Looking to Buy...maybe. Here is my survey.

[FamilyGolfMan]

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

We have gone to Maui the last 3 years, but are looking to change that to maybe every other year and start going to other places throughout the US.

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?

I think we'd like the option to do both. We've discussed doing Maui every other so it's an option.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

No particular order, hard to pick just five.
Maui
East Coast (NYC, Boston, DC)
Desert (Scottsdale, Palm Springs, etc.)
Orlando
Skiing (Vail, Steamboat, Park City, not really picky about where.)

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

2 adults, 2 kids

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

We're pretty flexible for the next few years, but I think that will change within the next 2-4 years to school schedule.

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

We can and typically do with Hawaii due to the cost.

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

We can but would be pretty limited to no more than 2 full weeks a year. We generally do a week and then a few long weekend trips through the year.

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

We enjoy 3 and up I think. We don't generally pick the most expensive or the least. Generally location is really important.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

$10,000-15,000

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?

I'd like to be around $2000, as the inflation of costs has me slightly concerned over time.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

We have been in the past, plan out every day kind of trips. But since kids we plan only a few activities for the trip and play the rest by ear. I do spent quite a bit of time shopping to find the best value.

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.

*We have been looking at the Westin Vacation Club after touring it in Maui, but the locations seem slightly more limited than maybe want. I've also researched a bit on the Marriott VC and it looks like it has more places we may want to go as a family, but it seems quite a bit more expensive (maybe?). It's also hard to figure out exactly how many points to buy upfront. Thanks to everyone for their help and guidance!

 

[K2Quick]

If you're wanting to do Maui every other year and you're wanting upscale accomodations and you're going to be limited by school calendars, I would definitely buy an every-other-year ownership for use and not to trade (there are very few options that will be fair trades or trades up. The Westin villas are very nice as are the ones at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club. The Hyatt Vacation Club there is supposed to be nicer than both of them but the cost of entry will be above your budget point. I wouldn't rule out the older phase of Marriott Maui Ocean Club. The 2BR units are huge and if you buy an oceanfront unit (we lucked into one of these on exchange), the views are unbeatable. The only downside is the kitchens are extremely limited.

I would personally supplement that membership with a 10,000 point Worldmark membership which would give you a lot of options internally and would give you decent exchange strength with Interval International or RCI.

The combination of those two keeps you within budget and I think accomplishes what you're after.

 

[Passepartout]

I really like my fixed week- fixed location TS. It's like having a second home. But we see the vast majority of systems have gone to some proprietary 'points' system. You buy in then use their points as currency. The points do not translate into either real money nor do they translate into some other systems' points.

Now that I have you fully confused, if I were you, I'd look into either Wyndham (if you live in the East) or WorldMark (if you live in the West) The resorts are solid 3+ stars, though probably not up to Marriott, Hyatt, Weston level of luxury. I suggest these because of the large numbers of resorts in lots of locations. They are stable companies. With your young family you can make shorter stays work (always a plus with points). I like sticking with the regional strength because you may not ALWAYS be in a financial position to fly off to Maui especially with your growing family (those kids won't be riding on laps much longer). It might be nice to have some drive-to location options.

Oh, and both of those are readily available on the resale market. You won't need anywhere near the amount you say you anticipate paying upfront.

Jim

 

[bizaro86]

I think the best fit for you would be an every other year unit at the Westin on Maui. It's mandatory, which means if you can't use it for some reason one year you can switch easily. They have Orlando, phoenix/palm Springs, and ski resorts off your list, but no big cities on the east coast.

 

[echino]

One possible option is to buy a Westin Kierland Villas 148,100 StarOptions week for $10-15k and use StarOptions to book Maui at 8 months.