Jumped without looking!

Hey All:
I am a newbie here. I was recently at the Westin Kierland AZand went to one of their SVO meetings and signed up! I had no previous knowledge and done no homework, it was just spur of the moment. Sometime I guess we all do these types of things.

Now I am researching quickly as I have a few days to backout if necessary that did I do the right thing? Meaning I like the properties, but wondering if any of you "black belts" out there can help me as to did I get the right deal, is there anything more I should look into and any other words of wisdom for someone who jumped without looking? Would really appreciate any help!

I bought a:
1 bedroom gold. for the Westing Lagunamar Ocean resort (I was told this is new and has the best deals going and as it doesnt matter where to buy in the SVO program it doesnt matter).

Maintenance 463+119 for SVN

Value of 37,000 staroptions or 22,000 Starpoints (convertible every other year)

Purchase $12,900 +$550 admin fee

70,000 startpoints

I signed up for the SPG Amex and got 30,000 starpoints as I charged $5k on it immediately to pay for this.

4 certificates to purchase 80,000 starpoints for $1550 in the next year.

6,500 points for attending the meeting as well.

I think thats about it. I love the properties and thought this is a great way for me to get going on those vacations, but again totally new to this concept and really just jumped.

Thoughts to help me "clueless from nj?"
Thanks!
Jadoo

1st...
RESCIND NOW!

do not delay, and do not try and justify the purchases to yourself using fuzzy math (aka as TS sales math...)

R, R, and R
(Rescind, Research, and Resale)

I wrote a thread on the 3 Rs of SVO Ownership back in 2006 - still holds true today. There is a 4th 'R' (Requal), but that is a very advanced concept. First things first - Rescind. After Researching, and you still want SVO, then buy Resale - but buy at least 81K StarOptions at a Mandatory resort, or a Voluntary resort with low MFs and is good II exchanger. Once you have figured out what this means - you are ready for the 3rd 'R'
(oh yeah... IMO)

and yes - most here on TUG have been in your position.
btw - we love our SVO resorts.

I 2nd that!
Rescind now, then do your homework on this board and buy on the seocondary market. I love the Starwood brand and have bought both retail and resale and wish I had found TUG before buying retail.

Please read this article about rescinding, and then rescind ASAP!

You can buy this timeshare for a fraction of the cost, on the resale market.

$12k for 37,000 SOs is a terrible deal. You can get 67,100 SOs for less than $1000 if you buy a 1 bdrm resale at Sheraton Vistana Villages (Bella/Key West) and trade into the same resort for similar MFs and far less out-of-pocket.

You are fortunate -- you found this forum and still have time to rescind.

Rescind exactly according to the instructions: if they want registered mail, send it registered mail; if they want FedEx, send it FedEx; etc. You can send your notice of rescission in more than one way, but make sure at least one of them generates a receipt that you actually sent it.

Then you can start your research and decide if timeshareing is for you, and if so, which (resale) timeshare.

For the same price you can get a platinm wkv week with 148,100 SO buying resale, rescind!!!

OK......so where do you/I find RESALE units/property?

fultoa said:

OK......so where do you/I find RESALE units/property?

Click to expand...

well for starters right here on tug, up at the top click Marketplace. Other places are Ebay and Redweek.

I have purchased all/both of my timeshares from Ebay.

fultoa said:

OK......so where do you/I find RESALE units/property?

Click to expand...

ebay has the best prices - http://realestate.shop.ebay.com/items/Timeshares-for-Sale_?_catref=1&_sacat=15897

Lucky you've found TUG in time...rescind immediately! No reason whatsoever for you to purchase a 37k SO week, since it will lead to disappointment when you realize you can't trade to many other resorts (hawaii minimum is 67k, for instance). Save your $$$ and buy resale.

Pat yourself on the back, jadoo. Your research, leading you to this site and advise, has saved you a bundle.

TUG Rocks!

Dear All:
First I am thankful and humbled so many of you would respond. Its so nice of all of you to take time to help a newbie like me. I am on this! I quickly researched and saw what you are saying that a resale is far less capital intensive and I can get a far far far superior product if spend the same money on a resale. All that said I do have some research to do on all the lovely acronyms you all use (but I am picking them up quickly!) and will be responding to this list on all my findings to hopefully "pay it forward" to other white belts that read this post in the future. I am going to get something after I cool off and learn it all. Still seems great and with wonderful people like yourself who have helped on this post, I look forward to meeting such souls at the properties!

A quick question, I looked at my contract and it just gives an address to send a letter to in order to cancel thats it. I will of course do the needful via a fedex so to get a signature confirmation of delivery on Monday. That said do I need to contact my agent as well? Is there any other follow up as I am not sure how to get an acknowledgement that this is cancelled.

Also and just for curiosity does it every make sense to buy from the builder directly as I did in this case?

Kindly,
Jadoo

jadoo71 said:

A quick question, I looked at my contract and it just gives an address to send a letter to in order to cancel thats it. I will of course do the needful via a fedex so to get a signature confirmation of delivery on Monday. That said do I need to contact my agent as well? Is there any other follow up as I am not sure how to get an acknowledgement that this is cancelled.

Also and just for curiosity does it every make sense to buy from the builder directly as I did in this case?

Click to expand...

If the instructions are to "send a letter" (via US Postal Service?), you must do exactly that. My earlier suggestion to use a second method which creates a receipt is not technically necessary (unless the required method creates the receipt); it is merely to give an additional quantum of proof that the rescission was sent.

You do not have to contact the sales agent. In fact, you probably shouldn't because s/he will try to get you to change your mind.

There are a few, rare circumstances where a developer purchase may make sense. Those circumstances are few and rare -- well beyond the scope of your current inquiry. If you search the words "requalification" or "retro", you will find them, at least for Starwood purchases.

Sending a letter certified return receipt gives you proof of mailing. If your contract just states regular mail I would still send a certified letter/return receipt. Some contracts allow for faxing, and that's fine (as is sending a regular letter) but I would always send an additional notification by certified/return receipt.

Make sure to do it immediately- rescind first, research later. Sounds as if you've already realized that you can get much more bang for your buck by buying resale, but at any extent, buying is much easier than selling so don't buy until you are familiar with what you want, understand the system, know the market, and are confident that what you buy will result in years of happy vacations where and when you want to travel.

Understand that salespeople make the reservation system sound simple and that you can simply book wherever you want regardless of where you own. Theoretically, that's correct- but there has to be availability and depending on where you want to go and when you want to travel it may not be as simple as portrayed. In general, the more flexible you are wrt travel times the greater selection you will have, but keep in mind that owners of a specific resort during their season of ownership get first crack at reserving weeks, so if you are intent on primarily visiting one resort during specific time periods you may be better off owning there. That is why research and fully understanding the system is crucial prior to making any purchase.

Good luck, and welcome to Tug . It saved me thousands of dollars a few years back; with the current economy resale prices have dived further, and you probably will be able to pay a decade of MF's on the money you save.