What to buy???

[Travelgame]

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?

I’m not sure. My husband and I live in Sacramento, CA. We are in our 30s and currently have no children, but plan to in the next 5 years (universe willing). We have family scattered throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas that we’d like to see more of beyond the “need” to see what we can see just because we can.

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

Right now, I can see us trading at least half of the time because we can afford to travel to faraway places unhindered. However, when we have to factor in children, this will probably change.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Texas (Houston & Corpus Christi) + Lots of others (New Orleans, Aruba!!).

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

Sometimes it’s just us, but about every other year bring along an entire herd (last year we covered lodging for about 12 and next year will probably cover lodging for 4-5, not including ourselves), it would be great to keep helping family/friends travel into the long-term future, even if it’s not the “whole herd” every single year.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

Hubby cannot travel mid-October through mid-January (peak season for FedEx where he works) and I currently cannot travel late April-late July (peak season for outreach work in Public Affairs - this may change if/when I switch jobs).

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

Yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

3+

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

$3k-$5k.

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

Would like to keep MF, taxes, and exchange fees, under $1000/year, if not lower. So, MF, maybe $600/year max – is this realistic? I’m trying to factor in MF increases and special assessments over the long term and don’t want to start higher than the $1000 cap knowing that at some point it probably will be over $1000 total.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

Yes

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

Yes – hence all the deliberation!

Any advice is appreciated - Thank you!

 

[Passepartout]

Hi, Mishi, Welcome to TUG. Be ready to try to drink from a firehose. There will be lots of suggestions and anecdotes for what works for them.

But wtf, I'll start. I happen to like the group of resorts managed by VRI, Vacation Resorts International. They are generally mature resorts, well located, each one independently operated, and controlled by the owners (us) of the resort. They are particularly well located in the West. Have an internal exchange that allows for swapping around in the system for less than half the cost of exchanges in the big exchange companies (RCI and II- you'll hear a lot about these). Owners at VRI managed resorts also have priority (home resort advantage) at RCI. Take a look at the resorts here: www.vriresorts.com/ They are frequently available here in the TUG marketplace, or on sites like eBay or Redweek for reasonable prices. When you own and want to 'scale up' your unit size, that is also allowed, and based on availability, so when you have company to travel with, you can usually accommodate.

Happy searching. The anticipation is part of the fun.

Jim

 

[lizap]

Might consider a 2200 point unit at Hyatt High Sierra (Incline Village, Nevada). This would get you to several of your desired locations using the Hyatt internal system, and you could use Interval International (II) to exchange into the others. I have gotten some excellent exchanges with our Hyatt. However, it probably will run somewhat higher than what you said you were willing to spend..

 

[DaveNV]

I won't tell you what to buy, but I will offer a few thoughts you'll want to keep in mind as you look around:

If the maintenance fees are too low, you're more likely to end up with a Special Assessment at some point. In my experience, a slightly higher maintenance fee gives the HOA the extra funds to cover things a SA would normally require. So don't think it's ALL about the MF. Sometimes it takes checking to see what the SA history is on a resort, weighed against the MF being paid. Does the HOA have a contingency fund to cover things in case of an emergency? If not, you may end up paying a SA at some point.

Also, keep in mind the resort with a very low MF may not be the tiger trader you'd want it to be. Location is critical, and you can usually trade down, but you can't always trade up. If you're considering a Weeks ownership, do the math on trading power ahead of time, so you can buy enough, but not too much. If it's Points you're after, buy enough to get you where you want to go, at a rate low enough to suit your budget. Points are basically points, so don't pay more for them than you need to.

Good luck in your search.

Dave

 

[VacationForever]

Suggest that you look at Worldmark, like a 10000 point contract. Has timeshares at most of the locations that you have listed. Low maintenance, great customer service, owner friendly system, no nickle and dime fees. I have not traded but TUGgers report that they are great traders in RCI and II.

 

[vacationtime1]

Don't ignore the possibility that the best answer may be not to buy at all.

The cost of renting is almost always less than the cost of ownership if opportunity costs, depreciation, risk, lack of liquidity, etc. are considered.

Renting frees you from the annual timeshare cycle and lets you travel more or less frequently as it suits you from year to year. Similarly, renting means you are not dependent on a single company for locations or the uncertainty of an exchange.

You can become an educated renter by mingling with us confused owner types.

 

[Travelgame]

Lots to think about

Oh wow - definitely a fire hose, but I'm thirsty and like to swim.

