Disgruntled BlueGreen Owner

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

Better to use them on hot weeks or white weeks on the calendar.

If you like hot weeks you might like RCI's Last Call option. With Bluegreen, you're an RCI member whether you want to be or not, and a week in a two bedroom for under $300 isn't a bad deal. There may be considerable overlap between Hot Weeks and Last Call options, but I'm guessing Last Call gives you more possibilities just because you have longer to make the reservation.

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

Thanks for the responses everyone. I think it's time to move on to make the most of what I have. Actually, we have had 3 nice vacations and one that wasn't so nice (just because they put us in an older room at one of the resorts).

I'll check out the other links and see how to do better. With only 9000 points, I've decided it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to use them at spring break- I can't stay in Florida for a whole week on 9000. Better to use them on hot weeks or white weeks on the calendar.

I was thinking I could buy more cheap points from a reseller and book vacations for my friends and parents. That might pay for my maintenance fees.

How do I get value out of Traveler's Plus? Is there a forum for that?

Always check the room first thing and if it's run down call the front desk and state that the room is not acceptable and ask to be moved.

If you buy cheap points just make sure they are in the same trust that you already own. If not, your maintenance fees could be several hundred higher than they should be.

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

Buying Points on Secondary Market

When you are buying points through a secondary market, how do you know which trust they are in.

I know all my points are in Trust Fund E but not sure how you know about those on line or belonging to a friend.

Thanks.

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

My wife and I bought 9000 points thinking it would be a good deal. About 3 years ago, it cost us $17000. We figured if we kept it a long time, we were going to spend the money anyway. However, I didn't count on maintenance fees and dues being $850 per year. Anyway, it's water under the bridge and I chalk it up to a bad decision.

Anyway, now that we're in, it looks like there's no way out. I can afford the fees, but some day I'd really like my money back. From what I've read, it looks like it's not possible to cancel or sell, except at a very low price. Once you're in, you're stuck. Am I missing anything?

It still surprises me that anyone would buy a timeshare at such a high price when they are giving them away on e-bay and others like me trying not to pay to give them away! I have a Bluegreen 2 BDRM Villa at Christmas Mt. in the WI Dells and no one wants it! I tried to give it back to Bluegreen and from what I got, they don't care if I use it, they are just interested in collecting MF and special assessments! It got me started on thinking that I should start a company and start accepting these free timeshares, have someone transfer the titles, and then get a salesforce to undercut(by alot) all these companies getting the outrageous prices for timeshares. I'm too old, but there must be some young entrepenuers out there with the moxey to start something like this! Get them for a $300-600 transfer fee and pay someone a commission to sell them for say $3000-5000??

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

It still surprises me that anyone would buy a timeshare at such a high price when they are giving them away on e-bay and others like me trying not to pay to give them away! I have a Bluegreen 2 BDRM Villa at Christmas Mt. in the WI Dells and no one wants it!

Did you buy it resale? If not, why does it surprise you people pay such a high price when they're giving them away?

We bought resale, but we're the "learn by research" type. Most people seem to be the "learn by doing" type, and if you're that kind of personality, timeshares can teach a harsh lesson. But, for some people, it ends up being a good lesson - they learn both to not rush into a "now or never" kind of deal, AND how to make the best of something that wasn't exactly what it expected. Not always possible, but a good thing when it happens.

[stevec Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevec]

They should kill the resale market

Then the timeshare would be worth something

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

If you can't sell the timeshare it'd be worth something? How does that work?

[stevec Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevec]

If you can't sell the timeshare it'd be worth something? How does that work?

If Bluegreen bought back or the only option to get into the resorts was to buy from them or maybe licenced resellers.
it might stop the bottom falling out of the market.
But hey as long as they get the MF every year does it matter ?

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

I'm afraid you may not have actually thought that one all the way through!

They should kill the resale market

Then the timeshare would be worth something

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

If Bluegreen bought back or the only option to get into the resorts was to buy from them or maybe licenced resellers.
it might stop the bottom falling out of the market.

Disney tried that, with the financial backing of the Disney corporation, but apparently it's not working real well since DVC resales are getting cheaper while DVC direct prices keep going up. Protecting "the Disney name" may be important, but financial realities can't be ignored.

