New to Sunterra - Buyer's Remorse!

[dctatt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dctatt]

I attended a presentation this weekend and ended up buying 5000 points in the CSV. Total cost was $15.4K, with a $635 MF. After reading a lot of the threads, I get the feeling I paid too much. I understand that buying resales would still require around 2000 retail points to convert them into the Sunterra Club, but it seems that's probably still the better option. Saturday was when I paid the deposit - is there a legal amount of time where I can "back out" of the deal, or am I stuck? Did I get a raw deal, or is it pretty standard? Has anyone had any luck buying into Sunterra strictly through (converted) resales (i.e. without having any other existing Sunterra points/deeds to convert)?

David

P.S. The salesman offered an incentive - a free 7-day cruise for 2 on Royal Caribbean. I have the voucher with an expiration date of 4/21/08. The fine print says the voucher is not redeemable until an official authorization sticker is received. To get the sticker, I have to either pay 25% of the TS contract purchase price, or pay my first 6 monthly payments on time (I'll most likely pursue the latter). Then I hope they follow through and send the sticker in a timely manner. Since I won't become a member for another 30-45 days (what's the deal with THAT?), I'll have a small window of about 4 months early next year to redeem my voucher and take my cruise. I estimate the value to be around $1200. Not bad, if I end up actually getting to redeem the voucher.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Read your contract and see if you have a window in which you can cancel the contract. Usually it is 7 days, but can vary by state and/or country. If so, do it and follow exactly the steps in the contract to rescind. Be sure to send the letter registered mail with a return card.

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

by all means, rescind if you can, and you should be able to...follow the directions in your contract to the letter...then come back to this forum and learn how to get the same product for a lot less money...welcome!
Connie

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I attended a presentation this weekend and ended up buying 5000 points in the CSV. Total cost was $15.4K, with a $635 MF. After reading a lot of the threads, I get the feeling I paid too much. I understand that buying resales would still require around 2000 retail points to convert them into the Sunterra Club, but it seems that's probably still the better option. Saturday was when I paid the deposit - is there a legal amount of time where I can "back out" of the deal, or am I stuck? Did I get a raw deal, or is it pretty standard? Has anyone had any luck buying into Sunterra strictly through (converted) resales (i.e. without having any other existing Sunterra points/deeds to convert)? David

P.S. The salesman offered an incentive - a free 7-day cruise for 2 on Royal Caribbean. I have the voucher with an expiration date of 4/21/08. The fine print says the voucher is not redeemable until an official authorization sticker is received. To get the sticker, I have to either pay 25% of the TS contract purchase price, or pay my first 6 monthly payments on time (I'll most likely pursue the latter). Then I hope they follow through and send the sticker in a timely manner. Since I won't become a member for another 30-45 days (what's the deal with THAT?), I'll have a small window of about 4 months early next year to redeem my voucher and take my cruise. I estimate the value to be around $1200. Not bad, if I end up actually getting to redeem the voucher.

If you've read all the threads in this forum, then you know, that you definitely paid retail at $3.08/pt. I've seen resale purchases for much lower. The recent reports for someone wanting to convert one resale contract is still a purchase of 2000 for about $5000.

[Dave M Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dave M]

You aren't stuck. Your purchase contract probably includes a cancellation clause on one of the last few pages, typically immediately above the signature section. Read your contract carefully!

Even if you can't find that cancellation wording, you almost certainly have the right to cancel. The period during which you cancel can be as short as three days or as long as ten days, depending on what state you were in when you purchased. Tell us the state and we can almost certainly tell you how long you have and give you a link to the state law.

The "free" cruise has limited value. Those who have reported about such cruises generally relate that they have had a very difficult time booking the cruise. Even valuing it at a questionable $1,200, that benefit is a poor reason to overpay for what you bought.

[dctatt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dctatt]

Florida law?

I live in Florida. The presentation was at the Grand Beach resort in Orlando. I will re-read the contract tonight and will seriously consider rescinding. It depends whether DW will agree; she seemed very happy after the closing. Does anybody know what window I have to rescind? Do I need legal representation?

Thanks for all the quick help. I know reading things thouroughly is the best course of action, but appreciate the words of advice from those who are more experienced than I.

I'm obviously new to TS; any recommendations as to whether Sunterra is worthwhile, or should I focus on another company? We like the flexibility of the points system (as we'll be using our TS primarily for four or five short weekend trips to Orlando throughout the year), but I'm starting to feel that the "Trust" seems more like a way of keeping control away from the owners, not as a way of keeping increases in MFs low and eliminating special assessments (as the salesman explained it to me). Are any other TS companies based on a points sytem with resorts in Florida? Any quick recommendations would be appreciated. I'm willing to do my research, but quick pointers will be helpful.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Look into resale and the "old" Club Sunterra

I'm obviously new to TS; any recommendations as to whether Sunterra is worthwhile, or should I focus on another company? We like the flexibility of the points system (as we'll be using our TS primarily for four or five short weekend trips to Orlando throughout the year), but I'm starting to feel that the "Trust" seems more like a way of keeping control away from the owners, not as a way of keeping increases in MFs low and eliminating special assessments (as the salesman explained it to me). Are any other TS companies based on a points sytem with resorts in Florida? Any quick recommendations would be appreciated. I'm willing to do my research, but quick pointers will be helpful.

