ronjon cape caribe- cocoa beach - good deal or not??

[darcaro123 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close darcaro123]

Hello - I am a newbie here and any info would be incredibly helpful.

An elderly neighbor approached me yesterday and started talking about his timeshare woes for something he bought in 2005 that cost $21,000 - he paid cash for it .

Basically it is a 2 br deluxe that sleeps 10 at the ronjon resort in cocoa beach, FL . It is for a "floating week" which i think is better than the set week per year. The fees are about $900 per year. He is willing to sell it to me for what is in arrears , which is $2,743.00

Am I missing something , or is this an incredibly good deal??? Are there other questions that I should be asking the timeshare company? I'm not so interested in it's trade value, because I would probably use it for myself

Any info would be greatly appreciated! ! thanks

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

It's not a "bad" deal especially compared to developer price (which you shuld NEVER even consider a it is a false valuation). But unless this is a fixed prime week - ocean front it may STILL be high. I haven't looked at that resort specifically but in general timeshares are selling at 90 to 100% LESS tha retail. Yes, that means you pay nothing but the transfer to take over ownership in many cases. A really good week/resort may go for a few thousands but virtually nothing is worth/sells over $5000 anymore as if it does it is cheaper to simply rent and not be faced with the obligations of ownership. Thats just the way it is today.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

A floating week gives you flexibility, but it's only "good" if you don't have trouble booking the week you want. Find out what the "float season" is and what the reservation policies are at the resort. At many places it's necessary to reserve a year ahead (sometimes two, depending on policies) to get a prime week.

As for price, you might pick one up for less, but the cheapo listings on ebay do carry transfer/closing costs that are higher than you'd need to pay in a "friendly" arms-length transaction.

Here's one that recently sold for $810, but had closing costs of $425. Note that usage and maintenance fees start with 2011 in this listing, but it's unlikely that a new owner will get a prime reservation for 2011 so I would view that as an added cost. If you can get your friend to let you start with 2012 you'd save over $900 (note this listing states that Maintenance Fees are $948). And you should check now whether you could book the week want for 2012, if it's within the booking window.

This one floats weeks 1 -52 and is a lock-off:

2BR LOCKOFF @ RON JON CAPE CARIBE RESORT, TIMESHARE - eBay (item 280638287395 end time Mar-07-11 18:00:14 PST)

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

The fees are about $900 per year. He is willing to sell it to me for what is in arrears , which is $2,743.00

I would proceed with caution....that number represents at least two if not three years of unpaid maint fees - and there might be a problem of getting clear title because of that.....

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

The fees are about $900 per year. He is willing to sell it to me for what is in arrears , which is $2,743.00

I would proceed with caution....that number represents at least two if not three years of unpaid maint fees - and there might be a problem of getting clear title because of that.....

I missed that in the OP - thought the $2743 was what was left to pay on the mortgage - reading too fast.

GrayFal makes a good point - I would check with the resort first, at a minimum. And you won't be able to avoid the 2011 fees so see what's still left to reserve if you proceed. You definitely need more information about the state of this account and what you'll end up with if you bring it current. If you are considering it, your contract would need to be clear that if you don't get clear title you get your $ back. Ordinarily an escrow company would be good for this, but since your friend will need to bring the account current to transfer it, the funds can't be held in escrow unless your friend is willing to lay out the $ first.

It's a shame when people get stuck behind the eight ball like this. Anyone who can't afford MFs and can't cover them with a rental should immediately look into unloading, whether by sale, donation, or deedback to the resort.

[darcaro123 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close darcaro123]

Thank you all for the great information - I actually called the phone number with the seller and spoke to the accounts receivable department. Basically, with all the fees and everything, the true outstanding balance was around $3,300 but the person i spoke to was willing to waive any of the other interest and fees, and just bring the account current for the $2,743.00 . It would be an additional $100 to deed it over to me, and i am 99% sure that the balance includes the dues for 2011. Again, thank you all for the great information.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Be sure to check and verify what the float period is for this unit. I have some float weeks that float for weeks 1-52 and others that only float in the non prime weeks (ie not summer weeks). Also, it is important to know what the window is for reserving weeks, ie a year ahead of time, etc. I have a couple of resorts that regardless of what you reserve, if you bank it with RCI, they pick the week to bank with them and not the week you reserve. Lucky for me, this is a resort that is also and II resort and I am able to deposit the week I reserve with them so I use II instead of RCI.

We love the Cocoa Beach Area and I have heard this is a good resort. I think that they have two parts, one part is beach front and the other part is back from the beach with pool, etc. Might want to check and see which area(s) you can reserve.

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

We stayed there and enjoyed the oceanfront bldg, but would not have been as happy in the main bldg. That would be a deal breaker for me.

Sheila

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

I'm moving this to the Florida threads- as it deals primarily with general information about the purchase than anything to do with transfer procedures or requirements.

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

There is a resort shuttle between ocean and back buildings.

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

There is a resort shuttle between ocean and back buildings.

True, but there were a lot of complaints while we were there about long waits. One family was outraged about how bad it had been all week. They also didn't always run the larger shuttle when they should be, requiring guests to wait for multiple trips at peak times.

We used it a couple of times to go up to the pool and they were hard to catch coming back unless you traipsed through the resort lobby and waited out front. They need another covered bench by the pool entrance to make waiting easier.

Not an ideal situation.

Sheila

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

gee, we stayed there and I was completely unaware of back buildings. Where are they?

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

We stayed in beach building and loved it. We usually walked to the main area because shuttle was unreliable. We had a high enough unit on side so we could watch the ships come in and out of port. If I went back, and we probably will, I'd ask for the Ocean Front building.

JMHO

Nancy

[Ryne08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryne08]

Great location to the beach and to the Disney cruise port.

Best the seller an offer less than the selling price.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

gee, we stayed there and I was completely unaware of back buildings. Where are they?

Just realized i was picturing Resort on cocoa Beach, ignore me.