My Timeshare Better Than DVC?

[angel659]

Hi

Whilst I was away we purchased a timeshare with Westgate Lakes & Spas.

We paid $16,800 roughly give or take a couple of hundered either end. We will have 3 weeks every other year. We had to buy 3 apartments which equal as a 3 bedroom apartment which you could lock off. Each apartment is a week. So if we wanted to stay in a 1 bedroom apartment that would be 1 week. Our maintenance rates are $549 which are due every other year. We bought a pre-construction property which is on a lake, will be completed at the end of 2006. We can go and stay in another apartment before then. We can borrow weeks and bank weeks pends how we want to use them.

I dont really understand DVC and couldnt really get the grasp of it. I love the idea about it being Disney.

Is this a good deal or should we apply for a loan to pay it off rather than thier mortgage and sell it on? Buy a DVC timeshare?

We plan to go to Disney every other year, but do not want a standard room. It must have a living area and my dh wants a kitchen. We will be travelling with a party of 5 so I would prefer to have a 1 bed apartment or 2 bed. I dont think a 1 bed apartment would accomodate 5.

Please help.

I hope I cant post this.

Thanks
Michelle

 

[PamOKW]

I would take a look at DVC just to compare. It's too bad you didn't stop by and actually see the units at DVC.

With DVC you use "points" to make reservations. You have the flexibility to book different size units in different resorts every stay. You could purchase enough points to stay in a two-bedroom unit every other year by buying roughly half the necessary points and combining two year's worth of points every other year. Different amounts are needed at different times of year as well, so if you have an idea when you travel that will help as well.

That said, the premium of joining DVC over other timeshare options is a personal choice. If you don't value being on-site, then the difference may not be worth it to you.

 

[angel659]

I still cant work out how many points I should buy and what it gives you. I love staying in Disney. We normally stay in ASM, but this year we decided hotel rooms are not for us. It was so crowded.

I didnt even think of DVC until I got home. I am now regretting my decision. I am currently trying to get out of the contract. Apparently we signed a 10 day cooling period, which we were not aware of. They wont send us the form we signed or a fax a copy over. It seems strange to me. I just want to be out of this contract so we can buy into DVC, if I understood how many points I would need.

 

[gjw007]

There is no clear answer to whether purchasing a timeshare offsite is better than purchasing DVC as it depends on each individual's circumstances. Some will tell you that DVC is better because it is points and more flexible but I have an offsite points resort that is just as flexible. I like my weeks resort as well since I know that I don't have to do anything and it will be there waiting for my arrival. With DVC you must make a reservation and the same is true with my points resort. It is cheaper purchasing offsite and have more room but usually less activites as many resorts only have a swimming points. Others have a vast array of activities. The theming at DVC is usually better. One thing is that if you purchase directly from the developer, you take a huge loss if you try to sell (think of it as 10 cents on the dollar and you will be close). DVC retains it value better. You might wish to look at purchasing resale - you might be shocked at what you paid versus what the resale market prices the units.

One thing that you might wish to look at is using the bonus weeks from RCI (or II) which can be priced for $200 or so for a week and these are for nice resorts.

 

[senecabeach]

DVC is for those who enjoy a Disney vacation at least every other year and the benefit of being on site.

I own DVC and also own 4 weeks through RCI. 2 weeks in Cancun and 2 weeks in Cape Cod. Both are 99 yr. deeded timeshares. I use them for world travel and save my DVC for Disney.
ALSO...there are different "quality" resorts in RCI...i.e....IS Westgate a "Gold Crown" resort?? I dont worry about that in DVC but DO certainly check when I'm looking for ressies thru my RCI!!

At times, I trade the Cancun week (studio) for additional time near Disney and have "always" been able to upgrade to a 2 or 3 bedroom...yes..prime season..May, Dec.
Do I enjoy..driving back to my unit mid-day to rest a little or after a day/evening in the parks??...absolutely not!

The demand for "Disney" is unparralleled. People understand the Disney Quality and Family vacations and Disney doesn't need to "sell DVC".

People just come!!

I would suggest if you enjoy Disney vacations and appreciate being on site, DVC is an affordable way to lock in future visits.

