Helping friend buy Worldmark credits

[Chilcotin]

My friend owns 6000 Worldmark credits that she paid full retail for several years ago. They were called Trendwest when bought.

She now has up to $3000 to purchase additional credits so I have been researching on Tug how Worldmark's system works. I own RCI points so it is new to me.

I am confused in that some Worldmark points seem to be tied to resorts and others do not. The points she currently owns are not tied to a resort. I am having trouble understanding about housekeeping credits and bonus time.

I want to help my friend buy resale but don't want to steer her the wrong way.
Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[LLW]

My friend owns 6000 Worldmark credits that she paid full retail for several years ago. They were called Trendwest when bought.

She now has up to $3000 to purchase additional credits so I have been researching on Tug how Worldmark's system works. I own RCI points so it is new to me.

I am confused in that some Worldmark points seem to be tied to resorts and others do not. The points she currently owns are not tied to a resort. I am having trouble understanding about housekeeping credits and bonus time.

I want to help my friend buy resale but don't want to steer her the wrong way.
Any help greatly appreciated.

WM does not have home resorts. All credits may be used to book any resort. The ones that you saw with home resorts must be on eBay, which forces sellers to put in a phony resort.

You may want to read on http://www.wmowners.com/forum/index.php . It is the go-to place for WM info. Members there are very knowledageable and helpful with new or potential owners, if you have any questions after reading.

 

[ronparise]

My friend owns 6000 Worldmark credits that she paid full retail for several years ago. They were called Trendwest when bought.

She now has up to $3000 to purchase additional credits so I have been researching on Tug how Worldmark's system works. I own RCI points so it is new to me.

I am confused in that some Worldmark points seem to be tied to resorts and others do not. The points she currently owns are not tied to a resort. I am having trouble understanding about housekeeping credits and bonus time.

I want to help my friend buy resale but don't want to steer her the wrong way.
Any help greatly appreciated.

No worldmark credit is tied to a specific resort

regarding housekeeping...each year you get 1 housekeeping credit added to your account for the first 20000 credits you own and an additional one for every additional 10000 credits....each reservation you make will use one of these housekeeping credits. additional housekeeping over you allotment will cost you money when you make the reservation. A two bedroom is $81 (more for larger units less for smaller ones)

LLW is right that you will meet more Worldmark owners on the Worldmark owners site. You might also visit this website, maintained by a worldmark owner for good info as well...http://www.wmtsinfo.com here is his page on housekeeping
http://www.wmtsinfo.com/item/128

 

[Rent_Share]

WM does not have home resorts. All credits may be used to book any resort. The ones that you saw with home resorts must be on eBay, which forces sellers to put in a phony Specific resort to meet eBay's arbitrary rules

I second the WMOWNERS.COM recommendation

 

[PassionForTravel]

Ron, there's one minor mistake in your summary it's one Housekeeping credit if you own less than 20000 credits and then an additional one for each 10000 credits starting at 20000.

Ian

 

[RX8]

rent additional use points instead?

Since a Worldmark owner can rent additional use points from other owners for roughly the cost of MF another option would be for your friend to pocket the $3000 and simply rent the additional points when they need it.

 

[rleigh]

This is what I would do

You are a good friend!
I'm in a similar situation as your friend. Based on my knowledge of TUG and wmowners.com, I'll tell you exactly what I'll be doing soon:

Go here: http://wmowners.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=72&sid=a731706718e0415767ebbd647b89f783

Then here: http://wmowners.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=71&sid=a731706718e0415767ebbd647b89f783

And here: http://tug2.com/timesharemarketplace/ClassifiedSearch.aspx
For that last one, (TUG) my only specific requirements would be:
Under "Type of Listing" check "For Sale."
Under "Ad Type" select "Point Program" Worldmark.
Under "Price and Fees" put in min and max $.
Then "Browse..." at the bottom.


My only concern after taking these steps will be to ensure I'm buying from a legit source. I think those links will help me determine that.

I haven't bought a resale timeshare, but based on my knowledge so far this is how I'll do it.

///

 

[PassionForTravel]

In the first link rleigh posed there's a sticky thread listing brokers / people which other owners have had positive experience with. You might save a few $ going the eBay route but for a first resale purchase working with a reputable broker gives a lot of peace of mind.

From the time you agree to purchase it will take about 5-6 weeks before the new account is merged with her current account. BTW - The most efficient accounts for maintenance fees and housekeeping tokens are at the 10K boundaries. i.e. 10K, 20K, ...

Ian

 

[Rent_Share]

Since a Worldmark owner can rent additional use points from other owners for roughly the cost of MF another option would be for your friend to pocket the $3000 and simply rent the additional points when they need it.

Rental is a good option, but having the points and "Points to borrow" can be handy with WM's cancellation guidelines

 

[LLW]

Rental is a good option, but having the points and "Points to borrow" can be handy with WM's cancellation guidelines

Also, each time you rent you are doing a financial transaction with a stranger. There is a lot of trust involved. If the need for credits is ongoing, and she has the funds available, rather than putting herself through the hassle every time, since the rental price is about the same as the maintenance dues, buying might be preferrable. Renting is for those who are more savvy, don't mind to take a chance every time, don't have the funds, or think that the purchase price is going to go down drastically.

