Timeshare Newbie Looking for Advice

[menglish]

Hello, this is my first post in TUG. I've been thinking of buying a timeshare but am still confused a bit about how things work. I would be looking to buy a resale timeshare not new. We are a family of four with two small kids. For the past five years we've gone to New Hampshire for Columbus Day Weekend and have stayed at the Inn Seasons Resort - Pollard Brook and have really liked it. I see many timeshares for resale at sellmytimesharenow but the pricing of the timeshares confuses me and makes me a little wary of buying anything given the nightmare stories I have heard about buying timeshares. For instance one listing is for $1 and another is for $27,000. Is there really that much difference in the quality of the offers? By now I think I understand a few things:
1. Fixed seems to be better than floating since you are guaranteed the same week each year but we are dependent on the school calendar so that limits the weeks we would really be interested in
2. I can trade my week in for points but I have no bearing on what is a decent amount of points for a timeshare

 

[menglish]

I hit submit too soon, what I was going to add was:
3. I shouldn't think of a timeshare as an investment, which I am not, I am really just looking to have a go to place every year for this weekend we spend

 

[menglish]

I hit reply again too soon:
My final question is, if you, who probably know way more than me about this, were looking at this resort, what questions would you be asking or what would you be wary of?
Thank you!

 

[byeloe]

I would not buy from SMTN

 

[TUGBrian]

this article should help explain the price disparity...

The #1 Reason Owners Fail to Sell a Timeshare

Learn the #1 reason timeshare owners fail to sell & get expert tips to successfully navigate the resale market for free. Maximize your chances of a successful timeshare resale today

tug2.net

 

[rjwehr]

Hello, this is my first post in TUG. I've been thinking of buying a timeshare but am still confused a bit about how things work. I would be looking to buy a resale timeshare not new. We are a family of four with two small kids. For the past five years we've gone to New Hampshire for Columbus Day Weekend and have stayed at the Inn Seasons Resort - Pollard Brook and have really liked it. I see many timeshares for resale at sellmytimesharenow but the pricing of the timeshares confuses me and makes me a little wary of buying anything given the nightmare stories I have heard about buying timeshares. For instance one listing is for $1 and another is for $27,000. Is there really that much difference in the quality of the offers? By now I think I understand a few things:
1. Fixed seems to be better than floating since you are guaranteed the same week each year but we are dependent on the school calendar so that limits the weeks we would really be interested in
2. I can trade my week in for points but I have no bearing on what is a decent amount of points for a timeshare

We did the same thing. We own fixed weeks at places we repeatedly go. The advantage is unit consistency and not having to compete with other owners for high-demand seasons. (i.e. summer weeks and spring break) We don't trade anymore. We use our timeshares or rent them out. (For us, membership and exchange fees eat into the value.)

We're pretty picky about what we buy. We look for: good location, high demand week, largest unit size I can get, with maintenance fees that are cheaper than the rental rate and no upcoming special assessments. I usually don't pay more than a couple hundred dollars for a unit. (I would really have to want a unit to pay more than that.) Be mindful of any closing or transfer fees. Traditionally, the buyer pays these, although they can be negotiable. I would expect to pay $300-500 for closing and transfer.

Not all timeshare/management companies are the same; some are better about maintenance and upkeep than others. It pays to do a little research.

Good luck with your search. Welcome to TUG.

 

[menglish]

this article should help explain the price disparity...

The #1 Reason Owners Fail to Sell a Timeshare

Learn the #1 reason timeshare owners fail to sell & get expert tips to successfully navigate the resale market for free. Maximize your chances of a successful timeshare resale today

tug2.net

Thank you, that does explain quite a lot!

 

[menglish]

I would not buy from SMTN

Thank you. I know there are several different sites that offer timeshare resales. Is there a particular reason why SMTN is not a good site or do you have a recommendation for a good one to look at?

 

[menglish]

We did the same thing. We own fixed weeks at places we repeatedly go. The advantage is unit consistency and not having to compete with other owners for high-demand seasons. (i.e. summer weeks and spring break) We don't trade anymore. We use our timeshares or rent them out. (For us, membership and exchange fees eat into the value.)

We're pretty picky about what we buy. We look for: good location, high demand week, largest unit size I can get, with maintenance fees that are cheaper than the rental rate and no upcoming special assessments. I usually don't pay more than a couple hundred dollars for a unit. (I would really have to want a unit to pay more than that.) Be mindful of any closing or transfer fees. Traditionally, the buyer pays these, although they can be negotiable. I would expect to pay $300-500 for closing and transfer.

Not all timeshare/management companies are the same; some are better about maintenance and upkeep than others. It pays to do a little research.

