My survey

[kshell18]

My husband and I are thinking about buying a TS on the resale market so I have been doing some research. I came across this survey and am interested in receiving input from other experienced TS owners.

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
We live on the East Coast (the DMV area) and think it would be beneficial to have a home resort within driving distance, but not right in our backyard. That being said, I think lower MFs would be more beneficial if we had to choose between that and proximity.

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
Probably trade more than half the time. We are interested in getting to see new places and expand our travel distance as our children get older.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Well, my hubbie is from Jamaica so I think he would like to be able to visit there and the Caribbean in general; I'm from the West Coast, so being able to go there would be big. Child friendly destinations would also be important for now, so places near national parks (and I'm sure my boys will want to hit up Disney when they get old enough). While we wouldn't be able to do so often or soon, I would like the option to go to other countries (places like Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America). And I know this is a long shot, but my dad is from Alaska and I've never been but have always wanted to go - this would also be quite a ways off, if it's ever possible.

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
Immediate family is 4 - me, the hubbie, and our 2 sons. It would be nice to occasionally be able to bring my parents or the in-laws.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
For now, we are more locked into the school schedule - both the hubbie and I teach. But we could occasionally take a couple of days off during the school year for a long weekend but would have to save week long trips for summer breaks.

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Yes, we can, but it would also be nice to occasionally be able to take a small trip on short notice (we could be more flexible for those, based on what's available).

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
Only during the summer and spring break for now

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
Probably 3-4 but, of course, I am not opposed to 5 star accommodations

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
We were thinking our max would probably be $4,000 but $2,000 would be better.

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
Probably no more than about $100/month for MFs

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
I am, but I haven't travelled much, so planning trips would be new to me.

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?
Yes, I do, which is why it is important to me to be well informed upfront to see if this is something worth doing or not.

Thank you so much for any advice!

 

[theo]

A few general observations: With your group size, you will always need at least a 2BR unit. You are also going to have to work within the constraints of school schedules and will therefore be competing with many others in that same boat for reservations of finite availability; a real challenge not to be underestimated.

If you pursue Wyndham points (instead of considering purchase of a deeded week somewhere), you would have the option of stays for less than a full week (not an option with any deeded week ownership). That being said, be sure to examine Wyndham points charts well in advance to definitively learn the points requirements for 2BR (or more) units in the specific time frames and places of potential interest to you. A points package too small to ever reserve what you will always need as a minimum for space would essentially be completely useless and worthless to you.

You might also consider renting a week (or several weeks) before actually committing to the long term obligations of timeshare ownership. Good luck.

 

[kshell18]

A few general observations: With your group size, you will always need at least a 2BR unit. You are also going to have to work within the constraints of school schedules and will therefore be competing with many others in that same boat for reservation of finite space availability; a challenge not to be underestimated.

If you pursue Wyndham points (instead of considering purchase of a deeded week somewhere), you would have the option of stays less than a full week (never an option with deeded week ownerships). That being said, be sure to examine Wyndham points charts in advance to definitively learn the points requirements for 2BR (or more) units in the specific time frames and places of potential interest to you. A points package too small to ever reserve what you will always need as a minimum for space would essentially be completely useless to you.

You might also consider renting a week here and there first before actually committing to the obligations of timeshare ownership. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your input. I was thinking of renting to get an idea of what is out there. I was actually just looking through the ads for rentals a few minutes ago. I have been trying to figure out what number of points would be necessary to be able to do anything with. I do understand that if we don't get enough, then it's not really useful. Do you know if these companies have a tendency to drastically change the number of points needed to stay at a particular place on a regular basis? I am just concerned that we would figure out what we need only to have them increase everything and put us back in a situation where we cannot do much of anything.

 

[theo]

Thank you so much for your input. I was thinking of renting to get an idea of what is out there. I was actually just looking through the ads for rentals a few minutes ago. I have been trying to figure out what number of points would be necessary to be able to do anything with. I do understand that if we don't get enough, then it's not really useful. Do you know if these companies have a tendency to drastically change the number of points needed to stay at a particular place on a regular basis? I am just concerned that we would figure out what we need only to have them increase everything and put us back in a situation where we cannot do much of anything.

