What is lowest maintenance fee?

[bogey21]

Name one. Thanks

I'll name one I think qualifies. It is the CasaBlanca in Mesquite, NV. MFs are $260 for a one bedroom villa. The story I have heard is that the CasaBlanca Resort/Casino was originally built by Merv Griffin. He had separate villas built for his "high rollers". After the Casino/Resort went South it was reorganized with the high roller villas being converted to timeshares. The timeshares have sold so well that additional buildings have been built. They trade with II but I don't know how well as I always use my Week.

The CasaBlanca Resort/Casino is by far the class of Mesquite. Now I admit Mesquite may not be for everyone but I like it and so must a lot of others who are paying really top dollar for their condos or homes.

Nevertheless, the MF is reasonable (I just paid my $260 and booked my 2006 week the other day) and the units well maintained. Note that the CasaBlanca (Oficially called the CasaBlanca Vacation Club) is an RTU which I think has something like 40 years to go, but being 70 y.o. I really don't care!!

As I mentioned in a proior post TS Owners get 50% off in the Spa and on the Golf Course, and 25% in the Gift Shop and in the Restaurants, all of which I might add are pretty darn nice.

GEORGE

 

[JudyS]

I'll name one I think qualifies. It is the CasaBlanca in Mesquite, NV. MFs are $260 for a one bedroom villa...

George, have you tried trading this? Does it trade well?

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the low effective MF one can get with lockoff units. A two-bedroom with a MF of $500 works out to a MF of $250 per unit if it can be locked off.

 

[jackio]

Congratulations, Tony2. I was looking at that one also, but decided I can't afford another one right now. Best of luck with it.

 

[bogey21]

George, have you tried trading this? Does it trade well

I have no idea about trade power. I always use my unit during NASCAR Week.

GEORGE

 

[TravelSFO]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the low effective MF one can get with lockoff units. A two-bedroom with a MF of $500 works out to a MF of $250 per unit if it can be locked off.

I've been keeping my eye out for a Kahana Falls 1 bedroom/2 bath lockoff unit. It'll lock off into a hotel unit and a studio -- I believe the maintenance fees are about $500 annually, which makes the individual lockoffs *very* reasonable.

I'm guessing trade power would not be too shabby since it is in Maui

 

[jfbookers]

Hard to believe

On their 3rd shot at us at Massanutten last week they offered us two weeks out of three years and three bonus weeks every three years for a MF of $137 per Mo. When questioned the rep. said all the money they make on rentals, skiing and the new water park admissions are what keeps their MF so low. I likes the resort but distrusted a MF like that. Yours, Jim

 

[rickandcindy23]

I am looking at Kahana Falls for a two bedroom lockout

The lockout when separated makes two pretty small units, according to a seller that I talked to. She says that RCI is always willing to take the smaller side but that she would not want to use it. I guess there are no king beds. That would be a problem for us because Rick sleeps in the middle of the bed and that would not leave much room for me.

We need the two-bedroom anyway, so it is certainly a possibility....

 

[onthego]

This is a great site.

What is the lowest maintenance fee that anyone knows of?

If I divide my total annual maint fee (FF points and 1 orange lake week) by the 26 timeshare weeks I use it comes to $147.62 per week stayed.

 

[Tony2]

If I divide my total annual maint fee (FF points and 1 orange lake week) by the 26 timeshare weeks I use it comes to $147.62 per week stayed.

Does that include any exchange or RCI/II membership fees?

 

[CaliDave]

Does that include any exchange or RCI/II membership fees?

Does that really matter when you are booking 26 weeks?

 

[nursenancy]

How are you booking 26 weeks?

 

[IAMTHEWALRUS]

If I divide my total annual maint fee (FF points and 1 orange lake week) by the 26 timeshare weeks I use it comes to $147.62 per week stayed.

That's pretty good. My total came to about $368.00 - or roughly $50.00 per night. When you compare the accomodations of a 2-bedroom timeshare unit, to what a $50.00 per night hotel stay would get you (if you could even find one that low) it makes timeshare owenership worth every penny.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Last Call is so cheap that I am reconsidering a couple of weeks that we own

Since we travel when the kids are in school, and our favorite destinations are overbuilt with timeshares, specifically Orlando and Branson, I told Rick we need to dump a few of our weeks. I can rent from Last Call for much less than the $569 it costs to exchange.

So I am giving away two weeks at our resort, a blue week that is a total waste of money and a "pink" week at the same resort that will not get us to Hawaii. Why pay MF's to go to Orlando when you can rent for $149 for a one-bedroom week? That's less than $22 a night.........

