# I am new and ready to be scolded by Timeshare Experts



## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

Hello, I bought my timeshare last year so imagine my horror when I first discovered TUG just last week! Just a warning that this is a long ramble that I hope people can help me decide on what I should do.

I am from Southeast Asia and I bought my timeshare with RTU for 30 years from a developer for $5,800, maintenance fee of $140. Not factoring in the inflation, my total cost of investment is $10,000 ($140 x 30 years + $5,800). I read somewhere here that the average maintenance fee for a timeshare is around $800? If that is the case, then cost-wise, it wasn't that much expensive is what I think, as $10,000 over a period of 30 years is merely $340.

The timeshare I bought is from a resort that was then being constructed. In fact, it only opened this year so I haven't paid the full price yet. Its bordering 3-star and is an hour or two away from my hometown. So, I can in fact use it every year if I wanted.

However, my main purpose of buying a timeshare is to exchange - like 80% of the time. So now comes my dilemma. Currently, I paid around $1,500. Basically I hope some of you can help me dissect my rambling and help me decide whether I should: 

1. Cut my losses at $1,500 (since obviously I cannot rescind anymore)
2. Or, if this timeshare I bought is worth keeping, help me answer some of my queries on how to maximize its use

When I travel, I am more concerned on just keeping a roof over my head. I don't like hostels because I'd like my own bath and privacy so the only way for me to go is to use hotels. I don't expect to score deals for Marriot or 5-star hotels using my timeshare. 

I am a detailed traveler. I check maps, public transit, good restaurants and my travel plans are generally arranged up to the last detail 6 months ahead. Hence, if there's a need for me to study the art of exchanging timeshare, I can probably do it. 

Starting 2016, I would be more or less free to travel last minute to nearby countries in Southeast Asia so I can take advantage of the last minute deals from RCI. Airfare would probably be cheap because I do budget airline (like $100 roundtrip). Traveling to farther places would probably be not that easy to do at the last minute (hence why I plan 6 months ahead) and I am probably looking into travelling more into Europe in the next 5 to 10 years .

Having said all that, will it be wise for me to keep my timeshare or cut my losses now? If my hotel budget when I travel is $100-$150 a night, that's an equivalent of $700to $1000 one week. If my timeshare ownership costs $340 per year, add the exchange fee of probably $300 for international and the membership for the exchange company of $100, it seems I don't really have that much savings if I factor in the hassle of going through the exchange process.

Speaking of exchange process, I still couldn't grasp the idea of exchange value. Based on what I read from Dial an Exchange, they accept any week regardless of season, room size, week and you can get whatever week you can find available. Seems like too good to be true. Because if that's the case, every week is treated the same? Or am I missing something from the formula? Do they need to make sure someone take my week first before allowing me to take a week from their inventory?

I think my mistake lies from the fact that I didn't think I could rent out timeshare without being a timeshare owner. If so, is it correct of me to think that I am better off renting timeshare than owning one? That way I can have more flexibility? If there's a good deal, I rent, if not, I go through the normal hotel? Are last minute deals just a myth? Or would only benefit a timeshare owner if they are based in the US?

If you made it to the end of my ramble, thank you for your patience. =)


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## DeniseM (Mar 6, 2015)

*Where* did you buy?

How can you cut you loss?


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

I bought from the Philippines. The cost of the timeshare is $5,800 but I only paid $1,500 since the resort was still being constructed when I bought it so they allow their members to pay in installment until 2017.


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## torontobuyer (Mar 6, 2015)

*skeptical*

Does anyone else believe that the MF is $140/year? Maybe per month, maybe just the first year, as incentive. But I believe you are either being fooled or misled, or plain just got it wrong. Or read it the way you wanted to believe.

The Philippines, maybe expect the bankruptcy papers the week before you ever try to exchange or use it.


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## DeniseM (Mar 6, 2015)

If you can get out - I would do it *now*.  There are far cheaper and better options on the resale market.

Anyone can rent a timeshare - that is a good place to start exploring.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

torontobuyer said:


> Does anyone else believe that the MF is $140/year? Maybe per month, maybe just the first year, as incentive. But I believe you are either being fooled or misled, or plain just got it wrong. Or read it the way you wanted to believe.



Cost of living is cheap here. =) So, if the purpose of maintenance fee is to pay for the upkeep of the resort, then that is reasonable. It is explicitly stated in the contract that my MF is 6,000 pesos. At 45=$1, that's $140.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

DeniseM said:


> If you can get out - I would do it *now*.  There are far cheaper and better options on the resale market.
> 
> Anyone can rent a timeshare - that is a good place to start exploring.



Thank you, Denise. Do you have any suggested sites other than Redweek for rental listings?


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## DeniseM (Mar 6, 2015)

raven.sinn said:


> Thank you, Denise. Do you have any suggested sites other than Redweek for rental listings?



