# Montecristo at Pueblo Bonito questions



## macnewbie (Feb 16, 2016)

We are currently staying at Pueblo Bonito Sunset and attended the presentation. We know the cardinal rule is to never buy from the developer and in fact the couple TS we own came to us through inheritance and in resale. 

However, the deal we have sitting on our dinner table to consider has us thinking as it is structured differently from the traditional contract (or at least new to us) - would love some help identifying the problem areas or the blind spots we might later regret:

Relevant facts - please let me know what else is required to provide some advice:
1. RTU, 100 years
2. Points based 300 "universal" points + 300 "platinum" points, which are enough for a Montecristo week in weeks 1-50, or several lower grade (but still quite nice) accommodations within the Pueblo Bonito system.
3. MF is only required once every 5 years (the "refurbish" maintenance fee), otherwise you pay if you use/bank the points in a given year. Amount is ~$5/pt
4. Montecristo itself does not trade into RCI, but the points can be used to book other Pueblo Bonito units that can be banked into RCI
5. Montecristo trades pretty well into Registry Collection 
6. MF increases pegged to CPI

I see a handful of low-dollar Montecristo sales on eBay, but most of those are fixed week + mandatory maintenance fees. I also see some resale offers on redweek etc but most of them are fixed week too. The only resale I found in the points system like we are being offered is well below the Montecristo "list" price ($90k) but higher than what we are being offered by the PB sales team. link

What are the areas of this offer that I am not thinking about?


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## DeniseM (Feb 16, 2016)

Montecristo timeshares are *given away* on TUG in the Bargain Deals Forum, and you can often rent there for less than the maintenance fee. 

The developer perks do not justify paying the developer's price, when you can get one for free.


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Feb 17, 2016)

*Thoughts & feedback*

Booking window in advance of your stay is KEY in getting a stay in peak season 

This is true for EVERY TS system . I do not own or know PB but all the points in the world won't get PEAK season if you can only book 45 days out and other owners can book 6 months or a year plus out .

Last week I met an existing Mayan owner( recently retired) who wants to be in PV for  part of every Feb and only her registered week with a 6 month booking window works for Feb ( do to demand ) she paid money to upgrade her contract and get more 6 month bookable weeks - since her other existing (bonus ) week(s) was only bookable 45 days out .( generally good for May -June and Sept - Dec ) 

Buying from a developer to trade in RCI  probably is not good value since lots of TS can be bought on eBay cheaply simply for trading .
There are TUG members who own the Grandview Las Vegas solely because it has a low MF for the RCI points you get . Some may never have visited the resort  or Las Vegas . But If you go that route for a " trader " make sure it is a Grandview already in RCI Points - as some on eBay are fixed / floating  but not points - so of very little value as  a trader compared to one that is already in RCI points.

For more on that there are TUG experts - who OWN this for exchanging , I have just learned about this concept by reading TUG .


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## mav (Feb 18, 2016)

It seems to me I saw a week  on the TUG  bargain forum just about 1 week ago.  Look there and u can get a free week if it's still available.


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## macnewbie (Feb 18, 2016)

Thanks all for the advice. Found the thread in the bargain forum and am in touch with the person who posted it.


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## TUGBrian (Feb 20, 2016)

ha...this is an outstanding post!

not only did the OP 

1. not move forward with paying an inflated retail price for a Timeshare they wanted
2. discover the same timeshare being offered for free right here on TUG

this is literally my dream for everyone who is interested in a Timeshare that discovers TUG!


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## vacationdoc (Feb 20, 2016)

TUGBrian said:


> ha...this is an outstanding post!
> 
> not only did the OP
> 
> ...



Brian, your Dad is smiling about how well you are following his vision.


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## sjuhawk_jd (Feb 21, 2016)

macnewbie said:


> Thanks all for the advice. Found the thread in the bargain forum and am in touch with the person who posted it.



I also expressed interest in that posting (Free). The Montecristo owner seems to be giving the timeshare back to Montecristo Estates (deed back) and maybe avoid paying this year's maintenance fee. So, keep your hopes of getting that one for free low. However, another one will come along.


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## macnewbie (Feb 21, 2016)

Yes we've talked about that. I would not mind paying this years fee even though we just came back. What I do want though is the ability to convert the ownership to the points based system as I find the optional maintenance attractive. Are there other systems that offer that?


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