What is the BEST choice?

[shmuggee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shmuggee]

If I only wanted to use a TS to exchange:

What would be the cheapest unit to buy, with the lowest MF. (Understand it may not have the greatest trading power - probably used from 0 to 60 days out)

What would be the best VALUE (considering a moderate trading power)

The best number/combination of rooms? (4 bedroom lockoff? 3 Bedroom?)

What about points? (Wyndham?)

Finally: trading companies - II or RCI?

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

I'd say It Depends. Different ownerships/exchanges give you different things.

I also don't agree with your premise: I don't think you only want a timeshare to trade. You want to be able to at least imagine using it yourself. Especially if (as I suspect) it is your first purchase. Because, while trading sounds great the first time you hear about it, the reality can often be quite different, no matter what weeks you own, and no matter which exchanges you use.

Take your time, read and learn. It's ridiculously easy to buy a timeshare. It's considerably harder to sell one.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

If you have no idea, point usually is better. It gives you more flexibility on deposit.

You will need to look hard on them, each has different fee structure. Noone is really great on all situations since they need to be flexible.

As said above, read more before you want to jump, it is always easier to buy, not easy to sell.

Jya-Ning

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

A Branson summer week can usually be found on E-bay for less than $100. Most, but not all, have pretty low MF's. If you get a summer week or a floating week that you reserve a summer week, they trade pretty well through I.I. How they do with RCI I can't say but with I.I. they do all right. You're not going to get the very best resorts in the highest seasons but I can see Marriott's frequently with my little one bedroom select resort in Branson.

[shmuggee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shmuggee]

I'd say It Depends. Different ownerships/exchanges give you different things.

I also don't agree with your premise: I don't think you only want a timeshare to trade. You want to be able to at least imagine using it yourself. Especially if (as I suspect) it is your first purchase. Because, while trading sounds great the first time you hear about it, the reality can often be quite different, no matter what weeks you own, and no matter which exchanges you use.

Take your time, read and learn. It's ridiculously easy to buy a timeshare. It's considerably harder to sell one.

No...I already own 2 in Vegas. Just looking to increase my trading ability.

[shmuggee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shmuggee]

A Branson summer week can usually be found on E-bay for less than $100. Most, but not all, have pretty low MF's. If you get a summer week or a floating week that you reserve a summer week, they trade pretty well through I.I. How they do with RCI I can't say but with I.I. they do all right. You're not going to get the very best resorts in the highest seasons but I can see Marriott's frequently with my little one bedroom select resort in Branson.

Thanks...this is the kind of info I'm looking for!

[mdurette Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mdurette]

I have two units that trade very well (can see DVC and Marriot) and can be found very reasonable on ebay. Both units are float weeks - I check demand and call II to see what weeks will be eligable for ACs before I reserve.

1. Coconut Palms Beach 2 (CPB). 1 BR float week. Annual fees are $535.

2. Kings Creek Plantation (KCP). 3BR lockoff float week. Odd Year Only. I love this one. I split it into a 1BR and a 2BR - make summer reservations - give to II and get ACs for each. Fees are only $595 every other year. So, I end up getting 4 weeks everyother year for this one. Total cost a few months ago was about $1,400 after closing costs and resort transfer.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

What is the BEST choice?

There is no best choice, while all your recent questions are good ones, they are usually too broad and show that you have not taken the time or effort to read these forums from end to end prior to jumping in.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

If you already own 2 and are looking to buy more----you are an addict. We should have a support group here, but in lieu of that- let me tell you how the next few years will be:
You will buy more timeshare weeks/points and maybe even sell a couple of weeks.
Eventually your ownerships will increase to the point where you find you are spending a major portion of your budget on vacations/maintenance fees.
You will find in increasingly difficult to spend more than 2 weeks in a row at home and eventually start giving away, renting or letting excess weeks expire.

[shmuggee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shmuggee]

There is no best choice, while all your recent questions are good ones, they are usually too broad and show that you have not taken the time or effort to read these forums from end to end prior to jumping in.

Yah...right....from end to end...

...ahhhhhhhh...got a life, and don't quite have the time.

Was hoping to tap into some others experiences.

Sorry for troubling you. I guess I'll try elsewhere...

[shmuggee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shmuggee]

If you already own 2 and are looking to buy more----you are an addict. We should have a support group here, but in lieu of that- let me tell you how the next few years will be:
You will buy more timeshare weeks/points and maybe even sell a couple of weeks.
Eventually your ownerships will increase to the point where you find you are spending a major portion of your budget on vacations/maintenance fees.
You will find in increasingly difficult to spend more than 2 weeks in a row at home and eventually start giving away, renting or letting excess weeks expire.