Thanks for all the input everyone! This feedback will help guide my research into what will work best for us. Seems I may be lingering in the forums here for another several months before making any serious plans or offers.

I've thought about renting vs. buying and may be interested in going the EOY TS route and rent in the years we don't have enough weeks/points banked to go where we like (or stay in hotels and enjoy things like room service when we aren't bringing "the herd" along).

The allure of having a TS to beckon us on vacation when we believe our schedule/budget is "just too tight" is too strong - we ALWAYS feel better after vacations (don't you?). As a dear friend/mentor puts it "money, no matter how little or how much, you will always find a way to make it work; but, time you never get back so make it count." I prefer to think of this as "HAVE FUN!" hehehe

Decisions, decisions...

Of our top West coast choices for purchase, which locations are the best traders? Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, or San Diego?

Tahoe is the closest to where we are, and could be a good home resort if/when we have children and find ourselves wanting to just toss our stuff in the trunk and quickly "go", but we also tend to visit San Diego where my family lives often - it's a long day's drive, but still within a day. Vegas is also a long day's drive and a decent midway point between us and the family in CA, AZ, and NV and could be a good reunion spot, but from what I gather it isn't always the best trade (reunions might be better left for renting/trading anyway - right?).

Also, what's the best way to evaluate the tradability of points/weeks? Is there a TUG thread on this? Or is this something I need to ask before purchase?

One last thing, someone mentioned MFs "not being everything" (paraphrased) and to look at the HOA's contingency plan, etc to see how well they've handled emergencies. Are there resorts/HOA's that are known for having done this well historically and avoided SAs?

Thanks again! TUG rocks!

 

[Gaozhen]

...Of our top West coast choices for purchase, which locations are the best traders? Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, or San Diego?
...
Also, what's the best way to evaluate the tradability of points/weeks? Is there a TUG thread on this? Or is this something I need to ask before purchase?
...

So I'm a total newbie and don't even have our first purchase fully transferred to us yet (bought this week ), but here's how we went about it just in case it helps:

• We love the Caribbean, so originally thought of buying there, and that's how we found TUG, doing a search for the resort we considered after a recommendation to check it out on TUG by MIL.
• Once on TUG, the "buy within drivable distance in case you can no longer travel" advice resonated, so we started looking locally.
• Plus, we like to go all over so figured the best option would be a good trader that was still nice enough to visit ourselves if needed.
• We researched the Caribbean resorts we like, and found out they mostly trade with RCI.
• So, we went to the RCI website and looked at those resorts to see how many points a week at each resort would possibly run. Note: you can search resorts without being a member, but not all of them have a point value listed.
• To get a better estimate, we checked out this PDF of weeks to points, and another PDF listing general points by region and award level at least for weeks resorts (e.g. gold crown).
• From that, we knew we needed at least 75,500 RCI points to book the units we wanted in the seasons we wanted.
• I also read various TUG threads like this, and this, and others, to see what suggestions were made, and then did TUG searches for each potential resort to get more info.
• And, watched the bargain basement for good RCI points or weeks options to come up, then did Tripadvisor and TUG research on those resorts. We almost ended up in Hilton Head as a result (some nice places there), but again, not drivable so that idea was scratched.
• Then I searched recent sales on eBay for the various resort finalists, and compared points to MF and sales prices.
• I also did TUG searches for each eBay seller to make sure we only went with reputable sellers.
• Ended up deciding on a 2br Grandview unit in Las Vegas. Nice hotel with good reviews, drivable, in a city we like to visit, with a good MF and little history of trouble, with enough points for our travel needs.

Anyway, I'm not saying go with Grandview, just wanted to share how we chose our resort. It took a couple months, but well worth the time!

FWIW from a newb. Good luck!

 

[Tahiya]

Ditto on the Worldmark recommendation

We own 4 different timeshares; each for a different purpose (but all designed to save $$). Given your answers to the quiz, I agree that Worldmark is a good choice. Worldmark costs are in line w your price limits and they have lots of decent resorts in the W so you can avoid the cost and hassle of trading. If you want to visit a location outside the WM system, WM trades very well, and you can rent points from other owners when you want more vacations. I also agree that if you want a more upscale experience Hyatt is good; but the purchase cost is above your limit by a fair bit. (We don't own Hyatt, but would if we had more $.)

 

[presley]

Of our top West coast choices for purchase, which locations are the best traders? Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, or San Diego?

