Surf Club Marco Island Purchase

[Iowa Rod]

I was the high bidder on this property on e bay but it did mot hit the reserve. I was offered a 2nd chance to get this for 4050. I can get a Floating week 16-51 thats worth 5000 HGVC points. I see that they have just updated this resort. Has anyone here been here recently. Any info on this will be apprecaited. I have 9 hours to make my decision.
Thansk, Rod

 

[armlem2]

Make sure your second chance was from the original seller and not a scam. Second chance offers were/are a tool of scammers quite often.

 

[pcgirl54]

Rod
Unit is relisted. I watched that auction myself to know Marco prices. I may buy later in the year. Reading the fine print below it referred to the Hilton Flamingo and Surf Club. New ad only refers to Surf Club. Seems most Marco TS sell somewhere around 3800-5000 on ebay for 5000 +pts.

 

[Iowa Rod]

I got it

Purchased it for 4052. I think this is a good price.
Rod

 

[JLB]

Dang! I wish I had seen your OP. Anything to help out a fellow former Suburban Conference person. (Urbandale here).

I would have said not to buy unless it was Weeks 1-15, unless you are planning on using it yourself.

Other than that, HGVC in SW FL is a fine move.

Actually, one of the best moves in timesharing.

Probably way more than you need to know, but by my ranking there are 19 better resorts and 32 lesser resorts (M/L) in SW Florida.

We almost were able to get a Week 2 (a week we like to be there) at one of those lesser resorts for $2500. It somehow mysterious sold out from under us during the New Year's holiday! We could have gotten a Week 2 and 3 in a unit we love, from friends, for $4000 each, but passed.

That $2500 week had a 25% commission on it.

I saw a Week 50 at that resort for $2000, again a desireable unit. I talked to that owner because they also have a Week 52, but they would not let it go.

 

[korndoc]

I would have said not to buy unless it was Weeks 1-15, unless you are planning on using it yourself.

Other than that, HGVC in SW FL is a fine move.

Actually, one of the best moves in timesharing.

Probably way more than you need to know, but by my ranking there are 19 better resorts and 32 lesser resorts (M/L) in SW Florida.

JLB, could you give us your list of HGVC affiliated SW Florida resorts, in order. A brief description of your reasoning would be a bonus!

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[JLB]

No.

Oh, alright.

Ft. Myers Beach
Seawatch on the Beach

Captiva Island
The Cottages at South Seas Resort
Planatation Bay Villas at South Seas Resort
Plantation Beach Club at South Seas Resort
Plantation House at South Seas Resort
South Seas Club at South Seas Resort

Marco Island
The Charter Club of Marco Beach
Club Regency of Marco Island
Eagle’s Nest Beach Resort
The Surf Club Resort

Sanibel Island
Casa Ybel Resort
Hurricane House Resort
Sanibel Cottage Resort
Shell Island Beach Club
Tortuga Beach Club Resort

I hate to rank them, and get into all that subjective nit-picky stuff. Any of them Weeks 1-15 would be a wise ownership.

Now that I said that, before buying anything at South Seas I think I would wait to see how things shake out there, how badly they look down their noses at the timesharing part of it.

JLB, could you give us your list of HGVC affiliated SW Florida resorts, in order. A brief description of your reasoning would be a bonus!

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[korndoc]

I hate to rank them, and get into all that subjective nit-picky stuff. Any of them Weeks 1-15 would be a wise ownership.

Thank you. In spite of your comment, I am assuming these ARE your rankings by location, right?

Any thoughts on the different islands? The resorts on Marco Island seem to have lower MF. Hurricane House, for example, is about $1100 as opposed to about $750 for Eagle's Nest. I would visit every few years, but use it more often for trading. I would like to buy a resort that is in both the HGVC system and II.

Jeff

 

[akbmusic]

Yikes!

No.

Oh, alright.

Ft. Myers Beach
Seawatch on the Beach

Captiva Island
The Cottages at South Seas Resort
Planatation Bay Villas at South Seas Resort
Plantation Beach Club at South Seas Resort
Plantation House at South Seas Resort
South Seas Club at South Seas Resort

Marco Island
The Charter Club of Marco Beach
Club Regency of Marco Island
Eagle’s Nest Beach Resort
The Surf Club Resort

Sanibel Island
Casa Ybel Resort
Hurricane House Resort
Sanibel Cottage Resort
Shell Island Beach Club
Tortuga Beach Club Resort

I

Maybe they should have asked what HGVC affilliated resorts you DIDN'T own in south Florida!!!

 

[Steve]

I'm not JLB, but I do believe the resorts are NOT ranked by preference or quality. Indeed, they appear to be listed in alphabetical order under each location.

Also, JLB didn't say he owned at all of these resorts. In fact, he doesn't own at any of them. But he has a tremendous amount of knowledge about all of the various resorts in Southwest Florida...including the HGVC resorts which he has listed alphabetically by location.

Steve

 

[JLB]

It is for Fort Myers Beach.

There's something about saying a 10 is better than a 5, or a mediocre resort is a mediocre resort, but when they are all relatively good, all 8s or better (just guessing), I would just be splitting hairs.

And Steve is right. It is the alphabet that determined my listing order.

Thank you. In spite of your comment, I am assuming these ARE your rankings by location, right?

 

[JLB]

I have loved all of SW FL for more than 30 years. There are wonderful areas not listed, like Lovers Key, Bonita Beach, Vanderbilt Beach and Naples.

We would be tickled pink to be at any of the resorts during Week 52, 1 or 2 every year. It reality, because they are so hard to trade into, the HGVC resorts are virtually unavailable for exchange in Snowbird Season. For the purpose of deciding what resorts to trade into from Christmas until half-passed April, this discussion is fairly meaningless.

A more meaningful one would be which of the lesser resorts, The Normal Suspects, you might want to try to get. Even they are getting hard to get, with dwindling/dwindled numbers.

I am now searching January, 2009, and keeping records every day. Actually, I am searching the five weeks after Christmas, and even with adding that additional week on the beginning, the numbers are reduced. If I had not added that week to my search, and still used Jan. 1 as start date, the numbers would be almost totally decimated. It is amazing how availabilty just stops January 1.

2009 is the sixth year I have kept track of.

The reduction in availability has been mainly in the better resorts, the HGVCs, as the Normal Suspects have remained about the same.

Because there are so few deposits, minor changes make a lot of difference. Several times we have traded for the same unit at one of our favorite little lesser resorts. When we were there this year the owner had it for sale. We tried to buy it but somehow someone was able to beat us to it over New Year's weekend.

Needless to say now I haven't seen it for 2009, and will probably never see it again. The unit next to it, another nice unit with a great view, sold for Weeks 2 and 3, and it will never get deposited.

A group is a collection of individuals. As one goes, and another goes, so goes the bunch.

 

[na2006]

I was the high bidder on this property on e bay but it did mot hit the reserve. I was offered a 2nd chance to get this for 4050. I can get a Floating week 16-51 thats worth 5000 HGVC points. I see that they have just updated this resort. Has anyone here been here recently. Any info on this will be apprecaited. I have 9 hours to make my decision.
Thansk, Rod

Is it timeshareweb? How was your expereince with them?

NA

 

[riverdees05]

Iowa Rod,

Where are you in the closing process? Everything going OK?