TUG:  

Marketplace (linked in the red bar at the top of the page)
Last Minute Rentals ($100 per night or less) - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45

Your maintenance fee sounds very reasonable, but:

-Maintenance fees do increase - I'd expect a dramatic increase after they sell out.  They will keep the price low now, to make it attractive to buyers.

-A TS in the Philippines may not have strong trading value.

-For $10,000 you can buy a top resort in the US on the resale market.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

DeniseM said:


> TUG:
> -A TS in the Philippines may not have strong trading value.



Yeah, that's exactly what I realized when I discovered TUG and started reading. 

I still don't understand how the trading value works?


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## DeniseM (Mar 6, 2015)

raven.sinn said:


> Yeah, that's exactly what I realized when I discovered TUG and started reading.
> 
> I still don't understand how the trading value works?



Trading value is assigned to a timeshare by the exchange company.  The more desirable the resort/date/unit type is, the higher the trading value will be.  A deposit with higher trading value can exchange for better resorts.


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## Passepartout (Mar 6, 2015)

Raven.simm, you need to find out which (if any) exchange company your resort is affiliated with. Then you can go about finding out which other resorts you can exchange with, and how much value it has as a trader.

Once upon a time, there were timeshares in S. Africa that had insanely low MR, and were considered excellent traders. The Philippines might be the same- but this is pure speculation.

Find out your resort's exchange co. first.

Welcome to TUG. We haven't beat anyone up recently.

Jim


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 6, 2015)

QUOTE="We haven't beat anyone up recently "



  It's still early.




-


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## torontobuyer (Mar 6, 2015)

raven.sinn said:


> Cost of living is cheap here.


Which means you can expect to pay this way......


Passepartout said:


> We haven't beat anyone up recently.


But by local kidnappers.

I still think you can't exchange till it's built and operating, and very well could go under a few times before then. (But not before your payments keep flowing, only after)

I hope not, for your sake. I would never gamble this way.


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## VacationForever (Mar 6, 2015)

I have serious doubts as to whether:
- The TS will actually be built/completed/available after completion (bankruptcy/fly by night)
- It really is $140 per year... maybe fine print says $140 per month, per quarter, per...
- It will be affiliated with any exchange company

My strong suspicion is that it is a dud.  Sorry.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

Passepartout said:


> Raven.simm, you need to find out which (if any) exchange company your resort is affiliated with.
> 
> Jim



Thank you, Jim. We're affiliated with RCI.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

sptung said:


> I have serious doubts as to whether:
> - The TS will actually be built/completed/available after completion (bankruptcy/fly by night)
> - It really is $140 per year... maybe fine print says $140 per month, per quarter, per...
> - It will be affiliated with any exchange company
> ...



I bought it last year when it was still being constructed. But as of today, it is already completed and operational.

The MF is $140 every year Payable every December.

We're affiliated with RCI. I already saw the resort listed in RCI's directory.

I have no suspicion its a fraud. I am merely concerned I will not be able to use it as I intended and maximize its value.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 6, 2015)

What is the name of the resort?


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## Passepartout (Mar 6, 2015)

raven.sinn said:


> I bought it last year when it was still being constructed. But as of today, it is already completed and operational.
> 
> The MF is $140 every year Payable every December.
> 
> ...



Then it's pretty much straight forward. You can go to the RCI website- you might have to use the phone (Skype) if you have a membership, and find out how many Trading Power Units your resort/unit size/season would generate if you deposit it.

You can either stay at your resort/unit/week, or deposit it to RCI and use those TPUs like currency to exchange for different resorts. Fair warning, timeshare resorts outside US are generally 3 star outfits-with exceptions. I can't speak to The Philippines, but the choices may not be as plentiful as you wish.

My comments here are not intended to be complete timeshare course, but to reassure you that there is a chance that you did OK.

Jim


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## raven.sinn (Mar 6, 2015)

Passepartout said:


> Then it's pretty much straight forward. You can go to the RCI website- you might have to use the phone (Skype) if you have a membership, and find out how many Trading Power Units your resort/unit size/season would generate if you deposit it.
> 
> You can either stay at your resort/unit/week, or deposit it to RCI and use those TPUs like currency to exchange for different resorts. Fair warning, timeshare resorts outside US are generally 3 star outfits-with exceptions. I can't speak to The Philippines, but the choices may not be as plentiful as you wish.
> 
> Jim



Oh! I didn't know we can actually go ahead and ask what their value is. I thought it was like stock market =/ Then yes it certainly made things straight forward! Thank you!


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## tschwa2 (Mar 6, 2015)

It's not going to be as straight forward as you think.  The value is between 2 and 60.  You would need to know the name of your resort, the size of the unit and the week it is reserved for.  The number you are given today may not be the number it is given when you actually deposit it.  If you don't currently have an RCI membership they may not give you any information. Even knowing the number isn't going to mean much unless you know other places that you may want so you can compare what you get to what you need.

