into HGV MAX that means the Embarc resorts will have almost no availability via HGVC.

 

[letsgobobby]

fir

Some feedback for this (extremely!) helpful bunch of people on this thread. I sent the single page form letter that was at the back of the packet I got to the email address listed and I received a very nice email back from an actual individual that acknowledged the receipt and let me know that I should see the refund to the credit card in 10-15 days. For all of the horror stories that some people have had, I'll at least say this much: I did feel like the sales person I had was friendly and forthright and the cancel experience was handled very quickly and professionally. Credit where credit is due.

I do look forward to doing some more research and digging into the resale market. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that offered advice on this thread!

Quick question: as I've looked more, I see that the resale values vary quite a bit with the brokers for seemingly similar properties (points, seasons, properties). Is this typically due to owners just offering up at whatever amounts they want for their contracts or is it a good chance that I'm missing something?

first congratulations on saving thousands of dollars.

second, yea, prices are all over the place. many sellers bought retail and/or owe a lot on their deeds and/or are divorced from reality. ignore them. for your purposes a Vegas 2 br plat should cost around $6000-8000 and give you 11,200-13,440 points for around $1000 a year in MFs. It's a great place to start.

 

[ABCTravels]

@rc51 I'm glad you were able to rescind without any hassle. Congratulations!

I agree with the above post... if I could do it over again I'd get the same building I bought (Elara) but 2-bedroom platinum via resell. There are other Vegas locations more experienced members might suggest is better regarding fees, but going forward focus on the maintenance fee per point to compare deeds (keeping in mind it goes up each year.)

It will be fun for your to shop without pressure and make a choice when ALL the choices are open to you! Enjoy it

--PS- you might consider a new thread if you want to ask specific questions about the deeds you are considering. It'll bring in more eyes from people who own at these properties.

 

[brp]

I do look forward to doing some more research and digging into the resale market. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that offered advice on this thread!

It's a great group here and I have learned so much from TUG. Congrats on dodging this one and taking the time to do the research for resale.

You may want to consider using a minuscule fraction of your savings to become a TUG member and help support this wonderful place.

Cheers.

 

[rc51]

You may want to consider using a minuscule fraction of your savings to become a TUG member and help support this wonderful place.

I'm super not opposed to becoming a TUG member, but I haven't yet really researched what all comes along with it. But I'd be happy just to support this group. It's a heck of a resource.

 

[HudsHut]

Rescind NOW.

you can figure out that MAX has little value after you rescind.

 

[rc51]

Rescind NOW.

you can figure out that MAX has little value after you rescind.

I did earlier this week (which ended up being easy). I didn't quote the earlier message; this was about a TUG membership.

 

[brp]

I'm super not opposed to becoming a TUG member, but I haven't yet really researched what all comes along with it. But I'd be happy just to support this group. It's a heck of a resource.

It's straightforward. Sign up for membership and pay the 15 bucks. It does come with some additional access, none of which I actually use (some surely do). It is just an easy way to support this community.

Cheers.