What should I buy?

[ShebasJewel]

Thinking Resale Wyndham either in Orlando or Hawaii. Am I on the right track?

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? Not really, but if I had to choose a "home property", I think I would like Orlando for the family.

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 more than half the time. I want the flexibility to go where we want.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Mexico, Carribbean (Grand Cayman, Bahamas,),

4) How many people do you usually travel with? 5 (2 adults, 3 kids) and occasionally my WHOLE family goes together (16 people)

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

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

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

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 3-5 stars

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? 1200 (I am looking at buying resale, so any advice about costs etc for resale would be great)

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? $600-800

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

 

[K2Quick]

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 3-5 stars

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? 1200 (I am looking at buying resale, so any advice about costs etc for resale would be great)

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? $600-800

I'm not sure what you're looking for exists. I'd recommend looking through Interval International or RCI resort directories and making a list of resorts you think you'd most want to visit. Then look around the various boards here to figure out what the maintenance fees are on the units and how easily they trade into the other places you want to go. If you're locked into a school schedule and you want to have a variety of different resorts, it's probably best to find a mini system that allows you to book the other resorts in high season. I think you're likely to find that either or both of your upfront cost and annual maintenance fees are lower than what you'll need to spend.

 

[ShebasJewel]

If you're locked into a school schedule and you want to have a variety of different resorts, it's probably best to find a mini system that allows you to book the other resorts in high season. I think you're likely to find that either or both of your upfront cost and annual maintenance fees are lower than what you'll need to spend.

What is a mini system?

And are you saying that I won’t find what I am looking for with the upfront cost and annual fee that I said I would be willing to pay? If so what would be a realistic maintenance fee and points that I would need?

 

[K2Quick]

What is a mini system?

And are you saying that I won’t find what I am looking for with the upfront cost and annual fee that I said I would be willing to pay? If so what would be a realistic maintenance fee and points that I would need?

By mini system, I'm just talking about a group of resorts under one common umbrella where you can reserve freely without having to use an outside exchange system. Some are pure point plays (like Worldmark or Wyndham). Others are deeded week systems but where you can trade your weeks with preference with independent exchange systems (Marriott, Vistana). Others are a blended mix of deeded weeks that can be converted to points (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Hyatt, Wyndham).

I currently own Worldmark, a pure points play (I don't own a deed at any one resort but rather points in a trust that allow me to book any of the 50 or so resorts in the system. WM resorts are typically 2 or 3 stars. A 10,000 credit membership which allows you to reserve most 2BR units in high season will run you about $3,000 upfront and about $750 a year in maintenance fees.

When you go up in quality, you'll pay either more in upfront cost, more in maintenance fees, or both. Marriott/Hilton/Vistana/Hyatt are in the 3-5 star range. Those maintenance fees start around $1,200 a year and up depending on the location you buy. Upfront cost on those varies wildly depending on the resort and season. Wyndham is somewhere in that quality range but generally skewed toward the 3-star end of the range. Upfront costs tend to be lower, but maintenance fees will still be quite a bit higher than your target.

 

[DaveNV]

I think before you look to buy something, you should rent timeshares several times in varying systems to learn what you like and don't like, so you can make an informed decision. If your travel needs are very specific, (time, location, price), you may find the best results will come from renting what you want, when and where you want to go. You'll have all the benefits of ownership without any long term commitment.

Dave

 

[CalGalTraveler]

You might want to look at Vacation Village Orlando or Grandview Vegas for a resale trader in your price range. However I don't know how well these trade in RCI and what locations and fees are in their mini-system. If you trade these for RCI you will add $239 plus resort fees to your $600 - $800 MF so it will be closer to $1100 for a trade.

 

[Magic1962]

Grandview Las Vegas is good BUT your being unrealistic on the MF..... and you have to realize that not only will the MF go up every year.... RCI charges more every year... (I do not mind it because we use our points and RCI to the fullest....) also you have to be prepared incase there is an assessment.... I don't really seeing that happening with the Grandview but who knows.... ALSO if your buying a larger contract it will cost you more then you want to spend.... we pay a bit over 800 each year for our MF and RCI costs.... you may want to rethink Time Sharing.... you can't get something good for nothing..... Dave

 

[Jennifer Knight]

I agree with those who wrote above. you should rent timeshares several times in varying systems to learn what you like and don't like, so you can make an informed decision.