Thinking of Buying Bluegreen-Advice Please

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

If I have the opportunity to buy 8k points bluegreen for about $2000 plus continuing maintenance (deeded-but for exchange points) does it really matter WHERE I am deeded? I would be buying off of a BG owner who no longer wished to pay maintenance fees, et c.

AND.

If I were to LATER buy more "points" in this fashion deeded AT ANOTHER SITE would that make any difference. If I bought another "deed" worth 4k points, would I have an 12k block or an 8 and a 4 block? Would blugreen allow me to "trade" or consolidate into one deed?


IF I buy a BG membership, I want enough for a week somewhere warm (gulf coast, FL, GA) varying from march to april depending on spring break.

Once kids are too old to have coordinated spring break, would use for a week somewhere cooler MI, WI (or via RCI to Canada) in summer.

Perhaps at retirement, add more points for longer "couples time."


Is this a bad idea or misunderstanding of the concept. Recently visited BG facilities in SC and thought they were nice.--Just didn't want to pay what developer was asking. Think I COULD pay resale however.

Thanks

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

Hi Lookie,

It really doesn't matter where you are deeded. The only 2 benefits of owning at a specific resort are 1) you get bonus time at that resort and 2) you get priority access to your underlying deeded week and unit number from 12 months to 11 months in advance of checkin. If you don't plan on using that week, then points are points.

The biggest issue with buying and combining points on the resale market is that the maintenance fees don't necessarily combine properly to give you a low rate. If you buy packages of the wrong types, you can end up paying 2$200-400 per year extra for each wrong package.

Lastly, the closing costs for Bluegreen are $475 now. When you add the extra maintenance fees you will pay, you may be better off just purchasing a larger package. It will have less hassles and could be cheaper over all.

Jim

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

Oh, I forgot to mention. If you don't make a purchase from an authorized reseller, you don't get access to unlimited bonus time, Traveler Plus or Premier benefits.

If you want to know what those are or how to get them, here is a link to the details: VIP/Premier Features

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

Thanks for this,

So regarding "authorized" reseller. A private transaction between me and a current owner would not be "authorized" for the VIP level? Many of these things look a bit out of my league, so "points is points" may be the best mantra here.

Do the "bonus" attractions also not transfer?

Is there a list of bluegreen "authorized" resellers that I can find somewhere?

Thanks again.

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

Thanks for this,

So regarding "authorized" reseller. A private transaction between me and a current owner would not be "authorized" for the VIP level? Many of these things look a bit out of my league, so "points is points" may be the best mantra here.

Do the "bonus" attractions also not transfer?

Is there a list of bluegreen "authorized" resellers that I can find somewhere?

Thanks again.

Pinnacle Vacations is the only authorized reseller. I am a referral agent for them. So, if you are interested in unlimited bonus time, Traveler Plus with Select Connections and the Grand Yacht Club or Premier features, then I can help you get them.

If you don't need those features, you can get a better deal. It just depends on what you want to do.

If you would like some help, send me a private message with your contact info and we can discuss your alternatives.

Jim

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

Right, buying from someone gets you their points, and that's about it. If that's all you want, and you can get them for a song, go for it. If you want the other bennies, definitely talk to boca. might not be much more $/point to get a lot more than points.

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

Oh, I forgot to mention. If you don't make a purchase from an authorized reseller, you don't get access to unlimited bonus time, Traveler Plus or Premier benefits.

If you want to know what those are or how to get them, here is a link to the details: VIP/Premier Features

Hi Boca,
How many points are a "decent" number? What are the point values for each of the colored levels of membership?
Looking also, but I want to carefully consider all options.
Thanks!

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

Hi Boca,
How many points are a "decent" number? What are the point values for each of the colored levels of membership?
Looking also, but I want to carefully consider all options.
Thanks!

15000 = Bronze

20000 = Silver

35000 = Gold

60000 = Platinum.

Don't over buy. Only get as many points as you believe you will use every single year. You know when it is time to add points when you are constantly borrowing points and running out.

In Bluegreen, it's very easy to upgrade.

Also, don't buy less than 8000-10000 annual points unless you use a lot of bonus time. At that many points, it's cheaper to rent than to own.

