Marriott Vacation Club Questions

I am hoping to purchase a week at the Marriott Vacation Club in St Thomas (Frenchman's Cove). I am working with a salesperson from the Marriott, but also am very interested in the resale market. Some questions:

- I've heard that if you buy on the resale market, you don't get to convert your property to points every other year. Is this true? Are there any other drawbacks? Can I trade just as easily with a resale as with one bought from Marriott?

- I'm also curious about trading. I would want to go in October, which happens to be Silver. If I buy silver, will I still be able to trade easily within the Marriott system? I've heard from the sales guy that because it is a 2 bedroom island property with ocean views, it should be easy to trade. Is this true?

- From reading the posts, it sounds like most people trade for the year on 1 day - the first day they are allowed. Is this necessary? When is this date? What if I go on a few months before I would like to travel - will I be out of luck for other high demand island properties?

- The current pre-construction pricing for a silver week is $20,500. If I buy on the resale market, I have heard about 35% off is what I can expect. Is this right? Most people are asking about $17K. Can I expect to get closer to $14K? For $17K I would probably just buy from Marriott, since I get the points, which I would likely use as an avid Marriott member.

Thank you so much for your time. I really hope to hear from all Marriott owners on this and the program in general.

Please see here:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=13269

Your questions are good ones and should all be considered before buying.

First of all, you also need to visit tug2.net and you will learn everything you want to know about owning a timeshare. It's a timeshare users group website and just wonderful. There is even a Marriott forum section there just to discuss all things Marriott related to timeshares!

Now to answer your questions.

The ONLY negative about buying resale from all I've read (which is a lot) is you cannot convert your week into MRPs. But...this is not a big deal for most people! It is not a good use of your timeshare to convert to points. You are gettig less than the cost of your MF's for converting your week to MRP's when you could rent it for twice that amount, or deposit it with Interval International in which you then have two years to use your week for a trade or maybe even trade back into your home property!

As for trading, that is always going to be a crapshoot. I believe your property will be a very strong trader but there are no guarantees. I have heard of properties that were much weaker getting some very good trades. It's about luck, owning a good property and learning all the tricks of the trade when using Interval.

Your next point about trading on day 1 is a little mixed up. What you have probably heard is that people often try to book their desired week for the next year at their home resort exactly 1 year prior in order to get the week of their choice. If they want to trade or rent their week they will especially try to book holiday weeks (spring break, etc) which I have been told get scooped up in the first 5 minutes of those weeks opening up! Many owners do not deposit their weeks until 6-9 months prior to their reserved week.

Never buy from the developer!!! The value of your week decreases by 50% as soon as your purchase it. Many of us have bought from the developers but that's because we didn't know any better. You can revel in the fact that you saved thousands of dollars after you buy you resale and have the EXACT same vacation as others who paid much more. Interval International does not know if you bought your week from Marriott or at resale and they don't care!!!As a resale owner you should not be treated as a second class citizen. You should have confidence buying resale just be sure you go through an independent party to handle all the monies!

Good luck and please check out TUG!!!! Janna

Another possible downside to buying resale is possible losing the 24 day advantage Marriott owners have to other Marriott properties when they become available at Interval Interntional. If you plan on trading a lot this could be important. I cannot confirm that you don't receive the 24 day window if you buy resale but maybe someone else can add their knowledge in here.

Janna

jannan2 wrote:

Another possible downside to buying resale is possible losing the 24 day advantage Marriott owners have to other Marriott properties when they become available at Interval Interntional. If you plan on trading a lot this could be important. I cannot confirm that you don't receive the 24 day window if you buy resale but maybe someone else can add their knowledge in here.

Janna

================== If you ultimately feel you must buy from a developer to get the perks you want, then do your homework and find out how much units are selling on the resale market, and make an offer. You may find your cost somewhere in between their initial offer and a resale price. During the few TS presentations were I was actually interested in the cost, once I said no, the cost “miraculously” came down. Good Luck