The Disney point system gives wonderful flexibility. I dont need to go for a particular "7 day period"..as I do through my RCI weeks.
I can go for a few days...or extend way beyond 7 days and anytime during the year as long as I have the points available!!

Our maintenance rates are $549 which are due every other year.

News to me that any timeshare is gracious ( ) to allow paying mtc every other year?? Better check again?

My bottom line suggestion would be; If you are having 2nd thoughts now..re-evaluate your family's needs and "Do More Homework" on both before signing on the bottom line on any!!

Good Luck!!

 

[Indea88]

Cancel and get out of the contract today!! You can buy Westgate for under $5,000 on the resale market. They are notorius for their high pressure and ignoring the requests to send paperwork when you want to renig... Send the recind letter return receipt requested today. Westgate is the worst in its class. DVC is in an arena all their own. Buy DVC to use each year then you can buy an RCI 2 bedroom exchangable resale for $1K try www.Triwest Timeshare Resales. Hope this helps, trust me Ive learned the hard way!!

 

[Disney Doll]

Don't let them hold you hostage till the cooling off period is over!!! You know..."oh we sent it...you haven't received it?" and "I faxed it to you", until day 11 when you will hear "I'm sorry , but you are beyond your 'cooling off' period". Keep on them and involve an attorney if necessary.

As far as how many points for DVC...buy the amount you can afford. When DH & I first purchased, we bought 200 points and figured that would give us about 3 weeks in a studio, less time the bigger the unit size went. Also look at the time of year yuou generally go. If you go at a "premium" time of year, you'll need more points.

Your guide hsould be able to help you flesh it out. I find the DVC guides to be wonderful, helpful, and not at all a pushy hard sell.

 

[angel659]

Cancel and get out of the contract today!! You can buy Westgate for under $5,000 on the resale market. They are notorius for their high pressure and ignoring the requests to send paperwork when you want to renig... Send the recind letter return receipt requested today. Westgate is the worst in its class. DVC is in an arena all their own. Buy DVC to use each year then you can buy an RCI 2 bedroom exchangable resale for $1K try www.Triwest Timeshare Resales. Hope this helps, trust me Ive learned the hard way!!

Hi

We are currently trying to get out of this contract. We have asked them to cancel it, but apparently we are over the 10 day cooling period. We signed a document, but we never did not to our knowledge. So we have asked them to fax it over. My husband saw it in a T&C booklet, but we never signed anything. Surely no signature we can get out of it.

How can we get out if it? At the moment we are having problems cancelling it they are not having any of it. They were quite pushy at the time and my husband and I fell for the price and thought what a bargain when they said people were paying double. Now we are panicing what will they do if we dont pay etc....

Also what is RCI? We know about interval exchange, but I am not sure what is RCI? What is the recind letter? Sorry I am being think. This is all new to me.

THanks for your help

 

[angel659]

Don't let them hold you hostage till the cooling off period is over!!! You know..."oh we sent it...you haven't received it?" and "I faxed it to you", until day 11 when you will hear "I'm sorry , but you are beyond your 'cooling off' period". Keep on them and involve an attorney if necessary.

As far as how many points for DVC...buy the amount you can afford. When DH & I first purchased, we bought 200 points and figured that would give us about 3 weeks in a studio, less time the bigger the unit size went. Also look at the time of year yuou generally go. If you go at a "premium" time of year, you'll need more points.

Your guide hsould be able to help you flesh it out. I find the DVC guides to be wonderful, helpful, and not at all a pushy hard sell.

I am on the phone to them now and apparently they are saying i cant cancel now!

 

[crisi]

Tell them your next calls are to your attorney and the Florida attorney general and the Better Business Bureau. See if they let you cancel then. If they don't, then start getting on the phone to said attorney and the Florida attorney general.

If you didn't sign anything, and didn't give them any credit card numbers or a cancelled check, they can't collect. If you did give them any of this, stop payment on whatever you did.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Okay - I am very confused?

When did you actually tour and buy this? Did you sign a contract, financing, etc? Unless you are in the right of recind time (not sure what florida has for timing), maybe 30 days or could be 3 or 10 days, then I think you are out of luck.

