Timeshare info

[MKCP5]

So we have a little bit of money to do something with. I have been looking around and see that the timeshare resale market is stocked!!! I am trying to start learning about timeshares in order to possibly purchase one. The prices seem very attractive right now. I have already been onto TUG and it is great. I always get my best info from Dis'ers though, so I am wondering what tips you all can throw at me to know, stay away from, check out, etc etc

Thanks so much!!!

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Stay away from Bluegreen. We bought them 4 years ago and it is very hard for us to actually use it and we were promised a lot of things that never materialized. Do google searches for the company you are thinking of buying from. I don't remember the website, but I found tons of reviews against bluegreen on a timeshare board. If I had seen that beforehand, I never would have bought it. My inlaws have wyndham and they've been very pleased with thiers. But it was a lot pricier than ours.

Also, don't go into this thinking it is an investment. It is really hard to resell timeshares which is why the market is glutted.

 

[brivers222]

I used to have DVC... loved it but the price got to be too much. I would recommend it although when i bought into it prices were $78/point, not sure what they are now I had to sell it and actually only lost $1000 on the deal after having it for 5 years.

Now see my parents have BlueGreen and absolutely love it! They are triple black diamonds (or whatever the max is) so maybe that is why they like it so much, they have A-1 service at all the places I have been too. Our favorites are MountainLoft in Gatlinberg and then Boyne, Michigan. In october my parents booked us for The Fountains in Orlando. Its ironic that they (parents) gave me hell for DVC yet signed up with bluegreen and have now maxed out their points lol

 

[monarchsfan16]

My parents have RCI and DVC. DVC is so easy to use.

RCI is an entirely different story. First off, there are fees for EVERYTHING. Last week they actually (completely serious) wanted to charge my mom a fee to TALK to someone. Not even to do a transaction. Just to find out her options. And any exchange outside of your home resort, they'll nail you with a fee. Availability is difficult, even if you plan in advance. They also tell you that you can use your points (if you have a points membership) towards airfare and cruises. What they don't tell you is that only a small percentage of your points can be put toward airfare/rental car/hotel. As far as cruises go, they'll let you use a certain amount of points TOWARDS a cruise. Towards being the key word. Essentially it's used as a very small discount (40,000 points is roughly $400). And they only have the super expensive cabins available, so the discount is kind of useless.

Mom's wishing she never bought RCI.

 

[Ashlotte]

Where you live might influence what timeshare makes sense for you. We live on the west coast and have WorldMark and have been very happy with it. WorldMark is a point system, so you don't own a particular week at a particular place. You own points that can be used for reservations at any of their resorts or you can join RCI or II to exchange your week.

To one of the previous posters, my understanding of RCI (and II) is that it is not actually a timeshare company, but a group that you can pay an annual membership to so that you can exchange your week and use a different timeshare. Your mom can just cancel her membership.

Last year we exchanged a week of our WorldMark timeshare into II (Interval International) to stay a week at the Board Walk Villas at WDW. Now DVC properties have switched to RCI instead of II, so if you wanted to stay at DVC but not buy into it, you can exchange though RCI. Keep in mind that not all timeshares have equal trade power, however.

 

[cjnix29]

We have bluegreen, and love it. Just bought more resale points. You're best bet is to really do your homework. Think about where it is you will vacation. Don't buy a timeshare for its' ability to trade into another system. That is an added bonus. Buy it for the places you can actually go with your actual company. Don't buy from the developer, and don't listen to sales presentations from the developer. Sales people lie! make sure you know what you are buying. Find a reputable re sale company, find the timeshare forums, and just research, research, research. Know what you are buying and how to use it. Most people that don't like their timeshare it is because they don't know how to take advantage of the features. If you like to travel last minute, likely timeshare is not worth it for you. But if you can plan ahead, you should have no problem. We love it. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[webprinter]

We have Wyndham, (which you can now buy for next to nothing), and like it. They have a lot of locations all over the US and their condos are nice. Not spectacular, but nice. Our maint. fees are less than DVC or Marriott so we can overlook the lack of spectacular. We love staying at Bonnet Creek when we go to WDW.

 

[swilshire]

RCI is an entirely different story. First off, there are fees for EVERYTHING. Last week they actually (completely serious) wanted to charge my mom a fee to TALK to someone.

I've been an RCI member for 15 years or so and never heard of that. I think Mom must have been confused.

Tell us your vacation goals and we can offer suggestions. We own ten weeks (which is about five too many) so have some experience with various systems.

Sheila

 

[HeatherC]

I will be the voice of dissent here and tell you "don't do it."

