# 1st buy..total newby..please read and scold me...



## Rraulston (Jun 15, 2013)

Well here is my story.. 

Some friends of ours gave us some points to stay in Kauai, Ha. 5 nights at the Makai Club Cottages. 2 bedroom stand-a-lone's. Very nice and roomy. Well lets just say it was an amazing time. The concierge set us up with a sales meeting. 

The day before, we were walking around Princeville and noticed a time share sales office. They had printed pages in the windows with prices ect. and I read a few. Prices were anywhere from $1200 for a EOY week to way expensive. OK mental note made. That evening I pulled out the Ipad and read a little(really a lot). Soo much information and it's a bit convoluted. 

The following morning we went to the sales meeting. Man, this guy had us all pumped and ready to go. Only problem is, I hate pressured sales. I go into this shut down mode thingy...I don't know, but it doesn't work well with me. He keeps sweetening the pot, walking away to let my wife and I talk, sending in the closer and on and on....We decided on a ODD year 165000 point week 1 bedroom for $22,500. You know, we really wanted to own in Hawaii and all....I told him I needed to eat first.

We went back to that little plaza to eat next to the timeshare resale office. I told the wife, hey, lets just pop in and show them a copy of the contract offer (not signed yet, was going back in an hour to sign it). So we did. I will never forget the agents expressions. It was like I handed her gold. I had 3 different offers from $50K to $22K. All I wanted was to pay for a 15 minute review of the deal. You know, just a little advice. That was the best 15 minutes (free) I think I ever got. We never went back to the sales guy. Out of respect, I called him and indicated were weren't ready. He said "WHAT??!!" in a some what pissed but surprised voice. 

The small office began to show us/educate us on timeshares. It wasn't buy this or that, but how do you vacation type questions. Well we bought from them. We got a Silver Crown Resort on Kauai "Bali Hai Villas" 3 bedroom 3 bath, week every year, Presidential Suite. Half a million points every January/floating week. The contract says "interest 2/102" which is confusing and "ICN: 1026-11EO". they tell me its "unit number and Even and Odd years" I hope it don't mean "Every Other" year. Cost, (you can be critical, its my first time).....12K plus half closing cost.  I am looking at the bright side. I could have Spent 50K on 265K points and been a silver member for 3 years until the bonus points they offered were gone.......I have 2 days left to resend the deal. Comments appreciated......rr


----------



## rickandcindy23 (Jun 15, 2013)

Paragraphs would really help in understanding your post.  

We own Bali Hai, converted to points by the developer, really cheaply because we owned a lot of Bali Hai when it was PAHIO, so we got a great deal to convert those weeks.  

EO does mean even and odd, so it is annual.  

The deal you got it decent, but it's not the best you can do.  I would rescind, if you can still do it.  

The price per point is as cheap as they get, I believe.  Our 500K Pres 3 bed is a bargain in Wyndham points.  But owning in Hawaii is not really all that important in Wyndham, because we are talking points, and home resort preference is not even a concern, because Bali Hai is always available.  

I love timeshare, and I am okay with Wyndham, but I have to tell you, any great "trader" in RCI will pull a Bali Hai for exchange.  I can exchange into Bali Hai four weeks straight (2 bed) for less than $1,700, and that includes paying $795 in exchange fees to RCI for those four weeks.  It's an easy exchange, so consequently, the value of Kauai in RCI is not good.  

I prefer staying at Wyndham Shearwater, which is oceanfront in Princeville, and it's also a fairly easy exchange through RCI historically.  Wyndham was doing kitchen and bath updates recently, and availability in RCI was sparse over the last year, but I am sure it will be easy again in the near future.

As for owning on Kauai, I would prefer owning a floating week in Kapaa.  It's central to the island, and those units at Pono Kai are oceanfront, as long as you book one year out.  I think those go for around $2,500 for a 2 bed oceanfront.  Fees are low at $1,038.  But even that resort is an easy trade.  Traders do not get oceanfront, in my experience.  Owners do.  It's worth owning Pono Kai.


