Inherited 2500 Diamond Resort Points

[BobF41 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BobF41]

Help! We have inherited 2500 points from a Diamond Resorts timeshare, and I am having a difficult time finding out what exactly that means. I know this originally came from Sunterra, was purchased for over $8,000, but know little else.

The folks at Diamond Resorts simply told me on the phone that there should be a book that has all the point information, I will look but am also requesting they send me one. The timeshare is paid in full, save the fees for this year.

Can anyone clue me in on the market value, give me advice on selling (ebay, TUG, Redweek) or possibly different contact info.

I am also wondering if it is too late to reclaim lost points from last year given extenuating circumstances, as my father-in-laws health prevented him from saving points and he shared zero information with us on the timeshares he owned.

Thank you!

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

Help! We have inherited 2500 points from a Diamond Resorts timeshare, and I am having a difficult time finding out what exactly that means. I know this originally came from Sunterra, was purchased for over $8,000, but know little else.

The folks at Diamond Resorts simply told me on the phone that there should be a book that has all the point information, I will look but am also requesting they send me one. The timeshare is paid in full, save the fees for this year.

Can anyone clue me in on the market value, give me advice on selling (ebay, TUG, Redweek) or possibly different contact info.

I am also wondering if it is too late to reclaim lost points from last year given extenuating circumstances, as my father-in-laws health prevented him from saving points and he shared zero information with us on the timeshares he owned.

Thank you!

First, you DON'T have to accept and inheritence if you don't want it. If the estate is not settled. There should be options such as having the estate sell it off.

The resale value of this will likely be less than the fee's you'll have to pay depending upon which resort the points are at and if they're trust points or just club points. If they're just club points, the only thing you can transfer is the title associated with the points. For instance, if you FIL owned a studio unit as XYZ resort in the DRI family, you'll be selling the studio unit and no the points. However, if your FIL owned DRI trust points, then you'll sell the points.

You can look your FIL's resort up on E-bay and see what it or similar resorts are selling for. Sometimes you can do an E-bay search under the resorts name. Other times you'll have to search the area it's in (ie: Branson Timeshares, Las Vegas Timeshares, Daytona Beech Timeshares) to find the auctions. You can also search sites like Redweek.com to see what others asking price for units at this resort. Keep in mind asking price and selling price can vary a great deal. This site and TUG2.net also have classified adds for timeshares for sale or rent that can give you an idea to it's value.

Rest assured you won't get close to the original developer price of $8,000. The unit is more likely worth only a few hundred dollars, if even that, depending upon the resort, the size unit and the season or week owned. IMO, you'd probably be better off telling the estate to keep the unit and leave your name off the title. Timeshare's have ongoing yearly MF's that must be paid. If it's in your name, you're responsible. For last years fee's the estate should be responsible (those fee's were incured BEFORE you took accepted possesion). IF this isn't something you're going to use then you're essentially accepting a liability. If you put it in your name, decide you don't want it and then quit paying the yearly MF's, they can put the unpaid fee's as a bad debt on your credit report and damage your credit. This is NOT something to take lightly. Before accepting the inheritance, you must do more research. That is assuming the estate has not been closed by probate.

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

Help! We have inherited 2500 points from a Diamond Resorts timeshare, and I am having a difficult time finding out what exactly that means. I know this originally came from Sunterra, was purchased for over $8,000, but know little else.

The folks at Diamond Resorts simply told me on the phone that there should be a book that has all the point information, I will look but am also requesting they send me one. The timeshare is paid in full, save the fees for this year.

Can anyone clue me in on the market value, give me advice on selling (ebay, TUG, Redweek) or possibly different contact info.

I am also wondering if it is too late to reclaim lost points from last year given extenuating circumstances, as my father-in-laws health prevented him from saving points and he shared zero information with us on the timeshares he owned.

Thank you!

Your extenuating circumstances is not an excuse, sure, they can't take away your birthday for asking but, to me, asking for those points is a bit much. If you read all the stickies at the top of this forum you'll probably find Stephen Cloobeck's email address or 'search' on his name and you'll find it, May as well go to the top.

Also if you'd read the stickies at the top of this forum you'd know that some nice moderator had offered to send anyone the catalog materials you are missing.

While you don't have to accept the inheretence, if it's part of the estate, the estate must somehow settle it. You can't pick and choose from what was left.

