My husband and I own Westgate Flamingo Bay deeded floating week, and we knew going into timeshare ownership that we weren't going to make money doing it. But our family needed more space than a hotel would provide, and we knew that having a guaranteed week to use would push us to take annual family vacations. Sure, it took a number of years before it paid for itself, and we have yearly maintenance fees. But, our NV purchase has always traded easily on Interval and the maintenance fees are reasonable compared to FL ones.
Since we've always traded into Marriott resorts, we thought it may make sense to purchase MVC Points. Yes, we know about resales on the secondary market--my sister has done this successfully twice as a Sheraton Owner, BUT... when my husband and I went to a Marriott Encore timeshare presentation after enjoying two super-inexpensive weeks sold to us by Marriott directly, we asked what we thought were all the right questions, and we believed the sales agent when he explained all the benefits of a direct purchase vs. secondary market. We liked the idea of having a dedicated "concierge" who would answer all our questions after purchase, that we wouldn't have to pay for II membership and all the transaction fees that we deal with as Westgate Owners when getting Guest Certificates, and that we'd see Marriott Inventory prior to owners of other timeshares on II. I was especially happy about the idea of having FULL access to II inventory, vs. the 11-15% he stated that we currently have. However, we hadn't done our due diligence regarding current Marriott resale prices, and we certainly didn't know enough about MVC Points or Beneficial Interests to help us negotiate the best price. Even so, we felt that we were getting a decent deal on 1500 Points, we liked all the promos that would be included, and we felt that we could purchase additional points on the secondary market to fit our current traveling style.
ALL THAT BEING SAID, I couldn't sleep that night after we'd signed the contract. I kept thinking about how our Contract was on a flash drive rather than paper that I could easily reread and ensure that all was as we'd anticipated according to the presentation and our understanding of the contract as we zipped through the e-sign documents. We were still on vacation though, so I put my worries in the back of my mind and assured myself that my husband is so good with finances that he wouldn't allow us to make a misstep. Sure, we knew it wasn't an investment, but we wouldn't trade our vacation memories as timeshare owners for anything. It has really helped us enjoy traveling with our special needs family member. HOWEVER, that evening, all my concerns came flooding back and I insisted to my husband that we go to the resort computer and see if we could read our contract. I was relieved when the contract was actually on the flash drive, but it took a bit of navigation to locate everything. I then insisted we print all fifteen pages (We print two-sided to avoid wasting the resort's paper!) because I knew I wouldn't sleep until I read all those details again that made our purchase worthwhile.
YOU KNOW I wasn't happy when I read the Contract. None of the assurances that we'd been given were guaranteed in writing. And the II membership was included in our Club Dues, which was way more expensive than what we currently pay on our own--even including all the nickel and dime transactions. And, the Club Dues can go up annually, just like the maintenance fees. Still, we'd spent four hours at that meeting, and we'd made a mutual and what we considered a thoughtful decision...and they were giving us last year's point rate, using our Encore week payment as a down-payment. I was concerned about throwing away what might be the best deal we'd get (without the hassle of navigating timeshare resale on our own). That's when I did a Google Search and found TUGBBS. I remembered this site from a few years back when we'd researched pros and cons of selling our Westgate timeshare. I knew you guys are legit.
Reading the posts about purchasing directly from the developer, and especially about purchasing Points, my decision to rescind was cemented. We would've been so unhappy with this particular purchase. Anyway, I talked to my husband about all that I'd learned, and he was so thankful, calling me "Mitch McDeere," lol. I followed our contract's rescission instructions very carefully and we successfully rescinded our purchase contract with Marriott Ownership Resorts Inc. well within the "cooling off" period allowed. I admit that we did answer our sales agent's call after they acknowledged our cancelation. BUT, I was prepared to say no, no, and no thank you, and when he tried to tell us he could do us a favor and hold off on officially canceling everything for 72 hours I made it very clear that our demand for rescission of that purchase contract was final, and effective as of the date we'd sent it. He tried again with the 72 hours nonsense, and I played "broken record." He then said okay. We had not taken out a loan, but were going to put the purchase price on the Bonvoy Bevy Card we'd agreed to open (I'm already a Bonvoy member, and I use the Bonvoy Points for our couple travel.) Anyway, we still love Marriott. We just aren't going to be MVC Points Owners. This experience motivated me to revisit our Westgate Owners website as well as Interval International website, and to see how I can maximize the value of our current timeshare. It has been quite awhile since I'd been on the Westgate site and was pleasantly surprised. Also, II has perks that I'd not noticed or had forgotten about, and now...as a semi-retired couple, we will definitely use.
THANK YOU for being here and giving sound advice!!!! I'm going to do a lot more research here on TUGBBS and elsewhere prior to making any decisions about future timeshare purchases. We feel very fortunate that we were able to rescind and be free of a very expensive mistake. IF this could happen to us, I feel it can happen to many people. Those sales agents are very skilled at their jobs. The only one that raised any red flags or alerted my "spidey" sense was the "Quality Assurance" employee who did the e-signing with us. She spoke very quickly, but I wrote it off to her wanting to get home before the hurricane. She seemed very flippant with my questions as I tried to read the contract on the iPad. Lastly, she stated that they put everything on flash drive, and that was unsettling to me. If I'd read the NYS addendum about having the choice to receive a print contract, I'd have selected that option. I didn't notice it, though. I was truly hungry for lunch and distracted by thoughts of getting back to our adult family members at the resort. None of these are excuses for our poor decision, yet I try to give myself grace. I tried to read everything and yet failed to do so effectively. I was comfortable with the monthly expense that this purchase would entail, so that worked against me too. If you've read this long post, use it as your cautionary tale. Don't let your emotions, exhaustion, a great connection with the sales agent, or any other aspect get in the way of saying "no, thanks" at the end of a Timeshare Presentation. As for us, we will NEVER attend another Timeshare Presentation--we can't risk it!