Wow - you catch on fast! You mirror my personal opinions on the trust idea exactly. I like my Sunterra ownership very much but it involves a deeded week that I've brought into the Club Sunterra system. I did not and would not give up my deed to join. If that (forfeiting the deed) was the only way into Club they would not have me as a member. I don't know for sure of they still offer the non-trust club memberships to new buyers or if you buy a resale but you should look into it. While I have nothing against Sunterra I would agree that at this point in time you don't know enough to stick with the current agreement. I would rescind and check out all options while I could. Once the 7 days is gone you'll own it and then it's too late to back out no matter what. You do not need legal help - just follow the directions in your information exactly to rescind. If later you decide the deal was a good one you can always get it again - they want to sell at retail and wouldn't turn you down if you went back later to buy.

[Dave M Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dave M]

Does anybody know what window I have to rescind?

You have ten days from the date you signed the contract.

Do I need legal representation?

No. Simply follow the instructions in your contract and send your cancellation letter (as simple as, "I hereby cancel my purchase contract dated April XX, 2007.") certified mail, postmarked on or before the tenth day.

Any quick recommendations would be appreciated.

Do your best to convince your spouse that you should cancel. Most timeshare owners are happy initially. Many of them are unhappy once they find out that they could have bought much less expensively on the resale market and/or that the salesperson lied or exaggerated about a key aspect of your ownership that you might not find out about for months.

By canceling, you can take your time to learn what is the system that will best meet your needs and at an appropriate price. Timesharing is great, but it's easy to make a mistake (as many of us did) with that first purchase.

Incidentally, if you rescind and then later decide that you still want the original deal, give them a call. With timeshare developers, there is almost never a "This deal is available today only", in spite of inferences to the contrary that your salesperson might have given you.

As stated above, you catch on fast. Now make sure you catch on to what you really need to know during the remainder of your 10-day period!

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

You might want to read

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...d-resorts.html

There is talk that Diamond trying to work a deal to purchase Sunterra.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

You might want to read
http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...d-resorts.html
There is talk that Diamond trying to work a deal to purchase Sunterra.

And then again, you might not. That thread says nothing and there is no indication of any significant change in Club Sunterra. Let's see, a 2.5resort privately held group takes a publicly held group with 80-100 resorts private, I don't see much change.

I live in Florida. The presentation was at the Grand Beach resort in Orlando. I will re-read the contract tonight and will seriously consider rescinding. It depends whether DW will agree; she seemed very happy after the closing. Does anybody know what window I have to rescind? Do I need legal representation?

Thanks for all the quick help. I know reading things thouroughly is the best course of action, but appreciate the words of advice from those who are more experienced than I.

I'm obviously new to TS; any recommendations as to whether Sunterra is worthwhile, or should I focus on another company? We like the flexibility of the points system (as we'll be using our TS primarily for four or five short weekend trips to Orlando throughout the year), but I'm starting to feel that the "Trust" seems more like a way of keeping control away from the owners, not as a way of keeping increases in MFs low and eliminating special assessments (as the salesman explained it to me). Are any other TS companies based on a points sytem with resorts in Florida? Any quick recommendations would be appreciated. I'm willing to do my research, but quick pointers will be helpful.

The only remorse you should have is that you paid too much, you can still fix that. Weekends are an expensive way to use Sunterra points at 3x the cost of other nights!!

[dctatt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dctatt]

Rescission letter

I convinced DW to rescind the Sunterra contract. Here is a copy of the letter we're sending today (certified mail with recipt requested):

Rescission Coordinator
Sunterra Financial Services, Inc.
3865 West Cheyenne Ave.
North Las Vegas, NV 89032

April 23, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

Having reviewed our decision to purchase a timeshare through Sunterra, we have decided to exercise our option to cancel our contract within the 10-day cancellation period provided by chapter 721 of the Florida Statutes.

We hereby cancel our purchase contract dated April 21, 2007. Please refund our deposit in the amount of $1,540.00, which was charged to our Visa card on April 21, 2007.

Respectfully,

I will continue to post updates as I'm sure Sunterra will now be making counteroffers, etc.

[Dave M Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dave M]

Good choice!

Now you and DW can take your time figuring out the timeshare ownership that fits best for you.

[sb1070 Member Find all posts View Profile Close sb1070]

David

I purchased 2 resale trust contracts 4000 & 5000 from Holiday Group and a couple of fixed weeks off of ebay 1 worth 5000 and the other 10000 and then rolled everything into a club account by purchasing 4000 additional points from Sunterra for $7700 and 7.3 cents a point for MF's.

Currently Holiday Group has 5500 points for $1700 and MF's 671 which is high by Spences standards, but we all can't be Spence

Good Luck

Scott

[dctatt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dctatt]

eBay Research

I researched closed Sunterra auctions on eBay. Here's what I found for the last few weeks:
14 closed auctions
Blocks of points for resell ranged from 2500 to 18000
Winning bid ranged from $250 to $4259.99
Lowest price/point = $.100
Highest price/point = $.312
Overall average price/point = $.233
Average price/point, omitting the three highest and three lowest = $.243
(Retail price/point offered, accepted and rescinded = $3.08)

I'm guessing at least one of these winning bids was made by someone here on TS4MS.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I'm guessing at least one of these winning bids was made by someone here on TS4MS.

I am betting that I know 1 person.