[ 2022 to present ] Trying to buy BlueGreen

[BagsRpacked]

I just "won" four auctions on E-bay. Trying to obtain a Bluegreen Timeshare. It seems like the ROFR is a big issue these days. I have an "owner number," so maybe that has some sway from a sampler package I bought. I realize I won't get Bonus Time except for the locations I have purchased (4 different deeds from four different locations). I'm sure they are the "bad" deeds because they were all really low. I anticipate about 5K in MF based upon 32k points when i combine up all the deals. I wonder if I am on the right track. All four parcels were less than 1,000 bucks. Am I on the right track with this? I'm currently staying at the Harbour Lights and I was told by a platinum couple to just buy on the secondary market, as they really don't use may of the perks. Now that they are retired they do use the three free weeks and all of that. I'm doing a little snowbirding myself, availing of telework. But it's nice to see green and sunshine in January , despite it not being super warm i'll take 55 degrees in January and only using 200 points a night.

 

[fredmotola]

I just "won" four auctions on E-bay. Trying to obtain a Bluegreen Timeshare. It seems like the ROFR is a big issue these days. I have an "owner number," so maybe that has some sway from a sampler package I bought. I realize I won't get Bonus Time except for the locations I have purchased (4 different deeds from four different locations). I'm sure they are the "bad" deeds because they were all really low. I anticipate about 5K in MF based upon 32k points when i combine up all the deals. I wonder if I am on the right track. All four parcels were less than 1,000 bucks. Am I on the right track with this? I'm currently staying at the Harbour Lights and I was told by a platinum couple to just buy on the secondary market, as they really don't use may of the perks. Now that they are retired they do use the three free weeks and all of that. I'm doing a little snowbirding myself, availing of telework. But it's nice to see green and sunshine in January , despite it not being super warm i'll take 55 degrees in January and only using 200 points a night.

$5K in MF for 32K annual points seems high. Maybe you are not taking into account that any and all deeds that reside in trust fund E will share a single base fee, $373, and then all the points will get the incremental rate of $0.0708/point. Should be around $2.8K. If buying more resale, now stick with deeds in Trust E to continue to benefit from the shared base fee. If you buy a deed in another trust, the cost structure is different and your MF will not be as low as they could be. But if its a great deed, maybe its worth it. There are no bad deeds if you are in Trust E and are buying points on the cheap - points are points.

Anyways - I would say you are on good track. The advice you were given in that the perks (other than bonus time) don't get used is dependent on the user. For sure the premier benefits have been reduced or made ineffective over the years, so the cost of buying direct does not justify the benefits, to most folks. If you find a resort that you would like Bonus Time at, then hunt for a deed there, which will probably be cheaper than buying direct to get the charter benefit of bonus time. One other thought is that the points rental space is fairly cutthroat, so prices tend to hover around cost - cost of a large point owner, say 60K points which is ~8cents a point. At 32K, your cost is 8.75 cents a point - not including your aquisition costs. Cheaper to rent than to own if you don't own alot of points. Your difference isn't all that much, but if you only got half of you purchases through ROFR, then it'll be higher until you accumulate more points to bring down your average. What you give up in renting points is the control of when and how you aquire your reservations. And renting points (or reservations) requires some amount of trust of the owner who is renting. That said, <$20 a night for your stay at HL is not a bad way to spend your money.

Good luck in getting past ROFR - several years ago, it was probably 25%. Bluegreen has wisened up and have been lowering that average. Being a current member gives you no advantage in passing ROFR. eBay is tough as the general price point for the sale is low (on average less than say 10 cents a point) which usually triggers ROFR. At time, the timing of the next MF due can sway BG from taking a deed if they think they cannot turn it over quickly. One way around that is maybe looking at non-chartered points at Pinnacle, where ROFR is waived for those sales as Pinnacle charges a hefty $2000 commison to the seller (hint, most offers - yes you can make an offer to any listing - below $2000 will not get accepeted as the seller is looking to cover costs). Just make sure that the MF are not due the next month .... Another way is to think about the deeds that Bluegreen does not want to take back via ROFR because maybe they are not interested in selling them again. In the past I have experienced a higher success rate there.

