Thank you TUGGERS! Finally 5*

[gmarine]

gmarine your're being a bit critical. This obviously works for Westin5star, and can afford the luxury pruchase. We'd also go this route if we could right now! I don't know what home prices are in your part of NY but you certainly can't touch even a basic 2 bdrm. condo in Calif. for $189,000( In the SF bay area or L.A. even with the housing slump!)) let alone a vacation home!!

I dont mean to be critical at all. Just looking at it from a financial standpoint.

A lot of newbies read these posts and it needs to be explained that doing what the OP is doing isnt for everyone. You need to have substantial resources to do this or it shouldnt be attempted. Thats all I'm saying.

The OP has obviously thought this out and its right for him. I'm playing the role of financial advisor for those who may be new to timesharing and who may think his idea looks interesting.

 

[kenzie]

I would like to say congrats. I also became 5* this year when we bought our 4th direct week our first was wk 7 harborside 2bdr/lo ,then wk8 westin mission hills 2bdr/lo,then wk17 3bdr st john, then wk2 harborside 2bdr/lo, and30000 staroption credit for disney. total cost of starwood timeshares 140000. If your happy with having the world as a vacation home like we are then the investment dosen't matter. AGAIN CONGRATS!!!!!

 

[mesamirage]

Financially it isnt wise. However, maybe the OP is a multi-millionaire. In that case it doesnt matter.

I think we are getting lost on the large dollar amount that Westin5Star spent to get to 5 Star... yeah he spent $189,000 to get to this point, but we all have spent the same money just on a different scale. If buying up to 5 star is bad, then going with that theory buying just 1 or 2 is even worse!! You spend 1/5th or 2/5th the same money as Westin5Star but you don't get all the benefits he now has.

Doesn't that make owning any timeshares a bad decision?? a bad investment?? Its all relative... $40,000 in my budget on timeshares might be equal to $189,000 in his budget.....

I support Westin5Star getting to 5 Star!! Congrats!! I just want to point out that if you bang him for getting 5 weeks... getting just 1 or 2 is even a worse investment!

Steve

We own 5 weeks... (not all Westin) and love it.

 

[Negma]

These arguments are about what the value is to the spender, some want to be millionaires, save their money, and be fat and happy.

Some of us look for both. Who says you can't have both? I have seen many people look at the return on investment, lost opportuniy cost, and never experience what Westin5star is about to experience. I bet there are things that any of us buy that others would go holy **** you have to be kidding.

I on the other hand I am nuts ( I will place a $25 bet on a blackjack table but I will only buy cereal on sale)and I will have it all, nice vacations, friends, and hopefully health, at he same time I will have enough put away so if I want to spend 20K on another week somewhere.

Those are my goals. If I bought nothing over the last 10 years I could retire, but then what would I do? One last rant....Buying timeshares and vacations should not be a choice of investing or not investing, they are NOT the same and should not be compared. Thank you, I will be here all night......

 

[Transit]

That was fast ! congrats

 

[saluki]

I would like to say congrats. I also became 5* this year when we bought our 4th direct week our first was wk 7 harborside 2bdr/lo ,then wk8 westin mission hills 2bdr/lo,then wk17 3bdr st john, then wk2 harborside 2bdr/lo, and30000 staroption credit for disney. total cost of starwood timeshares 140000. If your happy with having the world as a vacation home like we are then the investment dosen't matter. AGAIN CONGRATS!!!!!

kenzie-

The way you're throwing all that cash around, you may as well drop a measly $15 to join Tug.

 

[kenzie]

been a member since feb 07 feb 10 not a prob

 

[capjak]

I think we are all green with envy!

I often dream of owning those TSs or maybe a DC would be even better.

I just don't see how you find all that vacation time.

 

[rocky]

I dunno.... I used much less cash to put a down payment on a place in PV that is completely managed, daily maid, chef available, private pool, panoramic views of the entire Bay of Banderas.. the works. I do little to rent it, it's maintained for me, and people write everyday wanting to trade time in their homes for time in our villa...... we are 95% occupied and after 10 months of ownership it we have CASH revenues of almost $90K. I'm am pretty sure you can have your vacation cake and eat it too without spending almost $200K on timeshares. And yes... I bought from the developer way back when.... and WOULD NEVER EVER DO IT AGAIN. And Elite status.... I suggest asking the Platinum members over on flyertalk how they feel about their Elite status...... the rules of the game change over time. Never to the benefit of the customer.

 

[Westin5Star]

From a financial standpoint, when spending $189,000 on a luxury item you should have a net worth of around $2 million. And you should have a plan to invest at least $5000 per year in each childs college account.

Great vacations, sure, but at a large price. Just looking at it both ways.

Large is a relative term. $189k to Bill Gates is like most people buying a pack of gum. To set the record straight, my monthly residual, disposable cash flow is about $140k. Therefore, these purchases only took up a little more than a month's income. Investing that money and making $10k, $20k, or $30k per year just doesn't seem that appealing to me vs. the awesome vacations that my family and I will have.

Renting condos and suites is something that we have done in the past but it was hit and miss on quality even in the (supposed) nicest resorts. In addition, my $9k per year in MF would have been around $20-30k per year in rental fees.

