Which Marriott location will you buy to trade?

[hsintang]

I own HGVC and two California coast summer weeks for trade through RCI. If I want to explore II, I think Marriott may be a good choice.
For Marriott owners, if you would buy again, which location will you buy?
Will you consider the point system? Any reputable broker that specializes in Marriott properties?

Thanks in advance,
Yvette

 

[Bill4728]

Many people feel that buying a Marriott which has stable MFs and a lock off make the best Marriott trader

So that in mind I'd suggest Desert Springs 1 or 2 in Palm Desert.

The point system is great but WAY TOO MUCH $$ Buying into the pt system resale sounds good but MVC has tacked on huge junk fees and is using ROFR So basically the best price you can buy is around $5/pt but MVC then adds on >$2/pt in fees so you end up paying more than $7/pt and since you need about 3000 pts to make good use of the system that is $21K when you can buy a resale for ~$5,000

Hope this helps

 

[AlmostRetired]

I just purchased an every other year at the grand chateau in Vegas for trading. Though they have right of first refusal, it doesn't appear they are doing it right now. Marriott does not have a license to sell resale in Vegas so whatever they acquire needs to go into the trust. They appear to have plenty in the trust.

The 2 br lock off EOY cost me 1800 inclusive of all closing fees. I am looking for an EOY 3 br that locks off to a 1 br and 2 br.

This is a new unit for me so while I have not traded, but feedback on Tug is it trades well. This coupled with the price seemed a good value. If you ever plan on renting, I would think the hotel and timeshare inventory in Vegas makes it a poor choice.

 

[taterhed]

I own HGVC and two California coast summer weeks for trade through RCI. If I want to explore II, I think Marriott may be a good choice.
For Marriott owners, if you would buy again, which location will you buy?
Will you consider the point system? Any reputable broker that specializes in Marriott properties?

Thanks in advance,
Yvette

I own two Marriotts and I'm very happy with the results.

If you are buying for a trader.... consider what trades you will be happy with. If you absolutely must have a 1br or larger--buy a unit that has two 1 br's or a 2br and a 1br (no studio). If you purchase a unit that locks-off into (anything) plus a studio, you will find the studio more restrictive to trade with an on-going search. If you are flexible and willing to pay the eplus fee, you can always match something good and then wait till <59 days (maybe less than 7!) and then upgrade. Many would find this manual searching for an eplus upgrade to be onerous.

The desert properties, Williamsburg, Grande Vista, Grande Chateau... there are many to choose from.

I can highly reccomend Samuel Rodriguez At Sellingtimeshares.net for a broker; the broker, SethNoc, is a well-known and respected broker on TUG. Give Sam a call--he'll steer you based on your desires and advise on the wisdom of your strategy.

If all you are looking for is a Marriott to Marriott 2br-2br internal trade, then life is easier. (Still suggest getting a lock-off)

Welcome.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I just purchased an every other year at the grand chateau in Vegas for trading. Though they have right of first refusal, it doesn't appear they are doing it right now. Marriott does not have a license to sell resale in Vegas so whatever they acquire needs to go into the trust. They appear to have plenty in the trust.

The 2 br lock off EOY cost me 1800 inclusive of all closing fees. I am looking for an EOY 3 br that locks off to a 1 br and 2 br.

This is a new unit for me so while I have not traded, but feedback on Tug is it trades well. This coupled with the price seemed a good value. If you ever plan on renting, I would think the hotel and timeshare inventory in Vegas makes it a poor choice.

I think Marriott can re-sell weeks or points in any of the 50 States. But I agree that they will likely add weeks to the trust if there is no ready and willing buyer to purchase a resale week.



.



.

 

[tschwa2]

I was told that they do not offered brokered resales of Willow Ridge due to Missouri real estate laws.

 

[AlmostRetired]

I think Marriott can re-sell weeks or points in any of the 50 States. But I agree that they will likely add weeks to the trust if there is no ready and willing buyer to purchase a resale week.

.

When I was looking for a unit at the chateau, I looked at Marriott resale on MVCI out of curiosity. To my surprise, they do not show resales at that resort. I called the marriott resale department to see what they had and they told me they can't sell in Vegas (maybe Nevada) because of real estate laws.