 

[icydog]

Since we travel when the kids are in school, and our favorite destinations are overbuilt with timeshares, specifically Orlando and Branson, I told Rick we need to dump a few of our weeks. I can rent from Last Call for much less than the $569 it costs to exchange.

So I am giving away two weeks at our resort, a blue week that is a total waste of money and a "pink" week at the same resort that will not get us to Hawaii. Why pay MF's to go to Orlando when you can rent for $149 for a one-bedroom week? That's less than $22 a night.........

You know Cindy what you say makes a lot of sense unless you want specific resorts in Orlando like Disney's Vacation Club resorts. If you want to go to Disney you have to own there or have a property with which it trades like a Hyatt in South FL. I have heard lots of stories of people trading in but, the very vast majority of DVC members don't trade out. I stayed at the FF Bonnet Creek I rented from an owner in May. It was so beautiful inside I couldn't believe it. The two bdrm we stayed was huge by Disney Standards and had lovely granite counters and high speed internet and nice beds and a wonderful layout and ..... so many things I can't list them. But it wasn't Disney. No restaurants, no cast members trying to outdo each other with gratiousness, no characters and most important NO BUSES ALL DAY AND NIGHT!!! So even though you can stay for less is the experience the same? NOt for me.

Now to go back to what you said. Yes $149 is absolutley fabulous to pay for a whole entire week, so maybe I'll see you at the other resorts and rent all my points. I may like my big Lexus but I can sure enjoy almost free time in a Hyundai too.

 

[rickandcindy23]

The real beauty is that the resorts are not Hyundais, they're luxury resorts

on Last Call for $149.

It's amazing! Vistana Villages one bedroom for $149 for an entire week! There are several Fairfields listed on Last Call as well.

II Getaways has Marriott Grande Vista for rent during off-season times for $249 for a one-bedroom week. That is our favorite resort.

We can use our MF savings to buy our annual Disney passes! We park our car for free with the passes, so who needs the Disney transportation.

 

[icydog]

on Last Call for $149.

It's amazing! Vistana Villages one bedroom for $149 for an entire week! There are several Fairfields listed on Last Call as well.

II Getaways has Marriott Grande Vista for rent during off-season times for $249 for a one-bedroom week. That is our favorite resort.

We can use our MF savings to buy our annual Disney passes! We park our car for free with the passes, so who needs the Disney transportation.

I agree with you and I love these bargains, but my husband can't see the flowers etc etc... He claims that whenever I see a bargain we have to travel so he is nixing most travel of late. So last calls and the II listings mean nothing to him. If he is traveling he is going when he wants, which in fact may be never, and where he wants, which is anywhere he has access to a balcony and a book, and he'll always go anyplace, as long as it is Old Key West!

I really have to start making friends to timeshare with me!

 

[Carolinian]

You are thinking has very sound logic, but unfortunately for timesharing as more and more people pick up on how RCI's new policies have changed the dynamics of timesharing, people dumping weeks to take advantage of RCI's cheap rentals will undermine the finances of resorts and may ultimately bring much of the timeshare system crashing down.

Since we travel when the kids are in school, and our favorite destinations are overbuilt with timeshares, specifically Orlando and Branson, I told Rick we need to dump a few of our weeks. I can rent from Last Call for much less than the $569 it costs to exchange.

So I am giving away two weeks at our resort, a blue week that is a total waste of money and a "pink" week at the same resort that will not get us to Hawaii. Why pay MF's to go to Orlando when you can rent for $149 for a one-bedroom week? That's less than $22 a night.........

 

[Carolinian]

JLB is right. M/F's may or may not have anything to do with how well managed a resort is. Sometimes a low m/f will indicate a well managed resort and other times it will indicate a resort that sweeps things under the rug as long as they can.

On the OBX, the resort that has long had the lowest m/f is The Windjammer, whose m/f this year is $315.

The Windjammer has a very involved, hands-on HOA board and solid management, and maintains solid reserves. It has the advantage of having revenue from a rental unit, which is on the ground floor, and thus cannot be insured meaning it also cannot be sold. They keep it rented most of the year.
They actively foreclose on delinquent accounts in a timely manner and are proactive in reselling week they get back, leaving a very low percentage of non-performing weeks.

On the other hand, a resort that has historically had one of the higher m/f's on the OBX is Dunes South. If someone thought that a high m/f meant they were well managed, they would be sadly mistaken. Not only are m/f's high, but they have frequent special assessments. One recent one was to cover the previous year's operating deficit. A few years ago, they had one to repair the pool, after management failed to put the pool cover on, or clear away sand that blew into the pool and on the pool deck, to the extent that half the pool deck ended up collapsing, and sand filled the pool clogging some of its systems. For years, Dunes South has had so many delinquent weeks that they never could even afford to foreclose on all of them. Unit refurbishment has come mainly from insurance money from natural disasters including hurricanes and a lightning strike and resulting fire.

