My Timeshare Better Than DVC?

[jandk95]

Just to let you know, if you buy resale you do not lose the perks of becoming a DVC member, you are a DVC member. It doesn't matter whether you buy it directly from Disney or not.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Hiya

Apparently the closing officer said he spoke to account to see what he could do, but they wouldnt cancel the contract. We said we couldnt afford it so they offered us a two week contract price.

Do you think then if we said yes we would enter into another 10 day period and then we would be within our rights to cancel? Or would they just send us a new mortgage document to sign? I found this interesting? I can see what your saying.

I looked on the website for DVC Re-sales, but are not much cheaper than paying directly. Apparently if its a re-sale you lose perks of being a DVC member.

My husband thought it was expensive, which I have been trying to tell him he would of been paying this anyway with Westgate, but I dont quite think he gets it.

The reason I go to Florida is Disney and I am Disney mad. I looked on Saratoga Springs I loved the atmosphere. Is Saratoga 5 star?

How does the exchange programme work? Is it expensive.

Thanks for all your advice. Will be looking into how much a attorney would cost me, however I would be worried I would pay that money and he couldnt get the contract closed. I will have to see if we downgraded would we enter into another 10 day contact.

GET OUT OF THE WESTGATE DEAL NOW!!! It sounds like they are feeding you a pack of lies. You loose nothing buying DVC re-sale, you LOOSE NO PERKS, NOTHING, how do I know, I did it!!! The only reason to buy resale is if you don't want Saratoga Springs! If you want Saratoga, buy directly from DVC, if not and you want the other resorts and less years then go the resale route.

Something is not right with the closing agent having the ability to lower your cost to a 2 bedroom. I truly don't get this at all.

Are they selling you the idea that
1. You buy a 3 bedroom lock off and you get 3 weeks a year, is that how much time you spend in Florida??? When you come over, do you stay for more than a week?

2. Now they are offering you a 2 bedroom, is it also a lockoff, so that you can use it as a 1 bedroom for 2 weeks?

It just sounds like they are playing head games!!!

 

[spiceycat]

Hiya

The reason I go to Florida is Disney and I am Disney mad. I looked on Saratoga Springs I loved the atmosphere. Is Saratoga 5 star?

How does the exchange programme work? Is it expensive.

No WDW resort even GF is a 5 star. there is no 5 star resort in Orlando.

the AAA people in Orlando who do the rating are tough.

I think it will be a *** - not a **** - why - room service - only resorts with room service can be a **** with AAA.

SSR and OKW don't have room service.

I won't buy DVC to exchange with - there are too many cheaper alternative.

Orlando has a ton of timeshares so trading out is difficult. (II wants DVC and works DVC a deal) II - is Interval International the exchange company that DVC uses.

If you come to Orlando every other year - DVC is still a good buy. If you only come to Orlando every 4th or 5th year - I would not buy DVC.

if you want to stay on WDW property and you only plan a trip to Orlando every 4th or 5th year I would rent points.

yes, it is not owning but I can see that flying to Orlando every year could get expensive.

please go to
www.tug2.net

immediately - there are some very, very smart people there who can really help you. (I think a few Florida lawyers)

 

[AFMom]

I've been keeping up with your thread, and am really sorry you have to deal with all of this - but I think the best advice - out of all this wonderful help - is to contact a FL real estate lawyer ASAP. Compared to the amount of money you'd be wasting on the timeshare - a small lawyers fee would be nothing. DO this as soon as .... well.... now! If you wait much longer they may not be able to help you. From what I've been reading on your thread - it really seems this would be your best bet. I'd also get on the TUG boards before you decide to purchase any timeshare if your not sure what you want or what you're doing.... good luck- I'm pulling for you!

 

[angel659]

I am not sure if it is a lock off or not. I think it is they know we travel 2 weeks every other year. I am not interested. My husband keeps thinking its a great deal. I am not. The only reason I was thinking of agreeing it would be if we entered into another 10 day contract. I.e they would cancel the other one no doubt at a cost and then draw up another contract then we would be able to cancel within the 10 day period?