Wow - wish I could read the future like you can...thanks for the diagnosis, Dr Phil!!! Sounds like you talk from personal experience...my condolences...I guess it's not your fault.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

See, the problem is that the best way to learn from others' experiences is to read about them---and those experiences are already here, on this board. All you have to do is spend some time looking through them. You don't need to know right now, today, because there is no hurry. There are always great timeshare bargains out there. But, I'm getting the sense that you aren't willing to put in any work to learn what you need to learn. You want pat answers, but as far as I know, there aren't any.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Wow - wish I could read the future like you can...thanks for the diagnosis, Dr Phil!!! Sounds like you talk from personal experience...my condolences...I guess it's not your fault.

Many here may have the same problem. I've kept buying until it's hard for me to get decent usage out of what I own. Thus, I'm in the process of selling two of my 7 units back to DRI.

The problem is, now that I'll own just enough, I see all sorts of bargains out there that wouldn't be a bad thing to own. I think I'll be able to resist another addition for at least a couple of years. We plan on using the savings from MF's ($2,100) to help pay for at least one cruise vacation per year. That, along with the 4 1/2 (on EOY week), two of which are LO units, should reasonably cover our vacation needs every year.

[shmuggee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shmuggee]

See, the problem is that the best way to learn from others' experiences is to read about them---and those experiences are already here, on this board. All you have to do is spend some time looking through them. You don't need to know right now, today, because there is no hurry. There are always great timeshare bargains out there. But, I'm getting the sense that you aren't willing to put in any work to learn what you need to learn. You want pat answers, but as far as I know, there aren't any.

Well - let's see:

I thinking about points, and maybe RCI. I like Wyndham - I've read that they are quality, but don't want to pay high MF. I'm already in II with my 2 TS and want another for trading. Renting (more points w/ Wyndham) is also an option. I'm also looking at the Wyndham website and have downloaded the MF spreadsheet. Also looking on TUG. I'm also looking through eBay for some good deals.

IMHO...I have put in some "work to learn" but instead of paging through thousand of posts looking for a few specific items of info, I thought I'd ask a couple of questions;

but I guess it's too much trouble. Maybe you've been spending too much time in front of a computer, if you haven't got the patience to answer (or even IGNORE??) a question that you've seen a few times...How tough is it to click on the next post?

INSTEAD:

I get complete strangers telling me to do more work, that I am an addict, that I need to stay where I buy, I have to read posts from "end to end" (from some knucklehead who's slogan is "Get a Life"? Who's he trying to fool? Read all the posts...who's got no life? I would almost say no sense of humour either, Spence, but I read your Voila - Viola post and thought if quite funny)

Maybe it's time to back away from the PC if you're too cranky to not say anything, instead of making snap judgements.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

If I only wanted to use a TS to exchange:

What would be the cheapest unit to buy, with the lowest MF. (Understand it may not have the greatest trading power - probably used from 0 to 60 days out)

What would be the best VALUE (considering a moderate trading power)

The best number/combination of rooms? (4 bedroom lockoff? 3 Bedroom?)

What about points? (Wyndham?)

Finally: trading companies - II or RCI?

I thinking about points, and maybe RCI. I like Wyndham - I've read that they are quality, but don't want to pay high MF. I'm already in II with my 2 TS and want another for trading. Renting (more points w/ Wyndham) is also an option. I'm also looking at the Wyndham website and have downloaded the MF spreadsheet. Also looking on TUG. I'm also looking through eBay for some good deals.

I don't see anyone give you some advise just to discourage you or tease you.

Now you put in more specific, I have some questions to you.

1. have you tried to exchange your TS through II? exchange is different animal, depends on where you want to go, what kind of resort you want to get, it will change the answer quite differently. And it really is personal thing.

If you have not, try at least once, so you get a feeling what you are actually looking at.

2. When you say you want to use them for exchange, where would be the majority exchanges its to?

3. what kind of fee you think is reasonable including exchange fee charged by exchange company? And for what kind of quality?

When your question is best, but the reality is there are over 5000 different TS, each has different fee structure, and the exchange company constatnt try to manipulate the trading power, there is really no best fit all. And even there is, the only people that I think has any chance to know is the one that owns a lot of varieties that has any chance to tell for sure. I actually think Spence fit that profile. And there are a lot of people in this forum fit that kind of profiler. But I doubt anyone can tell you for sure the trading power will be the same in the next 10 years for this company. And I doubt anyone can tell you what kind of inventory you will be looking at 0 to 60 days.

There are trading test from time to time, and there are sighting from that, you will be able to get a feeling what trading to what. And for point system, most chain that has its own forums has disscused how it trade with various of company using a small deposit, and you can use their MF get to know how much it will cost.

if you are looking at $300 cost to get a week value about say $700, or if you are looking at $800 cost bust can get you to week $2100 which $300 will be very hard to get if not impossible, would you think 300 one is best or 800 one is the best on the money?


Since your first post indicates you just want to get stuff from 0 to 60days, maybe the cheapest is Bluegreen, and you should buy the lowest package, then use RCI's Last call. But the best approach will be to get 3 year RTU RCI points contract that advertise in this forum, so you can play with it, and in the long run, it is the cheapest deal in most of the cases.

Jya-Ning