First Timeshare

[Archie1198]

Hi Everyone, looking for anyone that would be willing to assist! Probably the same question as a lot of first timers. I have been doing a lot of research lately and am trying to determine if a timeshare makes sense for myself and my fiance and if so, what is the best value for what I am looking for.

I am open to all opinions and feedback. Lucky for us we have very little restrictions as far as vacation time from work and what season we take the vacation. We are looking at the option to trade but primarily one resort that we can continue to go back to often. Right now I am finding myself looking a lot at Cabo San Lucas as we want to be somewhere that we can charter boats and find some really good offshore fishing. The fishing is also why we might like to trade and try out some other destinations in certain years. My only concern is with the RTU as opposed to having something forever that I could pass down to family.

Since there are only the two of us for now, we do not need and are not looking for the High End, Upper Class Resorts although it would certainly be nice, we would prefer budget friendly! I see on this site and on Ebay, very cheap or even free offerings(i know it is the purchase price only and does not include everything else involved) but because of my inexperience I don't know what is considered a good deal. Are these free or very cheap offerings good options? I found one on this site for a purchase price of $900 and a current maintenance fee of $500 which I personally felt seemed like a decent deal for a week every two years with 16 weeks remaining. I have also seen that I should be careful of mandatory AI resorts. Anyone who would like, please chime in I appreciate everyone's help!

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Mexico, Aruba, Bahamas

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
Yes would like to visit home resort at least half the time. Trade occasionally.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Hawaii, St. Thomas, Florida Keys, Bahamas, Aruba, Mexico

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
None

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Any time, preferably good fishing seasons.

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Yes.

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
Yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
4-5 stars.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
$1000-2000

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
$600 - $900

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Yes.

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?
Yes.

 

[Seaport104]

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Mexico, Aruba, Bahamas

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
Yes would like to visit home resort at least half the time. Trade occasionally.

I'm a Mexico fan and go there yearly (and own there as well) but If I were buying just one timeshare, I would not but Mexico since it is fairly easy to trade into.

As for Bahamas, the only resort that meets your criteria level is Harborside and a 1 bedroom annual fee is +$1,700 per year and is not economical to use for trading (although you would have plenty of trading power)

Aruba has more options with the criteria level you are looking for. Marriott Aruba would fit the bill but fees for 2BR are 1,700 range. Divi resorts are nice and within the $900 annual maintenance fee budget. Check out Divi Phoenix.

 

[Archie1198]

Thank you, I will absolutely look into the Divi Phoenix. Just out of curiousity, taking in as much information as I can, would it ever make sense to do bi-annual in Mexico and another bi-annual somewhere else like the States or Caribbean in the off years or do you feel that is overkill? I do understand that it would mean I'd have two timeshares that could be hard to get rid of if I ever needed to but at this point that is not a concern as I try and keep a good budget and spare funds in the even my situation changes somehow. Thank you for taking your time to respond, I certainly appreciate it!

 

[Ty1on]

Thank you, I will absolutely look into the Divi Phoenix. Just out of curiousity, taking in as much information as I can, would it ever make sense to do bi-annual in Mexico and another bi-annual somewhere else like the States or Caribbean in the off years or do you feel that is overkill? I do understand that it would mean I'd have two timeshares that could be hard to get rid of if I ever needed to but at this point that is not a concern as I try and keep a good budget and spare funds in the even my situation changes somehow. Thank you for taking your time to respond, I certainly appreciate it!

I honestly just wonder if you aren't better off staying out of timeshare and renting at fishing resorts, either from timeshare owners or conventionally. You mention a fiancee.....in this day and age, that could literally put you in any adult age bracket, but if the two of you are looking to start a family, children will dramatically change your vacationing habits, and timeshare commitments and MF range from forever to a couple decades.

 

[Archie1198]

Very true, I am 36, renting could certainly be an option if that is what the majority of feedback becomes. At this point I do not see children or the change of vacationing habits due to children(obviously like anything else there are no guarantees). The other thing I was curious about was RCI and the Last Call deals as for the foreseeable future we are able to take some vacations on shorter notice. Thanks again all

 

[Ty1on]

Very true, I am 36, renting could certainly be an option if that is what the majority of feedback becomes. At this point I do not see children or the change of vacationing habits due to children(obviously like anything else there are no guarantees). The other thing I was curious about was RCI and the Last Call deals as for the foreseeable future we are able to take some vacations on shorter notice. Thanks again all

Last Call and Resort Certs could work very much in your favor, because you are not tied to season restrictions.

