Why would I want to buy when I can rent?

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

My apologies for the confusion. The devil is in the details and there are 2 details that you are missing. More on this later as I don't have time right now for a full response. The bottom line is that you need to learn a lot of the details of how exchange companies work before employing your strategy.

Here are the two missing points.

Point 1: Palm Aire is a terrible place to own. It has among the highest maintenance fees and taxes in the whole Wyndham system. It is cheaper to rent points from another owner than to own at that particular resort.

Point 2: Wyndham is only good for trading back into Wyndham. If you want to go anywhere else, there are dozens of FAR SUPERIOR and CHEAPER ownerships.

BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT BUY at Palm Aire.

Actually, if you buy an UDI at Palm Aire, it is one of the better than average MF in Wyn: $4.00/1000 points plus the FSP fee.

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

Does that include the real estate taxes?

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

Does that include the real estate taxes?

No, good point. I forgot about that. That probably adds another $.50 or so. So now the MF and FSP are edging up quite a bit, now just average MF category. You can find much better deals on MF.

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

YIKES! I bet that innocent original post had no clue what a can of worms it would open.

I just read through this thread again. Trying to view it a newbie to timeshare as opposed to knowledgable enough to be truly dangerous.

If the OP is for real and I believe that he/she is, this is a whirlwind of information that has to have caused at least a migraine already. Timeshares are complicated products and the OP has gotten very informative answers. Nevermind that we haven't even broached any points systems yet in any of the 31 available flavors.

The stated short term goal is beach, september-ish, carolinas, $600 all in per annum; not counting up-front purchase cost which must itself be inexpensive and cost effective.

Which systems accomplish those ends best?

With young children the OP also has to look forward to a change in usage so the system needs to be able to change, or be added on to, going forward.

A thought, is a points lease programs such as the one opkansas has. I'm sure there are others of that ilk available. A trial but no skin in the game approach might also serve this purpose?

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

I'm guessing that a fixed week would be the best bet, with an eye to selling it and buying something stronger when September is no longer viable.

Wyndham is a bit outside the range. September is still Prime or High season in Wyndham for beach resorts for the most part---a 2BR is going to take 154K minimum (at Westwinds or Edisto), and at $4.5-$5/K, that's $700 and up. You could do a 1BR for 600, but not a 2BR.

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

The stated short term goal is beach, september-ish, carolinas, $600 all in per annum; not counting up-front purchase cost which must itself be inexpensive and cost effective.

Which systems accomplish those ends best?

I do want to add that I'm homeschooling my children, so when my kids become school age, I'll won't need something "better", maybe just a little bigger as I already have 4 kids!

I know I'm on a real limited budget, but hey what do you expect with 4 kids! I tried to get my budget across to the sales guy at Wyndam, and his first offer of $900/month to buy their timeshare somehow was supposed to fit my needs! I'm hoping ya'll can do a little better

I just want to know if I can buy a timeshare with these limited funds, and if so what flavor of timeshare could I possibly do it with. If it's not possible, tell me, renting is definitely an option!

Thanks for the wealth of advice already, I'm trying to digest as much as I can, but some of it is hard to understand without any real experience.

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

I'm guessing that a fixed week would be the best bet, with an eye to selling it and buying something stronger when September is no longer viable.

Wyndham is a bit outside the range. September is still Prime or High season in Wyndham for beach resorts for the most part---a 2BR is going to take 154K minimum (at Westwinds or Edisto), and at $4.5-$5/K, that's $700 and up. You could do a 1BR for 600, but not a 2BR.

There's an ad on here for a Tiger RCI Trader for $2k but the MF + Taxes are $540/year. So although it would trade for anything available in RCI weeks the annual costs are higher than the $600 max, once the exchange fee and annual membership is added in.

Pity as that would be a nice hold on to week that would work well for years to come and I know the seller is straight arrow.

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

Even homeschooling, eventually there are often sports and other activities that make traveling during school sessions complicated.

Edited: sorry, I meant a fixed week that OP would use. A September week beachfront in MB or OBX might be doable for a song.

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

Even homeschooling, eventually there are often sports and other activities that make traveling during school sessions complicated.

Edited: sorry, I meant a fixed week that OP would use. A September week beachfront in MB or OBX might be doable for a song.

True! I hadn't thought of that. Good Idea Brian. It would trade into places like Orlando, WBurg, Branson, etc pretty easily for a change of scenery as well.

What are typical MFs for 2BDRMs in that area?

FWIW I'm on a budget with ONE kid.

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

How about these. Mike is giving them away free but you'd have to take both. Timeframes are right. Maintenance is very reasonable for 2 bedrooms.

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...tml#post250825

If you are going to use them...

[Jim McLaren Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jim McLaren]

I think with some careful shopping you can find an inexpensive week that will exchange with several of the independent exchange companies. I also think if you could get your budget up another $100 or so that would open up many more possibilities.

We've been pretty happy with our Hilton Head Island (HHI) TS and just have a MF of $565. If you joined SFX at gold level you wouldn't have a membership fee. All you would have to pay is exchange fees if you ever exchange. Most of the independent exchange companies have free or low cost membership levels. I think they can all get you into Orlando. Our all in price (Purchase price, closing costs, resort transfer fee, etc) was $1660 for summer in HHI. Although that same week & resort just sold for $2550 on ebay last week. You never know. We shopped for a year before we bought that. We didn't get a particularly good deal but it was the resort we wanted.

The hardest part for you may be coming up with the cash to buy. Like others have said, do not buy a dog week. It's a lot easier to buy than to sell a TS. You might not even be able to give it away.