"What to Buy" Questions for New Timeshare Owners

[Dreamweaver101]

@Dreamweaver101 Welcome to Tug. You are wise to research such a purchase.

You said you are not a detailed oriented planner. Your maintenance fee budget is at the bottom-end of hotel-branded timeshares (and this will increase every year by 2 - 3%). Plus you are upset by the sampler program choices. Given all of this, I don't think you would be a happy TS owner given you are locked into a school schedule for the next 4 years.

Why don't you rent at TUG or Redweek or directly from resorts to get a feel for independent TS (which fit better in your budget) in your desired locations for the next few years. Once your kids are out of the house, you can then see if more flexible schedules at an independent resort would fit your lifestyle, and whether the maintenance fees and upfront cost save you any money vs. renting.

Good luck!

That is very sound advice. Thank you!

 

[dayooper]

I agree with @CalGalTraveler on renting. It might be the best way to get to know what you like. I’m really only familiar with Hilton and I’m not sure they would be right for you. The really don’t have the places you seem to want to go, not to mention the MF’s would be higher than you state wanting to pay.

If I were you, I would take a look the different branded forums and see where the systems have resorts. You can see what the systems have to offer, look at the maintenance fees for each and pick where you might like to rent.

 

[LizC]

Is there anywhere I could get a list of annual maintenance costs for each resort

 

[dayooper]

Is there anywhere I could get a list of annual maintenance costs for each resort

Depends on the system. Most of the branded system forums (HGVC, Marriott, Wyndham) have pretty complete MF reports from owners. For the smaller systems and independent resorts, I would check a place like Redweek. They might not be extremely accurate, but you can get a good estimate on what they are. They won’t have the historical data, but you can see approximately what they are now.

 

[Jzman1p]

Looking at getting a Wyndham timeshare in the next 2yrs. I have not done it yet so I got a discovery package to try it out. Anyone ever had this that can tell me a little about it? We got 300k discovery points. Just wanted some info..thanks

 

[Frelkum]

Here are some questions you can answer to focus your timeshare wants/needs.

Suggestion - copy the questions below, and start a new thread entitled "My Survey" or "What should I buy?," or something similar, and answer the questions in a NEW thread.

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? Mexico

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? Home resort half the time

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Hawaii, Europe, Utah, Colorado, Canada

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? 5

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

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? 4+

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? 7k

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? What is the average amount?

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? How do you sell it? Can it be included in a trust and given to descendants?

 

[TS numbie]

sorry I am new to this forum and I don't know how to start a new thread off of this and I want to answer the questions at the start and get some help. thanks

 

[Karen G]

sorry I am new to this forum and I don't know how to start a new thread off of this and I want to answer the questions at the start and get some help. thanks

Welcome to TUG!
Copy the questions at the start of this thread and then start your new thread here: https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?forums/new-to-timesharing-look-here.17/create-thread

 

[CPNY]

sorry I am new to this forum and I don't know how to start a new thread off of this and I want to answer the questions at the start and get some help. thanks

Buy a Vistana mandatory resort and use staroptions to book in the Vistana network

 

[Maureenk1]

Here are some questions you can answer to focus your timeshare wants/needs.

Suggestion - copy the questions below, and start a new thread entitled "My Survey" or "What should I buy?," or something similar, and answer the questions in a NEW thread.

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

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?

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

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

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

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

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

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

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

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?

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

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?

Great questions!