Help. Should I buy HGV?

[Holden9]

I have seen many bad reviews about this time share and just have entered an agreement to buy my first time share with HGV. I have been given a "deal" for pre-sale of Ocean tower studio. It is every other year. The cost is 10K. My reservations after reading the reviews are: 1, you can not book properties, 2. hard to get out of the contract if it is not working for me, 3. RCI is not easy to use. Can anyone comment or help me in this. I was also told that is does not matter where the property is deeded. However, after reading several threads, it seems that is not the case. Is Ocean Tower phase two presale a good fit. Please advise.

 

[Sicnarf]

Rescind right away! Do more research and buy resale.

 

[jabberwocky]

I have seen many bad reviews about this time share and just have entered an agreement to buy my first time share with HGV. I have been given a "deal" for pre-sale of Ocean tower studio. It is every other year. The cost is 10K. My reservations after reading the reviews are: 1, you can not book properties, 2. hard to get out of the contract if it is not working for me, 3. RCI is not easy to use. Can anyone comment or help me in this. I was also told that is does not matter where the property is deeded. However, after reading several threads, it seems that is not the case. Is Ocean Tower phase two presale a good fit. Please advise.

I’m assuming you just bought from the developer. You have likely paid way too much and can get a better deal on the resale market - this is what the salesperson likely didn’t tell you.

The good news is that if you have just purchased in the last few days you can unwind the purchase (rescind) - but you have to do it immediately. It’s not clear if you actually purchased or not.

Timeshares can be wonderful things- but you have to buy the right one for you and what your goals are. HGVC is one of the better systems with quality resorts and treats their owners quite well. If you can get in at the right price it’s worth every penny.

 

[CPNY]

I have seen many bad reviews about this time share and just have entered an agreement to buy my first time share with HGV. I have been given a "deal" for pre-sale of Ocean tower studio. It is every other year. The cost is 10K. My reservations after reading the reviews are: 1, you can not book properties, 2. hard to get out of the contract if it is not working for me, 3. RCI is not easy to use. Can anyone comment or help me in this. I was also told that is does not matter where the property is deeded. However, after reading several threads, it seems that is not the case. Is Ocean Tower phase two presale a good fit. Please advise.

If you bought from HGVC directly rescind ASAP before the deadline. Buy resale and save thousands.

 

[Holden9]

I’m assuming you just bought from the developer. You have likely paid way too much and can get a better deal on the resale market - this is what the salesperson likely didn’t tell you.

The good news is that if you have just purchased in the last few days you can unwind the purchase (rescind) - but you have to do it immediately. It’s not clear if you actually purchased or not.

Timeshares can be wonderful things- but you have to buy the right one for you and what your goals are. HGVC is one of the better systems with quality resorts and treats their owners quite well. If you can get in at the right price it’s worth every penny.

I bought it from the Orlando office - i have not signed the papers. I have only a verbal agreement over the phone. They do not have my payment information. I have not signed with the notary. So I think I can cancel. However I did give my ss#. I want to get into HGVC. Which location should I buy into?

 

[giowop]

1. RESCIND IMMEDIATELY! There are always deals to be had on the resale market.

2. There are links on TUG for how to do this, step-by-step. Follow these steps precisely!

3. Please understand that you cannot “get out of the contract” unless you sell your deed to someone else. You will be on the hook legally for annual/biannual “maintenance fees” and annual club dues for as long as you own.

Always take this into account when you are considering a purchase.

4. Welcome to TUG!


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[CPNY]

I bought it from the Orlando office - i have not signed the papers. I have only a verbal agreement over the phone. They do not have my payment information. I have not signed with the notary. So I think I can cancel. However I did give my ss#. I want to get into HGVC. Which location should I buy into?

That’s good. Don’t buy anything through the developer. Buy resale.

 

[giowop]

I bought it from the Orlando office - i have not signed the papers. I have only a verbal agreement over the phone. They do not have my payment information. I have not signed with the notary. So I think I can cancel. However I did give my ss#. I want to get into HGVC. Which location should I buy into?

Wiser people than I can weigh in on the legality of this - but with nothing signed, is this a valid, locked-in contract? My first response is “no”.

