Buy by Myself or Use a Broker/Lawyer?

[Unicornhouse]

Finished up my second HGVC presentation this morning. I walked away from $9000 for 2400 points (4000 point bonus) since it didn't align with what I had seen on resale sites. I'm still convinced it's a great product and I am taken by the flexibility in applying points to locations. I'm posting from Orlando today. Long-term, I think it's worth it as a vacation plan. (I have not researched other vendors.)

Having attempted to scour these forums for intel in advance of today, one item I'm not sure about is if I can "buy one myself" off a website or if I need a realtor, broker, lawyer, or otherwise. I do work in land development and understand real estate...but I feel a bit fish out of water here.

I'll go look at more listings now. (And I'll put any specific questions I have on the Hilton board.) [Edited to correct spelling mistakes.]

 

[DeniseM]

I would never use a lawyer, and I would not use a broker, unless I was buying something from the broker's company.

To transfer a timeshare deed, you need someone to prepare and record the new deed, in legal compliance with the county recorder's office where it will be recorded. This is what a title company does when you buy a house.

This is who I use - they are Tuggers, they get high marks on TUG, and they are efficient and inexpensive - usually less than $200.

L.T. Transfers
www.lttransfers.com
readylegal@gmail.com
706.219.2709

However, if you buy from a resale company, or an ebay reseller, and not a private seller, they usually want to do the title transfer themselves (or use an affiliated company) because the fees are a source of income for them.

 

[vacationtime1]

Consider buying through a broker; this is your first purchase and you want things to go smoothly. Yes, it may cost a bit more, but compared to the cost of buying from the developer, it will still be a bargain.

I'm not a Hilton person so I won't suggest brokers, but others will. Nor will I suggest how many points you should buy, although 2400 is not enough.

 

[dayooper]

@Unicornhouse The Hilton system is very flexible and the treat their owners very well. Resale purchases have the same booking windows and access to regular HGVC resorts as those that purchased through a developer.

If you are wondering where to buy and how many points to purchase, check out the HGVC forum. There are so many seasoned owners there. Let us know how you will be using your timeshare and we can help.

 

[tombanjo]

2400 points is not alot depending on destination, rooms and season. Lagoon Tower platinum studio is 2200 points for a week so it is enough for a Hawaiian vacation, as well as many other locations. Grand Waikikian Platinum 3 bdrm pent is 28,750 points a week, so you can see there can be quite a spread. You may wish to work backwards, find a location and season, see what the points would be to go there. Look through the maintenance fee list https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...ations-club-2019-maintenance-fee-list.280402/ to get an idea of points per $ for various locations. The balance is cheap points at a place you never visit mean you have to use booking window for possibly much more in demand places. My strategy would be spend a bit to get a timeshare that has resale value as well. eBay has a lot of brokers who clearly list the fees. For a purchase of several thousand dollars, you may wish to avoid eBay and use some of the brokers that are recommended in the forums, or buy from TUG marketplace and use LT Transfers.

 

[Unicornhouse]

Thank you all for your help. I'm feeling much more confident and emboldened here. I'm going to keep shopping (and will move to the Hilton group with any specifics).

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Consider buying through a broker; this is your first purchase and you want things to go smoothly. Yes, it may cost a bit more, but compared to the cost of buying from the developer, it will still be a bargain.

I'm not a Hilton person so I won't suggest brokers, but others will. Nor will I suggest how many points you should buy, although 2400 is not enough.

I read somewhere that it is important that at least ONE person in the transaction knows what needs to be done. So, using a broker may make sense.

My smoothest transaction was using the Tug2 marketplace and buying from another Tug member. In that case both of us knew what we were doing (and we used LT Transfer). I also bought two off of ebay (both sellers had 100% ratings and lots of sales). Those transactions seemed to go okay as well. Surprisingly, I hit the biggest hiccup in a closing through Re/Max. Apparently neither the broker nor the seller read my clearly written offer as thoroughly as they should have. The issue had to do with the first MF for which I would be responsible. I always like to spell things out very explicitly and try to never leave a contract item up for personal interpretation.

 

[DeniseM]

The person who knows what they are doing can be the Timeshare Title Co. - it doesn't have to be a broker. Unless you are buying a timeshare that is listed with a broker, and therefore you must go through the broker - you don't need to bring in a broker.