You should first note and accept that there are many different point systems (RCI, Hyatt, Wyndham, etc., etc.) and no two points systems or "currencies" are in any way even remotely alike, nor do they correlate to one another in any way.

Wyndham might best suit your geography and your stated short term objectives. To the best of my knowledge and belief, Wyndham has not significantly (if at all) altered their points requirements, but others here more current with Wyndham practices can surely provide much better informed input (and hopefully, a link to a Wyndham points chart for your examination). I have not personally owned within Wyndham for about 8 years now.

 

[theo]

Since you're looking at rental ads, besides reviewing those in the TUG Marketplace, you might want to look at RedWeek.com and MyResortNetwork.com too.

You can "browse" RedWeek ads at no cost, but in order to actually contact any RedWeek advertiser to inquire further about any ad posted there, you will first have to purchase a RedWeek membership ($20 / year, if I recall correctly). No such requirement exists on TUG or MRN. You may very well need to look at several different ad sources to find what you want, available when you want and of sufficient unit size for your clan's needs.

 

[taterhed]

Wow, lots of info! Good for you for being thorough.

1: Home resort: Some systems favor Eastern US or Western US etc... (Wyndham vs Worldmark for instance). But, most systems have lots of availability in the 'famous' destinations, like theme parks, beaches, coastlines, islands etc... Having said that, there is more than just the hotel-brand timeshares. There are lots of smaller independent timeshares. Many of the smaller timeshares have theirs pros/cons just the majors, but exchanging (or trading) for a broad number of destinations and locations can be a bit more difficult and/or costly; depending on the resort and trade location etc. You said you're from the DMV; I'm not sure if that's DC MD VA or DELMARVA. There are 2 timeshares in general prox to DC. A few in the Shenandoah Valley and quite a few in the Williamsburg/Norfolk/VA Beach area. Having a home unit on the beach/Busch Gardens area might be beneficial if you plan to run to the beach. Also, there are several systems with a foot in the Williamsburg/VA Beach area. Marriott and Wyndham certainly come to mind. Peak season rentals in these locations might be a bit more difficult, but with the exception of a few weeks/holidays, I'm not thinking it's the hardest place in the world to reserve. A Marriott would certainly give you good access to this and many other popular areas, but the cost might be prohibitive. Wyndham also has lots of properties and many in the areas you mentioned; this would also give you access to 'points' and reservations for less than a week. Keep in mind: super-peak weeks rarely pop-up with one or two day (weekend) availability for folks to grab. There are always rules about cherry-picking the peak weekends.

2: If you plan to trade or exchange, you'll really want to make sure that your resort-system has one of two things: 1) internal trading to properties at locations you want to visit with a good system of booking and lower trade/exchange fees or 2) access to an exchange (like RCI or Interval) that will allow you to exchange to locations you desire (you have enough TPU or trade-power) at fees that you can afford. Trades and exchanges can be relatively expensive (depending on your definition of $$$) and you would need to have enough trading-power or TPU's or ??? to get the properties you want to visit on exchange.

3: All the hotel-system timeshares have access to popular US locations and the Caribbean etc... These systems also have access to either RCI/Interval (II) or both. There is usually good availability for timeshares around the world; it's just a question of quality and peak-season. I know this isn't much of an answer, but if you're diligent, you can usually find something you like, when you'd like it, if you just start your planning early or wait until the last 60 days and then snap-up the leftovers that fall thru the cracks. Note: this last-minute 'snap-up' isn't the easiest thing and I wouldn't recommend you try it as a first shot at timesharing.

4: I'd recommend buying a 2br unit or enough points to support a 2br reservation--at a date and location you would like. You could always choose to exchange/reserve (depending on system) to a smaller (or larger) unit, but 4+ people in a 1br is either against the rules or mighty tight.

5: School schedule reservations at very popular locations (other than Orlando maybe) can be tough to get until you get the hang of it. Shoulder or off-season reservations are much easier. Spring-break, Easter and Labor-day/Memorial-day can be brutally tough to reserve, so make sure you have realistic expectations and consult with some experienced owners of the resorts you're considering before you buy. Short-stays (2 or 3 days) are obviously pointing you towards a points-based system. Traditional legacy weeks don't normally support these type of reservations. There are some exceptions via the exchange companies (II), but again, at more cost.

