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Newbie-what to buy?

griff56004

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1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
OR, CA, AZ,
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? HOME HALF TIME

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
OR, CA, AZ, MD, VA

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
2-4

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? MOSTLY WIFE AND I-SOME SCHOOL SCHEDULE WHEN KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL.

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, OR MORE

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
3-5

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
2-10K

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? 1K OR LESS

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? MOSTLY

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

INTEREST IN WORLDMARK, THE CLUB
SHELL CLUB
GRAND PACIFIC RESORTS
 

Tahiya

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Worldmark is a good choice

Since you want to trade half the time, and visit OR, I think Worldmark would be a good choice. The program is very flexible, and you can start small, rent from others, and then decide whether you want more points. WM also trades well in both RCI and II. The resorts are what I consider 3 star. WM is also within your price range, both for purchase cost and maintenance fees, and it should have resale value. My impression from considering both GPR resorts and Shell is that the maintenance fees would typically be higher than for WM, although the resort quality may be higher as well. We own four timeshares; Worldmark was the first, and has given us far more vacations for the money than any other timeshare.
 

griff56004

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Buying from Worldmark?

How many points do you rec buying from Worldmark starting out and at what cost?
 

Passepartout

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I don't think you should buy any timeshare for a while. For this year's vacation, rent. Stay at a Worldmark resort. Or a GPR resort. Save that money you have earmarked for timeshare. You'll spend just about the same in rental without the upfront cost of acquisition. You'll find out more about timeshare between now and then.

I happen to like Worldmark, and if I were half my age and didn't own what I do, that's what I wish I'd bought. To find out all about everything Worldmark, introduce yourself over at www.wmowners.com it's an active group of owners. When (and if) the time comes to own, absolutely buy resale. You'll save THOUSANDS over developer prices.

Welcome to TUG!

Jim
 

Tahiya

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If you do decide to buy WM

Passepartout's advice is good. In case you've already done the research and didn't see this discussion on WMowners.com, the best bang for the buck comes in multiples of 5K credits. A 5K ownership would be a good start, but they rarely come up for sale. We own 10K which will get you a week in high season in a 2 bedroom unit at most of the older resorts. Newer resorts are costing more credits, which is an irritant for many long-time WM owners. Wyndham has been consistently increasing the cost of housekeeping credits, and you get one HK credit with each 10K credits, which argues for owning credits in a multiple of 10. (The increasing costs are a reason to rent rather than buy. Owners are captive to Wyndham, because once you buy credits, they're essentially in a monopoly position. In theory the Board of Directors would serve to protect the owners, but they're also captives of Wyndham. All this said, we still find value in our WM credits.)
 

griff56004

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Newbie thanks TUG

Thanks for the replies. The information so far has been awesome:).
 

taterhed

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Location
Virginia
Resorts Owned
Westin WKORV OFD
Marriott's Grande Vista
Worldmark x2
SVV Bella 81k
Thanks for the replies. The information so far has been awesome:).

I'm a big fan of WM. Own two contracts.

Pros:
Easy and cheap to buy. 10k is good start, $299 transfer and $3500-4000 purchase price (~40c a point fully loaded )
MF's moderate $750 for 10k
Easy to sell. Still sells for about 40c a point.
Easy to book, trades in II and RCI
Easy to cancel
Flexible (points based) reservations (go for a few days or hit 3 resorts in 10 days etc...)
Cons:
WM properties are more moderate level accommodations 3*
Reservations in desirable properties can be tougher
Mostly west-coast based (and pacific opportunities)

It is a great start if you can book properties you can use...or live near WM resorts. ( Ideal for your list: CA WA AZ OR)
Much less risk buying and selling than some TS which are hard to get rid of.
cheers.
 
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