# Was gifted a timeshare and need advice



## jiffer (Mar 11, 2008)

Hello,

My in-laws gave my hubby and I there one week floating timeshare at the Kaanapali Beach Club on Maui (I guess they figure since my hubby and are the only ones to use it we might as well have it)  and I have a a few questions. Since we are new to this I  have been reading like crazy and boy it can be overwelming. 

My in-laws said they traded the timeshare with RCI and we wondering do we have to use RCI or do we have a choice of a trading company? I read somewhere that before you trade it you need to find out what your week is? Would I find that info on my paperwork or would I need to call the resort for that? How do you know if my resort has a good trading power? Is there a guideline? We usually use it in the summer months so we would probably like to trade it for somewhere else during the summer. Is this a harder time to trade? How far in advance should we start looking if we are thiking about trading it for summer of 2009? We are flexable with our dates so I am assuming this would be helpful?

Any other advice you guys have I would love. Everyone here seems to be a wealth of timeshare knowledge.   Thanks.


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## DaveNV (Mar 11, 2008)

Welcome to TUG.  You've just saved yourself more hassle than you can imagine with owning your new timeshare.  I strongly recommend you join TUG - you'll get full access to all the features of the site, and it'll be the best $15 you ever spent.  It's money very well spent.

I'll let others tell you all about the value of what you have, but suffice to say, yes, you have a very nice timeshare, and it'll trade very well.

Dave


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## naudette (Mar 11, 2008)

Hi!

Welcome to Tug.  I'm the one who told you about it on TA.  I'm glad you decided to check it out!


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## susan1738 (Mar 11, 2008)

*Wow!  What a trader!*

I can't imagine even wanting to trade that unit!!  I think anything that RCI gives me, would be a let-down compared to that unit . . . but I DO understand the need to go to a variety of places!  (while we were both born and raised in the good, ole USA, my husband says that we are going to have to turn in our "citizenship cards" if we go many more places . . . and he adds, that we are not going to be allowed to vote in our current county if we don't STAY in our current county more than we have been! :hysterical:  Such a wise guy!)

My DH and I went to your "trader" via a timeshare tour package that cost us $750 for 5 nights, and we were HAPPY to pay it (and even happy to sit through the timeshare schpeal)!  We love your resort, so I'm sure you'll get some stellar trades out of it!  I can't think of one condo you might not be able to pull!!!  

If it is floating, I'd select a week in the summer season or a holiday week, to maximize it's value . . . if that is an option.  And deposit it a year in advance ~that's always a safe bet to maximize your trading power.  Have fun experimenting with all the places that it trades!  (I've been surfing my best trader all day today . . . just for fun!)  :whoopie:


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## riverdees05 (Mar 11, 2008)

Somethings you will want to know:

Is it a one or two bedroom unit?  Is it a fixed week or floating week?  If it is a floating week, what weeks does it float?  Is it an every year or every other year unit?  What are the yearly maintenance fees and when are they do?  Is it a deeded unit or a RTU unit?  Has the appropriate paper work been taken care of to transfer ownership to you?  

You probably should just call the resort and find out this information, if your in-laws don't know.

There are two main exchange companies - RCI and II and several smaller independent exchange companies, like SFX, TPI, DAE, HTSE, etc.  I have several timeshares that trade with RCI and II, so you can check with the resort to see.

If you do decide to join TUG, then you can look at the reviews and see what others think of your resort.  One of the key to good trading is to plan ahead, like 1-2 years, ahead.

Other places to learn about timeshares is Redbook, Ebay, Timeshare Forums, etc.


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## riverdees05 (Mar 11, 2008)

*II*

I checked II and it lists:

Ka'anapali Beach Club • EGK & EG1
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii


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## djyamyam (Mar 11, 2008)

You own at a very highly demanded resort.  

The ownerships at KBC have three types of views attached to the deed (scenic mountain view, ocean view or deluxe oceanfront).  You need to find out specifically what yours is.  I believe that most units at KBC  are all floating 1-52 units.  This means you would be able to reserve any week of the year, subject to availability.  As was mentioned earlier, try and book a holiday summer week and you'll do well.

