Is this a good buy?

[gcp808]

4800 pts EOY HGVC on the Boulevard
MF $650
$1200 (seller paying closing costs)

 

[Mongoose]

There are a bunch of hidden fees with HGVC. There is typically a $500+ transfer fee and a $600+ new owner activation fee and a $~200 club membership fee.

 

[giowop]

4800 pts EOY HGVC on the Boulevard
MF $650
$1200 (seller paying closing costs)

On the surface, yes. That’s a Platinum deed so that’s a plus. Ratio-wise for MF/point, that’s as good as it gets frankly. May not be enough points for you but that’s not what you asked . That being said, I’d clarify what is meant by “closing costs”. Things to consider:

1. Actual attorney fees for a closing, deed recording, etc (almost always covered by seller when “seller pays closing costs” is used)

2. $500ish transfer fee (often paid by seller).

3. $617 activation fee to HGVC post-sale (almost never paid by seller)

4. $186 club dues annual (never paid by seller)

It sounds like a good deal. Could be a great deal


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[BingoBangoBongo]

The purchase price works out to $.50/pt if you annualize the deed which is very good. The MF's are about $.135/pt which is also very good and it appears to be a higher level Platinum 1BR deed. The fact that the seller is paying the closing costs is another plus. So far so good. Where is goes a little south for me here is that you will be paying the $186 Club Fee every year, so the actual cost EOY is a bit over $1000.

One of the downsides of the deal is that it's not a lot of points to use every year. I think it's pretty common that once you buy some points, you wish you had bought more I did notice on another thread that you're looking to use Open Season rates in HI, so if you don't need a lot of points this is likely a good route to take. It works well for you in that sense, but not a lot of people are looking to use the system the way you are, if that is still the case. The issue I see down the road is that you might need to pay the closing costs to get rid it, just like the current seller is. If you need to get rid of it you might not be able to find a buyer and might need to find a taker (give it away) as it will only add 2400 points/year to an existing owners account and a typical new owner would likely be looking for more points/year.

Overall I like the numbers, but as a Club Season user I'd personally pass on it as my first deed. If you're still planning on the Open Season usage based on availability it could make some sense.

 

[gcp808]

Thank you so much for replying and clarifying on the transfer fees!

 

[gcp808]

The purchase price works out to $.50/pt if you annualize the deed which is very good. The MF's are about $.135/pt which is also very good and it appears to be a higher level Platinum 1BR deed. The fact that the seller is paying the closing costs is another plus. So far so good. Where is goes a little south for me here is that you will be paying the $186 Club Fee every year, so the actual cost EOY is a bit over $1000.

One of the downsides of the deal is that it's not a lot of points to use every year. I think it's pretty common that once you buy some points, you wish you had bought more I did notice on another thread that you're looking to use Open Season rates in HI, so if you don't need a lot of points this is likely a good route to take. It works well for you in that sense, but not a lot of people are looking to use the system the way you are, if that is still the case. The issue I see down the road is that you might need to pay the closing costs to get rid it, just like the current seller is. If you need to get rid of it you might not be able to find a buyer and might need to find a taker (give it away) as it will only add 2400 points/year to an existing owners account and a typical new owner would likely be looking for more points/year.

Overall I like the numbers, but as a Club Season user I'd personally pass on it as my first deed. If you're still planning on the Open Season usage based on availability it could make some sense.

That’s definitely something to consider. And yes, I am still planning on the Open Season usage since we live on the Big Island and stay quite often on Kingsland, but of course having points for at least a week there is something I am taking into consideration now since last time I posted here. Do you think it would make sense to buy a second week later to add to this one?

 

[BingoBangoBongo]

That’s definitely something to consider. And yes, I am still planning on the Open Season usage since we live on the Big Island and stay quite often on Kingsland, but of course having points for at least a week there is something I am taking into consideration now since last time I posted here. Do you think it would make sense to buy a second week later to add to this one?

I would recommend looking through the points charts for the resorts you think you‘ll realistically use and the room/season you’d want to use and come up with and compare that with the Open Season rates for those same rooms and compare that to the costs (Purchase and MF’s) of buying a deed. You’re in a pretty unique situation with where you live and how you want to travel. I don’t think it makes sense to buy a second deed if you don’t need/won’t use the points. That being said I do think the annual Club Fee is a bit of a drag on the deal you‘re looking at now. I don’t have any idea how the Open Season cash stacks up against using the cost of points during Club Season, but if you find there’s big enough advantage the drag of the Club Fees could be wiped away. You also have to be able to find availability for the room type/days you want for your Open Season strategy to work. I think you just need to do some math and compare the two scenarios and decide what’s better for you. How many nights/stays are you thinking you’d use during Open Season?