 

[Rent_Share]

Also, each time you rent you are doing a financial transaction with a stranger. There is a lot of trust involved. If the need for credits is ongoing, and she has the funds available, rather than putting herself through the hassle every time, since the rental price is about the same as the maintenance dues, buying might be preferable. Renting is for those who are more savvy, don't mind to take a chance every time, don't have the funds, or think that the purchase price is going to go down drastically.

In my cryptic way I was recommending ownership over rental

 

[Chilcotin]

Thank you everyone for all your helpful advice. I feel much more informed and able to help my friend.

I am still open to anymore suggestions you may have.

 

[PassionForTravel]

The other thing tilting the equation in favor of buying is the actual cost of those extra credits per year. The MF on 6000 credits are $514 if she picks up another 6000 credits her MF will be $753 in total. So the extra 6000 credits are only costing her $239 in MF's per year, which works out to be 3.9 cents per credit. Those initial 6000 credits are the expensive ones because there is a $166 fixed fee per account.

Ian

 

[LLW]

In my cryptic way I was recommending ownership over rental

I know. That's why I said "also." The point that Ian made is a great one too.

 

[Chilcotin]

Surefire Vacations

Have any of you dealt with Surefire Vacations? They have a website and are on ebay. They have a 9000 point package that may work for my friend.

 

[Chilcotin]

UPDATE:

I sent my friend the Sumday Vacation email for their sale this weekend as they had worldmark credits for around 25¢ each. She emailed me back saying they decided not to buy resale because they were able to get some bonuses that aren't available with resale points. I guess some people just do not get the concept that a credit is a credit and I'm sure the salesman was not too forthcoming

 

[Rent_Share]

UPDATE:

I sent my friend the Sumday Vacation email for their sale this weekend as they had worldmark credits for around 25¢ each. She emailed me back saying they decided not to buy resale because they were able to get some bonuses that aren't available with resale points. I guess some people just do not get the concept that a credit is a credit and I'm sure the salesman was not too forthcoming

You tried, those people make a living stretching the truth

 

[Corinne1123]

If you own an account between 12 and 20 K, you would always have to rent at least one token, and with WMs new rules, you would have to transfer at least 5K credits (in and then out) along with the tokens, so you have no alternative but to transact with other owners. Even if you own more, you will always be short a token for at least one reservation. I personally don't see it as a big deal, but some mentioned here that the advantage to owning enough or more than enough credits avoids transacting with strangers.

I like the flexibility of WM, because I can go on as many vacations as my schedule allows. Right now I am back in school getting my masters which limits my flexibility to travel, but once I finish (hopefully next year) I can rent as many credits as I need on a year to year basis. There is a good point however to owning rather than renting as being the most cost efficient usage.

 

[ronparise]

.....Even if you own more, you will always be short a token for at least one reservation......

Thats not always true


For example I could have a 13000 credit account and get one hk a year. One year I could go to Orlando and stay at the Reunion Resort, for 17000 credits (use my 13000 from this year and borrow 4000 from next year) And next year use the 9000 credits that are left, along with one hk to stay at Avenue Plaza for a week.

No doubt that you have to do some careful planning to avoid buying additional hk, but it can be done,

 

[Rent_Share]

IMHO the cost difference between renting a token from Wyndham and the resale market price of the rented token isn't worth the gymnastics of renting the extra 5K credits (unless you are going to be renting the extra credits anyway) You are talking about $660 versus $684 for a week at a 10 K 2 Bedroom. {6 cents /point $60 resale token, $84 Wyndham Token

Conversely - you can never have enough housekeeping tokens so if you are renting points you should insist on getting a token with the transaction

Basically

Adding $ 60 to a $ 300 transaction (5000 credits @6cents) to save $ 24 makes sense to me, because your going to book something with those rented credits and will be spending $50-140 in housekeeping fees

Adding $300 to a $60 transaction to save $24 doesn't

 

[Corinne1123]

Good point but then could potentially become a more expensive (17k) trip throwing the economies of owning Wm out of whack more so if you exchange.

 

[ronparise]

Good point but then could potentially become a more expensive (17k) trip throwing the economies of owning Wm out of whack more so if you exchange.

I just used Reunion as an example, because I know the points requirements there... my point is that with careful management of your credits you can avoid the need to pay for additional housekeeping credits.

But having to pay for additional housekeeping credits isnt always a bad thing, economically speaking. I do a lot of short stay reservations, and it seems like Im always paying extra for housekeeping. On a per night basis, I still get by cheaper than with other timeshares I own

The best economy is to own credits in multiples of 10000. I think thats where you get the best allocation of housekeeping credits and where maintenance fees are most efficient..

 

[Rent_Share]

Good point but then could potentially become a more expensive (17k) trip throwing the economies of owning Wm out of whack more so if you exchange.

I would never book a 17 K week - Keep in mind I am only 20-25 minutes from Anacrime, and refuse to donate to the Rat