Timeshare help!

[TotoToo]

My sister owns 4 weeks at a Fairfield in Williamsburg, and whenever she wants to trade with any RCI resorts, the good ones are always booked, even a year in advance. She is very frustrated, not liking RCI much at all.

Sounds like she stuck with FF weeks (FAX) rather than switching to points. The FF weeks system is not very good and does depend on RCI for inventory.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We bought OKW in 1992, but sold four years ago.
2) The reasons were
. . . maintenance fees were getting out of hand
. . . not enough non-park activities for the adults and kids
. . . the extended family go too big to bring everyone without more points
. . . sometimes tough to get the nights we wanted at DVC resorts
3) We bought at Orange Lake Country Club (OLCC) on the resale market
. . . got six units
. . . two 2-bedroom units for last week of February
. . . two 2-bedroom units for the first week in March
. . . total cost less than $16,000 for six weeks
. . . sure beats one week at Disney for about $15,000

4) We found out that OLCC offers more for the kids & adults than Disney
. . . 10-minutes from Disney (using uncrowded WDW back entrance)
. . . 80-acre lake
. . . sailing
. . . sail boats
. . . water sprites
. . . beach parties or other themed parties every night (excl Sunday nite)
. . . putt-putt golf course
. . . 99-holes of regular golf
. . . three HUGE pool areas
. . . two large water park areas
. . . tennis courts
. . . daily scheduled activities for kids, adult, families starting at 9:00am
. . . pool tables
. . . free VCR movie rentals
. . . 80-seat movie theater
. . . volleyball courts and volleyball tournaments
. . . basketball courts and basketball tournaments


NOTE: Yes, these are fixed weeks, but we easily trade them for other weeks at OLCC. Additionally, OLCC is an RCI Gold Crown "red" resort, so trading for timeshares in other areas or countries is not hard.

 

[Lisa P.]

My sister owns 4 weeks at a Fairfield in Williamsburg, and whenever she wants to trade with any RCI resorts, the good ones are always booked, even a year in advance. She is very frustrated, not liking RCI much at all.

AJKMOM, does your sister like the locations of the other Fairfield Resorts? Do her weeks fall in Fairfield's "prime" season for Williamsburg (weeks 23-34 or 51, check-ins from June 4 to August 26 or Christmas week) or possibly "high" season (the rest of the weeks from 12-52, any check-in after March 19)?

If so, then she may be interested in calling Fairfield's corporate offices. For a fee, they will convert her weeks to FairShare Plus points ($2,395 for the first week's conversion and $995 for each additional week's conversion). Prime weeks provide a lot of points, high weeks are a decent (points for weeks) value too.

If she does the conversion through FF corporate, they don't require an additional points purchase. With the number of weeks she already owns, it may be worthwhile to consider buying a modest package (63,000 or 77,000 points) from regular developer sales if they will then convert the rest of her weeks for free and count ALL of them together towards a VIP package. Sometimes they will, sometimes not.

IF HER WEEKS are in VALUE or QUIET season (January-March in Williamsburg), conversion is NOT a good idea. The maint fees are too high for the number of points she'd get.

I know a points conversion adds up to a few thousand dollars. But it can add on a LOT of flexibility to her ownership. With these points, and her ability to plan ahead (10 months), she could simply reserve almost anything in the Fairfield system. We've enjoyed our stays at a wide variety of FF resorts very much. Having a timeshare that's been hard to trade is frustrating. Having one that works for you is a pleasure. It's worth her consideration.

 

[Lisa P.]

Hi! DH and I have two little boys (age 2.5). We have been considering DVC for some time. The biggest drawback to DVC for us (though it seems so easy to use) is the paucity of locations outside of WDW. So we're looking outside of Disney, mainly HGVC and MGV because they seem to be highly recommended here.

For a family who has stayed in Disney value hotels and offsite and who will likely be most comfortable in a 2BR during school breaks for years to come, DVC is a very pricy option, IMHO.

HGVC has lovely resorts but they are concentrated in Orlando, south Florida, Las Vegas and Hawaii. For a cost-conscious family with kids, the non-Florida options are very limited. HGVC permits you to reserve directly through them at their properties so that can avoid extra exchange company fees - if you are happy with their destinations. RCI adds the annual fee and exchange fee for full weeks, if you choose that route (HGVC has good trade power with RCI).

