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BocaBum99 · 03-19-2008, 03:14 PM

Hello Eyechik,

Welcome to our Bluegreen Forum. You will find many helpful owners here who can help you understand how Bluegreen works and you can learn some tips from them to make the Bluegreen Vacation Club work for you.

I moved your post to its own thread so that more people can see it and respond to your specific questions.

Hang around here for a while. We believe you will get some good information.

Jim

mrspigdoc · 03-19-2008, 03:28 PM

transactions with Jim

If you feel you need more points, you will be happy doing business with Jim. He is honest, and provides the same product (Bluegreen), at much less cost than you have been offered. I have bought and sold through him, and have been pleased with his professionalism. I own 63K points, and so am gold, and if they ever get a platinum level together, I may be at that level. I like having time to book vacations before non gold/silver members because my family likes the ocean front units at Shorecrest I in the summer. Being a preferred member is worth it for me. If you need a unit at a high demand area, then you too may enjoy the perks of being silver or gold.
Teresa

Maggie · 03-19-2008, 03:33 PM

Hello eyechick,

Welcome to Bluegreen and let me relieve some of your fears. I've been a Bluegreen owner since 1998 and my first purchase was 12,000 EOY points or it's equivalent. Since then I've added to my package many times.

I'm very happy with my Bluegreen ownership and think the sytem is far easier to use than most that I've read about. Now that they have changed the partial week reservation rule to be 11 months it is even easier to use small packages.

First let's talk about Laurel Crest. I've been going there since 2003 and now that the units are getting older the maintenance on some of them isn't what it should be. But I think they are looking into that. Shorecrest experienced some of the same problems a couple of years ago but it is now being upgraded and it's looking good.

I had a little trouble figuring out that PCB was Panama City Beach. That is one of my favorite places. Unfortunately Bluegreen does not fully own and control any of the 3 resorts that they have ownership in there. That makes getting reservations there somewhat difficult and limited. A friend of mine who just got back from there was very disappointed with the condition of their unit. The water heater had leaked and the unit had apparently been vacant for several weeks and there was a lot of mold and cleanup that had to be done in the kitchen and there wasn't any other unit that Bluegreen had ownership in that was available for them to be moved to. They did replace the water heater and do the repairs while she was there. This is something Bluegreen could not control because they do not maintain the buildings.

Buying from Jim is probably the smartest thing you can do if you decide to add more points. You can find points somewhat cheaper (maybe) on ebay but then you don't know who you are dealing with. I've spoken with Jim many times and have referred several friends to him and they have been pleased.

Gold and Silver members can get wait listed prior to 11 months. Silver can get waitlisted at 12 months and Gold members at 13 months to get the prime reservations. The only reason that where you own would make a difference is that you have absolute control of your unit at your time at the 12 month window. Example. I used to own week 35 at the Landmark in Panama City Beach and so I had the right to reserve it during week 35 of 2007 for that week in 2008. That happens to be September 6 to 13 and I am holding that reservation and will rent it out for $900.00 if you are interested???? It's a 3 bedroom unit.

I'll be glad to talk to you about bluegreen. If you send me a private message I'll send you my phone number.

I'm getting tired of typing.

Maggie

Holly · 03-19-2008, 04:26 PM

Call Jim

I've bought from Jim...believe me, he knows much more about Bluegreen than anyone I've ever spoken to that works for them. I love Bluegreen and think that it's one of the best values in timesharing right now. I too would be happy to talk to you if you PM me your phone number.

Hang around here and you will learn a lot. DON'T pay $4 a point, would be my advice in addition to calling Jim.

eyechik87 · 03-19-2008, 07:08 PM

Financing?

Any suggestions on where to finance timeshares?
Thanks to all that replied to my questions and if anyone has more suggestions or comments that will be great. I am still learning my way around with this site and BG so I am not sure how to private message anyone so I will have to work it out and email some of you.
But thanks again

Angela

eyechik87 · 03-19-2008, 07:11 PM

Quick question

What is TS4MS? And why would I have a negative amount?