 

[phil1ben]

I think you can do better. My son just bought resale 7000 annual Platinum points on the Boulevard for $2,500 plus closing costs. Maintenance fees were under $1,000/year. EOY contracts have little value and are more difficult to sell.

 

[brp]

I think you can do better. My son just bought resale 7000 annual Platinum points on the Boulevard for $2,500 plus closing costs. Maintenance fees were under $1,000/year. EOY contracts have little value and are more difficult to sell.

What was your sons total out of pocket on this one? Did it work out to more/point than the above? Since it is annual, it would be a great deal even at a higher ratio, of course.

I got a package last year with two of these 4800 point Platinum (Annual) in the same contract for about $6250, so about $0.65/point. Not quite as good as above, but it is annual.

And I have found out that these can be split if I ever want to sell.

Cheers.

 

[brp]

NA

 

[escanoe]

I got in on a deal like that a few years ago (but an annual unit). If it is just you and a partner and maybe 1 kid (who does not mind sleeping on a sofa bed) for a week per usage year (or a little more if not in platinum season or in a studio), it is a good deal.

It was good for me and enough to make me realize I needed more points. A two bedroom platinum in Vegas or some type of 1BR plus/grand unit will get you more points for the same or not much more annual maintenance fee (MF). It will likely push up your purchase price by up to a few thousand, though (maybe less if you look for bargains).

I later supplemented my 4,800 point Vegas purchase with a 6,200 every other year (EOY) 1 BR+ that has a relatively low MF. As someone who now knows I want to stay with HGVC for maybe 30+ more years, I want to at some point sell my 1BR unit and replace it with something that gives me ~7,000 points at a similar MF. I will likely spend $2 or $3k for the education I received on this, but my choice might have saved me money had I found out HGVC was not for me.

That is my story with HGVC. It may or may not help you. I like the advice of hanging out here a year or so before buying (I lurked longer). Renting a time or two before purchasing may be a good idea as well. But it is really hard to know how much owning and using a membership will work for you without trying it. Nothing like logging into the portal and seeing what you can do.

 

[gcp808]

I would recommend looking through the points charts for the resorts you think you‘ll realistically use and the room/season you’d want to use and come up with and compare that with the Open Season rates for those same rooms and compare that to the costs (Purchase and MF’s) of buying a deed. You’re in a pretty unique situation with where you live and how you want to travel. I don’t think it makes sense to buy a second deed if you don’t need/won’t use the points. That being said I do think the annual Club Fee is a bit of a drag on the deal you‘re looking at now. I don’t have any idea how the Open Season cash stacks up against using the cost of points during Club Season, but if you find there’s big enough advantage the drag of the Club Fees could be wiped away. You also have to be able to find availability for the room type/days you want for your Open Season strategy to work. I think you just need to do some math and compare the two scenarios and decide what’s better for you. How many nights/stays are you thinking you’d use during Open Season?

Thank you so much for your input! We normally stay there 3-4 times a year (for 3-4 nights each time). My thinking is, 4800 pts would give us 3 similar trips there (weekdays) and would cost us around $1000 (MF and Club Fees) if we buy the timeshare above. Staying there in a one BR for 3-4 nights costs us around $1000+ each time, so just the points alone, I think, is already a win for us. Being able to also use Open Season rates during the years we won’t have points would save us some money as well. We just stayed there two nights with our friends who are timeshare owners and spent $550 (Open season rates) for a two BR room. The same room would cost us around $500 per night at that time which was spring break (we can book the same room for around $350 per night if we book ahead of time though).

 

[gcp808]

I got in on a deal like that a few years ago. If it is just you and a partner and maybe 1 kid (who does not mind sleeping on a sofa bed) for a week a year (or a little more if not in platinum season or in a studio), it is a good deal.

It was good for me and enough to make me realize I needed more points. A two bedroom platinum in Vegas or some type of 1BR plus/grand unit will get you more points for the same or not much more annual maintenance fee (MF). It will likely push up your purchase price by up to a few thousand, though (maybe less if you look for bargains).