 

[Archie1198]

Would you happen to have any advice as to what I should be doing to set myself up for the Last Call and Resort Certs? For example, what should I be looking for, what are the best ways for me to go about getting them?

 

[Ty1on]

Would you happen to have any advice as to what I should be doing to set myself up for the Last Call and Resort Certs? For example, what should I be looking for, what are the best ways for me to go about getting them?

You just need to be an RCI member. Many points clubs bake the RCI fee into your club fees for you. If you end up getting a Week (or more), you pay annual membership directly to RCI. Membership gives you the ability to use both Last Call and Certs without exchanging your weeks. Both are cash rent setups.

 

[Archie1198]

Gotcha, so to become a member of RCI i would need to purchase a timeshare from a resort that participates and from what I have been finding it looks like RCI has been getting some very mixed reviews.

 

[Ty1on]

Gotcha, so to become a member of RCI i would need to purchase a timeshare from a resort that participates and from what I have been finding it looks like RCI has been getting some very mixed reviews.

I've heard more good than bad about RCI and II, with the exception of exchange fees. There are smaller exchange companies (which get rave reviews from the owners that use and like them), but RCI, then II, have the most inventory to exchange or rent.

 

[Archie1198]

Sorry, i know i am killing you with questions and thank you for replying because i know you don't have to, in your opinion if i went this way should i be looking for a timeshare that i would prefer such as Cabo or my other options for access to RCI or should i be looking at best exchange value? Or both? I believe i would be staying at Cabo a majority of the time while trying to find some decent last call deals

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[Seaport104]

Thank you, I will absolutely look into the Divi Phoenix. Just out of curiousity, taking in as much information as I can, would it ever make sense to do bi-annual in Mexico and another bi-annual somewhere else like the States or Caribbean in the off years or do you feel that is overkill? I do understand that it would mean I'd have two timeshares that could be hard to get rid of if I ever needed to but at this point that is not a concern as I try and keep a good budget and spare funds in the even my situation changes somehow. Thank you for taking your time to respond, I certainly appreciate it!

I don't think having a bi-annual one for Mexico and one for the Carribean or US are overkill. For Mexico based timeshares, I would suggest you look at Pueblo Bonito (gorgeous resorts in Cabo) or Villa del Palmar (more locations in Mexico). The only is an every other year doesn't come along often.

I would also suggest you look at the RCI and Interval International Resort Directory to get a sense of the resorts that you can potentially trade into to get a feel which exchange company has the resorts you would enjoy.

Please keep in mind I say potential because some resorts are difficult trades and once you identify the resorts you are interested in, Tuggers here can provide you feedback on the likelihood of the exchange. For example, Harborside at Atlantis trades on Interval but you need a very strong trader to get one without Starwood priority since there are limited deposits.

Since you can travel last minute and/or shoulder/low seasons, you will benefit from the cash rentals from Interval or RCI without having to be tied to additional maintenance fees but you need to own a timeshare to be a member.

 

[Seaport104]

Gotcha, so to become a member of RCI i would need to purchase a timeshare from a resort that participates and from what I have been finding it looks like RCI has been getting some very mixed reviews.

I have both RCI and II and personally I prefer II. Here's why-

- Marriott's trade in II only
- II has better selection for cash rentals than RCI
- Customer service is better in II
- II has e-plus which allows you to change your selection up to 3x for an extra $49
- II exchange fee is 174 versus RCI is $210
- Overall, I like the resorts in II more

 

[Ty1on]

Sorry, i know i am killing you with questions and thank you for replying because i know you don't have to, in your opinion if i went this way should i be looking for a timeshare that i would prefer such as Cabo or my other options for access to RCI or should i be looking at best exchange value? Or both? I believe i would be staying at Cabo a majority of the time while trying to find some decent last call deals

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"If it were me," I would look for something that is a better trader. Mexico is easy to trade into, and I'm sure that applies to Cabo as well. Just be wary of trading into AI Mandatory resorts, as the AI fees are ridiculous....often more than renting, AI inclusive, from online travel agencies. Don't get me wrong, I find resorts in Mexico to be phenomenal in architecture, amenities, and service, but why buy the cow when you can milk it with a trader or rental? A notable exception would be if you find a resale contract at a nice resort that has a limited number of years left on the RTU. This could give you the opportunity to enjoy great accommodations without the long term commitment.

And by the way, while Cabo is renowned for it's world class fishing, I spent 8 hours speeding around and got one 5 pound horrible tasting Jack for the effort. The best fishing grounds don't always lead to the best fishing. I do appreciate your posting here, as you prompted me to look into fishing charters in Puerto Vallarta for my 2017 vacation there, and it is quite less expensive than Cabo was.