Marriott has great resorts and a wide variety of destinations. The majority trade for full weeks only, through Interval Int'l. The costs for traveling to various locations with Marriott are (generally):
--- one-time purchase price (go resale, but it's still on the high end for resales, quality = cost here)
--- annual maint fees (high end, $600-$1,100)
--- annual II membership (~$70, on special deals)
--- annual exchange fee (~$80? for Marriott to Marriott trades, $130 for others)
It adds up. This is why people look for rental deals w/Marriott and other Orlando locations. The annual, out-of-pocket costs for a week still total $750-$1,300, even after purchase pay-off. If you want to visit the high-end Marriott destinations, it can still be worthwhile, considering what they cost to rent.

Where did you buy and how did you decide where to buy?

We started with buying DVC 150 points w/CM discount. We preferred onsite WDW vacations at the time (young kids). Hilton Head ended up being our fav DVC resort. We resold it 2 years later - much too pricy for our family of 5 for what we got, once we saw other timeshares. Got our money back. Great resorts, good experience.

We bought a Marriott week on resale and traded it around to a few Marriott locations in FL, SC and HI (friends). We liked the destination locations. We resold it 3 years later - the maint/trade fees were a bit high and we preferred points flexibility. Got our money back. Great resorts, good experience.

We bought Fairfield points on resale and have LOVED them (details below). We liked the east coast concentration of nice resort locations (we live near the east coast and prefer drive-to trips). The points-flexibility was important to us. There's a long learning curve for how to maximize the value of FF points but it's worth learning. If we lived in the western U.S., we would probably have bought resale WorldMark credits. Have kept our FF points. Good to great resorts, great experience.

We bought a couple of cheap South Africa weeks on resale. Traded well through RCI for cheap maint fees. We resold them later once we'd learned to get the same kinds of cheap trades using FF points and decided to stick with stateside ownership. Got our money back. Cheap resorts, good experience.

Timeshares are a great way to lock into today's prices for accommodations: truth or myth?

True, if you buy resale and you prefer staying in condo-style accommodations. OTOH, buying from the developer will almost always lead to a huge loss on resale, with a handful of exceptions (like DVC at present) - so generally myth there. And very few savvy business people really make money on renting them out - another myth.

What did you find out after you bought that you wish you had known beforehand?

With DVC, I wish we'd realized that 2BRs were so high in points and that we'd so quickly outgrow smaller rooms. Larger digs will spoil you! We also had to discover that our vacation habits would change, with the kids growing up to want to experience new places much more than they wanted to return to the same beloved ones. RCI and having points have been big for us. We did learn early to buy resale - that was good.

For those who have point system timeshares, did the point requirements for accommodations increase?

No - not in the near-decade we've been timesharing. RCI Points is the one system that we've read of making troubling changes. And they don't have their own resorts - that's an iffy program, in my mind.

Would you do it again?

In a heartbeat!!! We've used our Fairfield points to trade weeks (or have upcoming weeks booked) through RCI to:
--- Flagstaff AZ for the Grand Canyon;
--- Bass Lake CA for Yosemite;
--- Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach FL;
--- Marco Island FL;
--- Orlando FL (of course - multiple times!);
--- Branson MO;
--- Manhattan NY;
--- Outer Banks NC;
--- Lake Lure NC;
--- Myrtle Beach SC;
--- Nashville TN;
--- Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg TN.
--- Williamsburg VA;
We've used our FF points to book numerous shorter stays at:
--- Pigeon Forge/Sevierville TN;
--- Sapphire Valley NC;
--- Alexandria VA/Wash DC;
--- Fairfield Bay AR;
--- Anaheim CA.
When we can afford it, we hope to buy more resale FF points! With 3 teens just 21 months apart (we have twin sons too ), we've had 3 sets of braces, 3 sets of wisdom tooth extractions, 3 additional drivers to insure, an extra family car, a new roof & home repairs - all within a 4-year period. Now, our DD is starting college and our 2 DSs will join her in the next year or so. So, buying more timeshare right now is not even on the radar!

But we could not possibly have been able to do all these great family trips (and often bringing friends along), staying in motels and eating restaurant food or paying nightly rates for housekeeping suites. Camping is only a weekend thing for us (usually just the guys) so our timeshares have made it more economical and they've given us the room to spread out and unwind at the end of busy days together. Timeshares have meant terrific memories of wonderful, new, shared experiences - truly priceless for us!

So do all the fees associated with trading plus maintenance fees negate your "savings?"

