HGV victim (!) needs opinion :(

[captain74]

It’s not bad. Platinum is the best because the MF per Point ratio is the best. In HGVC, each size room has the same MF, no matter the season. My 2 bedroom platinum at The Flamingo has maintenance fees at $1087. My platinum season deed gives me 7000 points. The gold season 2 bedroom gives 500 while the silver season 2 bedroom gives 3500. They all have the same $1087 MF. I get more bang for my buck. HGVC also prohibits you from renting anything other than your home week (the exact season and room size/designation) at your resort. So you can book any week during the gold season at Ocean 22. The platinum weeks are the most popular so they will rent for more.

My best advice to you is to use the points. Take your vacation. Learn the ins and outs of the system. Tug here is a great place to start. The regulars here have taught me so much just by reading their responses. Ask questions if you have them. Ocean 22 is an awesome resort. My family loved it, but we will explore more resorts. Elara, Tuscany, Ocean Oak and a MarBrisa are on our hit list. So are the Hawaii resorts. If they ever build that resort in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, that might make our list too. Lots of places to visit! My family LOVES the living space of the HGVC rooms. The full kitchen and separate bedrooms really make vacationing easier. Stick around and learn to use what you have.

I paid around $1200 this year for MF. I agree resorts are beautiful. We were actually shocked to see how good they are. If they actually held their value, I wouldn't complain. Anyway, I will try my best to enjoy the deal.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I paid around $1200 this year for MF. I agree resorts are beautiful. We were actually shocked to see how good they are. If they actually held their value, I wouldn't complain. Anyway, I will try my best to enjoy the deal.

That is why resale is the way to buy timeshares because you can't lose money you haven't spent.

If you have a mortgage and didn't buy this outright you have a choice to make:

a) Walk Now: Lose your downpayment and MF and take a credit hit. But save your future mortgage payments
b) Use and enjoy. You can walk/sell/give away later. There is no rush. You lose the mortgage payments you are making annually. So you could walk in 3 years but at least enjoy a few vacations out of it.
c) Keep and enjoy. Sell/give away later.

You ended up with a desirable resort and a decent number of points. The people who are really screwed are those who think they are mitigating their risk by starting small but end up with worthless units - think silver season 2500 points, at a high MF resort where it is cheaper to rent (think Trump Vegas or some of the Florida properties.) You also bought in an anti-deficiency state (SC) so that protects your assets should something catastrophic (God forbid) should happen and you cannot sell/give away the unit. If you purchased in other states, you are unprotected by law.

Stick around TUG to figure out how to maximize your ownership. And join TUG. It will be the best $15 you will spend on navigating your timeshare ownership.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I sincerely thank you for this message. Although sad, sharing sadness is a bit relieving. What fooled me was the name Hilton. I wouldn't think they would do this to me or anyone else. Thanks so much for sharing.

Make the best use of it and concentrate getting the loan paid off early (if you can). Once it is paid off then you always have the option of selling what you own.

Give some thought to becoming a TUG member. It will be the best use of $15 ever!

Welcome to TUG.




.

 

[andre10056]

I paid around $1200 this year for MF. I agree resorts are beautiful. We were actually shocked to see how good they are. If they actually held their value, I wouldn't complain. Anyway, I will try my best to enjoy the deal.

captain 74,

One of the reasons "Data Science" is said to be THE career field of the 21st century is because data is all-important in making good decisions. The more information you have before making a decision, the better the decision. If you make decisions without gathering information, your decision-making can't be much better than simply throwing a dart onto a dart board.

After reading about your plight, I started a new thread yesterday around 10 AM, 10:30 AM or so. It's linked above. Assuming you haven't read it, you may want to check it out as I learned a ton of information which will allow me, as well as perhaps many others, to make good future decisions.