[BobF41 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BobF41]

Your extenuating circumstances is not an excuse, sure, they can't take away your birthday for asking but, to me, asking for those points is a bit much. If you read all the stickies at the top of this forum you'll probably find Stephen Cloobeck's email address or 'search' on his name and you'll find it, May as well go to the top.

Also if you'd read the stickies at the top of this forum you'd know that some nice moderator had offered to send anyone the catalog materials you are missing.

While you don't have to accept the inheretence, if it's part of the estate, the estate must somehow settle it. You can't pick and choose from what was left.

Spence, thank you I did see that offer from the "nice moderator" but that seemed much to ask when I should be able to have Diamond provide this.

Since this is points, my assumption is that it is not tied to a resort, and thus would be worth more than a few hundred dollars stated in the prior post.

As it is paid for, with the exception of the annual fees, was NEVER used, as the illness came about shortly after he purchased, I'd hate to see this be summarily dismissed on our part. Quite frankly I assumed it would be worth 50% of what he paid, not 10%.

I will do more research and contact Mr. Cloobeck as well.

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

Spence, thank you I did see that offer from the "nice moderator" but that seemed much to ask when I should be able to have Diamond provide this.

Since this is points, my assumption is that it is not tied to a resort, and thus would be worth more than a few hundred dollars stated in the prior post.

As it is paid for, with the exception of the annual fees, was NEVER used, as the illness came about shortly after he purchased, I'd hate to see this be summarily dismissed on our part. Quite frankly I assumed it would be worth 50% of what he paid, not 10%.

I will do more research and contact Mr. Cloobeck as well.

If it's trust points it should be worth more. However, don't fall into the trap that many people fall into. That is thinking it's worth anywhere near what was paid for it. Developer pricing is greatly over inflated as they must cover the cost of construction, marketing and sales. Resale prices at their best are typically 25% to 50% of developer pricing IF (and that's a big if) you have something someone really wants. In my experience that's a rarity.

Spence does some buying and selling and could give you a more reasonable estimate of the value of 2,500 points but, I fear you'll find they're more likely worth a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand dollars.

Here's a link to two auctions ending in a few hours. Current bid for 10,000 trust points is in the $200 range. The second is in the $500 range for 6,000 trust points. Those figures will probably go up quickly when the auction is about to bid since serious bidders jump in at the last second. Watch it and see if you still think your points are going to be worth more than a few hundred dollars.

GOLD CROWN Club SUNTERRA Sun Options POINTS Timeshare - eBay (item 320241263668 end time Apr-24-08 17:00:00 PDT)

GOLD CROWN Club SUNTERRA Sun Options POINTS Timeshare - eBay (item 320241263724 end time Apr-24-08 17:10:00 PDT)

[BobF41 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BobF41]

If it's trust points it should be worth more. However, don't fall into the trap that many people fall into. That is thinking it's worth anywhere near what was paid for it. Developer pricing is greatly over inflated as they must cover the cost of construction, marketing and sales. Resale prices at their best are typically 25% to 50% of developer pricing IF (and that's a big if) you have something someone really wants. In my experience that's a rarity.

Spence does some buying and selling and could give you a more reasonable estimate of the value of 2,500 points but, I fear you'll find they're more likely worth a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand dollars.

Here's a link to two auctions ending in a few hours. Current bid for 10,000 trust points is in the $200 range. The second is in the $500 range for 6,000 trust points. Those figures will probably go up quickly when the auction is about to bid since serious bidders jump in at the last second. Watch it and see if you still think your points are going to be worth more than a few hundred dollars.

GOLD CROWN Club SUNTERRA Sun Options POINTS Timeshare - eBay (item 320241263668 end time Apr-24-08 17:00:00 PDT)

GOLD CROWN Club SUNTERRA Sun Options POINTS Timeshare - eBay (item 320241263724 end time Apr-24-08 17:10:00 PDT)

WOW! This in many ways is akin to stealing. Pay $8,000 for points that are worth seemingly less than maintenance fees. And your annual fees could be used to stay at any resort of your choice. I know many people who own timeshares, some with Disney, others at resorts, none with Sunterra/Diamond International. Believe me was not thinking that this would be anything substantial, figured 50% plus paying other fees, did not expect it to be worthless. I have no idea whether the points are trust points, just trying to find out exactly what we have.

Thanks for the info.

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

The most common would be 2500 points in the CSV-1 Trust.

A general way of figuring the value of CSV-1 Points is 20 cents a point max - and that would include closing costs. Therefore, 2500 points is worth a max of $500 to someone.

