[ 2018 ] Do you own a desirable Timeshare with a lower Maintenance fee cost?

[Lanswitch]

I bought a 1 Bedroom at The Gardens at West Maui off of EBay for $1 total out of pocket. Maintenance fees are around $760 a year (or about $2.25 per day, equivalent to a cup of coffee at a restaurant per day). Have visited it but have never actually stayed there.
So we far have traded it on Interval for a 2 Bedroom at the Marriott Newport Coast Villas, a 2 Bedroom at the Marriott Desert Springs (week52) and 1 Bedroom at the Marriott Ko’Olina.

 

[jadejar]

Royal Dunes Resort maintenance fees are $885 a year but I consider that cheap for a 3 bedroom/3 bath unit a short walk to the beach on Hilton Head. Units are well maintained with every building getting a planned makeover every 5 years.

 

[Fredflintstone]

The problem I see with maintenance fees are that

1. Even so called low fees can balloon without notice with a high extra assessment
2. I have seen where a resort that had low fees gets gobbled up by a large chain resulting in fees exploding.
3. I used to think maintenance fees are to maintain your 1\52 share of the condo owned and 1/52 of one condo / all condos on site to cover common area. However, the math doesn’t make sense. Why would it cost, as an example, 600 a week or 2400 a month 31200 a year to maintain one condo and it share of common area. Most maintenance fees are 900 a week. The math doesn’t make sense unless you add in profits. However, a huge profit was made on each initial timeshare sale.

I personally think all timeshare maintenance fees need to be audited and only cover the actual cost of maintaining.

Anyway, my two cents. Maybe someone can shed light on why fees are 500 a week and up in the first place. I might be missing something here.


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[Panina]

The problem I see with maintenance fees are that

1. Even so called low fees can balloon without notice with a high extra assessment
2. I have seen where a resort that had low fees gets gobbled up by a large chain resulting in fees exploding.
3. I used to think maintenance fees are to maintain your 1\52 share of the condo owned and 1/52 of one condo / all condos on site to cover common area. However, the math doesn’t make sense. Why would it cost, as an example, 600 a week or 2400 a month 31200 a year to maintain one condo and it share of common area. Most maintenance fees are 900 a week. The math doesn’t make sense unless you add in profits. However, a huge profit was made on each initial timeshare sale.

I personally think all timeshare maintenance fees need to be audited and only cover the actual cost of maintaining.

Anyway, my two cents. Maybe someone can shed light on why fees are 500 a week and up in the first place. I might be missing something here.


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Do you own your home? There are lots of costs to maintain a property. Timeshares even have more costs, lots of staff salaries, benefits and taxes for these employees, insurance for lawsuits, property damage, I can keep going on and on. You should look at an operation budget to understand all the costs.

I can tell you with all the timeshares I own, with lower and higher maintenance fees, it is much cheaper for me to own timeshares then to maintain a second home. Plus when problems occur due to wear or natural disaster, I do not have to be there, management takes care of it.

 

[Fredflintstone]

I hear you there. Yes, I own my home. I have a cleaning lady twice a week and hire maintenance when needed plus do upgrades on my home. The maintenance cost all in (including insurance, property taxes, utilities, maintenance, cleaning services and upgrades) is 21000.00 per year and I am here full time. The home is 2100 square feet. So, divided per week would be 21000/52 = 403 per week.

Let’s say you pay maintenance fee of 1000 a week. This number is quite common. 52 k to maintain a unit just seems high.

I can appreciate though that you value having everything being taken care of unlike having your own second property.


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[rboesl]

We own a 2BR at Grandview in Las Vegas with mf of $830. We also own a 3BR at VV at Bonaventure outside Ft. Lauderdale with mf of $895. Thought those were quite reasonable with Grandview being in rather good demand for late November.

 

[Fredflintstone]

I forgot to add that I have looked at many Operational Budgets and do find some items vague. Here are some of the funny ones I found over the years.

Misquoto survellience ..........l 65.00
Steak dinners for owner updates........l. 52.00
Good debt expense...............103.00
Gratuities"...............................147.00
Golf fees .................................119.00
Ocean reporting.....".................16.00

Common one is bad debt expenses which I have been told refers to owners not paying.

I guess in short I believe allowable expenses on maintenance fee bills should be standardized and all resorts should receive an outside audit to ensure numbers are correct. That way, every timeshare owner will have low, fair, reasonable fees and feel good about what they are paying for with all timeshares...not just a few.



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[chapjim]

I hear you there. Yes, I own my home. I have a cleaning lady twice a week and hire maintenance when needed plus do upgrades on my home. The maintenance cost all in (including insurance, property taxes, utilities, maintenance, cleaning services and upgrades) is 21000.00 per year and I am here full time. The home is 2100 square feet. So, divided per week would be 21000/52 = 403 per week.

