What should I buy? My survey!

[Anw015]

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? No, I am open to various locations- country wise Mexico every other year would be ideal.

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? I would like to trade more than half the time and visit new properties.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Mexico (Cancun), Orlando, California (Carlsbad), Las Vegas, Mexico (Nuevo Vallarta)

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? 2-4

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? I am free to travel whenever

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? Yes for the most part

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? Yes

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 3+

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? $3500

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? $1200

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? For the most part no

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, I am young and plan/want to have for years to come

 

[Todd Fogelberg]

Do you have all of your ducks in a row? (Own a home with equity, good mortgage. No credit card debt. Roth IRA set up and funded (use backdoor if income too high). Other retirement plan,pension, or account established and funded on a regular basis? Emergency savings? (At least $5,000+). Cars/Trucks with equity and affordable, manageable payments? Answer no to any of these and I say NO timeshares for you. Otherwise, it is a nice thing to do when you are young if all of the other pieces fit together.

 

[pianodinosaur]

Timesharing is a luxury not an investment. I did not take my first real vacation until I was 48 years old. My membership in HGVC forced me to take real vacations, not just business trips. That has been a real blessing. I am at a point in my life where I want luxury on a vacation and I am willing and able to pay for it. You are smarter than I am because I purchased HGVC from the developer prior to learning about the resale market. If you wait too long to take a real vacation, you may find that your health will not permit you to engage in activities you used to dream about. There is no law that says you have to purchase a timeshare. You may wish to join Hilton Honors or Bonvoy and earn points for hotel vacations just by using your credit card. If you do decide to purchase HGVC, use your timeshare and enjoy it in good health.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Based on your survey, you might want to consider Wyndham resale. The buy in cost is significantly lower and the quality is comparable. You want about 200,000 points and expect to pay $500-$750 for all costs. That's just the transfer fee for Hilton. I'm looking into Hilton after being a Wyndham owner because I will be at that part of my life in a year or two where I can drop $10,000 without it being an issue.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Congrats on rescinding and researching timeshares before you spend hard earned money.

Your budget is borderline for a 1 bedroom 4800 - 5000 point unit for HGVC and those MF will grow by 3% every year (don't buy anything less than 4800 points). Have you also budgeted for the travel expenses to these destinations? For a group of 4 that will add up quickly.

With so many desired, more expensive locations, and 4800 points your options will be limited. Well organized people can make this work, however my concern is that you stated you are not a detailed oriented planner. With limited points and constrained budgets you may not be able to maximize those limited options and will become frustrated. For example the timeshare may be available but the airfare skyrockets. Or all of the studios and 1 bedrooms are reserved at midnight when club season opens for locations outside of Vegas and Orlando.

Recommend two options:

a) Hold off and save up until you have enough set aside to comfortably buy an HGVC unit and associated travel with sufficient points which will not stress your casual planning style.
b) Investigate less expensive resale systems such as Worldmark or Wyndham, and consider buying one of those if you find something that fits. But research

If you decide to wait, in the meantime, you can always rent from places like TUG marketplace or Redweek and take some test drives without the commitment and the high pressure presentations. You are young so no need to rush into this. Good luck!

 

[Janann]

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? For the most part no

If this is true, then owning a timeshare will make you crazy. Anyone who wants to get the "highest and best use" of their timeshare needs to plan carefully. I'm currently out of points until January, but I'm still on these boards to plan and strategize for future vacations.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? Mexico (Cancun), Orlando, California (Carlsbad), Las Vegas, Mexico (Nuevo Vallarta)

Be aware that there are a lot of RCI resorts in Cancun that have an all-inclusive fee requirement. Usually the all-inclusive fee with a timeshare is far too high, to the point that you would be better off just paying cash for the entire vacation through an ordinary travel agency. So the list of resorts in Cancun looks great, but once you study the fees and points requirements, its not such a good deal. We used to go to the Cancun area with RCI, but we have run out of good options in recent years.

Best wishes for your timeshare search.

 

[vacationtime1]

I always recommend renting a couple of times (or more) before purchasing. Renting is a no obligation way to learn what quality level you want/don't want, how big a unit, season, locations, amenity level, etc.

The nice thing about renting is that is is not expensive; in some cases, it is cheaper than maintenance fees (in which case, do not buy that property). And there is little fear that prices are going to go up as you research.

btw--based on your criteria, I would suggest an eoy (every other year) resale week at the Westin Lagnamar in Cancun. It meets all of your specs and it is a wonderful resort. But rent there first; you may not like it as much as we do.

 

[Anw015]

Based on your survey, you might want to consider Wyndham resale. The buy in cost is significantly lower and the quality is comparable. You want about 200,000 points and expect to pay $500-$750 for all costs. That's just the transfer fee for Hilton. I'm looking into Hilton after being a Wyndham owner because I will be at that part of my life in a year or two where I can drop $10,000 without it being an issue.

I’m definitely going to look into that. I only have travelled with HGVC so I’ll def need to research but for the cheaper price point maybe the better option.

Congrats on rescinding and researching timeshares before you spend hard earned money.

Your budget is borderline for a 1 bedroom 4800 - 5000 point unit for HGVC and those MF will grow by 3% every year (don't buy anything less than 4800 points). Have you also budgeted for the travel expenses to these destinations? For a group of 4 that will add up quickly.

With so many desired, more expensive locations, and 4800 points your options will be limited. Well organized people can make this work, however my concern is that you stated you are not a detailed oriented planner. With limited points and constrained budgets you may not be able to maximize those limited options and will become frustrated. For example the timeshare may be available but the airfare skyrockets. Or all of the studios and 1 bedrooms are reserved at midnight when club season opens for locations outside of Vegas and Orlando.

Recommend two options:

a) Hold off and save up until you have enough set aside to comfortably buy an HGVC unit and associated travel with sufficient points which will not stress your casual planning style.
b) Investigate less expensive resale systems such as Worldmark or Wyndham, and consider buying one of those if you find something that fits. But research

If you decide to wait, in the meantime, you can always rent from places like TUG marketplace or Redweek and take some test drives without the commitment and the high pressure presentations. You are young so no need to rush into this. Good luck!

Thank you so much for the advice! 4800 was what I was looking at no less but I’m thinking maybe looking into one of the cheaper resale. Your definitely right I have time do I don’t want to rush.

I always recommend renting a couple of times (or more) before purchasing. Renting is a no obligation way to learn what quality level you want/don't want, how big a unit, season, locations, amenity level, etc.

The nice thing about renting is that is is not expensive; in some cases, it is cheaper than maintenance fees (in which case, do not buy that property). And there is little fear that prices are going to go up as you research.

btw--based on your criteria, I would suggest an eoy (every other year) resale week at the Westin Lagnamar in Cancun. It meets all of your specs and it is a wonderful resort. But rent there first; you may not like it as much as we do.

I never thought to rent for a while but that definitely seems like the best so I can make sure I’m getting a place I like and time to research.