Totaly TS newby, just got back from Maui

Hi TUG members; I need to basic advice about buying a time share in Maui.

My family and I just got back from Ka'anapali and got the "Starwood" time share tour/sales offer. I did not go for it but really liked the place (second time to Maui, we have a 5 year old, we all love Hawaii)

Strolling down Front St. in Lahaina I saw a few TS resales offices and sat down and talked to the (girl in one) and (guy in other) both gave me the same info, about how I would not be in the starwood network (e.g. hotels, etc) but would still have staroptions.

I have about $30k I would be interested in moving to a TS that is basically disposable in that it is not going to effect my $$ situation if that money never turns into cash again.

I only just got back from Maui yesterday, what I think I know is the following. TUG ninja's please confirm, and/or point me to info.

Things I think I know:

+) TS on Starwood Maui Ka'anapali seems to be newest buildings and a top stop to own a TS.
+) Starwood points can be transferred to II (Interval International) and will not expire for three years when in II.
+) TS prices are historically low b/c of economy thus good time to buy from the secondary market

BTW, here are some of the places/prices I saw.

Westin South
---
OF EY -> $47k
OV EY -> $26k
IV EY -> $23k

Westin North
---
OF EY -> $43k
OV EY -> $27K
IV EY -> $23k
OF EOY Odd -> $19.5k

Sands of Kahana
---
OV $6.7k

So the best value seems to be Sands of Kahana (that is why I mention it here) and/or Westin South OV.

They also had other places like Marriot (which was very nice too BTW), etc.

Feedback, thoughts, concerns, etc much appriecaited in advance,

dbjlmc

dude,
before you start throwing all that money around look on ebay.. they are selling for a dime a dozen in some cases..

check the market place here on tug
http://tug2.com/TimeshareMarketplace/default.aspx

weed through the scam listing at the top..

also check out Redweek.com

sellmytimeshare.com and other to get a good picture of what you should and could pay for timeshare in hawaii..

ps congrats on having the money to throw around.. :whoopie:

You can buy ocean view, every year, at the Westin for less than $15K on the resale market. The maintenance fees at the Westin are out of control - up $1,000 since we bought. Right now resale prices for all timeshares are on a downward spiral, so take your time - there is no rush...

For tons of info. on Starwood - check out the Starwood forum here on TUG and start your research with the info. posted at the top of that board.

I noticed you talked about buying to exchange. Most people consider a resort of that quality too expensive to use an exchanger - it's kind of like exchanging your Porche for a pool of Chevys. If you don't want to go to Maui every year, then buy an every other year deed and save yourself a lot of money.

In addition to that, Starwood and II just colluded to reduce the exchanging rights for Starwood owners, so we are real unhappy with II right now. If you really want an exchanger you can buy a good exchanger for a few hundred dollars, but I wouldn't use the WKORV for an exchanger. With maintenance fees at $2,400 a year for a 2 bdm., it's just not a good value.

what scam listing at the top?

dbjlmc said:

Hi TUG members; I need to basic advice about buying a time share in Maui.

Click to expand...

I own at Westin Kaanapali North. I strongly advise you to approach with caution. Their MFs are $2600 for a 2 bdrm. Yes, you'll save a lot on the purchase price in this market, but those MFs are nothing to sneeze at.

However, it's a really nice place and I recommend staying there. If you're content traveling off season (e.g. October, November), currently it's a cinch to get into Maui with another cheaper Starwood resort. My best advice, however, is to save yourself a lot of money and just use Redweek or VRBO or Tug to rent directly from an owner. In this economy, you can rent for the same price, sometimes even less, of MFs without ever locking yourself into a contract.

I will also remind you that your only option to getting there is via the air. So unless you're able to accumulate sufficient miles to get a free flight, you're at the mercy of gas prices. Back when gas was over $4 a gallon, airfares were in the thousands of dollars. We're having difficulty finding people who can afford to travel with us even now, because airfare is hovering around $1100 for travel in June.

If you still want to own there, the prices you listed are way over-inflated. I'd be thrilled to get $35k for my EY OF. There are hundreds of listings on Redweek for a higher price and none of them have sold. I personally think $12k for IV, $22k for OV and $32k for OF are fair prices. Remember that you'll pay the same MFs regardless of whether you're looking over the highway or the ocean, so I'd personally buy at least OV, but would offer $17.5 max. I think you'll be able to get some owner to let it loose for that price given that owners are still reeling from the MF bills and there are so many units on the market.

If you want to trade, remember that few resorts are worth even renting outright for $2500, which is what you'll be paying in MFs. So using it to trade doesn't make much fiscal sense. Direct trading is also an option -- I've had offers to trade to Aruba, Four Seasons Aviara and St. Kitt with my OF unit.

***

As far as value, I think that the Marriotts and Westins are the nicest units on the island -- you'll get granite countertops, really nice beds, etc. Marriott has the advantage of having tons of Marriotts to trade to (65 v. less than 20 for Starwood), though it does come with its issues (e.g. difficulty getting popular weeks because folks who own multi-weeks get a one-month advantage when making reservations). But both have really high MFs (with Marriotts around $2k for a 2 bdrm in the newer towers).

I'd stay away from the Kihei area because it's not nearly as nice as Kaanapali, IMO. Sands of Kahana has a great location, I believe, but it's not nearly as nice as the Westin. However, it's way more affordable. I'd probably look at places in Kapalua if I was looking for affordability and beautiful setting.

What is the rental rate? I would expect it to be not much more than the maintenance fees and renting would not tie you down to a long term commitment that you may not easily get out of down the road. Just for info, I got an offer today from Starwood for a 5 night rental (studio only) for $759 (around $150/night) there.

AKE said:

What is the rental rate? I would expect it to be not much more than the maintenance fees and renting would not tie you down to a long term commitment that you may not easily get out of down the road. Just for info, I got an offer today from Starwood for a 5 night rental (studio only) for $759 (around $150/night) there.

Click to expand...

Rental rates from Starwood are through the roof. Rental rates from Owners (source: Redweek) show rental rates are at, or below, MFs. Here is a sample:

1 bdrm OV 12/13-12/17 - $165/night (about the cost of MFs)
1 bdrm OF 12/6-12/13 - $114/night (less than MFs)
2 bdrm IV 11/29-12/6 - $114/night (way less than MFs)