New to Forum - already seeking advice

[wmoor004 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wmoor004]

Hello everyone

After serving in the military for over twenty years, deploying and deploying, now is the time to enjoy the family. Last year, I went to Orlando Blue Green Resort courtesy of the presentation, and I must admit it was a bit too intense for me at that time. Well, it is that time again when my wife and I are planning our vacation. We are considering going back to BlueGreen Orlando, via the presentation, and I need some advice before I plan the vacation. I want to purchase the plan; I cannot remember the points. However, I think it was 20,000, but the cost was more than my mortgage. The presenter was willing to lower the price but I was unfamiliar with the (and I say this with reservations) tricks of the trade. Please assist me in making the best choice because I do not want to be taken advantage of by fast talkers. Honestly, this is my greatest fear, my disability may be a vehicle where the staff will take advantage of me whereas I will not get the best deal available. Thank you for your assistance in advance!

Go Army! Airborne!

[jackio Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close jackio]

Hello and welcome to Timeshareforums. And thank you for your service to our country. Retail timeshare salespeople will take advantage of anybody, whether they have a disability or not. I am not familiar with that resort, but there are many beautiful resorts in Orlando that can be had for absolutely free, with the sellers even paying closing costs and transfer fees. Please stick around and do some research. What you learn will save you thousands of dollars, and also you will lap earn ways to maximize use of whatever you choose to buy. The salespeople will tell you lies like you can rent your unit for enough money to pay your maintenance fees and then have enough left over to vacation on other people's money. This is highly unlikely in Orlando. Also it is not so easy to just exchange wherever you want, whenever you want. Please do not buy anything until you have taken advantage of the know that will be shared with you here.

[wmoor004 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wmoor004]

Thank you for the advice. Hopefully, I will get the chance to purchase something from the site. Again thank you very much.

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

Orlando is one of the worst places to own. There are over 100 resorts in the area and some of them are huge. Most of them are rather fancy and the maintenance fees are rather high. Orlando is a big draw for families , but after about 10 years the draw is gone. I would suggest buying elsewhere where resort units are low and demand exceeds the supply. Along with that, go for a low maintenance fee, a place you wouldn't mind going to often and good resort management. It will cost you another $ 174 or more to exchange for another week elsewhere, but it will probably still be cheaper than what that elsewhere property would cost you. Don't rush in, you can always rent until you find a great fit.

I have a 2 br. unit in early summer that costs me less than $ 500 a year. Last year I went there, but usually I bank it with II and exchange for something else. I get a bonus week exchange(off season) for a little over $ 200 when I deposit it. I have another week near the end of peak season that's a 2bd. lock-off that I bought last year and paid a total of under $ 100 for. It costs a little over $ 500 a year. If I don't use it and bank it with the exchange company I can bank it as 2 - 1br. units and get 2 exchanges for it (and probably a couple of bonus week to boot). Take your time and find a deal that fits what you want- now and 10-20 years from now.

If you go back to Bluegreen and the hard sell, just tell them that you can buy many Orlando area resorts on Ebay for under $ 100 dollars (and you can) and you can get timeshares free that you can trade into Orlando with.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

If you like to visit Orlando, you might want to look at Vacation Rentals on sites like Homeaway and Craigslist. A lot of the ads are timeshare owners trying to recover some of their maintenance fees.

Friends of our just rented a house on Homeaway, with a swimming pool and pet privileges, for 10 people and their dog, for just over $500. That's something you can't get timesharing for any price.

Why buy the cow?

http://orlando.craigslist.org/search/vac (1900 Listings)

https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-re...FZOBaQod0nwORQ (1080 Listings)

http://orlando.craigslist.org/vac/5390524177.html

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

look around for free packages, either here or there is a site on Facebook where owners give away their bluegreen point packages when they no longer use them; these are paid up someexpect transfer fee to be paid. from then on you would be responsible for maintenance fee. do some research before you purchase or accept anything.

[stan2u Member Find all posts View Profile Close stan2u]

Please do yourself a HUGE favor and do NOT go to the presentation. You can do much better on the resale market. MUCH!!! I strongly recommend you look at the TUG (Timeshare Users Group) classifieds at http://tug2.com/Home.aspx. Click on "timeshare Marketplace" and then "Florida - Gulf Coast / Orlando". There you will see everything in the Orlando area. For Bluegreen click on the "sort' button on the right and choose "resort name". When you see the sorted listing scroll down to Bluegreen. I just now did this and found seven listings -- the cheapest one for $1. And yes, the $1 one is just as good as the one for more than your house mortgage. Happy hunting -- don't waste any money you worked so hard to earn -- and thank you for your service to our country.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I agree, I would not recommend you go to another presentation. You can stay in Orlando almost anytime for very little money. There are a few exceptions like major holiday weeks, but not worth buying a timeshare there, especially from the developer. And if you really want to own a timeshare in Orlando, you can pick up a deed for next to nothing from an owner who it didn't work out for (there are many). Be sure to measure the annual maintenance fees against the price of renting. Check out this site for military personnel, these are unused timeshare weeks (extra inventory from RCI, a large timeshare exchange company) you can rent for as little at $299/week without having to buy or own anything: https://www.afvclub.com/search-resor...ations/orlando

