At what point do MFs become untenable?

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

We own 3 timeshares. MFs ( and taxes) are $417, $420 & $450. We have a VRI resort and get 3 years at the price of 2 from RCI. Divided evenly between the 3 that is approx $17/year/week. A domestic exchange will cost $164 and an international exchange will cost $199.

Granted all 3 of them were purchased as foreclosures and after sales all 3 totaled cost less than $5k. They've paid for themselves. We could give them away and not feel any pain.

SO our exchanges with RCI are costing us a tad less than $100/night. In my opinion you can't stay in a motel 6 for that amount much less a 2 bedroom in Aruba or Hawaii or England or.....

So what is your personal breaking point? What is the cross-over for your family.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I like to use the nice round number of $700 for a 2 bedroom unit. So, the MF plus exchange fee must be less than that for me to seriously consider it.

It's not the MF that is becoming the problem. It is the exchange fee that is getting intolerable. $149 is my breaking point there. So, I won't be using RCI much anymore.

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

The breaking point is when you can find the location you want on the date you want at Sky Auctions-ready set go (an RCI rental) for less than your maintenance fee/exchange fee.

Daniel

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

I have three timeshares.....the MF's & taxes are about $800.00 on two, and $950.00 on the other.

All three of them get an AC each year, and two of them are lock-offs. So, I usually get 8 weeks per year. This year I deposited one with SFX, so I got nine.....bonus Mexico week.

Interestingly enough, I can usually exchange the larger portion of the lock-off for a 2 bedroom, and the smaller portion for a 1 bedroom, sometimes even a two.

I pay the various II membership fee along with the exchange fee. I have no idea how this breaks down cost wise. I do know that I always have more weeks than I can use. My husband needs to get more vacation time.....


Edited to add...I don't think I answered your question....Our cut-off point would be paying close to the cost of renting the same or similar units. I'm not sure there is an exact amount.

Also, if we could not get the exchanges we were looking for, that might be a cut-off point.

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

Daniel's post makes perfect financial sense; but as a person who loves to own timeshares, it doesn't register with my emotional sense.

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

I got rid of one week that was costing me $552 maintenance fee every year and did not get an AC from Interval. My other week at the same resort is a ski week 1, so I get that valuable AC, but the fees on that one are $504. My total is $504+$135+$299 (AC week)= 938 for two weeks. I usually go to Orlando with those weeks.

My other Colorado weeks are with RCI and work within the PFD system, if I want to use them that way, at a cost of one penny per point (45,500 points for MF of $440). I get great trades with those weeks with RCI ($440+149/164) and only use them as PFD when they rotate into the bluish/whitish times of September. I still get my points, but the funny thing is that my trade power is diminished by the season. Mansfield Country Resort in Australia is our points account and the cost is reasonable, less than $700 for 91,800 points per year. My exchanges at the last minute are pretty cheap! Hawaii is 9K points+$149/164 exchange fee. I see lots of Hawaii lately, I guess it is just that time of year.

All four Hawaii weeks have high maintenance fees. But I rent 'em out and exchange back in. This was quite by accident. I believed the Embassy and PAHIO salesmen when they told us it was hard to get to Hawaii. I insisted we buy our first two for guaranteed ability, but we haven't had to use them the last three years.

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

Why would you pay over $900 for two weeks in Orlando? An area woefully overstocked with two & three bedroom units. An example pulled from the net in about a one minute search.

Item No: 1171486 Buy this for $299
September Special.....All Taxes Included!!
7 Nights in a 2 BR Suite at Sheraton's Vistana Resort in Orlando, Florida near Disney!
Qty Available: 3
End Date: 7/30 5:30 PM EDT Min/Max Stay: 7 nights
Check in Dates: 9/8/06, 9/9/06, 9/10/06, 9/17/06, 9/22/06, 9/24/06

If you like Hawaii use that II week for a winner, for example

Marriott's Ko Olina • MKO
Kapolei , HI , USA
Resort Details & Photos

Sep 16 2006 - Sep 23 2006 e 2 4


Daniel

My total is $504+$135+$299 (AC week)= 938 for two weeks. I usually go to Orlando with those weeks.

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

The breaking point is when you can find the location you want on the date you want at Sky Auctions-ready set go (an RCI rental) for less than your maintenance fee/exchange fee.

Daniel

Worse, SkyAuction has recently started posting auctions of RCI inventory that have even lower prices than the Ready, Set, Go auctions. We're talking, say, $160 a week. And they throw in $100 of Gift Certificates for a restaurant. Check out their "Room and Board" or "Land and Seafood" auctions. These super-low-cost weeks have even more limited availability than Ready, Set, Go does. I suspect this is what has happened to all that Last call availability that has disappeared.

