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Please Help Us Decide!!

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Here are some questions you can answer to focus your timeshare wants/needs.

If you click on QUOTE at the end of my post, the questions will open up in a new window for you to answer:

1) Where do you want your home resort to be? Myrtle Beach, SC

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? More than half the time

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Hawaii, Hilton Head, Florida, Bahamas, and California

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

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

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? 4

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? 2,000

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? 500+

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Yes

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___________

Please help us and give us any advice you can!! We are staying at a Marriott Vacation Club right now and we were considering buying, but after reading some online reviews, we are now having some second thoughts!! We are totally new to the so please give us any advice that you can!! Thank you very much!!
 
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DeniseM

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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? 50

I am going to assume that $50 is a typo.

I would expect the maintenance fee for the type of timeshare you want to be more like $1,000+ per year, because with a family of 4, even if you don't need a 2 bdm. now, you will soon.
 

DeniseM

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If you join TUG ($15) you will have access to our members only review pages, where you can browse the ratings and reviews for timeshares in Myrtle Beach.

Then, you can start by picking out a few that you are the most interested in, and researching them here on TUG. You can research them by using the search function and searching by resort name on TUG, and also by asking questions in the forum that the resort is affiliate with, or in the regional forum for Myrtle Beach.

Here is a FREE Myrtle Beach timeshare posted on the Bargain Deals forum, to get you started:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234048&highlight=sheraton+broadway+plantation
 
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tschwa2

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The only way you would be able to keep it at the $500 level for school breaks would be to travel off season only and use Getaway weeks and a cheap-y 1 br or eoy 2 br exchanger.

You could probably get Myrtle Beach at Christmas time in a 2 br. You could probably get a larger 1 br in California in the desert in the summer. You aren't going to get beach during summer months or anything larger than a studio for summer or week 52 prime locations with the exception of maybe Orlando on the $500 budget.

You will either need to down grade to 2-3 star or double the annual MF's to at least $1200-1500 (including a possible exchange fee).
 

vacationhopeful

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I own 2 fixed deeded summer weeks - lock off units - back to back week 26 & 27 ... resort is just 200 feet from the beach. No exchange fees; no resort usage fees.

And the resort is affiliated with BOTH II and RCI. As lockoff units .. I can use just the larger size (large 1 bdr units) and bank the smaller studios in RCI. By combining the TPUs on the several deposits, I could exchange into a 3rd vacation week most years. Or I could bank one of the FULL 2/2 units into II and get a pretty good exchange that way.

MFs are less than $900 per unit - say $600 for the 1/1 side and $300 for the studio. Plus exchange (~$200 per week) and membership (~$150/yearly) ... still above YOUR limit, but you could start with 1 week at first.
 

alwysonvac

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SOLD (DVC, FSRC)
Take your time to research & review first before buying

Please help us and give us any advice you can!! We are staying at a Marriott Vacation Club right now and we were considering buying, but after reading some online reviews, we are now having some second thoughts!! We are totally new to the so please give us any advice that you can!! Thank you very much!!

If you want to stay at the Marriott during prime summer weeks, you're better off renting and booking the exact week that you want during the years you want to stay.

Here's a list of timeshare rentals for Myrtle Beach -
http://www.redweek.com/browse/North+America/United+States/South+Carolina/Myrtle+Beach-timeshares
 
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csxjohn

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The only way you would be able to keep it at the $500 level for school breaks would be to travel off season only and use Getaway weeks and a cheap-y 1 br or eoy 2 br exchanger.

You could probably get Myrtle Beach at Christmas time in a 2 br. You could probably get a larger 1 br in California in the desert in the summer. You aren't going to get beach during summer months or anything larger than a studio for summer or week 52 prime locations with the exception of maybe Orlando on the $500 budget.

You will either need to down grade to 2-3 star or double the annual MF's to at least $1200-1500 (including a possible exchange fee).

There are units out there in this price range. I own on the beach near Daytona and the MFs for a 1br are $500 give or take a few dollars and have been for quite a while. These can be had for a song and most float 1-5, and 8-52. Ideal for a small family willing to have two sleep on the sleeper sofa.

I agree with the above post that MOST cost more than this but they are out there.
 

tschwa2

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I own some like that myself. The OP is staying in a Marriott right now. She wants 4 star accommodations, has no experience with timeshares and trading systems, etc and wants $500 MF's per year and no more than a $2000 buy in and can only travel during times when school is not in session.

There is a learning curve and a lot of expectations to balance.


This is why posters shouldn't start two, basically the same topics. The other one was started in the Marriott forum where she describes her stay and the fact that she is thinking about buying. There everyone is telling her how great Marriotts are but don't pay $30,000. On this one she describes her budget a bit more and the advice is the same but different.
 
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I Apologize

I Apologize for starting two topics, evidently, according to this person, I wasn't supposed to do that even though that is what was suggested to me that I do. We can afford more than the 500 MF I listed, I just didn't know where to even start with the amount. I came here to learn, but maybe that was asking too much.
 

mclyne

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I would take my time, lists your needs, and join TUG. Units will always be available. Do not get pressured into something you really need to investigate thoroughly.

Joining TUG will help you better define your needs and you will learn there are other ways to buy a unit for far less money. And...there is always someone at TUG ready to answer your questions HONESTLY!!!
 
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