Advice for direct purchase or not from HGVC

[Smackenzie]

I'm a long time Florida resident (45+ years), so the time share come on is not something new to me.

I was contacted by Hilton as I am a longtime HHRewards member. Decided to go to the presentation at the HGVC in Orlando which is about an hour from my house. Only reason I went was because it was Hilton. Took my kids and we had a great time. Loved the property and the sales person was low key. Good experience. I took the VIP membership because my husband had passed away a few months ago and the estate was not settled yet.

I am now getting calls from a rep (and this I expected) who is saying if I will go ahead and commit to the membership they will throw in an additional 17,500 HGVC points to the original 7K, which are good for 3 years, plus match my fee for the VIP and apply it to the purchase price. The original price quoted to me was 33K.

Should I consider buying from a resale organization, or did HGVC offer me something worthwhile, or am I still not clear headed enough? Or do I need to talk to the rep and see if she will sweeten the deal further?

The option to be able to travel to other parts of the world is what was most attractive to me. I have good friends in Las Vegas and typically spend some time there about every 6 months or so.

Any advice or help is appreciated. I'm new to this and dont want to make a big mistake.

Thanks....

 

[Ant22man]

I do not recommend you purchasing in the same city that is your based residence. Also Look through the TUG Timeshare for sales listing. I would think you would find attractive values and locations. You will not recieve the points. But I do not find points of much value anyway.

 

[Talent312]

I concur with the recommendation for buying resale.
HGVC is a great system -- very flexible and user-friendly. That said, retail prices are in the stratospere and one can save 50%-75% buying resale. Bonus points are restricted and not worth the additional expense.

Two HGVC resale agents who are frequently recommended in this forum are Seth Nock @ http://www.sellingtimeshares.net/ and Judy Kozlowski @ www.timeshareresalepros.com.
One can also find HGVC resales on ebay, but one needs to be careful to use a reputable closing service.

HGVC is a point-system, which means that it matters little where one buys.
Many HGVC owners never actually stay in their home-resort. It only matters for high-demand resorts (Hawaii), where the extra 3 months for "home-resort reservations" is an advantage over the unwashed masses (club-member bookings).

 

[itradehilton]

A friend once told me to be sure I buy in a place I would want to visit because if all else fails you can still enjoy what you purchased. I followed this advice and although I hardly stay where I purchased I know I would enjoy my home resort if that was my only option.

 

[Smackenzie]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I will contact both these folks tomorrow. Already looked at some of the posts and the prices are indeed a LOT less. I'm glad I asked here.

 

[Sunshine Wanted]

I went to Hawaii last year at xmas, and through Hilton.com stayed in a 2 bdrm timeshare unit (not knowing it was a timeshare). We did the presentation, and ended up purchasing the HGVC VIP package (just like you did). I had been on TUG a few times prior to this trip, so I logged on and started educating myself - asked lots of questions, read lots of old posts, etc.

We rescinded our VIP membership even (making certain we followed specific instruction listed on the back of the contract), deciding that we did want to own an HGVC unit, through resale - and what we paid for the VIP could certainly help with the purchase of a resale unit.

 

[Karen G]

I took the VIP membership because my husband had passed away a few months ago and the estate was not settled yet. . . .The original price quoted to me was 33K. . . .Any advice or help is appreciated. I'm new to this and dont want to make a big mistake.

Sorry to hear about losing your husband. You are very wise to do some research and ask for advice here on TUG before making such a big, expensive decision.

There is an abundant supply of resale timeshares now, many with very motivated sellers. Take your time and do lots of research. I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a small fraction of the developer price. Welcome to TUG.