We have always "wanted" to do the timeshare thing, but it never ever made financial sense to do so.

Here's why we haven't.

Maintenance fees....you have to pay every single year whether you use it or not. You can usually and almost always rent cheaper at the same places than owners pay for the maintenance fees.

Here's a couple examples:

Just returned from Williamsburg. Rented a 2 bedroom condo at King's Creek Plantation with an extra sunroom that served as a 3rd bedroom. Paid $379 for a full week. Maintenance fees are higher than that for owners.

Orange Lake Resort - Orlando - stayed here for $295 a week.
Bonnet Creek Resort - Rent here for $120-$150 a night.

Flexibility to stay in different places for less money and not have to be tied in to one place or pay exchange fees on top of maintenance fees is what has steered us away from them.

Another reason is that over the years your life changes...kids grow up and get involved in sports/activities and you can't necessarily vacation at the same time same place every year. But you still have to pay those fees every single year. That is why you see so many people trying to unload them.

The internet has made it so easy to find great deals that gives you the same benefits with a lot more flexibility.

That being said...many people own them and love them. Just make sure you check out all the pros/cons before pulling the trigger.

Good luck to you!

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I used to have DVC... loved it but the price got to be too much. I would recommend it although when i bought into it prices were $78/point, not sure what they are now I had to sell it and actually only lost $1000 on the deal after having it for 5 years.

Now see my parents have BlueGreen and absolutely love it! They are triple black diamonds (or whatever the max is) so maybe that is why they like it so much, they have A-1 service at all the places I have been too. Our favorites are MountainLoft in Gatlinberg and then Boyne, Michigan. In october my parents booked us for The Fountains in Orlando. Its ironic that they (parents) gave me hell for DVC yet signed up with bluegreen and have now maxed out their points lol

We stayed at Fountains in March and were really dissappointed. We didn't have enough pints for a full week, so my MIL let us use her Wyndam for 2 days and it was much nicer and everythign from the mattress to the linens and granite countertops were all much higher quailty.

 

[swilshire]

As HeatherC mentions, if you travel off-season and to areas with lots of timeshares (like Williamsburg), you can often rent for less than you can own.

On the other hand, we've stayed in mega-dollar places on the cheap. This June, White Point Resort in Nova Scotia. Resorts in Wales and Scotland. Three weeks on three islands in Hawaii. Boston, Nantucket, Maine, Vancouver Island, Banff. Smugglers Notch VT, on the lake in Harbor Springs MI (4th of July week).

And even in the places with lots of units, like Orlando, you're not going to find cheap lodging for New Year's week (we go nearly every year).

Our family of six has loved it. The younger kids are so spoiled by all the extra space that they complain about even the nicest of hotels.

Sheila

 

[andrews_dad]

I also vote to never do it. The maint. fees get you every single time. They have you in that contract. Other than teh DVC which stays hot, almost all other timeshares are flooded with folks trying to dump their contract for pennies on the dollar. In fact, some folks try to GIVE AWAY their timeshare to charities and other means to no avail, as you know the maint. fees will get you. I go to one of the most expensice resorts around, Atlantis inthe Bahamas. Their timeshares (Harborside) are salty to buy, but I rent from other owners and usually pay about $1200 for a week for a 1 bedroom lock-off unit. That is lower than their annual maint fees alone. Through places like TUG and homeaway.com and RedWeek,com and such, there are WAY too many cheap condos and homes available all over the world to sign into a contract. Just my 2 cents...

 

[dsanner106]

Timeshares can be really great, yes there are people right now wanting to dump them for pennies on the dollar which is great if you are buying for pennies on the dollar. I own multiple weeks, trade a lot and come out way ahead. My fees run from 300 a year to 600 a year for my units and I traded my 300 dollar a year condo for a week that would have run 4200.00 to rent, Paid for 14 years of mainanance fees with that one trade. I suggest Wyndham for a couple reasons. Many great locations including 5 nice ones in Hawaii and 3 including Bonnet Creek near Disney. Also, they are owned by the same parent company as RCI so your RCI membership is free, saving you another 150 a year. Our original reason for buying with Wyndham is that you can depend on a certain level of accomodation. I remember traveling as a child and my dad saying you always know what you are getting with Holiday Inn, that is the way we feel with Wyndham.

Good luck to you
D

 

[horseshowmom]

I will be the voice of dissent here and tell you "don't do it."

We have always "wanted" to do the timeshare thing, but it never ever made financial sense to do so.

Here's why we haven't.

Maintenance fees....you have to pay every single year whether you use it or not. You can usually and almost always rent cheaper at the same places than owners pay for the maintenance fees.

