What should I Look For

[vexter0944]

FIRST OF ALL - thanks to TUGBBS for the help. Just got back from Vegas and got sold on a timeshare at the Tahiti Village - got back to the room, starting reading and IMMEDIATELY rescinded our offer to purchase. So thanks for that!!!! We wanted to check and see if a timeshare and something like II or RCI makes sense for our family - so checking here to see others' thoughts.

We travel kind of like this:

We tend to watch for airfares and if we see something come in we like, we'll start looking for places to stay/visit where that airfare is going. Think Skyscanner/Scott's Cheap flights etc. We're generally in a 30 day and under booking situation, but if we need to plan ahead for a vacation, we have no trouble doing that using the same airfare tools listed. We tend to enjoy quiet places, like Exuma, where the beaches are empty and no one is standing on top of you. For instance, we visited Banff in the off season and LOVED it - so quiet and not many crowds. We tend to steer clear of crowd hotspots and try to go more toeards off season traveling where we get more for our money along with less people crowding the places we'd like to see.

We don't mind driving in other countries and have done that many times. We don't mind cooking and eating in for breakfast to keep costs down. We're more about the experience, seeing new places and showing our kids there's more to life than what's around us. Exploring new countries, areas is something we very much enjoy.

We were sold on a platinum rci setup for tahiti village (which we obviously cancelled) - and we liked the idea of their 'last call' or whatever the called it trips where you might be able to travel for zero points but just rci fees. But then reading, it sounded like inventory is possibly hard to find with that.

Ultimately is a time share for us with the way we travel? Could we use something like the last calls to boost our travel but keep down the costs? What and where should we look for a timeshare if it fits us?

Thanks so much!

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?
The only place we frequent is the Bahamas, and we usually are on an out island, never Nassau.

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?
We would want to trade - we tend to like exploring traveling, not going to the same place(s) over and over.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Bahamas (and or Caribbean in general), Europe in general, Canada, South Pacific, Costa Rica

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

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
We can travel just about any time we would like.

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?
We prefer nice, clean and quiet places. Not interested much in all inclusives. As long as the place is fairly up to date, clean and comfortable, we're usually pretty good with it. 3 stars and up maybe?

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
5,000 to 7,000 USD

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?
$500 - 1500

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
Generally, 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

 

[vexter0944]

Any opinions?

 

[byeloe]

Since you are usually booking on short notice, timeshare ownership may not be the best option.
You might consider a cheap unit that gives you access to Interval International so that you could access their getaways(which I believe are better than RCI last call)

 

[vexter0944]

Since you are usually booking on short notice, timeshare ownership may not be the best option.
You might consider a cheap unit that gives you access to Interval International so that you could access their getaways(which I believe are better than RCI last call)

This is the kind of response I suspected I'd get so that's good I was thinking similar and this confirms my suspicion. Is there a 'good' cheap unit I'd consider for this purpose? Like one that might be easier to sell down the road vs another? Also - what kind of plan should Iook for with Interval International - anything specific?

Thanks for the help, we really appreciate it!

 

[byeloe]

This is the kind of response I suspected I'd get so that's good I was thinking similar and this confirms my suspicion. Is there a 'good' cheap unit I'd consider for this purpose? Like one that might be easier to sell down the road vs another? Also - what kind of plan should Iook for with Interval International - anything specific?

Thanks for the help, we really appreciate it!

You can sometimes/often get units for free that trade in Interval. I am not the best person to recommend a cheap trader. I am not sure what you mean by "plan". Interval has membership levels Basic, Gold and Platinum. If you were going to use a lot of getaways then Platinum would probably be best.

 

[vexter0944]

yes - that's exactly what I meant by plan. If anyone has a cheap trader recommendation, I'm all ears. Then I assume once I own a trader, then I can join II and choose a level at that time. I assume resales do not come with II or RCI memberships.

 

[DaveNV]

I agree, that timesharing might not be the best fit for your family right now.

Because you like to book locations after finding airfare bargains, but are usually within a 30-day window, the timeshare planning model may not work for you. Generally, you need to book well ahead to get the best resort locations, and the best stuff is gone right as it becomes available. By the time you get to that 30-day window, you're getting the leftovers of the leftovers. Sometimes that works out, but often, it won't.

My suggestion would be to go a different route, and that's to rent timeshares from owners, in the locations you enjoy, so you can try them out without any long term commitment. Again, you're looking at planning ahead, because the better rentals also book well in advance. But the beauty is you're not locked into a certain ownership plan, and you can try different systems to see whether they would work for you.

As your kids get older, you may be even more locked into a school schedule, when you start factoring in sports practice schedules, and similar extracurricular activities. It'd be hard to plan well in advance to get the timeshare you want, then be unable to go because your child has football practice that week, or whatever. Renting removes that requirement, since you have more flexibility that way.