The unit I purchased was on eBay and after the purchase, I asked the seller about passing ROFR. He was 99 percent confident it would pass because Marriott wasn't taking any more units for now. The 1 percent was because this could end at any time though he did not think anytime soon.

 

[Ron98GT]

Many people feel that buying a Marriott which has stable MFs and a lock off make the best Marriott trader

So that in mind I'd suggest Desert Springs 1 or 2 in Palm Desert.

A 2-BDRM Lock-Off at Shadow Ridge in the Palm Desert has worked out great for me as a trader.

 

[dioxide45]

When I was looking for a unit at the chateau, I looked at Marriott resale on MVCI out of curiosity. To my surprise, they do not show resales at that resort. I called the marriott resale department to see what they had and they told me they can't sell in Vegas (maybe Nevada) because of real estate laws.

The unit I purchased was on eBay and after the purchase, I asked the seller about passing ROFR. He was 99 percent confident it would pass because Marriott wasn't taking any more units for now. The 1 percent was because this could end at any time though he did not think anytime soon.

It seems that Grand Chateau is a little unique. It doesn't seem as you say that MVC is licensed to sell resale weeks there. They also just built a third tower and added all those units/weeks to the trust. So it would make sense that they have little appetite for adding more weeks to the trust. So I think this is why ROFR seems to be easier to get through at Grand Chateau.

 

[tschwa2]

At this point, I wouldn't buy any Marriott week to trade. The MF's are fairly high. Buying any single unit be it a 1 br, 2br or 3 br (non lock off) at $1100-2000 for a single exchange is very high. With lock off;s there is an $80 lock off fee and the studio side doesn't exchange particularly well. It does give you a jump on cheaper non Marriott exchangers but hard to get prime inventory is still hard to impossible to get even with a good Marriott trader and the easy stuff is still pretty easy to get without a Marriott. There are some intermediate times and places that your chances to exchange into increase significantly with a Marriott trader but those times and places are specific and ever changing as the DC evolves. The MF's and fees through both Interval and Marriott keep going up too. I have a one bedroom non Marriott that exchanges better into 2 br Marriott's most of the year than most Marriott studios.

 

[icydog]

Buy Marriott's Willow Ridge

Make sure you buy a platinum season LOCK-OFF. Then reserve summer weeks according to the demand schedule on II. I usually lock my units off and reserve the studios and 1 bedrooms for the same summer week. I have two lockoff weeks so I get 4 trades.

And both units trade exceptionally well indeed! I pay the least amount in maintenance compared to all my other traders and I get the best trades with the component units.

I own several weeks I'd never trade, Oceana Palms, Newport Coast and Lakeshore Reserve. But I do own several trading weeks and these Willow Ridge Lockoffs are the best traders I own and also the cheapest to maintain.

 

[BocaBoy]

I think Marriott can re-sell weeks or points in any of the 50 States. But I agree that they will likely add weeks to the trust if there is no ready and willing buyer to purchase a resale week.

Marriott does not re-sell weeks that they purchase. The resale weeks they sell are all weeks owned by others for which they act as the broker.

 

[icydog]

Marriott does not re-sell weeks that they purchase. The resale weeks they sell are all weeks owned by others for which they act as the broker.

I've purchase several weeks from Marriott Resales.I don't remember other owner's names on the paperwork.

 

[icydog]

At this point, I wouldn't buy any Marriott week to trade. The MF's are fairly high. Buying any single unit be it a 1 br, 2br or 3 br (non lock off) at $1100-2000 for a single exchange is very high. With lock off;s there is an $80 lock off fee and the studio side doesn't exchange particularly well. It does give you a jump on cheaper non Marriott exchangers but hard to get prime inventory is still hard to impossible to get even with a good Marriott trader and the easy stuff is still pretty easy to get without a Marriott. There are some intermediate times and places that your chances to exchange into increase significantly with a Marriott trader but those times and places are specific and ever changing as the DC evolves. The MF's and fees through both Interval and Marriott keep going up too. I have a one bedroom non Marriott that exchanges better into 2 br Marriott's most of the year than most Marriott studios.

I have a gold Sheraton Vistana Village two bedroom that Trades exceptionally well into Marriott's. Always into Platinum two bedrooms too.!

But $ for $ my best traders bar none are the Marriott Willow Ridge Lockoffs. I routinely trade into two bedroom units at great Marriott resorts, with both sides.