Let’s say you pay maintenance fee of 1000 a week. This number is quite common. 52 k to maintain a unit just seems high.

I can appreciate though that you value having everything being taken care of unlike having your own second property.


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Fred,

At your home do you have indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, fitness center, business center, tennis courts, mini-golf, meeting rooms, reception staff, activities staff, security personnel, etc.?

Might I suggest there can be no comparing the costs of maintaining one's residence and the costs of maintaining a timeshare resort.

 

[ronparise]

2BR lock-off at the Quarter House. Splits into two full 1BR units each with a full kitchen. A little over $300 for each side.

there you go..

 

[HitchHiker71]

"We've wondered if there are any very well-managed and maintained, quiet beachfront resorts in the Carolinas or southwest FL Gulf coast... with low maintenance fees."


We love our ocean front with a 180 degree ocean view at the Outer Banks Beach Club II in Kill Devil Hills. MF is $651 for a 2 BR unit. It has an independent HOA and is managed by SPM which does a great job from what I see and read about them. We also own another ocean front 2 BR unit about 2 miles north ($735 MF) that I don't feel is well run as they have a horrible delinquency rate.
Another great one is Harbor Ridge on Mt. Desert Island close to Bar Harbor ME ($547 MF, 2 BR) which has a little bit of a view of the sound leading out to the ocean. Wonderful people that work there.

We just bought a deeded fixed week 42 at Outer Banks Beach Club I in Kill Devil Hills. 3 bedroom unit - MF is $736.00 for 2018. I believe these are also managed by SPM. We haven't been there yet and plan to mostly use this unit for PIC purposes with Wyndham, but we may end up using the deeded week on occasion.

http://www.outerbanksbeachclubresort.com/

We also purchased a unit at Colonies at Williamsburg recently. 4 bedroom 4 bath unit, deeded week 37. MFs were $795.00 in 2018 plus $60.00 r/e taxes so $855.00 in total. Not bad for a 4 bedroom/4 bath unit in a nicely maintained timeshare. We also plan to use this unit on occasion and trade it for Wyndham PIC points when we don't make use of it.

https://www.vacationvillageresorts.com/vvr/colonies_williamsburg/

 

[dayooper]

2BR lock-off at the Quarter House. Splits into two full 1BR units each with a full kitchen. A little over $300 for each side.

The doctor that wrote to two positive timesharing articles was an owner here. He said he has never been to the resort, but it trades very well.

 

[VegasBella]

Quarter House is a unique property. From what I remember reading, the rooms are all different and vary quite a bit. Also, the place had a long history of serious racial discrimination that ultimately had to go to court.

I really like NOLA and we own a fixed week, fixed unit in NOLA but its not at the Quarter House.

I personally think all timeshare maintenance fees need to be audited and only cover the actual cost of maintaining.

Anyway, my two cents. Maybe someone can shed light on why fees are 500 a week and up in the first place. I might be missing something here.

I attended a no-sales owner update at one of my timeshares last year and one of the costs was to lobby government to keep the homes in front of our property from building upwards and blocking our ocean-view. Obviously, people will be all over the board as to whether or not that's a worthwhile expense and if so how much, but it's definitely the kind of intangible expense that does improve the overall experience of pretty much everyone's stay at the property.

The kind of math you need to do is simply to compare the timeshare ownership to the cost of renting or buying something similar and also to factor in the costs associated with timeshare ownership (beyond MF there are also taxes and exchange company fees and airfare and pet sitting etc). Then you just determine whether or not it's worth it FOR YOU to own or not.

And also, if you want a say in how MF are spent, you should get on the HOA.

 

[silentg]

I almost gave away my best flexible Timeshare it’s only a studio, but it’s on Cape Cod and the Maintenence is just a bit over $400.00 Next year we are going in October instead of May. I called the Holly Tree Resort and they said my unit was available for the week I wanted.
We have traded it for other places it has a very high TPU of 21 .Some of my one bedrooms are not that high in TPU.
Silentg

 

[Dave Landry]

We own points at Wyndham Panama City Beach. Maintenance fees are low because it takes more points to stay at this resort than many others. We use the points at the higher fee resorts that require less points and really maximize the savings.

 

[schenriq]

The smaller 1BR of the 2BR lock-off @Sheraton Broadway in MB. Desirable -- check, albeit it's not oceanfront. Low MFs -- check at four-twenty per year.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I think my week 23 at Blue Ridge Village is pretty reasonable at $730, or near that. It's a 2 bed with loft and sleeps 8.

My Val Chatelle weeks are $770 per year for a 3 bed, 2.5 bath unit + garage for summer. The trading power is horrible. I love the resort, but I need to get rid of my three summer weeks or deposit them to some other company besides RCI.

Twin Rivers does still have the low maintenance fees for 3 bedroom units. That is a desirable property for a lot of folks. We live in Colorado, so I don't stay there much.

