New Members - Please Introduce Yourself!

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

Newbie

Hi my name is Jen, and I'm completely new to all of this.

My family of 5 can no longer make do in a tiny hotel room, and I'm trying to learn what I can by joining this site. I want to research as much as possible before I attend some presentation and sign on the dotted line somewhere..

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I attend some presentation and sign on the dotted line somewhere..

NO, NO
DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING THAT
Stick around here and learn. Never buy from a delveloper. You just saved $20,000. Hows that for a first lesson.

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

You seem to be on the right track. First, Frank is right when he says don't buy from the developer. Second, investigate thoroughly before buying by continuing your research. There was a fellow a few years ago that slightly drove us nuts with all the questions and concerns and finally after about 3 years he finally bought a resale timeshare. Though I made some humorous sarcastic comments along the way, his choice was good when he finally bought. Take your time and find a place where you want to go that is affiliated with an exchange company that has places where you want to go and try to buy someplace that you can rent out above the annual cost, should you not want to vacation for a couple of years.

Hi my name is Jen, and I'm completely new to all of this.

My family of 5 can no longer make do in a tiny hotel room, and I'm trying to learn what I can by joining this site. I want to research as much as possible before I attend some presentation and sign on the dotted line somewhere..

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

We just bought our first timeshare last month.
I found this board and just joined up to have yet another resource to help with our new purchase.
We bought at Embassy Poipu.
Al

[mary2899 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mary2899]

introduction

My name is Mary and I have been a TUG member for a couple of years. We own 2 timeshares, both bought resale. My in-laws introduced my DH and I to the benefits of timesharing and we have enjoyed our vacations thus far. We now own 2 weeks, one in NC and one in SC. They have both served us well. I recently began teaching so now our vacation time is limited to summer and holidays. This seems to be having an impact on our ability to trade. We are members of RCI and II. I will probably get out of RCI when our membership expires, because our second timeshare doesn't trade through them. I look forward to talking to everyone about their experiences.

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

Hi everyone,

I'm Angela, my husband and two wonderful children live in New York. My son is already in college, and my daughter will be starting this September. Knowing that we were going to become empty nesters, we decided to purchase some timeshares, and begin traveling.

We currently own at the Aruba Surf Club, Fairway Villas, and the Sheraton Plantation. However, we seem to have acquired the timeshare bug, and are planning on purchasing others.

I am thrilled to have learned of this wonderful site. We are looking forward to using, and trading our newly purchased timeshares. It will be great to have a place to come to and exchange vacation experiences as well as learn more about timeshares.

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

Just starting out

Hi,

I am new to the whole time share deal and looking to educate myself before I get sucked into a sales pitch. So can anyone tell me about Vacations International?

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

Nothing wrong with a sales pitch (except what they leave out and what they exaggerate)- just say no. Buy resale- get the same thing for much less money.

[wombat Member Find all posts View Profile Close wombat]

We've been in timesharing for nearly 15 years and have 2 timeshares, in Malaysia (where we live) and Florida. Have enjoyed our RCI exchanges in the US, Southeast Asia, Hungary etc. We are now focusing more on Europe, and have gotten exchanges into the South of France and Italy for next year.

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

Nothing wrong with a sales pitch (except what they leave out and what they exaggerate)- just say no. Buy resale- get the same thing for much less money.

Watch the ebay resales on the right side of most of our pages...

http://www.timeshareforums.com/main.php?page=ebay

That will give you a good idea what you can expect to BUY or SELL one for... get real comfortable with those prices BEFORE you ever sit in a sales presentation!

They will come at you every way under the sun and make you want to give them 400% more then what you can buy the same unit at resale for... But hey, these guys are salesmen and it's their job to make you want to give them several grand in commissions!

Really, use the eBay page built into the website to watch and understand the values!

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

former of TUG during early years

Hi

I am "dolores" from TUG -- never posted a lot, but have been around since the "olden" days of TUG. I am married to James -- both Federal retirees (love that early retirement clause ). We have 4 adult children.
On October 25, 2005, we became grandparents for the first time: twin boys.

We are part of the rare breed of folk who purchased to use -- Pelican resort in SXM (Sint Maarten, not St. Marteen). We have only exchanged to attend weddings, retirements, family reunions, etc. Because we have the lockouts, we still manage to return to SXM every year.

We first went to SXM for our anniversary. Have been owners since the beginning of the Pelican resort -- early 80's. We purchased 2 lockouts at that time -- just luck, we did not know the "value" of lockouts. Our kids have done a lot of exchanging w/the lockout portion we deposit. Did NOT pay developer prices -- I guess we purchased on a day when the salesperson had made her quota for the month.

When I joined up with the TTOL folk (SXM fanatics), I stopped going to the TUG site on a regular basis. I have been lurking here for several months, and finally decided to join -- afterall, the price is right.

Speaking of "olden" days, do any of you remember when "Timeos" used to record the transcripts of the weekly chat? (and send them to you, FOR FREE) .
Or, when Marty would send a tourist package to anyone who requested it (for FREE). Or Lindy, who singlehandedly upset quite a few Tuggers.

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

I missed Lindy, but remember the rest. You must have had some agitating days back when the Pelican had major problems including the intervention of the now imprisoned Donald Gonsky. How do you like the newish Royal management ?

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

Royals and Pelican

I am pleased that the Royals "came to the rescue." But I do have a problem with the fact they have "stacked" the HOA with their picks (afterall, a 4300 bloc of votes can select whomever they choose). Somehow, I thought they were simply to manage the resort, not take over.

I have not talked to many who are excited about the building of more units. Pelican is large enough -- Yet, Royal has pushed this through, and building is underway. Think about it, we once "owned" (were a part of ) the Atrium, Royal Palm, Flamingo, and LaVista. And, Pelican was too large to manage then.

We appear to be right back where we started with the owners having no say.


I will now step down from MY soapbox.

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

Hello, my name is Laura. My husband and I first attended one of those high pressure timeshare sales presentations in 1995 on Maui. It was horrible... the sales rep accused me of lying when I mentioned my cousin lived on Maui, stating that we never would have been invited to the presentation if that were true. Well, it WAS true. And the units they were selling weren't even on Maui, they were on the Big Island. If you paid some $, they'd fly you over to check them out in person. Little did that jerk know, the Big Island was our next stop on our itinerary, and the units were right next to our hotel there.

This experience turned us off until 1998. We were vacationing in St. John and for whatever reason, signed up for their presentation. We bought, yes at developer prices, but it's all good. It's turned into a great investment for us. We have a great 2 br unit with a beautiful view of Greater Cruz Bay.

Looking forward to learning much from you folks!

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

hello...I'm Greg, live in Mississippi and been timesharing for about 4 years..my wife Kay and I love to travel and try to get away as much as possible....I enjoy looking for timeshare deals on the internet and have purchased quite a few lately, thinking i might be able to rent out the ones I don't use ....haven"t had much luck but enjoy doing it....am in the process of fixing up my own website to help to help renting out ....any comments or advice would be appreciated....trying to learn as much as possible about timesharing and look forward to being part of the discussions. am especially interested in fairfield points even though i have quite a few weeks also....thanks for any advice and comments you may give....