How do I buy a TS and who do I pick?

[andertim75 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andertim75]

I've seen a lot of negative posts about time shares. My wife and I vacation about 2 to 3 times a year and would like to buy a time share. Not a wee some where specific, but some where we can use to go anywhere. We know some people that have some and have good things to say about them. Both people we know us point systems and go where ever they want. Who is the best to go through for the cost?

We were recently in Vegas and went to a GEO Holiday presentation. I'm in sales so I understand why people hate these sales reps. We didn't buy!! but we did accept a week from an RCI resort anywhere and we will go back to the Jockey club after that we see if we do want to buy.

Once again we want to buy a timeshare because we like to vacation and we want to be able to do it anywhere. I know it's not an investment or anything like that, but we want to go different places becasue we are going to do it anyway.

We want to start off small at first. Probably a EOY timeshare. They offered us 15,000 points EOY and we can buy more points to stay at more expensive places. If we buy a small package the maintaince fees are only around 300 dollars a year. I think purchase price for this was $8750. They told use if we bought that day we also get 4 other perks. I can't remember what all of them were. I think $0 cost membership to RCI, 30 day or less purchase for around 5000 points, we can buy points for low cost and also can rent some timeshares for around $199 without using points. THere was some other things and I may be a little off on this but that was the jist of it.

I know some are going to say that 15000 points are too little, but we had access to their site and found hundreds of places we could go for that. We also had access to their RCI page that showed hundreds of RCI locations around the world for 15000 to 18000 Geo points.

My question is simple, How do I pick a place to get my TS through? Should I buy from this TS company, should I go with another company, or should I buy a TS from someone trying to sell directly?

[catwgirl Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close catwgirl]

Never buy directly from the developer. You can get the same thing for a fraction of the price buying resale. You may also find current owners willing to give you their timeshare so they can get out of the maintenance fees. My advice is to take it slow. Read this board and the Timeshare Users Group board. Take time to study the different timeshares and what will work best for you. 90 percent of what you heard at the presentation was probably lies. Again, take it slow.

[bjones9942 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bjones9942]

I'll let others speak to points vs weeks, and which group would be best. Once you decide on where you want to buy, start searching ebay, redweek, tug, here, etc. for opportunities to purchase resale. In my opinion, buying from the developer is just throwing your money away.

[andertim75 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andertim75]

I'm new to this so lots of ??

I'll let others speak to points vs weeks, and which group would be best. Once you decide on where you want to buy, start searching ebay, redweek, tug, here, etc. for opportunities to purchase resale. In my opinion, buying from the developer is just throwing your money away.

If you buy from the above places, are you just buying that week or that year, or are you buying it from them and have it for the remaining years. If you are buying out their contract, how do you find those versus just buying a 1 year trip?

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Buying a timeshare is easy. Selling a timeshare, not so much. If I buy another timeshare it will probably be a WorldMark. They offer access to both Interval and RCI exchanges. The resale market seems to have a well established floor for the price per point so you shouldn't automatically lose your whole investment when you buy like you can with many other timeshare purchases.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

If you buy from the above places, are you just buying that week or that year, or are you buying it from them and have it for the remaining years. If you are buying out their contract, how do you find those versus just buying a 1 year trip?

A 1 year trip is a rental, not a sale. It looks like GEO sells a right to use contract for a set number of years. If you could find one with a small number of years left on it you could treat it like a trial run to see what you think about ownership.

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

What you seem to need is a timeshare within driving distance with good trading power. Also you should be looking at what the annual cost will be to use it or exchange it. As a general rule stay away from locations with lots of timeshares like Las Vegas, Orlando, Williamsburg and other overbuilt locations. Definitely buy resale or perhaps even pick up a freebie-you might even find one offered here. You might also want to look at management, avoiding timeshares managed or controlled by some developers. Look also at the history of maintenance fees and if there have been special assessments to see how well the management has done. Ask lots of questions.

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

There are a lot of complaints online (you can google them) for the geo vacation club.

As others have said, you never need to buy direct and pay retail for TSs. There are many being sold very cheap and some are being given away for free. People just want to get out of their contracts.