We received our contract of sale and there it is our signatures. It is in small print which is why we didnt see it. I am just annoyed that they didnt say anything. Apparently we didnt ask. I replied yes we did, we were told by the sales team we had 120 days. Apparently it was 120 interest free in order for us to purchase our own mortgage if need be.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Lark - you are correct. So - If it was me, I would find a Florida attorney, see if you can get out. If the attorney says you can't, then find out if you default (don't pay the loan), what can they do to you. (you could probably ask a UK attorney this) If you find out they really can't go after you. THEN, I would send a letter stating that if they won't cancel the whole contract, you want out and you arn't paying a dime.
Explain you didn't totally understand, can't afford it, whatever., but you want out.

If you can do that and get out. I would then come back to Orlando in two years (you say you come every 2 years), sit down with a DVC rep, have them explain to you everything, how it works, etc. and then decide to buy. Or call and have them send you out the information, and buy that way. But remember, it will definately cost you more money, I would think you will need a minimum of 200 points, you say you will come every 2 years, so that is 400 points to work with, in the beginning you said you only need a 1 bedroom, so you will have points to bank, but then as the kids get older, you will want the 2 bedroom, so you may be borrowing, but knock of a weekend night and Ithink it will work out.

If you come to Orlando for Disney, why stay outside, be right in the thick of the action. You won't need a car (though you may want one). but there is nothing like staying inside the WORLD!!!

 

[lark]

Overly analytical unhelpful lawyer speak by me edited out of existence!

Peace!

 

[CarolA]

As I read this I don't think you or DH are ready. I agree with the advice just to walk away... then SLOW down and spend some time figuring out what you want, what you can affored etc.... You can then make an informed decision on DVC or another deal. I posted some for sales earlier... if you decide that Westgate is the way to go you can get a MUCH cheaper deal..

 

[angel659]

As I read this I don't think you or DH are ready. I agree with the advice just to walk away... then SLOW down and spend some time figuring out what you want, what you can affored etc.... You can then make an informed decision on DVC or another deal. I posted some for sales earlier... if you decide that Westgate is the way to go you can get a MUCH cheaper deal..

Hi

I totally agree with you.

I know I dont want Westgate. I think Bruce likes the idea, but I think its only because he is worried if an attorney cant get us out and we default on the loan. When we arrive in Orlando in March 2007 they will refuse entry because of it. In his opinion $90.00 per month mortgage payment is better than being refused and at least he has a property to return to. Maintenance fees every other year supposed to yearly.

I still dont like the idea. I think its because I felt we were lied to. As well as paying over the odds for it. Also because I have heard such horrible reviews about the resort, whether thats owners or holidaymakers. Either way they should not treat people like that and I certainly dont want to invest in people with attitudes like that.

I am a no and we will stay in a villa in March 2007 and have a look round. My dad keeps nagging about buying a villa. Problem with that is the inital outlay, plus maintenance etc..... i think its way too much responsibility.

Also why is DVC only 49 years or are all the timeshares like that and they have lied to us again, saying its forever and we can pass it down to our kids.

 

[crisi]

I don't think they can keep you out of the country for a civil matter such as this. Defaulting on a contract isn't a crime. And if I were the US Homeland Security department, I'd have better things to worry about than denying admittance to people because they didn't pay on a timeshare contract. But I am not an attorney, so it might be best to check it out an make sure.

Now, you could show up and get sued, but I think that would be insane on Westgate's part. They'd need to know you were in the country to serve you papers.

Once again, I'm not an attorney and this shouldn't be construed as legal advice. I'd call one and find out. Or at least dig around on the web a little and see what you can be denied admittance for.