Holly · 03-19-2008, 07:37 PM

It's rarely a good idea to finance a timeshare. If you can't afford to buy outright, Jim can also help you find some good rentals to get your feet wet.

To PM someone, just click on their name and you will find a link to send a Private message.

Originally posted by eyechik87

Any suggestions on where to finance timeshares?
Thanks to all that replied to my questions and if anyone has more suggestions or comments that will be great. I am still learning my way around with this site and BG so I am not sure how to private message anyone so I will have to work it out and email some of you.
But thanks again

Angela

Maggie · 03-19-2008, 07:44 PM

Concerning financing of timeshares. My personal opinion is that if you can't afford to pay cash you shouldn't finance a timeshare. In order to use your timeshare you have to be able to spend money on yearly maintenance and you need to take vacations. Vacations are luxuries and should be paid for with savings not borrowed funds.

However if you have a good bit of equity in your home and you are eligible for a home equity loan that will probably have a lower interest rate under 7% than using a credit card or some other kind of financing.

If you have a nice savings account with a credit union or you have a good job with high income and a credit union account you may be able to borrow through a credit union. Putting a timeshare on a VISA where you are making minimum payments and have an interest rate in excess of 15% is just plain foolish IMHO.

BoardGirl · 03-19-2008, 09:31 PM

Eye,

I'm so glad you found us! Sorry it's a little late, tho.

Others have given you a lot of great info and advice. The best thing you can do for yourself is learn the ins and outs. If they gave you a binder, you can see which are Club Resorts and which are Affiliates. "Clubs" are fully Bluegreen so more availability, thus, easier to get your pick. Not so of Affs. Depends on the resort as to how much is available to owners, but Panama City is never going to be easy. Ditto Gulf Shores, AL. I periodically check on those and have yet to get a hit.

EOY-specific info - you were given a bum steer. This can happen with sales reps.

In your first year you are fully granted your 12000 pts. HALF become saved points after that first year. The upside is that HALF are still considered "current points." What this means is that you still have 'all points benefits' for 6000 points in that second year, so you CAN book above red time. If you have more than 6000 points left in that second year, only 6000 can be used for the 'higher time.' If you end up in that situation, you will want to specify using "saved points" when you book red and lower time in Year 2 in order to save your 'more valuable points.' Hope that made sense - please say so if it doesn't.

It's extremely important that you learn the system well enuf to have realistic expectations. The key to happiness is setting your goals at an attainable level so you can achieve them.

Short notice plans will be difficult to pull off unless you don't care where you go. Flexibility is very important in timesharing (in my opinion). The variables are Time and Place. If you simply must be at a specifc resort at a specific time, your chances aren't great. If you can vary one or the other (or both!) your chances get better. Always, the farther ahead you attempt to book, the better.

You can go ahead and try this yourself. Call up Reservations and ask about availability here and there during this time and that. Just tell them, I know I don't have enuf points or I know I can't book it yet, whatever, that you're attempting to learn some things. Any rep except possibly the very newest will assist you with this. Ask them anything - some of them have been to a lot of the resorts and can give specific knowledge, some have been with BG a long time and know the seasons/occupancy rates very well. You always have the option of saying, ok, that's all I need tonight, and dial up a different rep who maybe can be more help. They should all know the rules very well and be able to tell you the day on which you should call to try to get a reservation on Date X.

Give it some time, you will become happy with Bluegreen. We bought from a sales rep not quite knowing what we were doing, financed it, and ended up making the best of it. Of course, we can be flexible with where and when so it is admittedly easier for us. Plus, we've been at this a few years now and know a lot more than we did then.

For what it's worth, Maggie is my hero - she's a true example of why Bluegreen even exists.

I also have spoken to Boca Jim numerous times and give him thumbs up for many things - knowledge, interest in helping you even if there is no sale in it for him, and integrity.

First things first - get that high-interest mortgage dealt with. You will be far happier and have more money for airfare and living the high life at a resort.