As for location, two schools of thought:

1. Buy the amount of points you want for the cheapest combo of purchase price and maintenance fees. Generally the Vegas properties (specifically Boulevard, Elara and Paradise) will give you lower MFs and often lower purchase prices. You can then use the points wherever there is availability.

2. Buy at the location itself if that is predominantly where you plan to travel. Best example is one of the Hawaii properties (even though there are many) that you might have a special affinity for or are wanting to be there at a high demand season. You’ll get an extra 90-day jump on reserving at the location you own at.

Personally, I’m a get-the-points-cheap-and-use-then-elsewhere guy. But each philosophy has its own merits depending on the situation


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[Holden9]

Wiser people than I can weigh in on the legality of this - but with nothing signed, is this a valid, locked-in contract? My first response is “no”.

As for location, two schools of thought:

1. Buy the amount of points you want for the cheapest combo of purchase price and maintenance fees. Generally the Vegas properties (specifically Boulevard, Elara and Paradise) will give you lower MFs and often lower purchase prices. You can then use the points wherever there is availability.

2. Buy at the location itself if that is predominantly where you plan to travel. Best example is one of the Hawaii properties (even though there are many) that you might have a special affinity for or are wanting to be there at a high demand season. You’ll get an extra 90-day jump on reserving at the location you own at.

Personally, I’m a get-the-points-cheap-and-use-then-elsewhere guy. But each philosophy has its own merits depending on the situation


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I am a little panicked. I bought into the vacation introduction program. From there, the Orlando office was contacting me. I finally agreed just over the phone to an offer on Friday that would take my points and add them into "the deal". I have not signed. I did not give payment. It was just a verbal agreement. I just hope they do not take my point from the vacation introduction program away - and hope everything stands as is. They wanted my ss# to trace where the money was coming from if they were audited. Again this was on the phone. I called the sales rep and left a message saying I was cancelling and I also called the notary and said I am cancelling and will not sign the documents. I hope this covers me legally. There was just an agreement over the phone. So i am a little concerned.

Once I get this all settled I will look into getting in on resale.

 

[Holden9]

1. RESCIND IMMEDIATELY! There are always deals to be had on the resale market.

2. There are links on TUG for how to do this, step-by-step. Follow these steps precisely!

3. Please understand that you cannot “get out of the contract” unless you sell your deed to someone else. You will be on the hook legally for annual/biannual “maintenance fees” and annual club dues for as long as you own.

Always take this into account when you are considering a purchase.

4. Welcome to TUG!


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Can you tell me where the link is ?

 

[GT75]

Can you tell me where the link is ?

This is information for rescinding if you signed a contract.

Welcome to TUG. I agree with not purchasing this contract. You will not be happy, because it has too few points (and you are paying too much from the developer). You will be much happier with purchasing a resale. Basically, you should be able to purchase annual platinum season 7000 points resale for around $7K. So when you have this all sorted out, come back and we will be happy to discuss purchasing resale.

 

[Talent312]

Folks, he says he hasn't signed anything, yet... So, there's nothing to rescind.

1. When they send pwk to sign, shred it or send it back. "I changed my mind."
Real estate contracts are only binding if signed in writing.

2. The intro-pkg is itself not a bad deal. Use it, but do not fall a the sales pitch.

3. Typically, you get more points per maintenance-fee $$ in Vegas or Orlando.
You get more points per MF$ buying higher seasons, even if more $$ upfront.*
Gold is okay, but Platinum is best. *MF's are assessed by size, not by season.

HGVC Resale Sources: The TUG Marketplace (see link above), Redweek and...
These reputable TS brokers...
Judi Kozlowski -- www.judikoz.com
Seth Nock * crew -- www.sellingtimeshares.net
Diane Nadeau -- www.timesharebrokersales.com
Syed Samad -- www.advantagevacation.com
Carl Thomas -- www.timeshare-resale.com
.
Edited to Add:
They likely took your SSN just to run a credit check, but you may want to
verify that you talked to a legit HGVC sales perp and not a 3rd party scammer.
,

 

[elaine]

I wonder if this is really true Hilton Hgvc marketing? Taking a SS# to ‘verify” where money came from if audited? But not taking any payment info. That sounds very odd. Does Hilton cold call on the phone selling timeshare? I know they might call for “come down and do a 4 days stay” offer to attend ts presentation, but I’ve never heard of soliciting over phone.
In any event, You need to send a letter tomorrow to the address of this sales office with receipt of mailing or certified stating you are rescinding. It’s likely not a valid contract anyway. Without a signature. But you want proof of rescission for whatever you “ bought” in case you ever need to prove you canceled within a few days. Don’t delay and Make sure to got to post office

 

[RX8]

Curious, why did you zero in on HGVC?

