About to take the plunge

[jimkin]

I'm sitting on the balcony at Anderson Ocean Club thinking it's about time to buy Hilton instead of the Marriott or Hyatt I'd been thinking about. It's seems like $1/point is a good value to shoot for on pricing. Does the specific property matter? Points are points, right? So the real questions are where are the maint fees cheapest and where will the rofr be the lowest. What else should I be considering?

 

[djrsin]

I'm sitting on the balcony at Anderson Ocean Club thinking it's about time to buy Hilton instead of the Marriott or Hyatt I'd been thinking about. It's seems like $1/point is a good value to shoot for on pricing. Does the specific property matter? Points are points, right? So the real questions are where are the maint fees cheapest and where will the rofr be the lowest. What else should I be considering?

Yes in my opinion specific property does matter. I think you get your money worth in vegas since maintenance fee is lower there

 

[Talent312]

Unless you want to regularly use a high-demand location, like Hawaii or NYC, or a ski-location in Winter - where the 12-9 month head start on bookings is an advantage - then the only consideration should be finding a unit with the lowest cost per point, taking into consideration both the cost of acquisition and MF's for 15-20 years -- and yes, Vegas and Orlando tend to be the lowest.

.

 

[JohnPaul]

If you want New York or Washington, D.C. you will only have a 45 day before check in window to book unless you own those properties.

 

[jestme]

Another slight advantage in buying where you intend to use it is the ever increasing fees for making "club" reservations, which don't exist for "Home" reservations. It's only $US59 or $79 right now, but it seems to increase yearly. Making two 3 day club reservations to get "similar" but not identical rooms for 6 nights will cost you double that fee. In the popular ares indicated above, it is often necessary to make two separate reservations for shorter periods to get the number of days where you want to go. If they are 3 days in a 1BR followed by three days in a 1BR+, the fee will apply twice.

 

[jimkin]

Unless you want to regularly use a high-demand location, like Hawaii or NYC, or a ski-location in Winter - where the 12-9 month head start on bookings is an advantage - then the only consideration should be finding a unit with the lowest cost per point, taking into consideration both the cost of acquisition and MF's for 15-20 years -- and yes, Vegas and Orlando tend to be the lowest.

.

Thanks, I appreciate the info.

 

[jimkin]

If you want New York or Washington, D.C. you will only have a 45 day before check in window to book unless you own those properties.

Those aren't high on my list. So I don't think that's a factor. Thanks.

 

[jimkin]

Another slight advantage in buying where you intend to use it is the ever increasing fees for making "club" reservations, which don't exist for "Home" reservations. It's only $US59 or $79 right now, but it seems to increase yearly. Making two 3 day club reservations to get "similar" but not identical rooms for 6 nights will cost you double that fee. In the popular ares indicated above, it is often necessary to make two separate reservations for shorter periods to get the number of days where you want to go. If they are 3 days in a 1BR followed by three days in a 1BR+, the fee will apply twice.

Good to know. Thank you.

 

[jimkin]

Another question - there seems to be a premium on higher point contracts. For example two contracts for 5k points are less costly than one 10k contract. Is there a negative to purchasing multiple lower point contracts to get to the same point level as a larger contract?

Also I am seeing different maint fees listed for the same number of points at the same property. Is that correct?

 

[JTurner538]

Two 5k contracts will have nearly twice the maintenance fees of one 10k contract.

 

[GT75]

Also I am seeing different maint fees listed for the same number of points at the same property.

Yes, it is possible. In general MF are determined by room size not by season. For example, a two bd Platinum season (7000 pts) MFs will be less than 3- bd Gold season (7000 pts). There is a Sticky which list the MFs for the various HGVC properties. In that Sticky, there is a link to the resorts with the lowest MFs/point properties/units.

I will also give you the following advice when you are looking at which deed to purchase, look at the total cost (initial purchase cost + yearly MFs).

 

[SmithOp]

If you see a 10k point it may be two 5k deeds bundled together, HGVC sold two week packages like that. Annual fees would be the same.

You need to understand the high point value levels if that is the direction you are going. There are single deed 9600 point contracts, but may be a 2bedroom or 3bedroom, therefore the fees are different.

Some listings don't include the taxes or club fees, some include one or both. Its best to use the valuable sticky information here to vet the ads, many thanks to GT75 for organizing all the info.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jimkin]

Thanks, I'll be spending some time studying the sticky.

 

[hdins]

Were you able to get the $1 per point ? That seem low to what I have been hearing of $5 to $6 per point.

 

[colatown]

You must have been hearing from sales weasels.

 

[PigsDad]

Were you able to get the $1 per point ? That seem low to what I have been hearing of $5 to $6 per point.

$5-6 / point is retail prices direct from HGVC. Resale is a much better deal...

Kurt