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What should I buy

Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Points
3
1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

Hawaii, Mexico (pretty much anywhere warm and beachy)

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?

Trade

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Honolulu, Cancun, Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

I'm single so usually alone, with my best friend, or rarely a family vacation once a year with parents and siblings.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

Anytime outside of late January through early March. And my business closes down for the last three weeks of December so I always have that block open for travel

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

With enough planning in advance, yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

4

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

7k

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?

1500 (give or take)

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

Yes

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
 

VegasBella

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
3,307
Reaction score
1,017
Points
398
Location
Vegas
Resorts Owned
Carlsbad Inn
Avenue Plaza
Riviera Beach & Spa
Aquamarine Villas
Just a few off the cuff thoughts...

Honolulu - expensive to buy into and not super easy to trade into (but not that hard either). The thing with buying a timeshare in Hawaii is that MF tend to increase quite a bit and dollar for dollar it's often cheaper to find another way to book HI trips if you're not attached to going every year to the same place.

Cancun - no personal experience but I see options to trade into here often, so I think it's really easy. However many are all-inclusive which means it's smarter to just pay for the trip in cash than to waste points or exchange weeks on. Everyone here at TUG will advise against buying a timeshare in Mexico, just FYI.

Vegas - super easy to trade into or rent for cheap

New Orleans - depends when you want to go and also what kind of accommodations you want. I'm assuming since you can't travel late Jan - early March that you would never go for Mardi Gras. Timeshares in NOLA are more like hotels with kitchens. You're not going to find the huge, resort-style option that you can get in Vegas and Hawaii and Mexico in New Orleans. Also note that weeks-based NOLA timeshares are often based on the Liturgical calendar and include some holiday weeks that are different than most other timeshares.

Los Angeles - there aren't any timeshares in LA proper, but I'm not sure how some points systems work and so maybe you can use points to book hotel stays through some systems? If you're just looking for SoCal though, there are plenty of options in Orange County and San Diego County.

Personally, I own in SoCal (Dana Point and Carlsbad) and I also own in New Orleans. I own in this places because I love going there - over and over every year. We do Mardi Gras every year. We do a Summer week in SoCal every year. We love the consistency. We bought our first timeshare because my family sold my childhood vacation home and I felt a void - I wanted my son to have that feeling of a 'vacation home' of sorts.

When I go to Los Angeles area I rent VRBO or I use credit card points to book a hotel. The weeks I own are weeks I use and I rarely exchange. I usually just rent extra weeks and I travel about 6 weeks a year.

You sound like someone who enjoys similar destinations as I do, but you want more flexibility in your ownership. I am not super familiar with points systems but it sounds like you might prefer one of those. Note, however, that points systems are more economically efficient for everyone and thus there exists fewer opportunities for savvy timeshare owners to take advantage of inefficiencies themselves.

So... you need to ask yourself WHY you want to own a timeshare? What are the things you want in your ownership and how likely are you to get those things with this or that type of ownership?
 

RNCollins

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
3,329
Reaction score
1,200
Points
399
Location
Borscht Belt
Resorts Owned
Tradewinds, Divi, Quarter House, Casa Ybel
Hi enterthecircus,

I’m a newbie so I don’t have a lot of advice to give you.

You mentioned that you would like to visit New Orleans. I own a week at the Quarter House that is a good trader.

You also mention that you enjoy the beach. Are you interested in visiting the Caribbean? Some would say it is not ideal to own a timeshare in a foreign country. Also, you have the risk hurricanes, causing an increase in maintenance fees and special assessments for repairs. RCI routinely has the following offered for trade:
Bahamas, Antigua, St Maarten, Aruba, Guadeloupe, Tobago, St Lucia, Puerto Rico.
You also might be interested in the Tradewinds sailings.

I’m single too. I have traveled using timeshares solo and with friends and family. I like the extra space and having the ability to eat meals in, but also enjoy dining out. I use TripAdvisor and Viator to get ideas of activities to do at each destination.

Take your time and hang around TUG. Research and ask questions to see if Timesharing would be a good fit for you.

Some resale companies (also check out Sumday Vacations):
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...y-mentioned-resale-and-rental-websites.17673/

Advice articles:
http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/free-timeshare-owner-advice-articles.html
 

njsicilian

Guest
Joined
Apr 25, 2018
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
11
Location
New Jersey
Resorts Owned
Marriot Aruba Ocean Club
Aruba is located beneath the hurricane belt, therefore weather is consistently sunny year round.
 

taterhed

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
4,536
Reaction score
1,901
Points
399
Location
Virginia
Resorts Owned
Westin WKORV OFD
Marriott's Grande Vista
Worldmark x2
SVV Bella 81k
Hi enterthecircus,

I’m a newbie so I don’t have a lot of advice to give you.

You mentioned that you would like to visit New Orleans. I own a week at the Quarter House that is a good trader.

You also mention that you enjoy the beach. Are you interested in visiting the Caribbean? Some would say it is not ideal to own a timeshare in a foreign country. Also, you have the risk hurricanes, causing an increase in maintenance fees and special assessments for repairs. RCI routinely has the following offered for trade:
Bahamas, Antigua, St Maarten, Aruba, Guadeloupe, Tobago, St Lucia, Puerto Rico.
You also might be interested in the Tradewinds sailings.

I’m single too. I have traveled using timeshares solo and with friends and family. I like the extra space and having the ability to eat meals in, but also enjoy dining out. I use TripAdvisor and Viator to get ideas of activities to do at each destination.

Take your time and hang around TUG. Research and ask questions to see if Timesharing would be a good fit for you.

Some resale companies (also check out Sumday Vacations):
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...y-mentioned-resale-and-rental-websites.17673/

Advice articles:
http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/free-timeshare-owner-advice-articles.html


Good Post @RNCollins .

You can remove the
I don’t have a lot of advice to give you.
comment.....because you do!
 
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