My suggestion is to not even think about buying a timeshare right now. The only way to ensure you are not a disgruntled timeshare owner in the future is to educate yourself to make an informed decision. Not only are there are many timeshare systems but there are also many nuances within each system. Plus, there are always going to be deals on the resale market, and those deals may even get better in the coming months.

What can you do to educate yourself? Read the many forums on TUG. Join TUG for $15 and read the resort reviews (only TUG members have access to the reviews). Ask lots and lots of questions. Rent from an owner to see how you like a particular resort, system, location. The last minute rental forum is great if you have some flexibility. I believe only then will you be ready to purchase something that is going to be a great match for you and your family.

Disclosure - I joined TUG 18 months before I purchased my first timeshare.

 

[presley]

Don't sign anything and don't let them upsell you on anything. Looking at your first post, the 3 issues you mentioned:
1.) If you own HGVC you can book any HGVC beginning 9 months before the date you want to visit. If you want to book a few months out, you probably won't get exactly what you want. If you are looking for a high demand location, it will always be challenging to book if you do not own there.
2.) When you have paid in full for your timeshare, you can try to get rid of it either by selling (needs to be a really good contract) or by giving it away. Depending on what you own, this can be easy or difficult.
3.) RCI is not difficult if you know exactly what you want. The reason I would never buy HGVC to use for RCI is because HGVC are much higher resorts in price and quality. When you trade in RCI, the majority of the time, you will be trading down for something of less value and you will be paying an exchange fee and sometimes additional fees to do that. If you want RCI, please spend a very long time (months or years) looking at how the system works and what is the best purchase for you.

Top reason to buy HGVC:
1.) You want to stay at HGVC properties.

Also, you want to look at how many points you are getting vs. how many points you need. $10K sounds very low for retail to me and it sounds like you'd be buying a studio in an off season, which is fine if that's what you want to book. That is the type of contract that you'd need to give away, as most people wouldn't want something like that when they can get a lot more points for the same annual dues.

 

[CPNY]

Curious, why did you zero in on HGVC?

My suggestion is to not even think about buying a timeshare right now. The only way to ensure you are not a disgruntled timeshare owner in the future is to educate yourself to make an informed decision. Not only are there are many timeshare systems but there are also many nuances within each system. Plus, there are always going to be deals on the resale market, and those deals may even get better in the coming months.

What can you do to educate yourself? Read the many forums on TUG. Join TUG for $15 and read the resort reviews (only TUG members have access to the reviews). Ask lots and lots of questions. Rent from an owner to see how you like a particular resort, system, location. The last minute rental forum is great if you have some flexibility. I believe only then will you be ready to purchase something that is going to be a great match for you and your family.

Disclosure - I joined TUG 18 months before I purchased my first timeshare.

Probably because he got an email or phone call for 4 nights for 179 bucks.

 

[brp]

I have seen many bad reviews about this time share and just have entered an agreement to buy my first time share with HGV.

Can you provide any more details on these "many bad reviews?" I'd be curious to see where they're from and what they have to say.

Also, as others have alluded, since this was a phone call with very questionable behavior, are you sure that this really was HGVC?

Cheers.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I have seen many bad reviews about this time share and just have entered an agreement to buy my first time share with HGV. I have been given a "deal" for pre-sale of Ocean tower studio. It is every other year. The cost is 10K. My reservations after reading the reviews are: 1, you can not book properties, 2. hard to get out of the contract if it is not working for me, 3. RCI is not easy to use. Can anyone comment or help me in this. I was also told that is does not matter where the property is deeded. However, after reading several threads, it seems that is not the case. Is Ocean Tower phase two presale a good fit. Please advise.

