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New to Timesharing and looking for help

superchunks

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1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? I'd like to get a week at the beach (preferably east coast) in early-mid august or late June/early July and I'd like to get a ski week either around Christmas or first week in Jan (preferably out west)

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? Probably trade but its all about what is the most cost-effective

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Outer Banks, Hilton Head, Utah (ski), Colorado (ski), Hawaii, Disneyworld/land

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? 5 (two small kids, two adults, 1 grandmother)

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

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

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

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 3 is fine by me

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? If I can find the right value, up to $50K

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? $5K

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Yes very much

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

Other info about me, I am big into the hotel/airline points game and signing up for credit cards to get points/bonuses so it feels like my travel is "free". I look at the timeshare exchange game as similar and would be the type of person planning trips years in advance and being online at 2AM or whenever to get first crack at bookings. My biggest concerns are if I bought a tradeable unit - the fees and having a general idea of availability within the school schedule.
 

andysnovel

TUG Member
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Location
Clayton, NC
Resorts Owned
Sheraton Flex, Vistana Bella Section, BlueGreen Charleston,SC
Vistana would cover most of your destinations, buying mandatory resale properties, like Bella and KeyWest in Orlando would get you star options and the opportunity to trade into their various location and also trade into interval for other locations, go to their website and see if locations match up to your needs.
MVC. Marriott Vacation Club could fit your needs as well, diverse network of resorts.
 

CPNY

TUG Member
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Resorts Owned
Harborside Resort at Atlantis
SVV - Key West/Bella
WKV
Regal Vista at Massanutten
1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? I'd like to get a week at the beach (preferably east coast) in early-mid august or late June/early July and I'd like to get a ski week either around Christmas or first week in Jan (preferably out west)

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? Probably trade but its all about what is the most cost-effective

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Outer Banks, Hilton Head, Utah (ski), Colorado (ski), Hawaii, Disneyworld/land

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? 5 (two small kids, two adults, 1 grandmother)

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

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

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

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 3 is fine by me

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? If I can find the right value, up to $50K

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? $5K

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Yes very much

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

Other info about me, I am big into the hotel/airline points game and signing up for credit cards to get points/bonuses so it feels like my travel is "free". I look at the timeshare exchange game as similar and would be the type of person planning trips years in advance and being online at 2AM or whenever to get first crack at bookings. My biggest concerns are if I bought a tradeable unit - the fees and having a general idea of availability within the school schedule.
Being that you want Hilton Head, ski weeks, beach vacations on the east coast all during prime times and as much as I love Vistana, I would recommend MVC Points. I think you’ll find that you will be able to get prime weeks since you’re a detailed. They have every location you’re looking for with the exception of Outer banks. Buy DC Points resale. Look at at point chart and see how much a two bedroom ski week you’ll need over Christmas and buy that amount.
 

travelhacker

TUG Review Crew
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How much vacation time do you have? How tied to your dates are you?

Marriott DC Points could be a pretty good fit. Whenever I look at the point charts, I can't make the math work considering the steep buy in, and not so great ongoing dues -- but there are LOTS of happy members.

I own Hyatt, and can get a lot of what you are looking for either internally or via Interval.

If you are OK with a 1 bedroom or Studio it's a bit easier to get some great ski weeks.
 

vacationtime1

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
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Location
San Francisco
Resorts Owned
WKORV-OF (Maui)
WKV x2 (Scottsdale)
If you're okay with three star accommodations, you can do this for a whole lot cheaper than Marriott (which is an excellent system, but $$$).

Park City, UT has several second-tier timeshares that can be had inexpensively (i.e. ~$3K to buy a fixed, holiday week) and are walk-to-lift. Park City has the huge advantage of being a 30-40 minute shuttle ride from the Salt Lake City airport and you won't need a car when you are there. I would do some on-site research before buying, but you should consider this before spending tens of thousands for a holiday week at a Westin/Marriott/Hyatt -- but again, only if you are okay with lesser accommodations.
 

superchunks

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I am okay with lesser...what are some of the second tier timeshares in park city
 

CPNY

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
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Resorts Owned
Harborside Resort at Atlantis
SVV - Key West/Bella
WKV
Regal Vista at Massanutten
If you're okay with three star accommodations, you can do this for a whole lot cheaper than Marriott (which is an excellent system, but $$$).

Park City, UT has several second-tier timeshares that can be had inexpensively (i.e. ~$3K to buy a fixed, holiday week) and are walk-to-lift. Park City has the huge advantage of being a 30-40 minute shuttle ride from the Salt Lake City airport and you won't need a car when you are there. I would do some on-site research before buying, but you should consider this before spending tens of thousands for a holiday week at a Westin/Marriott/Hyatt -- but again, only if you are okay with lesser accommodations.
They also expressed interest in other locations where Marriott has resorts. I recommended MVC based on his budget of 50K. can do a fraction of that for MVC Points resale.
 

CPNY

TUG Member
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Resorts Owned
Harborside Resort at Atlantis
SVV - Key West/Bella
WKV
Regal Vista at Massanutten
I am okay with lesser...what are some of the second tier timeshares in park city
Lesser will come with other headaches, not just quality. MVC Points will get you what you want. Plus it will hold some resale value.
 

superchunks

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Lesser will come with other headaches, not just quality. MVC Points will get you what you want. Plus it will hold some resale value.

