What should I buy?

[Nanalisa]

I know I want to buy a timeshare. Resale. I am 46. Retired related to health. My husband has a good job and is older. We have 6 grandkids all age 3 and under. I am able to travel with them and their parents, mom's etc as well as my husband. My husband is a hilton diamond member because of work so I am drawn toward hgvc, but don't know if it's worth it or if I should look for something else if I'll just be trading. I want to be able to trade well.
1) Where do you want your home resort to be? I don't care? I live in Southern California.

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.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Hawaii, California, Orlando,New York, Utah

4) How many people do you usually travel with? 3 others.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? Anytime. But need some summer availability some years.

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? Yes.

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? You bet!

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

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? Can and want to are different things.

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? I am a saver. If it's going up every year, I would not want to start over 1200. And I better get s damn good purchase price to offset that.

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? Umm. Very.

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. Are there taxes also. Or just feed?

 

[WalnutBaron]

It sounds like your main goal is to buy a strong trading unit, regardless of its location. In that case, you're going to need to gravitate to one of the majors--Marriott, Hilton, Vistana/Starwood, or Hyatt.

I think your biggest challenge is going to be finding something with maintenance fees that fit your budget, especially if you're looking for 4 stars or better. For example, within the Hyatt system, the lowest MF's for a 2BR unit at the lowest MF property--which is Sedona--are near the upper end of your range. More typically, annual maintenance fees are around $1,400 to $1,700. Hilton MarBrisa (located in Southern California) shows MF on a 2BR at a little shy of $1,400, including the Club fee, which you would need in order to trade internally within the HGVC system. Check the MF stickies within each of the majors' forums for specific information.

You can certainly find properties with lower maintenance fees, but they often aren't strong traders.

You will also definitely need a budget for your initial purchase. Lesser-desired properties or properties in overbuilt markets like Orlando or Las Vegas are given away, but they also typically are not strong traders since the supply is so plentiful.

Taxes are typically--but not always--included in the annual MF's.

 

[VacationForever]

Since you do not care about a home resort, a point based system that could book internally is your best bet. External trading fees are very expensive, both in RCI and II. Marriott Destination Club points are not cheap but have many locations, including where you have listed. MF is much higher than $1200 for a typical 2BR equivalent point booking. More points nedded for high season, fewer for shoulder season. Vistana does not have many locations and a mandatory resort like SVV is cheap and MF is not outrageous.

 

[Nanalisa]

It sounds like your main goal is to buy a strong trading unit, regardless of its location. In that case, you're going to need to gravitate to one of the majors--Marriott, Hilton, Vistana/Starwood, or Hyatt.

I think your biggest challenge is going to be finding something with maintenance fees that fit your budget, especially if you're looking for 4 stars or better. For example, within the Hyatt system, the lowest MF's for a 2BR unit at the lowest MF property--which is Sedona--are near the upper end of your range. More typically, annual maintenance fees are around $1,400 to $1,700. Hilton MarBrisa (located in Southern California) shows MF on a 2BR at a little shy of $1,400, including the Club fee, which you would need in order to trade internally within the HGVC system. Check the MF stickies within each of the majors' forums for specific information.

You can certainly find properties with lower maintenance fees, but they often aren't strong traders.

You will also definitely need a budget for your initial purchase. Lesser-desired properties or properties in overbuilt markets like Orlando or Las Vegas are given away, but they also typically are not strong traders since the supply is so plentiful.

Taxes are typically--but not always--included in the annual MF's.

Thank you!!! I think I am leaning toward the Hilton. We have actually rented timeshares there and used our Hilton hhonors points (we are almost always diamond members) at a nearby resort to get all the family where we want to go in the US. we can afford to buy an annual week 1 bedroom direct at hgvc if that's all the travel we did. But that's not all the travel I want to do. I guess I'd like to know which properties do trade well and what price per point is good? The maintenance fees are flexible in the budget.

 

[Sky313]

You can save $$$ buying resale. Don't buy direct. Research the HGVC Hilton forum if you want to know more about the Hilton product. For the locations you want, HGVC would be a great fit.

Thank you!!! I think I am leaning toward the Hilton. We have actually rented timeshares there and used our Hilton hhonors points (we are almost always diamond members) at a nearby resort to get all the family where we want to go in the US. we can afford to buy an annual week 1 bedroom direct at hgvc if that's all the travel we did. But that's not all the travel I want to do. I guess I'd like to know which properties do trade well and what price per point is good? The maintenance fees are flexible in the budget.