6: Peak-tourist season reservations should be made at 12 months (or max allowed under your resort system). It's always pretty easy to grab a few days (if your system supports this) during the off-season (or even shoulder season). It helps if you look for 'something within 4 hours on the water' vs looking for one premium resort at one location only.

7: Peak season: confirm your expectations before you buy.

8: Anything above 3.5 star (expectations) is probably not in your price range. It's the purchase price, it's the MF's. Wyndham is certainly 3-4*: some nicer (very nice penthouse/presidential) some not as nice. The big 4 Hyatt/Vistana/Marriott/HGVC are the 4*+ resorts. The MF's are generally 4* as well...

9: You can get a lot of timeshare (purchase) for $2-4,000. This is plenty for purchase price

10: MF's on mid-level systems (Wyndham or some Vistana or ???) are doable at >=$1200 a year. There are some very nice and very versatile Marriotts in the Williamsburg area, but I think the MF's would be closer to $1400 a year; those will go up every year, probably 3-5% a year. Something to think about before committing.

11: Renting is relatively easy and about the same as MF's at some resorts. Peak-week at popular beach locations can run quite a bit more. Renting a few days during shoulder season (lets go this weekend and check-out brand x at location y) is relatively cheap and painless. I strongly recommend you go visit some resorts/locations and see what kind of planning might be involved. TS's are general for those are willing to do the work to plan and book ahead.

12: Choose what you like (rent) and get feedback before you buy! Some are easy to buy/sell, others are virtually impossible to get rid of. Wyndham is generally fairly easy to give away/sell/return, depending on the market climate. Ditto for the hotel-brands. It varies widely for the independents. Again, look before you leap. Easy to buy can be impossible to shed. Also, just because the points-contract is a 'Wyndham' contract, it doesn't mean it's the right contract for you or cost effective or even useful. So, get expert advice to determine exactly what you need before you start looking and get tempted to snap-up a good deal. Really.

Good luck!
There are many experts here...I'm sure others will chime in and provide advice.

 

[kshell18]

Wow, lots of info! Good for you for being thorough.

1: Home resort: Some systems favor Eastern US or Western US etc... (Wyndham vs Worldmark for instance). But, most systems have lots of availability in the 'famous' destinations, like theme parks, beaches, coastlines, islands etc... Having said that, there is more than just the hotel-brand timeshares. There are lots of smaller independent timeshares. Many of the smaller timeshares have theirs pros/cons just the majors, but exchanging (or trading) for a broad number of destinations and locations can be a bit more difficult and/or costly; depending on the resort and trade location etc. You said you're from the DMV; I'm not sure if that's DC MD VA or DELMARVA. There are 2 timeshares in general prox to DC. A few in the Shenandoah Valley and quite a few in the Williamsburg/Norfolk/VA Beach area. Having a home unit on the beach/Busch Gardens area might be beneficial if you plan to run to the beach. Also, there are several systems with a foot in the Williamsburg/VA Beach area. Marriott and Wyndham certainly come to mind. Peak season rentals in these locations might be a bit more difficult, but with the exception of a few weeks/holidays, I'm not thinking it's the hardest place in the world to reserve. A Marriott would certainly give you good access to this and many other popular areas, but the cost might be prohibitive. Wyndham also has lots of properties and many in the areas you mentioned; this would also give you access to 'points' and reservations for less than a week. Keep in mind: super-peak weeks rarely pop-up with one or two day (weekend) availability for folks to grab. There are always rules about cherry-picking the peak weekends.

2: If you plan to trade or exchange, you'll really want to make sure that your resort-system has one of two things: 1) internal trading to properties at locations you want to visit with a good system of booking and lower trade/exchange fees or 2) access to an exchange (like RCI or Interval) that will allow you to exchange to locations you desire (you have enough TPU or trade-power) at fees that you can afford. Trades and exchanges can be relatively expensive (depending on your definition of $$$) and you would need to have enough trading-power or TPU's or ??? to get the properties you want to visit on exchange.

