Has anyone purchased from Developer AFTER becoming TUG member?

[b2bailey]

A recent post brought this question to mind.
I own 2 Marriott weeks, both purchased before discovering TUG.

Several years ago we attended Presentation at Hilton Hawaiian Village, signed for a purchase. After we left, our heads cleared and we went back same day to rescind.

For a few days we joked there must have been something being pumped into the presentation...

 

[rickandcindy23]

Well, yes, Wyndham for status, but we never have regretted it. That was a very calculated decision to get Platinum status for little money. We owned a lot of PAHIO weeks, bought from eBay, and were offered a deal we couldn't refuse.

 

[PStreet1]

We, like you, b2Bailey, did once, but our heads cleared the next day and we went back to rescend.

 

[pedro47]

No and No!!!

 

[OKPACIFIC]

Using the guidance we found in TUG, we have bought small packets of developer properties to re qualify resale market purchases and achieve elite status benefits. We have achieved the developer's top status level, so unless something changes, It is not likely we would buy properties directly from the developer in the near future

 

[TUGBrian]

lots of folks consider TUG anti developer, or "resale only"...but the fact is TUG is simply against any owner making a purchase without having the proper knowledge or education to make a sound decision.

and in the majority of these cases, having that knowledge would lean towards buying resale.

That is certainly not always the case however, and if someone knows the score on both sides (resale/retail) and still wants to make a developer purchase, that is perfectly fine!

 

[Helios]

Well, yes, Wyndham for status, but we never have regretted it. That was a very calculated decision to get Platinum status for little money. We owned a lot of PAHIO weeks, bought from eBay, and were offered a deal we couldn't refuse.

Same here through SVN to get 5* Elite and I don't regret it a bit.

 

[Cheryl20772]

Too many times people come away from buying timeshare retail with a sick feeling and wondering if they made a mistake. They're in dire need of a nice relaxing vacation only to find themselves whammied by making a $20-50k purchase that they weren't really planning to make. What other purchase that size would a couple make without at least shopping around to be able to recognize a good deal? It's a kindness to tell someone who just bought that they can rescind, but better do it fast. Then they can learn about timeshare and make an informed decision about what they might want to own. Sometimes they do want a retail purchase and they are then armed with enough knowledge to negotiate a great deal and feel good about it afterward.

 

[Seaport104]

Same here through SVN to get 5* Elite and I don't regret it a bit.

Ditto, did the same but for Marriott. I don't regret it one bit. If it wasn't for tug, I wouldn't missed out on timesharing!

 

[silentg]

No, but have purchase too many resales, but love them all for the diversity and popularity of my resorts. Have been exchanging with other TUG members going places I never thought of visiting. Loving TUG more all the time!
Silentg

 

[colatown]

No

 

[SueDonJ]

I didn't join TUG until after purchasing direct from Marriott, but had been reading as a Guest for a few years prior. At the time the Weeks we wanted were only available direct (resort was in pre-construction phase) but TUG gave me the education we needed to realize that the purchase would work for us despite it not being resale. Still, some TUGgers greeted me with the criticism that we should have bought something else resale and used it to exchange for what we actually wanted. But I feel the same now as I did then - some of us just don't want to play the exchange game on a regular basis.

I agree with Brian completely that resale isn't the ONLY answer when it comes to buying timeshares - the important thing is that you're informed about exactly what it is you're buying.

 

[DianneL]

No. Own three weeks every year and two weeks every other year. First bought from developer and others resale.

 

[John Cummings]

Yes, we purchased from the developer after joining TUG. We bought our first TS from the developer prior to joining TUG and then bought our second one after joining. The reason we bought both from the developer was we wanted these particular resorts and they were both brand new with no resales available. In fact one was still being built. The price wasn't bad and we don't regret it at all.

 

[Mroze]

Have in the past only purchased Resale from Marriott.
Recently [Nov 2016] purchased Direct from Marriott to qualify for Status [Presidential].
This was a Hybrid-Sale [Resale-Week + DCP Package] whereby the Cost-Per-Point [DCP] was $6.50.
Qualified us for Platinum-Status with Marriott-Rewards [now applied to Starwood-Platinum].
In addition we received 650000 Marriott-Rewards good for 6-Weeks of Hotel-Accommodations [Category-5] in Europe.

 

[willfly13]

I'm curious, Microze, how you got the deal you did. Hybrid sale week? Did you just happen upon it or were you in touch about your purchase?
We might be interested in adding some add'l points, but wonder if Marriott will acknowledge a ts or points bought on the resale market.
Do you have any trouble trading your weeks?

