Just purchased 3rd HGVC Deed

[SFTechGeek]

I just completed my 3rd HGVC deed and points have posted to my HGVC account. My first purchase was with the developer, Hilton, around 1993 with Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas. I have since traded that in for the Lagoon Towers, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii. Two years ago I purchased resale with Seth Nock's company, sellingtimeshares.net. Samuel Rodriguez was the sales rep. and I purchased the Bay Club Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii. And just this month I closed on LV Boulevard with Judi Kozlowski, www.timesharebrokersmls.com.

Here are a few notes for anyone looking to purchase a timeshare for the first time.
• You will get much better advice from those on this bulletin board.
• Don't purchase from the developer, resale is the way to go.
• My personal experience with both brokers was very positive and stress free. You pay a bit more for closing but there is comfort in knowing it will be done right
• Judi seems to have more inventory than Seth's site, but I felt comfortable with either one.
• I wanted to bid on eBay listings but did not have the confidence in many listers.
• Do consider $/points and MF/points. I placed listings into an Excel spreadsheet for my analysis.
• For me, I would not consider anything less than 8K points. My sweet spot was 11200 points for less than $3K, with MF <$1200

Those are just some of my considerations. And I'm happy with my most recent purchase.

 

[Talent312]

Congrats on your new "baby."
.

 

[alwysonvac]

I just completed my 3rd HGVC deed and points have posted to my HGVC account. My first purchase was with the developer, Hilton, around 1993 with Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas.

You’re one of the first members

Hilton Grand Vacations is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary. It was formed in 1992 by Hilton Hotels Corp. and Grand Vacations Ltd. The Flamingo was the first developer built resort.

 

[HuskerATL]

Congrats on the new purchase. We looked at Bay Club but then decided against it since the MFs were higher so went the Scotland route. We have focused on properties with the lowest or lower MFs and then use the points. We worked through the HGV office at Craigendarroch Lodges and it was very easy. They sell resales for the owners so you can offer less than what is listed and they will pitch it to the owners, much like third party brokers do but the paperwork is very straight forward and they counted toward elite status. That was the other reason that we went that route....lower MFs and elite status.

 

[SFTechGeek]

You’re one of the first members

Hilton Grand Vacations is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary. It was formed in 1992 by Hilton Hotels Corp. and Grand Vacations Ltd. The Flamingo was the first developer built resort.

I did not know that. Time really does go by quick. We almost missed our flight back home because of all the paperwork to be signed and my father-in-law was quite pissed with us for spending so much money. We've had some memorable vacations over that time period which is an advantage to having a timeshare.

 

[PigsDad]

I did not know that. Time really does go by quick. We almost missed our flight back home because of all the paperwork to be signed and my father-in-law was quite pissed with us for spending so much money. We've had some memorable vacations over that time period which is an advantage to having a timeshare.

Just curious: if you wouldn't mind sharing, what kind of week did you purchase (size, season, etc.) and how much did you pay for your Flamingo deed direct from HGVC back in 1993? It would be interesting to see how the cost of a retail deed has increased over almost 30 years.

Kurt

 

[dayooper]

Just curious: if you wouldn't mind sharing, what kind of week did you purchase (size, season, etc.) and how much did you pay for your Flamingo deed direct from HGVC back in 1993? It would be interesting to see how the cost of a retail deed has increased over almost 30 years.

Kurt

My first resale I bought in 2018 was a platinum 2 bedroom Flamingo. It was bought from the original owner who bought the deed in 1994. I found the original deed purchase on the Clark County register. The original owners paid ~$11,000. I also looked up my other deed, a platinum 2 bedroom Boulevard that was purchased from HGVC in 2011 for around ~$37000.

 

[drucifer]

You are on my line of thinking:
"• Do consider $/points and MF/points. I placed listings into an Excel spreadsheet for my analysis.
• For me, I would not consider anything less than 8K points. My sweet spot was 11200 points for less than $3K, with MF <$1200 "

My only difference is that I will spend somewhat more (maybe substantially more) than $3k to have ownership at a competitive location/week/unit type/view (e.g. slopeside ski resort location/Xmas week/2br+/mountain view), but totally agree that any deed under 11,200 new points isn't worth it due to too few points and too much MF.

 

[youppi]

You are on my line of thinking:
"• Do consider $/points and MF/points. I placed listings into an Excel spreadsheet for my analysis.
• For me, I would not consider anything less than 8K points. My sweet spot was 11200 points for less than $3K, with MF <$1200 "

My only difference is that I will spend somewhat more (maybe substantially more) than $3k to have ownership at a competitive location/week/unit type/view (e.g. slopeside ski resort location/Xmas week/2br+/mountain view), but totally agree that any deed under 11,200 new points isn't worth it due to too few points and too much MF.

The number of points is important only when somebody exchanges.
If somebody goes every year to his resort during the week he owns and the unit size he owns because it's what he likes then the number of points is irrelevant for him.

 

[dayooper]

The number of points is important only when somebody exchanges.
If somebody goes every year to his resort during the week he owns and the unit size he owns because it's what he likes then the number of points is irrelevant for him.

Correct. Most people buy HGVC for the points, though. Certainly resorts like Hilton Head, some resorts in Oahu, and the SW Florida affiliates that people buy for the week. Most buy to exchange at least half the time. Points do count.