 

[MrockStar]

You made the right choice, just concentrate on resorts/deeds that you will travel to most and try to pick only trust fund E deeds and underlying weeks you would use. Also be wary that they are full weeks and not only a few days partial weeks.

 

[BagsRpacked]

$5K in MF for 32K annual points seems high. Maybe you are not taking into account that any and all deeds that reside in trust fund E will share a single base fee, $373, and then all the points will get the incremental rate of $0.0708/point. Should be around $2.8K. If buying more resale, now stick with deeds in Trust E to continue to benefit from the shared base fee. If you buy a deed in another trust, the cost structure is different and your MF will not be as low as they could be. But if its a great deed, maybe its worth it. There are no bad deeds if you are in Trust E and are buying points on the cheap - points are points.

Anyways - I would say you are on good track. The advice you were given in that the perks (other than bonus time) don't get used is dependent on the user. For sure the premier benefits have been reduced or made ineffective over the years, so the cost of buying direct does not justify the benefits, to most folks. If you find a resort that you would like Bonus Time at, then hunt for a deed there, which will probably be cheaper than buying direct to get the charter benefit of bonus time. One other thought is that the points rental space is fairly cutthroat, so prices tend to hover around cost - cost of a large point owner, say 60K points which is ~8cents a point. At 32K, your cost is 8.75 cents a point - not including your aquisition costs. Cheaper to rent than to own if you don't own alot of points. Your difference isn't all that much, but if you only got half of you purchases through ROFR, then it'll be higher until you accumulate more points to bring down your average. What you give up in renting points is the control of when and how you aquire your reservations. And renting points (or reservations) requires some amount of trust of the owner who is renting. That said, <$20 a night for your stay at HL is not a bad way to spend your money.

Good luck in getting past ROFR - several years ago, it was probably 25%. Bluegreen has wisened up and have been lowering that average. Being a current member gives you no advantage in passing ROFR. eBay is tough as the general price point for the sale is low (on average less than say 10 cents a point) which usually triggers ROFR. At time, the timing of the next MF due can sway BG from taking a deed if they think they cannot turn it over quickly. One way around that is maybe looking at non-chartered points at Pinnacle, where ROFR is waived for those sales as Pinnacle charges a hefty $2000 commison to the seller (hint, most offers - yes you can make an offer to any listing - below $2000 will not get accepeted as the seller is looking to cover costs). Just make sure that the MF are not due the next month .... Another way is to think about the deeds that Bluegreen does not want to take back via ROFR because maybe they are not interested in selling them again. In the past I have experienced a higher success rate there.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful and informative reply. Sounds like the next phase is a waiting game - the paperwork will be sent to Bluegreen - It's going to be a pain when they (most likely) deny me on the final day. If this all falls through, I would much rather "rent" someone's points. Sounds like it's completely non-committal and I won't be stuck with MF's for life. So could I just find someone to rent me 24K points a year for 2K, and then I suppose I would have to trust them....no risk no reward, right? Haha

 

[NotNowExp]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful and informative reply. Sounds like the next phase is a waiting game - the paperwork will be sent to Bluegreen - It's going to be a pain when they (most likely) deny me on the final day. If this all falls through, I would much rather "rent" someone's points. Sounds like it's completely non-committal and I won't be stuck with MF's for life. So could I just find someone to rent me 24K points a year for 2K, and then I suppose I would have to trust them....no risk no reward, right? Haha

Maybe points on a regular basis at 8 cents is dream. 10 cents is a better expectataion and that will go 5-7% a year as MF go up. There are a couple facebook pages that see lots of rental activity.

 

[BagsRpacked]

Just an update on this post, Blue Green did exercise first right of refusal on all four e-bay bids. I feel bad for the poor owners who have to go through this to have their property finally bought back by Blue Green instead of them just offering it up front. I'm sure the broker fee still had to be paid on all of this...sigh...I don't quite understand how when you own something, and you've paid it off completely, how it isn't yours to do with whatever you darn well please...assuming the new buyer passes the necessary character checks for esteemed Blue Green living.

