Considering Buying Fixed week 52 @ Tahoe Chaparral

[ski_sierra]

I'm considering buying a fixed week 52 @ Tahoe Chaparral in Incline Village NV. I'm tied to a school calendar and I have limited vacation time so utilizing the holidays is important to me. I checked it out this weekend, and although I'm not thrilled with the quality, and all things considered, it’s acceptable.


Unit Size: 2 BR 1300 sq. ft
Resale purchase price: $1500
MF: $575. (seems low but I read on to see why it's low).
Junk fees: No resort/parking/guest/reservation fees. $20 for internet.
Trading: Select in II. Week 52 has 150 TDI. Also trades in RCI but don't know the TPUs.
Recent TUG reviews: positive
Trip advisor: not listed
TUG Reviews: Only one recent TUG review and it's positive.
Comparable rentals: at least $1500 for the week on Airbnb/VRBO.
HOA health: need to find out. I don't know what to look for. Hoping people can help me ask the right questions.

More about the timeshare: There are around 20 units with some other condos nearby. It's not a resort, it's a condo unit with no resort activities or amenities. No pool, hot tub, lobby or gym so this keeps MF low. There is no on-site check-in staff or property manager. Check-in is done with a video system in their small check-in room.

Reason for owning: Skiing at Diamond Peak (<1 mile away) or Mt. Rose (10 miles). I can drive there. Diamond Peak and Mt. Rose are uncrowded compared to the famous ski resorts like Squaw/NorthStar/Heavenly. I have a pass for Squaw and Mt. Rose for next season, but I'd rather not deal with the crowds at Squaw. Since snowfall in the Sierras is volatile, I estimate in one out of three years, I won't be able to ski here and the week will be wasted.

My plan: Put a request first OGS for nice ski timeshares for Xmas/NYE using Worldmark or this unit. If it matches, great. If I don't get a good exchange, I can use the unit or try to rent it out. If it's a bad snow year, then I will have to eat the costs and go somewhere else. Since the fees are quite affordable, it won't break the bank. I'd also book Southwest flights to Utah as a backup option. Affordable lodging can be found in SLC at the last minute.

Other concerns:

• A long list of owners in the recent newsletter who want to sell so I'm concerned whether I will be able to offload it once I'm done with this. Fees could go up if owners default.
• The current decor choices are poor and would hurt rentability. Dark carpet, counters and furniture.

I am new to timesharing and I'm nervous about making this decision so I wanted to get some feedback on appropriate due diligence. I have considered this fixed week as it can be hard to get bookings/exchanges for this week at ski resorts.

 

[CO skier]

I'm considering buying a fixed week 52 @ Tahoe Chaparral in Incline Village NV.

After 30 years of timeshare experience and knowing what I know now, I would pass.

Our family owned a week 2 at a very similar resort in Winter Park, CO. Great for skiing and it fit with the college vacation schedules at that time.

Then points-based systems arrived on the timeshare scene. Much more flexibility than a fixed-unit/fixed-week timeshare.

We have had no trouble reserving our Holiday ski vacations using Wyndham points at Pagosa Springs or WorldMark credits at Steamboat Springs. We do not regret off-loading the fixed week/unit timeshare, and we felt lucky to get rid of it pre-paying only 6 months of maintenance fees.

 

[LisaH]

I'm considering buying a fixed week 52 @ Tahoe Chaparral in Incline Village NV. I'm tied to a school calendar and I have limited vacation time so utilizing the holidays is important to me. I checked it out this weekend, and although I'm not thrilled with the quality, and all things considered, it’s acceptable.


Unit Size: 2 BR 1300 sq. ft
Resale purchase price: $1500
MF: $575. (seems low but I read on to see why it's low).
Junk fees: No resort/parking/guest/reservation fees. $20 for internet.
Trading: Select in II. Week 52 has 150 TDI. Also trades in RCI but don't know the TPUs.
Recent TUG reviews: positive
Trip advisor: not listed
TUG Reviews: Only one recent TUG review and it's positive.
Comparable rentals: at least $1500 for the week on Airbnb/VRBO.
HOA health: need to find out. I don't know what to look for. Hoping people can help me ask the right questions.

More about the timeshare: There are around 20 units with some other condos nearby. It's not a resort, it's a condo unit with no resort activities or amenities. No pool, hot tub, lobby or gym so this keeps MF low. There is no on-site check-in staff or property manager. Check-in is done with a video system in their small check-in room.

Reason for owning: Skiing at Diamond Peak (<1 mile away) or Mt. Rose (10 miles). I can drive there. Diamond Peak and Mt. Rose are uncrowded compared to the famous ski resorts like Squaw/NorthStar/Heavenly. I have a pass for Squaw and Mt. Rose for next season, but I'd rather not deal with the crowds at Squaw. Since snowfall in the Sierras is volatile, I estimate in one out of three years, I won't be able to ski here and the week will be wasted.

My plan: Put a request first OGS for nice ski timeshares for Xmas/NYE using Worldmark or this unit. If it matches, great. If I don't get a good exchange, I can use the unit or try to rent it out. If it's a bad snow year, then I will have to eat the costs and go somewhere else. Since the fees are quite affordable, it won't break the bank. I'd also book Southwest flights to Utah as a backup option. Affordable lodging can be found in SLC at the last minute.

Other concerns:

• A long list of owners in the recent newsletter who want to sell so I'm concerned whether I will be able to offload it once I'm done with this. Fees could go up if owners default.
• The current decor choices are poor and would hurt rentability. Dark carpet, counters and furniture.

I am new to timesharing and I'm nervous about making this decision so I wanted to get some feedback on appropriate due diligence. I have considered this fixed week as it can be hard to get bookings/exchanges for this week at ski resorts.