A holiday week in Tahoe or a summer week in San Diego would have a high trade power. I doubt you'd find either of those with as low of yearly fees as you want.

I suggest Worldmark. It has home locations in all of those places, has low annual fees and has extremely high trading power in both RCI and II. wmowners.com has a lot of information on that club, of course many of here on Tug own it, too.

 

[SmithOp]

We live in Carmichael for now, moving to Long Beach this summer. Our ownership has evolved to give access to the various trading exchanges, rather than accumulating weeks in one system. Just lately I've made great use of GPX through ownership of a one br Carlsbad eoy. Their bonus week program allows us to go lots of the same places you want without the onus of owning, just pay cash for extra weeks. They frequently run buy one get one half price. I purchased four weeks for about $3000 that way, close to TUG last minute rates. We got weeks in Maui - KBC, Oxnard - Channel Island Shores, Oceanside - Cal Beach Club, and Tahoe.

I picked up the Carlsbad unit on eBay for $5 plus $400 in closing costs.


Sent from my iPad using the strange new version of Tapatalk

 

[kpeiper]

So, we also live in Sacramento area. Bought with 2 young children. Decided we wanted to be able to use local but trade easily. This is not the most popular answer but we have been extremely happy with our Shell Vacations Club package. MF are high but quality resorts with excellent trading arrangements with II. You can pick up any size contract with no buy-in on EBay. Exchange value is great. We also have Worldmark. There are fees for housekeeping, Internet, etc. they are less expensive MF. I really like the Shell Properties close like Napa. Please feel free to message me if you want more specific detail between the two.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bill4728]

Suggest that you look at Worldmark, like a 10000 point contract. Has timeshares at most of the locations that you have listed. Low maintenance, great customer service, owner friendly system, no nickle and dime fees. I have not traded but TUGgers report that they are great traders in RCI and II.

I'd agree with this. For the west coast Worldmark has a ton of resorts so you can just reserve what you want in the size you need. No need to trade. That is a big plus.

 

[planzfortomorrow]

1) Would like to keep MF, taxes, and exchange fees, under $1000/year, if not lower. So, MF, maybe $600/year max – is this realistic? I’m trying to factor in MF increases and special assessments over the long term and don’t want to start higher than the $1000 cap knowing that at some point it probably will be over $1000 total.

QUOTE]


I don't think many timeshares will have MF of $600 or less... especially since I think you want larger than a 1 bedroom. Not saying it can't be done, but most seem to be higher than this.

I'd recommend you look into a mini system--shell, worldmark, wyndham, hyatt, Mariott, whatever fits your desired locations, as if you can trade internally then there's usually no charge (I don't know all the systems, so some might have a small charge). But again, most of those seem to have $1,000 to $1200 MF for about a weeks worth of vacation

 

[klpca]

We live in Carmichael for now, moving to Long Beach this summer. Our ownership has evolved to give access to the various trading exchanges, rather than accumulating weeks in one system. Just lately I've made great use of GPX through ownership of a one br Carlsbad eoy. Their bonus week program allows us to go lots of the same places you want without the onus of owning, just pay cash for extra weeks. They frequently run buy one get one half price. I purchased four weeks for about $3000 that way, close to TUG last minute rates. We got weeks in Maui - KBC, Oxnard - Channel Island Shores, Oceanside - Cal Beach Club, and Tahoe.

I picked up the Carlsbad unit on eBay for $5 plus $400 in closing costs.


Sent from my iPad using the strange new version of Tapatalk

Thanks for posting this. I am glad to see a different strategy for using GPX.

Btw, I got a case of the lazies this year and I am having them rent my Seapointe week. So far they have rented 4 of the 7 days and since we're still about three months out I have my fingers crossed that all of the days will be rented. I'll be happy if I cover my MF, even happier if we make a few bucks.

 

[bogey21]

I've thought about renting vs. buying and may be interested in going the EOY TS route and rent in the years we don't have enough weeks/points banked to go where we like (or stay in hotels and enjoy things like room service when we aren't bringing "the herd" along).

I kind of like this approach as long as you buy where you are guaranteed that you can use the specific EOY Week you own. That way you have certainty every two years and flexibility in other years.

George

 

[e.bram]

Buy a fixed week ON the beach, in the summer, driving distance from where you live. You can always rent to someone and rent what ever you want when you don't want to use for yourself.