Here's some more data for you, an ebay ad listing an "every other year" 1 BR in Ocean 22. Minimum bid is $5 and, as yet, there are zero bids:

3,400 HGVC Points at Ocean 22! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 3,400 HGVC Points at Ocean 22! at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

More data:

Assuming the information above is correct with regard to Ocean 22's Gold Season, you have the right to make a reservation for weeks 8 through 20 OR weeks 36 through 47 OR week 51 OR week 52. For 2020, that works out to the following check-in days:

February 21 through May 15
September 4 through November 20
Christmas week
New Years week

Those are all offseason weeks. In terms of renting, I'm guessing that the only week that is encompassed by Myrtle Beach bike week, which is scheduled for May 8 through 17, might be doable. It's a big deal for bikers and, assuming Ocean 22 might be able to accommodate them, that MAY be a good rental opportunity.

However, here's some more data:

Floating weeks like you own are usually made available to owners on Sep 1, Oct 1, maybe as late as Nov 1. And then the best weeks get taken quickly! If you haven't reserved a good week by now, or as good as you may be able to get during those above-listed time frames, you may just be left with the "not so good" weeks.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I believe the OP bought this to use. With 5800 HGV points, s/he could vacation during high season (but perhaps 5 days instead of 7, or in a smaller 1 bdrm), or at other resorts.

To rent, it appears that there is a market for this property but primarily during summer. Below is a snip from Redweek where a 2 bdrm during May is offered for $450/night. That's a significant premium over the $171/night MF cost but even if it rents for $250, OP is ahead. The OP could rent for the week for X years to pay off the mortgage.

Alternatively, he could split the homeweek between a renter and himself and use the rental payments to cover the MF and mortgage. (Pay for housekeeping between the renter and his stay.) This way he pays significantly all or most of the $28k but also gets some enjoyment out of the unit without having to walk.

 

[LynnHilton]

What fooled me was the name Hilton. I wouldn't think they would do this to me or anyone else.

Oh, yes, "Hilton", that was bait for me, too. BTW, the Hilton Grand Vacation Club is not owned by Hilton. HGVC is a third-party timeshare company partnering with real Hilton for the rights to use the Hilton name. Yeah.

Immediately after I found TUG discussion forum, I was seeing posts on here about rumors that a different company named Apollo would buy HGVC. I assumed that would mean that the contract to use Hilton name might change, and the club would not even be called Hilton Grand Vacation Club any more !! Geez !! More temporary panic for me. I don't know whatever happened about the Apollo rumor.

 

[andre10056]

I believe the OP bought this to use. With 5800 HGV points, s/he could vacation during high season (but perhaps 5 days instead of 7, or in a smaller 1 bdrm), or at other resorts.

To rent, it appears that there is a market for this property but primarily during summer. Below is a snip from Redweek where a 2 bdrm during May is offered for $450/night. That's a significant premium over the $171/night MF cost but even if it rents for $250, OP is ahead. The OP could rent for the week for X years to pay off the mortgage.

Alternatively, he could split the homeweek between a renter and himself and use the rental payments to cover the MF and mortgage. (Pay for housekeeping between the renter and his stay.) This way he pays significantly all or most of the $28k but also gets some enjoyment out of the unit without having to walk.

View attachment 16442

I'll grant you that midweek May is, indeed, pretty good weather time (most years, anyway). But I know an elderly couple who owns at the Shorecrest II (or something like that...it was a while ago) in North Myrtle Beach who knew that their health problems would prevent them from going...so they asked for my help (my being the computer "expert" LOL) in trying to rent it out. It just so happened that their week was Bike Week. I thought...oh boy...this is gonna be easy. It wasn't. I finally got a renter via airbnb for net about $1000.

Redweek...bupkis.

TUG...I didn't try (even though I first signed on during 2007, I never looked at TUG for many, many years).

So...yes...you can ask for the moon and maybe you'll get it. But maybe not.

But I doubt the owner of the timeshare underlying this thread still has May floating week opportunities, anyway.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Perhaps you are right, but Shorecrest II is not HGV Ocean 22. You've got the Hilton name behind it, and this is a newish oceanfront resort so helps create a premium expectation about the rental.

