Should I buy? What should I buy?

[Naritai]

Hello all and thanks for reading. I’m in mid-30s working in SF bay area, with a wife and child. Both parents have busy jobs making scheduling the biggest issue with holidays. We’ve been through some Hilton presentations, one at Elara and one at King’s Land. We loved King’s Land but didn’t buy from developer as we’d looked at some resale postings before going in and knew we could get ~50% off in resale. I stay in Hyatt hotels when I travel for work, so am partial to them, but don’t want to cloud a decision by some misplaced sense of brand loyalty.


1) Where do you want your home resort to be?

Northern California or Hawaii.

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?

Home resort at least half the time, probably much more than than (see #3)

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

we’d like to go to European cities on holiday, but having read TUG we’re already concluded that it’s unlikely that timeshares will work well for that. So we’re thinking of an every-other-year plan on timeshare with little to no trading.

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

3 - Two adults, one child. Child is very young but we want to plan ahead and get a 2bdm.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

Child is too young for that now, but that may become an issue in 10 years or so. However my job (and wife’s) are both also seasonal so we can generally only take holidays in high holiday seasons (ie Jul-Aug, Christmas, etc)

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

only if it’s a holiday week (Jul 4th, Tksgvg, etc) or maybe Jul-Aug high holiday season.

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

only if it’s a holiday week (Jul 4th, Tksgvg, etc). But we really do want to take a full week at at least one, ideally 2x of these holiday weeks each year.

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

4-5.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

30k

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?

2k but my wife _really_ doesn’t like maintenance fees, we want these to be low

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

yes

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

 

[sts1732]

My wife and I Bought into Hyatt Pinion point yrs. back, we own several with Hyatt, and by far pinion pointe is the cheapest in MF's in the continuous 48 states in the Hyatt brand . We bought a 2 bdr. lock out on the odd year. It is deeded and in same unit when it's our yr. to use. MF's just over 1K on the odd yr. and just a member fee(300.00) on even yr. It has a point value of 2K, so when we do use it to trade we can get almost anything we are looking at if available, since there is the 2 of us. We have traded thru II, which you become a part of and got 2 wks. back to back, in a 1 bdr. in the USVI and still had points left over.
The seasons you refer to in #6 and 7, are totally dependent on what you buy. Where as high season for the mountains would be winter months, high for the beach would be summer. Both when everyone wants to be there, great if you are deeded for certain week, but bad if it floats. Float is you have a time frame of when it deeded you can use, after that you are in the pool with everyone else.
Point being look at resorts you would go back yr. after yr. Pick one that if you had to, you could rent when everyone wants to be there. Buy deeded in a specific unit that you use yr. after yr. Unless you really like the resort, I'd stay away from "view varies" as you could be any where in the resort.
In the end there are so many possibilities and combinations and it all depends on your preference. I would suggest to check the forms for rentals both here and on red week, find a resort in your time frame that you think you might like and check it out. Just remember that if you attend a presentation, DON'T BUY FROM THE DEVELOPER !!

 

[Bighealey]

Buying a Timeshare is such a personal decision. But there are a few things that I would recommend you consider. I own a number of units around the country and the advice from sts1732 is sound. Don't buy from the developer.
I would add that you should consider buying the best season with the best view at the Timeshare resort you want to visit most often. I own in Williamsburg in the winter and never get to go there and cannot rent it because no one else seems to want to go there either. I also own in So. cal and those weeks are wonderful for our family to use and if we can't go, we often double our Maint fees from the rent we receive. I bought both on the resale market. This is a strategy that I've used for a number of years.
I hope that helps

 

[bizaro86]

Your preference for 4-5 star units and restricted travel times means that trading is unlikely to be successful, even in a good hotel mini-system.

If you want to buy a timeshare, I think a fixed week somewhere you'd like to return to (Waikoloa or Carmel?) on an every other year basis would be the way to go.

 

[Naritai]

Thanks, I don't really foresee trading being a successful plan either. Holding out for a nice location in a good week (even if it costs more) seems like the way to go. Thanks!

 

[sts1732]

There is one at Hyatt Highlands(Carmel) deeded same unit. Says bldg. 3, I think these are just off to the side in the trees. Just under 10K, 2520 points. There is one at Newport coast(Ca.) list at 8.5 but owners say will negotiate. This is a Marriott, ocean view, doesn't look like it's ON THE OCEAN. Both listings are 2BR. sleep 6. As you can see there are infinite possibilities. Look around, if you find one you may be interested in, see if a owner is renting at what ever resort, rent the week before buying. If you don't like it nothing lost.

 

[lizap]

I would advise against buying Hyatt (Carmel) with the hope of trading into Hawaii using Hyatt's internal points system. At this point, it is extremely difficult to get this exchange..

 

[Naritai]

Oh really? I was under the impression that Carmel is generally very desirable. Is it just that Hawaii is also very desirable, making it difficult to get into Hawaii?

 

[lizap]

Really can't say why Hyatt Kannapali is so difficult to get using points in Hyatt's internal system. I would say if you like Carmel and can get the week/season you want, then I'd go for it, but don't count on getting an exchange into Hyatt Kannapali. With that said, if you have some flexibility, getting into most other Hyatt resorts is very doable, with the exception of the high season. The things that I like most about Hyatt are the quality of their resorts and the interesting locations.