I would buy it if the M/F is as low as stated. I believe Hwy 431 (Mt Rose Hwy) closes in winter. Although it’s only 10 miles away, you will have to go all the way back to 80 in order to ski at Mt Rose. However, Northstar is not too far away from Incline.

 

[RX8]

While the low maintenance fees could be the result of the limited amenities it could also mean no reserves being built up for renovating and upkeep. Owners could be surprised with a large special assessment which could lead to defaults which could lead to increased maintenance fees. Can you get a copy of the financials of the resort? They should be providing those annually to the owners.

 

[Roger830]

We own both fixed weeks and Wyndham points.

The points are nice for staying at different resorts and for short stays, but the fixed weeks are great for prime weeks.
We own winter weeks 4-7 in south Florida. It's nice knowing that those weeks are ours without the hassle of staying up until 12AM to book a week with Wyndham. Two times in a row the website was down at that time.

At our Hollywood Sands resort, winter 1-bed units have been selling for $5000-6000.
There is only one 2-bed ocean front unit. Last year a week 7 (presidents week) sold for $13,000. I know two people that were in the three party auction and one bid up to $12,000.

Your purchase price and maintenance fees are low. They might be putting enough in reserve for future maintenance. Our mf is about $750 for a 1-bed.

 

[ski_sierra]

After 30 years of timeshare experience and knowing what I know now, I would pass.

Our family owned a week 2 at a very similar resort in Winter Park, CO. Great for skiing and it fit with the college vacation schedules at that time.

I understand the appeal of Worldmark and that's why I bought Worldmark but I think there is something valuable about not having to do anything to get a holiday reservation. Can you tell me why you ended up off loading the fixed week 2 @ Winter Park?

I would buy it if the M/F is as low as stated. I believe Hwy 431 (Mt Rose Hwy) closes in winter. Although it’s only 10 miles away, you will have to go all the way back to 80 in order to ski at Mt Rose. However, Northstar is not too far away from Incline.

I have used Hwy 431 to reach Mt. Rose in winter, so I don't believe this is accurate.

Northstar is a good option in bad snow years as they have the best snow making system in Tahoe. But I hope not to ski at Northstar ever again during holidays or weekends. Too crowded due to the cheap season pass.

While the low maintenance fees could be the result of the limited amenities it could also mean no reserves being built up for renovating and upkeep. Owners could be surprised with a large special assessment which could lead to defaults which could lead to increased maintenance fees. Can you get a copy of the financials of the resort? They should be providing those annually to the owners.

I will try to get a copy.

The points are nice for staying at different resorts and for short stays, but the fixed weeks are great for prime weeks.
We own winter weeks 4-7 in south Florida. It's nice knowing that those weeks are ours without the hassle of staying up until 12AM to book a week with Wyndham.

I'm thinking along the same lines. Both are good to have.

 

[CO skier]

I understand the appeal of Worldmark and that's why I bought Worldmark but I think there is something valuable about not having to do anything to get a holiday reservation. Can you tell me why you ended up off loading the fixed week 2 @ Winter Park?

During its heyday, there would be 7-8 people each year in the condo. Over time the kids aged into the school calendar, and week 2 did not align with that. The adults aged out of skiing.

Even if it was a week 52 or other week that fit with the school calendar, we would have sold it this last year. We buy pre-season discount ski passes. The new IKON passes were blacked out for the holidays this last ski season. Paying $640/day for the four of us to ski was not worth it to us. For the first time in more than 10 years, we did not have a holiday ski trip.

Owning in a points-based system like WorldMark made it simple to spend the ski trip credits for a summer trip instead. We did not have to sell a fixed-week/unit and buy something else that fit our new schedule.

 

[ski_sierra]

Mt. Rose and Diamond peak are not part of any multi resort season pass so the passes without blackouts are only ~$100 more than the black out version.

The owner's rep declined to send me reports on HOA financials claiming it is not available to non-owners. Most likely I will end up passing on this week.

 

[Robert D]

If you're within driving distance, I'd drive up there and look at the condo before you buy this one so you know what you're getting. The owner should be able to send you the financials.

 

[RX8]

Perhaps they know that you seeing the financials isn’t going to help their sales prospects based on what the numbers are saying.

 

[Cambyses]

Hi, I sent you a PM. I'm interested in selling my timeshare which happens to be at the Tahoe Chaparral and I sent you a bit of info. I'm new here and just started seriously learning about timeshares and all the finicky laws and processes about it, so I hope I didn't violate any etiquette by sending you a PM so abruptly. I'm still learning about the process myself. I'm glad forums like this exist. I was originally just going to make a thread in marketplace here, but then I saw this thread and decided to post here since it seemed so coincidental.

EDIT: I just realized this may have not been the right place to ask to sell, sorry! I'm new here. Regardless, if you have any questions about the place I'd be happy to answer them, as an owner of the timeshare in question. I'm just another guy like you, promise!

 

[bogey21]

I'm a Fixed Week guy. I'd go for it if (1) you can get it for $1,500 or less and (2) if you are sure you will use it for 5 years. Why 5 years? Divide the $1,500 by 5. You get $300. Add it to the annual MF and assume that is your cost to have a Week you want and will use locked in. Once you do that you are financially in a position to give away the Week when you a done with it. The way I look at it is that anything you get from selling it after the 5 years is found money. I've used this logic a couple of times and not regretted it...

George

 

[melissy123]

I’ve stayed there before. It seemed some units did not have a lake view. Would you be buying a fixed unit so you know what unit you’re getting? I think the owners also have use of the beach in Incline Village (only useful in the summer) and I think they may also have use of the rec center in Incline Village. I like the area but we got tired of skiing Diamond Peak.