Buying Marriott Vacation Club

I'm new to redweek. We just did a preview and bought MVC points. I'm having second thoughts seeing messages in redweek. Somethings I have questions about are. Is the price truly non-negotiable? They wouldn't budge at the preview, but I'm guessing they were doing a good job of reading us. I am debating about rescinding (within 10 days), but is there unrecoverable fees? Also, I'm debating about buying Marriott resale via redweek and understand there is ROFR and $3/point additional fee. Anything else? If I kept my ownership, if buy additional points, how is the maintenance calculated? Basically if I'm paying 1800 I'm maintenance and added points later on via resale, is it the sum of the maintenance fees or is recalculated some way?

jeremyc173 wrote:

We just did a preview and bought MVC points. I'm having second thoughts seeing messages in redweek. Somethings I have questions about are..... I am debating about rescinding (within 10 days), but is there unrecoverable fees? Also, I'm debating about buying Marriott resale via redweek and understand there is ROFR and $3/point additional fee.

First things first. The fact that you are "having second thoughts" and that there are some things about which you have questions are firm indicators that you should rescind. Follow the rescission instructions that were given to you in your owner's package. It will tell you where to send the letter and do so likely by certified mail with a receipt requested. There should be no "unrecoverable fees". They are required to refund you every penny that you paid down.

As for "debating about buying Marriott resale", it's best to do a lot of research about purchasing (or even acquiring for free) any timeshare. Take your time doing so and do not rush into any thing, contrary to what the sales people told you, because there will be many deals out there today and tomorrow.

As for Right of First Refusal (ROFR), very seldom is it applied. It simply means that if you and a potential seller agree to purchase his unit or points for a certain price and Marriott feels that the price was too low for its liking, Marriott can exercise its ROFR and purchase it from the seller for that price. It just simply means that you will have to try to find another one of the many out there.

But again, first and foremost, rescind your purchase. Then think about a resale purchase.

Hello Jeremy, If you are not sure about what you just signed up for, think about rescinding your contract. Check on different sites which price is better for the timeshare type you are looking for. Price, maintenance fees, is it yearly or every two year usage, etc. You can search online. We bought two weeks years ago and then made the mistake to buy points. Live and learn for us. You still have the time to change your mind. Make sure you have the time to use whatever you buy so you can enjoy it with your family. Best Regards,

Suggestion, Rescind immediately. Then, spend time to understand what you are buying. They will say you will lose a great deal. That's baloney - get out now and regroup.

MVC is horrible. I gave them back 3500 points for free that I inherited.

Don't buy points - you actually have nothing tangible that you own. Yes, buy on Redweek or a site that has resale units and buy a "deeded" unit. We own two Marriott timeshares at Ko'olina. We love it there and always use our timeshare. Check the maintenance fees and be sure they fit in your budget. Even if the unit has "every other year" usage, the fees are yearly.

Be careful about buying resale on a non-authorized resale (I do not know if Redweek is). Here's what the new FAQ's on Vistana's site about Westin's merger with MVC into using the new ABOUND system say about resales: Research your situation before buying....

Eligible VOIs:

Are those that are enrolled in VSN and were purchased from the Developer or through an Authorized resale agent. VOIs that were enrolled in VSN prior to August 9, 2022, that were purchased through an unauthorized resale agent or HOA resale offer will be able to elect to receive Club Points and apply toward Owner Benefit Level. VOIs purchased through an unauthorized resale agent or HOA resale offer on or after August 9, 2022, and VOIs not enrolled in the VSN are not eligible. VOIs enrolled in VSN at Harborside Resort at Atlantis and Westin Riverfront resort will not be able to elect to receive Club Points at the time Abound transactions go live and these VOIs will not count toward the Owners benefit level. We anticipate that these VOIs will be eligible to elect to receive Club Points and count toward the Owner’s benefit level in the future. Additionally, Owners will not be able to use Club Points to reserve these resorts through Abound until Owners at these properties are able to elect to receive Club Points. Restricted, First Day Benefit and Bonus StarOptions are not eligible for election. Owners of VOIs who may be able to opt-out of the additional exchange opportunities of using Abound and only pay the current VSN Membership Fees amount will not be able to use Club Points to reserve these resorts through Abound and will be responsible for paying separate transaction fees.

