Purchasing resale

Hi - we are new to RedWeek and new to timeshare and could use some advice: We want to purchase at Westin St John - we know the Island and are only interested in staying in St John. Some of the units seem to be "deeded" and some are "right to use" - can you explain the difference. If we purchase resale, what benefits do we lose vs buying directly from Westin (we have spoken to their sales folks) We are not looking for an investment, we understand owning the timeshare just not the logistics of the programs Thanks

I have one timeshare left in Las Vegas . I bought it just to use there . I love the resort and usually go there every year . I purchased a deeded week . This guarantees me a week in my resort and I have never had any trouble booking my week . I don't know how your resort works but if it is anything like mine I would advise you to get the deeded week . You would still have to pay maintenance fees for both but with deeded week you have more ownership rights .

A "deeded" timeshare involves actual partial ownership of real estate, usually in perpetuity unless specified otherwise. A deeded timeshare week may be for one specific same (a.k.a. "fixed") week each year (or every other year), or for an annual (or biennial) reservation within a defined and limited "range" of reservation-eligible weeks each year. Less frequently, it may involve reserving any one of the 52 weeks in a year (as space is available). The deed itself should clearly specify those usage details.

In a RTU (right to use) contract, there is no actual ownership of anything at all (hence, no deed). Think of RTU as a "membership" instead of an "ownership". RTU contracts usually have a specific "end date", so if you are buying ANY resale RTU contract ANYWHERE, it is obviously very important to know the ending date of that particular contract before you buy. A contract with an ending date just a year or two from now may not be something that you want to acquire (unless it's dirt cheap and / or unless you only WANT resort access for the few remaining years left on such an expiring contract).

I hope the above helps you to clearly understand the significant differences between a "deeded" timeshare ownership and a RTU timeshare contract.

It would be highly unusual for there to be both deeded ownerships and RTU contracts co-existing at the same timeshare property, so it is not possible to state what differences (if any) in "benefits" might exist at this property. Those details are best obtained directly from Westin itself (...but NOT from any Westin sales weasels who may very well NOT provide you with accurate and / or truthful information). Salespeople make big commissions on developer-direct sales, routinely "tilting" their input to get you to buy developer-direct instead of buying resale. They often misrepresent the truth (i.e., flat out lie) in order to "close the deal". The fact that Westins tend to be higher end properties does NOT change the tendency of hungry timeshare sales weasels at ANY facility ANYWHERE to routinely and repeatedly misrepresent pertinent facts in their relentless pursuit of a sales commission.

Good luck.

Thanks so much this is very helpful We have spoken to both Westin and some private resellers and are just nervous about doing this on our own

Thank you - we are 99% sure we would only go back to this resort; which is why we want to purchase