# Longer term stays



## pacman (Apr 24, 2011)

I'm getting close to retirement (2-3 yrs) and being from the wet coast, would like to spend about 3 months in Hawaii (Maui or BI preferrably) over the winter. I'm trying to figure out how it could work.  Buying something is just to much $$, while I'm not sure timeshareing will work for 12-13 weeks. Is anyone else out there currently doing this?

pacman


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## Passepartout (Apr 24, 2011)

Try www.vrbo.com/ 

Jim Ricks


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## ronparise (Apr 24, 2011)

Im not doing it yet, but its my plan. (except I want to go somewhere cool for the summer, rather than warm for the winter.

I looked at the cost for a cabin in the woods, or for a condo in the  mountains of  North Carolina, Tennessee or Georgia, and concluded that the cost to buy something and to maintain it 12 months of the year to use 3, didnt make sense. (I figured a budget of about $1000 a month over 12 months., not to mention the down payment if I finance it.

So I looked at timeshares..12 weeks with an average maintenance fee of $700 will be only $8400 a year, and no down payment. With one exception my cost to buy a timeshare (closing costs and all) has been under $500 a week

Makes sense to me.

To complicate things I added a slight wrinkle to my plan and will  buy more than 12 weeks. I expect to be able to rent some of them to, at least partially, offset the maintenance fees for my own use.

Since Im still working, Ive decided to implement the 2nd part of the plan first. ie the rental portfolio.  I am researching (and buying) timeshare weeks that I think have good rental value,  I rented two weeks in New Orleans this year for double my maintenance fees (Mardi Gras  and Jazz fest) and have reservations in place for new Years Eve, and next years Mardi Gras. With any luck Ill have 10 or so good rentals in place within the next few years..then Ill buy the weeks to assemble my personal use portfolio

There is one couple that posts here that says that they are in their third year of full time timesharing. We can probably learn a bunch from them.


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## pacman (Apr 24, 2011)

ronparise said:


> So I looked at timeshares..12 weeks with an average maintenance fee of $700 will be only $8400 a year, and no down payment. With one exception my cost to buy a timeshare (closing costs and all) has been under $500 a week
> 
> Makes sense to me.



Ron
Timeshareing makes sense, as far as the cost is concerned.  My issue is whether I could actually get 12 weeks in a row. I think this would be a challenge.

pacman


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## MichaelColey (Apr 24, 2011)

It really depends on the season and how far in advance you start your searches.  If you go with RCI, Kauai has the best availability.

My biggest concern would be weeks where the check-in / check-out day of the week doesn't match up.  If you have a Friday check-out and a Sunday check-in, you'll have to have a plan for those "gap" days.  A cheap hotel?  Hotel points?


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## Ken555 (Apr 24, 2011)

You can always buy fixed weeks at the resorts you want to visit in Hawaii. Even with fixed week surcharges, it's probably less than buying a vacation home (though depending on the resort, I suppose could be close, or even more!).


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## eal (Apr 24, 2011)

Hawaii Timeshare Exchange (htse.net) has been very good in helping us get back-to-back weeks, often in the same resort (Lawai Beach Resort) and even in the same unit.  We start depositing and requesting well in advance of our trip, often more than a year out, and they have always come through.

That way we can use weeks with much lower mf's (all less than $600) than Hawaii timeshares (HTSE will only take RCI-labeled "red" weeks) to have a wonderful trip to Hawaii every year.


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## callowaygolfer (Apr 25, 2011)

ronparise said:


> Im not doing it yet, but its my plan. (except I want to go somewhere cool for the summer, rather than warm for the winter.
> 
> I looked at the cost for a cabin in the woods, or for a condo in the  mountains of North Carolina log homes, Tennessee or Georgia, and concluded that the cost to buy something and to maintain it 12 months of the year to use 3, didnt make sense. (I figured a budget of about $1000 a month over 12 months., not to mention the down payment if I finance it.
> 
> ...




I have a similar plan cheap mountain land is wheres it at


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## ronparise (Apr 25, 2011)

pacman

Sorry I misunderstood the question...I guess i was so happy to see someone looking at timeshare the way I have begun to, that I answered my own question not yours


I cant answer your question from personal experience, but a look at the Wyndham availability calendar, shows that even at this late date you can put together 12 weeks in Wyndhan resorts. from mid July thru Sept 2011. You may have to move from one resort to another, (you could choose to look at this as a plus)...With a little advance planning you probably could get the room at the same resort for the whole time.

This is a link to the Wyndham owners directory. Page 292 has a discussion of the "Outrigger Club" which I never read, that may give you some ideas


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## GregT (Apr 25, 2011)

I think it would definitely be possible to do this -- both Wyndham and Worldmark have good availability during the winter months.  With Worldmark, you can book much longer stays -- it may be shorter now, and may max at 14 days per reservation (used to be longer) -- I'll try to get that answer for you.

Plus, and I'm speaking specifically of Kihei on Maui, as long as you're planning ahead, there is always availabiltiy 13 months out, you could get a nice 1BR with a Limited View (or 2BR LV) and keep it for awhile.

I've met people before in Kihei (while BBQing) that were there for the entire month of June, and then they were moving over to the Kauai Worldmark for the month of July, so it's even possible in prime times.   I don't believe that's because they had to move islands, I believe they were choosing to move.

Good luck with it!

Best,

Greg


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## pacman (Apr 25, 2011)

GregT said:


> I think it would definitely be possible to do this -- both Wyndham and Worldmark have good availability during the winter months.  With Worldmark, you can book much longer stays -- it may be shorter now, and may max at 14 days per reservation (used to be longer) -- I'll try to get that answer for you.
> 
> Plus, and I'm speaking specifically of Kihei on Maui, as long as you're planning ahead, there is always availabiltiy 13 months out, you could get a nice 1BR with a Limited View (or 2BR LV) and keep it for awhile.
> 
> ...



Greg,

Ya, WM might be an option. You are correct, in that there is a 14 day maximum, but I'm sure there must be ways around that (booking a different size unit).

pacman


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## LLW (Apr 25, 2011)

pacman said:


> Greg,
> 
> Ya, WM might be an option. You are correct, in that there is a 14 day maximum, but I'm sure there must be ways around that (booking a different size unit).
> 
> pacman



Re WM: The 14-day maximum is only for if you change occupants (to prevent long-term rentals)(even then, you just have to start another reservation,_ if _there is availability). If you are going to be the same person occupying the unit, you may book for as many days as you have credits for.

It's the starting day that you may have to worry about (days gone before the 13-month window) for some popular resorts at popular times.


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## Margariet (Apr 28, 2011)

We have been about 7 weeks during wintertime in severfal islands of Hawaii: Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island. No problem if you have enough weeks and if you book a long time before. But the costs of living are much higher than on the mainland. Everything from gas to food in the supermarket is so much more expensive. And the choice of fresh products like vegetables and fruit is very limited. The magazines arrive weeks later than on the mainland. You have to be prepared if you´re gonna live there for a longer time. For us it was not a big problem but I imagine that for Americans it might be more attractive to retire in Florida.


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## MichaelColey (Apr 28, 2011)

FWIW, we found the food costs at Costco to be very close to mainland prices.


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