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What do I need to know if purchasing a Timeshare (resale)

just4stef

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I have been checking the timeshare resale websites and considering purchasing. I'm interested in the Marriott's Maui Ocean Club.

There's one posted right now for a 2BR:

16,500 (Maint. Fee: $3,016)​

  • Week: Floating (High Season)
  • Ownership Type: Deeded
  • Use: Annual
  • Next use: 2024
What are the questions I should be asking?
What is an appropriate offer for something like this posting?
What other fees will I be responsible for if I make the purchase?
Is there anything that I won't get if purchasing resale vs purchasing from the developer?

Any other things I should be on the look out for, please let me know.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your insights and feedback!!!!

 

vacationtime1

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My first questions would be what is the view category of this listing and whether you are familiar with what a "mountain" or "garden" view is like at MOC (those are the likely view categories given the listing price).

A resale Marriott week will not be eligible for the Abound program. Therefore, no club fees.

You will have the same rights that a retail purchaser of MOC would have -- except the ability to enroll in Abound. If you plan is to use your week (or rent it or a portion of it), it will give you the bucket of rights you seek at a fraction of the retail cost of buying a week or points.
 

just4stef

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My first questions would be what is the view category of this listing and whether you are familiar with what a "mountain" or "garden" view is like at MOC (those are the likely view categories given the listing price).

A resale Marriott week will not be eligible for the Abound program. Therefore, no club fees.

You will have the same rights that a retail purchaser of MOC would have -- except the ability to enroll in Abound. If you plan is to use your week (or rent it or a portion of it), it will give you the bucket of rights you seek at a fraction of the retail cost of buying a week or points.
Thank you for your prompt response.

This particular post is for the Lahaina Tower with a Garden view. We've stayed at the MOC but had an Oceanview so not sure what a "Mountain" or "Garden" view looks like.

With not being eligible for the Abound program, is there anything major that I would miss out on? Am I only able to stay at the MOC or can I stay at other Marriott vacation clubs?
 

cowboy

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Mountain or garden view is just what it says, no ocean view.
 

CPNY

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Thank you for your prompt response.

This particular post is for the Lahaina Tower with a Garden view. We've stayed at the MOC but had an Oceanview so not sure what a "Mountain" or "Garden" view looks like.

With not being eligible for the Abound program, is there anything major that I would miss out on? Am I only able to stay at the MOC or can I stay at other Marriott vacation clubs?
Have you looked into any of the Westins on the island? It will come with the use of Star options and a free interval account.
 

just4stef

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Have you looked into any of the Westins on the island? It will come with the use of Star options and a free interval account.
Yes, looking at those as well. If purchasing a Westin resale, will I have access to the Abound program?
 

CPNY

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Yes, looking at those as well. If purchasing a Westin resale, will I have access to the Abound program?
No, but you will have access to the VSN (Vistana signature network) and a free interval account comes with it. You won’t have Abound access with a Marriott resale either.
 

just4stef

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No, but you will have access to the VSN (Vistana signature network) and a free interval account comes with it. You won’t have Abound access with a Marriott resale either.
I haven't read up on the Abound access yet. What will Abound provide for timeshare owners?
 

sponger76

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I haven't read up on the Abound access yet. What will Abound provide for timeshare owners?
Abound allows you to use your ownership as points to book both MVC (Marriott) and VSN (Westin and Sheraton) timeshare properties all in one place.
 

just4stef

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Abound allows you to use your ownership as points to book both MVC (Marriott) and VSN (Westin and Sheraton) timeshare properties all in one place.
Oh! So does that mean if I purchase on resale, I will NOT be able to convert my StarOptions as points to use withing MVC and VSN?
 