We had a similiar experiance, we had already owned 1 odd week at Vistana in Orlando. We swaped it for a week at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, we fell in love with the place and loved all the "club" had to offer, the exchanges, the fact you could have weeks or points, etc., but really loved St. Augustine and my husband loves to golf, so perfect fit. We Bought, paid more than we should of, but hey, loved it!! Within 2 weeks of being home, I called to see if I could change my time to all "Red", this would mean spending more $$$. thank goodness I called, Starwood & Vistana had pulled out of the resort and it was being taken over by BlueGreen, which probably would have been fine, but not what I agreed to!!! I could have probably sued and won (according to my attorney), but the attorney fees would have been huge, after bickering back and forth, Vistana & Starwood just gave me an additional week where I already owned (an even week like the one I bought, so now I had every year at Vistana). Which was fine by me, because I didn't have to pay out of pocket. Guess my point is, they said because I was within some time frame, they could do this, if it was a year later, it probaly would have been some big legal battle. Now we still ended up selling everything, loved the resort, but the yearly fees were high, and realized, the only reason to go to Orlando was DISNEY, so why are we outside when we want to be inside!!!!!

 

[angel659]

Hi

We toured and signed on the 26th October. We have said we sent a letter which they deny, which we didnt to be honest. They asked for a proof of postage. Just thought this may work. However, we cant get in contact with our closing officer which they said to speak to.

 

[Caskbill]

Hope it all works out for you.

As far as how many DVC points you would need, if you're able to go that route after all, feel free to download my DVC-Planner program. Follow the link below.

You can easily put in typical vacation dates that fit your travel profile, play around with resorts, or compare everything at once. If you're going to travel only every other year, then divide the points in half to see how many you would need to purchase.

Good Luck

 

[lisaviolet]

Hang in there. There are many people on this board who know the ins and outs of how long you have to get out and timeshares in general. If you can and how to do it. I bet someone will chime in to add to the already great advice you have received here.

I am wondering, don't know much about timeshares, if you phone DVC themselves they might be able to give you some information about how long the cooling off period is in Florida or if they can't get involved at least guide you where you can find that information.

Good luck.

 

[angel659]

Hiya

Thanks for all of your help. We are writing a formal letter and was told to write a complaint to General attorney florida office. They will try and help us, as we were never told we had a 10 day cooling off period.

Fingers crossed it all works out. I dont fancy going down the re-sell market I think we will lose money and it appears that timeshares dont sell well apparently attorney said.

 

[PKS44]

I am not convinced there is a timeshare in the world (DVC included) that needs to be bought "right now!" Decisions that require this kind of money and long term committment should never ever ever be made without lots and lots of time to think about it...anytime anyone is pressuring you to buy now with something like this....it is a good indicator that it is time to NOT BUY NOW.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

Take a look at the original contract that you signed. Florida law states that the 10-day recision period should be in bold letters close to the signature line on the contract. If you see it there, there is very little hope for you to back out. However, if they tried to have you sign a waiver, (waiving your rights to the 10-day period) then you have up to a year to cancel.

That is my understanding of the law. I'm sure there are some legal-eagles out there that may be able to expand on it and I welcome you to do so.

Good luck to you,

Tom

 

[DisneyKidds]

Good luck getting out of that other contract, I hope it works out.

As for DVC, how many points you would need depends entirely on when, where and for how long you wish to stay at WDW. If you were to post your likely travel pattern here (i.e. one week in a Beach Club Villas two bedroom unit every other July) we could tell you how many points you need.

 

[Kerry Dig]

Could anyone tell me how to sell timeshare and who is the best company to go threw, where im not going to get ripped off.

 

[pmcpmc]

Back a number of years ago we bought Oasis lakes (at the bottom of international drive) having viewed this magnificent Resort.
However while we were staying off site elsewhere they gave use three nights to enjoy the reort while we were there.
The first night my boys wanted me to leave them off at Pleasure Island and pick them up at 2:00am. That decided me ,check out dvc.
I did the BW tour and bought 500 pts. at $65 enough for us to enjoy a studio for three weeks in the summer and have an adults only in winter.
DVC took care of contacting Oasis Lakes and cancelled their contract.
(if only I had known then about dvc resale).I
I really hope it all works out for you