 

[taterhed]

I have a gold Sheraton Vistana Village two bedroom that Trades exceptionally well into Marriott's. Always into Platinum two bedrooms too.!

But $ for $ my best traders bar none are the Marriott Willow Ridge Lockoffs. I routinely trade into two bedroom units at great Marriott resorts, with both sides.

agreed.

I'm certainly not poking a stick at anybody.....but:

Marriott preference does make a difference. I realize that, like life, nothing is certain or predictable, but Marriott preference is worth the money for me.

IMHO.

 

[hsintang]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. If I compare my HGVC annual 4800 points for just over $1000/yr fees, it will trade well into a week in a 2 bedroom or two weeks studio unit through RCI (by point). For Marriott, if the lock-off studio still trades well, then the fees may not be more expensive than what I am currently paying.

Tschwa2, Other than Marriott, which resort properties will you recommend for trading purpose?

Icydog,
Do you mind sharing the MN fee info on Willow Ridge?

Thanks again for all your help. I am doing my homework TUGgers taught me well....

 

[taterhed]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. If I compare my HGVC annual 4800 points for just over $1000/yr fees, it will trade well into a week in a 2 bedroom or two weeks studio unit through RCI (by point). For Marriott, if the lock-off studio still trades well, then the fees may not be more expensive than what I am currently paying.

Tschwa2, Other than Marriott, which resort properties will you recommend for trading purpose?

Icydog,
Do you mind sharing the MN fee info on Willow Ridge?

Thanks again for all your help. I am doing my homework TUGgers taught me well....

Not to butt in.....

Marriott Willow Ridge Lodge - (HAB Condo Assoc.)
Marriott Willow Ridge 2015 Maintenance Fees (All 2BR Units)

• 2015 Reserve Fee - $258.08
• 2015 Operating Fee - $741.88
• 2015 Property Tax Fee - $24.82

GRAND TOTAL - $1024.78

2016 EY not posted yet

I think Desert is about $1300 and Shadow about $1200 (you can look it up).
Also, you can review all the MF's by clicking on the Marriott section (or any other) and looking for the MF's sticky
http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232834

 

[hsintang]

Not to butt in.....

Marriott Willow Ridge Lodge - (HAB Condo Assoc.)
Marriott Willow Ridge 2015 Maintenance Fees (All 2BR Units)

• 2015 Reserve Fee - $258.08
• 2015 Operating Fee - $741.88
• 2015 Property Tax Fee - $24.82

GRAND TOTAL - $1024.78

2016 EY not posted yet

I think Desert is about $1300 and Shadow about $1200 (you can look it up).
Also, you can review all the MF's by clicking on the Marriott section (or any other) and looking for the MF's sticky
http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232834

Great link on the MN fees. Thanks!!

 

[Bucky]

The thought of buying a Marriott just for trading has never entered my mind. With MF's so high I went with a Starwood property years ago just to trade with. They can be had for next to nothing and are strong traders. On top of that my 1br Sheraton Broadway Plantation MF's are only $423 a year. Was in the low $300 when I bought it many years ago. I have used it to trade into Harborside, Aruba Ocean Club, Westin Mission Hills, Desert Springs I and many others over the years. I have chosen to deposit it with II yearly but another nice feature is that it is dual affiliated with RCI/II.

 

[dioxide45]

The thought of buying a Marriott just for trading has never entered my mind. With MF's so high I went with a Starwood property years ago just to trade with. They can be had for next to nothing and are strong traders. On top of that my 1br Sheraton Broadway Plantation MF's are only $423 a year. Was in the low $300 when I bought it many years ago. I have used it to trade into Harborside, Aruba Ocean Club, Westin Mission Hills, Desert Springs I and many others over the years. I have chosen to deposit it with II yearly but another nice feature is that it is dual affiliated with RCI/II.

Starwood certainly isn't known for its low MFs either. If you are wanting a non Marriott week to trade in to Marriott's, there are certainly cheaper options than a Starwood week.

The Starwood 1BR you are referring to is somewhat comparable to Willow Ridge. For about $1000 as year, you get two weeks to deposit with II that carry Marriott preference.