The lesson is that low m/f can mean good management, and high m/f's can mean weak management. Or, it can mean the reverse. There is no substitute for doing due diligence on a specific resort, and not just making assumptions, either way, from the level of the m/f.

 

[lease1]

Maint Fees

I own a studio at the Imperial of Hawaii, 1 block off Waikiki Beach, and my Maint Fee is $345/yr for every year useage. When I bought it 5 years ago, the mf was $252. That is acceptable to me. The $345 is $49/night on Waikiki!! And some people say Time Shares are bad?????? I can't get a $49 room in Erie, PA!!

John

 

[timeos2]

You know Cindy what you say makes a lot of sense unless you want specific resorts in Orlando like Disney's Vacation Club resorts. If you want to go to Disney you have to own there or have a property with which it trades like a Hyatt in South FL. I have heard lots of stories of people trading in but, the very vast majority of DVC members don't trade out. I stayed at the FF Bonnet Creek I rented from an owner in May. It was so beautiful inside I couldn't believe it. The two bdrm we stayed was huge by Disney Standards and had lovely granite counters and high speed internet and nice beds and a wonderful layout and ..... so many things I can't list them. But it wasn't Disney. No restaurants, no cast members trying to outdo each other with gratiousness, no characters and most important NO BUSES ALL DAY AND NIGHT!!! So even though you can stay for less is the experience the same? NOt for me.

Now to go back to what you said. Yes $149 is absolutley fabulous to pay for a whole entire week, so maybe I'll see you at the other resorts and rent all my points. I may like my big Lexus but I can sure enjoy almost free time in a Hyundai too.

We want the resort we want in the location we prefer. We have found that those resorts go to owners - not renters and few exchangers. So while we could rent something at a megaresort like OLCC or Vistana, very nice resorts by the way, we don't want to. In Fl we can own float time and change what week we use every year while still knowing we get "our" resort. In Cape Cod we own a fixed week as there is only one premium time of the year and if you don't own it you don't get it. We want the resort we prefer in the area we like. We own those premium periods (in one case year round) and use our time. For trades we use points - the best of both worlds. For example despite the premier and year round location of Westgate the shear number of units which changed a pleasant, small resort into a nightmare and never ending sales pressure dropped their value to us. We turned that into points through the great Points for Deposit program.

There is no doubt that in the seasonal areas like Cape Cod it is tough to justify the annual fees for weeks that have little trade value and limited demand for use. Thats why there aren't too many fancy resorts in those areas as they can't be supported year round. It isn't a points or rental problem it is, and always has been, a seasonal problem. Pawning those weeks off on RCI & using more desirable units in a less seasonal area isn't the answer and isn't RCI's role to handle and give value to those owners. They only owe a like for like exchange and that includes season. It is up to the resorts to find a way to increase the value of that unseasonable time and make the resorts viable. The best ones do just that - the others fail as they should.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I rarely want to stay in a resort twice....

So I am the opposite. Rick allows me to choose the resort in Orlando, and I choose to take different units most of the time.

We have stayed at the Fairfields, the Embassy, Cypress Point Grandevillas, Liki Tiki, two of the Marriotts (Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista), Vistana, Orange Lake, Orbit One (one of our favorites, though it is a "Hospitality" resort), Blue Tree, Westgate (four different Westgates) and a myriad of others, since we have been in Orlando about 40 times in the past 15 years. I like the variety of resorts available to us via II and RCI.

I have seen your resorts, John, for rent on RCI's Last Call as well. That is specifically what I am talking about when I say that keeping our weeks is a waste of money. I see what Carolinian is saying as well, that people choosing to dump their weeks may affect resorts directly because no one will want blue/green weeks. We have been RCI members for 20 years and II members for 24 years, and Last Call and Getaway availability are new discoveries for the two of us because of TUG.

Contrarily to Carolinian's opinion of RCI, I don't think these changes that RCI has made to their system are causing Last Call inventory. If Points members are snatching up all of the weeks they can with 9,000 or less points, they sure aren't taking the hundreds of weeks I see every day on Last Call.

