Is The Reef at Marathon, 2bdrm. 2 bth. a great exchanger?

[twinkyfl1]

I have a chance to purchase The Reef at Marathon, 2bdrm. 2 bth, in the Keys, but would like to know if it's a great exchanger.

I live in Florida, so wanted a cheap vacation without the extra cost of airfare. However from where I live in Florida, it would be a heck of a long haul to get there.

I only have one other timeshare (Parkway International) which doesn't have very good trading power, So, I figured since It seems so hard to trade into the keys, it could be a good little trader for me. For instance, would it get me decent trades to Ca, or higher end coastal resorts here in Florida?

I only have a couple of days to make the decision, so please let me hear your thoughts on this.

P.S. I don't know why they have me down as a guest, when I've been a member for at least the last 8 years. Is there a way I can fix this?

Thanks a bunch, you guys are the best!

 

[twinkyfl1]

Surely Someone Must Know

I really want to make a good decision on this. I know there are some experts on these boards because I read them all the time. Please help me make the right decision. Someone please respond.

THANK YOU.

 

[BevL]

I don't consider myself an expert but I'll try.

What week are you looking at?

 

[Jennie]

The season is critical.

 

[twinkyfl1]

Oct.11-18th. Another good thing, it's duel affiliated. The MF is on the low side, $543, and the price is $551.83.

It's not glitzy, but it is clean, and offers everything in the way of having a relaxing, fun vacation.

So, what do you think?

Thanks so much for your replies.

 

[ttt]

The week might not be the most popular, but the keys are very much in demand. I own a week 44 at Marathon Beach Club & II always offers a bonus week, although I use it each year. The price is right, you should grab it!

 

[hunkyleebo]

Sounds like a good deal. Keys are very popular and rarely show up for exchanges. Just keep in mind that you'll be in the tail end of the hurricane season.

 

[brucecz]

We will be staying there this New Years on a exchange lucking in somehow using a white Wisconsin Dells week.

We considered buying there but 5 bought floating weeks in Key Largo at the Florida Bay Club and a fixed week 4 at the TopSider in Islamarada which we paid under $3,500. for and has a bit of a water view from our unit. We bought this to either use for our vacations or rent out.

We do not use any of our Keys weeks for exchanges as the upfront costs and yearly maintenance fees IMHO do not offer a good exchange value in comparison to the ownerships we do use for exchange. We bought all of our Keys units to either use for our vacations or rent out.


The main reason we did not buy at the Reef was because the weeks offered at that time were ones at those times of the year that we would not want to use or may not be the better renter weeks.

That week 41 is only rated a 80 on a scale of 50 to 150 on the II demand index.

Were a Christmas or New Years week is ratedat 150.
I have had no problen inrenting out our 2 and 3 bedroom New Years weeks for $1,299 to $1,399 the past several years.

The Topsider and the Reef are very similar in unit layouts. If the unit is located on or were you can see the water from that unit then it makes it worth a couple of hundred more to some in comparison to a unit that does not have a water view.

IMHO I would not paid more than $2,000 for that fixed week 41 as that type of Sept-Oct-Nov-early Dec week I see a lot in II with white weeks banked about 6 months out. IMHO do a quick check on ebays completed auctions and see if anything similar to that week 41 unit is listed there.

I agree with ttt as he is a lot more experianced than I am in regards to buying and selling in Florida.

I am not a expert but we have owned about 12 to 15 Florida ownerships the past 5 years that we have used for rentals which relates to some degree to demand, availability and exchange power.

Bruce

 

[twinkyfl1]

Bruce,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I wonder if you could supply the link to the II demand index here. I am a II member, and that would help me tremendously.

Also, thanks to the rest of you who posted a reply. As I've already stated in my previous post, 'You guys are simply the best.'

 

[Dave M]

The II demand index charts are no longer available online. However, they are included in the print copies of the II Resort Directories.

 

[twinkyfl1]

Thanks a bunch Dave. Appreciate it.

 

[brucecz]

What Dave said about being on line is IMHO correct as I could not find it.

That chart is found on the 2 unnumbered pages between the numbered pages of 109 and 112 in the 2007-2008 directory.

We just had a USB Flash Drive put in by our computor tudor yesterday on our home computor and I have not learned how to scan in that page that should be 111 and send it as a email attachment to you like I could before we started this change.

Maybe some else would scan it in and send it to you if you do not have the 2007-2008 II catalog.

Remember that that chart reflects demand but is not the only thing to base your judgement on. But it is IMHO good tool to to use to help figure out the puzzle.

Knowing that ttt knows more than I do about Florida values maybe privately email him to see what he recommends. Please give far more weight to what ttt would advise you in regards to value and trading power than what I say. IMHO if I was in your position I would seek out his advice and most likely follow it.

One thing we sould recognize that trading power power can change PDQ so I buy were I want to go if if the tradinf power drops I will still get good use out of my timeshare.

But good luck to you what ever you decide to do.

Bruce

Bruce,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I wonder if you could supply the link to the II demand index here. I am a II member, and that would help me tremendously.

Also, thanks to the rest of you who posted a reply. As I've already stated in my previous post, 'You guys are simply the best.'

 

[brucecz]

Does that also include the yearly prop taxes as our resort in Key largo taxes are billed seperately?

Bruce

Oct.11-18th. Another good thing, it's duel affiliated. The MF is on the low side, $543, and the price is $551.83.

It's not glitzy, but it is clean, and offers everything in the way of having a relaxing, fun vacation.

So, what do you think?

Thanks so much for your replies.

 

[Pat H]

The week might not be the most popular, but the keys are very much in demand. I own a week 44 at Marathon Beach Club & II always offers a bonus week, although I use it each year. The price is right, you should grab it!

What do you think is a good price for a week 46 at this resort? Are the m/f's really only $460? Someone at work is looking at selling their week.

 

[twinkyfl1]

I want to thank you all for the great advice you gave me, but I decided to not go with it. Since I'm on a fixed income I decided it was too great a risk, especially with the hurricanes.

Back to the drawing board!