I later supplemented my 4,800 point Vegas purchase with a 6,200 every other year (EOY) 1 BR+ that has a relatively low MF. As someone who now knows I want to stay with HGVC for maybe 30+ more years, I want to at some point sell my 1BR unit and replace it with something that gives me ~7,000 points at a similar MF. I will likely spend $2 or $3k for the education I received on this, but my choice might have saved me money had I found out HGVC was not for me.

That is my story with HGVC. It may or may not help you. I like the advice of hanging out here a year or so before buying (I lurked longer). Renting a time or two before purchasing may be a good idea as well. But it is really hard to know how much owning and using a membership will work for you without trying it. Nothing like logging into the portal and seeing what you can do.

Thanks for sharing your experience! That’s definitely helpful! This is exactly what we are afraid of, spending the money and then finding out HGVC is not for us or our circumstances changes and we want to get rid of it. And then, on the other hand, I worry about not buying enough points in case open season rates stop making sense for us (but the upfront costs for getting more points is also a concern). My husband only request is that I find something with very low maintenance fees even if it just enough points for one week (which I absolutely agree, but I also want something that will make more sense for us in the long run). Thanks goodness I found TUG before making a huge mistake of buying 3500pts EOY from the developer for about $14k (if I am not mistaken)!

 

[gcp808]

I think you can do better. My son just bought resale 7000 annual Platinum points on the Boulevard for $2,500 plus closing costs. Maintenance fees were under $1,000/year. EOY contracts have little value and are more difficult to sell.

That was such a great deal (at least on my thinking). Everything I found so far on Elara or Boulevard with 7000pts were around $5k plus closing costs.

 

[phil1ben]

What was your sons total out of pocket on this one? Did it work out to more/point than the above? Since it is annual, it would be a great deal even at a higher ratio, of course.

I got a package last year with two of these 4800 point Platinum (Annual) in the same contract for about $6250, so about $0.65/point. Not quite as good as above, but it is annual.

And I have found out that these can be split if I ever want to sell.

Cheers.

Closing costs for our transaction were:

Transfer Fee: $429.00 - Buyer paid
Estoppel Fee: $158.00 - Split between Seller and Buyer
HGVC Activation Fee: $617.00 - Buyer
Title Insurance: $300.00 - Buyer
Closing Agent Fee: $795.00 - Buyer

The Closing Agent fee should have been split between Seller and Buyer and the Transfer Fee is normally paid by the Seller but I realized at this price that the Seller was receiving nothing from the sale (purchase price likely going in full to the broker to pay her commission) and decided to just pay them. I realize that many on this forum do not buy title insurance. However, for many reasons I believe it is money well spent.

Bulls make money and bears make money and pigs get slaughtered.........

 

[escanoe]

Bulls make money and bears make money and pigs get slaughtered.........

Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered.

 

[brp]

Closing costs for our transaction were:

Transfer Fee: $429.00 - Buyer paid
Estoppel Fee: $158.00 - Split between Seller and Buyer
HGVC Activation Fee: $617.00 - Buyer
Title Insurance: $300.00 - Buyer
Closing Agent Fee: $795.00 - Buyer

The Closing Agent fee should have been split between Seller and Buyer and the Transfer Fee is normally paid by the Seller but I realized at this price that the Seller was receiving nothing from the sale (purchase price likely going in full to the broker to pay her commission) and decided to just pay them. I realize that many on this forum do not buy title insurance. However, for many reasons I believe it is money well spent.

With this company (and others) there are Closing Agent Fees on both sides.

So, all in all this looks like about $4100 (I don't count the activation fee for these), or about $0.58/point. Not too shabby.

Cheers.

 

[GT75]

So, all in all this looks like about $4100 (I don't count the activation fee for these), or about $0.58/point. Not too shabby.

For EOY and only 4800 points? I personally think that it is high, but then I would really want a larger number of points. Maybe this is a great size for the OP.

 

[brp]

For EOY and only 4800 points? I personally think that it is high, but then I would really want a larger number of points. Maybe this is a great size for the OP.

Actually, the one I was responding to was the 7000 Pt. Annual from @phil1ben.

Cheers.

 

[GT75]

Actually, the one I was responding to was the 7000 Pt. Annual from @phil1ben.

Sorry, misunderstood. I agree that was a good buy.