Newbie Questions (WKORV)

We just purchased a 2 BR EY OV at WKORV via resale. We paid a bit over $21K including all costs (reputable national escrow company). We just received the recorded deed but nothing from Starwood yet. The broker said that it might be another month or so. However, I am going to take the advice from here and email the deed directly to Starwood to expedite the process.

This is our absolute first TS experience (we had been to a few presentations before). In the past, we felt like we needed a shower at the end, but the WKORV presentation was quite low-pressure and they were very friendly even after we declined to purchase.

I thought about calling Starwood with some of these questions, but I figured that the denizens of this forum are more knowledgeable and friendly......

Here are my questions (I read through the FAQ's but may have skipped over some details - I apologize if some have been answered there):

- The deed says "Ocean Resort Villas North" but also denotes a Week number and Unit no (34xx/34xy). I thought that unit was in the South. Elsewhere it states that the weeks are floating. Is our unit in the North or not? Is all of WKORV considered one resort for inventory purposes (ie. if your unit is in the North can you book south and vice versa)?

- Do I have to call Starwood to get my "membership packet" (and II membership) or will they just send it as soon as they process the transfer?

- We went to the presentation last Nov and declined to purchase at the resort. However, I was dumb enough to buy the Explorer package (I know....I know.....hadn't discovered TUG, and it was past the rescind period when I did!). We paid about $2400 (I figured it wasn't bad for what we were getting - 7 nts in Maui + 50K points: I calculate I was getting a total of about 14 nts for that price). Is there any way to reclaim that amount towards anything when we return for the presentation? What is the strategy for getting out of the presentation as rapidly, and painlessly, as possible? Right now, I am planning on saying "Look, I am already an owner. I felt that buying via resale was the best for me. So, let's not waste everyone's time; give my the additional 22K points and we can all be happy". Anything else I should know about?

Thanks again, in advance

Hi and welcome to TUG!

zsn said:

- The deed says "Ocean Resort Villas North" but also denotes a Week number and Unit no (34xx/34xy). I thought that unit was in the South. Elsewhere it states that the weeks are floating. Is our unit in the North or not? Is all of WKORV considered one resort for inventory purposes (ie. if your unit is in the North can you book south and vice versa)?

Click to expand...

I'm not clear on one point - was the unit advertised as WKORV or WKORV-North?

The unit numbers and week on your deed are for record keeping purposes. The week floats 1-52, excluding Christmas and New Years. But you are right about the unit number - if that's correct, it's for the original resort - WKORV. Here is a map. You want to check this with your closing company ASAP. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing if it is at WKORV, instead.

If they misrepresented what you were buying, you can and should get out of the purchase and get all your money back - and that's what I would do. Because you paid too much for this unit. You can buy the same thing for about $15K. If they made an error, take the opportunity to get out of the purchase, and do some more homework before you buy. You will save $5K or more, if you do, and you can buy the EXACT same week. Why did you pay more? Because going through a broker, the commission is added on to the sales price. The owner probably got 15K and you paid the commission + $500 or so for closing.

The resorts are separate properties, with separate ownerships. To go to the other resort, you would have to make a Staroptions exchange at 8 mos. out. Here is a comparison of the 2 resorts.

- Do I have to call Starwood to get my "membership packet" (and II membership) or will they just send it as soon as they process the transfer?

Click to expand...

Since you bought resale, they aren't going to send you much of anything, except a welcome letter. However, you can find out just about everything you need to know here on TUG, and on the Starwood website. www.mystarcentral.com.

- We went to the presentation last Nov and declined to purchase at the resort. However, I was dumb enough to buy the Explorer package (I know....I know.....hadn't discovered TUG, and it was past the rescind period when I did!). We paid about $2400 (I figured it wasn't bad for what we were getting - 7 nts in Maui + 50K points: I calculate I was getting a total of about 14 nts for that price). Is there any way to reclaim that amount towards anything when we return for the presentation? What is the strategy for getting out of the presentation as rapidly, and painlessly, as possible? Right now, I am planning on saying "Look, I am already an owner. I felt that buying via resale was the best for me. So, let's not waste everyone's time; give my the additional 22K points and we can all be happy". Anything else I should know about?

Thanks again, in advance

Click to expand...

You are stuck with what you purchased, so chalk it up to experience and figure out how to get the most out of it. When you go back to the presentation, just tell them you already bought resale and be polite, but firm.

DeniseM said:

If they misrepresented what you were buying, you can and should get out of the purchase and get all your money back - and that's what I would do. Because you paid too much for this unit. You can buy the same thing for about $15K. If they made an error, take the opportunity to get out of the purchase, and do some more homework before you buy. You will save $5K or more, if you do, and you can buy the EXACT same week. Why did you pay more? Because going through a broker, the commission is added on to the sales price. The owner probably got 15K and you paid the commission + $500 or so for closing.

Click to expand...

If he received the recorded deed he's the owner. I doubt it's be possible to reverse the transaction.

