Timeshare Advice?

[cwnhokie]

I am thinking about looking into a timeshare resale. What I have in mind is purchasing something and using it for Myrtle Beach one year and Disney the next. My Dad has one and can trade his week for Disney Vaction Club resorts. Can anyone recommend any good, reputable time share companies to deal with? Thanks!

 

[DianeV]

I would check on the classifieds on www.tug2.net Also not sure of the website but The Timeshare Store is good.

Just be advised that trading into Disney resorts is not super easy all the time. Usually off season and not alot of the larger units come up. Also you wil have to make sure to buy a resort that trades through II as RCI does not have the Disney resorts available.

I think if you go into this thinking you can always exchange for Disney you may be disappointed (plus another thing to be aware of is that exchangers have an extra fee you have to pay to the resort when you check in, not sure of the amount)

 

[kcmyluv]

Why not look into the Disney Vacation Club? THen you would guarantee to always be able to get what you want when you go to Disney. THen the years you don't go you could either bank your points or rent them out and use the cash for something else.

 

[spiceycat]

always buy resale never from a developer.

tug is a good source of information - be sure to join this website because of the extra being a member will bring. You can rent the reviews and see what people actually paid for their timeshares.

look close to you - you want something if for some reason you decide not to trade that you can get to it easily.

I live in Al so anything I can drive to in a day works for me - that is most of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Miss

I have 3 timeshares in Fl - one Landmark did get me a DVC this year. the exchange fee that DVC charges is $95, I think the II exchange fee is $129.

the other two are as far apart as you can get Westgate (never buy here) and my DVC. I have owned DVC the longest and still love it the best.

look for a beach or lake side timeshares close to you.

I also own a SA (South Africia) that trades very well with RCI. This doesn't work with II.

here are some brokers who sell DVC and other timeshares
www.atimeshare.com
www.dvc-resales.com
www.******************.com
www.thetimesharewarehouse.com
www.reid4florida.com
http://tra-resales.com/

also don't buy in Orlando (unless you are buying DVC), Williamsburg, Va; Branson, Mis; and one other place that I can't remember.

there are several timeshares in these areas so they don't trade as well as ones that you pay alot less for and have less maintence fees.

also
www.redweek.com - you must join this one.

 

[SammieG]

spiceycat.. why do you say dont buy in Orlando, apart from DVC? We own in Orlando and are very happy...

we wouldnt have bought DVC due to the price...

 

[spiceycat]

do you own anywhere else?

Orlando compared to the other areas that I own, gives me almost lousy trades.

I can compare - Westgate I paid $7,000 for it - the fees are $499.

Landmark paid $1,500 for it - the fees are $328.

they are both 2 bedrooms.

they both trade thru II.

with Westgate lately I am lucky if I can get a studio in a nice area.

with Landmark I was getting 3-bedroom in several areas and DVC. I am Disney nut so I picked DVC.

Landmark also got me an bonus week!!! I got nothing extra with Westgate.

my non-Orlando timeshares can trade all over the world - but I am only interested in the South. I mean I look at the others sometimes but at present time I am not exchanging to anyplace I can't drive too.

now Westgate does occasionally show a place in Europe or the Carribean but it is generally last minute trades.

My Landmark can up with so many more places - several 100 more - and they were all over the place. Really too many it was very hard for me to make a decision, several of the Marriott along the coast - South Carolina, Va, Fl.

I was very please with my Landmark I was going to trade it again next year. but I was telling my nephew about getting a spring break week (should trade even better) - when he decided that he wanted to go this next year. I have a floating week and can get everything but the summer. Landmark is in Panama city beach, Fl about 4 hours from me.

so my nephew is going to be doing spring break in PCB next year. I don't know if his mother will ever forgive me.

with DVC II wants all it can handle. II even agree to lowering of the points requirement to get more DVC member to exchange with them. DVC members don't have to belong to II and the trades are $75 fee not the $129 that II charges it members.

So if II has something and no other high quality timeshares week wants it then you get it. bad side -no bonus weeks, member service picks the week you get no say so, no getaways for cash.

but I didn't buy my DVC to exchange it is far to expensive to exchange it.

my other timeshare is not even in this country - it is a South Africia I paid $500 for it the maintence fees are $125 to $250 (that one hurt - the dollar was devalued so I just such have waited). It is a 1-bedroom white season.

