Would like to enter TS world, but...

[anderson245 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close anderson245]

Hi all, just when I think I have read enough to get educated, I decide to move in another direction. So much information and everyone is SO helpful. So I decided to just ask the questions instead of more searching.

My wife and I returned last week from Point at Poipu, which was offered to us last year by DRI after our presentation at KBC in Maui. I won't even tell you what DRI "offered" because you all know it is a joke. We ended up at a resale business in Koloa, looking into the Point at Poipu resales. One which intriqued us was a deeded float/float for $8500. Sounded good at the time, until I started reading this site when I got back home.

There are things we liked about the Point, but no beach and very high MF's. We travel quite a bit now, usually twice a year or so. We like the idea of trading and would probably return to Maui or Kauai every other year or so if we had the option.

I know people tend to keep good traders tightly guarded. But, given what I have said, does it make more sense for me to buy at the Point and pay a high MF and put up with DRI? Or, search out a good trader? We like the Point because it was supposedly a gold crown, and appears like it can be traded fairly easily for other gold crown properties. I know Hawaii is good trading at most times of year, but I am not opposed to buying somewhere close to me (Sonoma County, CA) and use it for trading if it makes financial sense.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

I have a SoCal coastal resort that I trade regularly for larger units Hawaii. MF's are far less than Hawaii. If you found a specific unit with a view you love at a specific resort and you wanted to go there the same week of the year each time you went, you should buy that. I wouldn't buy a float in Hawaii if just being in Hawaii is good enough for you (like it is for me). Exchange in and save yourself some dough every year.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Hi all, just when I think I have read enough to get educated, I decide to move in another direction. So much information and everyone is SO helpful. So I decided to just ask the questions instead of more searching..

You make that sound like a bad thing!!!

I greatly encourage you to just take your time, read threads and ask questions. At first all of the information will seem overwhelming, but over time it will sink. Like learning a new language it all seems overwhelming at first. But if you keep at it soon you master the basics, then you assimilate progressively more complicated stuff and if you keep at it soon you become conversant.

Just focus on learning about the different types of ownership there are, about the different places where timeshares are located and what the characteristics are for each type of location. Learn about the different resort and resort mini-systems.

As you keep at it soon you'll start to identify certain situations that look as if they would best fit your circumstances and interests. You'll learn where to go to look for the types of ownership that will work for you and you will get to a point where you can recognize a good deal for those resorts when you see it.

But the important thing is to not rush in and take your time.

******

Let me give you an example regarding waiting. Your post mentions ability to trade, the DRI system, and Hawaii as a good trading ownership. But DRI is a points system; it doesn't make any difference where you obtain your points since the points are fungible. The only thing that matters is how much you pay for the points, and what the annual fees are, and what your strategy is to get those points into the DRI Club (if you want them to be in the Club).

[anderson245 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close anderson245]

right you are

That is a very good point (no pun intended) regarding DRI points purchased elsewhere.

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

That is a very good point (no pun intended) regarding DRI points purchased elsewhere.

Since we're pointing....we could even credit... especially since you live in No. Cal. While you educate yourself-look in to Worldmark. A points (we call them credits) system. Tiered MF's based on the amount of credits you own. It supports short stays as well as week long.

Excellent trader but just as usuable within the system with about 60 resorts which are very heavy on the West Coast.

My thought process is that if the bottom ever fell out of trading...then I'd be just as happy traveling around the resorts themselves.

As with any timeshare or mini system-there is a learning curve-but once that is mastered-you are golden.

Hang around...read, read, read, ask questions and then wait for "your deal" it will come.

[anderson245 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close anderson245]

Worldmark? Really?

We have a Worldmark right down the road from me. I have to say, I am not to impressed with it. With that being said, if I bought there, what kind of trading power would it have against something like the Point at Poipu, a Marriott or something nice like that in Kauai?

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

We have a Worldmark right down the road from me. I have to say, I am not to impressed with it. With that being said, if I bought there, what kind of trading power would it have against something like the Point at Poipu, a Marriott or something nice like that in Kauai?

