Hello Gang,
I just returned back to home in Oregon after spending a week at Myrtle Beach. I had a biz meeting there, but took the wife and two kids since it was our first time on the East Coast. The rain kept us indoors most of the time, but we still enjoyed ourselves. I had booked through Hotwire a room at the Westgate and I was offered an upgrade to a suite if I sat through their 90 min presentation which actually took over three hours. I've sat through other presentations previously over the past 30 years, but have never bought. Figured it was too expensive and the cost of the annual fees alone could fund the majority of a weeks vacation lodging through regular deals with direct owners or possible online lost leaders.
After the presentation, I went back to our hotel room and starting exploring eBay where I had previously knew of resale deals. I have a handful I'm looking at currently. I then found this forum and spent several hours enjoying threads of several interesting topics. Kudos to you members here for compiling such an interesting resource of timeshare information.
So I am here soliciting advice on whether to take the plunge into fractional vacation ownership. One thing for sure, I was NOT impressed with the accommodations at Westgate. I believe vacation should be a more luxury experience than what you are accustomed to at home and honestly I couldn't wait to get back home to my own bed which was far more comfortable, my couch, television, views or the everyday trinkets at home. Therefore I learned on this forum that Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Mandarin were all top of the line, however, I could find very little resale of these on eBay if any. Perhaps they are out of price range anyway and Marriott or Disney would have to suffice.
A little about myself: 50 years old, semi-retired and vacations several weeks per year. Owns three vacation homes: Vegas, Phoenix and Cebu. Wife 30 years old, housewife & mother of two toddlers. We typically prefer vacations off the beaten path. For example, we wouldn't go to Hawaii, but would stay at more exciting and exotic destinations such as in Palawan or Coron instead... and probably at a cheaper costs. I like the idea of timeshare ownership because of the variety of vacation spots in swapping and/or being able to spend a week at DisneyWorld each year for the next 10-12 years with the children.
I assume the greater the annual fees, the greater or nicer the property? My next step is to visit the classifieds on this site and explore some of those deals. With eBay, I narrow my search using parameters of lots of bidding action, or looking at those that are mostly watched and interesting by other eBay members. This way it helps to narrow down some possible good deals methinks.
1) Where do you want your home resort to be? Orlando, preferably Disney. Want to take the kids, currently 1 and 2 years old, to Disney each year for the next 10-12 years. I also figure Disney would be easier to unload when that day comes.
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? Will visit home resort most of the years.
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? San Diego, Mexico, Caribbean, Alaska, Tahiti.
4) How many people do you usually travel with? Four
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? Will be locked into the school schedule for the most part.
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? Yes, but usually more spontaneous.
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? minimum one week, preferably 2+ weeks.
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 4-5 stars
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? $10,000-$15,000.
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? Up to $2000
11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Not really.
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
I just returned back to home in Oregon after spending a week at Myrtle Beach. I had a biz meeting there, but took the wife and two kids since it was our first time on the East Coast. The rain kept us indoors most of the time, but we still enjoyed ourselves. I had booked through Hotwire a room at the Westgate and I was offered an upgrade to a suite if I sat through their 90 min presentation which actually took over three hours. I've sat through other presentations previously over the past 30 years, but have never bought. Figured it was too expensive and the cost of the annual fees alone could fund the majority of a weeks vacation lodging through regular deals with direct owners or possible online lost leaders.
After the presentation, I went back to our hotel room and starting exploring eBay where I had previously knew of resale deals. I have a handful I'm looking at currently. I then found this forum and spent several hours enjoying threads of several interesting topics. Kudos to you members here for compiling such an interesting resource of timeshare information.
So I am here soliciting advice on whether to take the plunge into fractional vacation ownership. One thing for sure, I was NOT impressed with the accommodations at Westgate. I believe vacation should be a more luxury experience than what you are accustomed to at home and honestly I couldn't wait to get back home to my own bed which was far more comfortable, my couch, television, views or the everyday trinkets at home. Therefore I learned on this forum that Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Mandarin were all top of the line, however, I could find very little resale of these on eBay if any. Perhaps they are out of price range anyway and Marriott or Disney would have to suffice.
A little about myself: 50 years old, semi-retired and vacations several weeks per year. Owns three vacation homes: Vegas, Phoenix and Cebu. Wife 30 years old, housewife & mother of two toddlers. We typically prefer vacations off the beaten path. For example, we wouldn't go to Hawaii, but would stay at more exciting and exotic destinations such as in Palawan or Coron instead... and probably at a cheaper costs. I like the idea of timeshare ownership because of the variety of vacation spots in swapping and/or being able to spend a week at DisneyWorld each year for the next 10-12 years with the children.
I assume the greater the annual fees, the greater or nicer the property? My next step is to visit the classifieds on this site and explore some of those deals. With eBay, I narrow my search using parameters of lots of bidding action, or looking at those that are mostly watched and interesting by other eBay members. This way it helps to narrow down some possible good deals methinks.
1) Where do you want your home resort to be? Orlando, preferably Disney. Want to take the kids, currently 1 and 2 years old, to Disney each year for the next 10-12 years. I also figure Disney would be easier to unload when that day comes.
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? Will visit home resort most of the years.
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? San Diego, Mexico, Caribbean, Alaska, Tahiti.
4) How many people do you usually travel with? Four
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? Will be locked into the school schedule for the most part.
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? Yes, but usually more spontaneous.
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? minimum one week, preferably 2+ weeks.
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 4-5 stars
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? $10,000-$15,000.
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? Up to $2000
11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Not really.
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