Welk Resort - Not worth it?

[jays]

Good evening everyone.

I have played with the thought of buying Welk but tried to figure out what my per night cost would be if I buy from the developer vs resale and at what point is my nightly cost going up?

The above example shows my calculation for 240,000 points. The yellow mark indicates at what year the cost per night will only go up. The above also assumes that I can get about 14 days out of 240,000 points.

Below is the same calculation based on 780,000 points:

At 780,000 points, I expected to get 3x the days I get for 240,000 points.


I believe 14 days for 240,000 points and 42 days for 780,000 points is generous but I might be wrong, especially since I don't have experience.

Anyhow, looking at those numbers, why would anybody want to keep a timeshare, purchased by a developer for more than 28 years? For resale, the nightly rate is definitely very good even after 15-20 yers.

Am I missing something in my calculation? I feel like buying from Welk directly is a horrible financial decision, is it really as bad as my calculation shows?

I would be very interested to get some input form others out here

 

[DeniseM]

Paying full retail is almost always a bad deal - no matter what company you buy from. Resale is the way to go.

 

[nuwermj]

I might quibble with some of the OP's data, but not with its main point -- that is, buying directly from the developer "is a horrible financial decision." The developers' incur ridiculous marketing costs that they must recuperate, and therefore they create artificial differences between "qualified" ownership and "non-qualified" ownership.

 

[jays]

Do you have more details on qualified vs non qualified ownership @nuwermj

 

[Shankilicious]

One other thing to take into consideration is that Welk pays for your platinum RCI membership and we get an extra week accommodation for every exchange into RCI.

 

[jays]

@Shankilicious does it cost anything to exchange into RCI? Can you book any property with the extra week you get? or is it a limited number?

 

[nuwermj]

Do you have more details on qualified vs non qualified ownership @nuwermj

In almost all the point systems, when one buy from the developer, the points qualify for "benefits" provided by the developer. Welk, for example, offers longer reservations windows and the Experiences collection, among other things. When you buy secondary market points (i.e. resale or "non-qualified") you don't get those benefits.

In my case, I own all my timeshares for the accommodations. I seldom find the benefits useful, and never worth the amount of money they cost.

 

[jays]

Thank you @nuwermj . Does Welk pay for the exchange fees with RCI? What does your average trade cost you on RCI or II?

 

[nuwermj]

Thank you @nuwermj . Does Welk pay for the exchange fees with RCI? What does your average trade cost you on RCI or II?

Welk does not pay the exchange fees. The II exchange fee is $209 for a week. I'm not sure the RCI fee, but I think it is higher than the II fee.

 

[Shankilicious]

The bonus weeks (ACs) with II range from 229-350. A 7 night points reservation with RCI using Welk points is also $209. If you stay for fewer nights, it's less. Let me send you a list of some of the "perks" Welk offers.

 

[jays]

Thank you @Shankilicious, for sending over the perks from Welk.

 

[talkamotta]

I have stayed in the Welk in Escondido at least 8 times in the last 20 years as an exchanger. I think now they are trying the 1 in 4 rule but there are a couple of different resorts right there so I don't know if I picked another resort than I stayed in last would rci or welk allow the trade. I love the resort, it's wonderful but there are other resorts in Carlsbad or San Diego so for me I wouldn't buy.

 

[talkamotta]

Im not sure about all points based timeshares, but I have looked at Wyndham and Worldmark and resale is a much better option. For example Worldmark. I bought 41,000 points for $5k and it was a fully loaded account meaning they gave me points from previous years. So thats .12 a point Worldmark/Wyndham sells their points for $2 to $3 per point. I also bought a Wyndham resort that has lower mfs and it was for $1 went to a Wyndham presentation and they were going to sell me the same amount of points for $17k. Their benefits include trading between Worldmark and Wyndham. I like both resorts so I just bought both. I am sure about week based timeshares including Marriott. Pay $33K for Marriott Newport coast and seen it sell for $8k many times.. They do have a rofr. But I got an exchange with them my cost for the exchange was $800 which is a lot less than owners mfs. Except for my first which I bought from the developer, foolish me, Ive bought my weeks resorts including Hawaii for under $1000 and some have been under $100. The few I bought that were around $1k I could have bought for less now. Most resorts dont care how you bought it.....you are now an owner and can use all their facilities free where as exchangers will be charged. Different rules for different clubs, I know. I have 8 weeks and the 41K Worldmark points, I have paid $17k total for my purchases. My coworker bought his 8 Marriott timeshares and he says he has $275,000 invested in his initial costs. If he sold all his, he could recoupe probably $60k of his money where as I could recoupe $7. Im not planning on selling anything. The choice is yours.

 

[Shankilicious]

Yeah, resale is definitely the way to go. The only drawback with Welk resale is not being able to book Disney. Until you get up above 540k developer points which would cost around $50-60k.
I like Worldmark but I don't like the housekeeping points/credits and different fees. Give me just one fee and no levels of ownership/specif room type ownership.

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[ChrissyH]

Yeah, resale is definitely the way to go. The only drawback with Welk resale is not being able to book Disney. Until you get up above 540k developer points which would cost around $50-60k.
I like Worldmark but I don't like the housekeeping points/credits and different fees. Give me just one fee and no levels of ownership/specif room type ownership.

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So, I’m looking at buying Welk resale. I live by Welk San Diego and really like the resort. If I buy resale, I won’t be able to book with Disney?

 

[Shankilicious]

So, I’m looking at buying Welk resale. I live by Welk San Diego and really like the resort. If I buy resale, I won’t be able to book with Disney?

Not directly through Welk. But you can get SSR, and OKW even two bedroom units for half the points through RCI. Welk owners are currently getting priority access to Disney through RCI.

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[ChrissyH]

Not directly through Welk. But you can get SSR, and OKW even two bedroom units for half the points through RCI. Welk owners are currently getting priority access to Disney through RCI.

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That’s awesome! I would love to go stay at animal kingdom for a week for 120k points! What are the major differences between having a deed and just buying points on redweek to use?

 

[Shankilicious]

That’s awesome! I would love to go stay at animal kingdom for a week for 120k points! What are the major differences between having a deed and just buying points on redweek to use?

I have seen animal kingdom but I did see a a Boulder ridge/wilderness Lodge unit for this summer back in February or March.
Welk doesn't sell deeded weeks anymore. If you go resale you can still find some deeded weeks on the resale market.
For Welk resale I highly recommend www.calresorts.com
Shoot me a private message and I'll give you all the details on Welk that I can. No need to blow up this thread with some repeated and obscure questions lol!

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