Why so cheap?

[hibbert6]

I've been off the board for 6 months. Came back to see Pono Kai weeks for sale at under $1500. They've always been a bargain, but this seems too good to be true. Their M/F's seem reasonable for the islands. Any ideas about the low prices? Did I miss a hurricane or something?

Dave

 

[DeniseM]

I think that sounds about right. I recently bought two ocean front weeks on Kauai at the Kauai Beach Villas for $1,300, and $1,500.

 

[gstepic]

This is encouraging news to me

My wife at this point gets pretty mad at me when I start talking about buying another time share. In fact I discovered this forum when thinking of selling one of our time shares due to a health condition my wife has (it will go away in a couple of years). After coming on this forum we realized it was not worth selling, plus my wife is doing well and should have no problem working (sometimes the condition can get severe enough where you cannot work).

I would love nothing more to make annual trips to the islands, or every other year at the very least. I really like the Fairlfield system because we can use their time shares all over the country, but I am really warming up to the idea of owning one week at one property in Hawaii. This we we know we have our rooms no matter what. So it appears this is very possible for $3,000 or less. If we can get something with maintenence fees around $60-70 per month then this could be a very economical. Correct me if I am wrong in assuming there still are properties where you buy a fixed week at a fixed location.

We toy around with the idea of just saving what we would spend on maintenance fees and using this for a room for a week. But my guess is we could not come close to finding a room as nice as what we would have in a resort. We will be trying a couple of B&Bs on this trip (Kauai and Maui, time share for the Big Island and Oahu and we are hitting all those islands this trip). This trip we want to find out what islands we like best, and I have a feeling I will love them all, but I am sure one will come out as a favorite. to me the whole point of owning a time share is we should not feel we need to be out from sun up to sun down.

So as discouraged as I was when I discovered how little resale value our time shares had, I am now more encouraged that this is good news on the buying end.

Gary

Update: For the first time I went over to the classifieds and found this very encouraging and informative. Now I need to do some research on how hard it is to book these properties with floating weeks and what is the advantage of owning (I am sure it mainly is early reservation privileges). I have just seen a small portion TUG - what a great site!!!

 

[tombo]

Look at the threads on TUG with buying information, and watch e-bay. You can buy Hawaii (actually any timeshare) cheaper on e-bay than anywhere I have found. Watch the resorts you are looking for until you get an idea of what they are selling for, and then buy one for no more than you have seen the least expensive one sell for. You can hold out and wait because there will always be another one available for sale at any resort you like in the very near future. I bought a couple of floating weeks at Pahio Kauai Beach Villas and I received my requested weeks in the winter with no problem for 2008.

Welcome to TUG and be careful because you might end up like a lot of people here owning too many weeks. I know I own way too many, but it is a fun addiction.

 

[quiltergal]

Check very carefully into maintanence fees. I've seen very few Hawaiian resorts with MF in the $700/yr range. Call the resort and ask what the up coming MF will be next year (there's a reason these are for sale).

 

[DaveNV]

Check very carefully into maintanence fees. I've seen very few Hawaiian resorts with MF in the $700/yr range. Call the resort and ask what the up coming MF will be next year (there's a reason these are for sale).

I think it's all relative. When you compare those MFs to the price of hotel rooms in Hawaii, the TS is a bargain. $200 to $400 or more per night for an average-to-better one-room hotel space adds up quickly if you're staying a week at a time. $800 to $1000 total for a week on the beach in a multi-bedroom condo with a kitchen and laundry facilities is pretty attractive, compared to the alternatives. The per-night rate is hard to beat.

Dave

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Correct me if I am wrong in assuming there still are properties where you buy a fixed week at a fixed location.

On Kaua'i, are Banyan Harbor (Lihu'e area) and Nihi Kai Villa (Po'ipu area). Nihi Kai units are rare - most of the complex was sold as whole ownership. Then when about three or four units were unsold, for some reason the developer converted those units into timeshare and sold them as fixed time. At Point at Po'ipu any 3-bedroom unit is fixed, as well as a very small number inventory of 2-bedroom units.