I have gotten with it - Sheraton Vistana for thanksgiving, HGVC for Oct(food and wine festavial plus MNSSHP), and I got but had to cancel OL for July 4. It also has make we aware of timeshares that accept pets!!! so I have stated in Celebration World resort a couple of times - using bonus vacations and skyauction.

 

[SammieG]

Yes, we do own elsewhere too.. in the canary islands...

we own a 1 bed apartment in an RCI international distinction resort and are able to exchange anywhere..

we dont want to exchange our HGVC - we want to stay there forever!!!
I would expect it would come up with a good trade though, as its such a quality resort.
Westgate comes up in every search I ever do.. I guess thats why the trade isnt so great there..

 

[MN Dis Fans]

We also own 2 weeks of timeshare through RCI. 1 week at Orange Lake, the other at Silver Lake, both are Gold Crown. I don't think we would consider owning timeshares anywhere else! We have excellent trading power with these resorts, and have stayed all around the country, and have always gotten our 1st choice resort. Like a previous poster mentioned, don't buy from the developer, unless you do a lot of research and can buy from the resales department. Don't buy into the new developments, as they want about 4x times the price. I did a bunch of research (check out www.skyauction.com) and managed to negotiate from the resales team for the price I wanted!

 

[MN Dis Fans]

OOOPS! Just realized, I meant to have typed, Check out www.holidaygroup.com They've got some really good prices on really good resorts, with lots of choices.

 

[cwnhokie]

Now I am thinking about DVC. If I buy into DVC would I have more trading power with II or are there other places i could get into for cheaper that would give me the same trading power. My main concern with DVC is that it doesn't last forever. Sorry for all the questions, I am new to the timeshare biz and don't want to wait money on a learning experience.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Spiceycat gave great info and I'll only add a few of my thoughts. You might consider actually buying at Myrtle Beach. There are some good deals to be had and you can usually get pretty good trades through RCI, though not Disney resorts. We own in Gatlinburg, TN and Hilton Head Island, SC and both pull 20-25 options for us even in the summer in Orlando. There is an overabundance of Orlando resorts that why people sometimes steer clear from buying there. If you want to stay in your home resort and go to Orlando, then I think buying there is fine. We always pull Silver Lake, Orange Lake, Vistana, Westgate, HGVC, Summer Bay, Orbit One and many others when we trade either of our TS. When we want to go to MB it's much harder to get a good Gold Crown resort as there are not as many options there as there is in Orlando. I also second and third the advice on NOT buying directly from the developer. We did in TN and feel we paid top dollar. We did get some great incentives (unlimited bonus nights through Bluegreen, which we stay in a large 2 bedroom in Orlando anytime for only $59/night), but our HHI timeshare was a resale and we feel like we practically stole that one - ! Good luck to you. I have to say that buying our timeshares were some of the best things we've done financially. It's allowed us alot more vacations that we'd have had otherwise. Enjoy!
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[utahkennedys]

I just bought a DVC resale and you can get any number of points from 25 - unlimited on resale if you have a broker watching for you. I wouldn't buy anything but DVC in Orlando. Nothing else holds value. DVC is the only timeshare to have risen in price! Even if you look at Marriotts, you can get a Grande Vista resale for $5-8k instead of the original $15k+. You can also always rent out timeshares instead of buying them. We just rented a Marriott Vacation Club in Park City for $120/night for a 2BR villa instead of $500+ rack rate...so you don't have to buy. You can always rent at any Orlando timeshare without commitment using some rental boards. You can rent points at DVC as well with minimal commitment, but have less control over dates, resorts, etc. Good luck!

 

[DianeV]

In all fairness to "other" timeshares in Orlando and their value..Disney keeps the prices up by having the right to refuse deals they think are too low. They can raise prices because people if they want DVC "have" to pay it if they want it. It pretty much creates an artificial sense of value in my opinion.

 

[Lisa P.]

We have owned with DVC, Marriott, Fairfield and others. Here are a few options that may work for you.

