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Insight Needed for Potential Purchase

dbjy2013

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Hello everyone! The wife and I are thinking about purchasing a timeshare from HGVC. This would be our first timeshare purchase. It would be deeded at their new property, Ocean 22, in Myrtle Beach. We attended a presentation at one of their Orlando properties last December. We didn't purchase back then, but we did sign up for the VIP program for $1,795, which is essentially 7,000 points to use only at a select number of locations. We wanted to visit Hawaii within the next few years, so we thought that the VIP Preview Program would give us time to do some research before our potential purchase.

The Cost Numbers for a new timesharte at Ocean 22:

Unit price: $14,300

New construction discount: -$1,300

VIP Program Credit: -$1,795

Hilton October down payment matching special: -$1,795

Closing Costs: $509

Grand total out of pocket: $9,919

Maintenance Fees: $668.00

The Benefits:

3,400 point every other year

7,000 bonus points (I believe that I can push that up to 10,000 bonus points)


I would really appreciate some insight from the TUG Community with this decision. Thanks!
 
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JSparling

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There is really only 1 question you need to ask yourself - do you want/need the 12-month priority reservation window for booking? In other words, are you going to stay at THIS property most of the time or will you travel around and try various HGVC resorts?

If you don't care a ton about the 12-month priority window or if you want to try various resorts then you only care about points. You want the MOST points for the least amount of money. $10,000 for 3,400 every-other-year is terrible. You can get that for $1,000 at one of the Vegas properties. Even if you never stay in Vegas you'll have the same points for much less both in terms of purchase price and in terms of annual maintenance fees. Hell, for $2,500 you can get 3,400 annual points and double your options for travel (and double your maintenance fee).

If you want to travel at various locations then buy resale and find the most points for the least amount of money.
 

Seaport104

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Hello everyone! The wife and I are thinking about purchasing a timeshare from HGVC. This would be our first timeshare purchase. It would be deeded at their new property, Ocean 22, in Myrtle Beach. We attended a presentation at one of their Orlando properties last December. We didn't purchase back then, but we did sign up for the VIP program for $1,795, which is essentially 7,000 points to use only at a select number of locations. We wanted to visit Hawaii within the next few years, so we thought that this would give us time to do some research before our potential purchase.

The Cost Numbers:

Unit price: $14,300

New construction discount: -$1,300

VIP Program Credit: -$1,795

Hilton October down payment matching special: -$1,795

Closing Costs: $509

Grand total out of pocket: $9,919


The Benefits:

3400 point every other year

7,000 bonus points (I believe that I can push that up to 10,000 bonus points)


I would really appreciate some insight from the TUG Community with this decision. Thanks!

Even with the bonus points and assuming the bonus points is worth $2000 (Im overinflating it btw), the net cash you are outlaying is $8,000. What you are buying can be had for about $1,000.

In addition to that, here are some other points to consider-

- 3,400 points only gets you a 1 BR in gold season and it's not enough to stay in Myrtle Beach for a week in the summer.
- With every other year, you will need to push forward your points into the next year for a $99 fee and borrow from the following year. Even then, you will not have enough for a 2BR in platinum season. Not to mention you are paying $136 club dues every year.
- 3,400 points every other year is extremely limiting in what you can book
 

Talent312

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You could prolly buy the same package resale (less the bonus points) for 1/3 that price.
Check HGVC listings at www.sellingtimeshares.net and www.judikoz.com
... both licensed and reputable HGVC brokers.
 

PassionForTravel

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If you want to get your eyes opened to resale visit a well respected broker here on tug
sellingtimeshares.net. He has exactly what you are taking about for $3000.

Ian
 

tompalm

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Go resale. Forget buying in Hawaii unless you plan to stay on Oahu all the time. The big island should be easy to get if you own Vegas or anywhere else.
 

JSparling

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What benefits do you loose if you buy resale vs. buy from the developer?

You lose literally one benefit and only one benefit - your points don't count towards elite status with HGVC. Currently you need 14,000 points annually to be elite. But they have to be points you bought from HGVC, not resale. Back in the day they grandfathered in some people who bought resale, but no longer.

So if you are not trying to gain elite status then the only difference shouldn't matter to you.

You can search back to a post I called "Elite Rally" under the HGVC forum and you'll see what I think about the current elite benefits - not worth the money! :wall:
 

dbjy2013

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I assume that you would also miss out on the bonus points in addition to the points not counting towards Elite Status.
 