Here's a couple examples:

Just returned from Williamsburg. Rented a 2 bedroom condo at King's Creek Plantation with an extra sunroom that served as a 3rd bedroom. Paid $379 for a full week. Maintenance fees are higher than that for owners.

Orange Lake Resort - Orlando - stayed here for $295 a week.
Bonnet Creek Resort - Rent here for $120-$150 a night.

Good luck to you!

This is what has kept me from buying points (which I would probably do through ebay if I were going to do it). Thus far, I've been able to rent through owners much more cheaply than I could own. For example, $300 for a 2BR for a week at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas and $90 a night for a 2BR at Bonnet Creek between Christmas and New Year's.

 

[RooRach0906]

My parents own at Kings Creek Plantation in Williamsburg and use Interval International to trade into about anywhere. They are not locked in a certain week... because there actually week is in Sept/Oct which is Prime season for Williamsburg and if they stay there (only happened twice) its normally in June/July. The reason they purchased in Williamsburg is it is a tourists destionation and the family can use the resort amentities anytime we want. So we will go to the pool a lot in the summer take stuff to use the grill and have a family day. (So for my parents paying the mantience fee isnt a huge deal because we use the property during the year.)
So there advice would be purchase near where you live so you can use it all the time or where you plan on vacation so you end up using it.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I've been an RCI member for 15 years or so and never heard of that. I think Mom must have been confused.

Tell us your vacation goals and we can offer suggestions. We own ten weeks (which is about five too many) so have some experience with various systems.

Sheila

She thought she was confused too. She asked 3 different times. Same response. Apparently because she didn't use her RCI points last year, they'd charge her a fee to talk to someone (about using points for the "points partners" stuff). Then if there was a transaction, there would be the typical exchange fee for that too. Needless to say, I spent a little time on google at no cost to mom and found out what she wanted to know.

 

[TexasTom]

Thanks for all your information. I've learned a lot. I also read TUG. Two years ago, I went to DW Bonnet Creek's timeshare presentation to get Universal Studios tickets. They wanted $25,000.00. I guess now I can buy it for no more than $1,000.00.

 

[4Seasons]

We own a 2 bedroom week 17 at Oak Plantation that I'm willing to give away (seriously, recipient just pay closing).
We have never stayed there but have exchanged it for units in Hilton Head and also Hilton Grand Vacations (which we also own) and most recently a unit for this Oct. at Bonnet Creek.
Next year week 17 happens to fall on Easter week.
If anyone interested PM me.

 

[Sinderelly]

MY DH has Bluegreen. He has it from a former marriage. It has some bad memories attached. We would like to sell it but don't know who could do that for us The points always pay for the maintenance fees though and then some. Maybe because he has alot of points

The only one that sounds appealing to me is DVC. I love Disney!

 

[ccgirl]

You definitely want to find out the maintenance fee. I own a studio in Hawaii and the maintenance/taxes are $550 a year (even years only). We own it bi-annually on even years. I originally paid $8,000 at %0 interest. It is also deeded meaning I own it forever and can will it to whomever I want. DVC is more of a lease. In addition, it has amazing trade power. I traded the studio for a 2 Br at the BWV. I can usually that to trade anywhere in the world I want. Considering the cash value of the room is $850 a night I more than made up for what I paid for the resort in the one stay. That timeshare is traded thru RCI. They are not a timeshare, they are an exchange company. Not only can you trade your timeshare thru them but you can book extra vacations thru them VERY CHEAP.

I also own a 2BR at Westgate Smoky Mountain in Gatlinburg, TN. We own that every year. That maintenance/tax rate is $650 a year. I forget how much we paid but it is more than 8K but less than 25K. It is a floating red week. That timeshare trades thru Interval International - another trading company. We can trade into any of the other Westgate properties without using Interval though.

Both trading companies have different properties that you can trade thru. You don't have to become a member unless you want to trade.

After staying in timeshares so many times, we tried staying in a hotel room and just didn't like it. Way too small. We are used to 1200 sq ft accommodations where we can put our kids to bed but still stay awake ourselves.


Big things to remember.....

1. Buy somewhere with great trading power. Think Hawaii and such. Orlando does not have that great trading power as it is saturated with timeshares.

2. How much are the maintenance/taxes?

3. Make sure you purchase a red week as that is the more popular times.

4. Do you want a weeks or points resort? Both of mine are weeks so I don't have to figure out how many points I need to trade. 1 week is 1 week.

5. Is it deeded?

Good luck with your decision. It is not really an investment...it is more like pre-paying for vacations. I love them.