$1000 against a $1200 MF is still better than nothing but OP may be able to do better than that. It appears that Shorecrest II is on the marsh instead of the ocean and some of the reviews indicate the rooms are outdated and need refurbishment:

"Shore Crest Vacation Villas takes beachside living to a whole new level. Choose from two resort buildings: Shore Crest I on the ocean or Shore Crest II on the marsh and just a short boardwalk stroll from the beach. Spacious 1- and 2-bedroom suites can accommodate from 4 to six guests in comfort and style, with full kitchens and baths, master bedrooms, separate living and dining areas and balconies."

Renting is not a perfect solution but will help ease the pain of a $28 large payment.

 

[andre10056]

Perhaps you are right, but Shorecrest II is not HGV Ocean 22. You've got the Hilton name behind it, and this is a newish oceanfront resort so helps create a premium expectation about the rental.

$1000 against a $1200 MF is still better than nothing but OP may be able to do better than that. It appears that Shorecrest II is on the marsh instead of the ocean and some of the reviews indicate the rooms are outdated and need refurbishment:

"Shore Crest Vacation Villas takes beachside living to a whole new level. Choose from two resort buildings: Shore Crest I on the ocean or Shore Crest II on the marsh and just a short boardwalk stroll from the beach. Spacious 1- and 2-bedroom suites can accommodate from 4 to six guests in comfort and style, with full kitchens and baths, master bedrooms, separate living and dining areas and balconies."

Yup. I remember. Gold Crown resort. Bike week. And, although the unit in Shorecrest II wasn't oceanfront, it was part of the overall Shorecrest resort. You could use the Shorecrest I oceanfront pool. The lazy river. Walk out to the beach in seconds. The units in II were even more spacious. The fitness center was, I heard, great.

And the guests RAVED about their overall experience. I got a great airbnb review. I won't be renting out there again so it won't do me much good...but it's nice to know they were happy.

But, to the extent the owner did not know prior to yesterday that he even owned a Gold week, and what that meant, I'm guessing he hasn't reserved as yet. And, as you know about floating weeks, the better weeks go quickly. So I'm hoping, since he already paid his $1200 MF, that something good is still out there for him.

Then again, since all but the coldest weather weeks are school weeks, he may not be able to go to even the May weeks if he has a family.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

But, to the extent the owner did not know prior to yesterday that he even owned a Gold week, and what that meant, I'm guessing he hasn't reserved as yet. And, as you know about floating weeks, the better weeks go quickly. So I'm hoping, since he already paid his $1200 MF, that something good is still out there for him.

Then again, since all but the coldest weather weeks are school weeks, he may not be able to go to even the May weeks if he has a family.

True, it may be too late for bike week reservation this year if fall does not offer decent rental. But OP has many future years to plan.

He could use his points now during summer weeks (not rent) but needs to reserve ASAP, or find another resort to reserve.

 

[LynnHilton]

Yes, I am getting 5800 points a year. I will keep learning more and try to get the most out of it.

Hi, it's me again !! When I'm learning something new, I tell the educator "Teach me as if I'm in kindergarten" or "Explain Like I'm 5 years old" (called ELI5 on Internet forums).

I'll try to explain my understanding of stuff, trying to simplify. (Other TUGgers, please correct me if I'm wrong).

With your 5800 points, you can choose many different possible vacations, here are some examples:

(a) one 7-day vacation at Ocean 22 in a 2BR unit

(b) one 7-day vacation at some other HGVC resort in a 2BR unit

(c) several 3-day or 4-day vacations at Ocean 22 or some other HGVC resort

How can you accomplish the multiple-vacations described in (c) ??

(c1) Instead of scheduling a vacation in a 2BR condo, schedule a vacation by staying in a 1BR condo or a studio condo. Costs much less than 5800 points, so you can do this more than once

(c2) Schedule 3-day or 4-day vacations on Monday through Thursday nights, because Friday through Sunday nights cost double the points for the exact same condo !! Mon-Thu "yay", Fri-Sun "nay" !!