3: All the hotel-system timeshares have access to popular US locations and the Caribbean etc... These systems also have access to either RCI/Interval (II) or both. There is usually good availability for timeshares around the world; it's just a question of quality and peak-season. I know this isn't much of an answer, but if you're diligent, you can usually find something you like, when you'd like it, if you just start your planning early or wait until the last 60 days and then snap-up the leftovers that fall thru the cracks. Note: this last-minute 'snap-up' isn't the easiest thing and I wouldn't recommend you try it as a first shot at timesharing.

4: I'd recommend buying a 2br unit or enough points to support a 2br reservation--at a date and location you would like. You could always choose to exchange/reserve (depending on system) to a smaller (or larger) unit, but 4+ people in a 1br is either against the rules or mighty tight.

5: School schedule reservations at very popular locations (other than Orlando maybe) can be tough to get until you get the hang of it. Shoulder or off-season reservations are much easier. Spring-break, Easter and Labor-day/Memorial-day can be brutally tough to reserve, so make sure you have realistic expectations and consult with some experienced owners of the resorts you're considering before you buy. Short-stays (2 or 3 days) are obviously pointing you towards a points-based system. Traditional legacy weeks don't normally support these type of reservations. There are some exceptions via the exchange companies (II), but again, at more cost.

6: Peak-tourist season reservations should be made at 12 months (or max allowed under your resort system). It's always pretty easy to grab a few days (if your system supports this) during the off-season (or even shoulder season). It helps if you look for 'something within 4 hours on the water' vs looking for one premium resort at one location only.

7: Peak season: confirm your expectations before you buy.

8: Anything above 3.5 star (expectations) is probably not in your price range. It's the purchase price, it's the MF's. Wyndham is certainly 3-4*: some nicer (very nice penthouse/presidential) some not as nice. The big 4 Hyatt/Vistana/Marriott/HGVC are the 4*+ resorts. The MF's are generally 4* as well...

9: You can get a lot of timeshare (purchase) for $2-4,000. This is plenty for purchase price

10: MF's on mid-level systems (Wyndham or some Vistana or ???) are doable at >=$1200 a year. There are some very nice and very versatile Marriotts in the Williamsburg area, but I think the MF's would be closer to $1400 a year; those will go up every year, probably 3-5% a year. Something to think about before committing.

11: Renting is relatively easy and about the same as MF's at some resorts. Peak-week at popular beach locations can run quite a bit more. Renting a few days during shoulder season (lets go this weekend and check-out brand x at location y) is relatively cheap and painless. I strongly recommend you go visit some resorts/locations and see what kind of planning might be involved. TS's are general for those are willing to do the work to plan and book ahead.

12: Choose what you like (rent) and get feedback before you buy! Some are easy to buy/sell, others are virtually impossible to get rid of. Wyndham is generally fairly easy to give away/sell/return, depending on the market climate. Ditto for the hotel-brands. It varies widely for the independents. Again, look before you leap. Easy to buy can be impossible to shed. Also, just because the points-contract is a 'Wyndham' contract, it doesn't mean it's the right contract for you or cost effective or even useful. So, get expert advice to determine exactly what you need before you start looking and get tempted to snap-up a good deal. Really.

Good luck!
There are many experts here...I'm sure others will chime in and provide advice.

Sorry for the confusion with DMV. I meant DC, Maryland, and Virginia. I don't know anything about the independent brands and the one I've done the most reading on is Wyndham since that is what introduced me to this idea in the first place. However I did see many negative reviews on them so I wanted to see what else was out there. It does seem like they might suit my needs the most though. I'm trying to get a handle on what makes one Wyndham contract more desirable than another. What I have gathered so far is that it comes down to the number of points, the location of the home resort, and the MFs. One survey I saw out there had most people recommending a contract of 250K points or more for a family of 4, maintenance fees no more than around $6/1000 points, and a location we would either like to visit frequently or that is popular if we ever decide to sell. I am not sure if I am on the right track with that so I will do some more digging. Thank you so much for the great information!

 

[theo]

However I did see many negative reviews on them so I wanted to see what else was out there. It does seem like they might suit my needs the most though. I'm trying to get a handle on what makes one Wyndham contract more desirable than another. What I have gathered so far is that it comes down to the number of points, the location of the home resort, and the MFs. One survey I saw out there had most people recommending a contract of 250K points or more for a family of 4, maintenance fees no more than around $6/1000 points, and a location we would either like to visit frequently or that is popular if we ever decide to sell. I am not sure if I am on the right track with that so I will do some more digging.