1Kflyerguy

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I assume that you would also miss out on the bonus points in addition to the points not counting towards Elite Status.

That is correct, no bonus points from a resale transaction, though sometimes people or brokers throw in other incentives, such as free closing, membership in an exchange network etc.

The bonus points don't count toward elite status, in your proposal only the 3400 base points would count toward elite.

Some people put a dollar value to the bonus points, when evaluating different offers. There are number of ways you do that, but a simple way would be figure out what you might do with them, then price that out. For example, 7000 points is enough for a 2 bedroom in a Platinum week.

Most of the HGVC resorts are also available to book for cash on Hilton.com
You can simply visit Hilton.com and check the rates for a cash booking of a 2 bedroom at an HGVC property that interests you.

I am sure others have different formulas / approaches.
 

brp

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If you don't care a ton about the 12-month priority window or if you want to try various resorts then you only care about points. You want the MOST points for the least amount of money. $10,000 for 3,400 every-other-year is terrible. You can get that for $1,000 at one of the Vegas properties. Even if you never stay in Vegas you'll have the same points for much less both in terms of purchase price and in terms of annual maintenance fees.

In looking at Judi's site as well as the other site listed above, it appears that the Vegas properties are going for more than some of the Hawai'i properties (Bay Club, for example...although I know that that's an affiliate). Wouldn't take long before the MF difference made up for the original purchase, of course, but the Vegas properties don't look particularly cheap relative to some others.

Cheers.
 

PassionForTravel

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In looking at Judi's site as well as the other site listed above, it appears that the Vegas properties are going for more than some of the Hawai'i properties (Bay Club, for example...although I know that that's an affiliate). Wouldn't take long before the MF difference made up for the original purchase, of course, but the Vegas properties don't look particularly cheap relative to some others.

Cheers.
Right except for some of the higher point value options at Kingsland (12.6K and 14.4K). The Big Island buy in's are less expensive than Vegas because of the higher MF compared to Vegas (Bay Club gets dinged again because it's an affiliate), Orlando fits right in between. It comes down do you want to pay more up front or more per point in MF. It's the same trade of as between buying Platinum of Gold. For someone wanting a cheaper entry point into HGVC Gold or the Big Island works well.

Even though the MF at HHV are in the same ballpark as the Big Island the need for home season advantage at certain times of the year keeps those resale values high.

Ian
 

trackside

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Bay Club

Go resale. Forget buying in Hawaii unless you plan to stay on Oahu all the time. The big island should be easy to get if you own Vegas or anywhere else.

One of the benefits at Bay Club, however, is that some units have no rofr, so you know you will get what you want.
 

dbjy2013

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Thanks to everyone for all your good information!

There is really only 1 question you need to ask yourself - do you want/need the 12-month priority reservation window for booking? In other words, are you going to stay at THIS property most of the time or will you travel around and try various HGVC resorts?

If you don't care a ton about the 12-month priority window or if you want to try various resorts then you only care about points. You want the MOST points for the least amount of money. $10,000 for 3,400 every-other-year is terrible. You can get that for $1,000 at one of the Vegas properties. Even if you never stay in Vegas you'll have the same points for much less both in terms of purchase price and in terms of annual maintenance fees. Hell, for $2,500 you can get 3,400 annual points and double your options for travel (and double your maintenance fee).

If you want to travel at various locations then buy resale and find the most points for the least amount of money.

Our main objective would be to travel around and try various HGVC resorts. The reason that we were going to select Ocean 22 in Myrtle Beach as our home resort, was that it was the least expensive option from Hilton in terms of initial price and maintenance fees. We want the most points for the least amount of money.


The way that the VIP Program works is that we paid $1,795 for essentially 7,000 bonus points that can only be used at a select number of resorts. We bought the VIP Program package at our timeshare seminar at the Park Soleil back in December 2013. We keep the 7,000 points regardless if we buy through Hilton, resale, or not at all. Per the VIP Program rules, we are only allowed to stay up to a week at one resort. This is why we are going to Hawaii next May, either on Oahu or The Big Island. Any leftover VIP points would then be converted over to bonus points.

Since we keep the bonus points no matter what decision we make, we might be better off buying on the resale market.