Since we've always traded into Marriott resorts, we thought it may make sense to purchase MVC Points. Yes, we know about resales on the secondary market--my sister has done this successfully twice as a Sheraton Owner, BUT... when my husband and I went to a Marriott Encore timeshare presentation after enjoying two super-inexpensive weeks sold to us by Marriott directly, we asked what we thought were all the right questions, and we believed the sales agent when he explained all the benefits of a direct purchase vs. secondary market. We liked the idea of having a dedicated "concierge" who would answer all our questions after purchase, that we wouldn't have to pay for II membership and all the transaction fees that we deal with as Westgate Owners when getting Guest Certificates, and that we'd see Marriott Inventory prior to owners of other timeshares on II. I was especially happy about the idea of having FULL access to II inventory, vs. the 11-15% he stated that we currently have. However, we hadn't done our due diligence regarding current Marriott resale prices, and we certainly didn't know enough about MVC Points or Beneficial Interests to help us negotiate the best price. Even so, we felt that we were getting a decent deal on 1500 Points, we liked all the promos that would be included, and we felt that we could purchase additional points on the secondary market to fit our current traveling style.
ALL THAT BEING SAID, I couldn't sleep that night after we'd signed the contract. I kept thinking about how our Contract was on a flash drive rather than paper that I could easily reread and ensure that all was as we'd anticipated according to the presentation and our understanding of the contract as we zipped through the e-sign documents. We were still on vacation though, so I put my worries in the back of my mind and assured myself that my husband is so good with finances that he wouldn't allow us to make a misstep. Sure, we knew it wasn't an investment, but we wouldn't trade our vacation memories as timeshare owners for anything. It has really helped us enjoy traveling with our special needs family member. HOWEVER, that evening, all my concerns came flooding back and I insisted to my husband that we go to the resort computer and see if we could read our contract. I was relieved when the contract was actually on the flash drive, but it took a bit of navigation to locate everything. I then insisted we print all fifteen pages (We print two-sided to avoid wasting the resort's paper!) because I knew I wouldn't sleep until I read all those details again that made our purchase worthwhile.
YOU KNOW I wasn't happy when I read the Contract. None of the assurances that we'd been given were guaranteed in writing. And the II membership was included in our Club Dues, which was way more expensive than what we currently pay on our own--even including all the nickel and dime transactions. And, the Club Dues can go up annually, just like the maintenance fees. Still, we'd spent four hours at that meeting, and we'd made a mutual and what we considered a thoughtful decision...and they were giving us last year's point rate, using our Encore week payment as a down-payment. I was concerned about throwing away what might be the best deal we'd get (without the hassle of navigating timeshare resale on our own). That's when I did a Google Search and found TUGBBS. I remembered this site from a few years back when we'd researched pros and cons of selling our Westgate timeshare. I knew you guys are legit.
Reading the posts about purchasing directly from the developer, and especially about purchasing Points, my decision to rescind was cemented. We would've been so unhappy with this particular purchase. Anyway, I talked to my husband about all that I'd learned, and he was so thankful, calling me "Mitch McDeere," lol. I followed our contract's rescission instructions very carefully and we successfully rescinded our purchase contract with Marriott Ownership Resorts Inc. well within the "cooling off" period allowed. I admit that we did answer our sales agent's call after they acknowledged our cancelation. BUT, I was prepared to say no, no, and no thank you, and when he tried to tell us he could do us a favor and hold off on officially canceling everything for 72 hours I made it very clear that our demand for rescission of that purchase contract was final, and effective as of the date we'd sent it. He tried again with the 72 hours nonsense, and I played "broken record." He then said okay. We had not taken out a loan, but were going to put the purchase price on the Bonvoy Bevy Card we'd agreed to open (I'm already a Bonvoy member, and I use the Bonvoy Points for our couple travel.) Anyway, we still love Marriott. We just aren't going to be MVC Points Owners. This experience motivated me to revisit our Westgate Owners website as well as Interval International website, and to see how I can maximize the value of our current timeshare. It has been quite awhile since I'd been on the Westgate site and was pleasantly surprised. Also, II has perks that I'd not noticed or had forgotten about, and now...as a semi-retired couple, we will definitely use.
THANK YOU for being here and giving sound advice!!!! I'm going to do a lot more research here on TUGBBS and elsewhere prior to making any decisions about future timeshare purchases. We feel very fortunate that we were able to rescind and be free of a very expensive mistake. IF this could happen to us, I feel it can happen to many people. Those sales agents are very skilled at their jobs. The only one that raised any red flags or alerted my "spidey" sense was the "Quality Assurance" employee who did the e-signing with us. She spoke very quickly, but I wrote it off to her wanting to get home before the hurricane. She seemed very flippant with my questions as I tried to read the contract on the iPad. Lastly, she stated that they put everything on flash drive, and that was unsettling to me. If I'd read the NYS addendum about having the choice to receive a print contract, I'd have selected that option. I didn't notice it, though. I was truly hungry for lunch and distracted by thoughts of getting back to our adult family members at the resort. None of these are excuses for our poor decision, yet I try to give myself grace. I tried to read everything and yet failed to do so effectively. I was comfortable with the monthly expense that this purchase would entail, so that worked against me too. If you've read this long post, use it as your cautionary tale. Don't let your emotions, exhaustion, a great connection with the sales agent, or any other aspect get in the way of saying "no, thanks" at the end of a Timeshare Presentation. As for us, we will NEVER attend another Timeshare Presentation--we can't risk it!