As I said previously, there is a huge learning curve...but I have used Worldmark to trade to Marriotts, Hyatts, Four Seasons, the Royal Resorts in Cancun...all considered "higher quality" than WM. Some of this is off season and some in what Interval International calls Flexchange (59 days before check in) but some is prime season as well.

Depends on your family situation. Do you have kids and are you tied to a school calendar OR could you travel "off" or "shoulder" season?

I understand where you going with the WM quality-it's certainly not Marriott quality but fairly solid in that your accomodations will be clean and comfortable. They also have some locations that no one else can claim (Bass Lake-near Yosemite, Monterey, Pismo Beach, Solvang) I'm not trying to sell you on it-just think it's worth considering..for both trading and using.

Which resort is near you? If it's Clear Lake-then I hear you...look beyond that.

[anderson245 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close anderson245]

Wyndham

No, we have a Worldmark in Windsor. And yes I have kids, but we are not necessarily attached to the school calendar. I have no qualms about pulling them for a much needed vacation. We did it this past spring for Disneyland.

I don't mind Worldmark, but the quality in Windsor is a bit low. But I suppose I can't complain about $1400 MF at the Point, then complain about lack of quality for one which as lower MF's.

The wife and I also have gone to Europe while the kids were in school. But after paying for a young lady to stay with our kids for 10 days, and the money we spent on vacation, it may be a while before we do that again. Hawaii and Mexico are tops on our list. My wife is TROPICAL all the way and be damned everything else. Sometimes I need a little culture (but not often).

I will have to keep reading and find my way. It is quite confusing, and even once you have a TS, it seems to be alot of work to get the trades (?). But I have learned alot in the week I have been reading here.

[anderson245 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close anderson245]

clarification

I did not mean to imply we own Worldmark, just that there is one in Windsor, where we live.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

You may want to look at a few options.

You can purchase an every other year unit say on Maui at the KBC ( so you would have it to use once every 2 years) then look at something to use for trading.
You need to decide what level of amenities you require, the higher the quality, the higher the cost both in the initial outlay and the annual fees.

A nice Hawaiian Marriott 2 bedroom annual unit can be bought for under 20K, with annual fees of around $1700, which will assure you of great quality
trips , but you can stay down the road at Lawai Beach in nice 2 bedroom for under $4k outlay plus around $900 per year.

Trading is a crap shoot, sometimes you score big, sometimes you get taken.

Many of us own multiple resorts/groups, giving us the option of using several trading companies. There are the big 2, RCI and II, them SFX, TPI, HTSE, DAE, Redweeks, etc. as each of these has their own area where they offer great selection and service.

A low cost entry to trading is Wyndham points or Worldmark, ( 2 different systems operated now by the same parent Wyndham/RCI/ Cendant corp.)

Take your time, read, ask questions, and in a few months you will come to an informed decision, then go ahead and make your 1st investment in this game we call timeshare.

jmho,

Greg

Hi all, just when I think I have read enough to get educated, I decide to move in another direction. So much information and everyone is SO helpful. So I decided to just ask the questions instead of more searching.

My wife and I returned last week from Point at Poipu, which was offered to us last year by DRI after our presentation at KBC in Maui. I won't even tell you what DRI "offered" because you all know it is a joke. We ended up at a resale business in Koloa, looking into the Point at Poipu resales. One which intriqued us was a deeded float/float for $8500. Sounded good at the time, until I started reading this site when I got back home.

There are things we liked about the Point, but no beach and very high MF's. We travel quite a bit now, usually twice a year or so. We like the idea of trading and would probably return to Maui or Kauai every other year or so if we had the option.

I know people tend to keep good traders tightly guarded. But, given what I have said, does it make more sense for me to buy at the Point and pay a high MF and put up with DRI? Or, search out a good trader? We like the Point because it was supposedly a gold crown, and appears like it can be traded fairly easily for other gold crown properties. I know Hawaii is good trading at most times of year, but I am not opposed to buying somewhere close to me (Sonoma County, CA) and use it for trading if it makes financial sense.