Good luck with your search. Welcome to TUG.

Thanks so much! Yes, last year I think we paid almost 2k for the three day weekend and I am seeing the same place with maintenance fees significantly lower than that.

 

[byeloe]

Thank you. I know there are several different sites that offer timeshare resales. Is there a particular reason why SMTN is not a good site or do you have a recommendation for a good one to look at?

they charge a ridiculous amount for closing costs compared to other possible companies. Also navigating through all the ads that they never remove from their site is a PITA

 

[DaveNV]

For instance one listing is for $1 and another is for $27,000. Is there really that much difference in the quality of the offers?

Simply put, No, there is no difference in the timeshares. The difference is the Seller thinks they're sitting on a goldmine. They think they own real estate, and expect to get a positive return on their investment. Truth is, a timeshare isn't real estate - it's time AT real estate. So what is being sold is the period of time that Seller owns. The listings for $1 are more accurate, because 99% of timeshares have no resale value. Once you buy in, your ongoing costs are the same, whether you paid $1 or $27000. Where SMTN should be avoided is they super-inflate their Closing Costs, simply to pad their bottom line. They charge the Seller a listing commission, a sales commission, and then pocket huge money in excess closing fees. It's usury and should be outlawed. Most timeshare closing costs for a name transfer should be along the order of a few hundred dollars, tops. Even the major brand name companies don't charge very much. (e.g. WorldMark, owned by Wyndham, charges $299 to transfer an account from one owner to another.) There is no legitimate reason for things to cost thousands in closing costs to transfer from one person's name to another. It's just greed.

Don't be afraid to buy a timeshare, as long as you buy the RIGHT timeshare, for the right reasons. If you buy where you want to vacation, and pay a reasonable purchase price and pay reasonable closing costs, then it's a done deal.You can amortize those fees into the ongoing cost of ownership. If you've been renting at the same resort, then a vacation or two as an owner will usually earn back the outlay to buy a resale ownership. After that, the maintenance fees and such should be your only real expenses. And that makes it affordable. When time comes to sell the timeshare, it often happens that if you offer it for $1, agree to pay the closing costs for the new owner, and maybe kick in a week's vacation at the resort as incentive, chances are really good the timeshare will be snapped up pretty quickly.

If you buy the wrong timeshare, that nobody wants at any price, you may be stuck with it, and you might have to go through foreclosure to the resort to get it out of your name. So do your research, buy smart, and enjoy owning what you buy. Everything else is just in the details.

Good luck! And Welcome to Tug!

Dave

 

[CPNY]

Hello, this is my first post in TUG. I've been thinking of buying a timeshare but am still confused a bit about how things work. I would be looking to buy a resale timeshare not new. We are a family of four with two small kids. For the past five years we've gone to New Hampshire for Columbus Day Weekend and have stayed at the Inn Seasons Resort - Pollard Brook and have really liked it. I see many timeshares for resale at sellmytimesharenow but the pricing of the timeshares confuses me and makes me a little wary of buying anything given the nightmare stories I have heard about buying timeshares. For instance one listing is for $1 and another is for $27,000. Is there really that much difference in the quality of the offers? By now I think I understand a few things:
1. Fixed seems to be better than floating since you are guaranteed the same week each year but we are dependent on the school calendar so that limits the weeks we would really be interested in
2. I can trade my week in for points but I have no bearing on what is a decent amount of points for a timeshare

i have purchased a few from SMTN. Their closing costs are absolutely insane. I spoke with them today about a unit and they quoted 1500 closing costs. their listing prices are absolutely insane as well. You are better off sticking with Redweek, Timeshare nation, ebay, TUG marketplace, etc.

You are doing the right thing by researching and asking questions. Try and buy a free timeshare

 

[Venter]

I found this on the web. It looks like you will need from 25 000 points for a 2 night weekend (Fri and Sat) stay in a 1 bedroom in the lowest season to 85 000 points for a two night weekend stay in a 3 bedroom in the highest season.
There is a base fee of about $450 and then you pay for the points on top of that. Currently there is a free annual (gives you this amount of points every year) 80 000 points listing with yearly maintenance fee of $1020. There is also 150 000 points for $850 with maintenance fees of $1500.
That means for $1500 every year you can stay in a 3 bedroom over the weekend in a high demand time 2x or as much as 6x during low demand periods in a 1 bedroom.
The drawback of booking short/weekend stays is that you can only book 4 months out at the earliest and high demand weekends may not be available. From the chart it seems 2 nights is the minimum you can book.
Maybe a Tugger like @swditz who owns in the system can chime in about resale restrictions and how exchanging into RCI works.