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Buying Points TS on Ebay

Hilal

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My wife and I recently bought a TS retail at a presentation in Hilton Head. We rescinded within the 5 days due to the things we found on the internet about the particular company as well as buying retail in general. (So thank you TUG!) We still really like the idea of owning a TS and like the seeming simplicity of exchanges using the points system, so we are looking at buying a points TS on Ebay. We still had a few questions though that I was hoping some people on here might be able to help me out with.

1. Are deals usually better before or after the beginning of the year? I assume many people's annual MFs are due around January 1st. How does this usually affect TS sales on Ebay? Do you find more TSs with the MFs already paid and therefore "free" points, or do people usually want more for their TSs, or expect you to reimburse MFs? I haven't been watching the sales long enough to know for sure when you can find the better deals, but I'm guessing that some of you have.

2. If I buy right now, then will my RCI points year start in late December or so? (Approximately 30 days after the sale.) If so, will that mean that my 2012 year will start in December 2011, or will that mean that my 2012 year won't start until December 2012? I also see some sellers saying that the points anniversary stays the same as the current owners. Just hoping someone can provide clarification on how this usually (or always) works.

Also, because I'm new to TSs if anyone has any other advice about anything related to buying a TS resale I would appreciate it.

Thanks!
 

ampaholic

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-snip-

1. Are deals usually better before or after the beginning of the year? I assume many people's annual MFs are due around January 1st. How does this usually affect TS sales on Ebay? Do you find more TSs with the MFs already paid and therefore "free" points, or do people usually want more for their TSs, or expect you to reimburse MFs? I haven't been watching the sales long enough to know for sure when you can find the better deals, but I'm guessing that some of you have.
I have found better deals after the first of the year - up until spring.


2. If I buy right now, then will my RCI points year start in late December or so? (Approximately 30 days after the sale.) If so, will that mean that my 2012 year will start in December 2011, or will that mean that my 2012 year won't start until December 2012? I also see some sellers saying that the points anniversary stays the same as the current owners. Just hoping someone can provide clarification on how this usually (or always) works.
Your 2011 year would start Dec. 2011 - your 2012 use year would start Dec. 2012
But it is nearly impossible to get one "closed" that fast. :wall:

http://app.rci.com/landing/ptr/useyear/index.html

Also, because I'm new to TSs if anyone has any other advice about anything related to buying a TS resale I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

Sure -- Read about Reservation windows - they are important. :eek:

http://app.rci.com/landing/ptr/reservation/index.html
 
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theo

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"Simplicity" might be "illusory"...

We still really like the idea of owning a TS and like the seeming simplicity of exchanges using the points system, so we are looking at buying a points TS on Ebay.

In my personal opinion and experience, there is precious little that is ever really and truly "simple" in the world of timeshares. To be more specific about "exchanging", if you can't actually manage to get (via exchange) where you want to go, when you want to go there because of a lack of available exchange inventory, then that "seeming simplicity" very quickly becomes a dissolving concept instead of a practical reality...

I leave it to other with more interest than I possess in eBay and /or RCI to address your other questions about either or both.
 

ampaholic

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Hilal

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I read your replies and the links you posted. That is all good information. It sounds like points may not be the way to go if you have specific ideas of when and where you want to vacation, but that it can be an effective way to get some good deals if you are flexible. Right now we probably don't vacation as much as we should, so part of our plan was to do this so that we would go to new and exciting places, so points might be great for us.

Right now our thought is to buy one of the 92,500 point units at Vacation Village at Parkway and mostly use it for trading. It seems like it is one of the highest value units available when it comes to the amount of points you get for your MFs. The only real negatives I've heard about it is that it is only a so-so resort (which wouldn't be that big of a deal if we are only using it for points) and that there is the DVC block (not sure if this applies to all DVC, or only DVC in Orlando though, but either way I think we are fine with it.) If anyone else has any other reasons why it might be a bad idea to buy there I'm interested in hearing them.
 

theo

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Vacation Village at Parkway; read more...

If anyone else has any other reasons why it might be a bad idea to buy there I'm interested in hearing them.

I claim no personal knowledge or opinion at all about this facility, but I nonetheless respectfully suggest that you find and read a post dated October 26, 2011 in the Florida forum on TUG, posted by timeos2 and entitled "Vacation Village -- Trouble for Owners?"

You might find the observations & questions in that post (and the replies thereto in that same thread) to be of some interest and / or concern to you... :shrug:
 
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ampaholic

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I might suggest you look closer to home - HHI is only an hour from you - a lot of people would kill to be able to spend weekends there.

RCI.com has a resort directory - you can check out the resorts at.
 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
So-So Is As So-So Does.

Right now our thought is to buy one of the 92,500 point units at Vacation Village at Parkway and mostly use it for trading. It seems like it is one of the highest value units available when it comes to the amount of points you get for your MFs. The only real negatives I've heard about it is that it is only a so-so resort (which wouldn't be that big of a deal if we are only using it for points) and that there is the DVC block (not sure if this applies to all DVC, or only DVC in Orlando though, but either way I think we are fine with it.) If anyone else has any other reasons why it might be a bad idea to buy there I'm interested in hearing them.
So-so ?

Shux, the place is rated Gold Crown by RCI.

Last time we were there, Vacation Village At Parkway still had a very strong Wow! factor.

We like it so much that we're signed up for an Extra Vacation Getaway week there Janary 7-14, 2012.

We like it well enough to own there -- a 92,500-point unit just like what you're thinking of buying, except ours is triennial (30,833 points per year).

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

Hilal

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That post about the MFs and the budget is very interesting. It doesn't completely surprise me, but it is still somewhat concerning. How common are special assessments in the TS world? What is the normal size of a special assessment when they happen. Are they usually 50% of the maintenance fees, 100% of the maintenance fees, or are they sometimes/often several times the amount of the maintenance fees? If I bought at Vacation Village at Parkway it would be with the understanding that a special assessment is certainly a possibility, particularly if/when the developer sells all their units, but I don't even know what a special assessment there might be. If I bought there currently it would be with the intent that I never really stay there using my week, but would rather get the points. The big draw there is that you get far more points for the money than anywhere else I have seen. It is hard to pass on points at less than .01 each and instead pay closer to the .02 that I see at other places.


The same goes for the idea of buying in HHI. We like that area, and would occasionally want to visit there, but it seems like even on the resale market these timeshares are far more expensive than the ones in Orlando, and since we would always, or almost always take the points instead of our week it doesn't seem to make sense. (At least from what I understand of how the points system works so far.) We really like the presentation we saw at Coral Resorts, and Coral Sands looks really nice, but if we are just always going to trade it in for points it doesn't seem worth it to pay more in both upfront cost and MFs for less points. Let me know if my thinking here is kind of backwards.
 

ampaholic

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Full disclosure - I own a triennial at VV@P - 24K points per year.

I wouldn't be too worried about a Special Assessment there no matter what the non owners say.

The resort's management co. may have heavy influence in the HOA but it is still in their best interests to keep the resort in good repair and keep the SA's at bay.

It is actually a very nice place for the type of families it is marketed to - Disney / Universal Studios / Sea World folk.

The wanna be Royals may look down their nose at it but ....

Reports of it's demise are greatly exaggerated. :cheer:
 
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