 

[Mongoose]

Just an update on this post, Blue Green did exercise first right of refusal on all four e-bay bids. I feel bad for the poor owners who have to go through this to have their property finally bought back by Blue Green instead of them just offering it up front. I'm sure the broker fee still had to be paid on all of this...sigh...I don't quite understand how when you own something, and you've paid it off completely, how it isn't yours to do with whatever you darn well please...assuming the new buyer passes the necessary character checks for esteemed Blue Green living.

Can I ask why you want BlueGreen? Honest question. I don't know anything about them.

 

[BagsRpacked]

Can I ask why you want BlueGreen? Honest question. I don't know anything about them.

You know, that is a good question. I think because I feel like I have a really good grasp of how the points work, and I think I know exactly how and where I would use them. I'm ultimately trying to amass enough points to snowbird for the first 12 weeks of the year, and trying to find the cheapest way to do that. It seems like it's going to cost me about 10K to buy the points (just looking around the pinnacle website which bluegreen owns) and then about 4K in maintence fees a year...so, I'm thinking in the long run, that could be an easier option than secondary home ownership...

 

[2boysandus]

Hi all

First time posting. Not even sure if I’m doing it right. Went to a BG vacation seminar this past week in Orlando, FL. I’m brand new with time shares. No nothing. They wanted $42,000 for 20k points per year. Annual maintaince fee of $1789 with vacation club dues of $154. I didn’t buy anything. Just curious to know how this really works and if people enjoy the company or if they suck. Thanks

 

[Mongoose]

Hi all

First time posting. Not even sure if I’m doing it right. Went to a BG vacation seminar this past week in Orlando, FL. I’m brand new with time shares. No nothing. They wanted $42,000 for 20k points per year. Annual maintaince fee of $1789 with vacation club dues of $154. I didn’t buy anything. Just curious to know how this really works and if people enjoy the company or if they suck. Thanks

Welcome! You are in the right place. BTW, you can buy 20,000 resale points in the Marketplace her on TUG for about $500. Timesshare are what you make of them. I own Hilton, Hyatt, Worldmark and Holiday Inn CV and am very happy with them. I don't know much about Bluegreen. My suggestion is to take some time, read up on TUG and make sure its right for you. If you decide yes, then you need to decide which brand you want and if you want weeks or points. Then I strongly suggest you buy Resale and make sure you use a trusted closing company like LT Transfers.

Maintenance fees will run you about $1000-1700 per year for a 2 BR unit. The important thing to know is MFs are based on size rather than season and point values are based on both size and season. So you can get a bad season 2 BR and get 3500 points or a prime season 2 BR for 11000 points for the same MFs. Both can be had on the resale market for just a few percent of what the developer charges. If you are not concerned with luxury, but just want a clean suite in a great location, take a look at Worldmark. Its simple to use and has some of the lowest MFs out there. If you want luxury, then check Hilton, Hyatt or Marriott.

 

[2boysandus]

Welcome! You are in the right place. BTW, you can buy 20,000 resale points in the Marketplace her on TUG for about $500. Timesshare are what you make of them. I own Hilton, Hyatt, Worldmark and Holiday Inn CV and am very happy with them. I don't know much about Bluegreen. My suggestion is to take some time, read up on TUG and make sure its right for you. If you decide yes, then you need to decide which brand you want and if you want weeks or points. Then I strongly suggest you buy Resale and make sure you use a trusted closing company like LT Transfers.

Maintenance fees will run you about $1000-1700 per year for a 2 BR unit. The important thing to know is MFs are based on size rather than season and point values are based on both size and season. So you can get a bad season 2 BR and get 3500 points or a prime season 2 BR for 11000 points for the same MFs. Both can be had on the resale market for just a few percent of what the developer charges. If you are not concerned with luxury, but just want a clean suite in a great location, take a look at Worldmark. Its simple to use and has some of the lowest MFs out there. If you want luxury, then check Hilton, Hyatt or Marriott.

Thank you, this is confusing to me. We are a family of 5 and want to have the option of having extended family trips. I checked out eBay for green blue vacations & it looks like they have a contingency in place for people selling them. That have this right of first refusal in place for anyone selling their time share resale if they are selling it for less than 20 cents per point.