(c3) Schedule 3-day, 4-day or 7-day vacations during any resort's "Silver season", the cheapest season because that is off-season, or maybe less attractive weather.

My example: I own 2200 points for one Platinum week Studio condo at Elara in Las Vegas. (BTW going back to my stupidity, I didn't even choose that myself, the slick HGVC sales staff picked it for me!! Oy !!)

So, I'm not interested at all in one 7-day vacation in a Studio in Las Vegas.

Instead, I wanted to go somewhere on the ocean.

So, I scheduled one 4-day vacation in a 1BR condo during Silver (cheapest) season at Ocean Enclave in Myrtle Beach (just a few blocks away from your Ocean 22 resort !!).

That vacation only cost me 960 points !! I still have 1240 points to schedule another vacation somewhere !!

That vacation was literally just last week !! It was fabulous !! Ocean Enclave in MB is beautiful, and I'm told Ocean 22 is equally beautiful.

I knew before I went that Silver season would be too cool to swim in the ocean or sit on the beach in summer clothes ... I didn't care, I didn't need or want that !!

I just enjoyed walking along the beach and the boardwalk, looking at the ocean from my balcony and feeling peace of mind. I used the Ocean Enclave hot tub several times ... most times I was the only one there !!

I tried as many local seafood restaurants as possible.

And, I just got lucky that weather was unseasonably warm, 70 degrees per day !! Was that God or the universe trying to assuage my previous buyer's remorse ??

Who would be your maximum vacation buddies or your minimum vacation buddies: spouse or significant other, your adult children or your school-age children, your grandchildren? It's not required that you use your HGVC for the full-family week-long getaway, you could use HGVC for just you and one other family member, staying in 1BR or Studio condo.

I have two adult sons, and at my HGVC sales presentation I had vague ideas about all three of us spending a full week together at a fabulous resort. Not !! That was unrealistic thinking. My sons both work full-time with only "x" number of vacation days, and they have opportunities to take vacation time for stuff different than hanging out with Mom.

So, I might use all my HGVC points alone, and schedule non-HGVC vacations with my sons at non-HGVC locations with inexpensive weekend rates.

Or, after I've used up all my HGVC points, I might be able to schedule an HGVC weekend vacation with my sons by paying cash for HGVC, not points. That is called HGVC "Open Season".

During Open Season (cash) the nightly rate for a beautiful HGVC resort is way less than the nightly rate at a plain Hilton hotel, and also the HGVC Open Season (cash) costs for Fri-Sun are NOT double the Mon-Thu Open Season (cash) rates, the weekend is often just a skosh higher than the weekdays.

I hope these examples help you to consider all your possible vacation options.

 

[andre10056]

True, it may be too late for bike week reservation this year if fall does not offer decent rental. But OP has many future years to plan.

He could use his points now during summer weeks (not rent) but needs to reserve ASAP, or find another resort to reserve.

And just to be clear for anyone reading this thread who might think that "bike week" is a highly desirable week, and might seek to trade into a Myrtle Beach resort for that time period, it is indeed a great week. For bikers. If you're not a biker, apparently not so much.

When I was first tasked with the rental assignment, I did a search for "Myrtle Beach events May" and learned that such a thing as a bike week existed. And figured, "Oh boy! An event. Nothing easier to rent than a unit when there's an event".

And then went into tripadvisor to read what I expected to be glowing reviews of staying in the Myrtle Beach area during bike week. Instead I got the following type of review:

"Absolute nightmare. I couldn't believe that we stayed during what turned out to be bike week. I had no idea when I made my reservations. We couldn't even sleep because, all night long, bikers were going by in their Harley Hogs making a Godawful racket".

So I didn't use those reviews, or reference to those reviews, in my ad....although I did fully disclose that it was bike week.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

LOL...I thought bike week involved bicycles not Harleys.