CPNY

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Oh! So does that mean if I purchase on resale, I will NOT be able to convert my StarOptions as points to use withing MVC and VSN?
It means you won’t be able to convert to abound club points. Because it’s mandatory, you’ll still be able to convert to star options and book anything in the VSN at 8 months when you don’t want to use your home ownership but you cannot use it to book Marriott properties in abound. You can however use it to book a full week at a Marriott in interval.
 

sponger76

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Oh! So does that mean if I purchase on resale, I will NOT be able to convert my StarOptions as points to use withing MVC and VSN?
You won't be able to use in Abound. For VSN, it depends on if the resale purchase is a mandatory or voluntary resort. Mandatory can still use StarOptions for all resorts within VSN. Voluntary can only be used at your home resort in VSN. Both mandatory and voluntary can be used within Interval International for all of the above.
 

just4stef

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You won't be able to use in Abound. For VSN, it depends on if the resale purchase is a mandatory or voluntary resort. Mandatory can still use StarOptions for all resorts within VSN. Voluntary can only be used at your home resort in VSN. Both mandatory and voluntary can be used within Interval International for all of the above.
Thank you!
 

BJRSanDiego

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Others may opine differently, but it is my opinion that if you were to buy enough Marriott points directly from Marriott for the purpose of staying on Maui, I think that you'd pay a lot more - - perhaps double. I think that the current cost of their points may be in the range of $13-16 a point (somewhat depending on how you haggle). It takes more points to get an ocean view room and even more for ocean front. There are points charts that you can find if you google. But my "gut" tells me that you might need 4000 - 5000 points to reserve a 2 BR island or ocean view. More for ocean front. I'm sure that others more knowledgeable will jump in and give you a precise numbers.

There is another option and that would be to buy resale points. They seem to go for between $3 and 4 a point PLUS ~ $3 per point "education" fee that goes to Marriott. So, you could outlay about 1/2 of what you'd pay directly to Marriott.

A third option, assuming that you may not want to fly to Hawaii every year is to buy an Every Other Year (EOY) timeshare. Good luck on your research. You're going about this the right way.
 

clipper

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Please excuse me for piggybacking on this thread, but I am looking at purchasing a resale and have similar questions. Do you recommend getting an agent to assist on making the purchase or is it easy enough to represent myself? Should I get title insurance? How much does a puchasing agent normally charge? Any recommendations?
 

TheTimeTraveler

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Please excuse me for piggybacking on this thread, but I am looking at purchasing a resale and have similar questions. Do you recommend getting an agent to assist on making the purchase or is it easy enough to represent myself? Should I get title insurance? How much does a puchasing agent normally charge? Any recommendations?


You likely could find a resale week from someone looking to sell on their own. If that's the case, make your own buyer/seller deal and then contact LT Transfers to handle the escrow and transfer of title. They are the best in the business.

Check out Legal Title Transfers for yourself at the website below:


www.LTTransfers.com


Well recommender here on TUG.




.
 

clipper

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The TimeTraveler, thank you for your response. I agreed to purchasing a resale timeshare today. I would have used LT Transfers but the seller's agent was so pleasant to deal with that I requested her to process the transfer herself. I realized that she has also been mentioned favourably by TUG members in the past.

Judith A. Rulli, Designated Broker
Luxury Residence Club Resales
8220 E Arlington Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85250
(602) 391-3423 – direct
(480) 947-1349 – fax

I recommend Judy for resale and rental timeshare transactions. :thumbup:
 

Lakeshore

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You likely could find a resale week from someone looking to sell on their own. If that's the case, make your own buyer/seller deal and then contact LT Transfers to handle the escrow and transfer of title. They are the best in the business.

Check out Legal Title Transfers for yourself at the website below:


www.LTTransfers.com


Well recommender here on TUG.




.
When you “make your own buyer/seller deal” on your own, is there some contract you should use right off the bat, or can you communicate in general terms first? Is there a standard type of contract that is used, let’s say, on Redweek? What needs to be in the contract besides- timeshare name, unit, week or season, etc, etc??? How do you know if the seller has back fees that need to be paid? Is all of this in the initial conversation? Sorry, we are looking, too, and I just don’t know how to start the whole buying process. Thanks so much for any advice.
 

