I have some follow-up questions/comments. I was able to chat online with RCI. It sounds like this unit would be in the 'weeks' program.
What is involved in converting it to points?
Typically week 27 would be good for us but 2017 my son has a commitment that week so I asked what the Trading Power would be...I was told ~19. Is this low or typical for this property time? Would we be able to find a 2BR week 30-31 either in Florida or the outer banks for 2017 with 19 TPU's?
Would the TPU's be higher if I deposited earlier? (thinking ahead)...what is the max TPU for this property?
Anything would be appreciated...we are new to timeshares and trying to figure it all out...
Brian has offered some good advice above. I respectfully suggest doing
lots more homework before considering buying
anything, but to specifically address just one question you've asked ,
if the resort at issue is in RCI Points (I do not claim to know the named facility), then you would have to pony up (...to the resort,
not to RCI) somewhere between $2.5k --$5k to "convert" a fixed week to RCI Points; an expensive route to RCI Points which is neither wise nor cost effective.
If, after doing more homework, you later decide that what you really want is RCI Points (...a very different animal from the TPU's assigned by RCI to fixed weeks, as I think you now know), then you can surely find a RCI Points ownership for peanuts in the resale market, already converted. An evaluation criterion, wherever the RCI Points may be, is the "ratio" between the maintenance fees and the assigned number of points. That being said, availability still rules over all else --- merely having sufficient points provides absolutely
no guarantee that you will actually
find available space where or when or in the unit size that you seek.
Put the checkbook away for now. Study up, then study up more. After building up a knowledge base, then (and only then)
maybe consider buying. A resale market acquisition is almost always easy and cheap and readily available --- annual maintenance fees are
forever. Proceed slowly and judiciously to clearly identify to yourself and fully understand what would actually work best for
you before purchasing any form or flavor of interval ownership. Good luck.