New timeshare and Welk owner

[Penguinthechicken]

Hi all,
First off, this website is a wealth of information and I want to thank all of those that contribute. I'm sure this question has been asked a thousand times before, for that I apologize!
Like many others, we went to a timeshare presentation and ended up buying with Welk in Tahoe (240,000 bi-annual points for about $15K). What I'm gathering is that we've already paid too much.
What we liked was the low yearly maintenance costs, the ability to rent rooms at the Welk resort for 1/2 the price, the trading through II (we will likely trade most of our points for new areas, as we live in CA and there is quite a bit within a days drive), and the bonus week that you can get when you deposit a week through II (for a fee of $250-350).
What I've been trying to research is this: if we rescind and buy through the resale market, do we still have any of the perks listed above or is it just the points you buy (which you can use or trade straight accross through II)?
I do really like the bonus time (We are very last minute kinda people).
Thanks for your advice,
Valerie

 

[tschwa2]

There are several kinds of bonus weeks with II. Some are given out yearly by the developer with retail sales. Generally it doesn't matter whether you deposit or not. If that is the kind you will be getting then, no you won't get that will resale. There is another type where II has a message in your account that says if you deposit from the resort you own by x date for check in's between y and z date you will get an AC (accommodation certificate/bonus week). Those aren't guaranteed and I am not sure with Welk if you can ask for a specific week for deposit or if they assign you one. As long as you meet the requirements of the II, request you get the AC, it doesn't matter if it is resale or retail purchase.

Another thing to keep in mind that AC's have various strengths and some are not very valuable unless you are very flexible and can travel in the off off season. Even with a regular exchange if you are thinking that you will get California beach resorts in July and early August you may be disappointed. If you set up an ongoing request through II 12 months in advance, choosing every beach resort for those 6 weeks, you may or may not get an exchange. The larger the unit you need the smaller your chances. With the bonus week your chances for a beach week are probably 0 outside of November through March. Bonus time might get you prime locations last minute during shoulder season but it may not.

 

[TUGBrian]

either way, its in your best interest to rescind asap.

your options end up being

1. you rescind now and do your research and discover the amazing savings on the resale market and save $15k

2. you rescind now and do your research and decide to buy directly from the developer (it never happens, but its still possible)...and you can go back to the resort and get that same deal anytime.


the only option you lose by waiting is the ability to rescind....all options remain available to you if you rescind now and do your research!

 

[mjm1]

We are former Welk points owners.

The only benefit you lose by buying resale is the ability to rent additional nights at a discount. However, the discount is about 15%, not 50%, unless they changed that, which is unlikely.

Regarding exchanges, they deposit a week for you, so you can't select a high demand week. They have had an arrangement with II that you receive an accommodation certificate for an extra week when you trade a week. If you use it for shoulder season or off season, you can get some food locations. However, some people don't see much value with them. We had mixed results.

As others have suggested, you should cancel your purchase and do more research about Welk and other systems to determine what would be best for you.

Good luck and please let us know what you decide.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[SmithOp]

Definitely rescind, there are frequently free timeshares given away here in the Bargain Deals that will trade in Interval. Do you know what the annual fees are on the 240k points, for a good trader you want as low fees as possible because you are going to pay exchange fees on top.


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[Passepartout]

I'll join the chorus singing, RESCIND. Will you get every perk? Probably not. Will you save enough to buy many times what the perks are worth? Absolutely.

Welcome to TUG, where we always say, BUY RESALE, SAVE THOUSANDS!

Jim

 

[Penguinthechicken]

Thanks Mike,
So if we buy resale, we are still able to receive the accomodation certificates through II?
The room rates they gave for Tahoe are roughly 1/2 of what you'd pay retail (but still $299 a night, Tahoe is pricey).

We are former Welk points owners.

The only benefit you lose by buying resale is the ability to rent additional nights at a discount. However, the discount is about 15%, not 50%, unless they changed that, which is unlikely.

Regarding exchanges, they deposit a week for you, so you can't select a high demand week. They have had an arrangement with II that you receive an accommodation certificate for an extra week when you trade a week. If you use it for shoulder season or off season, you can get some food locations. However, some people don't see much value with them. We had mixed results.