 

[WinniWoman]

Buy a fixed week ON the beach, in the summer, driving distance from where you live. You can always rent to someone and rent what ever you want when you don't want to use for yourself.

Good idea.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

... live in Sacramento, CA.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Texas (Houston & Corpus Christi) + Lots of others (New Orleans, Aruba!!).

:

You had also mentioned that you are considering buying an EOY and renting during the off years. That is not a bad strategy. There are even a few tri-ennial timeshare out there.

Some ideas:

1. Last Call Vacations and Extra Vacations (RCI) and Getaways (Interval) can be really good deals. We live in S. Ca. and take advantage of Getaways that are within driving distance. Our typical price for a 1 BR GTW is probably around $400-450 +/- , which is considerably less than the associated maintenance fees. Sometimes we'll find a Getaway for a lot less during a sale.

Your list of places to visit include several in areas with lots of timeshares and lots of Getaway availability, including Tahoe, San Diego (think Escondido and Ramona), and, of course, Las Vegas. Some other places that you may want to consider given your location is Palm Springs/Palm Desert, Napa, Clear Lake, Ca., Big Bear, and (a bit further) Phoenix, Sedona and Lake Havasu. They all seem to have good getaway availability.

Hawaii seems to have good getaway availability and the GTW prices are probably a little less than a straight rental, plus the GTW prices are less than you would pay in MF in HI, and you aren't saddled with the high on-going MF that is tied to Hawaii ownership.

2. I've read of some people buying an EOY-even at one location that is within driving distance and then buying a second EOY-odd at a different location. That way, they aren't always stuck going to just one destination if they can't find an exchange or don't want to exchange.

 

[WinniWoman]

"2. I've read of some people buying an EOY-even at one location that is within driving distance and then buying a second EOY-odd at a different location. That way, they aren't always stuck going to just one destination if they can't find an exchange or don't want to exchange."

This is a great strategy also IMO.

Mary Ann

 

[Travelgame]

Thank you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that's chimed in so far!

There is definitely plenty to get me started. Until now, I hadn't really looked at Worldmark too intently just because the reviews were not *that* great, but I also recently stayed at Banyan Harbor in Kauai and thought it was decent (better than the TUG reviews reflect), so I'll chalk the immediate dismissal up to being a total newb to this. Also found out that my brother's father-in-law contently owns at Dolphin Cove - so, worth investigating the Worldmark properties more.

Also, I'm intrigued by SmithOp's idea of buying to gain access into the various trading systems and the bonus weeks, etc. Their anecdote about GPX is a great example of what I *thought* might be possible. Sidenote: Grand Pacific Resorts runs the Coronado Beach Resort which is a location drool for me, I grew up in San Diego and LOVE Coronado, I could spend an entire week there and not venture to any other area in San Diego and be happy as a clam - hubby might disagree being from Texas and all, but I gotta be honest here.

Do all of the systems offer bonus weeks or something similar? The end game for us is to have something in the "back pocket" that lures us on vacation when other pressures call us in other directions AND to have a way to keep helping extended family/friends travel.

(I feel like I'm forgetting a pressing question, but I'm sure it'll come to be *just* after I shut down my PC.)

Thank you again to everyone who provided input into the various TS options available. I have a much clearer picture than I did a week ago about how to think about the possibilities. Tuggers really are awesome!

 

[easyrider]

I really think worldmark is what will get the best bang for the buck. With a wm membership a person can buy one time use points to make huge reservations with a small 6000 point membership. WM also trades really good. I picked up the Manhatten Club in 10 days with WM.

Bill

 

[VacationForever]

I really think worldmark is what will get the best bang for the buck. With a wm membership a person can buy one time use points to make huge reservations with a small 6000 point membership. WM also trades really good. I picked up the Manhatten Club in 10 days with WM.

Bill

Which system did you use to exchange into Manhattan Club?

 

[easyrider]

Which system did you use to exchange into Manhattan Club?

RCI. I think it was RCI fee of $189 + 8000 WM point for our one bedroom unit. So maybe about $800 for the week at Manhatten Club in a one bedroom unit.

Bill

 

[VacationForever]

RCI. I think it was RCI fee of $189 + 8000 WM point for our one bedroom unit. So maybe about $800 for the week at Manhatten Club in a one bedroom unit.

Bill

I have not used WM to exchange, so I take it that with WM in RCI, we don't speak TPU language anymore and simply use WM points to do the talking? 8000 WM is a real bargain!