I generally am not a big fan of the "RCI rentals are killing timesharing" argument, but I do think RCI is ripping off owners by getting their weeks and then renting them out via SkyAuction.

Anyway, as to the original question, it really depends on the timeshare. I pay about $800 for my DVC points contract, which provides almost a week in a one bedroom in the lowest season, and think that's fine. On the other hand, my non-Disney weeks average about $350 a year in Mfs.

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

Breakdown of my Fairfield points

OK, this thread made me do some financial analysis of my Fairfield points.

I own 300,000 odd year points; 426,000 even year points. FF bills me for 363,000 points every year. My 2006 MF was $1066 plus the FSP program fee of $203, total $1269. With FF, the RCI annual membership fee is paid as part of the FSP program fee. In calculating the MF fee per week below, I include the FSP program fee portion.

With 300k points, I can realistically book depending on season and location:
2 to 3 weeks of 2BR: MF range of $634.50 to $423 per week or
4 to 6 weeks of 1BR: MF range of $317.25 to $211.50 per week

With the 426K points, I can realistically book depending on season and location:

2 to 4 weeks of 2BR: MF range of $634.50 to $317.25 per week or
6 to 8 weeks of 1BR: MF range of $211.50 to $158.62 per week.


No additional cost for booking the week within the FF resorts. If I deposit a week or points for exchange, the exchange fee would range from $164 (RCI) to $149 (SFX) or lower.

If I travel a lot, I have a very reasonable cost to stay at some very nice timeshare condominiums. If I don't travel a lot, a $1269 week for a 3 or 4 BR resort or a 2 to 3 BR in Hawaii is a deal that is hard to beat in my opinion.

My conclusion and recommendation: buy the best program you can with the lowest maintenance fees. I like the points program because of the flexibility it gives me to use the program as much or as little as I want.

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

My conclusion and recommendation: buy the best program you can with the lowest maintenance fees. I like the points program because of the flexibility it gives me to use the program as much or as little as I want.

You have the right idea but I dont think you see the full potential of the FF points. By keeping an eye on the bulk space banking (as reported here) I was able to take a (28,000 FF generic deposit) blue week and exchange to a two bedroom at Mona Loa Village.

Secondly why own (and pay the fee) on that many points every year? I maintain a 154k (even year) account with FF. When I wanted to use the four bedroom at Bonnett Creek (hard to find in a space bank ) I just rented the extra points from another FF account holder (there's plenty of people renting points at a rate lower than FF)

Daniel

[love2fly Member Find all posts View Profile Close love2fly]

How long is a piece of String?

There is no common answer here.

When I write the MF checks I consider what I get in return. If I could rent the same accomodation for less than my MF, it is time to sell.

So if you have a 2BD at a great resort and a tiger trader, then BocaBum's $700 is a bargain, but for others it may too high.

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

Daniel,

I do see all of the potential for the FF points. In my post, I just was doing a straight forward analysis of the points vs. maintenance fees for the points I own. There are many variables that can affect FF points and how you use them, including the RCI 28k deposits getting a great exchange with a bulk space deposit. Also, at the 300,000 level you get point discounts within 60 days. Your point is well taken that you can rent FF points from others.

The general going rate for renting FF points is $4.50 a 1,000 points. My MF and FSP fee is $3.496 a 1,000 points. If you can find points to rent for less, you're right. If you don't use 300,000 points in a year, you're right.

If you use more than 300,000 points, then I have some advantages with more ARP's and discounts.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

I think I have reached my breaking point, SA week now up to $550 and after exchange fee I am paying too much for what they are offering me, can't pull anything decent at all. My Lake of the Ozarks weeks are $485 each and I can rent them for less at the time of the year we can use them. Again, theya re not pulling anything decent. It just shocks me how a gold crown two bedroom red week can't pull a rated resort and only small units in an unrated resort.

[Ryne08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryne08]

The information on SkyAction is very interesting. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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

Most of my fees are in the $450 range, and are for tiger traders. A few of mine are $600, but those are for resorts that have 1 in 4 rules. I'm happy to pay $600 including the exchange fee for great exchanges with my $450 maintenance fee units.

PerryM's idea of having a timeshare portfolio makes a lot of sense to me. I would never pay a $600 maintenance fee if it wasn't for a specific purpose since I can get tiger trader units with fees much less than that.

Edye