Denise, thanks for your response. I notice you own in the Hawaii market. Has this been a good place to own? Where else would you recommend buying to have the most leverage for trading? I have been told that a 2 bed/ 2 bath is the most desirable. We live in Arizona so water is a must. Thanks and Happy Holidays.
We go to Hawaii every year for 2 weeks - next year for 4 week, so owning in Hawaii works for us. Our units are all ocean front or ocean view, and that's important to us, so that's why we bought. Also, I'm a teacher, so we have to travel during school holidays, so we needed to have the owner's priority to make reservations during high season. I would not buy Hawaii for a renter or a trader, because the maintenance fees are too high - I'd only buy if I wanted to go there 3 out of 4 years and I needed to be able reserve high season weeks.
If you are flexible about when you travel, and can travel off-season, then there are some very reasonable traders that you can use to trade into Hawaii. For instance, if you buy a resale at Sheraton Desert Oasis in Scottsdale, you'd have a resort you can use yourself, with a really nice pool, and a trader that will get you into the 3 Starwood Hawaii resorts, off-season. You can buy a 2 Bdm. at SDO on the resale market for less than $1,000 total, it has a maintenance fee of about $900 a year, and it will trade into the 3 Starwood resorts in Hawaii, where the MF's start at $2,200 a year. You can do this through an exchange company, Interval International, because Starwood owners have priority for trades into other Starwood resorts.
Sheraton Desert Oasis
Westin Ka'anapali (South)
Westin Ka'anapali (North)
Westin Princeville
And you can also easily trade into the new Starwood resort in Cancun -
Lagunamar - without owning in Mexico.
With an entry level Starwood trader, you would be able to trade into
all the Starwood resorts, except for holiday week, and Westin St. John and Harborside - which are nearly impossible trades.
Here are some questions for you to answer to narrow things down a bit:
1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
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?
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
4) How many people do you usually travel with?
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
8) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
9) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
10) Are you a detail oriented planner?
11) 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?