Do you also expect the banks who gave out loans to people before the bubble burst to buy back the houses at the same price if people want to bail? Do you buy your cars new, and does it bother you that just driving it off the lot it drops in value by thousands or tens of thousands of dollars? Why should Timeshares be the only market where signing a contract saying you'll purchase something means nothing?

Many resort systems do limit perks to those who buy from them direct, which I see as a reasonable response to the fact that resales cost less than buying from the developer.

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

Did you buy it resale? If not, why does it surprise you people pay such a high price when they're giving them away?

We bought resale, but we're the "learn by research" type. Most people seem to be the "learn by doing" type, and if you're that kind of personality, timeshares can teach a harsh lesson. But, for some people, it ends up being a good lesson - they learn both to not rush into a "now or never" kind of deal, AND how to make the best of something that wasn't exactly what it expected. Not always possible, but a good thing when it happens.

Wow, paid full price in the 80's $3800 for a floating titled week for life! Have always reserved and traded for for "RED" weeks. They have always tried to get me to convert to points, but I found no good reason! I have made exchanges for some of the best resorts. That's when MF fees were around $300 and exchanges around $69. Now it's not worth it in these times when everything is so cheap as far as travel is concerned. So many timeshares go unused that you can pick up weeks very cheaply. They were good back then, but have outpriced themselves. There however seems to be a lot more gullible individuals out there that get sucked into this dream by very good salespeople. I hopefully am no longer one, as when I exchange and am invited to listen to another TS presentation for a gift or money most of the salespeople only listen to me for around 10 minutes and send me on my way with my gift! Conclusion, I bought, I learned, and now I hope to somehow get rid of my last TS without paying to do so!

[stevec Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevec]

You sir have a vested interest .
Just my opinion ofc

I thought it through a lot it was meant to promote some discussion

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

I thought it through a lot it was meant to promote some discussion

If Bluegreen bought back or the only option to get into the resorts was to buy from them or maybe licenced resellers.

Who is going to pay maintenance fees on the unsold units if only owners are allowed to use the resort? Current Bluegreen either rents the units out to non-owners, or makes them available to owners through Bonus Time, to pay the maintenance on those units. Can you imagine how high maintenance fees would be if owners had to pay to maintain ALL the units, not just the ones that have sold?

And by allowing owners to rent out their points, Bluegreen gives all owners the opportunity to recoup part or all of their yearly fees - but of course that means that there are non-owners at the resort.

I'm not sure how it works with weeks systems, but with points systems like Bluegreen or DVC, a fair portion of what new owners pay is plowed back into the system so that the points owners have more and more resorts to pick from. Buying back from owners means that much less money for expanding, which means more unhappy owners who've been faithfully honoring their contracts.

And the thing is, resale Timeshares are NEVER going to be the same price as TSs you buy from the developer, for one simple reason - the developer offers loans. Any time loans enter the picture, prices get inflated (witness the recent real estate balloon). I'm sure that's one of the reasons new cars lose value the instant they're driven off the lot - the car dealer can get you signed up for a loan a lot easier than an individual trying to sell their car.

Bluegreen has rearranged things a couple of times in an effort to be fair to everyone. For some time, if you bought a resale BG contract, you got all the benefits of buying from BG direct. This was good for people who were trying to sell their BG points - kept the price up, although it was still thousands less than buying direct - but many people who bought at full price thought it was unfair ("Why do they get the same thing for so much less money?"), and so did BG salespeople ("How can I feel right selling this package when I know people can get the same thing for so much less?").

So a while back (2006? 2008?), Bluegreen changed the rules. People who already had full benefits through buying resale were "grandfathered in," meaning no one lost anything they already had, but from that date on, if you bought resale points, they didn't come with the same benefits package. But they also offered the option of buying resale points through their resale company and getting the benefits by paying BG direct (in other words, you'd pay the seller for his points, and BG for the perks). So people could still get all the benefits cheaply, just not AS cheaply.

This year, they changed the rules again (but didn't take anything away from people who bought the points before their deadline), so now the best deal you can get from their resale company is the same price for points as the best deal you can get from the developer. Which they felt is fairer to the people who bought full price and to the BG salespeople.

