Possible new owners at The Fountains

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

Hi,

I am new to the idea of timeshare, I have been offered a week at The Fountains Orlando in November for free, All I have to pay is the transfer of deed owner fee. The owner tells me the deed is all paid for with nothing outstanding and he has been an owner for a very long time(i think he said 17 years??) he has an apartment in the "original" Oasis lakes section overlooking Lake Eve so this means it is a fixed week not points basis.

I have a number of questions before I agree to the transfer?

What transfer fees should I expect to pay(been told around $450)?
Does the transfer get done direct with Bluegreen or do we use another company(ie PCH Holdings for instances)
What is the transfer process?
We both live in the UK so how do I pay the fees in dollars,can I just ring up and pay on card or does it have to be a personal cheque in dollars?
What are maintenance fees this year & are there likely to be any surprises after the transfer(ie is he giving up deeds as he been told about large payment required for recent renovations at The Fountains?

Also could you please take the time to explain this whole system to me? As I see it I "own" 1 week in November if I choose I can go then or I can bank to go up to the following May in which case I can borrow from that year to have 2 weeks in May every 2 years. Does that sound about right? And for this I just pay the maintenance fee due every December?

Sorry for the long post, its just I have many questions about something that seems to good to be true

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

Lots of variables on this one to give you a concrete answer.
First of all this is a lovely resort.
I have personally stayed in these units and they have recently been redone and they are beautiful.
The resort is also in a great location and has lots of upscale amenities.
Bluegreen is a great system friendly to their owners.

Now as for a fixed week at the Fountains, depending on which week is booked this could be a good deal.
There are better deals out there and most will advise not to own in Orlando but my disclosure is, I own 3 timeshares in
Orlando and they suit my needs very well and have for the almost 10 years that I have owned there.

As for exchanging you will probably be stuck trading with RCI which could be a good thing or not depending on your needs.
RCI is generous to Orlando owners in awarding their TPU's or Trade Power units aka the new points system.
If you have a good deeded week or can book a good week you can get several weeks trading value out of a good Orlando week.
You could deposit this to DAElive since you live in UK. Not sure of the trading value but I believe they only look at size of the
unit so you'd probably do well in DAE since there is more European inventory for you to trade to.

Bluegreen also has bonus time for owners in their deeded resort.
That's good if you wanted to visit Orlando on short notice as you could get cash discounts without having to use your points.
Not sure how useful that would be for you living in the UK though.

If you were to take on this unit I'd try to get the owner to pay the transfer fees.
Not sure why they are $450. You don't have to use Bluegreen to transfer although it's supposedly faster.
My experience has been that they took about 4 months to close my fixed/floating weeks Bluegreen ownership.
I can't imagine how long it would take if you used someone other than their recommended closing company.

Is it too good to be true? Well that will depend on your needs.
I'd find out how many TPU's this week was valued in RCI since that would be the primary trading company you would be using.
You can't trade internally to other Bluegreen resorts with this ownership without using RCI or II.
If you purchased a points deeded week at the Fountains which do exist, it would be a much more flexible ownership but also
comes with added fees. With a points ownership you would not have to use RCI or II to trade to other Bluegreen resorts
and you would have access to the Club resorts with your points. Again not very useful in the UK unless you want to do
alot of USA traveling.

Hope this helps a bit and welcome to the forum.

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

I would recommend not owning in the Orlando area. What does the price tell you about the real value ? Closing fees are outlandish as a general rule. I often wonder if the recommended closing company gives a kick-back to the resort or resale company. Other than transfer fees, a closing should only cost around $ 200.

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

The "real value" in any timeshare is whether you actually use it or not. I own a floating week in Orlando at Bluegreen's other resort there - Sunshine Resort. I also am an owner in Bluegreens points system. If you will use the timeshare you just about cannot go wrong getting it for free. The transfer fee is whatever the timeshare company requires. Bluegreen's transfer fee for a points deed is $475 I believe.
The main thing to watch out for is the yearly maintenance fee. The current owner should be able to tell you what the yearly maintenance fee is. Some maintenance fees are excessively high depending on the property.
Fixed weeks are usually handled by the HOA (Homeowners Association). This is different than the points system. HOAs do sometimes have special assessments (payments over and above the yearly maintenance fee for major renovations). This is not a bad thing because it usually is a major renovation that is good for the entire complex. If the current owner has been told about a special assessment and you take possession of the deed then you will be responsible for paying it. Ask the current owner if a special assessment has been declared.

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

I would add that it would probably be preferable to use a closing company if you decide to proceed.
Here is a link to a web page about closing a Bluegreen purchase: http://www.timesharekahuna.com/blueg...ton-title.html
On this webpage it mentions 'Resort Title Agency' which is Bluegreen's closing company.
timesharekahuna is a good company to work with.

[smithiekid Member Find all posts View Profile Close smithiekid]

Both the oasis lakes buildings have just been refurbished buildings 3 and 4 .you need to ask which of the 2 buildings the unit is in. This is because they have different Change over days, building 3 is Friday building 4 is Saturday. The unit number will be listed as 4305 building 4 look 3 unit 05, also note that units 01 and 06 are the smaller 2 bed .
Which ever closing company you use is up to you but please note that you will have to have the paperwork signed and sealed by a notary public and over here in the UK that will cost you around £80 on top of any closing and transfer fees.The oasis lakes units have always been floating but please remember as owners trade in their units and join the Bluegreen vaction club then it will be more difficult to float it and you may have trouble in getting 2 weeks in May.
Fees can be paid by a UK credit card without any problems
To exchange you will need an individual RCI membership ,try to avoid using RCI in Kettering and try for a US account with them it is a much better deal, you can also use any of the other exchange companies like dialandexchange

[stevec Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevec]

The only week you are guaranteed is the one you own
So trying for two weeks in May is subject to availability.
When I first bought at Oasis Lakes myself I just had 1 week and exchanged through RCI for two weeks every other year.
But I booked either side of the one I owned.

My advice would be try to use the week you own, November is better than the Summer in the UK.

Also if you come the week you own they have to give you the apartment with it.
Some of the new buildings are a long way out from the club house aka bar.

As long as you use it it's worth it.
The down side is that if you don't use it you still pay for it.

Expect to get pestered by sales staff as well.

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

They just increased the transfer fee from $250 to $450! 80% increase all at once.

Any way, The Fountains is one of Bluegreens nicest resorts. But a fixed week is not the most flexible choice. And the Fountains is not usually that limitd on availability. I would recommend fixed weeks for high demand dates or high demand resorts, or both. But the Fountains, being in Orlando, is very nice but not particularly hard to get into. SO.... I would look at cheap resale on Ebay that have points assigned. Points are more flexible and can be use at ANY Bluegreen Resort for any season. Since the mntnce fees of the trust is calculated average for points. Some fixed weeks mntnce fees are actually more than the similar points packages.

So unless you are just in Love with the Resort or the DATE of the fixes week, I would buy a resale package off ebay for cheap.

Don't think you will get this fixed week free and somehow convert it. Its possible to trade fixed weeks in to the developer and purchase points but its a very expensive proposition.

W