What is a good number of points to have per year? I only have two weeks of vacation per year plus the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and don’t yet have any children, so based on that information, does 5,000 points per year seem reasonable?
 
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trackside

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Resale Platinum weeks is the way to go

We might be better off buying on the resale market.

What is a good number of points to have per year? I only have two weeks of vacation per year and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and don’t yet have any children, so based on that information, does 5,000 per year points seems reasonable?

Pretty much everyone here will agree resale is the way to go, because you're not paying for Hilton's marketing expenses. Right of First Refusal is an issue, because that gives Hilton the ability to squash your deal -- on the other hand, it does keep the value of your property up, so it's good for you when you want to resell, assuming you first find a buyer.

Where you own your points doesn't really matter if you plan to book at other resorts most of the time. The only exception is if you get some other benefit -- like day use, which some affiliates offer.

Speaking of points, the maintenance fee is the same whether you own bronze, silver, gold or platinum, but the number of points is higher with the higher levels. So the consensus is that it's best to get platinum weeks, so you get more points for your maintenance fee. Of course, those weeks cost more, but the difference in how you use them is worth it. Within just a few years, you'll have spent more on maintenance fees than purchase price anyway.

About 5,000 points sounds right if you're looking for a one-bedroom week platinum season. The HGVC website will tell you how much each resort will cost you, pointswise. Plus you can trade into RCI, where a two bedroom week costs about 4,800 points, plus the reservation fee.

You can get a good idea of what's out there on listing websites run by Seth Nock and Judi Kozlowski. In addition to price, look at the number of points, whether there is ROFR, and the maintenance fee.

Good luck!
 

phil1ben

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If you are new to the timeshare concept you may be thinking as I was, "How can a company like Hilton be charging so much more than these TUG people say I can buy resale" You may also be thinking, "These TUG people must be missing something (or denied some benefit) because they didn't buy from Hilton and are trying to justify their decision".

Really, really neither of those thoughts are correct. Fortunately I found this website and my only timeshare purchase (an HGVC 7000 point annual package) was bought resale in 2010 for $7,000.00. Thousands less than your proposal and many more points. The purshase works very well for us.

These folks are not missing anything and there is no benefit from buying directly from Hilton. In my mind Elite Status would not justify the huge increased cost. Good Luck to you.
 

JSparling

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If you are new to the timeshare concept you may be thinking as I was, "How can a company like Hilton be charging so much more than these TUG people say I can buy resale" You may also be thinking, "These TUG people must be missing something (or denied some benefit) because they didn't buy from Hilton and are trying to justify their decision".

Really, really neither of those thoughts are correct. Fortunately I found this website and my only timeshare purchase (an HGVC 7000 point annual package) was bought resale in 2010 for $7,000.00. Thousands less than your proposal and many more points. The purshase works very well for us.

These folks are not missing anything and there is no benefit from buying directly from Hilton. In my mind Elite Status would not justify the huge increased cost. Good Luck to you.

I paid about $60k for my 14,000 HGVC over two purchases in 2001 and 2013. I could buy the same points, same exact everything (unit type, season, rights) now on resale for about $20,000. The difference would be I would lose elite status. And that's not of interest for you so buy resale. It's nothing against HGVC. We all love our weeks/points and HGVC! But as a community meant to share and offer fair advice we are doing our "job" by telling you the reality of things. I did get about 30,000 bonus points on the last purchase (Kings' Land) so that was great. But not $40,000 great. And we were on the same VIP package you are on. Buy resale.
 

1Kflyerguy

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Based on your information above, i think 5000 to 7000 points would be good for you.

But there are some variables to consider.

You said you get two weeks of vacation plus a holiday shut down. How much of that time each year would you want to spend in a HGVC resort?

No kids, so i assume a one bedroom unit should work well. But consider if you might want to travel to occasionally travel with friends or family. Thus might want a two bedroom sometimes.

We purchased a 5000 point unit in Las Vegas a few years back, we have been pretty happy our ability to trade with other resorts within the HGVC network.

The other consideration is how often you want to book plus or premium rooms? For example in Hawaii, would you be happy with garden view? or would you really be happier with Ocean View or Ocean Front if the resort has that? Those rooms will take more points.

My wife and i have been traveling around checking out many of the resorts, and are planning to buy another week or trade our existing unit for higher point week in the next year or two.
 
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