Consumer Reports Timeshares Mar 2016 p49 [merged]

[qwerty]

I've bought 4 timeshares, 3 of them resale.

I bought DVC Poly developer points. I own a 168 point contract that is also a Fall fixed week Lake View.

I also own Beach Club Villa (BCV), which I bought resale for $84/point, which incidentally, was also its original price per point when new in 2002. If you bought BCV new for $84/point in 2002, you can sell that now, 14 yrs later, for $115/point, the current going rate on the resale market. At BCV, those 150 points in 2002 cost $12,600 and could be sold today for $17,250.

All the near park resorts, and there are five, Poly, Grand Flo, Bay Lake Tower near MK and BCV and BWV near EPCOT appear to be in the same boat. If resale value holds its own over time, then the author's calculations of breakeven are seriously off:

In his example, break even is at year 13 where renting costs $50,000 and DVC costs 47K. Left off the equation is that the underlying DVC contract in 13 years will quite likely be still worth very near (and possibly more) than the buy in. In 13 years, that Poly contract will still have 38 years of ownership left and if the buyer cashed out then, they would recoup more than half of their total cost of ownership making the comparison 50K vs 23k for DVC.

Only once you consider the time value of money (something he didn't do) would the author's calculations begin to make sense. Even then, in the out years, value, realized by sale or continued ownership, again shifts to the advantage of the buyer.

DVC holds it value, especially the near park resorts but all of them to most extents.

I bought Poly eyes wide open. I knew what I was getting, and there is no equivalent on the resale market.

I do not have DVC points. I thought that the DVC points were available for a set number of years and not deeded. If so, why would the value increase for a lesser number of years?

 

[Jason245]

I do not have DVC points. I thought that the DVC points were available for a set number of years and not deeded. If so, why would the value increase for a lesser number of years?

The product has a magic name to it... the set years is 50. The oldest units still have 25 years to go and the price to stay on property (with all the perks) only goes up...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[JPTraveler]

RedWeek is mentioned on page 52

Just read the article. No mention of TSET or Reedweek or TUG. Is it being edited as the author gets corrected?

On page 52 of the March issue, bottom left corner, there is an insert titled: "Slash your costs on the secondhand market".

RedWeek is mentioned in this sub-article.

Overall this article is highly biased towards the retail developer. There is a quote from a survey paid for by the American Resort Development Association saying "...about eight in ten timeshare owners said they would happily buy their timeshare again."

My survey does not agree with those numbers.

There is a blog following the article where readers can post.

 

[chucky]

Has any TUGGER used the Timeshare Ext Team and what were the results?

 

[TUGBrian]

I find it highly unlikely that any TUG member would utilize an upfront fee company.

what efforts have you made thusfar to sell your timeshare?

 

[icydog]

Here's the comment I posted on ConsumerReports.com

Ok, I'm a long time subscriber of Consumer Reports and a long time owner of timeshares.

What your article neglected to report is the robust resale market of good timeshares even the likes of Disney Vacation Club, Marriott Vacation Club, Hilton Grande Vacations, Starwood, Hyatt etc.

I did my research on Tug2.net and more specifically tugbbs.com. There I learned not to fall for the ARDA diatribe spouted from the mouths of developers. If you want to help the "Everyman" do not believe what they are telling you.

Do these things instead:
Decide where you want to go
Decide if you want a fixed week or a timeshare that is used within a season
Decide if you want to go to your dream place every single year or if you want to explore other venues
Decide if you like a specific timeshare developer vs another

Once you've decided all this...Go to Tugbbs.com (I have no affiliation, I'm just a member of the group) and read and read and read some more. Ask lots of questions. You'll be treated well. You'll get helpful answers from those of us who have made all the mistakes and learned how to buy timeshares correctly--in the resale market!

I own several Marriott timeshares. I bought some from Marriott directly and I bought some on the resale market. The ONLY difference is the vastly less expensive resale weeks cannot be converted to Marriott Reward Points. These points can be used for hotel stays but if you own timeshares you have your hotels taken care of already. Not that exchanging for reward points is never valuable, it's just the exception--not the rule! Marriott is now selling Destination Club Points. I have some of those DC Points but the maintenance fees are higher than traditional weeks and the availability at the best resorts is less than if were to buy a week at the resort of my choice.

I also own many Disney Vacation Club points that I bought resale.. They work the same as the points purchased directly from Disney except that I can't use my points at another Disney Hotel, on a Disney cruise or an Adventure vacation. Again, I would never do that because I see the value of my points is at the timeshares! I could easily pay cash for all those things by renting my points to my friends and still have a pocketful of cash leftover!

I have owned and sold Starwood Resorts and Hilton Grande Vacation Club. Both companies work the same as Marriott and Disney Vacation Club. There are restrictions on their hotel use but NOT at the timeshares themselves.

If you buy your timeshare on the resale market you'll save many Thousands of Dollars while protecting your investment when you sell your timeshare. For instance, If I pay $3000 for a Marriott timeshare I will have no trouble selling it for the same amount. If I bought that same timeshare from Marriott I would pay $20,000 and when I go to sell it I'll faint when I find out it's only worth $3000.

Looking at your article, your position makes little sense. You eschew buying from developers to avoid being locked out of seasons or weeks because you didn't buy from them. I can tell you that is just false information that the ARDA has fed you as their voice for developers. The ARDA wishes there wasn't a resale market, and they act as if there wasn't one. The fact is, the resale market is the ONLY place you can be protected from over zealous, and many times, unscrupulous developers.