In terms of trading, you can trade with both II and RCI.  Having said that, you would likely get bonus weeks if you trade it through any of the other independent exchange companies (HTSE, Trading Places or SFX).  Personally, because yours is such a demanded resort, I would consider doing a direct trade with another owner (post in the direct exchange section here on TUG or post a Redwish on Redweek) or renting out your unit and using the proceeds of that to go wherever you want.

Just to give you an idea of the value of what your inlaws have given you, annual scenic view units are selling for about $6K on ebay, oceanviews for $10K and deluxe oceanfront for $13K.  Nice inlaws!


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## jiffer (Mar 11, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the info. The paperwork has been taken care of and all signed. We have a one bedroom oceanview with a floating week every other year. We have been to the resort twice and loved it but we do like to try different places every so often. So do you guys think it is worth joining RCI to trade it? I have read somewhere about a strong red week, what is this? I am thinking about joining TUG. Is it $15 annually? WOW I did not realize the value of the resort I guess the least we could do is send my in-laws a fruit basket. :whoopie:


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 11, 2008)

I'll try to give you a quick overview.  I'll put in bullet point from since it will be somewhat of a random dump of information.


The resort was formerly the Embassy Vacation Resort Ka'anapali.  It had a franchise agreement with Embassy.  The franchise was dropped and it became Sunterra.  Then Sunterra was bought by Diamond Resorts, so now it is part of Diamond Resorts.  I mention that because you will probably see all of those names in different places, so don't get confused.

There are essentially three timeshare operations at the resort.

First, there are the weeks that were sold under the original program.  This is most likely what you have.  Those are floating weeks - you need to call and reserve a week for your use every year.  These ownerships are deeded ownerships.

Later, Sunterra started selling their multi-resort points plan through the resort. In that program, Sunterra created a trust that owned deeds for units in the two Sunterra resorts on Kaua'i (Po'ipu) and Maui (Ka'anapali), and what they sold to people was a fractional interest in the that Trust.  So these owners don't have deeds, they have an ownership in a trust, and the trust actually owns the deeds. Because the Trust owns deeds in both their Kaua'i and Maui resorts, both of those are "home resorts" for the trust owners. 

Sunterra, now Diamond. also operates a club in which members get points in the club based on the value of what they own, and the members can then use those points to book space at any Sunterra resort.  But you can only be part of the club if you buy your week from Diamond/Sunterra.  If you are a member of the club and you transfer your week to someone else, the Club membership does not transfer.  The new person can only acquire what you own (either the deeded week or the fraction of interest in the Trust). Those new owners cannot get into the Club unless they buy an additional ownership interest from Diamond.

There are some exceptions to the ban on transferring Club membership when the ownership is within a family. If your in-laws were in the Club, it's worth it to find out if the Club membership can be transferred to you.

If you are a member of Diamond's Club, you handle all of your reservations and exchanges through the Club.  If you're not in the Club, you make your reservations directly with the resort.

You can trade with any exchange company. The resort is affiliated with both RCI and II, the two big exchange companies.  All independent companies will gladly take a week from Ka'anapali.  The only kicker in this is if you are member of Diamond's Club.  Then you're locked into exchanging with them, since you can only obtain a week through them.

Good luck, and welcome to TUG. There is also a lot of Diamond info available at tsforums.com, a BBS quite similar to this one.


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## jiffer (Mar 11, 2008)

The timeshare was bought under the orginal Embassy resort and it is a deeded week. So is this better or worse to have deeded week?


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## EileenSRN (Mar 11, 2008)

This resort used to be in the Sunterra family of resorts, now called Diamond Resorts. Watch out if anyone contacts you about joining "The Club". I don't know how aggressive Diamond is, but Sunterra was one of the worst. We got conned into surrendering our deed to Powhatan to belong to their trust. Great for trading within the family, bla, bla, bla. Luckily, they told some outright un-truths (dare I say Lied?) and our contract was cancelled. We got our deed back and paid the bare minimum of $1995 to keep out deed and join the club. You, however will NEVER lack for great trades. So don't let them try and tell you that you won't be able to trade with RCI unless you're in the club. Even if it were true, you could go with the independents. What a great gift!! 
Congrats!
Eileen


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 11, 2008)

jiffer said:


> The timeshare was bought under the orginal Embassy resort and it is a deeded week. So is this better or worse to have deeded week?