A week in a 2BR timeshare for us breaks down in one of two ways. If we reserve time through FF, it's low hassle and it looks like this:
--- $300 = generous 1/10th original resale purchase of 154K points
--- $600 = annual maint fee, including annual RCI membership
--- $0 = reservation through FF
--- $900 = TOTAL for 7 NIGHTS, the most we would pay to reserve via FF

If we trade through RCI, we get 2-5 exchanges out of our points but it's more trouble and waiting. It looks like this:
--- $60-$150 = (1/5 to 1/2 of) 1/10th original resale purchase
--- $120-$300 = (1/5 to 1/2 of) annual maint fee, including annual RCI
--- $150 = RCI exchange fee
--- $330-$600 = TOTAL for 7 NIGHTS, the most we would pay, trade via RCI

In reality, the purchase price was paid in cash, so we don't pay it now. So our out-of-pocket expenses don't include the purchase money. A week's accommodations in a 2BR only cost us the portion of the maint fees and the RCI exchange fee = $270-$450.

This is very affordable for our 2BR full week vacations. We fill around them with a few nights here and there on the leftover points. HTH!

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

- Where did you buy and how did you decide where to buy? I just want to know what your personal experience was, something that the generic advice on TUG doesn't cover.

We purchased several different timeshares with our main one being Fairfield points based in Myrtle Beach. We decided on Fairfield points because we love the flexibility of points and we like the quality of their resorts, the location of their resorts and the ability to do full or partial weeks. We picked Myrtle Beach as our home base because we like to go there and it can be difficult to book prime time reservations there. So by owning there we can book earlier than other Fairfield owners. We also made sure we owned a timeshare that trades through Interval International so we could have the ability to occasionally trade into DVC. Trading other timeshares into DVC is difficult, but owning one that trades through Interval allows for the possibility, even if it is rare and difficult. While owning one that trades only through RCI would allow for NO possibility of trading into DVC. We also stayed away from Florida because on average the maintenance fees and property taxes are higher than other locations

- What did you find out after you bought that you wish you had known beforehand?

We were lucky that we knew about resale before we purchased. I do think it is important to do your research before you buy. Think seriously about what you want your timeshare to accomplish for you. Do you expect a week at an ocean front resort during prime time? Then you should probably spend the money to own there. Or do you want just a week or two in Orlando which can be easily accomplished with a much less expensive timeshare? Our first timeshare was actually located in Orlando. At the time, we didn't realize that the maintenance fees were higher and that there is a 50 mile trading restriction with Interval so we were unable to use it to trade into DVC. We also didn't know about point systems when we first started out. We have since sold that timeshare. Also, by purchasing resale to try a timeshare, if you find it is not for you, you can resell it and get back most if not all of the money you spent
- For those who have point system timeshares, did the point requirements for accommodations increase? If so, was it considerable? Are there any vacation clubs that don't increase, like DVC?
The point accomadations for the initial resort you buy at are not suppose to change or if they do, the points that everyone owns at that resort are suppose to increase porportionately. However, the points needed for newer resorts is usually much higher than those needed for the same type of accomadations at the older resorts.

- Would you do it again?Yes, in a heartbeat. I wish we would have gotten into timesharing much sooner. For the longest time we had barely no vacations and were lucky if we got 4-5 nights at the Jersey shore in a hotel unit. Now, for the same amount of money we spent for those 5 nights, we are staying for a week and in 2-3 bedroom units with full kitchens, washer and dryers and jacuzzi tubs. Also, with the right point system, you can learn ways to really stretch your timeshare points. So, if you think that paying the $800 maintenance fee for your one week vacation is great, wait until you learn how to take that one week's vacation points and stretch it into 2 or 3 weeks vacation. Someone else mentioned about using the timeshares as a retirement home and that is something we are seriously considering when the time comes. We would not be locked into maintenance chores or into one location. We could spend weeks in Orlando, then head to Daytona or Pompano Beach or up to Myrtle Beach or out west to Arizona or even any areas that our children may end at later. I was lucky to just recently enjoy a month in Orlando with my children utilizing our timeshares and am now considering our timeshares the equivelant to a summer beach home.

Timesharing is not for everyone though. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do and feel free to PM me if I can be of any help. I also frequent TUG, TS4M's and the Fairfield Yahoo group

 

[cindala]

Well, we may be in the minority, but we like to take a family vacation every year. My love of travel and vacation was instilled in me by my father who took us some place new every summer. We have done the same with our 2 DD's, and I know how much they enjoy travel and vacation because of that.