Hatrack advised us to purchase a Points resort that will convert cheaply and use our weeks as points for deposit. That is what I am trying to accomplish now. We will still dump one of our blue weeks. Let someone else enjoy the Colorado mountains during the fall season. I live here and do not need to pay MF's for another twenty years (this was our first RCI purchase), just to trade to Orlando in the fall. I can pay $149 for a one bedroom at Vistana Villages or $249 for a one bedroom at Grande Vista. We will buy annual passes to Disney and Universal with the savings.

 

[icydog]

"We turned that into points through the great Points for Deposit program. "

What is a points for deposit program? Fairfield?


"Pawning those weeks off on RCI & using more desirable units in a less seasonal area isn't the answer and isn't RCI's role to handle and give value to those owners."

If they didn't do this the whole structure of timeshare would suffer. I know it isn't fair but that's how timesharing works. I agree you should stay in the same season, but why in your own neighborhood??
It is up to the resorts to find a way to increase the value of that unseasonable time and make the resorts viable. The best ones do just that - the others fail as they should.

This is done rountinely on HH Island where there is something for all times of year, likewise in Williamsburg, but only if you like history. Having indoor pools and interesting goings-on make for a very nice off season in the north.

 

[Carolinian]

There are very few places with strong year round demand, and those are probably partly because they are underbuilt, like Key West, Sanibel, and Charleston, or because they are popular urban locations like London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Vienna.

Even many places that are not that seasonal in weather, are quite seasonal on demand. Look at the Availibility Table in the European version of the RCI directory for Florida, for example. There are many months of excess of supply over demand, partly because some areas there are overbuilt. The reason it is so easy to get a cheap rental in Orlando or trade a blue week in there, is that for many months, their supply/demand characteristics are like those of blue weeks on Cape Cod. And that is true in spite of weather. If they were not overbuilt, it probably would not be so. Orlando is a nice place to go on a timeshare exchange for many people, but when developers go overboard, it can be easy to get too much of a good thing.

I like the fact that my favorite island in the Caribbean, Sint Maarten, is overbuilt in timeshare. It makes it so much easier to trade into there.
I just wish London and Venice would get overbuilt!

There is no doubt that in the seasonal areas like Cape Cod it is tough to justify the annual fees for weeks that have little trade value and limited demand for use. Thats why there aren't too many fancy resorts in those areas as they can't be supported year round. It isn't a points or rental problem it is, and always has been, a seasonal problem. Pawning those weeks off on RCI & using more desirable units in a less seasonal area isn't the answer and isn't RCI's role to handle and give value to those owners. They only owe a like for like exchange and that includes season. It is up to the resorts to find a way to increase the value of that unseasonable time and make the resorts viable. The best ones do just that - the others fail as they should.

 

[timeos2]

"Pawning those weeks off on RCI & using more desirable units in a less seasonal area isn't the answer and isn't RCI's role to handle and give value to those owners."

If they didn't do this the whole structure of timeshare would suffer. I know it isn't fair but that's how timesharing works. I agree you should stay in the same season, but why in your own neighborhood??

I think we actually agree here. I see no problem with a blue season owner getting a unit in a different, blue season resort. That is a fair exchange. What isn't fair is that blue owner taking a red week in a less seasonal area on a one for one trade. That is giving unfair value to that blue week and leaving the exchange company stuck with a dog blue week no one is likely to want in trade.

 

[timeos2]

So I am the opposite. Rick allows me to choose the resort in Orlando, and I choose to take different units most of the time.

I have seen your resorts, John, for rent on RCI's Last Call as well. That is specifically what I am talking about when I say that keeping our weeks is a waste of money. I see what Carolinian is saying as well, that people choosing to dump their weeks may affect resorts directly because no one will want blue/green weeks. We have been RCI members for 20 years and II members for 24 years, and Last Call and Getaway availability are new discoveries for the two of us because of TUG.

Cindy - Which resort and what time of year? I'm interested as I haven't seen any of them, except Westate which is no longer the resort we originally bought, on Last Call.

UPDATE: I DO see some September time for Cypress Pointe at a very attractive rate. Those are most likely weeks that were bulk banked by the developer or one of our larger owners. The times offered are one of the lowest demand times of the year and are designated "emerald" for the owners (Still not as low as a winter day on the beach but no Fourth of July either). They have been paid for and they can do as they please with them. I notice they also have even more available weeks at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas and Embassy Grand Beach also. It's a great deal if anyone can use them!

Second Update: There are Marco Island units on last call. This MUST be a low demand time for all of southern/central FL.

Isn't timesharing great? You like different resorts and we like a known location for our main visits and we both get what we like! We have found Last Call and other inexpensive exchanges to be great for cheap, last minute or unplanned trips. But we wouldn't want to depend on those for our regular travel especially with friends where we want to know what we're getting.