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Potential First Timer to HGVC

htx426

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Hi Everyone! I apologize in advance if these questions have been answered elsewhere but I need some helpful guidance about my first purchase into the HGVC system. I attended a TS presentation at the Elara a couple months back and nearly signed on a retail purchase but thankfully I did some research on resale prices/opportunities before signing. I'm fairly young-ish (late-20s) and the HGVC program seems like a really good opportunity (save $$$ if done correctly) since I'm in a position in my life where I can travel pretty frequently (Secured Job, Married, Dual Income, No Kids, etc.)

1. When I spoke with the Elara TS salesman, he told me that resale purchasers can not use HGVC points to book at other properties - ergo, they are limited to booking at only their deeded property - is this true? Based on my limited TUG forum research, that appears to be false?

2. I realize prices change on the constant but what would you consider a good price on a resale purchase & could pass the ROFR? I'm looking to purchase roughly 5,000 annual HGVC points.

Finally, any advice/tips/recommendations regarding the purchase process and what to expect would be welcomed!
 

tombanjo

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ignore every single thing the salesperson said. Every single thing. Of course you can use your points at other properties. Each property has a club season where all owners can book. There are various ins and outs as any system with many different properties and developers however.

Go to http://rofr.net for examples of passed and failed offers.

I would spend 3 months learning exactly how the system works before buying and plan out the way it will work for you. It's not like there won't ever be another owner trying to sell.
 

GT75

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FAVC-Cabo
Congratulations and welcome to TUG. HGVC actually treats their resales customers to almost all of the same benefits as retail (resales don’t count towards elite levels).
 

Talent312

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Resale buyers are treated the same as retail buyer.... "we" get all the same benefits, including club bookings (points are points), except that resale won't count toward elite status... which is not worth paying retail for.

Generally, you should expect to pay 0.50 - 1.00 per point.
Check the marketplace here, Redweek, closed Ebay auctions & brokers who specialize in HGVC.
 

dayooper

TUG Review Crew
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In addition to the great advice you’ve received already, I would suggest buying no less than a platinum 2 bedroom worth 7000 points. To me, that’s the standard.
 

Hobokie

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First of all CONGRATS on not buying retail! Agree with everything everyone has said above except I personally don't think you necessarily need 7k points, it depends on how you plan to use the system (although if I had to do it over, I would have purchased 5k pts or more)! Agree with @tombanjo, spend a decent amount of time researching before committing (3 months MINIMUM! I waited a whole year...). I agree that you can prob except to pay $0.50-$1.00 per pt if you are purchasing platinum units (this is what I would recommend) and units 5k pts or above. Me personally, I bought a 3500 pt contract (Elara Platinum Studio Plus) off ebay for $143.50 including 2019 pts (plus, of course, the HGVC initiation fee which was like $699? and the closing costs which were ~$200)...

But anywho, answer to question 1 above = FALSE, as others have mentioned. 2 = if at first you don't succeed, try again! Larger platinum units are harder to pass and certain properties don't have ROFR. But sometimes ROFR seems random (some low price purchases pass and higher ones a week later don't, so keep trying!)

Other (humble) advice for you:
1) Figure out where to buy. As you do your research here you will hear people talk about "home week" advantage and being able to book before others. This ONLY matters if you are the kind of person that wants to be able to book high demand places at specific times of the year in the exact type of unit your deed is (i.e. for me it's a Studio Plus) and FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK. This last part is important. If you purchased a 1 bd platinum deed in Hawaii thinking "yeehaw! this year I'll do a 1 bd with my wife, next year we'll just go for a weekend but will get a 2 bd in the summer..." think again, friend. In my humblest of opinions, the only reason to purchase in Hawaii (very high MFs to pts ratio) would be if you are gonna be using the same room type as you own every year (or most years) in the same high demand season AND for a whole week. And I think even the check-in date for these is predetermined to be a specific day of the week, am I right @GT75 ? @dayooper?
2) Keep in mind that EOY (every other year) units pay club dues every year... in other words, on the years you get pts AND on the years you don't. This might annoy you.
3) Review the list of property locations where HGVC is. Don't count on "well I can transfer my points to Hilton Honors", that's horrible use of pts and not cost effective. Or "well I can use RCI to exchange" my personal experience with RCI is that it is mediocre at best in terms of what you can get if you are more of a last minute type of planner (within 3-6 months) like me. You should ask yourself if the HGVC locations have at least 4-5 spots you'd like to check out, if not, consider another timeshare system.
4) Keep asking questions. I.e. I can tell you that if you are buying HGVC to go to Vegas (like I did, ha!) availability in Vegas is abundant. Availability in Marco Island, on the other hand, is basically non-existent.
6) Become a TUG member :) $15 per year means you are a contributing member of our community and it is noted when you are!

Best of luck! Let us know what other questions you stumble upon as you keep looking! :cheer:
 

dayooper

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The reason I gave the 7000 point advice was potential children. While the OP’s children are small and not in school, a 1 bedroom or gold season might work. As they get older, school schedules start and they get bigger. The sofa bed will work for a year or two, but as they get bigger, they need a real bed. A 1 bedroom doesn’t give them that. School season is another reason that if/when the OP decides they have children.

If they never do, 5000 points might work, but I always suggest a platinum unit. A 4800 1 bedroom might work, but that 7000 point 2 bedroom is usually the easiest to divest yourself if life happens. It’s the most flexible of the regular units.

The home weeks do have a checkin day and they are usually either a Friday or Saturday. I’m not sure on the bHC resortsand assigned home week checkin days.
 

GT75

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FAVC-Cabo
1) Figure out where to buy. As you do your research here you will hear people talk about "home week" advantage and being able to book before others. This ONLY matters if you are the kind of person that wants to be able to book high demand places at specific times of the year in the exact type of unit your deed is (i.e. for me it's a Studio Plus) and FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK. This last part is important. If you purchased a 1 bd platinum deed in Hawaii thinking "yeehaw! this year I'll do a 1 bd with my wife, next year we'll just go for a weekend but will get a 2 bd in the summer..." think again, friend. In my humblest of opinions, the only reason to purchase in Hawaii (very high MFs to pts ratio) would be if you are gonna be using the same room type as you own every year (or most years) in the same high demand season AND for a whole week. And I think even the check-in date for these is predetermined to be a specific day of the week, am I right

Yes, @Hobokie what you stated is correct. I think that you gave excellent points for the OP to think about. Really, as suggested, the OP needs to think about how they plan to utilize a TS in HGVC. If they plan to go to a particular resort every year to a high demand location such as HHV or ski location or to Marco/Sanibel Island then they should consider purchasing there in the exact unit/season or week which they plan to go. If they want to travel to different HGVC resorts then I would suggest they buy a low buy-in cost and annual MF unit (weight both items).
 
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