[wmoor004 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wmoor004]

First of all, thank you very much for the advice!Secondly, the link that Glitter provided is awesome and the wife and I are planning our vacation right now. I do not think I could go to another presentation without trying to get an increase on my PTSD! LOL! If I have more questions, and I do, I would love to PM some of you in order to get a better understanding of using the classifieds and renting process.

I do apologize for so many question but this is new to me and I want to maximize familty time without sacrifice the budget. Thank you all!

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Our first and last tours were Orlando Wastegate, 20-or-so years apart. Very little changed in their pitch over the years. As sleazy and scammy both times.

The difference was in the last one, in the pre-talk when the dude was trying to prequalify us while we were gulping down our buffet breakfast and coffee, we answered honestly.

To the "Owning a timeshare saves a lot of money", we answered, "Well, we're staying at such-and-such until Saturday, for $39/night on Priceline." To the suggestion that owning at Wastegate, & II, beats anything else we could own, we answered, "You mean better than the 3-bedroom unit at Orange Lake we're checking into Saturday?"

I believe the next words the dude said was, "Sit here another 45 minutes, and then go get your Disney tickets." We didn't, and we did.

Good breakfast, though. I'm kinda hungry for link sausage, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and coffee. I love it when they ring the bell, and one of the salespeople stands up and tells the others to take such-and-such week in Unit so-and-so off the inventory sheet, because Elmer and Edith Schmidly from Guthrie Center are the proud new owners.

YMMV

[wmoor004 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wmoor004]

Our first and last tours were Orlando Wastegate, 20-or-so years apart. Very little changed in their pitch over the years. As sleazy and scammy both times. YMMV

My wife had us set up for Westegate - thats why I logged into the site! LOL!

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

Oh no ! It's really worse than JLB indicated. I've wanted to go back for a vengeance tour, but my wife says never again at Wastegate. If you happened to get MSNBC on TV look for the movie (short one) "the Queen of Versailles", it's about Mr.Seagull and wife who own CFI/Wastegate or what's left of it.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Oh no ! It's really worse than JLB indicated. I've wanted to go back for a vengeance tour, but my wife says never again at Wastegate. If you happened to get MSNBC on TV look for the movie (short one) "the Queen of Versailles", it's about Mr.Seagull and wife who own CFI/Wastegate or what's left of it.

Pigs really do fly.

DW says, "Wouldn't it be funny if their pants really were on fire?"



Wastegate (CFI) was our first three timeshares, long ago jettisoned, back when you could.

But I can't get away from them . . . I see them and theirs on a regular basis. Individually they are jersks, but as a group, say 100 at a time, I can't say what they are like here.

I know some nice youngins who have gone to work for them, and I just wish there was a way to let them know. But, that is something they will need to learn for themselves.

http://www.law360.com/articles/48367...5m-for-battery

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

http://www.law360.com/articles/48367...5m-for-battery

Wow!

In the bajillion times I have read that case, I have never noticed that Morgan and Morgan represented him in addition to his regular firm, Greenspoon Marder. Well, Morgan and Morgan is an extremely well-know Florida Law practice that is staunchly Democratic, with a former Democratic governor on their staff:

http://www.forthepeople.com/attorneys/charlie-crist/

& they were representing a person who would wind up telling his employees how to vote . . . Republican.

So, there really is no honor among timeshare people and attorneys, and whatever else they say that about.

[wmoor004 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wmoor004]

Wow!

In the bajillion times I have read that case, I have never noticed that Morgan and Morgan represented him in addition to his regular firm, Greenspoon Marder. Well, Morgan and Morgan is an extremely well-know Florida Law practice that is staunchly Democratic, with a former Democratic governor on their staff:

http://www.forthepeople.com/attorneys/charlie-crist/

& they were representing a person who would wind up telling his employees how to vote . . . Republican.

So, there really is no honor among timeshare people and attorneys, and whatever else they say that about.

This site is really proving to be beneficial!! I have been looking for 3 Bedrooms in Orlando - I enjoyed Bluegreen but I will not go on another tour. So at this point, I am still looking aroung the site for offers.