1). Hopefully you were actually dealing with HGV. Not sure why they want your SS# at this point in the transaction. Is this a scam for your SS#....?

2). As others have said, DON'T GO THROUGH WITH IT. Do you work hard for your money? You are going to GIVE IT AWAY. Again, don't do it.

3). Do spend $15 and join TUG as a member. Will be the BEST $15 you will ever spend.

4). Read up and do your homework. Ask your questions prior to making a lifetime commitment. You work hard for your money so keep your hands in your pocket.

5). What's the rush? The same or better deal will always be out there. Be sure to go with a "RESALE' Timeshare.



.

 

[bogey21]

Hopefully you were actually dealing with HGV. Not sure why they want your SS# at this point in the transaction. Is this a scam for your SS#....?

If in fact you were dealing directly with HGVC, you have no problem because you have signed nothing. If you were dealing with some other entity, the first thing I would do is put freezes on my account at all 3 Credit Reporting Agencies...

 

[jabberwocky]

My guess is that if it was HGVC it was being requested they may use it to run a credit check. That sometimes gives an idea of whether it is worth their time or not.

 

[hurnik]

Regardless of HGV or other timeshares, at *this* stage of the game, with COVID crap going on, I would NOT buy diddley squat unless:

1) You are 100% debt free. This includes your home and auto.
2) You have at LEAST 6-12 months of emergency fund built up
3) You have a fully funded retirement portfolio.

If you're retired already then #2 is probably less of an issue.

My reasoning?
There's folks who still have no job and won't for the forseeable future. Umemployment only pays a certain amount (assuming you can even qualify). Also if you lose your job, you usually have to fork over for COBRA or pay out for Obamacare (here in NY, it's actually MORE for our state-funded obamacare plans with $3k-5k deductibles vs. COBRA with no deductible). You don't want to lose your car (that's not protected with the eviction ban/delay), etc.

 

[PigsDad]

Regardless of HGV or other timeshares, at *this* stage of the game, with COVID crap going on, I would NOT buy diddley squat unless:

1) You are 100% debt free. This includes your home and auto.
2) You have at LEAST 6-12 months of emergency fund built up
3) You have a fully funded retirement portfolio.

If you're retired already then #2 is probably less of an issue.

My reasoning?
There's folks who still have no job and won't for the forseeable future. Umemployment only pays a certain amount (assuming you can even qualify). Also if you lose your job, you usually have to fork over for COBRA or pay out for Obamacare (here in NY, it's actually MORE for our state-funded obamacare plans with $3k-5k deductibles vs. COBRA with no deductible). You don't want to lose your car (that's not protected with the eviction ban/delay), etc.

I would stick with my personal philosophy: never buy a pure luxury item unless you can comfortably pay cash for it. And in my opinion, a timeshare falls under that luxury item category. Having a fully funded retirement portfolio or absolutely no debt/mortgage? A bit extreme, IMO.

Kurt

 

[brp]

I would stick with my personal philosophy: never buy a pure luxury item unless you can comfortably pay cash for it. And in my opinion, a timeshare falls under that luxury item category. Having a fully funded retirement portfolio or absolutely no debt/mortgage? A bit extreme, IMO.

Kurt

Agreed. We're still in the process of funding retirement and, when we first bought our trimeshares, we had a number of years left on the mortgage. Still have about 8 years, and closing on a very nice refi

Real key is that this should be money not needed for mortgage or retirement. We could give away all our timeshares and not have an impact. As it stands, we'd make money on the DVC and lose on HGVC.

Cheers.

 

[tpry]

"You get more points per MF$ buying higher seasons, even if more $$ upfront.*
Gold is okay, but Platinum is best. *MF's are assessed by size, not by season."
The above is great advice! For the same reason generally you do not want to purchase an every other year contract.

 

[Clifbell]

I just had a timeshare sales presentation with HGVC. I am already an owner, but the pressure did not seem as intense. I am not sure if it is Covid, the economy, or what.... I do know that many of the staff are not working and Las Vegas is very quiet... I just happen to be here because I am remodeling my house so I am staying in Timeshares for a few weeks while the remodeling is occurring... Here is the video