Please research this topic more thoroughly and protect your readership. Don't quote special interest groups like the ARDA. The organization is self promoting and does not represent timeshare owners like me.

Thank you,

 

[LannyPC]

Has any TUGGER used the Timeshare Ext Team and what were the results?

I see you came on these boards a year and a half ago wondering about selling your TS on E-bay:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1657067#post1657067

Did you follow the advice? What happened?

 

[pedro47]

To icydog, your post is awesome. Thanks for sharing your comments to CR!

 

[csarahan]

Article Not Up to CR Standards

I saw the hard copy article and thought I might learn something new. Well, I did. This article is not up to the usual CR standards that I have come to expect. Most of the information in the article is junk and not enough time spent discussing resales and sources of information for timeshares e.g. TUG, redweek, timesharing today, and national timeshare owners association.

 

[presley]

Ok, I'm a long time subscriber of Consumer Reports and a long time owner of timeshares.

Thanks for posting that over there. I cannot read any of the comments to the article and don't intend on joining anything so I can.

 

[icydog]

I also posted my comment on their Facebook page. You can see the Consumer Reports Facebook page here.

You should be able to see my comments on the bottom of the page.

 

[dominidude]

Ok, I'm a long time subscriber of Consumer Reports and a long time owner of timeshares.

...

Not surprisingly, it seems this comment was deleted/not published under the comments section of the article in question.

 

[TUGBrian]

you will find that just like wikipedia....certain entities that profit from owners NOT knowing the truth will vigorously monitor mainstream media articles as well as social media to quickly "report" posts that might otherwise end up in people discovering they are being swindled.

 

[Passepartout]

They won't/don't publish negative- though true- comments.

Well, so much for that bubble. They burst it. I've long since cancelled my CR subscription, so have no/little leverage on them, but now I can happily thumb my nose at them.

A pox on their house!

Jim

 

[Makai Guy]

I have subscribed to Consumer Reports for almost 25 years and it pains me to think about how many times I bought into everything I ever read as "must be 100% accurate". Now that I read an article about something I already know well and can't agree with it less, I want to cancel my subscription..

I came to the same conclusion years ago re Consumer Reports. Whenever they reported on something where I had detailed knowledge (mainly photography and audio equipment back then), I thought their reports were garbage. Typically they would ignore what I considered to be important features/aspects, yet knock themselves out testing/worrying about ones that I thought were only peripherally important. So as an educated consumer, I chose to stop wasting money on CR.

 

[MuranoJo]

I find that more & more I don't agree with the ratings CR gives various products (which I have experience with), and quite often the reports are old or they don't even cover some of the major players.

And for at least the past year or so, they've been bugging subscribers to 'donate' to them because 'research is so expensive and they don't sell ads' (thought that's what our membership fees were for).

We do look at it, but for some time haven't put too much weight in the ratings.

 

[WinniWoman]

I find that more & more I don't agree with the ratings CR gives various products (which I have experience with), and quite often the reports are old or they don't even cover some of the major players.

And for at least the past year or so, they've been bugging subscribers to 'donate' to them because 'research is so expensive and they don't sell ads' (thought that's what our membership fees were for).

We do look at it, but for some time haven't put too much weight in the ratings.

I think they are still useful for the cars and the appliances and computers. But I am not renewing my subscription because it is expensive and how often do you buy cars and appliances and computers?

 

[Iggyearl]

I guess I won't get "published"

I have been vocal regarding Consumer Reports opinions, as I don't always agree. I own a 2002 Odyssey and am on the third transmission. When they rated it as a "best buy" used car for under $10,000 - I had at them. There are thousands of complaints on the internet regarding the early Odysseys. The response they gave me was, "Thanks for sharing that with us. So long"

The day after I got my March issue, I wrote a nice, non-controversial Letter to the Editor stating that the author certainly had never been to a timeshare presentation, and that Tug was a valuable resource for the uninitiated. Here's what I got back:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact Consumer Reports®. I want to express how much we value your choice of our products and services to help you make informed purchasing decisions.

Mr.XXXX, here at Consumer Reports we understand and respect the fact that at times our readers are dissatisfied with or disagree with the content of a report or rating we may publish. While we don’t expect all our readers to follow our point of view, whether they are seeking information about a specific product, general buying advice or critical safety information, we do realize the importance of our expert, unbiased and independent product testing that so many look to us for.

The appropriate editors have been sent your comments relevant to Article on Timeshares We hope this information is helpful."

Depressing..........THEY are the experts.

 

[eschjw]

TUG has now been mentioned several times

Don't get to down on CR. They may not be perfect, but they are the best overall consumer education and advocate site that is available to the public. I dropped my print subscription years ago, but still get the online edition and consider it to be money well spent. A paid TUG membership is also money well spent. I rarely use the benefits of my paid membership, but I like to support worthy causes.

TUG has now been mentioned several times in the comment section of the article that I responded to. There are 2 different articles mentioned in this forum thread.

TUG is the mother lode of sound timeshare advice. You may have to dig to find the best advice that fits your situation, but it time well spent. Consumer Reports is a great starting point for a much broader wealth of general consumer product information. Our comments to CR will help share our deeper knowledge of this particular subject to the general public.