Newbie Buying Resale Needs Help!!!

Hi, We did a presentation at Plantations Resort in Myrtle Beach. We loved it so much! We would love to become part of this. After the presentation, I luckily, found this site and learned about buying resale. Now I need lots of help because this is all new to me.

I found a resort "Villas at Regal Palm". It's every even year with 80,600 points. It is not my resort of choice, so I was wondering what people think of this resort.

1. Does it matter if you are gold crown or silver crown? The resort we were looking at is a gold crown. I wasn't sure if I should stick with a gold crown.

2. Is it pretty easy to use RCI site? When we got to San Francisco next summer, if we book as soon as our RCI account is ready, will be able to find something?

3. What questions should I find out before I buy this timeshare? It seems very cheap (and too good to be true) compared to what we were going to spend at Plantations.

Any other info is appreciated. Like I said, I never even considered this until last week. Now I am positive it will be a great thing for my family, as we love to travel!!!

Thanks in advance

llori7 said:

Hi, We did a presentation at Plantations Resort in Myrtle Beach. We loved it so much! We would love to become part of this. After the presentation, I luckily, found this site and learned about buying resale. Now I need lots of help because this is all new to me.

I found a resort "Villas at Regal Palm". It's every even year with 80,600 points. It is not my resort of choice, so I was wondering what people think of this resort.

1. Does it matter if you are gold crown or silver crown? The resort we were looking at is a gold crown. I wasn't sure if I should stick with a gold crown.

2. Is it pretty easy to use RCI site? When we got to San Francisco next summer, if we book as soon as our RCI account is ready, will be able to find something?

3. What questions should I find out before I buy this timeshare? It seems very cheap (and too good to be true) compared to what we were going to spend at Plantations.

Any other info is appreciated. Like I said, I never even considered this until last week. Now I am positive it will be a great thing for my family, as we love to travel!!!

Thanks in advance

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Any resale is cheap compared to any developer presentation.

Are there other CSI properties you would be interested in using your points for? http://www.redweek.com/timeshare-companies/consolidated-resorts/resort-directory

There are lots of places we want to visit. We go on at least 2 vacations a year, but its always around school schedules. I would like to be able to use RCI points to make it possible to stay at these places other than regular hotel rooms.

Rent for at least a YEAR before buying any TS week ... and while staying at different timeshare resorts, do some visits to other near you come across.

And join TUG for $15 a year and read our peer reviews ... cheaper than an RCI membership and the reviews are MUCH more honest and up to date.

I own several different types .. FIXED deeded week and units AND several points systems. Fixed weeks are the show up and stay at your unit starting WEEK and ending 7 nights later ... to change it I have to have a RCI/II membership, pay an exchange fee (after I found something I liked and I date I can use) and HOPE the reviews I read were up to date.

My points system comes with a pretty picture book of the resorts ... points charts to tell me HOW much in that points currency it will cost me to stay and perhaps some BS fees for housekeeping or reservation transactions ... but if I read ALL the fine print on the RULES .. I can book shorter than a 7 night stay and at another chain up to a 30 night stay all on one reservation.

Learn as much as possible on the rules and costs for each system ... the location of their resorts, the size of the units at the resorts and the mix of unit sizes. Decide if a system has advantages for WHERE you own or "brackets" of points for minimizing costs. ie: Wyndham uses the "77" combination for various fees ... own 77K or 154K or 231K or 616K .. for RTs and HKs ... buy a 203K and you will be paying for RTs/HKs that if you just brought a 231K (28K more points) could have saved you dollars. Yes, you can find 28K contracts; it is the pesty $299 transfer deed costs which dampers the desire...

Now I am positive it will be a great thing for my family, as we love to travel!!!

Finding this TUG web-sight is your key to travel!! The world is at your fingertips. Reasonable.

If I had to do it over I would have rather hand picked my vacations thru TUG and not had the hassle of the "Game of chess" from the resort or RCI trade-ins

The most hassle free timeshare would be if you found a place you love, then find a WEEK you would like to use every year, buy it on TUG or Ebay for a buck. Pay your anneal dues and go on vacation. Thats not traveling though , going to the same place every year eventually will get old.
The grass is greener and the possibilities of reasonable "travel" are endless on TUG or Redweek.

Verity is truly the spice of life.

llori7 said:

There are lots of places we want to visit. We go on at least 2 vacations a year, but its always around school schedules. I would like to be able to use RCI points to make it possible to stay at these places other than regular hotel rooms.

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RCI is not your only option for staying at various places. There are other trading companies and there are points based systems. There are also places like Crown Resorts that internal trading for a very low price.

Just slow down a minute and get buying out of your head for right now, you really don't know enough about how this all works to jump in head first.

Stick around here for a few months, read what you can, rent from other owners and when you get a good feel for what you think will work for you, maybe then consider buying.

They are easy to buy but sometimes hare to get rid of.

I mean no offence, but the nature of your questions indicates that buying a timeshare, ANY timeshare, at this point in time is not in your best interests. Educate yourself more - here - and you'll have a much better idea of what will work for you. Especially if you're not buying strictly to use on an annual or bi-annual basis, but want to exchange your timeshare to travel to different places.

Gone are the days when you could buy a timeshare resale, try it in to see if it fit your family's needs and then usually resell it and recoup pretty much most of your initial outlay. Nowadays, if you buy something that doesn't work for you, you're often looking at giving it away, and paying a years worth of maintenance fees plus closing costs in the bargain.

