Anonymous wrote:I am PP 20:18.
You can always buy more points from marriott directly. They will sell you points in increments of 500-1000. We bought ours when they first rolled out the program (but already had owned weeks, so we purchased more points to complement our ownership). You can also buy points from other MVC owners at a lower rate on the secondary market (red week, tug, eBay, etc). I am not sure what they are selling for now, directly from marriott, but I would guess around 12 dollars per point.
Your 3100 points would remain consistent each year if they are trust points. If your in laws originally owned weeks, then you can still use your original week at your original place. Or, you can trade for points and use the other marriot properties (which is what we always have done).
We have been extremely happy with it and have gotten great use from it.
Do your in laws have a mortgage on their deed or do they own it outright? If so, you would only have the annual maintenece fees to worry about. Good luck!

thanks. I think it is not a total rip off if someone gives you the points. I probably could get a 2-room or studio type hotel or room for around the same price as the annual maintenance + annual dues, but not that much less and the Marriott rooms are nice, and I'm doing my in-laws a favor (that is the big thing, and I don't want them to act like they are giving me a gift!). But two more questions. (1) If I bought more points on the secondary market, which likely would be tied to a different resort for a different week, could I simply combine my total points for exchange purposes? (2) My in-laws deal is an every-other year deal. Can you turn that into a yearly thing on the secondary market or do you need to go through Marriott? (not that I want to do that, just curious).

I am PP 20:18.
You can always buy more points from marriott directly. They will sell you points in increments of 500-1000. We bought ours when they first rolled out the program (but already had owned weeks, so we purchased more points to complement our ownership). You can also buy points from other MVC owners at a lower rate on the secondary market (red week, tug, eBay, etc). I am not sure what they are selling for now, directly from marriott, but I would guess around 12 dollars per point.
Your 3100 points would remain consistent each year if they are trust points. If your in laws originally owned weeks, then you can still use your original week at your original place. Or, you can trade for points and use the other marriot properties (which is what we always have done).
We have been extremely happy with it and have gotten great use from it.
Do your in laws have a mortgage on their deed or do they own it outright? If so, you would only have the annual maintenece fees to worry about. Good luck!

http://www.tug2.net/advice/howtosellyourtimeshare.htm

Could you sell to a different private owner?

Your subject line made me laugh -- my parents own multiple timeshares and periodically ask me if I want them (I don't). But, I will say that they have been a good deal for my parents. Here are the two scenarios that work:

1. Your family travels a lot, e.g., multiple week-long trips per year. During my childhood we drove all over the USA staying for a week at this national park and a week at that one. We cooked for ourselves (much cheaper than eating out for family of 4+), the space was big enough that we didn't get on each others' nerves (or sometimes we brought friends and family), and we didn't mind that most resorts are not close-in to nearby attractions. As an adult I have used my parents' timeshares for trips, including my honeymoon, and it's nice to have a home base where you can completely unpack and spread out.

Or

2. The "home" timeshare is near you or your family members. We had one near my aunt for a while and she and her kids could come up and use the pool and rec facilities.

Otherwise, agree it is not a good buy for you.

Anonymous wrote:We are owners with Marriott Vacation Club and are very happy with it. The maintenance fees are somewhat high , but cheaper than the costs of renting a two bedroom villa each year. Btw, MVC will buy back certain weeks and trust points if they bought in a long time ago. MVC resale division gave us a pretty nice offer to buy back one of our original weeks. We declined it as we now convert to trust points each year, and enjoy using the property.
Your in laws can sell their deed to a timeshare resale company for about 9 dollars per point. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Thanks. This is OP. Can you explain the points issue and answer my question regarding whether the points stay at a constant value? If they give me 3,100, will that transfer value remain constant? How much do buy more points?

Anonymous wrote:we own and use it but it is true the fees are high and probably will continue to go up. One thing you have to keep in mind these are not hotel rooms, they are condos. Some of them are large enough you can have other family members or close friends join you and share some of the cost. The way I figured Hotel room you have to go out to eat all the time. With time share, you have a kitchen breakfast even lunch in your room at your leisure is not too bad. My kids also enjoyed nice vacation in a top notch resort with their very limited budget.
Bottom line, yes it is pain to deal with depositing your time share for other resorts and paying those fees but nothing like going to one of these resorts and spending a week

But how would you ask the other family for money to share in the cost if they know it's a time share? How would you determine the number? Sounds awkward.