 

[JohnPaul]

My lowest MF is at Oakmont Resort in Pigeon Forge, TN (RCI). The MF is $410 for 1 BR unit.
Now whether that is good or not???????

Guess my deal is better. Same MF at that resort but I have a two bedroom. I'm pretty amazed they can do that. I've never been there but use it for RCI points. My general impression is that it isn't fancy but is well kept up.

 

[bbodb1]

Guess my deal is better. Same MF at that resort but I have a two bedroom. I'm pretty amazed they can do that. I've never been there but use it for RCI points. My general impression is that it isn't fancy but is well kept up.

Guess I may have to make a call to their office tomorrow! Thanks for the info, JohnPaul!

We've only been there once (and that was several years ago). Our recollection matches your description - the resort wasn't anything special, but if you are going to be around and about the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg area, it worked well as a base of operations. If the newsletters since then are accurate, they appear to have undertaken some refurbishing.

 

[Jan M.]

Guess I may have to make a call to their office tomorrow! Thanks for the info, JohnPaul!

We've only been there once (and that was several years ago). Our recollection matches your description - the resort wasn't anything special, but if you are going to be around and about the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg area, it worked well as a base of operations. If the newsletters since then are accurate, they appear to have undertaken some refurbishing.

He may own a higher season week than you do so may get more points. However it is very unusual that he would pay the same maintenance fees for a two bedroom unit as you pay for a one bedroom unit unless he has an every other year instead of an annual.

 

[jackio]

He may own a higher season week than you do so may get more points. However it is very unusual that he would pay the same maintenance fees for a two bedroom unit as you pay for a one bedroom unit unless he has an every other year instead of an annual.

I own a 1 BR at HICV Las Vegas Desert Club. The maintenance fees for the 2 BRs are the same as the 1 BRs. It has been this way since before the HICV conversation. A great deal for the 2 BR owners, about $650 per year. Not such a great deal for me.

 

[Jan M.]

I own a 1 BR at HICV Las Vegas Desert Club. The maintenance fees for the 2 BRs are the same as the 1 BRs. It has been this way since before the HICV conversation. A great deal for the 2 BR owners, about $650 per year. Not such a great deal for me.

I knew there were some resorts that did this but like I said I thought it wasn't that common.

The first time I heard of this it really surprised me because how in the world is that fair? It makes no sense because the two bedroom unit is obviously a larger portion of the building, takes longer to clean, uses more sheets, towels, utilities, has more people using the pool and any other amenities at the resort, etc. And if you bought from the developer who would pay the same to buy a one bedroom week as you would pay for a two bedroom week? Like you said it is a sweet deal for the two bedroom owners but not so much for the one bedroom owners.

 

[vmpt]

We have a 2 bedroom beachfront rotating week at Capri by the Sea in San Diego. Approx $700 total for mf and prop tax. My family bought 3 different weeks when it opened in the 1970s. Love this place.

 

[jl2010]

I only own 1.

Our 1 bedroom/2 bath unit is $556 a year.

The Cove At Yarmouth, Week 26 (usually July 4) on Cape Cod.
A Healthy well planned reserve fund.
Independently managed
Fully renovates every 8 years
Just added a third (outdoor) pool, bathrooms and pool bar with food and drink, with live nightly entertainment in Summer. Open till 11PM. Really loved this addition this year!

 

[Panina]

I knew there were some resorts that did this but like I said I thought it wasn't that common.

The first time I heard of this it really surprised me because how in the world is that fair? It makes no sense because the two bedroom unit is obviously a larger portion of the building, takes longer to clean, uses more sheets, towels, utilities, has more people using the pool and any other amenities at the resort, etc. And if you bought from the developer who would pay the same to buy a one bedroom week as you would pay for a two bedroom week? Like you said it is a sweet deal for the two bedroom owners but not so much for the one bedroom owners.

I own at HGVC Plantation Beach Club at Indian River and 1 and 2 bedrooms have the same maintenance fees. I have the 1 br and am ok paying the same as the 1 brs are on the top floor with the best views and the unit is all on one level no steps, the others have steps because they are two levels.

 

[Jan M.]

I own at HGVC Plantation Beach Club at Indian River and 1 and 2 bedrooms have the same maintenance fees. I have the 1 br and am ok paying the same as the 1 brs are on the top floor with the best views and the unit is all on one level no steps, the others have steps because they are two levels.

We've stayed at this resort twice and last year for two consecutive weeks. I really like the resort and the units. The first time we stayed there I was having trouble with my knee from a fall so having to use the steps when I needed the bathroom during the day and evening before bedtime wasn't fun. At the time I didn't know the one bedroom units were all on one level and could have asked if someone wanted to trade units and take our two bedroom unit. I can't remember her name but the woman who is usually at the front desk is nice and very helpful. We had a nice view both times from the two bedroom units we stayed in.