Newbie ready to buy a 2 bedroom Marriott in Orlando

[we2travel]

I'm a newbie ready to buy a 2 bedroom Marriott in Orlando. However, I want to be able to exchange as well. I have questions:
1. Is it possible to have exchange capability on a resale?
2. Will I be treated like a "true" Marriott owner with a resale purchase, with all the perks that come with Marriott ownership?
3. How much should I pay, and how much should my maintenance be?
4. What does this mean - floating week, deeded (huh???)
5. I have my heart set on Marriott, so would not want to consider others.
6. There are a few Marriotts in Orlando, what is the difference? Preference maybe?
Thanx!!!

 

[brianfox]

Welcome to TUG!

Please let us know which Marriott property you are considering; there are several in Orlando area.

When you say you want to purchase through resale, I presume you mean you want to buy a deeded week. Is that correct?

1. Is it possible to have exchange capability on a resale?
Yes. You can exchange through Interval International. You can also rent out your week.

2. Will I be treated like a "true" Marriott owner with a resale purchase, with all the perks that come with Marriott ownership?
The only "perks" you will not have by purchasing a resale week is as follows:
You will not be able to take Marriott Rewards points in lieu of using your week in any given year.
You will not be able to get Destination Club points in lieu of using your week in any year.
Most TUGgers would agree that while these options have intrinsic value, the money you are saving by purchasing a deeded week resale as opposed to points direct from Marriott is enormous.

3. How much should I pay, and how much should my maintenance be?
I would recommend getting onto Redweek.com and searching for the resort you are looking at buying. For a very small yearly sum, you can see Redweek listings and recent sales. This would give you an idea as to the value. Ebay is another source to check out.
Maintenance fees are easy to find here.

4. What does this mean - floating week, deeded (huh???)
Go to this page. Floating Week is one of 50 things you will need to learn.

5. I have my heart set on Marriott, so would not want to consider others.
Smart!

6. There are a few Marriotts in Orlando, what is the difference? Preference maybe?
TUG has a reviews section.

 

[chapjim]

Offhand, I'd say you're not quite ready after all. No offense -- I just think you need to get a better handle on something that will be with you for a very long time.

 

[got4boys]

Marriotts in Orlando are great, but Orlando is overbuilt with timeshares. It is very easy to trade into a 2 bedroom Marriott with other units (Marriott or non Marriott) with a lot less maintenance fees. (Thru Interval International).

With the 2 bedroom that you what, are you traveling during Prime Weeks? Christmas, New Year, Easter, Spring Break? Every year?

If you are truly set on Marriott, I would recommend buying a lockout two bedroom on the resale market - Prime Season. The units with lockouts in Orlando are Grand Vista and Harbour Lake. Lakeshore Reserve is a lockout too (but pricier).

 

[we2travel]

Welcome to TUG!

Please let us know which Marriott property you are considering; there are several in Orlando area.

When you say you want to purchase through resale, I presume you mean you want to buy a deeded week. Is that correct?

1. Is it possible to have exchange capability on a resale?
Yes. You can exchange through Interval International. You can also rent out your week.

2. Will I be treated like a "true" Marriott owner with a resale purchase, with all the perks that come with Marriott ownership?
The only "perks" you will not have by purchasing a resale week is as follows:
You will not be able to take Marriott Rewards points in lieu of using your week in any given year.
You will not be able to get Destination Club points in lieu of using your week in any year.
Most TUGgers would agree that while these options have intrinsic value, the money you are saving by purchasing a deeded week resale as opposed to points direct from Marriott is enormous.

3. How much should I pay, and how much should my maintenance be?
I would recommend getting onto Redweek.com and searching for the resort you are looking at buying. For a very small yearly sum, you can see Redweek listings and recent sales. This would give you an idea as to the value. Ebay is another source to check out.
Maintenance fees are easy to find here.

4. What does this mean - floating week, deeded (huh???)
Go to this page. Floating Week is one of 50 things you will need to learn.

5. I have my heart set on Marriott, so would not want to consider others.
Smart!

6. There are a few Marriotts in Orlando, what is the difference? Preference maybe?
TUG has a reviews section.

Thank you Brian Fox, you got me going in the right direction!

 

[we2travel]

Thanks got4boys.

Marriotts in Orlando are great, but Orlando is overbuilt with timeshares. It is very easy to trade into a 2 bedroom Marriott with other units (Marriott or non Marriott) with a lot less maintenance fees. (Thru Interval International).

With the 2 bedroom that you what, are you traveling during Prime Weeks? Christmas, New Year, Easter, Spring Break? Every year?

If you are truly set on Marriott, I would recommend buying a lockout two bedroom on the resale market - Prime Season. The units with lockouts in Orlando are Grand Vista and Harbour Lake. Lakeshore Reserve is a lockout too (but pricier).

I'll investigate this. How do I achieve "less maintenance fees" if I have to use II?

 

[Beachspace]

We use Orlando a lot because we have family there and its only a 3.5 hour drive (plus I grew up there). Since it might have been cheaper (maintenance fee wise) to buy else where, we bid $100-$300 for a 2 bed plat lock off at Harbour Lake. MF are under $200/night so its cheaper than Friends & Family rates and we get 7 straight days (which is hard to put together without changing rooms on F&F rates). That to us was a good deal and we can lock off, use the 1 bedroom and get a 2nd vacation else where in Florida with our studio (or rent it out).

Grand Vista is great as well and we just bought a 3 bedroom there that we plan to use for exchanging only (and then later in life as our family moves away or expands, we'll have room to get together). That was only $1500 + closing so we got a great deal on that one.

