Lewis
TUG Member
Quick background: My wife and I enjoy travelling to Scottsdale, and about a month ago I decided to check into a timeshare.
I found TUG and greatly appreciate all the info! From the TUG review boards, member posts, and tripadvisor, I identified the Westin Kierland Villas as the best fit for us. We wanted more space, but wanted high quality accomodations too. We want to mostly travel to Scottsdale but also to Hawaii on occasion. The SVN has Maui already + Kauai soon to come, and the SVN made the Kierland Villas that much more attractive!
The value from Starpoints, convertibility to Starpoints, and SPG premium membership weren't top priorities (as we don't travel much for business), plus it looked like Starwood was raising its prices, so I decided to buy resale.
Then, the search began. From my search, timeshareaz.com (Smart Choice) really stood out as providing complete, accurate information for its listings. Another good site was transactionrealty.com. These sites stand out because many listings on other sites offered sketchy/ incomplete/ exaggerated information. The Starwood season and SVN points value are the most important info. to know, but are curiously not reported much of the time. In my opinion, many Gold sellers/brokers are trying to present their TS as a Platinum, and many Silver sellers/brokers are trying to present their TS as a Gold or better. For example, many listings listed "Red" or "Floating" for the season. I would think this is fairly meaningless to a halfway knowledgeable Starwood / SVN buyer. There are so many good choices in the SVN, I am hoping to never have to exchange it outside.
From the website, I had a confidence level and positive impression of Smart Choice. I called them, and spoke with Judy Rulli (broker). She was very knowledgable and had a new listing for WKV at a price that worked for me. I put my offer in right away (Sept. 1) and it was accepted by the seller. I had excellent communication with Judy and Brandon Phalan in their office. The closing went very quickly and my deed was recorded on Sept. 20 (about 2 1/2 weeks later!).
I don't have a comparision, but I get the impression that many resale purchases take several weeks (if not months) to complete. Smart Choice simply has it together, from their website, to customer service, to closing the sale quickly. I would like to thank them for their great service and would recommend them to other resale buyers.
I look forward to using our new timeshare in 2007. Thanks again to TUG and Smart Choice for making our first timeshare purchase so easy!!
I found TUG and greatly appreciate all the info! From the TUG review boards, member posts, and tripadvisor, I identified the Westin Kierland Villas as the best fit for us. We wanted more space, but wanted high quality accomodations too. We want to mostly travel to Scottsdale but also to Hawaii on occasion. The SVN has Maui already + Kauai soon to come, and the SVN made the Kierland Villas that much more attractive!
The value from Starpoints, convertibility to Starpoints, and SPG premium membership weren't top priorities (as we don't travel much for business), plus it looked like Starwood was raising its prices, so I decided to buy resale.
Then, the search began. From my search, timeshareaz.com (Smart Choice) really stood out as providing complete, accurate information for its listings. Another good site was transactionrealty.com. These sites stand out because many listings on other sites offered sketchy/ incomplete/ exaggerated information. The Starwood season and SVN points value are the most important info. to know, but are curiously not reported much of the time. In my opinion, many Gold sellers/brokers are trying to present their TS as a Platinum, and many Silver sellers/brokers are trying to present their TS as a Gold or better. For example, many listings listed "Red" or "Floating" for the season. I would think this is fairly meaningless to a halfway knowledgeable Starwood / SVN buyer. There are so many good choices in the SVN, I am hoping to never have to exchange it outside.
From the website, I had a confidence level and positive impression of Smart Choice. I called them, and spoke with Judy Rulli (broker). She was very knowledgable and had a new listing for WKV at a price that worked for me. I put my offer in right away (Sept. 1) and it was accepted by the seller. I had excellent communication with Judy and Brandon Phalan in their office. The closing went very quickly and my deed was recorded on Sept. 20 (about 2 1/2 weeks later!).
I don't have a comparision, but I get the impression that many resale purchases take several weeks (if not months) to complete. Smart Choice simply has it together, from their website, to customer service, to closing the sale quickly. I would like to thank them for their great service and would recommend them to other resale buyers.
I look forward to using our new timeshare in 2007. Thanks again to TUG and Smart Choice for making our first timeshare purchase so easy!!