 

[HuskerATL]

Correct. Most people buy HGVC for the points, though. Certainly resorts like Hilton Head, some resorts in Oahu, and the SW Florida affiliates that people buy for the week. Most buy to exchange at least half the time. Points do count.

The Scotland are fixed weeks also. Interestingly, some of the SW FL are floating weeks so their point amounts will depend on the week they get that year.

 

[drucifer]

The number of points is important only when somebody exchanges.
If somebody goes every year to his resort during the week he owns and the unit size he owns because it's what he likes then the number of points is irrelevant for him.

I'm not disagreeing, but also want to keep open for exchanging. Over time, my kid will grow up, I'll retire, and my ski legs may not want to keep going. Looking into the future - a decade or more from now, trading (or points) and/or resale may become important.

 

[SFTechGeek]

Just curious: if you wouldn't mind sharing, what kind of week did you purchase (size, season, etc.) and how much did you pay for your Flamingo deed direct from HGVC back in 1993? It would be interesting to see how the cost of a retail deed has increased over almost 30 years.

Kurt

oh, I don't remember it's been so long ago. I think it was a 1 bedroom Platinum and MF were about $400/year. Sorry, it's been so long.

 

[SFTechGeek]

You are on my line of thinking:
"• Do consider $/points and MF/points. I placed listings into an Excel spreadsheet for my analysis.
• For me, I would not consider anything less than 8K points. My sweet spot was 11200 points for less than $3K, with MF <$1200 "

My only difference is that I will spend somewhat more (maybe substantially more) than $3k to have ownership at a competitive location/week/unit type/view (e.g. slopeside ski resort location/Xmas week/2br+/mountain view), but totally agree that any deed under 11,200 new points isn't worth it due to too few points and too much MF.

I tried to get more, but inventory wasn't there. I looked through Judi and Seth's inventory and just couldn't make it work. I ended up going down to Gold Season too. I wasn't very patient as I could probably have waited towards the end of the year when people want to off-load and avoid paying another year of MF. My thinking too was that if I don't use the points this year, I'll save them for next year. We stayed in Hawaii 4x this year and LV once. One word of advice for those trying to get the most from their timeshare, if you're OCD and can plan out your vacations for the next year, then you can take advantage of what a timeshare can offer. I've told friends that a timeshare would NOT fit into their lifestyle based on their disorganization or spontaneous travel plans.

I'm already planning a trip to Atlanta, Temecula, and a scuba diving trip somewhere in the world. Trying to get the wife to take an extended stay in Lake Chapala or Ajijic, but she's not willing to commit for 30 days. Been also trying to get a cruise in either in Alaska or the Caribbean but the wife is still not sure with Covid. As we are still working fools, we don't have as much free time as I'd like. And when we have excess points, we just gift it to our kids or other relatives.

 

[HuskerATL]

One word of advice for those trying to get the most from their timeshare, if you're OCD and can plan out your vacations for the next year, then you can take advantage of what a timeshare can offer.

Or just very flexible and less picky.....so you can just grab what is available.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Congrats on the new purchase. We looked at Bay Club but then decided against it since the MFs were higher so went the Scotland route. We have focused on properties with the lowest or lower MFs and then use the points. We worked through the HGV office at Craigendarroch Lodges and it was very easy. They sell resales for the owners so you can offer less than what is listed and they will pitch it to the owners, much like third party brokers do but the paperwork is very straight forward and they counted toward elite status. That was the other reason that we went that route....lower MFs and elite status.

What are the benefits of elite status?

 

[HuskerATL]

What are the benefits of elite status?

There are a number of benefits but it depends on the level. If you have access to the HGVC site, they are here, https://club.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/club-membership/elite/benefits but if you don't they are described here with less details, https://www.hiltongrandvacations.co...Bk0A5ojxqWN-2Y5bCTHgZI9_wd06AUa9KCH-3nT8rjzKQ . We are elite premier so we don't pay fees to book, save (before Sept), buy guest certificates which are unlimited, $250 lyft credit for rides to and from the airport and resorts, 30% discount on open season, use of the Kings Land pool when you stay at Bay Club or Kohala, annual conversion to HH at 1:16, and access to some other exchanges...plus HH Diamond status...that is the jest of it.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

There are a number of benefits but it depends on the level. If you have access to the HGVC site, they are here, https://club.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/club-membership/elite/benefits but if you don't they are described here with less details, https://www.hiltongrandvacations.co...Bk0A5ojxqWN-2Y5bCTHgZI9_wd06AUa9KCH-3nT8rjzKQ . We are elite premier so we don't pay fees to book, save (before Sept), buy guest certificates which are unlimited, $250 lyft credit for rides to and from the airport and resorts, 30% discount on open season, use of the Kings Land pool when you stay at Bay Club or Kohala, annual conversion to HH at 1:16, and access to some other exchanges...plus HH Diamond status...that is the jest of it.

Thank you - I am HGV cubic zirconia level at this time ha!

 

[HuskerATL]

Thank you - I am HGV cubic zirconia level at this time ha!

The one thing nice about the elite premier level is that booking is free so you can really play...book, cancel, book again....we have booked 10 stays this year so that alone saved us a minimum of $590 (since booking online is $59 or $99 via the phone). This doesn't count the ones that I booked then cancelled when I found a different date that I wanted. Also, we have used a 4 guest certificate this year and they are $79 each...so that is another $316 savings. We have also gotten room upgrades and when we head to Miami for Labor Day weekend we will use the Lyft credit....so, for us, it has been worth it.