Swap Time Share or Vacation Home?

[V7Goose]

I posted an offer to let members use my Time Share units at cost here:

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18368

But I also got the idea that there are undoubtedly other time share owners on this sight that might consider just swapping a week straight across without having to pay the normal trading fees?

 

If you have a time share or vacation home that you might want to trade for a week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, give me a shout and we can talk about it. And if I hear from multiple members, I'll even keep track of it all and maybe try to organize a mini VentureRiders vacation swap group. You may not want mine in Cabo or me yours, but who knows what other matches we might find? If enough members have an interest, maybe we can even get Don to put up a vacation swap forum here? Just a thought...

Goose

[hipshot]

just one question, goose.

 

 

 

what is a vacation?

just jt

[Eck]

I own one in Coco Beach, Fl..

 

Discovery Beach Resort.

http://www.discoverybeachresort.com/index.htm

 

 

http://www.discoverybeachresort.com/VirtualTours/Index.htm

 

 

It is for sale too ...if anyone is looking for one

It is a "Red" week..and floating..includes an RCI membership too.

[DragonRider]

I have one in Pagosa Springs, Co. 25 miles from Wolf Creek Ski Resort.........

 

 

[dexl1200]

I Have one in Williamsburg, Va

 

Dave

[SaltyDawg]

Are time shares really worth the trouble? We are looking into getting into one with the points system. South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach. Gonna check it out during Bike Week this May.

[Dano]

Family (wifes side) is trying to get rid of one (time share) in Abaco, Bahamas. Beautiful place, didn't realize when we got into it that it would be too hard to get to. Rebuilt after hurricanes, beach side location, if I was rich I'd be there every winter. Even had drinks with Mr. Hilton (yes, that Mr. Hilton) at the bar next door one night. Wish we would have done it stateside.

 

Dan

[Eck]

 

Are time shares really worth the trouble? We are looking into getting into one with the points system. South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach. Gonna check it out during Bike Week this May.

 

You have email.......

[berg]

I own at the Manhatten Club In New York City.

[V7Goose]

Are time shares really worth the trouble? We are looking into getting into one with the points system. South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach. Gonna check it out during Bike Week this May.

I am sure you will get many opinions on this question, but the bottom line for me is Yes, they are worth it. BUT...there are some things to know.

 

The best thing - you WILL take more vacations once you have it, since the time is "use it or loose it." I know that is not true for everyone, but it is for the majority of owners. For us, this has been worth more than anything. And we have gone many places that we would never have gone otherwise when just looking for something available for an interesting trade.

 

Is it cheaper than just paying normal prices for a vacation? Yes and no. It certainly can be, especially if you always go to the really high end places that cost $300 - $900 and more a night, but if you just want to go to a tourist area and don't really care about the resorts, you will save more money by buying a vacation package with air included for mid-week travel.

 

Do NOT buy from a resort - retail prices are for suckers! And yes, I DID buy all mine at retail prices! I have learned a lot since I first got into time shares. Anywhere you find one you want to buy, you can save at least 50-70% buying used. Lots of people have them and just do not use them, so would love to get rid of them. Especially as they age and do not want to travel as much.

 

Maintenance fees can really kill you - some places just keep going up and up. A very few will lock in the maintenance and increase limits in the contract, but that is rare.

 

Finally, there is the issue of WHERE to buy and how to trade. My advice is an either/or thing - on one hand, if there is a resort that you just love, is easy to get to, and you KNOW you will always want to use it and keep going back year after year, then that is the one for you. Buy it (used) and just enjoy it.

 

On the other hand, if your idea is to trade and go lots of great places, then the resort you want is VERY different. a) it must be in a location that everyone else in the world wants to go (Hawaii, Cabo, and Houseboats are several examples) - this is because you need good trading value to be able to go to interesting places and 5 star resorts. b) it must be a 5-star resort too. This is not nearly as important as the location, but certainly helps; if you own a dump, fewer people will accept it, even in a good location. c) it should have LOW maintenance fees (Hawaii and Cabo are NOT good examples of this). Low maintenance cost will not make any difference in your trading power, but it will sure make you happier!

 

Points vs weeks ownership is mostly personal preference - I'd like to have one of each (but all mine are weeks). Fixed time vs floating time is also just personal preference; although, most think that floating time is better.

 

This only scratches the surface, but it will get you started with what you need to know to keep from being fleeced. I would be very happy to talk at length with anyone on the phone about this to help any way I can. One very interesting subject is how to play the time share game at ANY resort location in Mexico (and most in the Caribbean) to get your whole vacation for free. If you are interested in more info, give me a shout. I'd rather talk about it than write about it.

Goose

[SaltyDawg]

Thanks V7Goose, lots of great info. I will keep it in mind. I am looking at a 5 star points resort in Myrtle Beach. Mainly for Spring bike week and because we love Myrtle Beach. It's just the wife and myself, no kids. We are finally starting to live our lives again and take much needed vacations. I like the idea of taking more vacations. I also like the points system because it's not use it or lose it. You can save up to 4 years before you lose anything. I don't know, my head starts spinning around when I think about it. I am researching heavily so as to not make any mistakes, but I'm sure I will make a few along the way.