Good luck. Stick around. Ask questions. You bought into a good system, now you just need to figure out how your new toy works.

BoardGirl · 03-19-2008, 09:33 PM

Originally posted by eyechik87 View Post

What is TS4MS? And why would I have a negative amount?

TS4MS is this forum: TimeShareFORuMS

Negative amount ...? Of points? Uh, dunno, but don't worry about it. Points go up without paying attention. It's not a rating of you or anything snarky or weird like that.

swirg53 · 03-19-2008, 10:21 PM

Happy (Old) BG Owner

Dear New Not Happy BG Owner:

Boca Bum (Jim) suggested to our Bluegreen Yahoo group that we might check in over here and give you some advice. I think the best advice I can give you is that you should not feel alone. Almost all of us (I think) were probably unhappy BG owners at first. I remember being so excited and then it took forever to get our "account"/member card/whatever, so I felt I could start booking vacations. By the time I got it, the enthusiasm for it all had waned quite a bit plus I was scared to make the reservation phone call for fear they would think I was stupid.

Finally, I figured out where I wanted to go, using our 13,000 EOY points. I had three back to back reservations I planned on doing. No way did I ever have any thought in my mind that I wouldn't be able to get it! Surprise! I hung up from the phone call feeling all dejected and it was weeks again before I would pick up where I had left off and create a new trip, this time with more flexibility.

So, as with ANYTHING, you learn as you go. Dave Ramsey says never buy anything you don't understand. That's one of the few comments that he makes that I disagree with. As he says, "How many of you have a VCR that is flashing 12 o'clock right now?" Well, I don't think anyone would EVER buy a timeshare if they weren't going to buy anything they don't understand. And heck, we wouldn't own much of anything either. I recently bought a new to me car..................there is so much to it, I have to look up things in the owner's manual.

What I am getting at is that there is a learning curve with timesharing just like there is with just about anything we buy these days. I have posted on this forum very little and not for a long time, but I'm sure the people here (who are mostly also on the yahoo board) would agree with me that timeshare salesperson LIE sometimes. Notice I didn't limit that to only BG slaespersons. But human nature does take effect during the sales presentation. For one thing, they KNOW what they are doing and they KNOW how to close a sale with people who only came in for the free gift and are then going to leave. Yes, I was one of those people too!

That human nature has to do with hearing only what you want to hear and remembering only what you want to remember, even if it was not even ever said to you.

Now, with all that said.................let's help you out to figure out how to use this wonderful tool called Bluegreen points that many of us have grown to love..............we have taken outstanding vacations that we would have never taken had it not been for owning a Bluegreen timeshare.

Buying resale also has changed considerably over the last few years. It used to be you got all the benefits the same with resale as buying directly from BG. Not so, these days. HOwever, if you buy from a recognized reseller then you do get the benefits. The only recognized reseller of Bluegreen points is Pinnacle Vacations, which guess what? It is owned by Bluegreen! Anyway, Boca Bum (Jim) works for Pinnacle.

You can get ripped off on Ebay by someone who is not truly an owner etc or owes alot of fees or whatever. I was really lucky that in all of my resale purchases on ebay etc. I ws never ripped off....and once I paid off a considerable amount of someone's mortgage before the paperwork for transfer of ownership could take place. That was a huge risk on my part, but it worked out nicely and I got a great deal.

Just like Maggie, if you send me a private e-mail, I will be happy to give you my phone number and you can call me and we can talk. We can get a lot further in conversation that way then doing the posting thing back and forth.

My e-mail: onthebay@chartermi.net

Susan
Petoskey MI

eyechik87 · 03-19-2008, 11:02 PM

How right you are

Swirg53,
I could not have explained the first 30 days as a new bg owner better. I was so excited...ready to make that reservation...got the # called the # hungup very disappointed. I could not even schedule at our Home Resort. I knew PCB, FL would be hard to get but our Home Resort??? I am seeing that BG will be a Great thing but I am also seeing that we have a point problem. We can travel anytime, our child is 3, so M-S any day is okay. If we purchase from Jim every thing is the same as our EOY package except we have more points right? So we would actually have the 12000 EOY + 18000. Does that mean BG would merge all the pts giving 20000 every yr and we would pay 2 club dues and 2 member dues have 2 seperate renewals but be a Silver Prefered Owner? Does Jim and BG do all of this? Have you or any one bought from Jim? Does BG give him a reference?