 

[Archie1198]

Haha, well I am glad I could help! And yeah I know you could set yourself up with the best of everything and not catch a thing. Out of curiosity, did you use Pisces Spirtsfishing? My fiancee and I are using them in May when we go to Cabo for our honeymoon.

What do you think would need to change in my situation to where you would recommend purchasing a timeshare? Location? Budget? Something else?

Im still interested in anyone elses feedback also as I am trying to take in as much information as I can.

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[SunLover2]

I've read through your thread and of course you will get many opinions so here is mine (since you asked!). After 20 years of time share ownership we sold our two weeks in 2014 and I couldn't be more thrilled. I have one more banked week to use on a vacation in September and then plan to RENT from there on out. TUG is an excellent resource.
My advice is to become a member of TUG, rent a few units/weeks/locations to get a flavor for the timesharing experience and then make a decision about if and where to buy.

 

[Archie1198]

If i asked for it ill take it! Ive found a lot of good help on here already! Do you find that renting a timeshare and purchasing your own food and drinks for the week, as opposed to doing something for instance like Hotwire with flight/hotel/all inclusive, is more cost effective? Im assuming the answer will depend on how much time i plan to spend at the resort
And thank you for sharing
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[tschwa2]

If you like AI's and in general are happy with a hotel or studio size room, you probably can do just as well if not better renting from owners and commercial sites.

 

[ronandjoan]

If you like AI's and in general are happy with a hotel or studio size room, you probably can do just as well if not better renting from owners and commercial sites.

Once you stay in timeshare condos, you will not want to stay so often in hotels. We get spoiled easily.

 

[Archie1198]

I see a lot of advice against a timeshare purchase. Anyone with an idea of when it WOULD actually make sense for me? It seems that there are some people that are really happy with their timeshare and I am wondering what in my situation would be different to where someone would actually be recommending a purchase?

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[Ty1on]

I see a lot of advice against a timeshare purchase. Anyone with an idea of when it WOULD actually make sense for me? It seems that there are some people that are really happy with their timeshare and I am wondering what in my situation would be different to where someone would actually be recommending a purchase?

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A) you want a "home away from home" type vacation where you want to stay at a certain place at least half the time.

B) you want to "prepay" vacations by paying your MF in little chunks instead of getting hit with a vacation time rental expense. The exposure here is that many systems require full MF payment in advance before you can reserve, so you may get hit with all or a part of the maintenance fees at once when you make the reservation, at least for the first time.

C) you like the gamesmanship of timeshare as far as strategically choosing what to own and learning how to best use it within the various systems to maximize your use of it.

These are just my opinion.

 

[Archie1198]

Good stuff, i appreciate all of it

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[WinniWoman]

I know nothing about Mexico or fishing. As for being happy with a purchase- I have owned for 16 years- a fixed and a floating week at a resort that we visit every year. We sometimes exchange the floater to go elsewhere. Had lots of great trips with the floater. Also rent from other timeshare owners to go elsewhere. This is in addition to our fixed weeks. We just acquired another fixed week for free at a resort nearby the first one and for the week immediately following the week of the first one. So now we have 2 weeks in a row and plan on using them at the home resorts every year.

We use it like a second home. We pack up the car, bring food and so forth. That is why we are happy with it. We can drive to it (just 6 hours away). We love the area and never get bored- we always find new things to do and see.
We have no points or any of that. And when we exchange- which is rare- we use the independent exchange companies- not RCI.

Like I said- to go other places in addition to our home resort we rent or we exchange our floating week, which is actually a different assigned week every year off-season. But very often we use the floating week at our home resort as well. Vermont is great in the spring and fall!

 

[Archie1198]

Thank you, that is some great information!

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[presley]

In reading what you are looking for, my instinct is to say not to buy a timeshare at this time. I would recommend renting and then if you fall in love with a place and want to stay there most of the time, buy there.

Keep in mind with Mexico, many places charge a mandatory all inclusive fee. With timeshares, you don't normally get daily or any housekeeping. If you like coming back to your room to see your bed made and your trash removed, you will like hotels much better. If you want to cook your own meals and do laundry on vacation, you'll like timeshares better.

You can certainly rent directly from owners in the marketplace here or on redweek. Here is a link to a small exchange company that will rent to you even if you don't own a timeshare. You can see the prices for non-members for the week at these resorts. http://www.sfxresorts.com/resort-rental-escapes/