Understand also that 2500 points gets you almost nothing. A 1BR unit for a week perhaps. In any event, 2500 points is so small, as to also make it difficult to sell. Ebay resellers want around $500 just to sell it!

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

WOW! This in many ways is akin to stealing. Pay $8,000 for points that are worth seemingly less than maintenance fees. And your annual fees could be used to stay at any resort of your choice. I know many people who own timeshares, some with Disney, others at resorts, none with Sunterra/Diamond International. Believe me was not thinking that this would be anything substantial, figured 50% plus paying other fees, did not expect it to be worthless. I have no idea whether the points are trust points, just trying to find out exactly what we have.

Thanks for the info.

One of the major complaints about timeshare is how the saleman present it with nothing of what was said in the presentation in writing. Often they show you the grandest units, pesent that price, are rebuffed then sell a prospect the minimum package, which is what you have now.

Many people find out to late that the resale value is worth very little or, that they could have purchased the same thing they paid thousands for at pennies on the dollar rates via the resale market.

I'm not trying to scare you but, I want you to have a firm understanding of the value you're about to take on as well as the expense. If this is something you're going to use, then you've recieved your first 2,500 points at the lowest monetary point as possible. However, it's not going to get you much unless you're willing to travel last minute (less than 59 days) or you're willing to buy more points via the resale market. You just watched to good sized contracts pass by for very little money. You could have purchased one of those, added to the 2,500 points your now own (assuming their trust based points) and vacationed rather well through DRI's internal exchange program.

If they are not trust based points and because you inherited them from family, you should not have to pay a joiner fee to join DRI's internal exchange program call THE Club. You will, of course, have to put the account in good standing by catching up any back fee's that are due.

You've come to the correct place to learn about DRI and timesharing in general. Spence is probably the most knowledgable and well connect member of any timeshare forum for information about DRI in the U.S. He and the rest of us should be able to help you understand and learn how to use your points or, sell or rent them if that's your desire.

BTW, be sure to check out the winning bids after the auctions are over. Prices don't really move until a few minutes before the end of the auction and should be somewhat higher than what they are right now. The one that was sitting at $200 is up over $600. I suspect they'll be in that 20 cent per point range by the time the auction is done but, also keep in mind that these are point totals that will actually get you a decent unit.

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

2500 FREE points is worth using! OP needs to know that their market value is nil. Salesmen should never be allowed to sell such a small contract except for upgrades.

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

did not expect it to be worthless.

The vast majority of timeshares are exactly that. That is, measured by the sales price.

There is significantly more value in some, though, than the market price might indicate. An educated timeshare owner stands to do well with very inexpensive ownerships, but it takes some time to "learn the system."

If you want to just wash your hands of this, I'm not sure I'd blame you. But, if you have some time on your hands to learn, you might be surprised what you can do with this.

[BobF41 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BobF41]

The vast majority of timeshares are exactly that. That is, measured by the sales price.

There is significantly more value in some, though, than the market price might indicate. An educated timeshare owner stands to do well with very inexpensive ownerships, but it takes some time to "learn the system."

If you want to just wash your hands of this, I'm not sure I'd blame you. But, if you have some time on your hands to learn, you might be surprised what you can do with this.

Well I did come to the right place. At this point it does not seem to serve my interest to pay the $600 maintenance fee to keep the 2500 points. Our vacation plans revolve around two things, a second home a hundred yards from the beach in Florida that my family owns, and then traveling to national parks. That has involved being in one place, like Glacier NP for 3 days and then traveling to Yellowstone for 3 days and on to Jackson Hole.

At this point in our lives I can't see the value, and with 2 kids in college next year frankly can't afford the expense.

Thank you all, I'll continue to monitor these threads for advice. My father-in-law also owned a timeshare in Bar Harbor, ME at Harbor Ridge that I am hoping to sell using there resale office. It was for a week every other year in April, not exactly prime time in Maine unless you like mud, rain and black flies!

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

Well I did come to the right place. At this point it does not seem to serve my interest to pay the $600 maintenance fee to keep the 2500 points. Our vacation plans revolve around two things, a second home a hundred yards from the beach in Florida that my family owns, and then traveling to national parks. That has involved being in one place, like Glacier NP for 3 days and then traveling to Yellowstone for 3 days and on to Jackson Hole.

At this point in our lives I can't see the value, and with 2 kids in college next year frankly can't afford the expense.