Consider canceling your contract if you are unsure of the terms of the agreement you just entered into. Look for the best pricing for the type of timeshare you want on various websites. Price, maintenance costs, if it is used annually or every two years, etc. Online searches are possible. A few of weeks ago, we made the error of purchasing points. For us, live and learn. There is still time for you to change your mind. Whatever you buy, be sure you have the time to use it so you can enjoy it with your family.

We have had a great experience buying resale weeks using Redweek listings. This was in addition to buying weeks from Marriott at the outset and then buying into the points program. I haven't been very concerned about the transactions as they are handled through a closing company.

I would make sure you buy a timeshare you would use and that has good rental prospects. We've only bought Platinum weeks and always at great resorts like Newport Coast, Ocean Watch, Timber Lodge, etc. All of the 10+ resales we bought could be resold for more than we paid for them. Our developer purchases of weeks and points would suffer an extraordinary loss. You can make resales meet your needs for variety by renting and then using the rents to rent something else. Of course, Interval can also be used for exchanges.

This post from Dottie is untrue. Properties or Points, they're all real estate. If you owned points with Marriott you would actually know what you're talking about. When reading posts here on redweek, I recommend you only read posts where the blogger has some credential to include what that person owns. This Dottie person clearly doesn't own points or she would hold a deed to her points like I do.

NOTE TO ALL READERS Disregard the underinformed or uneducated Blogs. Look for credentials.

NOTE TO POSTERS Mention your credentials to speak on a topic.

OWNER of a legacy week with Marriott at Mountainside in Park City, Legacy week at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club, and I own points. Chairman Benefit Level Status

dottie2 wrote:

Don't buy points - you actually have nothing tangible that you own. Yes, buy on Redweek or a site that has resale units and buy a "deeded" unit. We own two Marriott timeshares at Ko'olina. We love it there and always use our timeshare. Check the maintenance fees and be sure they fit in your budget. Even if the unit has "every other year" usage, the fees are yearly.

We just did a MVC presentation at a resort in Hawaii. We said no and I went to research - they wanted to give us 1500 points a year (for four years they would give us 1500 extra so 3,000 for 4 years). I started researching properties and all of ones we would be interested in are much more than 3,000 for a week for a 1-bedroom. I think we are going to go the re-sale route because of this or just rent off of redweek.

I asked a question to the sales person about buying on the secondary market and he made a point that because Marriott is now doing the point system, Marriott is now swooping in and buying timeshare resales right before they 'close escrow'. Not sure how true this is and if it is just a talking point to not go the re-sale route.

If you purchase a Marriott resale, Does Marriott allow you to change it to points?

Their policies change all the time but friends in your situation said they were offered points. But don’t give up that deed!

Can anyone tell me why people would choose to sell on Redweek rather than sell back to Marriott? I know their buyback is substantially lower than a purchase price but seemingly higher than asking prices on Redweek. Also, how are bookings secured once you purchase a resale on Redweek? Specifically, if I purchase a deeded week, do I book directly through Marriott as I do the properties purchased through them?

“If you purchase a Marriott resale, does Marriott allow you to change it to points?”

In Marriott lingo this is called an “enrolled” week. If you have an enrolled week you have to decide if you want to use it or convert it to points each year.

They have changed the fees and the eligibility for enrolling over the years: I was told by a sales rep at one point that they were no longer allowing weeks to become “enrolled” unless they were purchased through Marriott, but I have no idea if that’s true or not. They absolutely won’t do it for free.

There is a separate question of “if I purchase a Marriott resale week which was already enrolled, does it remain enrolled after the sale?” And honestly I have no idea.

Is platinum week considered high, medium of low season?

Interested in this topic. What happens to bought week on secondary? Can be turned into point?

We purchased several units through the second hand market. It was done through an escrow company. Once you own the deed, evertything is handled the same way as if you had purchased directly through Marriott. It's a good idea to find out if the weeks for the year you are buying in have been used already, that should affect the sales price.

In my opinion, your salesperson lied - Marriott will NOT swoop in. More important than the cost in points is the availability of any property. I can book 13 months out but almost never find anything available where I want, when I want. Sure, you can go to the beach in South Carolina in January, if you really want to do that, because vacancies are very rate any time between April and October. Just my opinion based on my unhappy experience.