Price aside, aren't the Ocean Views at WKORVN considered better than the ones at WKORVS? Aside from a stove inside the unit in the south property, should it really matter that much if it's WKORVN or WKORV?

Dan - It is possible, I had a deed that was recorded with the county that had a major error, and had the purchase reversed.

Denise and Dan,

Thanks very much for your replies. I went back and looked and the original ad did not specify "North". Except for the one reference in the header portion of the title page there are no references to the "North" property. I am investigating further (I thought I did my diligence, but I seem to have missed some details!), although as Dan points out there is probably little recourse.

Can you experts tell me if this is so big a deal that I should look at reversing this deal (disregarding the fact that I may have overpaid by a not-insignificant amount - when we made the offer in December, I was unable to find anything much below this amount.....)? We looked here as well as toured both properties and I could not find substantive difference between the two - as such, we will likely be spending more time at the beach/pool; thus the rooms themselves are less important to me. Furthermore, our plan is to use the 1BR here and rent/exchange the studio.

Live and learn.......

zsn -
they may have used the term North Ka'anapali - as in the location (this is where both WKORV and WKORVN are located)

You didn't really supply complete info on the deeded unit number and week - so exact advice is challenging. If I recall correctly - our deed is something like 322830/43 - meaning B3, Floor 2, villas 28 and 30 - week 43 - which is an OF Dlx unit at WKORV). This is important - because it will tell you exactly the location. To have both 'North' and a deeded unit # that starts with '3' - makes no sense.

You state a reliable escrow company - but the fail is on the Title Company - as this is where everything should have been checked against your Purchase Agreement.

Now it sounds as if you have a deed, but are not sure of what you actually purchased... (although if the deed unit starts with a '3' it sound like WKORV) I would call SVO Title with the deed info and ask - they should be able to clarify quickly without speculation on your part (or TUG's part).

I can't advise regarding trying to reverse the sale (or not) - it might depend on whether or not you have a Purchase Agreement in place. $21K for a 2Bd OV at WKORV is ~$5K more than they have been selling for based on reports here - sorry (heck - an OF WKORV is selling at ~$25K)

good luck - let us know how it turns out.

I think the resorts are comparable - my recommendation to get out of the deal if possible, is based on the price. A savings of $5K is pretty significant.

I own at both properties and like both. I decide where to stay based on a specific trip. I find the south property more active and the north property more serene. If I am staying in a studio I prefer the north property because there you have a lanai. If I'm in a 1BR I prefer the larger size of the south property and it is even better when I can snag one of the standalone 1BR units. I also like having the foyer in the south property if I stay in a 2BR, but it might not be a good thing if you have small children, since the doors are pretty heavy.

The worst island view at the north property is not as bad as a parking lot view in the south property, so from that respect there's slightly less risk at the north property if you don't reserve within the owner's window. However I've always gotten nice views at both places, even with reservations made less than 1 week from my arrival date in non-summer seasons.

I would not say one property is better than the other, just slightly different. Perhaps the ocean front units are the only ones that are a better in the south.

Thanks very much for all your replies. Upon much review, it appears that the person doing the deed messed up the title line (perhaps from a previous contract) and there isn't much I can do, to alter/undo the deal. I wish I had read the deed a bit more carefully before we put all the signatures. The title company it seems did not connect the "-North" vs. "not-North" as being two separate entities.

I am upset at myself for missing such a detail, and less about the due diligence on cost (I was hung up on the comparison to the developer price and didn't look exhaustively)... ...to the extent that I did, I thought it wasn't a bad deal. Anyway, now I know where to come for expert advice!!

I am going to put this behind me and I look forward to returning to Maui

The properties are equally nice. The south side villas are a bit larger and have a full oven. The north side has lanais on both studio and 1 bdrm side, and much better overall OVs.

And you won't have to worry about being assigned to crappy building 2, with its OVs overlooking a parking lot.

If I bought OV, I'd definitely want the north side.

For future reference:

If Unit Number begins with 2, 3, or 4, it is a South Unit.

5, 6, 7, or 8 is North.

Explorer Package

Just as a heads up....I also purchased the explorer package and went to the presentation at WKORV a few weeks ago. They tried to sell us a Lagunamar 2 BR LO (148,100 SOs) for 32,900. In terms of getting the other 22K SPs, we chatted for about 10-15 minutes in the lobby area where the agent asked what we were looking for. After she took us back into her office, one of the first things we did was sign for the other 22K SPs. Then, they offered the Lagunamar deal - we politely declined and the agent showed us out. Have fun in Maui.

Oh....and if you buy the new timeshare, they will credit the $2400 explorer package towards the new TS!

Fredm said:

For future reference:

If Unit Number begins with 2, 3, or 4, it is a South Unit.

5, 6, 7, or 8 is North.

Click to expand...

Really? So the OP's is SOUTH? That's a good way to tell. If I bought resale, I wouldn't even bother to double check that it is truly a South building either (usually those ebay descriptions are wrong but I wouldn't know how to tell). But knowing this makes it easy.

Katherine