----------



## ttt (Jun 15, 2013)

I think it would be best to rescind and shop around if you are interested in saving $. You may find that the deal was a good one and it will still be there if you decide to buy it. As nice as Hawaii is, fees are expensive and you may find owners selling very cheap of giving their units away. Check ebay for offering prices, you may be shocked by what is available for almost free


----------



## slip (Jun 15, 2013)

I would rescind also. Bali Hai does have very cheap points but you can do better
Price wise. Like Cindy said there are lots of choices for Kauai. A lot will depend
On what you want in a resort and location on the island.


----------



## Rraulston (Jun 15, 2013)

I have decided to cancel. I think I need to cool off a bit. We had such a great time and got buyers fever or something. I owe it to myself to gain more knowledge.......I just found one in Vegas for $9000 for 770,000 points   $308 monthly.......why does it matter where I buy if I go to different places every year?????


----------



## Passepartout (Jun 15, 2013)

Rescind first. THEN devote 2-3 months hanging out on TUG educating yourself. Rent a time or three. You may find out that if you want to go lots of different places that renting is the way to go. You can often rent from TUGgers for less than MF on the property.

The deals are not going anywhere, so if you decide next fall to buy in Kauai, nobody will stop you, but you will be better informed.

Welcome to TUG! Learn lots, save money, buy resale.

Jim


----------



## slip (Jun 15, 2013)

Good choice, with a little research you may find another system or ownership may work better for you.


----------



## csxjohn (Jun 15, 2013)

I too would rescind.  After you educate yourself, that deal will probably still be attainable.


----------



## Rraulston (Jun 16, 2013)

Didn't know there were so many English teachers!!  o.k. I tweaked it a bit. Much easier reading now......And again thanks for the comments and advice. I took it all.......As soon as I buy, ill let you know. In the mean time, I will continue to educate myself on here!!   rr


----------



## Rraulston (Jun 16, 2013)

rickandcindy23 said:


> but I have to tell you, any great "trader" in RCI will pull a Bali Hai for exchange.



Can you further explain this??   Thanks Cindy.....


----------



## rickandcindy23 (Jun 16, 2013)

> Didn't know there were so many English teachers!!



Ironically, yes, that is what I used to do.  But really, it's hard to read without paragraph breaks.  

There are many resorts, particularly coastal resorts that trade with RCI, and they do provide a lot of trading power.  

RCI has a points system and had a weeks system, and now they are both points systems.  Completely different systems.  Some weeks give a lot of points when deposited into "weeks."  

One resort with excellent trading power, right off the top of my head, is the 2 bedroom at Kahana Falls on Maui.  These gems go for a few bucks on eBay, and the trading power is unbeatable.  For $1,000 or so in MF's, you can easily get four weeks at Bali Hai with that one week, if you lock the 2 bedroom off into a 1 bed and hotel room.  Whale season weeks are great for trading, as are summer weeks. 

Demand is higher than supply on Maui; therefore, Maui is weighed heavily as a powerful trader.  Kauai is abundant and does not provide much trading power.  I believe a good week will get around 90 points for those $1K MF's on Maui.  Bali Hai weeks are around 20-24 points, depending on season.  Huge difference.  

Maui is the island to own for RCI trading purposes.  

There are others that have great trading power.  I don't list my best traders in my list of owned weeks.  
<-----------------


----------



## litebrite (Jun 24, 2013)

Where is Pono Kai?


----------



## Rent_Share (Jun 24, 2013)

Rraulston said:


> Didn't know there were so many English teachers!! o.k. I tweaked it a bit. Much easier reading now......And again thanks for the comments and advice. I took it all.......As soon as I buy, ill let you know. In the mean time, I will continue to educate myself on here!! rr


 

WHen I see a mass of text like your original posting, I just move on and will not attempt to figure out what the OP was trying to say


----------

