# 2 bedroom lock off [Westgate]



## kembjkk (May 1, 2013)

We are looking at buying a 2 bedroom lock-off.  In order to use it for two weeks, (as a 1 bedroom and as a studio) would we have to belong to II?  In other words do we have to pay more money in order to do that?  It all seems to add up with the maintenance fees etc.  just trying to figure out if it feasible or not.  Thanks.


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## DeniseM (May 1, 2013)

If you own a 2 bdm. lock-off, you can reserve one side one week, and the other side, another week, at your HOME RESORT.  If you want to go somewhere else, you have to use some kind of exchange method.

What resort?


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## kembjkk (May 1, 2013)

It's Westgate Vacation Villas.  So you think we could exchange within Westgate or book an extra week, without incurring extra cost?


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## tschwa2 (May 1, 2013)

It depends.  If you own a fixed week lock off you would not necessarily be able to use it as two consecutive weeks.  You would need to own a floating week that gave you the ability to reserve the two side separately for different consecutive weeks.  There certainly are resorts and systems that allow this but not all.


I would research carefully before getting in bed with Westgate.  They have a bad reputation especially for changing the rules and making it difficult for buyers who did not buy directly from them.


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## vacationhopeful (May 1, 2013)

For example, a deeded Fixed Week lockoff has a 1bdr side and a studio side adjoining. Deeded for the same unit in the same which you can either use or deposit. 

Some chains require you to PAY a FEE whenever you "lockoff" the unit into 2 - like to make 2 deposit into the exchange company. Some don't - my lockoffs in both RCI and II just allows me to select FULL 2/2 unit, 1bdr side or ST side to deposit. Yes, an my lockoffs can be deposited into either RCI or II. II trades on SIZE; RCI trades on demand TPU value number (always gives more TPU value if you do 2 deposits vs 1). ANd YES, I can split my unit bu giving RCI my ST side and II my 1bdr side.

Yes, there is a membership fee to II and RCI - yearly. Yes, there is an exchange fee to get another week to go sleep in. Yes, all those moneys ADD up along with your exchange fees.

As to feasible or not, that is your call. But you can save money by understand HOW YOUR FAMILY travels (size of unit, resort level, flexible dates, sofabed sleeping, SPA needed, pretty view required, granite countertop mandatory, etc), what type of system you own in (highend resorts are better to stay within their system, internal preference in exchanging), your destination requirements (Orlando, Branson => easy gettings; St Thomas => better own there; Nascar=> better own it).

As for my adventures, amazing how my extended family loves me so much better now. 

PS I pay my MFs with my airline points credit card and just used a BUNCH of those points for a Dream Trip (offered by airline) for 3 day Baseball Spring Training trip for 2. Had 5 offers from within the family to be my travel buddy - within 24 hours - 2 just wanted to sleep on the floor of my hotel room.


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## vacationhopeful (May 1, 2013)

tschwa2 said:


> ...I would research carefully before getting in bed with Westgate.  They have a bad reputation especially for changing the rules and making it difficult for buyers who did not buy directly from them.



Is it a Special Holiday Week? What Fixed Week number? Where is it located? Orlando area? The above statement is a very polite caution --- nice looking resort, but you MORE than pay for it in dollars and issues.


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## kembjkk (May 1, 2013)

It's Westgate Vacation Villas, unit IIB which according to Westgate VV website is just outside gated entrance on Entry Point Rd.  We saw the condos when we were there, drove past them, but didn't know one was for sale.  It's week 11 but a floating unit, floats to "always a ground floor in Vacation Villas."  Doubt if it floats to within the gated entrance though.


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## sstug (May 1, 2013)

With Westgate if you own a fixed week you can use your week and pay nothing more than the maintenance fee.  I'm pretty sure if you split the 1BR & lockoff you will need to pay an exchange fee for the second useage.  If you want to use your unit for 2 weeks (1BR + lockoff) for a different week than you own you will have to pay 2 exchange fees.  I own a floating week and if I reserve a week within the current year the first "exchange" is free, then any additional reservation will cost an exchange fee.  If I reserve for a prior year's banked unit I have to pay the exchange fee.  

You definitely can exchange within the WG resorts anywhere in the US by paying the internal exchange fee.  As others caution, beware of additional fees based on season, etc.  It is pretty confusing.  I don't know the current WG exchange fee but it was lower than the II fee.

So you don't have to become a member of II if you can get full use within the WG resort system (or other exchange companies).

You may be better off renting from an existing WG owner instead of incurring the upfront purchase cost.  They do have a few minor benefits for owners that guests & exchangers don't get when they are on property.  I think guests who are there w/o the owner have to pay for a $30 pass to use things like paddleboats, etc.  I would need to look for the info I read recently.  It still may be a lot cheaper than owning, depending on the purchase price.


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## kembjkk (May 1, 2013)

Just emailed the owner, she said Westgate charges $150 to lock if off into 2 weeks usage.  Yikes!  Probably not worth the $856 MF!


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## sstug (May 1, 2013)

kembjkk said:


> It's Westgate Vacation Villas, unit IIB which according to Westgate VV website is just outside gated entrance on Entry Point Rd.  We saw the condos when we were there, drove past them, but didn't know one was for sale.  It's week 11 but a floating unit, floats to "always a ground floor in Vacation Villas."  Doubt if it floats to within the gated entrance though.



You need to ask if this means you will have limited availability if there are no ground floor units available the week you want.  The description sounds too limiting to me.  Beware of anything the sales folks tell you, it may not be accurate.