We were diehard Disney on-site fans, who stayed at the YC and other locations for years, shelling out about $2000 for 1 week in a HOTEL ROOM. When the girls got older and wanted to bring friends, it became problematic. The rooms only hold 5 at best, and getting 2 rooms was too expensive. Spoiled by the YC, we weren't interested in 2 rooms at a value resort, which wouldn't have been much cheaper than what we were paying for one room. Plus nothing of our vacation expenses was tax deductable.

With our TS, we now get a week in a TWO BEDROOM VILLA, and our maintenance fee is tax deductable. That is $2000 I don't have to worry about coming up with every year, plus we no longer have to worry about getting 2 HOTEL ROOMS. Also, Marriott offers many more wonderful locations to travel to than DVC does.

As far as worrying about leaving my TS to my DD's, I know how they love to travel and vacation, and we have a 2 BR lockoff unit which can be separated into (2) 1BR weeks, so each can go someplace different at different times of the year if they please. So I am happy that it is deeded, since you can't put a price on the gift of travel and relaxation

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

One more thing that I wished we had know before we got into timesharing was about putting our timeshares into a "family trust". It is still something that I really need to look into.

I know some people think that leaving the timeshares to our children can be a burden. However, I also know that my children are really getting used to a certain way of vacationing. They are even used to a certain quality of timeshares also. I also hope that we are instilling in them the importance of taking those family vacations.

 

[Kay7979]

This is really the sort of topic where every question is best answered by "it all depends." Whether timesharing is economical and rewarding, or more burden than blessing, really depends on buying the type of ownership and location that best suits your needs. That's why it is imperative to read websites like TUG for 6 months or a year to decide what and where to buy, then buy a resale week.

Generally, if you buy at rock bottom resale prices, you can always resell for somewhere near what you paid for the week, so the initial expense is like money in the bank. Maintenance fees do increase, but typically not as fast as hotel rates, IF you buy at a well-managed resort. I would never buy at a resort that wasn't established long enough to have a track-record in that regard. It is true that in some cases you can rent a unit for cheaper than the owner's maintenance fees, so I would not buy in an area where you can rent cheaper than own, unless there are other benefits such as you love that one particular resort, or perhaps you can frequently trade it for places that do not have cheap rentals.

There are so many angles to consider that it's hard to give anyone else advice. I can only say what worked for us, and yes, if I had it to do over again, I would. I researched trade power, maintenance fees, rental rates etc. and bought a one bedroom unit in Hawaii and a one bedroom unit in Maui. Both of these units trade for two bedroom units most anywhere else, and the maintenance fees are less because they are one bedrooms (under $600 each). The Maui unit can be rented by the resort. They take a cut, but we still net at least $1100 less the maintenance fee, so we are money ahead. Our third unit wasn't the wisest choice, and I probably would advise most people against buying in Orlando, but we do have a one bedroom in Orlando also. When we don't stay at the resort, we use this as our "junk trader" when we want to trade for an off-season week or to someplace that isn't a tough trade. Again, we virtually always get two bedroom trades, and we can trade back into our own resort for a two bedroom if we want a larger unit. The exchange fee is less than the difference in maintenance fees between the one and two bedroom units, especially considering we stay there infrequently. As there is only DH and I, and we rarely take anyone else with us, one bedroom units are all we need, so if we are not able to trade for a larger unit it makes no difference.

This arrangement has worked out well for us, but everyone's needs are different. As you read about each person's choices, and why they selected their particular timeshares, I am sure you will get a feel for how to taylor a purchase to your own situation.

 

[spiceycat]

My sister owns 4 weeks at a Fairfield in Williamsburg, and whenever she wants to trade with any RCI resorts, the good ones are always booked, even a year in advance. She is very frustrated, not liking RCI much at all.

Sorry but the Hilton Grand Vacation only seems to allow one year and LESS. It is one of the best.

there are several that aren't allow to exchange until 12 months or less before leaving.

your sister is probably giving up to early.

with RCI you need to be looking around 3:00 am Eastern time.

tell her to join

www.tug2.net

now she just can't post - she needs to join - to get access to their boards that tell about last minute or block stuff. when RCI puts timeshares out in block - anything can get it.

now I first started to get Celebration World Resort - because it allows pets and Spicey loved it.

but I would happy with it regardless. It is not far from WDW -

now it doesn't have alot - no gym, restuarant or gift shop there yet.

but it has nice rooms and people who care, despite not speaking English.

