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Hello. I'm a Cocoa Beach resident looking to buy our first timeshare. We're a family of four (two young girls) that like to vacation near the beach. I'd be interested in hearing from other FL owners (especially Orlando/Disney area owners) on your ability to trade on your FL property to other beachfront locations. I like the idea of owning in FL for local trips when we don't want to trade but am also concerned about the large supply. Thanks for helping this NOOB.
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I would not buy Orlando for trading.
If you want Florida beach, you should buy Florida beach, supply is limited. Unlike Orlando, which is glutted with timeshares. -
I agree, Orlando is over built and unless you want to vacation there every year, I wouldn't have it on my list to buy. The results I have had with Orange Lake is so - so. There is always resorts to tade into in the Orlando area.
If you decide to buy near where you live, you might want to check out day use options? Some resorts allow owners to use the resort facilities even when they are not staying there.Comment
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when we stayed at Resort at cocoa Beach, we met many local residents who owned a week and came to the resort for day privileges, either to enjoy the beach, or to use the pool and hot tub or exercise room. If I lived nearby, it seems like a good idea to own at the Resort for day use and trade it for other beach destinations.Comment
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...and you are thinking resale, right??Comment
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Thanks all. Yes, DEFINITELY resale.Originally posted by MargeSComment
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rapmarks, I think you really may have hit on the ideal solution for us! I actually live about 1/2 mile from the Resort at Cocoa Beach. I went by after work this evening to check it out. Looks like a very nice place! If I can get a week there for next to nothing, the maintenance fee would be less than a swimming pool membership at a country club - PLUS a week of vacation elsewhere via a trade. Do you think it would give us good trading flexibility?Originally posted by rapmarks View Post
Thanks all.Comment
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I would bet that the cheap weeks will be off season, which will not get you great trading power. But might still be worth it for the day use. You might check with the HOA to see what they have for sale. Here's an off-season float on ebay that looks like it can't be given away (no bids with 9 minutes in, starting bid is $49), but if you want to buy to trade you need to buy good weeks:Originally posted by mhiggi02 View Post
2BR THE RESORT ON COCOA BEACH, GOLD CROWN, TIMESHARE - eBay (item 250500320548 end time Sep-22-09 18:00:44 PDT)Comment
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Thanks. Since those are "red" weeks how do you know if they are "good" red weeks or not? I saw another for week 40 with Sumday Vacations for even less.Originally posted by Glitter BrunelloComment
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For a good general picture of demand, click on over to Interval International (Interval International | Resort, Timeshare, Exchange, Getaways, Vacation), and go to their resort directory. Click on the map for the region you're thinking about, and then select the area. Pick any resort at random in that area. Then, look in the upper right quadrant of the screen for a link to the "travel demand index" and click on it. That will open a popup window showing you demand, by week, for that region.Originally posted by mhiggi02
Now, that's just a guideline, because some resorts are better than others, and some places have festivals and other special situations not reflected in the region at large. For example, Lodge Alley Inn in Charleston, SC is in the "South, Atlantic Coast" region, which has only modest trading power in week 21 (+1 on a -10 to +10 scale, with 0 being neutral). However, that happened to be when the Spoleto Festival was taking place this year (22 May-7 June), and so demand was maxed out then (combine that with there being only 2 timeshares in Charleston as another special situation).
Living in Cocoa Beach, you'll have an idea when festivals, etc., are.
Looking quickly at Cooca Beach, it's in the "Northern Coasts" region of Florida, which has strong trading during the following weeks:
5: +6
6: +7
7: +10
8: +6
9: +10
10: +6
Can you say "Spring Break?" Yes, I thought you could! So, you want a Spring Break week, if you can find one.
Beyond that, only weeks 13, 26,and 27 even make it to +5.
Week 40 is a "0," a true neutral. Week 41 pops up to +3 (is there some local event? It's a pretty innocuous looking early/mid-october week.).
sc
--"Because there is good, and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."-- Rorschach, WatchmenComment
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I went and checked the weeks in that eBay auction: 20-22, 36-45, and 48-50.Originally posted by mhiggi02
20: 0
21: -1
22: 2
36: -2
37: -3
38: -4
39: -2
40: 0
41: +3
42: -1
43: -3
44: -3
45: -4
48: -8
49: -10
50: -10
Mmm. -10. Talk about a dog!
So, that week has only two positive weeks you could reserve with it, and from experience, a "+6" (CMV Christmas week, silver crown in the "Midwest, other areas" region) will get you a lot of 1BR silver crown-level trades. A "125k" RCI trader...pretty average, in the end, so I wouldn't expect any extravagance from a +3.
sc
--"Because there is good, and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."-- Rorschach, WatchmenComment
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Thanks so much Steve! Tremendously helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to show me that! Looks like I do need to look for a Spring Break. How much of a challenge to trade is it with a property that is "true neutral"?Originally posted by SteveChapin View PostComment
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Another nice resort is Ron Jon at Cape Caneveral. Don't know about day use, but nicer pool area than Resort at Cocoa Beach.
Nancy
ps. If you buy in Orlando and don't buy a Disney you are blocked from trading into Disney which would be a big reason not to buy in Orlando. This is RCI.Comment
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The chart Steve pointed you toward is Interval International's. It is a decent guide. But every exchange company has different criteria and trading power calculations. That said, I would NOT recommend anyone buying a "neutral" week for trading purposes. Just remember that unless you are looking for "neutral" or lower trades in terms of demand, there will be people ahead of you in line. The more popular the week/destination you request, the more people ahead of you.Originally posted by mhiggi02 View Post
Which presents you with another challenge... Spring Break is different every year, and varies across school districts around the country.... you could buy a floating week, but then would need to know at least a year ahead of time (or two, depending on when your resort accepts reservations) when the most popular Spring Break week(s) is/are for the year you are reserving in order to get maximum trading power... I would stick with a prime season week or a xmas/new year's week rather than try to hit a moving holiday target... A week 7 might work, that is President's week which many Northeast schools have off. But not all, and that could change anytime - my district has never gone back to school before Labor Day, until this year
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I wouldn't want to try it. I'm having enough trouble finding satisfactory trades with a week that II claims (generically for the region) is a +6.Originally posted by mhiggi02 View Post
As noted, this is from II's chart; I included it only as a rough guideline on demand. RCI and II evaluate resorts differently, but usually not wildly so (most resorts that are in both have the same status in both, and, if they're doing their jobs right, their demand curves should look pretty similar; I believe they do use different weightings on resort quality, time of deposit, and week to determine the overall trade power of a week).
If you could get it, I'd go for a fixed week 7. President's Day week should consistently trade pretty well.
sc
--"Because there is good, and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this."-- Rorschach, WatchmenComment
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