[swirg53 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swirg53]

Lookie: I would not pay over $.10 per ANNUAL point for EOY (every other year, BG gives you new points) points purchased outside of Pinnacle Vacations--meaning you would NOT receive unlimited bonus time, Travelers Plus and Premier Benefits (which you need to own at least 16,000 annual points to get anyway). (Divide the # of EOY Points by 2 before doing the math to get price per point.) I have only ONCE used bonus time and have been an owner since 2002. However, I do take advantage of the premier VIP benefits.

I would not pay over $.25 per point for annual points purchased outside of Pinnacle. Resale points purchased outside of Pinnacle are non-qualified resale points. Points purchased from Pinnacle are qualified resale points and you get nearly all the same benefits as having bought from the developer. (And if it is your first resale purchase, you would get ALL the benefits as having bought from the developer except for alot less money!)

You would probably pay around $.50 per point buying from Pinnacle. It's really a no-brainer to sell/buy without the help of a closer/Pinnacle. One call to Resort Title by the seller starts the entire process. It may take over six months for closing to happen. (For a small fee, Boca can facilitate the purchase and speed things up a bit.) As a seller, you MAY reap more "profit" by selling through Pinnacle but you might not as the commissions you pay are rather steep, IMHO.

So, it really all depends on how many points you are getting whether $2,000 to buy them is a good deal or not. Just be sure they owe nothing on them or you cannot buy them---done deal. Mortgage, dues or maintenance fees all have to be current/paid in full.

You will learn much here on this board. You may also want to join the Yahoo Bluegreen group; it is more of an e-mail format and I find it easier to use but it could be that it is what I joined first and therefore was set in my ways on how to use it versus this one I joined later. They are BOTH great sources of information. I wouldn't know the above information had it not been for one or both of these groups.

Boca: I was not aware with non-qualified points, you could still get bonus time at your "home" resort. That's way cool! I assume it is not unlimited. So if that is true, what # of nights are you able to get on bonus time? Thanks!

[lookie Member Find all posts View Profile Close lookie]

What I was thinking of was this:

I could buy 8k annual points (deeded-but no VIP/bonus stuff)
for a total of about $1200.00. -including 2009 maintenance and transfer fee. approximately 600.00 annual maintenance.

Glancing over point charts, it looks like that would more or less get me a week somewhere warm around spring break time-Say a 1BR in Gulf Shores, AL.

If later I needed a 2BR, I could buy more points at similar price to get larger apartments/longer stays et c.

The whole "extra days at your home base" doesn't make a lot of difference for me. This particular property is at Myrtle Beach. I've been there, it's an ok place, but I wouldn't want to go back there every year, so I don't know that I would really benefit from the Pinnacle deal.

UNLESS--looking at the "advantages" of having VIP in booking means that realistically one's points are worthless because one has to have a "VIP" status to actually get any kind of reservation.

Any non-VIP's out there? Or are we ALL special (just like everyone else)?

If I had 8k in my account in november and called BG and asked for a week in Gulf Shores, (or somewhere else warm and in the Eastern time zone) would I actually be able to get it? If not, this is probably not the thing for me.

Thanks again

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

What I was thinking of was this:

I could buy 8k annual points (deeded-but no VIP/bonus stuff)
for a total of about $1200.00. -including 2009 maintenance and transfer fee. approximately 600.00 annual maintenance.

Glancing over point charts, it looks like that would more or less get me a week somewhere warm around spring break time-Say a 1BR in Gulf Shores, AL.

If later I needed a 2BR, I could buy more points at similar price to get larger apartments/longer stays et c.

The whole "extra days at your home base" doesn't make a lot of difference for me. This particular property is at Myrtle Beach. I've been there, it's an ok place, but I wouldn't want to go back there every year, so I don't know that I would really benefit from the Pinnacle deal.

UNLESS--looking at the "advantages" of having VIP in booking means that realistically one's points are worthless because one has to have a "VIP" status to actually get any kind of reservation.

Any non-VIP's out there? Or are we ALL special (just like everyone else)?

If I had 8k in my account in november and called BG and asked for a week in Gulf Shores, (or somewhere else warm and in the Eastern time zone) would I actually be able to get it? If not, this is probably not the thing for me.

Thanks again

If you don't think that bonus time is valuable, then just buy the package. It's a good deal. Besides, if you wanted to upgrade it later, you can do that, too.

To answer your general question, usually owners who want bonus time or wait list privileges choose the authorized reseller route. Now, I have a lot of owners upgrading to Platinum. Premier is worth it if you want or need these features. The premium is about $2000 to get them. But, many owners don't care. Those are the ones who should just buy direct.