That depends on your plans.  The important thing for you is to learn what makes the most sense for your situation.  If you decide that you do want to join The Club, then you can figure out before hand how to get the best deal.

In general, if all you want to do is go back to Maui, it won't make sense to join the Club.  If you want to travel around, though, the Club is worth looking into.

There's one twist I lift out of the above, for simplicity sake.  If you do decide to join The Club, remember that you can't get into The Club unless you buy some increment of new ownership from Diamond - that would be an increment of ownership in the Hawai'i Diamond Resorts Trust. At that point you have two options for how to handle that existing ownership you have. 


Combine your existing week with the new increment of ownership into a single Trust ownership.  That means surrendering your deed to the Trust so you no longer have direct interest in the resort.  If you ever get rid of the unit (by selling it or giving it to someone else) the recipient would get that new consolidated trust ownership.

Affiliate your deeded week with the Trust.  When you do this you retain your deeded ownership, but for as long as you remain in the Club you can only use your week by going through The Club.  You can pull your week out of the Club at any time (but if you do so you couldn't put it back in unless you buy another increment of ownership in the Trust.)

The advantage here is that you retain ownership of your deed. One big disadvantage is that if you need to transfer ownership, you have two separate pieces that are no longer linked - the deeded week and the increment of Trust.

The key for you right now is to learn what you have, enjoy it, and don't let them pressure you into doing something before you're ready.


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## EileenSRN (Mar 12, 2008)

I guess I shouldn't type and watch tv at the same time. T.R. gave you much clearer info than I. The only item murky to me was about joining the club. If your club membership transfers as a family switch, you can keep your deed, trade through the club or trade through which ever exchange company that resort uses. I'm in the club, have my deed and trade with II. Sunterra/Diamond has a corporate membership. I don't pay directly for my membership. But it's time to read, read, read the 2 major timeshare groups TUG and TS4M. There's a guy over there who knows a LOT about Sunterra/Diamond.
Eileen


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## Holly (Mar 12, 2008)

Welcome to TUG!  I started out in timesharing much like you...I inherited a timeshare in Hawaii.  You will have a blast learning how to use it.  I've had the best luck reserving a summer week and depositing through II...they give me a bonus week, I've gotten some great trades with my week, and it's not NEARLY as nice of a resort as yours.  I've also had luck renting mine.

Either way, stick around here.  Timesharing is an addictive, wonderful hobby.


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## jiffer (Mar 12, 2008)

So do you guys think I should join RCI or II or should I try an indepent first? I know would like to trade it sometimes mostly the Caribbean but if I could get someplace in Italy or Greece it would not hurt my feelings. :whoopie:  Do you guys have better luck with one agency over another?


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## spatenfloot (Mar 12, 2008)

If your week is that valuable, you should rent the week out and pay cash to visit other places rather than joining an exchange company.


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## UWSurfer (Mar 12, 2008)

As some might say, The World is Your Oyster.   

You have many options ahead of you.   Frankly, unless you have the urge to trade to someplace else right away, I'd plan to stay there the next opportunity you have and spend the interval reading up here on TUG about exchange companies, other peoples experiences and strike up a list of where you'd like to trade.

Maui is a valuable week and it sounds like your resort is even more desirable on top of that.  Take your time and figure out if you come out further ahead renting it or trading it.   Take your time.  Don't forget too you now will have maintenance fee's to pay on the unit and should value that into your decisions how to use it.

You probably should do something a bit nicer than a fruit basket for your in-laws.  Dinner and a show perhaps? 

Congratulations!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 12, 2008)

jiffer said:


> So do you guys think I should join RCI or II or should I try an indepent first? I know would like to trade it sometimes mostly the Caribbean but if I could get someplace in Italy or Greece it would not hurt my feelings. :whoopie:  Do you guys have better luck with one agency over another?