+1 To @LynnHilton point, there are some 2500 pt studios (Lagoon Tower and Ocean Tower) in Hawaii where the OP could stay for 2 weeks if he plans ahead and may have 800 points left over for a few days elsewhere. Takes planning but can be done.

He could rent out his week and then use HGV Open Season and RCI last call/extra vacations with cash to stay at resorts to expand his usage.

@andre10056 Looking at event weeks is a great plan. There are some TUGers who own silver (January) weeks in Vegas who rent out their week to CES convention attendees and do well.

 

[andre10056]

LOL...I thought bike week involved bicycles not Harleys.

Looking at event weeks is a great plan. There are some TUGers who own silver (January) weeks in Vegas who rent out their week to CES attendees and do well.

That would be pretty funny if someone thought it was some kind of bicycling event. And, instead, found themselves surrounded by a thousand Hell's Angels.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Yes, I exactly feel like a victim of my ignorance. ...
Anyways.. I bought this unit in Myrtle Beach. The resort is Ocean 22. The unit is 2 BP, ocean view......
...... This is the biggest flop of my life.
And I need some help to ease the pain.

1) you bought a very nice resort in a good system - as others have said
2 ) TUG is the right place to learn how to use .
3) The vacation value will ease your your current discomfort with your decision .
4) if you enjoy the usage enough - you can add via resale - whether it be HGVC or something else .


(note as you read TUG - how many regular posting members own multiple ownerships / it took me a while to figure out how this even made sense . Now I understand - many bought from the developer like you did ; figured out how to best use ; and wanted more , so they bought resale the next time .

 

[LynnHilton]

"Absolute nightmare. I couldn't believe that we stayed during what turned out to be bike week. I had no idea when I made my reservations. We couldn't even sleep because, all night long, bikers were going by in their Harley Hogs making a Godawful racket".

OMG brings back memories years and years ago on a family trip to Mount Rushmore, we reserved (well in advance) a stay in Sturgis SD, not knowing it was National Bike Rally week. Thank God it was just one night. For perspective, I just now Googled it, and apparently one recent attendance record was in 2015 when 739,000 bikers were there !!

 

[CalGalTraveler]

(note as you read TUG - how many regular posting members own multiple ownerships / it took me a while to figure out how this even made sense . Now I understand - many bought from the developer like you did ; figured out how to best use ; and wanted more , so they bought resale the next time .

This is us. We didn't do well on our first developer but thanks to education on TUG, we are killing it - cost-savings wise - on our two resales.

 

[andre10056]

OMG brings back memories years and years ago on a family trip to Mount Rushmore, we reserved (well in advance) a stay in Sturgis SD, not knowing it was National Bike Rally week. Thank God it was just one night. For perspective, I just now Googled it, and apparently one recent attendance record was in 2015 when 739,000 bikers were there !!

739,000 bikers? I envisioned maybe a thousand bikers. Oh boy.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

This is us. We didn't do well on our first developer but thanks to education on TUG, we are killing it - cost-savings wise - on our two resales.

I see you joined Dec 2014
5 years of TUG membership
x $15 yr. = GREAT VACATION VALUE / and 4200+ posts

 

[cman]

Yes, I exactly feel like a victim of my ignorance. I had no idea about timeshares. Had never heard of them. I used a 3 day cheap hotel offer at a Hilton, attended a presentation, awed by the seller's logic, and signed a contract... I didn't even know what I was buying was a timeshare. It sounded very logical for me then with all those calculations and having a unit for your lifetime, even after your lifetime..

Anyways.. I bought this unit in Myrtle Beach. The resort is Ocean 22. The unit is 2 BP, ocean view.

I can't believe that I owe Hilton 28K where I could've bought it for a lot less.. Of course I didn't know that.. It really deeply hurts. I am not a rich man. I thought this was a good investment (!), and that we would save money. This is the biggest flop of my life. And I need some help to ease the pain.