Keep doing your research. I worked at MVC for almost a year, have a degree in Hospitality and still needed a few months of research on here and other sites before making the leap.

 

[GM600]

...we bid $100-$300 for a 2 bed plat lock off at Harbour Lake.

Grand Vista is great as well and we just bought a 3 bedroom... That was only $1500 + closing so we got a great deal on that one.

@Beachspace
If these purchases have passed ROFR already, can you add them to www.rofr.net

 

[Beachspace]

@Beachspace
If these purchases have passed ROFR already, can you add them to www.rofr.net

Grand Vista is on there , waiting on Harbour lake. The sales company is atrocious , I'll do a review on them later once it's done (fingers crossed)

 

[GM600]

Grand Vista is on there , waiting on Harbour lake. The sales company is atrocious , I'll do a review on them later once it's done (fingers crossed)

Oh ok, I didn't see a 3 bedroom for $1,500 listed there

 

[kds4]

Thanks got4boys.

I'll investigate this. How do I achieve "less maintenance fees" if I have to use II?

Maintenance fees and II are an apple and an orange. The maintenance fee is determined by the property you own and paid annually to them. Exchange fees (per transaction) and annual membership fees are paid to Interval International. To achieve 'less maintenance fees' is referring to owning a Non-Marriott resort (which may charge less in annual maintenance fees) and then exchange into the Marriott resort you want to actually go to. The only potential risk is if you are unable to exchange to the Marriott you want to go to, you are left with renting out or staying at your owned 'Non-Marriott' resort. That's one reason why you should definitely consider buying at a place you would want to go (if you were unable to exchange it). With a Marriott you know the quality of the place you will be staying (and potentially owning) at. While I'm sure there are other high-quality resorts out there you could buy (which may have a lower maintenance fee), I don't know enough about them to offer any recommendations. We have exchanged into many Marriott resorts (as well as stayed at the ones we own) and all have been excellent. On the other hand, we did try a Non-Marriott exchange in the U.S. for one of our children to stay at a few years ago. It was a terrible experience that led to their checking out (giving up) by Day 3 and leaving. YMMV.

 

[kds4]

I'm a newbie ready to buy a 2 bedroom Marriott in Orlando. However, I want to be able to exchange as well. I have questions:
1. Is it possible to have exchange capability on a resale?
2. Will I be treated like a "true" Marriott owner with a resale purchase, with all the perks that come with Marriott ownership?
3. How much should I pay, and how much should my maintenance be?
4. What does this mean - floating week, deeded (huh???)
5. I have my heart set on Marriott, so would not want to consider others.
6. There are a few Marriotts in Orlando, what is the difference? Preference maybe?
Thanx!!!

I agree with many of the suggestions others have already given. As far as exchanging goes, I would only add that within Marriott there is something called the 'Florida Club'. Several Marriott resorts (in Florida) belong to it. If you own at one of these resorts, you can exchange to any of the other Marriott Florida Club resorts for free (and without having to go through or pay exchange fees to II). Something you may also want to factor into your decision making. All of the Orlando Marriott Resorts are excellent and have a unique character/features. Depending on your family situation and interests, one may suit you better than others (family with small kids or teenagers, empty-nesters, golfer, park-goer, quiet property versus a busy activity schedule, desire a small versus large resort, etc.)

 

[Dean]

Offhand, I'd say you're not quite ready after all. No offense -- I just think you need to get a better handle on something that will be with you for a very long time.

I'd second this. If you're educated, you'll make a much better purchase. If you plan to exchange anyway, you may want to consider something else that will give you more options and exchange in to Orlando giving you more options.

 

[Berea1]

Butp purchasey the cheapest Marriott Orlando timeshare available for yuor first purchase. Ebay Florida timeshares has several ones available starting for $49.00 each (Consider spending $150 to setup a LLC timeshare in which name to buy all of your timeshare but that is an issue for another day.) Once you have purchased the timeshare and deposited it with Interval International, then go to getaways for Orlando and look at all of the inexpensive Marriott timeshares that you will then have access to by buying only one low cost Orlando timeshares!!!! Just a thought! Patrick

 

[Pamplemousse]

Thanks got4boys.

I'll investigate this. How do I achieve "less maintenance fees" if I have to use II?

I'm sure you'll find this mentioned in the advice all the experienced tuggers are giving you but as someone who owns a Marriott Orlando week who traded only on II until recently I would like to suggest you be sure to research interval well so you are not disappointed with your trading efforts.

Interval trades on a like for like basis- each unit has a trading power based on its size, the rating of the resort and the demand of the specific week you own (or book on a float). So you will do best if you own something with trading power equal or better than where you want to exchange.
For me II has worked well when I can place a request a year in advance.
II also charges an upsize fee if you want a bigger unit than you are exchanging so that can place a bit of a damper on the lockoff advantage. Plus you can only request up to the size you are exchanging.
Marriotts have a priority exchange period which means only other Marriott owners can exchange into units deposited into II for 3 weeks. So owning non Marriott lessens your ability to exchange into Marriott via II.

Those are just a few examples of everything you need to consider and weigh before you purchased.
That said, I have made great exchanges to Hawaii, Aruba, Paris, HH, FL, CA, etc over the years. It can be done and we are happy. But there is a lot of complaining on the II community boards from people who don't fully understand the II process. You don't just book it, make the exchange. It's a process. And the Marriott points system seems to have made things even more complicated.

Good luck!