Need advice- just bought timeshare in Princeville. Having doubts!!

Hi there,

My husband and I are currently staying at the Westin princeville. We went to a sales pitch today and ended up buying a 2 bedroom at every other year. We paid $36,900 plus $745 in admin fees. The maintenance fee is $1348. Our first year of occupancy is 2015. We get 148,000 in star options and 86,400 in starpoints. We received a bonus of 130,000 starpoints for signing up today. We also received 4 promos of 100,000 points at $1900. total of 400,000 points at $7600. We have until Dec 2015 to buy them, if we want. The type of unit use is "float" and the vacation period type is "event (Xmas)". The exchange is II.

Initially they talked to us about the annual option and that was going for $65,500 with a $2650 maintenance fee. They stated that these timeshares were selling for $47,500 when they started selling them 5 years ago.

I am expecting our first child in March 2014 so we thought this is a nice way to vacation in a larger space. We also like the idea that our families can use this if we cannot get away.

We have until November 10th to rescind the contract.

After reading reviews on this site and other sites, we are second guessing our decision.

Please help us! Questions for you:

1) did we get a fair price?
2) how much does maintenance fees increase? We are worried they will increase exponentially in 20 years
3) was it smart to buy for every other year?
4) is it that easy to get a different property during peak times? It seems like we would need to book a year in advance to have a shot. Is this a fair assessment?
5) if we are to rescind, is all we need to do is follow the instructions on the Cancellation sheet?
6) We are not planning on vacationing in Kauai often- most likely once every 5-7 years. We would the star points and/or star options to stay at other villas/hotels around the world. Due to this, is this a good use of our money or should we not do a timeshare?

We greatly appreciate any insight and advice you have. This website has been very helpful already. We are not used to the acronyms people use so a lot of info goes over our heads! Thanks again.

i will start the choir in the rescinding song. i just checked and the resales for exactly what you just purchased are between $6900-8000. an every year is going for $12,000. With the extra money you save you could purchase starpoints.

go to vacationtimesharerentals.com and look for yourself.

good luck.

Sometimes there are valid reasons for purchasing an expensive resort like WPORV --for instance, if you need to book a high demand week, if you want to go there every year and don't want to bother with exchanges, if you want to lock in a fixed week/unit, etc.

Yours is not one of them. It makes no sense for you to buy at WPORV, and the main one is because you don't plan to use it most years. Why would you buy at one of the most expensive resorts, with some of the most expensive MFs in the Starwood network, if you only want to stay there every 5-7 years. Doesn't make any sense.

The final nail in the coffin is that you really want SPs. Buying a Starwood timeshare to get SPs is like buying a high end condo because you want the subsidized rate on their parking garage. At ~$2400/year for 86,400 SPs, you'll be paying almost 2.8 cents per SP...and that doesn't include the $30k you doled out to buy at that rate. Did you know that Starwood usually has a 20% promo right around this time of the year where you can buy SPs (up to 30k pp, IIRC) for 2.8 cents each? No contract required, no $30k premium.

If SPs really attract you, then get a Starwood AMEX (if you don't already) and use it for everyday purchases. After $30k in spending, you get Starwood gold membership.

If timesharing appeals to you, and it certainly appeals to young families, then rescind immediately, and then read up on how you can best achieve your goals.

Hope this helps, and welcome to Tug!

I own Princeville and love the resort. I recommend only buying here resale and only if you want to travel here repeatedly during peak periods. It is fairly easy to exchange into Princeville during non peak periods.

Main fees are high for Princeville compared to other Starwood 2 bedroom lockouts with 148,100 options. Princeville has not maintained a good resale value due to the fact that the star options don't transfer when unit is resold. It is a voluntary resort.

Read the rescind rules and follow exactly!!!

There are much less expensive ways to vacation at Starwood vacation network resorts. Rescind your purchase then return to TUG to learn more and make an informed purchase decision.

You purchased an event week, xmas. These are more expensive. If you require an event week, these are available resale as well. It sounds as if you want the flexibility to visit different resorts, if this is the case you don't need to pay extra for an event week as you will only be able to book the event week at your purchased resort.

Good luck!!!

You will pay those MF's every year and will only have EOY use. So you are still paying that much in MF's for your use.

Your instincts are telling you to rescind, and I agree with your instincts. You will be much better off buying resale, and really, if you love Staroptions, you should buy Westin Ka'anapali resale and save a lot of money for the same thing.

Starpoints are great, I love them for airfare, and that is a lot of Starpoints, but it's not enough of a bonus to make it worthwhile.

Santafe82 said:

Please help us! Questions for you:

1) did we get a fair price?
2) how much does maintenance fees increase? We are worried they will increase exponentially in 20 years
3) was it smart to buy for every other year?
4) is it that easy to get a different property during peak times? It seems like we would need to book a year in advance to have a shot. Is this a fair assessment?
5) if we are to rescind, is all we need to do is follow the instructions on the Cancellation sheet?
6) We are not planning on vacationing in Kauai often- most likely once every 5-7 years. We would the star points and/or star options to stay at other villas/hotels around the world. Due to this, is this a good use of our money or should we not do a timeshare?

Click to expand...

Since you have all these questions about what you bought, you should absolutely rescind while you still have a chance. Once the rescission period passes, you won't have that opportunity again. That deal will still be there no matter what the salesman says. After you've done all your research and answered all your questions, if you still think you got a good deal, then go for it. But, rescind NOW--you have nothing to lose and a LOT to gain. Just be sure to follow the rescission instructions exactly as written in your contract.

You are one of the lucky ones who found TUG in time. Timesharing is great, but there are more economical ways to go about it.

I agree with others that rescinding is the right thing to do, while you assess your options.

I also agree with your instincts that having a beautiful place to vacation with your family will (positively) change the way you vacation. I love my timeshares for exactly this reason.

So....rescind...research...and when the time is right, buy one of these things resale. Starwood, Marriott, Hilton, Worldmark, Wyndham, Diamond, there are many great timeshares out there for you to consider. And all will be dramatically less expensive than the proposed retail purchase.

Best,

Greg

First - good for you for finding TUG in time. Most people are not so lucky.

If you re-read you post and questions, and responses - it becomes obvious what you should do - Rescind.

btw - we love our WPORV ownership, because we love the resort, and I call 12 months (6am PST) in advance to get one of the prime villas - as these locations make it worth owning there (for us - YMMV)

If you decide that you want WPORV, and prefer to have a chance at the prime locations at WPORV - then find a resale - you can get and EOY for about $3K, but be aware that SVO can excercise their ROFR.

Rescind, Research, Resale

Thank you!!

Thank you so much for your advice! My husband and I are going to rescind right away! We have the form ready to send out. We will also attach the letter that we found when rescinding, from the forum thread.

I understand we need a return receipt and delivery tracking when we mail the forms back.

It also states that the developer needs all the materials back or else $25 will be deducted from the refund. Does that mean we mail it back to the Princeville sales agent? The address on the cancellation form goes to Orlando. If someone can clarify, that would be great.

Final question- do we also keep the Owners Copy Manual that they printed for us? Or does that go back to them as well?

Thank you thank you thank you for saving us thousands of dollars!!!!! This website is invaluable!! I will return for more vacation advice after our daughter is born and when we are ready for our next trip.

When I rescinded (WKORVN OF) - I did not return anything to them (package or OM) and no questions were asked. It was fairly easy - just follow the rescinding instructions in your package. If they request the material back - or charge you - then send back.

you just saved >$30K...

I wish we had known about TUG before we purchased from the developer back in 2005....