4Seasons
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2007
- Messages
- 949
In general it's best to buy resale. Some companies which include a "right of first refusal" in their contract, you will only get so much of a discount on (such as Hilton, DVC, I believe Marriott and maybe a couple others).
Regardless of which way you buy, do alot of research before buying. And alot of thinking. If you travel off season generally, could you rent for the same or less than the maintenance fee of the property? If so, then buying wouldn't necessarily be the best thing. Because for those years you may not (or can't) travel, you will still have to pay your maintenance fee, you will need to have a membership with either RCI or II (depending on who your resort trades with) to bank any unused time and will have to pay an exchange fee on top of that to trade it. If you travel off season there are plenty of deals to be had, without locking yourself into the financial committment of owning a timeshare.
If you do decide to buy, buy something that has good trading power, or is easily rentable. I personally like the points systems some of the properties have, because the number of points you use for any given stay are tied to the season in which you travel. If you travel off season you can generally get either a larger unit or more time for your points.
Having said that, we own 4 timeshares, bought 1 from developer (Hilton) and 3 resale.
The Hilton property we NEVER have a problem renting our points if we don't use them.
Regardless of which way you buy, do alot of research before buying. And alot of thinking. If you travel off season generally, could you rent for the same or less than the maintenance fee of the property? If so, then buying wouldn't necessarily be the best thing. Because for those years you may not (or can't) travel, you will still have to pay your maintenance fee, you will need to have a membership with either RCI or II (depending on who your resort trades with) to bank any unused time and will have to pay an exchange fee on top of that to trade it. If you travel off season there are plenty of deals to be had, without locking yourself into the financial committment of owning a timeshare.
If you do decide to buy, buy something that has good trading power, or is easily rentable. I personally like the points systems some of the properties have, because the number of points you use for any given stay are tied to the season in which you travel. If you travel off season you can generally get either a larger unit or more time for your points.
Having said that, we own 4 timeshares, bought 1 from developer (Hilton) and 3 resale.
The Hilton property we NEVER have a problem renting our points if we don't use them.