If you give us that info we could look it up and give you an idea.  With the MF you mention, I would imagine it is a hotel unit or a studio unit.  Can you reserve any week or only specific weeks?  Holiday weeks are probably going to have the most value.


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## jkb (Mar 7, 2015)

*About DAE*

No one has answered your question about DAE.

-Become a member by contacting www.daelive.com
-Membership is free unless you want to join one of their premeir programs
-You deposit your week with them
-You request when & where you want to go
-When they make an offer and you accept, then you pay their exchange fee (have no idea what that would be in your currency but here in the US, it's $149 USD)
-No, your week does not have to be used before you can get an exchange
-DAE does not use TPU value, except that if you are depositing a 1 bedroom but want a 2 bedroom, they will charge you an upgrade fee


I use DAE all the time - they are good at getting what we want.
Hope this helps.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 7, 2015)

tschwa2 said:


> If you give us that info we could look it up and give you an idea.  With the MF you mention, I would imagine it is a hotel unit or a studio unit.  Can you reserve any week or only specific weeks?  Holiday weeks are probably going to have the most value.



Here's the resort: VILLA ANNA PARADISE RESORT & FARM (#D519) and their website is this: http://villaanna.com.ph/ (the website in their RCI one is wrong not working). Its actually quite nice-looking; very tropical.

Its a 1-bedroom unit, floating week with Red season. 

If you can look it up and provide me at least an indicative value then that would be a big favor! The resort only opened this year so I am not sure if they would have that much value. On the other hand, the resort is certainly not going to be dilapidated or rundown. 

I'm still on the fence on this one since Jim mentioned this might not be a bad deal at all.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 7, 2015)

jkb said:


> No one has answered your question about DAE.
> 
> -Become a member by contacting www.daelive.com
> -Membership is free unless you want to join one of their premeir programs
> ...



Thank you for the info!

I am usually travelling solo so my 1-bedroom week will be good enough, no need to upgrade. 

Do they have a lot of options? I am looking into their available inventories and I am concerned that they don't have listings in a lot of places. =/

Also, I saw in their fees about splitting a week? How does that work?


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## LisaH (Mar 7, 2015)

raven.sinn said:


> Thank you for the info!
> 
> I am usually travelling solo so my 1-bedroom week will be good enough, no need to upgrade.
> 
> ...



Hi Raven,

I just looked up on RCI. Your week has TPUs ranging from 18-24, not bad if the M/F is indeed around $140. For that amount of TPUs, you could exchange to some decent places, but not the sought-after ones such as Hawaii. You could combine two years TPUs to get better exchanges. Also important, try to reserve a week from late Dec to Feb. These weeks tend to have higher TPUs for this timeshare, ranging from 23-24.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 7, 2015)

LisaH said:


> Hi Raven,
> 
> I just looked up on RCI. Your week has TPUs ranging from 18-24, not bad if the M/F is indeed around $140. For that amount of TPUs, you could exchange to some decent places, but not the sought-after ones such as Hawaii. You could combine two years TPUs to get better exchanges. Also important, try to reserve a week from late Dec to Feb. These weeks tend to have higher TPUs for this timeshare, ranging from 23-24.



Hi Lisa! 

That's indeed some good news. May I ask if you have any idea how much is the current MF of other RCI resorts with TPUs ranging from 18-24? 

How does combining two years TPU work? 2weeks = 1 week? I think I can live with that if that's the case. 

What do the last minute deals in RCI look like? Do they have a variety of choices outside of US?


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## LisaH (Mar 7, 2015)

Current M/Fs in US could vary from $3-400 to over $1000, and it does not necessary reflect the amount of TPUs it generates.
You can combine different deposits by paying a fee of $109.
For last minute availability in South East Asia, Currently there are 27 available units in March (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines). The TPUs range from 3-8.


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## raven.sinn (Mar 7, 2015)

LisaH said:


> You can combine different deposits by paying a fee of $109.



What does this mean?


Lisa, if you were me, would you keep this timeshare?


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## LisaH (Mar 7, 2015)

When you use RCI for exchange, you first deposit your week(s). Each deposit can be used one year prior to and two year after the check-in date. For example, in your case, you can deposit a Dec 31 week for 2015 usage and a Jan 2016 week, then pay the fee to combine the two deposits to get a maximum of 48 TPUs. If the week you would like to exchange to costs 40 TPUS, you would have 8 TPUs left. As long as you deposit another week before it expires (in Jan 2018), you can combine the remaining TPUs with the new deposit again. 
Hard to say what I would do. The TPUs vs. M/F is quite attractive, and the initial purchase is not too expensive. I think that this might not be a bad way to get your feet wet. If you enjoy timeshare and like to exchange through RCI, you can always acquire a resale week later to boost the TPUs.


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