 

[molly2004]

This is really the sort of topic where every question is best answered by "it all depends." Whether timesharing is economical and rewarding, or more burden than blessing, really depends on buying the type of ownership and location that best suits your needs. That's why it is imperative to read websites like TUG for 6 months or a year to decide what and where to buy, then buy a resale week.

Generally, if you buy at rock bottom resale prices, you can always resell for somewhere near what you paid for the week, so the initial expense is like money in the bank. Maintenance fees do increase, but typically not as fast as hotel rates, IF you buy at a well-managed resort. I would never buy at a resort that wasn't established long enough to have a track-record in that regard. It is true that in some cases you can rent a unit for cheaper than the owner's maintenance fees, so I would not buy in an area where you can rent cheaper than own, unless there are other benefits such as you love that one particular resort, or perhaps you can frequently trade it for places that do not have cheap rentals.

There are so many angles to consider that it's hard to give anyone else advice. I can only say what worked for us, and yes, if I had it to do over again, I would. I researched trade power, maintenance fees, rental rates etc. and bought a one bedroom unit in Hawaii and a one bedroom unit in Maui. Both of these units trade for two bedroom units most anywhere else, and the maintenance fees are less because they are one bedrooms (under $600 each). The Maui unit can be rented by the resort. They take a cut, but we still net at least $1100 less the maintenance fee, so we are money ahead. Our third unit wasn't the wisest choice, and I probably would advise most people against buying in Orlando, but we do have a one bedroom in Orlando also. When we don't stay at the resort, we use this as our "junk trader" when we want to trade for an off-season week or to someplace that isn't a tough trade. Again, we virtually always get two bedroom trades, and we can trade back into our own resort for a two bedroom if we want a larger unit. The exchange fee is less than the difference in maintenance fees between the one and two bedroom units, especially considering we stay there infrequently. As there is only DH and I, and we rarely take anyone else with us, one bedroom units are all we need, so if we are not able to trade for a larger unit it makes no difference.

This arrangement has worked out well for us, but everyone's needs are different. As you read about each person's choices, and why they selected their particular timeshares, I am sure you will get a feel for how to taylor a purchase to your own situation.

Kay, thanks for your response. While I definitely agree that this is a "it all depends" kind of Q/A, sharing your thought process and experience helps me consider things that are not already covered in the general discussion boards such as TUG. For example, your reference to the Hawaii units is extremely informative. It's one of those, "well, I didn't htink of that" scenario. As a newbie to all of this, there are lots of questions that I don't even know to ask. So this is all very helpful!

Thanks very much for posting!

 

[Kay7979]

Sharing your thought process and experience helps me consider things that are not already covered in the general discussion boards such as TUG. For example, your reference to the Hawaii units is extremely informative. It's one of those, "well, I didn't htink of that" scenario. As a newbie to all of this, there are lots of questions that I don't even know to ask. So this is all very helpful!

Thanks very much for posting!

I should add, there are many high-trade-power locations where a one bedroom unit will pull two bedroom trades in tough to get locations, but Hawaii is one of those better traders. Additionally, high demand locations, like Hawaii, often earn "bonus weeks" from the exchange companies. They give an additional week as a thank you, (sometimes with various restrictions,) for a modest price such as $250 or $350. We used a bonus week to stay at Disney's Old Key West in January 2005. So, considerations for us were that Hawaii was somewhere we wanted to go every five years or so, and it had excellent trade power, could get us bonus weeks, and could possibly be rented for more than our maintenance fees. A lot of people say maintenance fees are very high in Hawaii, and they can be, especially for 2 bedroom units, so it pays to investigate fees carefully. We are fortunate that our two resorts have an excellent track record for infrequent fee increases, and modest increases when they are inevitable. We have owned the weeks since 1997.

 

[despina]

Im not big on timeshares like my husband. Go to Redweek, maybe you can get a good deal with a forecloser, or someone selling it themselves...

 

[mikkiwikki]

We purchased through Marriott Vacation Club a week at Marriott Grande Vista. It is a deeded TS that we own forever, not just 40 years, and we can pass it on to our children. The locations that are available to travel to are fantastic, and one of the reasons we purchased through them. DH just doesn't want to do the Disney thing every year anymore. He wants to see more of the 'real world'. So for us it works.

Yes - DVC is not deeded. Period . Very important point. You are paying for the priviledge of points until 2046. Then poof. We chose a timeshare outside of DVC for that very reason. Our "Home Resort" is in Cape Cod.