Thank you all, I'll continue to monitor these threads for advice. My father-in-law also owned a timeshare in Bar Harbor, ME at Harbor Ridge that I am hoping to sell using there resale office. It was for a week every other year in April, not exactly prime time in Maine unless you like mud, rain and black flies!

Have you put the points in your name? If so, then not paying the points will generate a collection action and, if you still refuse to pay the MF's, it can damage your credit rating as an uncollectable debt. This is why I initially urged you NOT to accept this inheritance. When you accepted it, you also accepted the responsibility that goes along with it. That is a collection of owners paying MF's for the good of all owners. It's much like condo's association fee's if you own a condo. Those fee's are based on every owner paying their fare share.

If you have not put the points in your name, then it is still the estates responsiblity. This is a valid and collectable debt. Ignore it at your own peril!

Again, this is another complaint people who don't understand timeshares. The are NOT something you just walk away from. HOA's, not the developer, are responsible for setting maintenance fee's for the resort and collecting them. Of course many HOA's are the developer but, that's another story. If you are the owner of a timeshare, you are an owner in a cooperative interest in the maintenance of that resort and your are responsible for the MF's of that resort. They do not care about extrenuating circumstances or that the points were given to you for free. All they care about is collecting enough money to pay the debts of that resort.

HOA's are also NOT sales offices. They can not just take back a timeshare, say "Oh well," and then try to sell it. Selling a timesahare isthe OWNERS (your) resonsiblity.

This is one of the reasons why my first post was meant to be alarming. You needed to take time before accepting this property into your name. The responsiblity for fee's is an ongoing obligation. Depending on the laws of the state you may or may not be responsible for fee's generated before you accepted (assuming you have accepted) the inheritence. At any rate, this should be sorted out by a compitiant probate lawyer.

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

At this point it does not seem to serve my interest to pay the $600 maintenance fee to keep the 2500 points.

Then you have a couple of options. You could put it on ebay, starting at $1, with no reserve, and see where it goes. That will take a little work, and may not be worth it. You could donate it to a charity; that's about as easy as it gets. Or, you could try to list it with a reseller---also a little work as you have to identify a marketable price. Whatever you do, though, do not pay anyone more than a token fee up-front (comparable to what a classified ad might cost) to help you sell this.

[BobF41 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BobF41]

Have you put the points in your name? If so, then not paying the points will generate a collection action and, if you still refuse to pay the MF's, it can damage your credit rating as an uncollectable debt. This is why I initially urged you NOT to accept this inheritance. When you accepted it, you also accepted the responsibility that goes along with it. That is a collection of owners paying MF's for the good of all owners. It's much like condo's association fee's if you own a condo. Those fee's are based on every owner paying their fare share.

If you have not put the points in your name, then it is still the estates responsiblity. This is a valid and collectable debt. Ignore it at your own peril!

Again, this is another complaint people who don't understand timeshares. The are NOT something you just walk away from. HOA's, not the developer, are responsible for setting maintenance fee's for the resort and collecting them. Of course many HOA's are the developer but, that's another story. If you are the owner of a timeshare, you are an owner in a cooperative interest in the maintenance of that resort and your are responsible for the MF's of that resort. They do not care about extrenuating circumstances or that the points were given to you for free. All they care about is collecting enough money to pay the debts of that resort.

No concern on this one, we have not put anything in our name! Credit card companies have asked us to provide our phone number as well and I simply tell them that I am calling to inform them of the death of a customer and aside from the death certificate there is no need for them to have any of our personal info. That will be the case on the timeshare as well. They won't have our address.

I assume the fees are for this year, a year in which their customer passed away, never used his points last year. They should be content in that. As far as paying fees I'll put them below the credit card companies, and since this estate will not end up paying us a dime when all is said and done, I am hopeful they won't see one either.

I guess my original post should have stated, we have the opportunity to inherit, since we do have a choice in the matter.

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

No concern on this one, we have not put anything in our name! Credit card companies have asked us to provide our phone number as well and I simply tell them that I am calling to inform them of the death of a customer and aside from the death certificate there is no need for them to have any of our personal info. That will be the case on the timeshare as well. They won't have our address.

I assume the fees are for this year, a year in which their customer passed away, never used his points last year. They should be content in that. As far as paying fees I'll put them below the credit card companies, and since this estate will not end up paying us a dime when all is said and done, I am hopeful they won't see one either.

I guess my original post should have stated, we have the opportunity to inherit, since we do have a choice in the matter.

Glad to here it. Generally, when people come here to learn about timeshare it's after the fact and not before the transaction has been made.