As others have suggested, you should cancel your purchase and do more research about Welk and other systems to determine what would be best for you.

Good luck and please let us know what you decide.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[Penguinthechicken]

Hi Dave,
What intrigued us were the relatively low fees. The fees are bi-annual at $1,250 (so roughly $625 a year). I do know they'll go up a bit every year.

Definitely rescind, there are frequently free timeshares given away here in the Bargain Deals that will trade in Interval. Do you know what the annual fees are on the 240k points, for a good trader you want as low fees as possible because you are going to pay exchange fees on top.


Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk

 

[tschwa2]

Thanks Mike,
So if we buy resale, we are still able to receive the accomodation certificates through II?
The room rates they gave for Tahoe are roughly 1/2 of what you'd pay retail (but still $299 a night, Tahoe is pricey).

It sounds like the have a deal with II, that even if they deposit a less than prime week you would get an AC but this is probably only for developer purchases. You need to check with someone that gets those AC's to see what they can pull. It might not even be worth the exchange fee you would have to pay to use the certificate.

 

[SmithOp]

Hi Dave,

What intrigued us were the relatively low fees. The fees are bi-annual at $1,250 (so roughly $625 a year). I do know they'll go up a bit every year.

I only pay $900 for a 2 bedroom Sheraton in Orlando that I trade with, and I can easily get Tahoe off season with AC they give me. I got 2 ACs this year because I traded when they had a promotion going on, traded into a 3 bedroom at Grande Luxxe in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico next May.

Seriously, rescind, you are still high on the kool-aid they were serving.


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[jpc763]

It sounds like the have a deal with II, that even if they deposit a less than prime week you would get an AC but this is probably only for developer purchases. You need to check with someone that gets those AC's to see what they can pull. It might not even be worth the exchange fee you would have to pay to use the certificate.

Of note that an A/C is roughly $100 less than a Getaway that is available to everyone and Getaways have a larger pool of resorts (my experience). So that "benefit" is not really that big of a deal.

 

[Passepartout]

Not really meaning to muddy the waters here for the OP, but should he look at resorts associated with RCI instead of II, there are always a plethora of 'Last Calls', usually off-and shoulder season weeks at 2nd tier resorts for less than $300 for 7 nights. Just saying that II ain't necessarily the only way to play timeshares.

Jim

 

[mjm1]

Thanks Mike,
So if we buy resale, we are still able to receive the accomodation certificates through II?
The room rates they gave for Tahoe are roughly 1/2 of what you'd pay retail (but still $299 a night, Tahoe is pricey).

I am not sure about resale points. However, we originally bought a Welk Resorts unit (fixed week in the original section) and we always received them. That continued when we converted to the points program.

Mike

 

[Penguinthechicken]

Thank you everyone, I have my letter all typed up and ready to go out in tomorrows mail.
Next we will start the research into timeshares...

 

[MaebelB]

Where did you send your letter? I didn't find any other parts of the contract that said to mail to resort. I sent ours to the mailing address in the contract - Welk Resort Group, Escondido. We got our timeshare from Branson. Did you send letter only? Thanks.

 

[Karen G]

Thank you everyone, I have my letter all typed up and ready to go out in tomorrows mail.

Be sure to send your letter certified mail so that you get a receipt from the post office showing the date you mailed it. Being able to prove you mailed it within the rescission time period is critical--it's the date you mail it and not the date they receive it that is most important.

 

[Penguinthechicken]

Yes it was sent certified mail to the mailing address listed in the cancellation clause on the contract.. I faxed it over as well.

Where did you send your letter? I didn't find any other parts of the contract that said to mail to resort. I sent ours to the mailing address in the contract - Welk Resort Group, Escondido. We got our timeshare from Branson. Did you send letter only? Thanks.

 

[MaebelB]

Yes it was sent certified mail to the mailing address listed in the cancellation clause on the contract.. I faxed it over as well.

I wish it was that clear on our contract. They gave us a softcopy of the documents. I will open that and do better with the searches. Thanks for the reply.