What Should I Buy? - Just Recinded *Fingers Crossed*

[jtacason23]

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? -> I travel with friends to Canada (Whistler/Banff) annually for snowboard trips!

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time? ->Trade mostly, still exploring the world

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? -> Canada, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Bahamas/Caribbean, SE Asia

4) How many people do you usually travel with? -> 2-8 friends. I travel with my girlfriend but also with a group of friends (no kids yet)

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? -> Anytime!

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? -> I haven't tried; 6-9mo usually

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? -> Yes!

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? -> 3-4

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? -> $2k

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year? ->$1k

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? ->Yes!

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do? ->Yes

A little Background:
My parents and older sister both own II timeshares (Welks & Diamond) in Southern California, so I've been riding the wave of timeshares as a child. Now that I'm older, I've been going on vacation getaways of my own with my girlfriend (Snowboard trip and a Florida/Bahamas cruise) which always ended up in a timeshare presentation. I was always reluctant to say Yes due to the fact that my parents owned but I'm starting to feel I may need my own Timeshare that fits my needs. My most recent trip was in Florida and went to Mizner Place via Vacation Village and they sold me really well for many reasons.

I ended up purchasing because it was deeded, week 3, 2bed L, and I was hoping for a good exchange rate via RCI being a gold crown resort. VV also threw in that extra RCI week. After coming across this website during my cooldown, and finance calculations I chose to rescind my offer yesterday (Day 10 is tomorrow) *fingers crossed* After reading up here, I appreciate what VV was offering but not knowing the Trading Power or RCI point exchange made me nervous when some people were selling on this site for $1!

Now, I'm looking for your TUG help in hopes you can point me in the right direction! For what I've gathered on this site this is where I'm currently at:

1. I still like VV for the company and internal offerings (just not the price they sold me at)
2. Deeded timeshare
3. Probably looking for best trading power (gold crown, high demand week) so I can keep traveling the world
4. I travel a minimum of 1 week at a time per year, the last 3 years (plus a few 4 day getaways and bachelor parties)
5. I like RCI affiliate offerings (and once/if I buy, my family will now own parts of both worlds but I think my sister is hoarding II from me)

Thank you for taking the time to read through, I really enjoy what's going on here and appreciate the knowledge base. Any idea's or suggestions on what companies I should research next? Is what I'm looking for realistic? Where should I start?

I look forward to your responses!

 

[Passepartout]

I think your expectations are unrealistic for timeshareing at this time. I don't see you getting what you state at that $1k annual nut because in order to see all the locations you want to see will require airfares, membership in an exchange, and except for a couple of point systems where you can exchange internally, they cost $200-$300 each! Those things are also part of the cost of owning a timeshare.

So, if you MUST go to Whistler every year, but a resale there. But know that as your needs and wants change and as the inevitable little ones (who are a much bigger drain on your resources than a timeshare) come along and your travels are limited to school schedules and to places you can drive to, that ol' Jim told you so.

best Wishes.

JIm

 

[bogey21]

Hold your horses. Don't do anything until your rescind is 100% accomplished. So far all you have done is sent the letter. Wait until your rescind is acknowledged and any money you paid is returned.

George

 

[bizaro86]

You should wait until you have finished your cancellation to buy anything else. I think you'd be a good fit for Worldmark. They have Canmore, plus a couple in Whistler. That potentially saves you the $200+ in fees mentioned above. For prime ski weeks, you will need to book exactly 13 months out, so consider whether that would work for you.

Worldmark also has access to both RCI and II, which is pretty flexible.

Also worth noting you generally can't switch sizes if one/some of your friends flake out.

 

[jtacason23]

Thank you all for the input!

 

[jtacason23]

I think your expectations are unrealistic for timeshareing at this time. I don't see you getting what you state at that $1k annual nut because in order to see all the locations you want to see will require airfares, membership in an exchange, and except for a couple of point systems where you can exchange internally, they cost $200-$300 each! Those things are also part of the cost of owning a timeshare.

So, if you MUST go to Whistler every year, but a resale there. But know that as your needs and wants change and as the inevitable little ones (who are a much bigger drain on your resources than a timeshare) come along and your travels are limited to school schedules and to places you can drive to, that ol' Jim told you so.

best Wishes.