Maggie · 03-20-2008, 12:28 AM

I'll try to answer some of your questions. You now have 12,000 EOY points so that is actually the same as 6000 annual points. That means in order to get to 20,000 points you need to buy the equivalent of 14,000 more points.

If you bought from Bluegreen even if they discounted your points down to $2.10 per point which they now say is their lowest rate you would pay over $28,000.00 and if you financed it the interest will eat you up.

Bluegreen will not give Boca (Jim) references because that would undercut their own salesmen. However the really savvy members here know that Jim can get you to silver far cheaper than a Bluegreen salesperson can.

but if getting more points is all you want to do you can do that without Jim. If you see an 8000 point package on Ebay you may actually be able to bid on it and buy it for $2000.00 or less. However than they will charge you another $500.00 in transfer fees and back maintenance fees and it may take up to 6 months to actually make the deal complete. With Jim if their are any back maintenance fee you will know up front and Jim will expedite your sale if you process the paperwork promptly. My guess is that Jim can get you to Silver for around $7000.00 but you may not need to even spend that much now. Since you did buy from BG you actually have bonus time also. Bonus time may let you conserve your points and get some really nice vacations on short notice. On Bonus time you pay something like $69.00 per night for a two bedroom. You can call and ask if they have any bonus time at Ocean Towers. They may actually have some last minute cancellations. In Gulf Shores and PCB the only place that has partial weeks is Ocean Towers. I really hope the BG opens another fully owned resort in that area and I have heard that they are looking into doing that but it hasn't happened yet.

One of the reasons that Bluegreen has been as successfull as they have been is that they know how to speculate and manage money and not expand beyond their ability to maintain. They have been able to buy properties from other developers who have gotten in over their heads and have finished the projects and made money on their investment. They know that keeping members happy is the key to continued success and they do a pretty good job at managing resources. They job is to please the most number of members while maintaining a high occupancy level. Therefore some people are not going to be able to get what they want all the time. Recently they changed the rules so that partial week reservations can be made 11 months in advance. This is a huge help to people who own only a small amount of points. So with your 6000 or 7000 remaining points you may be able to go to some really great places for 4 or 5 days instead of a full week.

One really great bargain and point saver is to consider a Bonus time vacation at the Fountains. Keep in mind that Bonus time can only be made up to 48 days in Advance. Let's say you wanted a two bedroom for 4 nights. Points wise that would probably cost 8000 points but you can do it on Bonus time for $280.00 plus tax. To do this it's easier to call and ask when they have 4 available nights. You can also do this online asking for specific dates.

Bonus time can and usually is charged to a credit card, but bonus time gives you really great resorts for less than the price of a decent hotel room.

Maggie

eyechik87 · 03-20-2008, 01:36 AM

Bonus Time and pts

Maggie,
Can you use bonus time and pts at the same time? The sales rep said we could but we have yet to find out a way to do that.

Also have you heard or read anything about the EOY package owners not being able to use there pts on Leaf Season and High Red Season after the first year?

We are going to the Member update in Apr. yea we just bought in Jan 08, but I really want to hear what else they have to say to all my issues with the package we purchased. If we buy we have already decided we will go into more detail with Jim not BlueGreen.

And one thing about it...this time when I sit down with them I will be prepared. Can you think of any questions that I would need to ask. I want to know about all the new Prefered Memberships and if they are going to really do that. I know this is a great thing, my brother-in-law has upgraded to Gold this Jan 08 so I know it is worth it all in the end.

Thanks to everyone here I hope to go in to the update meeting with good advice and find out stuff I can bring back to the forum and share with all my TEACHERS.

Thanks again
From a Happier New BG OWNER
Angela

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