Some of the older properties in Wa'ikiki (Imperial, Banyan Club?) might also be fixed, but I'm not too familiar with either of those resorts. On Maui I'm pretty sure that units at The Whaler and One Napili Way are fixed.

 

[johnmfaeth]

One of the posters mentioned difficulty booking with "floating weeks". Since floating weeks are tied to the resort where they can be used, historically, Wyndham/Fairfield floating weeks are fairly easy to book.

If you try to get into a high demand resort using POINTS, you may have considerable difficulty. Realize that the Wyndham/Fairfield Points "Pool" is partially filled with good weeks at great resorts. But it also has its fair share (no pun intended - still cute) of "dog" weeks. After they sell the best at a resort, those off season weeks with a great view of the garbage dumpsters, go into the points pool.

So when on vacation at a top resort the person buying a points contract doesn't get told directly that some of the underlying weeks in the 'pool" are pure garbage.

So this further drives the need to book way in advance to get prime stuff. With a floating week at a resort, at least you are guaranteed that resort. With points at a particular resort, you are only guaranteed your resort if you book more than 10 months out.

If you are good at working the system and can plan way in advance, points are fine. Otherwise, they will lead to disappointment IMHO.

 

[quiltergal]

I think it's all relative. When you compare those MFs to the price of hotel rooms in Hawaii, the TS is a bargain. $200 to $400 or more per night for an average-to-better one-room hotel space adds up quickly if you're staying a week at a time. $800 to $1000 total for a week on the beach in a multi-bedroom condo with a kitchen and laundry facilities is pretty attractive, compared to the alternatives. The per-night rate is hard to beat.

Dave

I guess I should have been more clear. I have no trouble exchanging into Hawaii with a week on the mainland that costs me around $700/year MF. Why buy a week on the islands and granted not pay much for the initial outlay (say 3-5K), but end up paying $900-1000 a year MF? For $1,000 bucks you could rent a pretty decent condo on any of the islands and walk away when you're done.

Don't get me wrong I'd love to own in Hawaii, I just think it's more cost effective to exchange in with a good trader.

 

[DaveNV]

Don't get me wrong I'd love to own in Hawaii, I just think it's more cost effective to exchange in with a good trader.

If you already own that Mainland week, then sure, trade in and enjoy yourself. But what if you don't own a week to trade?

Buying in Hawaii doesn't have to cost THAT much. I own three TS's in Hawaii, all of which were purchased on eBay. The most expensive of the three cost me $615. The other two were even cheaper. All three trade pretty well, especially coming back to the Mainland. I'm very pleased, and consider my MF's are better than rent of a hotel room. I have no wish for my timeshare hobby to take over my life, OR my bank balance.

And for me, having those Hawaii weeks in my portfolio more or less guarantees I'll get the vacation in Hawaii I want. With exchanging in, you have to be able to find the week you want, in the resort you want. Add in the exchange fee you pay in addition to the MF for your deposited week, and you can easily spend more than I do for my Hawaii weeks.

Everyone has their own strategy, but this works for me.

Dave

 

[Tiger]

Quiltergal, for me the difference is a prime room at the time I want it. As in a hotel there is a big difference in value from oceanfront to garden view, especially during prime season.

 

[Mimi]

We own 6 Hawaii weeks, the last 5 purchased on eBay. Our maintenance fees are approximately $600 (for 1br) to $800 (for 2br Kona Coast II). When you add the cost of MFs and trading fees for a timeshare on the mainland, our fees are much less! And I don't have to struggle getting the weeks I want. We can book Kona Coast weeks 2 years in advance and Maui Schooner weeks 18 months in advance. We still have no problem hooking up our Pono Kai weeks on either end when vacationing during the summer months. :whoopie:

 

[acesneights]

Or you can buy 28K Fairfield points for less than $300, $140 MF and pay $164 RCI exchange.

Hawaii doesn't get any cheaper than that.

Stan

 

[JanB]

FYI - Imperial Hawaii Vacation Club has floating weeks. It also has a few units of whole ownership. The 14th floor and 1 other unit are owned by the Worldwide Vacation Club. I'm not familiar with this club so these units could be fixed weeks.