Congratulations on rescinding your purchase that wasn't a good fit for your family. Keep your wits about you, and don't jump into something else thinking it may be a good idea. Try before you buy, learn how these systems work, then make an informed purchase decision.

And welcome to Tug! Glad you found us. Stick around. There is a lot to learn here.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

yes - that's exactly what I meant by plan. If anyone has a cheap trader recommendation, I'm all ears. Then I assume once I own a trader, then I can join II and choose a level at that time. I assume resales do not come with II or RCI memberships.

No, most timeshare ownerships don't come with RCI or II memberships. But beware - not all timeshares are equal. In RCI, for example, when you deposit a timeshare week for exchange, you're awarded so many TPUs, (considered as Trade Power Units) for the deposit. It's a sliding scale, based on how far in advance the check-in date is, the size and quality of the unit, the actual resort, and other factors. Let's say that cheap trader you found earns you a maximum TPU of 25 (it could easily be more or less - that's just an example.) When you then look for a place to exchange into, you'll find the better places may take 26 or more TPUs to book them. With only 25 in your account, you can't get there from here. So you'd be limited to what you can book, or you have to go through assorted shenanigans of combining deposits to get more TPUs, or waiting from one year's deposit to the next, so you can add more to your deposited account. It can be complicated. The short answer is that you may not be able to book the resort you want because you don't have enough TPUs to do so. The programs are different with II, but the end results are similar.

It can be very easy to get into owning a timeshare, but it can be very hard to get out of one. So don't buy any old timeshare until you have more information. (See my previous post.)

Dave

 

[vexter0944]

Thanks so much for all of your help and replies. I'll explain all of this to my wife, if she has more questions, I'll respond back. She was the one really wanting the RCI/II travel stuff. To that end - I've seen redweek for timeshare rentals - are there others you'd suggest? Thanks again for everything!

 

[byeloe]

Thanks so much for all of your help and replies. I'll explain all of this to my wife, if she has more questions, I'll respond back. She was the one really wanting the RCI/II travel stuff. To that end - I've seen redweek for timeshare rentals - are there others you'd suggest? Thanks again for everything!

Redweek is the big player, but you can find rentals on other sites like go-koala.com, vacationcandy.com, facebook groups ,Ebay and the marketplace right here on TUG

 

[vexter0944]

Redweek is the big player, but you can find rentals on other sites like go-koala.com, vacationcandy.com, facebook groups ,Ebay and the marketplace right here on TUG

Thank you - I will check those all out for sure. MANY MANY thanks!

 

[DaveNV]

Thank you - I will check those all out for sure. MANY MANY thanks!

Spend the $15 to become a member of Tug. It's the cheapest money you'll ever spend on anything related to a timeshare. Being a member gives you full access to the entire Tug platform, ad-free. You can learn a ton of information here. It's worth it.

Dave

 

[vexter0944]

Spend the $15 to become a member of Tug. It's the cheapest money you'll ever spend on anything related to a timeshare. Being a member gives you full access to the entire Tug platform, ad-free. You can learn a ton of information here. It's worth it.

Dave

It's the least I can do considering all the good advice and the fact that this is where I read about why to rescind immediately Glad I found it! Now a member

 

[DaveNV]

It's the least I can do considering all the good advice and the fact that this is where I read about why to rescind immediately Glad I found it! Now a member

Welcome to the Tug family. In the email you received is a confirmation code, that has instructions on how to enter things so your status under your screen name changes from "Guest" to "Member." In the big picture, it means little, but it helps other Tuggers know that you're "one of us."

Dave

 

[vexter0944]

@DaveNV = I think I filled everything out as needed - but waiting on status to update here.

 

[DaveNV]

@DaveNV = I think I filled everything out as needed - but waiting on status to update here.

Sounds like you're good to go. Again, Welcome Aboard. There is a tremendous amount of information to be found here. I've been hanging around here almost 20 years, and I learn new stuff all the time.

Dave

 

[vexter0944]

Thank you for the warm welcome and again to all who helped get me some insights. We'll definitely be using some of the rentals to try everything out for sure.

 

[Icc5]

Life changes so one little bit of information I would suggest is if you do buy do points, not weeks. We own 3 weeks and 1 points system. Weeks for us are 2 bdm units which were great as kids grew up. Now, not so much as kids have grown and married they go their own ways and do travel that much with us. Many times we are just the 2 of us but still go to the 2 bdm locations where with points we could get whatever the need is at the time. Still like the 2 bdm as we invite friends just doesn't allow as much options.
Bart

 

[vexter0944]

@Icc5 - thank you - I agree, points seem like a better approach overall. I appreciate your input about life changes as my kids are working toward high school in the next year or so - thank you very much!