Newbie question about pricing

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

I am very new to this. Its myself, hubby and two kids. We want to purchase a timeshare in FL so we can visit there yearly (sept/oct/nov time)

I see them on Ebay for $100 with no closing costs... can that be so?

Also the maintence fees(on ebay they seem to run around $400-500), how and when are those paid?

If its a floating week how soon should I book it? Is it easy to get the week we want?

Lastly how do I know if I can trade it say for a week in the caribbean? If I do trade it for say 2008, what do I have for 2009? Would it be back to the one in FL I originally bought.. or?

Anything else I need to know before purchasing? Thank you!

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

I am very new to this. Its myself, hubby and two kids. We want to purchase a timeshare in FL so we can visit there yearly (sept/oct/nov time)
Welcome
I see them on Ebay for $100 with no closing costs... can that be so?
Yes
Also the maintence fees(on ebay they seem to run around $400-500), how and when are those paid?
You'll probably pay current year to closing company, then subsequent years to the resort/mamngement company around 1Jan every year
If its a floating week how soon should I book it? Is it easy to get the week we want?
As soon as their rules allow, rules vary by resort, on your eBay sale get the seller to book this year's now
Lastly how do I know if I can trade it say for a week in the caribbean? If I do trade it for say 2008, what do I have for 2009? Would it be back to the one in FL I originally bought.. or?
You don't know, it depends on the trading power of the week you ultimately depost. If you deposit a good week like a holiday/Spring Break you might have a chance of Sep/Oct/Nov in the Caribbean since that is slow time there.
2009 you have whatever you book at your resort or whatever you trade it for.
Anything else I need to know before purchasing? Thank you!
A lot. You need to read these forums for months before you buy.

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

Florida has more timeshares than any other state, so there are more resales available and prices, with some exceptions, are rather low. Orlando is probably the most overbuilt location in the world, with around 100 resorts and a few of the biggest in the world. Trading into Orlando is easy, and real easy in the fall timeframe, so you might reconsider buying there and buy somewhere closer to home where it would be easy to travel to on those years you do not want to travel long distance. Buying is something you should not rush into. Take plenty of time and investigate thoroughly and you will be happier.

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

To TS4M's!!!

As others have suggested, it is best to hang around here for a while, before purchasing a timeshare.

Florida is a very easy location to rent, even the 5 * resorts. So, I would be very careful before making a purchase. Some locations such as Sanibel, Captiva, Marco Island, and the Keys would be the exception to that rule. But, you need to be careful of hurricane season.

It is best to do your homework, and maybe even rent, before purchasing. Or, as Tony has suggested, buy closer to home, and trade into Florida.

[rklein01 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rklein01]

You may want to look into RCI points as well. That is, buy a week on Ebay whose previous owner paid to have a certain number of RCI points associated with the ownership.

You can own that property almost anywhere, if you're only buying it to use its points. You'll see that purchase prices vary widely, mainly tied to how many points you get and how expensive the particular property's maintenance is (since the week you own is the week you pay to maintain, even if you never use it).

You can browse the RCI Directory here. Click the "Resort Directory" tab and then the "advanced search" button. You could then see all the timeshares in Florida, for example, or a particular town in Florida, that participate in RCI.
Only those properties with a red "RCI Points" label participate in the RCI Points program, but almost all of them will be available 10 months before the date you want to use [I say 'almost' because owners in a particular property can book it 13 months ahead, so ultra-high demand weeks/properties can fill up before non-owners get the chance to book]. There are also quite a large number of RCI points-participating properties in the Caribbean - - maintenance there tends to be high so you'd pay extra to own there [which gets you the 13 month preference] or you could buy elsewhere and plan to reserve at the 10-month date.

I should add that RCI Points owners are also allowed to spend their points to reserve regular RCI Weeks properties, that is, all the properties in the RCI directory that don't have a red label. Availability on the "Weeks side" is hit-or-miss, depending on supply and demand, but RCI gives points owners quite good trading power on the weeks side, so if something is available you have a good chance of "seeing" it with your points.

It generally takes between 45,000 and 95,000 points to book a week (depending on season, size and location) so you'd want to buy in that range. You can also book less than a full week on the Points side at a proportionately cheaper price (something that's not possible in RCI outside of RCI points--although RCI points is not the only points-based system).

[zdxlc9p6 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zdxlc9p6]

By now Mominct is probably thinking it's easier to just book Holiday Inn and forget TS. Hang around, get some information, ask us lots of questions, and you will very pleased when you do decide what will work best for your family and make that purchase.

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

I agree with the other poster that if Orlando is your destination, you would do better purchasing somewhere else. I am able to see almost every Orlando resort, many even with Getaways, for less than maintenance fees for the Orlando resorts. Fall is an easy trade too, and we think it's the best time to be in FL b/c it's quiet and still nice weather. Hurricanes always scare me a bit though...but we've only been there once when there was a big hurricane!

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

One way to learn about the various resort chains and mini systems is to go to their presentations, BUT NOT TO BUY!!!