 

Thanks again,

 

Wayne

[V7Goose]

Trust me, it is still "use it or loose it." I can bank my weeks too (and sometimes do). In fact, I am in St. Croix (US VI) today for exactly that reason - I had a week banked for three year and it was about to turn into a pumpkin on me! But if you don't use what you have this year, how are you going to use twice as much next year or four times as much when it is really "loose it" time? Of course, if you are careful and always have a lot more available vacation time than time share time, then this problem will not be too bad, but my point is that all of it eventually expires.

 

You will find that spring break time at any location which attracts the kids is VERY hard to schedule, so if that is what you really want, better insist on a fixed week instead of floating time. Bike week may not be as bad, but don't count on it; that is the kind of surprise that can just ruin your vacation dreams, and you only find out after you own it. The best thing about a fixed week during spring break on the beach is that you can always rent it easily if you don't use it. Other than a situation like that, do not believe most of the lies the resort sales people will tell you about renting your time share. And absolutely do not believe any lies about donating it for a tax deduction.

Goose

[SaltyDawg]

Trust me, it is still "use it or loose it." I can bank my weeks too (and sometimes do). In fact, I am in St. Croix (US VI) today for exactly that reason - I had a week banked for three year and it was about to turn into a pumpkin on me! But if you don't use what you have this year, how are you going to use twice as much next year or four times as much when it is really "loose it" time? Of course, if you are careful and always have a lot more available vacation time than time share time, then this problem will not be too bad, but my point is that all of it eventually expires.

 

You will find that spring break time at any location which attracts the kids is VERY hard to schedule, so if that is what you really want, better insist on a fixed week instead of floating time. Bike week may not be as bad, but don't count on it; that is the kind of surprise that can just ruin your vacation dreams, and you only find out after you own it. The best thing about a fixed week during spring break on the beach is that you can always rent it easily if you don't use it. Other than a situation like that, do not believe most of the lies the resort sales people will tell you about renting your time share. And absolutely do not believe any lies about donating it for a tax deduction.

Goose

 

We will find out about bike week this May, we are scheduled to stay there for a week to get an idea of whether or not we want to purchase. I understand it's a use it or lose it deal after the 4 years. Good thing for me I earn 8 hours vacation every 2 weeks and I intend on using it from now on. We have plans on the wife semi-retiring in June and only working part time at a motorcycle apparel/parts store, and they already know that we won't be in town for Spring Bike Week every year.

[Mariner Fan]

This is interesting. I've always wondered what other time shares do.

 

Ours has a point system so we choose which resort to use. My wife is really into this stuff and purchased enough points for us to use any resort for 10 days a year. Then she decided to buy into perpetuity so that we can give it to the kids when we croak. Of course, the time share company (Vacations International) could go belly up and then were out of luck.

 

So far so good. It's nice to have a place to go to that's nice without surprises.

[V7Goose]

Thought I'd post some more just for other readers who might not know the difference...

 

The original time share system was fixed week - you bought a particular week (such as week 32) and used that every year - no way to change it unless you traded it for a different resort (and paid ever increasing trade fees to do that). The good thing with this system is that you always know when you can use your unit, never have to plan ahead or make reservations. The bad is obvious - NO flexibility.

 

Version 2 is floating weeks - you buy the right to use a week in a certain size unit every year, but no specific dates. To use it, you must compete with all other owners to schedule the specific week you decide upon and make a reservation. If you don't do this far enough in advance, then nothing is available. The good here is the great flexibility; the bad is how tough it can be to get popular dates like spring break or holidays.

 

When trading, both fixed and floating weeks are identical - you offer your unit, and the ones you get offered back depends mostly on how desirable your resort, unit and reserved dates are. You trade one full week for one full week, no matter if you want to use the full week or not. The size of the unit you can get in trade is somewhat unrelated to the size of the unit you own - for example, you may own a hotel unit that only sleeps 2 in a very desirable location, and when you want to trade, you may find options to get everything from other hotel units to 3 bedroom penthouse suites- all just depending on what is available. There is no cost differential - your trade is the same no matter what size unit in what type of resort you accept.

 

Version 3 is the points system. The particular unit you own is worth a fixed number of points, based on quality of resort, location, time of year and unit size. You use these points anytime you take a vacation, and how many points you use depends on exactly the type, size and quality of unit you use. For example, if you own a one bedroom unit and decide to trade into a 3 bedroom unit somewhere else, either because you need the room for friends or that is just the only thing available, you will pay WAY more points to use that bigger unit - if it is roughly an equivalent quality and price/location resort, the number of points you need might just be three years of your own unit points, but could go dramatically up or down depending on all he variables. One major difference from the weeks system is that you can use your points in fractions, for just a couple of days at a tie instead of the whole week. The upside to this system is huge flexibility, but the downside is that you effectively pay the going rate for anything and everything you use. If you own anywhere that is not popular, your points will not go very far when you want to use them.

 

I generally like the weeks system better, since I can use larger units for no additional cost. For example, last time we went to Hawaii, we had a friend join us on the Big Island for a week; one of the resorts we were looking at had a three bedroom penthouse villa available that we picked up for no additional cost - now THAT was a great week! If I was on the points system, I would have paid a fortune for that unit (and it was the only larger one they had available, even though I didn't need one that fancy).

 

Just some more things to think about and understand when considering owning timeshare.

Goose