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

I own a pile of Geo points that I got on the resale market, and I have been very pleased over the years with the travel opportunities that they have provided me. And Geo adds new resorts regularly - for example, they just got access to 2-bedroom units at the Point at Poipu. Regardng complaints, I don't think they are any worse than any other points system out there.

However NEVER buy from the source - there are too many opportunities to take over a private contract that a seller no longer wants, for $1 or even less. And take your time - read, research and talk with long-term timeshare folks.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

I'll model what most other people have said, but will add to try and find a resort close by in a system that has properties you want to travel to. The exchange systems are hit and miss, and your mileage will vary so don't count on the exchange portion.

Additionally, no one system will probably fit all of your needs and wants. Some of us are members of 4 or 5 systems to truly make it the most valuable system. If one doesn't work for us, another one will.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

The people that seem happiest at the moment either own where they want to go, the week they want to go or people that have purchased points in a system that has locations they would like to go to. Exchanging thru any company is the lowest rung on the ladder in happiness quotient.

Point systems will also not normally limit you to a full week. The increased flexibility in taking shorter stays works for many.

If you are a west coast traveler then consider WorldMark. worldmarktheclub.com

If you are a mid-west/east coast traveler perhaps Bluegreen would suit. bluegreenonline.com

These are only two of many different resort systems out there but they are the two that seem to have the happiest campers.

wyndhamvacationresorts.com is another option with a deep inventory of locations.

All three have Las Vegas properties.

Read up and study everything you can find, ask questions and the buy resale.

Good luck.

[andertim75 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andertim75]

Where to buy resale

The people that seem happiest at the moment either own where they want to go, the week they want to go or people that have purchased points in a system that has locations they would like to go to. Exchanging thru any company is the lowest rung on the ladder in happiness quotient.

Point systems will also not normally limit you to a full week. The increased flexibility in taking shorter stays works for many.

If you are a west coast traveler then consider WorldMark. worldmarktheclub.com

If you are a mid-west/east coast traveler perhaps Bluegreen would suit. bluegreenonline.com

These are only two of many different resort systems out there but they are the two that seem to have the happiest campers.

wyndhamvacationresorts.com is another option with a deep inventory of locations.

All three have Las Vegas properties.

Read up and study everything you can find, ask questions and the buy resale.

Good luck.

We want a system that allows us to some short stays and in some years a week. We want a system that will allow travel to Mexico, caribean, and us. Rci and geo seem to provide these options. I'm sure there are others. We live in the upper Midwest so we want to vacation in warm locations.

What are the best resale sites to use? Looking for the most options and trust worthy.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

Try Timeshare Users Group. They have a very large classified section

tug2.com

Cheers and PS, Never buy retail.

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

Just focus on rentals for now.. Once you have more experience with different resorts and timeshare systems, you'll be better prepared to make a decision on what best fits your needs. Timeshare ownership is a long term commitment, with extended financial obligations. Right now it sounds to me like the salesweasel did a pretty good job of selling you on the "dream", although it appears he didn't close the sale as effectively as he did the imagination. Each develper system and even exchange program has specific strengths and weaknesses, so I think that your best choice is to not make any choice at all just yet. Go ahead and date around a bit before you jump into marriage..

And most importantly, spend quite a bit of time here reading the various threads about different timeshares, systems, and exchanges. Learn as much as possible so you understand both the positive and negative aspects of the industry. The key to timeshare happiness lies solely in your own personal usage and enjoyment- so you want to make sure that when you do purchase the ownership gives you the ability to maximize your family's personal usage!

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

What are the best resale sites to use? Looking for the most options and trust worthy.

I have used myresortnetwork and redweek to buy, sell and rent. You have to be careful regardless of who you buy from. Due diligence is important. Get a copy of the deed or contract. Get the seller's permission to verify that their account is up to date at the resort. Don't take their word for it, call the resort and find out what they need from the seller in order to provide that information to you. Also confirm with the resort that there are no pending or in progress special assessments.

Don't forget that besides the purchase price and the yearly maintenance fees, the exchange companies charge you yearly fees to join and for each transaction. Whatever you are paying per year to the resort, add 200 to 300+ to that for the exchange companies for one week for week exchange.