 

[pumpkinboy]

The mortgage is a secured loan; and it is secured by the timeshare contract you put a downpayment on. If you default, they have recourse to the collateral, which of course they had before they tried to sell it to you anyway. I am a lender and credit geek by profession, and I can tell you from my experience that all they can get from you is the collateral (in this case the Westgate timeshare contract) if you default.

Just to be doubly sure, you will want to check with a Florida real estate attorney; even if it costs you a few hundred dollars more, it will be money well spent if it will get you out of the expensive contract.

 

[rogerram]

You should not buy there, period. They are doing everything possible to get anything out of you by agreeing on a $90 a month deal. I would not pay it.When you refuse, they will probably come back with a new, better deal. It is a big game to get your money. Also, I bought a DVC resell and I get evey perk any other member gets. You can also find some Saratoga Springs resells that might save you quite a bit of money. I have seen them on the resellers site today when I looked to see what was out there.

 

[Sammie]

Hi

I totally agree with you.

I know I dont want Westgate. I think Bruce likes the idea, but I think its only because he is worried if an attorney cant get us out and we default on the loan. When we arrive in Orlando in March 2007 they will refuse entry because of it. In his opinion $90.00 per month mortgage payment is better than being refused and at least he has a property to return to. Maintenance fees every other year supposed to yearly.

I still dont like the idea. I think its because I felt we were lied to. As well as paying over the odds for it. Also because I have heard such horrible reviews about the resort, whether thats owners or holidaymakers. Either way they should not treat people like that and I certainly dont want to invest in people with attitudes like that.

I am a no and we will stay in a villa in March 2007 and have a look round. My dad keeps nagging about buying a villa. Problem with that is the inital outlay, plus maintenance etc..... i think its way too much responsibility.

Also why is DVC only 49 years or are all the timeshares like that and they have lied to us again, saying its forever and we can pass it down to our kids.

Disney is not a timeshare in the traditional sense in that you don't own the property for life. You have membership in a club that has a time limit. So it does expire.

Other timeshares are different and you will own it until you sell it.

 

[CarolA]

You can pass Disney down to your kids... it just expires at the predetermined point. I am sure there are families who have already inherted DVC.

However, you live in England...I would not be thinking about an inhertible property in Florida. What if your kids financial situation is such that they cann't afford to fly to Orlando? What if one of them marries the anti-Disney? (It happens I date one of them LOL)

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Angel569...

Editted...I was wondering why you kept posting here and not sending your rescission letter until I went back and saw this from my postings...

"However, nothing in this section precludes the execution of documents in advance of closing for delivery after expiration of the cancellation period."

This explains something I've seen more frequently lately...Westgate holds on to the signed documents until after the rescission period is over.

Looks like your best recourse is to investigate walking away. I can't see how an outstanding timeshare debt could impact you in England ...unless they have a corporate entity over there... Westgate sells to so many foreign nationals that I suspect some of what they charge is a built in offset for people who walk away. I thought it was kind of weird they only asked you for $200.

 

[manning]

Hiya

Well we have some progress with Westgate. We managed to speak to our closing officer, who apparently does not work for Westgate only does the last signings.

He said two options

1) Down grade to a 2 bedroom apartment which will give you two weeks every other year the price is $7500

2) Dont pay it - because we dont live in the USA they cant do anything about it, it doesnt go on our credit file. We would even be able to buy elsewhere in Florida. It wouldnt effect us entering the USA.

My husband likes the new price, which is $90.00 per month mortgage.

What do you think? Is this offer good? Or is this still overpriced?

Thanks for all your help so far, I am overwhelmed with how much you have helped me.

With all the problems you are having with them and bad vibes you are getting from others......do you really want to have anything to do with them?????

IMHO I would walk, no run away from it.

