Newbie Thinking About a Timeshare

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Mexico. Cabo or Cancun.

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?
Yes would like to visit home resort at least half the time. Trade occasionally.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
DR, Hawaii, other Mexico Cities, Costa Rica

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
Two adults and two children.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Preferably around school, but don't mind taking the kids out for vacation.

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, preferably two.

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
4-5 stars.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
$1000-2000

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?
$1000

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?
Yes.

Your 'wish list' looks pretty do-able. But since you want to go all over Mexico, DR etc., those are easy-to-rent places. Don't buy at all. Look up in the TUG Marketplace (in the ed stripe above) or in Last Minute rentals where maximum price is $100 per night.

Above all, do not buy anything in Mexico from any developer. They load so much 'poison' into the contracts that the original owner can't sell them with any of their benefits. That makes them valueless.

Happy hunting for those perfect vacations!

Jim

I agree that renting is probably a better choice. Traveling with 2 kids, you will want a 2 bedroom unit. You may not find something on the last minute rentals (since they are last minute and not something you can plan ahead for), but if you place a rental wish ad in the Marketplace, you'll have some owners contacting you who would love to rent their gorgeous resort to you.

Try the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya (to rent not buy). It about half an hour south of Cancun. It really is an awesome place for families. We like it so much we have two trips planned there this year!

winnipiseogee said:

Try the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya (to rent not buy). It about half an hour south of Cancun. It really is an awesome place for families. We like it so much we have two trips planned there this year!

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That place looks great. We stayed at Moon Palace years back and loved it as well. Can you tell me how that works with a timeshare rental? For example, is the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya an all-inclusive? Is the all-inclusive included in the rental price or would we need to eat all of our meals out?

Usually, AI is extra. A LOT extra. Some resorts give renters (from owners) the discounted 'owner's' price, but it's still high. Unless you are big drinkers, AI is never worth the price. Cook in, or eat on the local economy. The local restaurants will thank you and you'll get better food at lower cost.

Jim

Many have mandatory all inclusive fees. So, whether you eat there or not, you have to pay. Be sure to check that out before you stay anywhere in Mexico.

presley said:

Many have mandatory all inclusive fees. So, whether you eat there or not, you have to pay. Be sure to check that out before you stay anywhere in Mexico.

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To add to this, AI seems to be more prevalent in the Cancun area than on Mexico's West Coast. Both plans can be found in both areas, but it's harder to find a non-mandatory AI TS in Cancun area. They've found it to be a profit center.

Mooshagirl said:

That place looks great. We stayed at Moon Palace years back and loved it as well. Can you tell me how that works with a timeshare rental? For example, is the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya an all-inclusive? Is the all-inclusive included in the rental price or would we need to eat all of our meals out?

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The Grand Mayan Riviera Maya is not all-inclusive. Five years ago I gave one of my best friends a trip there for her honeymoon (in a 2bdrm unit... and I threatened to join them). They're still talking about that trip.

I stayed at Moon Palace 3-4 years ago... my sister and I were in a hotel room. All-inclusive is nice, but more than we would've spent on food and drinks in a week. You really pay for the convenience.

Yes - one of the things we like most about the Grand Mayan family of properties is that it is NOT all inclusive. From what I've found AI only works out in your favor if you drink a LOT

Before kids that might have been us.... now not so much!

The GM in Riviera Maya has great reasonably priced restaurants. The market on property is well stocked and relatively well priced. The kitchens are very nice and they have daily maid service which in my wife's opinion makes cooking in the unit vastly better!

The whole renting issue is a bit tricky. I trade into the property and it costs me pretty consistently about $600/week for the 2 bedroom units. If the rental cost is about $1,200/week its still a pretty damn good deal. When it gets more expensive than that I start to question it.

I would also not recommend buying in Mexico. Rent instead.

You can also join San Francisco Exchange for free. They have Mexico resorts available in their resort escapes list every single day. The sell off list is inventory that no one has requested, although they have top level Mexican resorts. The resort escapes list generally list resorts that are available within the next few days to maybe 3 or 4 months out. My check today shows no 2 BRs in Mexico but several 1 BRs, but several 2 BRs in California and Florida.

http://www.sfxresorts.com/resort-rental-escapes/