What should I buy?

[Catladyglenn]

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? No specific location…flexible within US. (Husband won’t fly)

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 more than half the time.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Anything in the US that we can do in the summer.
4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? 4-6

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? School schedule - I’m a teacher

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

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? Absolutely

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
3-5
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? $4000

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? Right now, less than a $1,000…that amount will increase once kids are out of college.

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

13) I read other threads that talked about flexibility, we are totally flexible with locations. I saw someone comment that they knew they wanted to travel on the summer and asked their wife if they wanted to go to A,B, or C because of what was available. That would be us.

 

[ScoopKona]

It would help to know the general area where you live. Some systems are better for the East Coast. Some better for the West Coast. There is no "do everything" timeshare system. If there was, we'd all own it.)

(I'm the person who asks his wife if she wants to go to Norway, Malta or Ireland this year.)

 

[Catladyglenn]

We live in Texas so would travel primarily in the south…I know, that’s not east or west, lol. If we go east, it would be down south, anywhere west is fair game.

 

[ScoopKona]

Does visiting Texas Hill Country appeal to you at all?

 

[Passepartout]

If you are pretty much restricted to driving distance from Texas (husband won't fly), I'd say you might concentrate on the Wyndham system. They have more resorts in the S.E. than anywhere else. There is a learning curve to getting the most from that system. They are pretty solidly in the 3* luxury ranking. (there is no such thing as a 5* timeshare) They DO have resorts elsewhere, so if you are wanting to reach out a bit further, it's possible. They are a points-based system, so you buy a bundle of points to trade as 'currency'. Stays are cheaper during weekdays than weekends. You pay fees based on how many points you own. They are very available on the resale market at fire-sale prices.

There is a Wyndham forum on TUG. Look it over. There are helpful people who will explain the intricacies to a newbie.

Jim

 

[VacationForever]

Less than $1K in maintenance fees for a room that accommodates 4-6, is just not going to happen. You need to increase that budget substantially. I think I am reading "West" instead of "East", if so, you will want to look at Worldmark. 3+ star and the most cost-effective with 90+ locations on the West Coast.

 

[Passepartout]

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? Right now, less than a $1,000…that amount will increase once kids are out of college.

This here is the timeshare deal killer. $1k a year is bare-bones MF for a 1 bedroom, You may want to wait until some of your 'birds' fly the coop.

 

[rjwehr]

You may be limited more by the driving distance than by the vacation options. We drive for most of our vacations. As you know, Texas is big. It takes us 12 hours to get to Panama City Beach, FL, 18 hours to get to Winter Park, CO, and 3-1/2 hours to get to the Hill Country. This means, depending on your location, your drivable options are Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Southern Missouri (i.e., Branson), and Louisiana (New Orleans) to the Panhandle of Florida. Timeshare purchase options for Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are pretty thin.

There are a ton of options out there. Floating weeks, Fixed weeks, Points, large hotel chain-based timeshares, small independent timeshares, RCI affiliated, Interval International affiliated, etc.

My best advice for you is: know exactly what you want before you buy. Then buy at a good location, with a good time of year (season or demand color), with the largest unit you can get. Don't settle for less than what you want, since it can be hard to get rid of and you may be stuck with it for a while.

PM me if you have any questions I can help with. Good luck with your search.

 

[austdav]

I would definitely be looking at 2bd's. Most hotel chain-based timeshares are around 2k in mf's for 2bd. If you wanted a point system i would think you would have to look at rci points. Some resorts that use rci points mf's are above 1k so do your research. Personally i think you should look for a small independent timeshare where you're interested in going, and that doesn't care what trading company you use. I think a lot of your vacationing could be through these getaway deals. Example-- I live in PA my daughter lives near Orlando. I own a 2bd at Magic Tree near them. MF's are $600 for a 2bd and haven't went up for a long time. It is gold crown and trades well. But a lot of my vacations have been through the trading companys. Magic Tree doesn't care what trading co. i use or how many i belong to. Some resorts are not this way. I think if you found a independent resort in an area you like this could work well for you. If you think so i would think it benefit you to list some areas you would like to own and people could give you better recommendations.

 

[dazzlingheart]

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? No specific location…flexible within US. (Husband won’t fly)

We are in Cali, so we like Cali locations. Overall, we are new to timesharing and do not have any fav locations yet outside of Las Vegas.

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 more than half the time.

We bought The Club with HGV Max which is part of Hilton Grand Vacations. We don't have a home resort but a collection of resorts we can go to with the best priority (Diamond Resorts US Collection). At this early stage of traveling together, my husband and I will probably use a mix of our home collection, trading through Destination Xchange, and using Hilton Honors points we collect with our AMEX Hilton Honors credit cards to book Hilton hotels equally to visit locations in the US and abroad.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

Right now, resorts in France, Italy, and England.

Anything in the US that we can do in the summer.

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? 2

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? Any time.

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

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?
3-5
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? $3500

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? approx $1200

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

We bought Hilton Grand Vacations...lol

 

[rickandcindy23]

Did you just buy Hilton? Did you buy at a sales' presentation?

 

[cd5]

They have HVC (Diamond points). And yes bought retail in May

 

[wrobinson]

As a former licensed timeshare salesperson, here is my best advice...

1. Purchase PRIMARILY where you want to vacation most of the time, or if all else fails.
2. NEVER purchase from the resort as you will overpay for the same package you can get for pennies on the dollar. For example, you can purchase a great timeshare for as little as $1,000 online. The same timeshare could cost you as much as $40K or more for the very same thing. Moreover, there are many families who can no longer use their timeshares because of health or finances. So, take it off their hands and do both of you a favor.
3. Look at various resale sites. I think that Sell My Timeshare Now may be a good place to start.
4. Get the book Everything About Timeshares. This will be your best and most truthful guide to timesharing.