1. Buy half the number of DVC points you would need for a typical DVC vacation stay. Bank/borrow your DVC to reserve for your every-other-year Disney vacations. Couple this purchase with a good resale at a beachfront Myrtle Beach resort you like - it's a TOUGH trade if you want summertime so owning there makes sense. Visit several of the MB resorts to choose a favorite, after joining TUG and reading resort reviews. This plan would give you an annual beach week plus a stay at Disney every other year or so - in precisely the places you most want to stay. It's probably still cheaper than buying DVC and using it to trade or buying a developer week in MB and hoping for an elusive DVC trade.

2. Look into the timeshare companies which have resorts in both general locations and buy a resale in Myrtle Beach. You would stay "offsite" in Orlando but there are some wonderful offsite resorts in the greater Orlando area! Look for Gold Crown/5 Star resorts in both locations with a company that offers easy (possibly free) internal trading for a nice annual trip. Fairfield would easily be my first choice because they have a good points program, three beachfront Gold Crown properties in MB and a brand new offsite Gold Crown resort located directly next door to Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort - as close to onsite as you can get. I've seen all of these FF resorts (Orlando & MB) and they're really nice! FF also has several Florida beachfront resorts within a reasonable drive from Orlando, to tag a few days onto your Orlando stay (like DVC does). Plus FF has many resorts all over the country - even Hawaii. Owning resale points with a Myrtle Beach home resort would provide early booking priority for those tough MB reservations. Orlando is pretty easy to book. Trading outside of FF is usually through RCI, not II (so, not into DVC).

3. Marriott is another, upscale option with your preferred resort destinations, plus many more. But you'd have to vacation in full weeks, for the most part. Also, it's tough to trade into Myrtle Beach (even on "internal" exchange through II) so you'd need to own there for recurrent summer stays and there are no resales at the Myrtle Beach Marriott yet - very pricey!

4. Bluegreen also has a points program with resorts in both locations but those are not as likely to be Gold Crown/5 Star as the above options.

Don't plan on trading into DVC. It may occasionally be possible if you are extremely flexible but it shouldn't be part of the "plan."

Don't plan on trading into Myrtle Beach, beachfront resorts suimmertime. It may occasionally be possible if you plan 18 months or more in advance and you own a strong trader but this shouldn't be part of the "plan" either, IMHO.

You'll find reputable resellers through DIS for DVC points or through TUG for other timeshares.
HTH!

 

[treesinger]

Quickly chiming in here...I own 1 BR at Sheraton's Broadway Plantation on Myrtle Beach and love it there. I can routinely trade to a 2 BR in Orlando. Good trading power there methinks.

 

[spiceycat]

Disney will never allow DVC to downgrade in value.

even in the last few years 2032 - I really believe that Disney will buy all the DVC that is offered for a lower value.

they don't want people to stay ON SITE for a great deal. So it is not going to happen. Sorry!!!

Disney can rent out the DVC villa for several thousand - so even it for most of the year it is not rented - it won't hurt WDW that much - go price the 2-bedroom now. then add 5 to 10% for the next 27 years.

besides I love my DVC - I have owned since 93 so I have only the maintence fees - so I can stay in a studio at OKW in Sept-Jan (most days) for 8 points a night Sun-thur - my maintence fees are $3.01 (don't count taxes as they are a write off).

So I can stay at OKW in a studio for $24. - gotta love it!!!!

DVC is a good value if you don't waste all your points on a 2-bedroom for a family of 4 or less.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Just a quick side note about Bluegreen. We own there and of course that makes me partial. But wanted to put out that the Orlando Bluegreen resorts The Fountains at Oasis Lake and Orlando's Sunshine Resort II are BOTH Gold Crown resorts as is our home resort. We don't have any trouble getting Gold Crown's on trades into Myrtle Beach or Orlando (although in Orlando it's cheaper for us to buy bonus nights at only $59/night for the Gold Crown 2 bedroom than to trade or use points). The only place we have trouble getting into through Bluegreen is Charleston, SC - The Lodge Alley Inn. It's incredible and we've tried 5 times and only gotten our dates twice. Hope some of this info helps, you've gotten alot of good advice.
Lisa
Tiger Fan