JIm

Jim - I currently spend $1k-2k a year on my week long travels including airfare and hotel just for myself. I assumed $1k was for maintenance cost + Exchange membership yearly, ~$275 for exchange + up to $1k for airfare and activities (AUS/NZ would be more like $2k). Costs for my trips are already starting to increase each year as I get older as my personal traveling taste gets more refined, not to mention pleasing my girlfriend's new taste in luxury (I shouldn't have brought her to an All-Inclusive resort so early but at least she's paying her share of the hotel!) This is where Timeshares are starting to look very enticing.

 

[jtacason23]

Hold your horses. Don't do anything until your rescind is 100% accomplished. So far all you have done is sent the letter. Wait until your rescind is acknowledged and any money you paid is returned.

George

George - I hear you! Can't put the cart before the horse and definitely not buying anything else just yet, just looking to learn and gain knowledge based on my travel needs. Today is Day 10 and you guys have me worried so I'm going to send another letter... I spoke to a lady at the office and she said to write my letter to the "Cancellation Office" and verified the address I sent it to yesterday. She said as long as I have the correct address they will receive it, but I'm now worried I didn't put "Cancellation Office" in the ATTN. *Fingers Double Crossed*

 

[jtacason23]

You should wait until you have finished your cancellation to buy anything else. I think you'd be a good fit for Worldmark. They have Canmore, plus a couple in Whistler. That potentially saves you the $200+ in fees mentioned above. For prime ski weeks, you will need to book exactly 13 months out, so consider whether that would work for you.

Worldmark also has access to both RCI and II, which is pretty flexible.

Also worth noting you generally can't switch sizes if one/some of your friends flake out.

Bizaro86 - Thank you for the suggestion! Exactly what I'm looking for! I've found that the weeks I usually chose to snowboard (Feb-April) are not "Prime" based on what the Canadians have told me? What do you think? Are all RED weeks required for booking 13mo advance? Is it always 13mo advanced booking via Worldmark? There's a Worldmark near me by the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, would it be a good idea to walk in and see what they have to say?

 

[bizaro86]

It's not always 13 months in advance, but the most popular stuff goes first, which is at 13 months. Whistler during ski season is probably 13 months, especially for a bigger unit. Canmore is still available now for Feb-April in all sizes, although some is getting low inventory.

I would strongly recommend not going to talk to them at the resort. Check out the Worldmark forum here and ask questions. If you go there all you'll get is a high pressure sales pitch to spend 5-10x the resale price for no good reason.

 

[jtacason23]

UPDATE: I finally received my refund to my bank account after sending in my rescind letter within the time allotted! It took 33days total but i'm completely happy with my choice and all the information i found on this site! I however didn't receive any confirmation letter about the rescind process as requested in my letter. Any idea's what i should do now to make it 'Official'? Still worried...

Once it's all said and done You guys will have saved me about $23k THANK YOU TUG SO MUCH!

After browsing the site, being anxious on my cancellation for a month, and starting to plan out my next trip to Canada, i'm thinking purchasing in the next 2-3 years in hopes to rent a World Mark resort on this site just to see how the hospitality is. Any other recommendations on my above post other than World Mark? Only chang would be 13mo is pretty far advanced for planning trips with my friends, usually 8-9mo out have been the sweet spot.

Thanks for the support!

 

[taterhed]

Nicely done!

Worldmark is great--not just because of the Worldmark resorts--but because it has access to Interval International and RCI both. Very good trading power and only 4k per week inside of 59 days.
Good luck!

 

[rboesl]

That 13 month timeframe things is sometimes imposed by the resort. I happen to own a couple where if I want to return to my unit/week without competing with others wishing to visit my resort then I must call and reserve the week 13 months in advance. If I don't then the week or corresponding points are automatically deposited into my exchange system account for use to exchange anywhere else. From that point on I'm competing with everyone else. One of those is a Vacation Village Resort. So when you're looking to buy make sure you understand (as best you can) how internal exchanges work AND who executes them. For example, with Vacation Village internal exchanges are executed by RCI and they charge you a discounted exchange fee allowing me to do it via their portal. For my other resort RCI executes the internal exchange. There's no fee but I must call RCI and work with them on the phone to determine which other internal location has availability. With other systems you call them directly, use their portal, to make internal exchanges.

Knowing where you want to go most of the time and buying there is only part of the challenge. Knowing how to work the system you buy into to get maximum value from your purchase, assuming you want to visit other affiliated resorts, is also important.