Investigating HGVC

[Torman]

I am new to the forum and have been investigating HGVC. My family really enjoys vacationing on Hilton Head Island and I nearly bought points from the developer at Ocean Oak. I have been searching for points on the resale market but with the resort being relatively new I have not found any yet. If I buy Ocean 22 points what are the fees involved with booking Ocean Oak?

 

[mdrobnak]

Welcome to TUG! Good job on doing better than I did with avoiding developer points.

You will have a 9 month out window to book at somewhere other than the resort you own at. This then incurs a $59-79 reservation fee ( I don't remember the exact number), but that's it, as long as you have enough points. You can also borrow points from the next year after the reservation for free.

Hope this helps.

-Matt

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Torman]

Welcome to TUG! Good job on doing better than I did with avoiding developer points.

You will have a 9 month out window to book at somewhere other than the resort you own at. This then incurs a $59-79 reservation fee ( I don't remember the exact number), but that's it, as long as you have enough points. You can also borrow points from the next year after the reservation for free.

Hope this helps.

-Matt

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

Thank You.

Does it matter if I buy points at another HGVC outside of the State of South Carolina as far as the fees or booking window?

 

[Talent312]

If you book your home resort as a "home week" reservation there is no fee.
You get an early (12-9 months out) booking window, but the rules are strict.
Many of us (me included) don't book home weeks becuz it is so inflexible.

You may only use points allotted for the year (no saved/borrowed points).
You may only book the same size (class) and season as the TS you own.
You may only check in on the resort's stated day for weekly stays.

Using points from a different resort to stay in a TS where you are not an
owner, i.e. a "club" reservation, invokes a 9-month booking window & fee.


.

 

[Torman]

If you book your home resort as a "home week" reservation there is no fee.
You get an early (12-9 months out) booking window, but the rules are strict.

You may only use points allotted for the year (no saved/borrowed points).
You may only book the same size (class) and season as the TS you own.
You may only check in on the resort's stated day for weekly stays.

Many of us (me included) don't book home weeks becuz it is so inflexible.

.[/QUOTE

Thank You.

So if I buy Ocean22 with the intention of using it at Ocean Oak I need to find points with the same season and Size Unit? From what I was told Ocean Oak only features 2 bedroom units.

 

[Talent312]

"So if I buy Ocean 22 with the intention of using it at Ocean Oak, I need to find points with the same season and Size Unit? From what I was told Ocean Oak only features 2 bedroom units."

The members' website has a feature for "club" bookings, distinct from home-week
reservations. For the price of a club booking ($59), you get much more flexibility:

Any number of days (3d min), any size, any season, any days of the week, using
saved, current or borrowed points. ...IMHO, that's almost too easy not to use.

.

 

[GT75]

I will add, if you are booking a club reservations (at < 9 month window) then points are points. You can use your points from wherever to book what is available such as Ocean Oaks. As you know, Ocean Oaks is very new. It just opened to club reservations in January of this year. I don't think there would be any resale yet available at Ocean Oak. Ocean 22 in Myrtle Beach is also relatively new but may have very limited resales at this time. If your desire is Hilton Head and of course don't want to paid developer's price then I would suggest that you purchase the lowest cost resales in Hilton system with lowest MF (maintenance fees).

I will also say that Ocean Oaks seems to be very popular and there are only 66 units at this time (I think that only 62 units are in the HGVC system, two are sales units and two are for hotel bookings) With limited availability, you should still be able to get a reservation if you book when the 9-month window opens (it will be also better if you are flexible).

 

[GT75]

In addition, I will say ... take your time. Continue to investigate and ask questions. Resales will be there when you are ready. In fact, the best time to buy is towards the end of the year, because MF for most properties are due at the beginning of the year and HGVC doesn't seem to exercise on ROFR as often.

 

[brp]

In addition to all the good advice already given, if you do plan to buy points to use simply as points, i.e. at the 9-month window to use for "Club" reservations then since "points are points" it makes sense to look for places with lo yearly Maintenance Fees (MFs). Low buy-in is good as well, but the MFs may weigh higher over time.

With that said, various Las Vegas properties are attractive on the resale market for this reason.

Cheers.

 

[Torman]

Thanks for all the good advice.

Once I find a contract how long does it take to go through the Rofr process?

 

[topdog]

Bay club, an affiliate, has a cheap buy in price and does not have a right of first refusal.

 

[brp]

Bay club, an affiliate, has a cheap buy in price and does not have a right of first refusal.

But considerably higher MFs than Vegas, IIRC. And Flamingo also doesn't have ROFR.

Cheers.

 

[Talent312]

Typically, HGVC has 30 days after notice of a sale in which to decide ROFR.
If the price is too rich for them, they may issue a waiver in 2-3 weeks.
At least, that's how it was with us.

Orlando & Vegas typically give you the best points to MF ratios.
MF's are determined at each resort by size, not season...
Thus, a same-size unit gets more points per MF$ in a high (plat) season than in a low (silver) season.

.