Bear in mind that the primary "knock" on Wyndham actually relates to the sleazy and aggressive practices of their deceitful sales force, not on their properties. Since you are clearly astute enough to buy only in the resale market, those slimy sales weasels are of no particular concern or consequence to you.

As far as Wyndham contracts go, "points are points". The variable is the maintenance fee $ / points ratio. So, although "points are indeed points", the ongoing (not just the acquisition) cost of those points is definitely a factor worthy of careful examination. Your post above indicates that you already "get" that.

It seems to me that you are definitely on the right track, asking the right questions and examining the appropriate factors. Good on 'ya!

 

[vacationtime1]

I agree that OP is on the right track.

I second the prior recommendation that OP rent a couple of times before purchasing. It is the best way to gather data on what size, quality, amenities, etc. are important -- and whether timesharing works for her family.

 

[elaine]

personally, I would rent for even a few years. If you are flexible with either dates or destination, you can almost always grab a distress/short notice rental at 45 days out for cheap. So, for the East Coast, drive-to locations could be Wllmbg, MD beaches, Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. There will almost always be something to rent in Orlando, as well.
We live in DC burbs and we have driving to the following timeshares the past 10 years: Massanutten, Wllmbg, MB, HHI, VT (smugglers notch), and 10X+ to Disney. HHI and WDW are a long drive. We break WDW into 2 days.
We have traded into Canada, Hawaii, Calif. I find Carib. is hard to trade for spring break/Christmas (and airfare is high), but not so hard for summers.
MB and HHI summer weeks tend to trade well. We have 2 HHI summer weeks and have been very happy going 50%, trading 50%.

 

[taterhed]

Sorry for the confusion with DMV. I meant DC, Maryland, and Virginia. I don't know anything about the independent brands and the one I've done the most reading on is Wyndham since that is what introduced me to this idea in the first place. However I did see many negative reviews on them so I wanted to see what else was out there. It does seem like they might suit my needs the most though. I'm trying to get a handle on what makes one Wyndham contract more desirable than another. What I have gathered so far is that it comes down to the number of points, the location of the home resort, and the MFs. One survey I saw out there had most people recommending a contract of 250K points or more for a family of 4, maintenance fees no more than around $6/1000 points, and a location we would either like to visit frequently or that is popular if we ever decide to sell. I am not sure if I am on the right track with that so I will do some more digging. Thank you so much for the great information!

If you read this thread, it may answer some questions. It may raise more questions. If you post in the thread (and/or start a conversation with some experienced posters) you'll likely get some good expert responses to your questions. http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/club-wyndham-access-vs-plus.245937/ Club Wyndham "ACCESS" vs. "PLUS" is the gist.....

I might add a few other minor comments:
Watch out for 'stripped contracts' (did they finally fix this loophole?)
Buy from a reputable seller...
Be aware of the timeline from purchase date to use date--don't get disappointed when it's too late to book/use
THEO is spot on (above) know the MF/points ratio before you shop. (sounds like you do)

Good luck!

 

[Braindead]

Thank you so much for your input. I was thinking of renting to get an idea of what is out there. I was actually just looking through the ads for rentals a few minutes ago. I have been trying to figure out what number of points would be necessary to be able to do anything with. I do understand that if we don't get enough, then it's not really useful. Do you know if these companies have a tendency to drastically change the number of points needed to stay at a particular place on a regular basis? I am just concerned that we would figure out what we need only to have them increase everything and put us back in a situation where we cannot do much of anything.

Wyndham point requirements do not change for the same stay year to year at the same resort. Newer resorts usually require more points for the same length of stay as older resorts. For example a resort has units available all year worth 10,000,000 points. That resort stays at 10,000,000 points worth of units available forever. No different than a fixed week resort with 1 unit can have 52 week owners. That never changes 52 week owners forever. The change is maintenance fees going up. The point requirements stay the same but it might cost you more every year to stay because maintenance fees go up on the points you own. Hope that helps