Our experience. We own a deeded week at Po'ipu, and we bought a small trust ownership to gain access to The Club.  (We kept our deed and affiliated the week rather than adding the deed to the trust.) 

The next year our daughter decided to get married in the Caribbean - we focused on St. Martin for a variety of reasons, one of which was our ability to access the Diamond resorts on that island.  The plans came together in February for a June wedding.  

We had enough points from our Poi'pu unit to reserve a both a 2-bedroom unit and a 1-bedroom unit for the week of the wedding (we even had some points left over). We were able to make reservations for the island during a time when no exchange company was showing any immediately available space on St. Martin - i.e., we would have had to put in a request and hope something came through.

****

The Diamond Club has considerable "clout" within II. People have reported that a reservation through II made using Club points can access almost anything in II inventory.


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## riverdees05 (Mar 12, 2008)

We own two 2 bedroom every year weeks at the old Embassy Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort, now Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort.  We went to one of their presentation on the Club and decided it was not worth the money to us.  They are high pressure sales presentation, so if you go, practice saying no ahead of time.  Sounds like you have a great timeshare.  From my experience I have been happier with II than RCI, especially with the LTVR since they deposit the week I reserve with II, but if I would use RCI, they choice the week to be deposited, even if I reserve another week.  Our weeks are floating 1-52 and one of them can be reserved 2 years out and the other 1 year out.  I try to time my deposit with II so that I get a bonus week.  If you could do that, then you could have a vacation every year (bonus week, is called AC with II and are good for 1 year after issue date).

Enjoy.


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## jiffer (Mar 12, 2008)

Well I would love to take them out to dinner or a show but they live about 2000 miles away that is why I thought of a basket. What I think we are going to do for now is not join RCI or II. Plus we are not sure if we are going to use it next year or trade it. I think we are leaning towards using it because I have always wanted to go during whale watching season. But in the mean time I think I am going to join TUG and do LOTS of research to get the most value out of the unit.


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## naudette (Mar 12, 2008)

Hi again,

I knew you'd get lots of help here.  By the way,  I think you can join tug for 3 years for a mere $25.

NJW


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## EileenSRN (Mar 12, 2008)

Do your In-Laws own other timeshares? If not, and they belong to RCI they can transfer that to you as well. I don't know about II.  So nice to have options.


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## jejones3329 (Mar 14, 2008)

You might want to read the DAE section, it is free to join and your timeshare qualifies for a program where exchanges are only $1.00 .


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## Jim McLaren (Mar 14, 2008)

If you don't want to rent you can check out the independent exchange companies.  I'd look at Trading Places Maui.  For Hawaii deposits they'll give a bonus week.  Also check out San Francisco Exchange company (SFX). I would bet SFX will take this.  Mark OY said they should be announcing their 2009 deposit special in about 2 more weeks or so.


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## Carolinian (Mar 15, 2008)

In exchanging, you might consider using an exchange company with a ''request first system'' where you do not have to give them your deposit until they can confirm an exchange for you.  In fact, that way, you can put in a request with several such companies, and then give your deposit to the first one that produces what you want.  Make sure you tell them what it is you will be depositing.  That way, they will probably break down doors to find what you want.

Among the big exchange companies, II has request first, but RCI does not.  DAE, which I use primarily these days, also has request first.  I believe that some of the memberships of SFX do, and there are other indepedents that do as well.

Also learn what areas exchange companies can get good access to from their other trading partners.  DAE, for example, has good access to the Cayman Islands and some other places in the Caribbean, to the French Riviera, UK canalboats, etc.


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## jiffer (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks for the advice I will have to check out some of the companies "request first reservation". I would much rather go that route. :whoopie:


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## Mimi (Mar 22, 2008)

RCI would be my LAST choice. We prefer Trading Places and always get good bonus weeks with them. SFX or Interval International would be my next choice, and you might consider the Request First option, so you do not give up your quality week until you receive a quality trade. I would never bank a Hawaii week with RCI. You lose all control and end up at their mercy to get something after they've rented out all the good inventory! Congratulations jiffer. We have stayed at your awesome resort several times with SFX trades.


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