 

[dms11]

Ditto, did the same but for Marriott. I don't regret it one bit. If it wasn't for tug, I wouldn't missed out on timesharing!

LIkewise, re SVN. We just upped our week at Lagunamar from Gold to Platinum for the Star Options that allow us to travel anywhere and, in doing so, kept our maintenance fees the same. We couldn't have gotten that via resale, so no regrets at all. In fact, thanks to what we have learned via TUG, we know we did the right thing.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Yes, but only to purchase MORE Tradewinds points, as I was running out of them. There are a few resale, but since they are a very short RTU, you need to consider how many years and points are left.

Max number of years is 12. But most I have seen for sale have 1 or 2 years left max. NOT worth it, unless I know I am booking a full boat, and I can buy/rent cheap points from someone else.

 

[ronparise]

Well, yes, Wyndham for status, but we never have regretted it. That was a very calculated decision to get Platinum status for little money. We owned a lot of PAHIO weeks, bought from eBay, and were offered a deal we couldn't refuse.

Me too for the same reason. In fact you were the first to tell me that this was possible

 

[Trudyt623]

I am currently planning to purchase points directly from Marriott to be able to take advantage of internal trades. I enjoy my resale week and love learning from TUG but... my husband and I want what we want. Our children are getting older and we are beginning to vacation differently.

 

[Mroze]

I'm curious, Microze, how you got the deal you did. Hybrid sale week? Did you just happen upon it or were you in touch about your purchase?
We might be interested in adding some add'l points, but wonder if Marriott will acknowledge a ts or points bought on the resale market.
Do you have any trouble trading your weeks?

When you attend a Marriott presentation simply ask about Marriott-Resales.
Some of the staff may not be familiar. Let them know to call "Jim Dinda" who runs the Marriott-Resales.
He can email them the current list of available Marriott resale inventory as that is fluid.
The basic rule is that; to purchase a deeded Resale-Week you have to purchase an equivalent number of DCP-Points.
Some of the resales are usually 60%-75% below original direct prices.
E.g. If I purchased a Deeded-Week worth 3075-DCP I am obligated to purchase an additional equivalent of 3000 DCP-Points.
Similarly you can purchase a Deeded-Week worth 2000-DCP + an additional 2000-DCP.
The DCP-Points were on sale for $10.54/Point for 3000-DCP [$9.88 for 4000-DCP].
The 3075-DCP Deeded-Week was on sale for ~$8000.
Combined purchase price of 6075-DCP worked out to ~$6.50/Point. Required the closing of 2-Contracts.
My example is for purchasing Marriott-Resales from Marriott.

Not sure about enrolling Resale weeks purchased on the open market.
There was a window where they permitted enrolling those for a penalty + purchase of a minimum DCP-Points. They periodically do that.

The most important thing for me was to purchase 2BR-Lock-Off Platinum-Season week that exchanged well via Interval.

The best deals to be had are at the higher levels [High-Value DCP-Weeks].
Last summer Marriott ran a special whereby you did not need to purchase DCP-Points to match the Deeded-Week value in DCP-Points.
You simply needed to purchase a Fixed 3000-DCP for any Resale to be enrolled irrespective of Resale Value in DCP-Points.
E.g. I could have purchased a 3BR Platinum-Fixed Deeded-Week [Christmas] Lake Tahoe accrues 12100-DCP and I only needed purchase 3000-DCP for both to be enrolled.
That one purchase qualified someone for Chairman's Club-Level.
The best part of that sale was that the MF on the 12100-DCP Deeded-Week was a mere $1500/Year.
Thereafter you would accrue 15100-DCP for life with an annual MF of $3000/Year.
This was at a presentation at the Ritz Carlton in St. Thomas but I let it go due to the high upfront cost.

There are some basic principles.
Purchase a deeded week in Platinum-Season [strong in Interval-Trades] that accrues Max-DCP with the Lowest-MF [not Hawaii].

As for our resale week in Ko'Olina we enrolled that when Marriott opened up the Destinations program in 2010. So all of our Marriott portfolio is enrolled.

 

[Mroze]

LIkewise, re SVN. We just upped our week at Lagunamar from Gold to Platinum for the Star Options that allow us to travel anywhere and, in doing so, kept our maintenance fees the same. We couldn't have gotten that via resale, so no regrets at all. In fact, thanks to what we have learned via TUG, we know we did the right thing.

