Is this a good time to buy??

[Smitty1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smitty1]

Hi

I am thinking about purchasing a timeshare - if I can get a good deal on one - just wondering if you think this is a good time to buy - it seems there are a lot on the market.

Who do you recommend to purchase thru - I know not to go to the actual resort and to get a "used" one - what websites are reputable and show the listings?

I am thinking about maybe Mexico - it would be nice to have some place to go in the winter.

How does a floating Red week work?

Any info would be appreciated.

thanks
Paul

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

I think it's a great time if you know what you want. There's a lot to choose from. A lot of people have purchased from e-Bay. That's where I bought my two. There are also TS posted for sale here and on tug2.net. You can also try redweek.com, bidshares.com and I'm sure lots of people will chime in with other places to try. Keep in mind that redweek, bidshares, and lots of other sites have asking prices. Those may not be representative of the current market place. Feel free to offer what you think they are worth.

And a word to the wise, buy something you really would like to use; decent quality. Otherwise, you'll eventually end up trying to give it away for $1 with no takers.

Sue

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

First decide on the place you really want, then the resort and the week, then settle back to shop. If you're only going to get one timeshare, you want it to be one you're really going to love. Where do you live?

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

It's a great time to buy and there's no reason to hurry. I would stay away from Mexico for the time being because anything cheap there is probably worthless and with a few exceptions it trades pretty lousy if you don't want to cough up the airfare every year.

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

The market prices are certainly depressed now and have been for the last year. One thing I've learned over the years is that there is always a deal out there. So if you think you missed "the one", don't fret because there is another one around a corner somewhere.

You need to get get a better sense of how you like to travel, where you travel and if you want to go back to the same area on a regular basis. For a newbie, that's probably the best way to proceed. I know a number of us talk about trading or you hear that at the sales presentations. Trading takes work, a lot more than it used to. That's where a lot of newbies run into problems.

Decide where you like to go on a regular basis, what size you need (how many will be regularly travelling) and what you expect (ie. granite this, high end that, or simple, clean, functional, etc). If you could provide some more of that info we'll be able to better give you some tips. Right now, what you've provided is like, I want a car, what should I buy?

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

There may have never been a better time...

Prices are lower than I've ever seen! I'd recommend you purchase a property you intend to use (and perhaps only trade one year out of three), or if you prefer flexibility- choose a point program that gives you access to destinations you desire.

Do your research before you buy to find out how others use the program- and buy resale. Then- ENJOY YOUR VACATIONS!

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Hi

How does a floating Red week work?

A floating red week means that you could reserve or get assigned a week in the pool of weeks that are deemed as red or prime. Some resorts will allow you to call and reserve a specific week, some will assign the week to you and some have a lottery system. Sometimes it depends on whether you will deposit your week with an exchange company or use it yourself when it comes to whether you can request a week or take an assigned week. You have to call the resort or talk to other owners to be sure of how their system is set up.

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

It's a great time to buy and there's no reason to hurry. I would stay away from Mexico for the time being because anything cheap there is probably worthless and with a few exceptions it trades pretty lousy if you don't want to cough up the airfare every year.

I agree......Lately, there seems to be an almost unlimited supply of Mexico available thru II. (exchange company) This means that should you choose to exchange your week, you most likely won't have very strong trading power.

Like the others have suggested, you should purchase where you would like to vacation. IMO, if you wouldn't mind visiting 3 out of 4 years, then you've made a good choice. Not that you can't exchange your week, but circumstances such as trading power, exchange fees, availability, etc., are constantly changing, so there are no guarantees.

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

Trading takes work, a lot more than it used to. That's where a lot of newbies run into problems.

It also costs. Maybe I'm spoiled by being in a points system, but the cost of trading looks steep to me. If I recall rightly, one trade through RCI now costs more than my membership fee with BG, and the membership fee pays for every reservation I make that year, be that one or twenty. There's also the time cost of researching so many resorts - RCI standards aren't mine, so I have to somehow track down the info on whether the unit in question meets my criteria. Bluegreen's website has tons of info plus floor plans available for anyone; a lot of other resorts either don't offer that information, or only offer it to owners, meaning as someone looking to trade in I don't have access to it.