Ask a ton of questions, write down the answers, Say No, collect your gift, come here to tell us what Sales told you so truth can be sorted out.

If you rent a week somewhere in Fl and take in a few presentations, you'll get the gist of it, and maybe determine if you really do want to go to FL every year. Many mini-systems have plenty of FL resorts so you could essentially 'own' several within your network.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Good advice here to read, read, read, and ask lots of questions before you buy anything. Timeshares are VERY easy to buy and very, very hard to sell. Once you've bought it, you're essentially stuck with it; that's why you see them so cheap on re-sale. That said, we all love our timeshares, but there's a lot to learn before buying.

In order to trade your timeshare for another location, you'll need to belong to one of the big exchange companies. There's a yearly cost associated with belonging: $80.00 or so I think now. There's a fee for exchanging your week: domestic exchanges are....somebody help me here....$149.00? International exchanges are $189? My figures may not be right, but they are in the ball park. In addition, you'll have your maint. fees every year.

The posters who suggested you look at a timeshare somewhere else (with lower maint. fees) are correct about Orlando being a very easy exchange, but of course, there's the exchange fee to figure as part of it too.

Do you have children? Will you be able to take them out of school for fall weeks? Many states and school districts have rules which make it difficult, if not impossible, to take children out of school for extended periods of time. Many more states and districts are looking at similar rules.

There are rental outlets where you can rent timeshare weeks for very low amounts. If either of you happens to be employed by any governmental agency, you can rent weeks in Orlando in the fall for $249.00 for the entire week, and many times that's for a two bedroom unit. Weeks are auctioned off for rent on Airline Tickets, Cheap Hotels, Vacation Packages & Travel Deals

Take the excellent advice offered here and wait to learn about timesharing before you rush to buy.

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

I am new to timeshares. Just wondered if this offer is a good one.
61000 pts, $388 yearly maintenance fee, deeded for live, $5000.
What do you think?

TammyF . . . not sure what TS resort you are speaking of or who the 61k points are with. Tough to be "sure" in giving advice, but at first blush, I have to say $5,000 is probably too much as the low MF would indicate that ownership is a small type unit or useage.

More into would be helpful.

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

I am very new to this. Its myself, hubby and two kids. We want to purchase a timeshare in FL so we can visit there yearly (sept/oct/nov time)

I see them on Ebay for $100 with no closing costs... can that be so?...Lastly how do I know if I can trade it say for a week in the caribbean? If I do trade it for say 2008, what do I have for 2009? Would it be back to the one in FL I originally bought.. or?...

eBay seems to be the dumping ground for unwanted timeshares these days. There are companies that get timeshares in various ways (not necessarily very ethically) and sell them very cheaply. There are some good deals on eBay, but many of the timeshares there aren't worth owning, even if they are free.

Where in Florida do you want to go? That makes a big difference.

The Caribbean isn't a really easy place to trade into, at least not if you want the nicer islands, so you may want to own something with more "trade power" than most Florida resorts have.

I am new to timeshares. Just wondered if this offer is a good one.
61000 pts, $388 yearly maintenance fee, deeded for live, $5000.
What do you think?

If this is RCI Points, then the MF is good for the number of points, but the sales price is too high.

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

thanks for your prompt reply, Yvonne.
Actually, it is 68000 RCI points. I am looking for
points, not so much a particular location, because
we usually like to take vacations at various
locations for 5 nights or less,
so the flexibility of the points is really appealing.
However, I have seen 50000+ RCI points units for auction
on ebay,with bids under $100. $5000 seems too high just
to have an experienced broker handle it. Any thoughts?
Tammy

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Any thoughts?
Tammy

Pay more attention to the underline resort, week, and MF as if you never try to use RCI point side. MF now and in expect future usually determine the price more.

Jya-Ning

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

$5000 seems too high just to have an experienced broker handle it. Any thoughts?

Yes, $5,000 seems way too much to pay . . . and remember that an "experienced broker" may be experienced in ripping people off, too. Many of the broker types of operations are not viewed in very favorable light among longtime timeshare owners because of the less than ethical business practices they utilize to obtain sales listings and to ultimately sell a timeshare.

There are others here far more experienced than me in such matters, however, so I will defer to them to chime in. I will say that I have bought three timeshares via resale, my first being from a resale broker. And yes, I did pay a premium for that first one, more than it was worth. The last two I got for a song and didn't have any problems with non-broker type sales/purchases.

Good luck with it! You're in a good place to get plenty of help and advice

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

thanks for your prompt reply, Yvonne. Actually, it is 68000 RCI points. I am looking for points, not so much a particular location, because we usually like to take vacations at various locations for 5 nights or less, so the flexibility of the points is really appealing.

I'm actually thinking that a points based ownership program like FF/Wyndham or BlueGreen might be better based on what you are saying here. I'm not involved with either of those points programs, but there are plenty who are . . . including BocaBum (BlueGreen) and Jya-Ning & MShatty (FF/Wyndham). WorldMark might also be a viable choice although they are more west coast based, so maybe not.