I just heard from someone about Redweek a few days ago. It sounds not bad that I can rent the unit and get some of my money back. Does HGV allow renting it out? And if so, how is that even going to happen? When the renters go to the property, would they be allowed to enter? Should I be there?

And in general, I kindly ask the timeshare experts here to give me some brain. How can I lower my loss? Would they ever buy back the unit? Can I just give them back? What should I do? I am so sad, I can't find words for it.

Walking away is an option you may need to consider. There are several threads on TUG that discuss the pros and cons.

 

[terces]

Just for perspective, I have about $30,000 in a Mexican TS. I would not do it again, but I don't regret it. We get 84,000 RCI points for an annual fee of $199 and have used the crap out of it. I also have at least that much in 21,000 HGVC points as well. When I compare this $60,000 adventure with my previous ownership of a motor home and as well a ski condo, this is a "pinch-me deal". If I was you I would make it work, add to it with resale units and have an amazing life out of the deal.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

True. When you compare to the cost of a boat or RV this is nothing. Plus you don't have to lift a finger to maintain it, clean it or store it.

 

[fernow]

Life is full of those "if only" moments. Back in the day I bought 2000 shares of Apple at $11/share. Sold them for $50/share and thought I was brilliant. Pains me to think what they would be worth today. Oh well.

If you rented a unit similar to your Hilton Timeshare, it would cost you somewhere around $100 and $200 more per night then your HGV maintenance fees. So not unreasonable to assume you are saving $1400/vacation week using HGV. (Yes everyone, I know the math can vary, inflation is a factor etc)

You would have had to pay something for the same timeshare aftermarket, say $8000 to use a number. So you "wasted" $20k. BUT in 14 years, you are back to where you "could have been". In 20 yrs from now you will be financially ahead of where you would have been had you never gotten involved in timeshare.

Life could be worse. You could have sold 2000 shares of Apple at $50.

 

[Talent312]

Life could be worse. You could have sold 2000 shares of Apple at $50.

I knew a guy who owned a ton of Apple stock back when they nearly went belly up.
He had ridden it into the dirt (0.93/share). He would'a made nothing by selling,
I pitied the poor schmuck. AFAIK, he still has 'em. What a genius.

 

[dayooper]

This is us. We didn't do well on our first developer but thanks to education on TUG, we are killing it - cost-savings wise - on our two resales.

Just waiting for retirement (10-12 years down the road) before we really get to use our points to the fullest. Still saving on 2 and 3 bedroom condos while we still have full family vacations (oldest has 1.5 years left of college).

I'll give an example. We booked a 3 bedroom at Ocean 22 this summer in the end of June. The best rate for Ocean 22 during our desired time I have found listed is on VBRO $395 a night ($3536.90 total stay including taxes) for a 2 bedroom. We could use a 2 bedroom for our family, but we couldn't take any guests and my 5'2" 10 year old would be sleeping on the sleeper sofa. We are taking guests this trip so we need a 3 bedroom. The rack rate at Holton.com for the week would be over $9,800. Using our points, we used all of this years 7000 and borrowed 2600 from next year. Including the MF's, Club Dues and Club Booking fee, our cost per point was ~ $0.19, or a total $1,826. We paid a total of $6200 for our resale purchase (purchase price, closing and Hilton fees). Going by the rack rate for our week and what we have paid, we are already ahead (and that doesn't take into account any other trips our family has made). I know rack rate isn't the best comparison, but it's the only place I have found the exact comp for what booked. Ocean Enclave has 3 bedrooms as well and they are cheaper than Ocean 22, ($6,400 - $7,100) so we "could" book those too.

Now, there are 3 bedroom's at Ocean 22 for rent at Redweek going for $3000 - $5000 total, but nothing that would be in our tight date range. I know there are other places we could rent, but so many of those aren't what we want and, quite frankly, I would never had ever heard of Redweek if it weren't for us researching timeshares. Would I want to pay developer rates for my deed? No, but resale purchase was great for our family. It forces us to vacation and it's something the entire family can get behind. With the needs of our large family, it has been a cost saver too.