All that being said, if I had my timesharing life/portfolio to do over again, I would go with some sort of points based program. Probably Worldmark as that works well for the west coast and exchanges well in RCI and II, although YMMV, depending on where you like to vacation. But points can give good flexibility and IMHO can provide good bang for the buck.

I hope you are successful with whatever you end up choosing for your timesharing needs. And welcome to TUG.

Tank said:

Now I am positive it will be a great thing for my family, as we love to travel!!!

Finding this TUG web-sight is your key to travel!! The world is at your fingertips. Reasonable.

If I had to do it over I would have rather hand picked my vacations thru TUG and not had the hassle of the "Game of chess" from the resort or RCI trade-ins

The most hassle free timeshare would be if you found a place you love, then find a WEEK you would like to use every year, buy it on TUG or Ebay for a buck. Pay your anneal dues and go on vacation. Thats not traveling though , going to the same place every year eventually will get old.
The grass is greener and the possibilities of reasonable "travel" are endless on TUG or Redweek.

Verity is truly the spice of life.

Click to expand...

I look at timeshares like a second home and not something to travel around to other places. People have second homes and don't get tired of going to them year after year. I've been going to mine for 16 years and still find new things to do and just love it! Sometimes I actually think of my timeshare location as my true home! To me, exchanging is just another possible benefit, but not the main reason for owning. I like the idea of using my "second home" weeks and then renting to go other places in addition to those weeks, with maybe an occasional exchange if necessary.

I agree with mpumilia,
Especially with My Ireland timeshare, have gone twice already and have only bought it last year! We trade our US timeshares domesticly and use points from Holiday Inn Vacation club for add on to far away places like Hawaii. We have been timeshare owners since 1981. Best way to travel IMHO!
Silentg

Buying to exchange is not the best use of your TS $$. You have the MF for the resort, + the RCI (or II) membership (about $100/yr) + an exchange fee for each exchange (currently $209 in RCI- and it will go up) + reduced inventory if you have to travel during school holidays- so does everyone else.

Just getting started, this is the advice I would have wished someone would have given me: Rent a few times at different systems. Today, you can rent for about the cost of MF, and often less- with no ongoing commitment. When you decide to buy after a year or two, buy where you want to go- preferably within driving distance. Air fares are not going down and as the kids grow, they won't be able to fly free on your lap.

As to the difference between 'Gold and Silver crown', it often boils down to whether and how much activity the resort provides. If you want it to be a 'base' from which to experience the area, Silver would probably be fine. If you want a 'destination' resort that has tons of activities and lazy rivers and staff to keep the kiddos busy, you'll find more of that stuff in the higher rated resorts. At a price.

I agree that if you want to be able to see the scores of one resort compared to another, TUG membership is the greatest bargain in great vacations. Nothing else even comes close.

Jim

Finding the perfect week, at your perfect spot, to go year after year is the most reasonable thing to do.
Not any extra fee what soever at our home resort. That is very cost effective. You are lucky everyone is happy with that. Good luck and welcome !
I get, we were just there last year. Lets go somewhere new !

The number one advice is do not buy from the developer!
As others have stated, read and do lots of research first. But that being said, If you like Plantation and want to go there most years, buy a summer week there on eBay or from a reseller.
We purchased a 3 bedroom lock off July 4 week at Presidential villas at Plantation Resort on eBay years ago for very little money and have enjoyed it. It is a great resort for kids and when we don't go, it has been a good trader overall. I say buy where you want to go.

Absolutely!

mpumilia said:

I look at timeshares like a second home and not something to travel around to other places. People have second homes and don't get tired of going to them year after year. I've been going to mine for 16 years and still find new things to do and just love it! Sometimes I actually think of my timeshare location as my true home! To me, exchanging is just another possible benefit, but not the main reason for owning. I like the idea of using my "second home" weeks and then renting to go other places in addition to those weeks, with maybe an occasional exchange if necessary.

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I echo those who have said to buy where/when you intend to go. We've owned at our home resort for 14 years, we go several times each year, and we still haven't exhausted the possibilities for things to do. We do swap our weeks sometimes due to a calendar shift (April vacation isn't always week 14, for instance!) but usually come here. We use the RCI extra vacation/last call options for traveling other places. Do your homework very thoroughly, and then sleep on the decision. Hope you'll find the timeshare that's perfect for you!

s

Tank said:

The most hassle free timeshare would be if you found a place you love, then find a WEEK you would like to use every year, buy it on TUG or Ebay for a buck. Pay your annual dues and go on vacation. That's not traveling though , going to the same place every year eventually will get old.

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After I divested my high cost "chain" Weeks many years ago, I did exactly as recommended above. I bought Fixed Week/Fixed Units at 6 different Resorts scattered around the country. I paid an average of $500 (not a buck) for them. I ended up divesting them after 10-12 years or so, not because going the same place got old, but rather because I got old.

George

Here is a free week, you might be interested.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229180

We own at Plantation Resort and bought resale. We have a summer week and mostly use it now. But it was a good number of points for a reasonable maintenance fee.
Take your time. Wait until you know what will work best for you and your family. Then buy resale!

Villas at Regal Palms, don't waste your time. It is in Davenport which is not that close to Disney. It's not that nice. It's 3 and 4 bedrooms that aren't lockoffs. They don't trade any better than a 2 bedroom with the exception that you can request a larger unit in a search request. They also seem to be available when looking for a trade. You can find better in Orlando anyway.
Finally, don't buy in Orlando. there is a glut of timeshare availability in Orlando.