Personally, I don't think there's any solution everyone will see as "fair." Salespeople - and not just Timeshare salespeople - have a bad reputation because people buy emotionally rather than rationally, and any good salesperson is going to instinctively work toward creating positive emotional feelings toward their product. Our salesguy was totally successful on that front - we loved the idea of Bluegreen. We just weren't enthused with the price.

And most customers who haven't over-extended themselves retain those positive vibes, which (if psychological studies can be trusted) enhance their vacations and it's a win-win situation all around. But when people make that emotional purchase against the hard realities of their life -- which is to say, contrary to their actual finances or vacation preferences -- doesn't work out so well.

Well, that was quite a ramble.

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

My gripe,

Who is going to pay maintenance fees on the unsold units if only owners are allowed to use the resort? Current Bluegreen either rents the units out to non-owners, or makes them available to owners through Bonus Time, to pay the maintenance on those units. Can you imagine how high maintenance fees would be if owners had to pay to maintain ALL the units, not just the ones that have sold?

And by allowing owners to rent out their points, Bluegreen gives all owners the opportunity to recoup part or all of their yearly fees - but of course that means that there are non-owners at the resort.

I'm not sure how it works with weeks systems, but with points systems like Bluegreen or DVC, a fair portion of what new owners pay is plowed back into the system so that the points owners have more and more resorts to pick from. Buying back from owners means that much less money for expanding, which means more unhappy owners who've been faithfully honoring their contracts.

And the thing is, resale Timeshares are NEVER going to be the same price as TSs you buy from the developer, for one simple reason - the developer offers loans. Any time loans enter the picture, prices get inflated (witness the recent real estate balloon). I'm sure that's one of the reasons new cars lose value the instant they're driven off the lot - the car dealer can get you signed up for a loan a lot easier than an individual trying to sell their car.

Bluegreen has rearranged things a couple of times in an effort to be fair to everyone. For some time, if you bought a resale BG contract, you got all the benefits of buying from BG direct. This was good for people who were trying to sell their BG points - kept the price up, although it was still thousands less than buying direct - but many people who bought at full price thought it was unfair ("Why do they get the same thing for so much less money?"), and so did BG salespeople ("How can I feel right selling this package when I know people can get the same thing for so much less?").

So a while back (2006? 2008?), Bluegreen changed the rules. People who already had full benefits through buying resale were "grandfathered in," meaning no one lost anything they already had, but from that date on, if you bought resale points, they didn't come with the same benefits package. But they also offered the option of buying resale points through their resale company and getting the benefits by paying BG direct (in other words, you'd pay the seller for his points, and BG for the perks). So people could still get all the benefits cheaply, just not AS cheaply.

This year, they changed the rules again (but didn't take anything away from people who bought the points before their deadline), so now the best deal you can get from their resale company is the same price for points as the best deal you can get from the developer. Which they felt is fairer to the people who bought full price and to the BG salespeople.

Personally, I don't think there's any solution everyone will see as "fair." Salespeople - and not just Timeshare salespeople - have a bad reputation because people buy emotionally rather than rationally, and any good salesperson is going to instinctively work toward creating positive emotional feelings toward their product. Our salesguy was totally successful on that front - we loved the idea of Bluegreen. We just weren't enthused with the price.

And most customers who haven't over-extended themselves retain those positive vibes, which (if psychological studies can be trusted) enhance their vacations and it's a win-win situation all around. But when people make that emotional purchase against the hard realities of their life -- which is to say, contrary to their actual finances or vacation preferences -- doesn't work out so well.

Well, that was quite a ramble.

I still own a week 2bdrm Villa at Chirstmas Mt. Villas in the WI Dells, and I find it mystifying that I can rent it through RCI for less than $300/wk, but as an owner I'd have to pay around $450/wk on bonus time and I paid $584 MF plus an assessment this year for my one week! How is that being loyal to the owners? And you speak of resale and loans, how much of a loan do you need to get a free timeshare on e-bay or from whomever is trying to get rid of them and only pay the transfer of title fee? $300?

[stevec Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevec]

Look I don’t have a problem with paying maintenance.
But I don’t own the whole resort so why do I feel I am paying for all of it.
Why cant BG shut ,mothball, whatever, excess property and put things back in to balance ?.
Removing the over supply would benefit all.
Sure it would probably mean laying some staff off but that happens in a downturn.
Seems at the moment the answer is lets just screw the owners who are paying and carry on regardless.