Tom52 said:
Right now there is a 2 bed, 2 bath week 23 at Silverleaf Fox Valley with a buy it now price of $75. I have seen many on eBay with opening bid of $99 that never receive a bid. I agree the maintenance fees are really high. The week 23 states the maintenance fees are $719.52.
I see no advantage to purchasing unless you can justify the maintenance fees by the day use benefits.
Tom,
I see you are a neighbor. Like you, Sarah and I live near to Fox River, so the day use priveledges and the bonus time can go a long way to justifying the MF. Then if you are a camper, add free camping to the mix.
That week 23 is very tempting at $75, if your kids are out of school that week.
If you haven't been to the resort, they have a fun 5 hole executive course that you can play for free. They have an indoor pool that is open darn near year round (except for maintenance). The miniture golf course is one of the best free miniture golf courses I have ever seen. Jellystone park in Millbrook charges $5 per person to golf one round on their mini-golf course. Jellystone's minigolf course is astroturf and landscape timbers laid out in a parking lot. Fox Rivers minigolf is a themed mini golf course with water features and some challenging holes. And did I say it is free? It makes a nice sunday trip when you come out of church and you don't want to go home and watch the kids play video games or watch TV all day.
Bonus time is a perk of Silverleaf ownership. The current program is free nights during the week and $39.95 per night for Thursday, Friday or Saturday, which is not bad for a two bedroom condo.
Fox River makes a good base for exploring the State Parks along the Illinois River area. If you go to Starved Rock this time of year you can see the Bald Eagles that nest on the Island near the dam right there near Starved Rock. There are also several other state parks. My families favorite has always been Matheison (sp) which is just south past Starved Rock. It is a natural sand stone gorge with waterfalls and some cave like features. You would never know something like that is in Illinois.
I agree with Jim, do not buy the resort to trade; the MF are too high and from what he said and what I can deduce it is not a strong trader. But if you would like a place to go play with your family it can be a great place to own especially if you live local to it like in Naperville, Oswego, Plainfield, Shorewood or Channahon.
Scott
Plainfield, IL