Hi DMS11,

We too are WLR owners and recently increased our SVN portfolio but added WKV.
Here's the reason from another forum that I had posted to.
Since that post we have added 2 x WKV 2BR [148100-SO] Platinum+ RESALE Weeks and don't regret it one bit.
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Purchasing a re$ale week is often discussed on the forums. Here is a brief synopsis of my experience with the Starwood Network.

Studios V 1BR-Units: Experience leads me to the conclusion that lately exchanging a Studio is a dog. Experience also tells me that 1BR-Units exchange just as good as 2BR-Units. It would be ideal if I could purchase a Lock-Off that splits into a 1BR+1BR. Starwood is one of the few companies with 11 resorts that Lock-Off into 1BR+1BR [as opposed to Marriott’s that Lock-Off into Studio+1BR]. Hyatt does not offer Lock-Off.

1BR-Units usually provide the following advantages [Higher Exchange-Value]:

• Sleeping: Private-Sleeping for at least 4-People
• Kitchen: Partial/Full Kitchen [Full-Refrigerator/Oven/Stove-Top/Dishwasher]
• Laundry: In-Unit Washer/Dryer
• Bathroom: Full Bath-Tub/Shower
• Living-Space: More Square-Footage

Maintenance-Fees V Season: Purchasing a unit with Low-MF in High-Season is the ideal scenario. With Starwood & Marriott MF for a 2BR-Unit is the same irrespective of Season [Silver/Gold/Platinum/Platinum+]. E.g. A Starwood-WKV 2BR-Unit has an Annual-MF of $1450. MF is the same for [PLATINUM+: 148100-SO] or [GOLD+: 81000-SO] or [GOLD: 56300-SO]. Paying a little more for a PLATINUM+ week [One-Time] ensures that you will accrue a High-Value/High-TDI Week [MAX: 148100-SO] and still pay the same MF as Low-Season owners that accrue a Low-TDI-Week or ½ or 1/3 of the SO in perpetuity.

Maintenance-Fees V Location: Given the previous point, it makes sense to purchase a Platinum+ week in Arizona [$1450-MF] rather than a Platinum+ week in Hawaii [$2900-MF] as both accrue the exact same 148100-SO annually. There is a benefit to owning in Hawaii if that’s where you want to vacation every year.

Star-Options Mandatory: Starwood-Network has a unique feature whereby purchasing a Re$ale-Week maybe almost as good as a Direct-Purchase. Of the 19 Starwood-Resorts only 5 are classified as Star-Options Mandatory [see below]. On a re$ale the Star-Options are transferred and the new owners can exchange In-Network to locations like Atlantis Bahamas or Westin St. Johns using Star-Options. This SO-Mandatory feature makes these 5-Resorts more desirable increasing their re$ale value. Starwood also pays the Interval Membership-fees for SO-Mandatory resorts.

Of the 5 SO-Mandatory resorts 3 have High-MF [HRA/WSJ/KAA+KAN].

Of the 5 SO-Mandatory resorts only 3 Lock-Off into 1BR+1BR [HRA/WKV/SVV].

Of the 2 Low-MF resorts only 1 [WKV] has PLATINUM+ [148100-SO].

• Harborside Atlantis [HRA] [PLAT+/High-MF/LO: 1BR+1BR]
• Westin St. Johns [WSJ: Hillside & Virgin-Grand only] [PLAT+/High-MF]
• Westin Ka'anapali [KAA] & Westin Ka'anapali North [KAN] [PLAT+/High-MF]
• Westin Kierland Villas [WKV] [PLAT+/Low-MF/LO: 1BR+1BR]
• Sheraton Vistana Villages [SVV:Bella/KW] [NO-PLAT+/Low-MF/1BR+1BR/Low-Value]

 

[Sandy VDH]

Well, yes, Wyndham for status, but we never have regretted it. That was a very calculated decision to get Platinum status for little money. We owned a lot of PAHIO weeks, bought from eBay, and were offered a deal we couldn't refuse.

Oh yes, I guess I did this too. Duh!!!

I purchased 160K from Wyndham directly. With 2 PICs and my 4 resale fixed weeks purchases converted to points, I was able to get VIP Platinum, and keep it. Wisely I insisted they write in my contract, which they did. When they tried to remove my VIP status when they started disallowing resales to qualify for VIP, I have the proof to insist they reinstate my Platinum status back. Luckily.

I did this as an equity trade to get me out of paying the huge (around $2K) special assessment I would have had at Santa Barbara when the resort got damaged badly by the hurricane. So I did this in the 2006 timeframe.

I would have regretting buying my VIP Status from Wyndham, but I don't regret the way I did it.

 

[LannyPC]

No and No!!!

My reply exactly.