How would your answer change if I told you my budget was $5k instead of $50k? At the end of the day Whike I could spend $50k...I am interested in spending less
 

CPNY

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
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Resorts Owned
Harborside Resort at Atlantis
SVV - Key West/Bella
WKV
Regal Vista at Massanutten
How would your answer change if I told you my budget was $5k instead of $50k? At the end of the day Whike I could spend $50k...I am interested in spending less
MVC Points resale wouldn’t be 50K it would be much less. If your budget was 5K you should have put a lower amount to spend. I’d also suggest pick a spot you want to travel to on a high demand week and get a deeded unit for that week. Then where ever else you can trade into with it is what you get. But youll have to be flexible with dates and resorts. Look into Wyndham points, you can get those free on places like timeshare nation Or eBay. If you want high demand week in a destination, it’s best to own that week at that location.
 

superchunks

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MVC Points resale wouldn’t be 50K it would be much less. If your budget was 5K you should have put a lower amount to spend. I’d also suggest pick a spot you want to travel to on a high demand week and get a deeded unit for that week. Then where ever else you can trade into with it is what you get. But youll have to be flexible with dates and resorts. Look into Wyndham points, you can get those free on places like timeshare nation Or eBay. If you want high demand week in a destination, it’s best to own that week at that location.

Appreciate the feedback. I’d say my budget is $0-$50k, so interested in quite a range of ideas.

Do you have a recommendation of the best site to track premium week seeded resales? I’ve been to a bunch of sites but the pricing is all over the place for very similar stuff.
 

CPNY

TUG Member
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Resorts Owned
Harborside Resort at Atlantis
SVV - Key West/Bella
WKV
Regal Vista at Massanutten
Appreciate the feedback. I’d say my budget is $0-$50k, so interested in quite a range of ideas.

Do you have a recommendation of the best site to track premium week seeded resales? I’ve been to a bunch of sites but the pricing is all over the place for very similar stuff.
Yeah ha pricing can be tricky. I’ve seen units that sell on average in the thousands sell for 50 bucks. I saw a unit go on eBay for 1000 then the next day another posting pop up for 100 bucks. Truthfully, you’re better to just really decide what exactly you want. Is ski week at Christmas what you want 80% of the time? If so, buy that. I recommended MVC Points because add flexibility in destinations and you have a better chance being a detailed planner to get what you want when you want it. I’d check resorts you may want to stay at. No sense in buy an RCI points contract if you don’t like the resorts in the RCI exchange. Also, no point in buying Vistana since they don’t have any Utah resorts. Marriott hits all the destinations you want. If you want a less expensive buy in, check Wyndham. HGVC also gets good reviews from owners.
 

HDiaz1

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
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Messages
132
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Resorts Owned
Wyndham Panama City Beach, Wyndham Bali Hai Villas, Marriott Grand Chateau, Worldmark the Club.
I would suggest HGVC as they have resorts in HHI, Colorado, Utah, Hawaii and Orlando. Nothing in the Outer banks or close to Anaheim. They do have resorts in California though.
or
Wyndham as they have resorts in Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Orlando and Anaheim. Nothing in the Outer Banks or HHI. They do have resorts in SC though.

The buy in cost and MF for both is much lower than Marriott. It really all depends on who has the best locations that will fit your family needs. You will have to do your research on both of these programs as the maintenance fees will vary based on where you own. Both are points system and easy to use.
 

travelhacker

TUG Review Crew
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One other piece of advice:

It may be worth going with a system that has solid options that are in driving distance.

For example, I live in Colorado and went with Hyatt because there are 4 properties nearby. In the winter I have gone up for Thursday / Friday night last minute to ski and avoid a whole lot of traffic. In the summer we can go when we see availability for properties that we like.

Sometimes I am a bit envious of people that live in Florida because there are soooooo many great options that pop up.

We plan trips well in advance for destination vacations and use the remainder of our points for quick trips to the mountains -- for us it's almost like having a second home.
 

jabberwocky

TUG Review Crew
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SVR, SDO, WKORV-N, Westin Flex, HGVC (BLVD)
I agree that MVC points is probably the best fit given the locations and the flexibility desired. $$$ are at a premium for points though. HGVC would also cover those areas pretty well and is more budget friendly. With HGVC you'd likely want to own one or two weeks (likely one on the east coast and one in Utah/Colorado) to give you a leg up in booking. Owning a specific resort is less important with MVC points.

The trade-off really is between flexibility and cost. You're in a good position budget wise. I always think it's best to buy something that you can afford and will make regular use of.
 

andysnovel

TUG Member
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Location
Clayton, NC
Resorts Owned
Sheraton Flex, Vistana Bella Section, BlueGreen Charleston,SC
There are no shortcuts here, educate yourself on a location you really want to go to, do a search on ebay, redweek etc. then educate yourself on pricing for that location, time of year, size of unit desired and timeshare companies that exist in that location, narrow things down.
 
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