 

[angel659]

Doubletrouble, we are already out of the 10 day period before we decided we wanted out. We landed in the UK and by the time we unpacked and settled back in we decided we wanted out. We were not told there was a 10 day cooling period. When we found this out we were really shocked and thought what are we going to do now. We are still awaiting to get in contact with the Closing Agent to say no to the offer, meanwhile a letter has gone off in the post. Will get dh to fax the letter off this afternoon. We will be contacting attorneys tomorrow as both myself and my dh is off work so we will make some phone calls. However, thought it was good of the closing agent to say just dont pay it, which is why we trusted him. Second thoughts now though! They only charged us $200 for the down payment, was because my husband said he wasnt prepared to spend anymore than that as he was on vacation and wanted to enjoy his money. I said we would need to sort a loan out before we could afford the down payment. They offered $200 and repay the remainding of the down payment over 3 months, which we agreed.

Manning, we are not going with Westgate. I pointed this out to my dh last night and he agreed he wants out as well. I had to make him sit down and read this thread before he understood what I wanted. Now we are waiting for the DVC infomation to arrive. We will be having a long talk and thoughts before we commit ourselves again.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The problem with getting the DVC information and studying it, is that it doesn't go into the mechanics of how the program works. For that, you need to ask questions and read here.

Have you thought about renting at SSR for your next trip to see how you like it? That might be a good thing to do before you make any other timeshare decision.

 

[manning]

Doubletrouble, we are already out of the 10 day period before we decided we wanted out. We landed in the UK and by the time we unpacked and settled back in we decided we wanted out. We were not told there was a 10 day cooling period. When we found this out we were really shocked and thought what are we going to do now. We are still awaiting to get in contact with the Closing Agent to say no to the offer, meanwhile a letter has gone off in the post. Will get dh to fax the letter off this afternoon. We will be contacting attorneys tomorrow as both myself and my dh is off work so we will make some phone calls. However, thought it was good of the closing agent to say just dont pay it, which is why we trusted him. Second thoughts now though! They only charged us $200 for the down payment, was because my husband said he wasnt prepared to spend anymore than that as he was on vacation and wanted to enjoy his money. I said we would need to sort a loan out before we could afford the down payment. They offered $200 and repay the remainding of the down payment over 3 months, which we agreed.

Manning, we are not going with Westgate. I pointed this out to my dh last night and he agreed he wants out as well. I had to make him sit down and read this thread before he understood what I wanted. Now we are waiting for the DVC infomation to arrive. We will be having a long talk and thoughts before we commit ourselves again.

Thanks for your advice.

Hear, hear!!

 

[kidsister]

The thing about Westgate or any other Orlando timeshare...except DIsney...is that the market is so saturated that the timeshares sell their weeks on Sky Auction for $100. If I can stay in a 2 or 3 bd unit for $100 a week, why would I pay even the maintenance fee to someone trying to rent such a unit.

Westgate always seems to be at the very bottom rating for customer service AFTER people buy. And no one should ever buy any timeshare from a developer as one can get them for so much less on the resale market.

When I say ANY I cannot include DVC as DVC is the ONLY timeshare that I know of that has gone up in price over the years. And it is also the only one in Orlando that rents out for about 3times its maintenance fees.

However...back to your legal problems. It seems that you are out the $200 deposit. And tho Westgate might threaten and wail at you, I seriously doubt they can or would be able to do anything but rant...and keep your deposit.
I think a letter that says that you both lost your jobs and can't qualify for a mortgage and you are divorcing and entering the nunnery or something else rather outlandish...and then that you cannot ethically take on another mortgage that you know you will have to default on too. So could you please send our deposit back to yada yada address...and give them an address of a distant friend or relative. I doubt you will hear from them again.
Even if they say they are turning it over to a credit company that decides it will pursue something overseas, all you need to do is deny the charge in writing to the collection agency...if they call, you are allowed to tell them that you don't want them to contact you again...for any reason period . And they aren't allowed to.

You aren't the first and you won't be the slast, but certainly I hope you learned your lesson!

Finallly, I disagree in getting lawyers involved. You will end up paying cnsiderable money to lawyers and I don't beleive it will be money well spent.
This is lose lose for Westgate to pursue once you actually say NO. So far, you have been indecisive.

Good luck!