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## tschwa2 (May 1, 2013)

There are also reports (on a Redweek forum) that Westgate now charges resale owners $450 to do the internal exchange instead of the $150 it charges those who bought direct.  Even those who have been using the internal exchange for several years at the lower fee are being told that they must now pay $450.


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## kembjkk (May 1, 2013)

Wow, what a racket!!  It makes me wary!  My husband I are trying to figure out the best way to spend 2-3 weeks in Florida to escape our harsh winters.  Thought by buying a lock-off that might be feasible.  Too bad timeshare resorts are not honest and upfront, they would do alot better at sales and better overall, if they had any credibility.  It sounds like just when you get used to the rules of the game, they go and change the rules on you!  Another thing, the owner of this particular unit has not been forthcoming with information, we have had to do all the digging and asking and asking.  Makes you feel wonder.Thanks for all your expertise and help.  It would be nice to own in Florida, but I am not sure how.


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## tschwa2 (May 1, 2013)

I wouldn't blame the owner.  Most owners don't know a whole lot about the rules and procedures at their resorts especially how it relates to resale owners (if they bought direct) or for anyone who will use the resort in a way different than they did.  Someone may own a week to use for exchanging in RCI and may not know a heck of a lot about staying at the resort or using a different exchange company or reserving a different week than they usually use.  If you deal with ebay companies that sell timeshares they may know more or they may know less depending on how often they deal with a particular resort and how much time they want to spend answering questions.


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## durrod (May 1, 2013)

tschwa2 said:


> There are also reports (on a Redweek forum) that Westgate now charges resale owners $450 to do the internal exchange instead of the $150 it charges those who bought direct.  Even those who have been using the internal exchange for several years at the lower fee are being told that they must now pay $450.




That's why the best way to exchange a westgate week it's using an external exchange company like II, DAE, sfx or any other. Their internal exchange is just not worth it.
They implement this changes for resale owners without any official notification, when you ask for a trade it's where you find their gotcha fees.


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## kembjkk (May 1, 2013)

So, you could go through II (as a resale owner) pay their dues, and get the week you wanted?  I am asking in regards to a lock off? Could you get back to back weeks?  We drive 21 hours to get to Florida, can't do it twice in one year!  Need a block of time!  Also how soon do you have to wait for the week to be confirmed?  What if someone is flying and needs to book flights.  If you request and exchange 12 months out, how soon do they let you know, during week 11 or so?  Thanks again.


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## sstug (May 1, 2013)

I've only used II.  The way it works is you join II, pay the $89 annual membership fee and it takes a few weeks to get your account setup & the timeshare listed.  Once your account is all set, you can browse available inventory (people call this the leftovers) or set up a Request with II.  When you set up a request you need to list at least 3 resorts for a particular week, or 3 weeks for a particular resort.  II will use all deposited weeks to try to match your request with an available week.  Once a match is made II will do the exchange and email you.  You have only 24 hours to cancel the request if you don't want it (the clock starts when they do the exchange, NOT when you receive the email). At that point you were charged the exchange fee.  Since all pending requests should be filled first, then the units are put out for immediate exchange on their website, people refer to the available units you can search as 'leftovers'.  But many people have had a pending request and find exactly what they want in the so called leftovers.  It's not a perfect system.  The good news is that there are almost always units available in Florida (except those few high demand weeks at the last minute).  But if you request well in advance you should get what you want.  With a request you need to pre-pay the exchange fee when you put in the request (it will be refunded if no exchange is confirmed).

The other exchange companies (dae, sfx), which I have not used, often do not have membership fees.  I would assume they all charge an exchange fee, which may vary.  I'm sure there's loads of info in previous posts.

Getting the week you want may take a bit of effort.  Exchanges work best if you are flexible.  But if you sign on and see what you want you can book it and have confirmation immediately.  If you do a request it could be one day or many months depending on what you want.  I would think FL would be a quick exchange.  As soon as the unit is available you should be notified immediately.  Also, each unit has a different trading power, they are not all equal.


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## theo (May 2, 2013)

*My $0.02 worth...*



kembjkk said:


> <snip> ...trying to figure out the best way to spend 2-3 weeks in Florida to escape our harsh winters.  It would be nice to own in Florida, but I am not sure how.<snip>



You may need to exert some time and effort and routinely scour TUG, RedWeek, MyResortNetwork, even eBay, etc. to find affordable, resale winter weeks in coastal Florida, but rest assured they *are* out there. People's lives and circumstances change; timeshare ownerships can quickly become expendable items.
Renting a few advertised weeks is also always an option, without all of the obligations of ownership.

Personally, I would recommend avoiding *anything* involving Westgate just like I would recommend avoiding a contagious disease. Westgate resorts are not necessarily horrible, it's just that David Siegel's Westgate is (IMnsHO) a completely untrustworthy and greedy company; moving the goalposts around on interval owners, whimsically changing the rules, imposing odd unannounced new fees, etc. In my personal opinion, Westgate simply cannot be trusted and should be studiously avoided at all costs --- even if / when offered *for free*. 
Just my own personal opinion. YMMV.


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## kembjkk (May 2, 2013)

Thanks to everyone who replied so quickly!  I appreciate your helpful advise and expertise coming from owners of timeshares.  We are still weighing the pros and cons of owning a timeshare, in order to spend 2-3 weeks in Florida each year.  The resorts are beautiful so it's tempting, but I guess we're just not completely sold on the idea yet.


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