 

[tschwa2]

As someone who likes to play with trading power and availability in both II and has owned 2 gold Barony Beach weeks, 1 platinum manor club, and one EOY Marriott Willow Ridge, but have either sold, had one taken back by ROFR, and sold two back to Marriott (they weren't offering brokered resales for any of my units at the time when I was divesting them) I know the meaning and value of Marriott preference.

That said the OP started off by saying he wanted to explore II and thought Marriott would be a good choice. I feel unless you have a specific plan for exchanging into Marriott units where the preference is needed that Marriott is too expensive to use as a trader in II. I kept my WR to use to exchange into gold season at Hilton Head until earlier this year. I found I could exchange into Harbor Club for the week I needed without preference and could possibly eplus into one of the big 3's some of the time. My family decided the $300 or so in savings for the week was worth it. We really don't like Myrtle Beach or HHI in the summer. Haven't made it down to any of the Florida resorts and the Orlando ones are still exchangable without Marriott. Manor Club is an easy exchange with almost anything. So for us there just wasn't any value in having a Marriott exchanger. I still have them in my II account so I can still play with the the value for instant exchange.

For me it wasn't an expensive lesson. I probably made about $1000-2000 total over what I paid and I enjoyed the experiment.


My take on WR which is one of the more cost effective exchanges. You are looking at about $1100 in MF plus the lock off fee. The 1 br exchanges very well. I would value that at about $750 of the $1100. The studio is very mehh. Even valuing it at $350 may be high. Even though it has Marriott preference it just couldn't pull most 2 br that I needed. It would occasionally perform great but I attribute that more to II glitches because sometime something that was available with the studio would not show a few days later even though it was still sitting in inventory and I would log off and refresh or even try to match by setting up an ongoing request (which I would cancel if matched). To me the studio was like a bonus week but still not the most economical bonus week.

 

[GregT]

I own a Willow Ridge as a dedicated trader (its an EOY) and just paid the EOY MF of $551. Historically, I've not locked it off and have always reserved the full 2BR and deposited it early for maximum trade value. Additionally, I can lever off my fixed weeks to be able to book a summer week at Willow Ridge at 13 months out, so that has also helped my trade power.

I've "downtraded" each of my deposits because I was seeking a 1BR at Maui Ocean Club for family members to join us on our trip, and I've always gotten the trades. Next year is the first year I will lock it off and play with the trade power of each side, and am curious how well the 1BR trades for other 1BRs. I'm not trying to uptrade, but very curious what it can get. Same curiousity on the Studio.

But Worldmark has been my Go To trading property, and I've had very good luck using that system to trade through both II and RCI, and if you don't need peak season reservations (which may be tough with a Marriott anyway, unless you are downtrading as I described), you may be fine with a non-Marriott.

I would be reluctant to buy a Marriott dedicated trader if I was thinking I could routinely trade like-for-like at peak season properties. If you want peak season reservations, I think HGVC's point systems are your highest probability, followed by Starwood using StarOptions (with each reservation booked through their point systems, not via II or RCI trading).

Best,

Greg

 

[BocaBoy]

I've purchase several weeks from Marriott Resales.I don't remember other owner's names on the paperwork.

Take another look at your paperwork. I guarantee that another owner's name is there as the seller. You have to look for it because they will never specifically tell you the other seller's name because you don't deal with them directly.

 

[dioxide45]

Take another look at your paperwork. I guarantee that another owner's name is there as the seller. You have to look for it because they will never specifically tell you the other seller's name because you don't deal with them directly.

It should also be on the recorded deed. I don't think Marriott does double closings for these, just transfer directly from seller to buyer.

 

[hsintang]

which Marriott's have two 1br lockoff options?

I own two Marriotts and I'm very happy with the results.

If you are buying for a trader.... consider what trades you will be happy with. If you absolutely must have a 1br or larger--buy a unit that has two 1 br's or a 2br and a 1br (no studio).
The desert properties, Williamsburg, Grande Vista, Grande Chateau... there are many to choose from.

Rob, are you saying the desert properties have two 1br lockoff options?

Thanks again for all the inputs. Yes, the idea of getting a Marriott is to exchange to Marriott properties in peak seasons (unfortunately, we have to follow school calendar). We rent a 3 bedroom Timber lodge over Christmas break last week and it costs $3000... I figure it will be cheaper to own one