The hassle of trading and our disinterest in going back to the same place for all our vacations was a big reason we had no interest in TS until we discovered the existence of points systems. It also explains why, although we have an RCI account whether we want one or not, we'll probably never make use of it for trading.

[Smitty1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smitty1]

Thanks everyone for there comments - I am really not sure what I want - there are so many options - my wife likes to go south (Mexico,Caribbean) in the winter (we live in Canada) - so some heat is always nice - but I am not sure I would like to go every year - maybe every couple of years.

So I am thinking of buying locally - we have a Gold Crown RCI timeshare in our area - Calabogie Lodge - I am not sure of the trading power it has - anyone have info on this?? If we purchase here we could trade to a TS in the south every couple of years - if it has any trading power.

I like to fish and ATV - so this area is perfect for that type of holiday - but the wife still wants to go south - its hard to get her to agree to a TS in this area - she says its not a holiday going an hour from home...so I am kind of stuck.

Any comments or advice appreciated.

thanks
Paul

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

You could just rent in Mexico for your southern trips. I see 3 or more rentals listed on Ebay every week for the Royal Resorts in Cancun at or a bit above the timeshare maintenance fee and there surely are more on other non-auction sites.

You should also rule out certain overbuilt locations to buy at---particularly Orlando, Williamsburg, Branson and Las Vegas.

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

I don't know if there will be anyone who knows the trading value of the Eastern Canada timeshares well here. I follow them a little, so here's what I know.

If you decide to buy at Calabogie, then only buy the best, best week there. Interval International, one of the two large exchange companies, says demand is highest there during weeks 26, 27, and 31. All other weeks are a big drop down in trading power. Here's the chart from the Interval website.

Interval International | Resort Directory Calabogie Peaks Resort

I do hear that the sales tactics at Calabogie are intense, so don't go to a sales pitch there!

If you like Calabogie and you feel like you can use it maybe every other year, then personally I would wait till a Week 26, 27, or 31 comes up from a reputable seller on eBay and I'd buy it. Then that should be a reasonably good trader.

Does Calabogie have day use for owners--that is, if you own there, can you just come by for the day and use the facilities? That might be worth something to you if you enjoy fishing and hiking there.

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

Paul, you sound like a good candidate for a points mini-system. The three main players are Wyndham, WorldMark, and Bluegreen. Each has different strengths and weaknesses. Start by looking at the resort portfolio of each system (ignoring "affiliate" and "associate" resorts---they tend to not have much availability) and see if any one of them covers most of your anticipated destinations.

The advantage of a mini-system is that you have a broad portfolio of resorts to choose from, it's closer to a "booking" model than an "exchange" model to reserve the time you want (much simpler and more reliable), and mini-systems tend to be a bit more stable than third-party exchanges in terms of what you can get from year to year. I'm not sure it's a good idea for any first-timer to get in planning to do week-for-week exchanges. The rules are subtle, they change constantly, and it's better as a hobby than a way to just get vacation time.

Tony's got a good observation too; you might find renting works just fine for a lot of your needs.

Most importantly: TAKE YOUR TIME. It's easy to buy a timeshare, but it's hard to sell one. Make sure the one you get fits your needs.

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

What about Whistler, or Quebec City, Vancouver ?......They are very high demand in II.

[Smitty1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smitty1]

The reason I even became interested in the whole timeshare thing was because I was looking on the Calabogie lodge website and they have a deal on right now - if you purchase a 25 yr lease in a off season week Oct which is the perfect time for fishing and ATV - you only pay the maintenance fee - so this got me looking into these websites and eventually brought me here.

I really don't want to spend (7K-10K) to get a week and then a $700-$800 maintenance fee - then a flight and transfer fee on top of that.

I have been looking at the Grand Mayan in Mexico - I have found a unit for around 5K - I am not sure if thats a good deal - but it is a top rated resort on TUG.

Advice?

thanks
Paul