We do like luxury, not going to lie. What do you recommend? Thanks

 

[Mongoose]

Thank you, this is confusing to me. We are a family of 5 and want to have the option of having extended family trips. I checked out eBay for green blue vacations & it looks like they have a contingency in place for people selling them. That have this right of first refusal in place for anyone selling their time share resale if they are selling it for less than 20 cents per point.

We do like luxury, not going to lie. What do you recommend? Thanks

Where do you like to go?

 

[2boysandus]

Where do you like to go?

We like to go all over.
Primarily warm beaches but my husband is also a hunter and loves the outdoors. Do they have an option where you can book different locations with points? When we went to the blue green seminar they were trying to sell us all different levels of points and then presented us a book that showed during which weeks what locations would charge the points. I just like to have to option of trying out new spots.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

We like to go all over.
Primarily warm beaches but my husband is also a hunter and loves the outdoors. Do they have an option where you can book different locations with points? When we went to the blue green seminar they were trying to sell us all different levels of points and then presented us a book that showed during which weeks what locations would charge the points. I just like to have to option of trying out new spots.

Before purchasing a resale week or points somewhere, think about renting a week with one of the many Timeshare operators out there to see if it meets your needs (take a test drive). Renting a week lets you see what you like, and more importantly what you don't like.

Most Timeshares are worth little or nothing, so when you do buy be sure not to buy from the developer. Think "resale" and check out eBay as well as the Timeshare Giveaway section here on TUG.

Welcome to TUG.




.

 

[Mongoose]

We like to go all over.
Primarily warm beaches but my husband is also a hunter and loves the outdoors. Do they have an option where you can book different locations with points? When we went to the blue green seminar they were trying to sell us all different levels of points and then presented us a book that showed during which weeks what locations would charge the points. I just like to have to option of trying out new spots.

I don’t know enough about Bluegreen. If you lean towards West coast look at Worldmark. For East coast look at Wyndham. Both are points/credits, however Wyndham has some Legacy weeks. keep an eye on MFs. Be very careful about resale restrictions on some. Not a real issue with these two. Click on show map.

https://worldmark.wyndhamdestinations.com/us/en/resorts/resort-search-results

this is also a good place to start. https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

 

[2boysandus]

If you lean towards West coast look at Worldmark. For East coast look at Wyndham. keep an eye on MFs. Be very careful about resale restrictions on some. Not a real issue with these two. Click on show map.

https://worldmark.wyndhamdestinations.com/us/en/resorts/resort-search-results

this is also a good place to start. https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

Thank you so much!

 

[fredmotola]

Hi all

First time posting. Not even sure if I’m doing it right. Went to a BG vacation seminar this past week in Orlando, FL. I’m brand new with time shares. No nothing. They wanted $42,000 for 20k points per year. Annual maintaince fee of $1789 with vacation club dues of $154. I didn’t buy anything. Just curious to know how this really works and if people enjoy the company or if they suck. Thanks

