Buying Wyndham resale
When buying on eBay, feedback is important to review before placing a bid. Keep in mind, that most people do not leave feedback until the process is completed. Me included. The problem though, is Wyndham takes weeks and sometimes months to complete the transaction, and that's not the seller's fault. I believe a buyer only has 45 days to leave feedback. That's not enough time to wait for the transaction to complete. So not everyone is going to have a ton of feedback. Just look for patterns. If you see negative marks, do they have something in common? Communication is a common complaint. If the seller doesn't communicate, it understandably frustrates the buyer. This causes them to leave bad feedback. If you are unsure, ask some of us about a particular seller. Some may have already worked with them. Also, end of the year is usually the best time to buy because people are getting their yearly assessments and decide they want to sell their timeshare to get out of the maintenance fee cost. I got my contract in November for $1. That same contract sold for $510 in May, and the buyer paid closing costs. Timing is everything. At the end of the year, it’s a buyers market. During vacation season, it’s a seller’s market. With that said, here are just some of the things you need to look for in the listing, besides price:
1. What are the monthly maintenance fees? Can you afford that on top of what you already have or your current budget? Some only list yearly, so you will have to do the math if you pay monthly. If you already own, whatever payment plan you currently have, should transfer over but you can always ask to change it. Some sales guy may tell you that the fees are different for resale contracts. This is NOT true. They are the same for every owner who owns at the resort it’s deeded to. The same with CWA contracts. Anything less then $6 per 1,000 is OK. Good is around the $5-5.50 per 1k. Anything less then $5 per 1k is considered “low”.
2. Who is paying the closing costs? If the buyer pays, how much are they? I would not accept closing costs that are more then $500 on top of the transfer fee. Especially since so many sellers are offering to pay those costs. You’ll find this info in the description and possibly then fine print.
3. Who is paying the transfer fee? It's a $299 fee that is required by Wyndham. Sometimes the seller will pay for this and not closing, or both.
4. Is it annual or bi-annual? Bi-annual is usually listed as odd or even years, or may use the acronym EOY which stands for every other year. They are all the same thing. Bi-annual contracts are cheaper only because the yearly fee is split over 24 months instead of 12 for annual. The rate per 1,000 points is the same whether you have annual or bi-annual. You can only use the points on that contact on the years designated unless you roll then forward to the next year. In between you have nothing. These are a good ideal if you only take vacations every other year.
5. How many points is it? This will usually be listed in the title but it should be noted here, as something to consider. Do you need that many points? Do you need more then that many points? Be sure to have an idea on how many points you want before you start to shop. Using the directory will help you determine where you want to stay. From there you can determine about what time you will travel there. The points chart will tell you how many points you will need for a certain room, at that resort, at that time time.
6.Does the seller have a recent estoppel letter? You can PM them, and ask them to provide one. Wyndham charges a fee to the owner for this. Do not pay this yourself. It will provide some valuable information such as how many points the contract is for, how many points are left for that year, how much the maintenance fees are, and if there is money owed such as back MF or a loan balance. This letter should save you from nasty surprises like it having zero available points, maintenance fees higher then advertised, or months worth of back dues Maintenance fees.
7. What is the home resort? Will you be traveling there? It's ok if the answer is no, but if you know it's a resort you will go to a lot during prime season, you may want to consider buying a contract for that resort so you can have ARP.
8. What is the fine print? Some companies will add some special fee or have some special payment requirement. Always read the fine print.
Finally, if something seems “off” with a seller or the transaction, trust your gut. There are TONS of contracts for sale. If the one you want is not available at that time, it will be later. Just be patient. You can also ask us for advice if you have questions.
Hope this helps.