Boston Timeshare - Why so cheap

myhrse11 · Jul 5, 2015

I continually see the Marriott Boston property for $1 on eBay. Every time I try to use points to book there is no availability. Why are these units being sold off so cheaply? The maint fees seem a little high but is there some other reason they don't seem to have ANY resale value?

silentg · Jul 5, 2015

Maintenance Fees are high, units are small. It is a nice place, I read they had a lot of foreclosures, people not paying maintence fees. So if you want a nice place in Boston to stay bid on one, just don't be shocked by high fee!

myhrse11 · Jul 5, 2015

silentg said:
Maintenance Fees are high, units are small. It is a nice place, I read they had a lot of foreclosures, people not paying maintence fees. So if you want a nice place in Boston to stay bid on one, just don't be shocked by high fee!

Since I own in Hawaii it would be tough to shock me with maintenance fees but I get it...High fees for a small unit and last I look Boston is not an island...lol

dioxide45 · Jul 5, 2015

2015 Maintenance Fees for 2015 were $1,550.10. That is rather high for a 1BR unit. 2014 were higher because of a special assessment. Custom House has some unique and flexible usage options (daily usage), but it is simply too high of a annual cost unless you plan to go there every year. As a trader, it is a poor option due to the high cost and 1BR only units.

Custom House is a great property. We just returned from there in June. It enjoys a great location in down town Boston and was a great place to stay. I just wouldn't buy there.

myhrse11 · Jul 5, 2015

dioxide45 said:
2015 Maintenance Fees for 2015 were $1,550.10. That is rather high for a 1BR unit. 2014 were higher because of a special assessment. Custom House has some unique and flexible usage options (daily usage), but it is simply too high of a annual cost unless you plan to go there every year. As a trader, it is a poor option due to the high cost and 1BR only units.

Custom House is a great property. We just returned from there in June. It enjoys a great location in down town Boston and was a great place to stay. I just wouldn't buy there.

Thanks. I was just curious really. I would love to stay there but I have absolutely no luck getting a long weekend. Then I wondered about the low price they are being sold at and wondered what was wrong. Not somewhere I would want to go to every year. I'd like to do it once maybe. Felt the same way about Las Vegas. I kept asking where the beach was...the response: We have plenty of beach just no ocean.

Off to Aruba in August and back to Hawaii in 2016. Thanks for the info!

sb2313 · Jul 5, 2015

I've heard that II treats custom house like a 2 bedroom for trading purposes? Is that true or just a rumor? If true, a few hundred dollars for a 2 bedroom platinum trader wouldn't be terrible, even with the high annual fees.

dioxide45 · Jul 5, 2015

sb2313 said:
I've heard that II treats custom house like a 2 bedroom for trading purposes? Is that true or just a rumor? If true, a few hundred dollars for a 2 bedroom platinum trader wouldn't be terrible, even with the high annual fees.

I don't know if they give it the trading power of a 2BR. I think what they allow is that owners at Custom House can request 2BR units at resorts that don't have 1BR units. Though this really isn't any different than people using the 1BR side of a 2BR lock off. Just the mechanism is slightly different. Here is the specific verbiage from the II Buyers Guide.

Page 8, Item 6:

MVCI Owners of one-bedroom unit Weeks at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, Marriott’s Custom House, Marriott’s Grande Vista, Marriott’s Kauai Beach Club, Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, and Marriott’s Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge are eligible to request two-bedroom units at MVCI Resorts that do not have one-bedroom units.

ahdah · Jul 5, 2015

Trades for a two bedroom

We own at Custom House and it trades as a two bedroom. The last three years, we have gotten a two bedroom in February at Beach Place Towers. (we happen to like BPT) When we don't trade, my children use it. It is over $450 dollars a night in the summer to rent, when you can get it. They are redoing the units in 2015. We think it is worth buying.

BPT has a one bedroom, but we always get a two. I tell II that I do not want a one bedroom. I think they are giving a bonus week, but I believe it was for the Gold season, and we have a platinum season.

sb2313 · Jul 5, 2015

ahdah said:
We own at Custom House and it trades as a two bedroom. [/QUOTE/] does it show up in II as a 2 bedroom?
And thank you dioxide for posting that info from IIs guide, its appreciated!

normab · Jul 5, 2015

That's a nice to be able to request a 2BR for 1BR. We can't do that with our lockoffs. We can only request the same size and if we are lucky something larger comes through.

bazzap · Jul 5, 2015

normab said:
That's a nice to be able to request a 2BR for 1BR. We can't do that with our lockoffs. We can only request the same size and if we are lucky something larger comes through.

I am not sure if I am misunderstanding, but we always request 2 bed units with our lock off studios (and we almost always get our first choice, we even got a 3 bed unit once).
You can only do this when exchanging into resorts with only 2 bed units or larger, but I believe you can do so with any lock off units from any MVC resort.

dioxide45 · Jul 5, 2015

bazzap said:
I am not sure if I am misunderstanding, but we always request 2 bed units with our lock off studios (and we almost always get our first choice, we even got a 3 bed unit once).
You can only do this when exchanging into resorts with only 2 bed units or larger, but I believe you can do so with any lock off units from any MVC resort.

The difference is that Beach Place Towers has studio, 1BR and 2BR units. So using a regular 1BR from a lock off unit won't guaranty you a 2BR unit. You could get put in to a 1BR since you can't request larger than that with the 1BR side of a lock off.

bazzap · Jul 5, 2015

dioxide45 said:
The difference is that Beach Place Towers has studio, 1BR and 2BR units. So using a regular 1BR from a lock off unit won't guaranty you a 2BR unit. You could get put in to a 1BR since you can't request larger than that with the 1BR side of a lock off.

This I can understand, which I guess is why we only look to exchange our lock offs into resorts with only 2/3 bed units.

Superchief · Jul 5, 2015

I recall reading that Custom House is one of the few MVC resorts that has an expiration date for ownership. Rather than owning an asset, I think there is a time period for ownership. This may also impact resale value.

TheTimeTraveler · Jul 5, 2015

Superchief said:
I recall reading that Custom House is one of the few MVC resorts that has an expiration date for ownership. Rather than owning an asset, I think there is a time period for ownership. This may also impact resale value.

Marriott's Custom House is a RTU (right to use) property, and the use expires in the year 2057.

.

Big Matt · Jul 9, 2015

I think it is a good deal at $1550 per year in maintenance fees. The taxes alone must be huge. It is a $400 a night property about eight months a year. I'd consider splitting the week into a 4 and 3 day stay and renting one or the other each year. You could defray a lot of the cost that way.

bw3 · Jul 10, 2015

Custom House

I believe the Marriott Custom House is a right to use, NOT a fee simple deed. Along with high fees, that might be another reason for selling.

Boston Timeshare - Why so cheap

myhrse11

silentg

TUG Review Crew: Expert

myhrse11

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert

myhrse11

sb2313

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert

ahdah

sb2313

normab

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bazzap

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dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert

bazzap

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Superchief

TheTimeTraveler

Big Matt

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bw3