Pretty good first move in not buying directly from the Developer. The advice you have gotten here about shopping around and buying resale is sound. Some Bluegreen spicifics the sales folks won't tell you:
1) Bluegreen is best for planners - availability opens up at 11 months out and if you want a prime unit/location in the summer or around a holiday, its best to be online at midnight to the day (11 months prior to checkin) and grab your reservations. That said, there are locations with tons of availabilty, The Fountains in Orlando is one of them, that have opening a few months out, but those are generally not the beach.
2) One of the nice perks of Bluegreen is bonus time, where at 48 days out you can grab a reservation and pay cash - 2BR units are $79/night. That perk is limited if you buy resale. It is limited to only the resort(s) in which you are "deeded". So if you have aspirations of using Bonus Time at a certain resort, be sure to buy resale at that resort. This limitaion is lifted if you own a "charter" deed - one that is bought from Bluegreen directly or via Pinnacle Vacations (has to be charter points, but its possible to buy at less than $2 a point), Bluegreen's resale outlet. So you have to decide, preferably after you have used the system, if Bonus time is worth the added expense of buying charter points. It is not unheard of to own a small charter deed of 3000 points and 25K+ resale points - points spend the same way, charter or resale, it is just the benfits (above and beyond direct points usage) are limited with resale.
3) ROFR on resale - Recently Bluegreen is been exercising ROFR often. There is no specific $/point amount for which they take or pass on ROFR, but some will say that number is $0.20/point. I have seen deeds pass lower and deeds taken higher. Regradless, buying low and selling high is good business for Bluegreen. Expect a success rate around 20%. Note - until recently, buying non-charter points from Pinnacle has been a guarantee pass of ROFR. While buying from Pinnacle may cost a little more (Pinnacle charges the Seller $2000 commision on sale), there are some good values there if you buy more than 25K points and get a seller to break even, i.e. cover their cost ($2000 +$500 listing) - so $2500/25K is about $0.10/point. With all resale, eBay or Pinnacle or direct, just be careful to know two things - if there are any owed maintenance fees or when the next maintenance fees are due. As the buyer you will be responsible for both ...
4) Which brings me to the last point, as with any timeshre, assume that maintenance fees are perpetual. I look at MF with Bluegreen in terms of $/point as all your reservation are some quantily of points and thus some specific cost to you. The way the MF are structured in the current Trust is a base fee and then an incramental fee, currently its $373 + $0.0708*points. Given this, $/points will do down the more points you own. Here is where you have to decide how many vacations you want out of BG. Assume a 2BR costs you 13K points for a week and you want 2 weeks a year, thats 26K points at $2367 in annual fees (there is a $154 annual club dues on top of MF). Thats $0.091/point for those 26K points or two weeks. That 9.1 cents will only go up. Obviously if you owned more points, the $/point will go down to ~8 cents, but you have to own more than 60K points and pay $4775 a year. I say this to say that it is quite possible to rent points from other owners at about 8-8.5 cents a point on various Facebook pages. While there are downsides to points rentals, risk of scam is possible & limited inventory (most owners will rent you points, but may not be willing to stay up til midnight to grab you a 2BR oceanfront unit in July), but you are not having to pay MF in perpetuity ...

Anyways, some food for though. Also there is a FB page, Bluegreen Timeshare Secrets, where you will get the hard truth from many happy owners who very successfully use BG. Its worth a visit.

 

[vacaworm311]

Hello, sorry to chime in on this thread but it seems to be quite informative. My question is, I see bluegreen points for sale here for $500. Will that just be ROFRed or is there something different here as opposed to ebay? Or are these point for existing owners?

 

[Mongoose]

Hello, sorry to chime in on this thread but it seems to be quite informative. My question is, I see bluegreen points for sale here for $500. Will that just be ROFRed or is there something different here as opposed to ebay? Or are these point for existing owners?

I'm not a BG owner. However based on experience with other brands, it usually depends on several factors, mainly how valuable the points are and how low the price is. Your best bet is to try. They are probably less likely to ROFR small points packages and EOY packages.

 

[BagsRpacked]

I'm not a BG owner. However based on experience with other brands, it usually depends on several factors, mainly how valuable the points are and how low the price is. Your best bet is to try. They are probably less likely to ROFR small points packages and EOY packages.

Yes, I'm definately struggling with this as well. I'm hesitant to get ROFR'ed again - I wish I knew the sweet spot. I could theoretically assume that the sweet spot would be greater than or equal to what they are selling on Pinnaclevacations. But I think you mentioned that now some of Pinnacle's deals are also being ROFR'ed.

 

[tschwa2]

One thing that is annoying with bluegreen is they have a $500 non refundable transfer fee that you have to pay to Bluegreen regardless of whether they exercise ROFR or not.

 

[Mongoose]

One thing that is annoying with bluegreen is they have a $500 non refundable transfer fee that you have to pay to Bluegreen regardless of whether they exercise ROFR or not.

You have to be kidding!

 

[tschwa2]

You have to be kidding!

kid you not.

 

[BagsRpacked]

kid you not.

I wonder if that's so you can't change your mind once BG exercises their rights...then you cannot get out of the transfer process....so it's a final choice. Period.

 

[tschwa2]

I wonder if that's so you can't change your mind once BG exercises their rights...then you cannot get out of the transfer process....so it's a final choice. Period.

It technically isn't final but they won't give you the $500 back so if you decide to try again later it will cost another $500.