SteelerGal

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When you “make your own buyer/seller deal” on your own, is there some contract you should use right off the bat, or can you communicate in general terms first? Is there a standard type of contract that is used, let’s say, on Redweek? What needs to be in the contract besides- timeshare name, unit, week or season, etc, etc??? How do you know if the seller has back fees that need to be paid? Is all of this in the initial conversation? Sorry, we are looking, too, and I just don’t know how to start the whole buying process. Thanks so much for any advice.
when you use LT Transfers, they have paperwork that you both fill out. You can request an estoppel to confirm what you are purchasing is what is being sold as well. I have had ppl back out as well as sold and purchased using LT Transfers and haven’t had any issues.
 

clipper

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You can go on the LT Transfers website and preview the information that you need to know by the time you are ready to purchase. Some details are harder to uncover, such as are there owner benefits that do not transfer over on resale purchases, etc. I would do a search on the resort as most topics like these have been discussed in the TUG forums. When looking at resale ads on the TUG classifieds or RedWeek, there are a other details to look at or ask about, such as the first year of use, any maintenance fees that need to be reimbursed, etc. Find the one that suits your needs best.
 

Lakeshore

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You can go on the LT Transfers website and preview the information that you need to know by the time you are ready to purchase. Some details are harder to uncover, such as are there owner benefits that do not transfer over on resale purchases, etc. I would do a search on the resort as most topics like these have been discussed in the TUG forums. When looking at resale ads on the TUG classifieds or RedWeek, there are a other details to look at or ask about, such as the first year of use, any maintenance fees that need to be reimbursed, etc. Find the one that suits your needs best.
Thanks for the info. I knew about LT Transfers, and would want to use them if it wasn’t a broker deal, but if the seller has their own broker, wouldn’t they handle these things? Or could I then use LT Transfers for my part?
Also, I guess I’m just at a loss at how to make an offer…that comes before all of the transfer business. I’m looking at Redweek, and it says I can make an offer…so is this a general offer, or do I have to put every thing in it from the start? That is the part I am not sure about. Do I just make an offer of price? And if they accept then we start the LT Transfer? Or do I need all of the details in my initial conversation?
Thanks so much to everyone for your help! We have been wanting to purchase another week at our home resort for years, and just haven’t because I’m not sure exactly how it all works, and I don’t want to make a mistake. But every year we go, we say we need to purchase more weeks. And I hate renting when the rental price is half of a purchase price! Hopefully I can get it all figured out, make a purchase or two, and next year we can have our weeks ready to use for our family’s enjoyment Without the stress of having to rent.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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If the seller has their own Broker then who or whom do they represent; the seller or the buyer? Who is paying the Broker? Obviously the seller, so they represent the sellers interest. Always keep that in your mind if you do decide to use the seller's Broker.

When debating making an offer you want to address any issue that concern you; i.e. date of transfer, date of first use, when do maintenance fees kick in for the buyer, who pays transfer fees and closing costs, who pays any unforeseen special assessments prior to title transfer, and anything else you feel needs addressing.

If these things are ironed out between the buyer and the seller prior to purchase offer then the purchase offer can be done with all these things placed into writing and all participants get what they had discussed (and already agreed upon).

Take your time and get what you want............





.
 

clipper

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Also, I guess I’m just at a loss at how to make an offer…that comes before all of the transfer business. I’m looking at Redweek, and it says I can make an offer…so is this a general offer, or do I have to put every thing in it from the start? That is the part I am not sure about. Do I just make an offer of price? And if they accept then we start the LT Transfer? Or do I need all of the details in my initial conversation?
If you click on the "Make an Offer" button, RedWeek initiates an email with a canned message asking about closing and transfer fees. I keep that text and add any other questions I might have. You don't have to offer a price at first contact. We go back and forth with emails as I figure out if this unit fits with my needs. I keep checking if another ad for the same resort comes up. If I figure out that this is the unit I want, then I make a price offer or an adjustment to the terms, such as a different start of use year or a decrease on the maintenance fees to return to the buyer, etc. If the buyer is paying the closing costs, I indicate that I want to use LT Transfers. The seller's agent will know where to go from there and will let you know if your offer or change of terms is accepted. Good luck!
 
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