We love our timeshare because we hate staying in hotels. We always get 2 bedroom condos (a separate bedroom for the kid) and have stayed all around the world. Our maintenance fees do not even come close to covering what it would cost to rent those places, but yes, they go up every year and at some point it may become the case (we do not own Marriot, but another timeshare company). Also, just so you understand how it works, you're points have underlying deeds which area associated with points. They cannot change the points for that deed even 20 years from now. They can build new buildings with higher points and sell those deeds, but your original deed and points for that room cannot change. They get their fees for renovations by upping maintenance fees. Also, we have a large network of resorts in our point system timeshare, so we don't have to go "out-of-network" very often for trading, but we do every once in a while. I'm pretty sure Marriot trades fairly well, but don't quote me on it.

That said, if you already have the mind set that you hate timeshares, I wouldn't do it. Have you ever visited the in-laws at their timeshare while they are there? That would give you an idea if you would like it or not. You also must be able to plan in advance to get good weeks. If you can't plan in advance, or go during mid to low season when the kids are in school, it also won't be as advantageous to you. Our timeshare has at least 4-5 resorts within a 2-3 hour drive from DC, so we use it a lot - esp. for short weekend trips. Marriot is a good timeshare company with lots of options, but a little expensive. I would not take on the timeshare until you've tried it a few times to see if you even like it.

Anonymous wrote:I hate time-shares. And I recognize that the maintenance fees are equivalent to what I spend on hotels. But if they give it to me, should I take it and take over their maintenance fees charges? The fees are around $300/night.

Anyone here have success trading the Marriott points and staying other places easily?

Lastly, if this one has 3,100 points, would Marriott raise the points for other resorts while keeping your's constant at 3,100? i.e., if in 2013 you could use your points to stay at Park City, in 2015 would Marriott raise the Park City exchange to 4,000 points while you still only had 3,100?

thanks.

That is insanity. There is no way I would take that on. Why would you even consider this if you hate time-shares?

We are owners with Marriott Vacation Club and are very happy with it. The maintenance fees are somewhat high , but cheaper than the costs of renting a two bedroom villa each year. Btw, MVC will buy back certain weeks and trust points if they bought in a long time ago. MVC resale division gave us a pretty nice offer to buy back one of our original weeks. We declined it as we now convert to trust points each year, and enjoy using the property.
Your in laws can sell their deed to a timeshare resale company for about 9 dollars per point. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I wouldn't accept it. You have to die to get rid of the payments.

I also recommend that they donate it.

we own and use it but it is true the fees are high and probably will continue to go up. One thing you have to keep in mind these are not hotel rooms, they are condos. Some of them are large enough you can have other family members or close friends join you and share some of the cost. The way I figured Hotel room you have to go out to eat all the time. With time share, you have a kitchen breakfast even lunch in your room at your leisure is not too bad. My kids also enjoyed nice vacation in a top notch resort with their very limited budget.
Bottom line, yes it is pain to deal with depositing your time share for other resorts and paying those fees but nothing like going to one of these resorts and spending a week

They can donate it to the Kwainis Club. Tax write off.

None of my husband's family wants to take over their parents time share either. It has no resale value and doesn't cost any less than just renting/hotels with the maintenance fees and points restrictions, plus there are the constant high pressure sales pitches. Not worth it to us.

No. They are giving you a bill! But you'd at least have to give more info. For $300 a night, I'd pick my own hotel.

I hate time-shares. And I recognize that the maintenance fees are equivalent to what I spend on hotels. But if they give it to me, should I take it and take over their maintenance fees charges? The fees are around $300/night.

Anyone here have success trading the Marriott points and staying other places easily?

Lastly, if this one has 3,100 points, would Marriott raise the points for other resorts while keeping your's constant at 3,100? i.e., if in 2013 you could use your points to stay at Park City, in 2015 would Marriott raise the Park City exchange to 4,000 points while you still only had 3,100?

thanks.