RCI timeshare at Shipyard, HHI

[stan_schrader]

Hi everyone.

I realize this is probably answered in here umpteen times, but I am in a world I really know nothing about and hope you will forgive me for a duplicate thread.

My parents bought a timeshare on Hilton Head Island in ~ 2013 from RCI. The property is managed by RMC.

My father passed away in 2017, and my mother wants out of her timeshare, mainly because RCI is not honoring what their salesman told them - specifically, that they would have the same timeshare every year at the same time. When she went to go stay, she was informed she had to 'reserve' the place 13 months out, and since she didn't 2019, 2020, and 2021 were already reserved. Now, for two straight years she is paying RCI their fee, and RMC their maintenance fee - and getting nothing for it. I tried to work with RCI, but they were uncooperative and said we might be able to get her place in 2022.

I told my mother I would try to help her BUT she cannot find the contract they signed. I'm over my head. Without the contract I have no idea about any numbers or anything to even go by when selling, or just giving it back. She would be happy either way.

Any thoughts for a novice? Thanks, Stan Schrader, Jr.

 

[elaine]

RCI does not sell timeshares. They are a trading company. It sounds like she has a floating week managed by Reba Management Corp, which might be Palmera now. I have a property managed by them with a similar points system. You do have to reserve at 13 months, otherwise, the "week" converts to RCI points. There are many perfectly fine places on HHI that she can likely reserve with the points. Find out how many RCI points she has. You can also contact Palmera and they might be able to explain it better.
She should still be able to get another place on HHI, esp. if it's not prime summer. It might not be her resort, but there are others of similar quality right in shipyard. But, you have to reserve in advance, 9 month to a year, not at 3 months out, unless it's low season. There are still plenty of units for Fall 2020.
If she has been paying RCI fees, she should have RCI points. Make sure to roll them over (bank them) prior to the term of her points year (not necessarily 12/31) for usage the next year. You can also pay a small fee to extend them another year after that.
Lastly, you can contact Palmera and tell them your Dad died and she's elderly. They might take the deed back. She can also just stop paying and they will foreclose--if she's elderly and isn't using it, you might consider that option. There are several posts on TUG about not paying fees/foreclosure. Good luck.

 

[Eric B]

Not really sure what timeshare resort this is, which might be helpful. A couple of things to know - RCI does not sell timeshares, they are an exchange company that allows an owner to use their weeks/points elsewhere. It sounds to me like the timeshare your mom owns is enrolled in RCI points, which automatically deposits her week into the exchange, but allows her to reserve it without additional charge between 12 and 13 months in advance. If she wants to just use the week, she can tell the resort management company, RMC, to take it out of the RCI points program. It might not get her the week until 2022, but that could fix it.

Not much other advice I can give without more details. There should be a feed for it somewhere and the name of the resort would probably help.

 

[elaine]

FWIW, I like the points system much better and believe that I get much higher "value" for trading in RCI points than trading units under weeks, based upon the power in weeks I have with another gold crown 3BR 4th of July week on HHI. So, I'd think hard before opting out of points. With my floating week with (probably) the same company, you can usually only opt out 1x every 3 years when the contact comes up with RCI.
I know Palmera gets a bad rap due to sales dept (no comment as I bought mine resale), but other than a higher than average (IMHO) annual fee, I've been happy with the RCI points and trades I've gotten. Once you know what to expect with RCI, the floating week in points is an easy system.

 

[Jan M.]

As OP said this sounds like it's a points week that you would have to book with the resort at the start of your use year to be able to use your week instead of getting the points.

If your mother is retired and free to travel pretty much any time she could be getting so many weeks for the points that one week gets her. Not just on Hilton Head but in locations all over the US and other countries too. She and you too should try to learn more about how to use what she has. The first few years we owned our first points week I knew next to nothing about how to use what we had so I've been in your situation. We were looking at losing points because they couldn't be extended again and a rep helped me find a couple of great stays to use them up. By coincidence one of those stays was on Hilton Head. After that I made myself sit down at the computer and learn more about using what we had.

Here's what I did to help me learn. Almost every day for several weeks I picked a couple of target areas that we liked to go at that time, logged in on the RCI website and searched those areas to see what was available. By doing that I got more comfortable with navigating the website. It gave me some idea of the inventory that's typically available in those areas. Meaning I started to recognize the resorts that you can pretty much always find stays at. When a resort that I hadn't seen a stay at before showed up I would look at the reviews and pictures to learn more about the resort. I got a feel for which resorts I would really like to stay at, which ones I'd be okay with and which ones I'd avoid. I soon found myself looking at other places around the country and dreaming of where I'd like to go.

 

[HudsHut]

Welcome to TUG, stan_schrader:

Thank you for helping your Mother.

I expect the previous posters are correct. Your Mother's timeshare is enrolled in RCI Points. For the years she did not reserve her week for her own use, a certain number of points were deposited into her "RCI Points account". Call RCI to see how many points are in there, and learn when they expire. Learn how many points she is allocated each year. I presume she doesn't know her RCI Points log in information. See if you can get that set up while on the phone with RCI.

Does your Mother wish to travel? Or do you want to travel by using the RCI Points?
Those points are a type of currency. She may use them to trade into another available timeshare. (Note: there is an exchange fee to make each trade.) As Jan mentions above, there is a learning curve, and you must log in to RCI regularly for a period to time to get to know "what is usually out there", vs "what is rare".
You may also set up a search request to be matched when a certain resort and week becomes available. (I am not an RCI Points member, but other members here can give you details on this.)

Does she know the name of the timeshare?
Here are some possibilities, which mention Shipyard in their name or description, in RCI:
Cottages at Shipyard #3298
Spinnaker at Shipyard #0984
Spinnaker at Shipyard #DL94
Vitality Assurance Vacation Club at Spinnaker at Shipyard #DD46
Southwind Villas #3400
Southwind II #2150
Vitality Assurance Vacation Club at Southwind II #DD47

The county should have a record of the deed.

Come back and let us know how you're proceeding. We can help make the learning curve a lot shorter.

 

[elaine]

She is likely owns Coral Reef or Port O call located in Shipyard. RMC is probably Reba Management Corp., now Palmera Vacation Club.

 

[HudsHut]

Thank you, Elaine.

RCI numbers:
Coral Reef Resort #3975
Coral Sands Resort #6736
Coral Sands Resort North by Palmera #C688
Port O' Call #0995

 

[stan_schrader]

Thank you everyone.

Some specifics:

Her place is in Port O' Call, (#0995), and apparently she is on the points system. I am going to find out about her points so that they don't go wasted.

I assume RMC is/was Rema Mgt Corp, now PVC. I am going to call them to see if they will take the deed back - I have been on friendly terms with them since this began. If they won't, my mom owns her home and car and has plenty of savings, so at 80, probably just recommend she let them foreclose.

She doesn't want to keep the place. I might see if she wants me to pick it up, but aside from that, just let it go.

Thanks so much! Stan Schrader, Jr.

 

[elaine]

Please let us know what happens.