There is a common case I have where I upgrade people to reduce their maintenance fees. When people buy many packages, they end up often times purchasing packages that don't combine properly and they end up paying hundreds, even thousands more in maintenance fees per year. I help them fix that situation. Since this is your first package, it doesn't really matter unless you are preparing for your next package as well. There is an art to buying and upgrading with Bluegreen.

If you are dealing with a private owner, let me know because I can help you with the transfer. I do a lot of business with Bluegreen, so they provided me with an agreement to be a closing agent. Price is the same, but service is far superior.

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

Since you specifically mention Gulf Shores, I have to tell you, it's hard to get. Those are Affiliate resorts so BG does not own/manage the place, they have just arranged to have some inventory available to us. club resorts have a lot more inventory, so much better availability.

If you really want GS, you must call exactly 11 months out from when you want to go.

I have been 'un-preferred' for a long time and didn't have any problems getting reservations, but i don't tend to want the prime times at prime places. Flexibility is key but planning well ahead is A Must if you really want a specific resort/specific time.

If, say, I want to go somewhere warm around Thanksgiving, I could call now and probably find a place. Would probably have options to choose from.

Sometimes I call up just to see what might be available in a certain timeframe, or when next available weekend is at a particular resort. The reservationists are terrific and will search anything I ask for and can answer most questions for me.

[Ediesbeads Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ediesbeads]

If you called 11 months out, you have a good shot at most places. If you wait you may not get your favorite week or location. We've reserved as little as 7-8 months out and had no problems getting the places we wanted... but we didn't get the nicer units. For example, we reserved Shenandoah Valley in May about 6 months out, and we are in a standard cabin. The deluxe cabins were all gone. So it will be a nice stay, but not quite as nice as we would have hoped for the same points.

On the other hand, we've reserved the Fountains on bonus time. Sixty-nine dollars a night for a luxury gold crown resort??? That was an awesome weekend trip!

I think there are a fair number of VIP's out there, but the majority are still regular folk with the 11 month window. I don't think there are so many VIP's taking the good stuff that regular "charter members" can't get good reservations. I know Patrick Henry Square in Williamsburg is still available for Memorial Day weekend.... I hoping there will be one unit left for us to get bonus time 48 days out!

I highly recommend BG! We have been having a blast with our membership and all we want is more points! I think as soon as we pay off our exhorbitant original points purchased from the developer (this was before we knew about resale of course) we will be purchasing another lot of points with Boca's help.

Good luck and have fun!

Edie

[swirg53 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swirg53]

For Club Associate Resorts, to get a PRIME TIME reservation less than 11 months out, might be real iffy..............getting it at 11 months out might be really iffy also because of premier members having the advantage of being wait listed 12 - 15 months out. (Spring break, while the dates differ around the country, and even from school district to school district in Michigan, it IS PRIME TIME.)

Since your anniv date would be November 1 (which can be changed later, by the way, with an upgrade through Pinnacle), you would not be able to reserve spring break 11 months out, unless you used saved points and in order to do that, it would have to be red time or lower and that would only apply for spring break to a few resorts. However, you could pre-pay your maintenance fees and get your points early enough to book 11 months out (not of course this first year since you might not close until November, if you bought today). BUT the premier members could still be wait listed ahead of you.

My specific thoughts: grab onto this package; it's a good price! Then, research to see if the maintenance fees could be lowered on these points, by buying additional points through Pinnacle, which will make ALL of your points qualified points.

If you don't want these points, send the seller to me, and I will buy them!

How many points do you need? Well, the answer to this is two fold. #1 it varies from person to person #2 buying resale points is addictive--the amount you think you will need to own today will become a much greater # as you begin to buy points on the resale market.

Even with the recent hike in Resort Title's closing costs, I would just take that into consideration and with appropriate funds available in my cash flow, I would latch onto all the points I could especially given our economy and people wanting to get out from under their maintenance fees.

Susan

[philly_phenom Member Find all posts View Profile Close philly_phenom]

From what I gather, one of the benefits to having a specific unit deeded is that you can book your unit for your week up to 12 months in advance.

However, that seems meaningless since according to this, Silver, Gold & Platinum owners can book 13, 14 or 15 months in advance respectively. I hope I'm misunderstanding that...