At the end of the day this was not really much of a financial purchase or investment at all. We bought where we wanted to travel. My wife and I don't work so we try to vacation at least once a month besides traveling back and forth between our two homes. As for net worth and college, I really don't concern myself with that stuff; I'll just say that it is taken care of.

Thank you again everyone for all the congratulation and kind words. I want to reiterate how much I appreciate everyone's help through this process!

 

[gmarine]

I think we are getting lost on the large dollar amount that Westin5Star spent to get to 5 Star... yeah he spent $189,000 to get to this point, but we all have spent the same money just on a different scale. If buying up to 5 star is bad, then going with that theory buying just 1 or 2 is even worse!! You spend 1/5th or 2/5th the same money as Westin5Star but you don't get all the benefits he now has.

Doesn't that make owning any timeshares a bad decision?? a bad investment?? Its all relative... $40,000 in my budget on timeshares might be equal to $189,000 in his budget.....

I support Westin5Star getting to 5 Star!! Congrats!! I just want to point out that if you bang him for getting 5 weeks... getting just 1 or 2 is even a worse investment!

Steve

We own 5 weeks... (not all Westin) and love it.

Home foreclosures at an all time high. Bankrupty laws changed because it was too easy to file and too many people took advantage.

Thousands upon thousands of resale timeshare weeks are for sale for a fraction of original cost because the buyers cant afford to keep them.

I cant imagine how things like that could happen.

 

[califgal]

Westin5star....I think you know how fortunate you are and you sound like a nice guy. Some people have to rain on your parade! It was obvious to me that you are very well off and have time to vacation. I still say enjoy it and good for you!

 

[luv_maui]

I'm just envious of all those fabulous vacations at fabulous resorts as well as all of that vacation time. Enjoy your purchase. If I had that kind of discretionary income I'd certainly do the exact same thing and get to 5*. Staying in a Starwood villa just doesn't compare to an ordinay timeshare condo or even a hotel. However, an auto upgrade at a hotel would certainly make hotels a lot different experience worth dreaming about.

 

[tomandrobin]

At the end of the day this was not really much of a financial purchase or investment at all. We bought where we wanted to travel. My wife and I don't work so we try to vacation at least once a month besides traveling back and forth between our two homes.

You followed the biggest timeshare rule, buy where you want to stay, and the second biggest rule, buy resale (when you can).

I agree with your thinking, its not always about the money.

 

[Courts]

I wanted to post my story here of the past 4 months of getting to 5*. Before I do I wanted to say how much I appreciate everyone's help throughout this process. You are all great! If I hadn't found TUG I would not have been able to buy the weeks that I got and I would have paid a lot more to get to 5*.

February-
Bought EY WKORV 2BR OFD resale with 148,100 StarOptions for $50,000 with minimal closing costs. 2007 usage included but I had to pay MF.

March-
Bought EY WKV 2BR PL resale with 148,100 StarOptions for $21,500 with minimal closing costs. 2007 usage included but I had to pay MF.

April-
Bought EY WLR 2BR PL direct with 148,100 StarOptions and 150,000 StarPoint incentive for $37,950 with $545 in closing costs and requalified my WKV (above). Resort opens in 2008 and I have usage then.

Bought EY HRA 2BR LO PL resale with 148,100 StarOptions for $27,000 with about $2,000 in closing costs. Usage starts for this purchase in 2008.

May-
Bought EOY (2008) 2BR WPORV direct with 74,050 StarOptions (148,100 / 2) and 100,000 StarPoints incentive for $24,300 with $545 in closing costs and requalified my WKORV (above).

Bought EOY (2009) 2BR WPORV direct with 74,050 StarOptions (148,100 / 2) and 100,000 StarPoints incentive for $24,300 with closing costs waived and requalified my HRA (above).

I know that I could have saved alot of money by buying other resorts, less views, seasons, less weeks (StarOptions) etc. At the end of the day, I decided to spend the extra money and buy where I wanted and when I wanted to travel.

I ended up with 10 weeks (if I split my LOs) and 740,500 StarOptions which is well above the 559,000 necessary for 5*. All of my weeks are in network and I spent about $189,000. Looking back I have no regrets. My 2 year old, 3 year old, and wife will have many great years of vacation!

If anyone has any quesitons on any of this please let me know and I will try to explain / clarify!

Maybe I'm just slow, but it was my understanding that a requal had to be "equal" (EOY for EOY and EY for EY) to the developer purchase. It looks like you requalified an EY with a developer EOY. Is that correct?

.

 

[Westin5Star]

Maybe I'm just slow, but it was my understanding that a requal had to be "equal" (EOY for EOY and EY for EY) to the developer purchase. It looks like you requalified an EY with a developer EOY. Is that correct?

.

Yes you are correct. They used a new EOY purchase to requal and resale EY. I believe that the sticky has been updated to reflect this. David (of David and Robin) was able to do this a couple of months ago. I was just following in his footsteps on this.

 

[Courts]

Yes you are correct. They used a new EOY purchase to requal and resale EY. I believe that the sticky has been updated to reflect this. David (of David and Robin) was able to do this a couple of months ago. I was just following in his footsteps on this.

My hat is off to you. Congrats.

The only thing left for you to do is purchase a "jet" timeshare.


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