I
have been both an owner
and a reseller of vacation timeshare since 1981. Over
the years I have heard many theories as
to what constitutes a wise buy when looking for a timeshare in the
resale market. I'm
happy to share with you what I've learned through years of experience:
The
single concept that people seem to most commonly struggle with is this:
they need to understand that the factors that might be important in
choosing an ownership week where the intention is to always use the
home resort, are not necessarily the same factors that determine what
constitutes a smart buy where the intention is to exchange the week the
majority of the time.
Curiously to me, people often seem determined to pay more than they
really have to! They get focused on issues that would only be important
if they intended to stay at their home resort each year, often losing
out by not taking advantage of a smart buy on a well-priced week that
would function just fine for purposes of exchanging.
Here
are some prime factors to consider in buying a week:
1. BUY
PRIME SEASON (RED)
If you own prime season you won't be restricted as to what time of year
you can request to exchange, because you will be entitled to request
any of the 52 weeks of the year.
2. BUY
IN A HIGH DEMAND
AREA. Examples of high demand areas are Hawaii, California Coastal, and
the Orlando FL area. Remember that past demand for a particular resort
is one of the key
factors that the exchange companies consider in arriving at what you
will be offered.
3. Buy
in a resort that has
a reasonable maintenance fee.
4. BUY
AS INEXPENSIVELY AS
POSSIBLE!
5. NOTE
THAT IT IS A VERY
NICE BONUS IF YOU CAN BUY INTO A RESORT THAT IS PART OF A LARGE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM whereby you are automatically entitled to low
bonus-time rates at all the resorts in the system. Great for frequent
mini-vacations!
6. DON'T FORGET NUMBER 4 ABOVE. Seriously, many
people when looking for a week to own for exchange purposes, pay more
than they have to because they get focused on issues that are
not nearly as important as items 1-4 above. For example, in
my opinion an exchange company's rating of a resort ("Gold Crown",
"5-Star", etc.) isn't as important (when focusing on achieving a smart
buy in an exchange week),
as obtaining a low price and
buying in a high demand location! There
are some fabulous resorts without the
ratings but located in very high demand areas, that will exchange in a
superb fashion, including exchanging into "Gold Crown" or "5-Star
Resorts".
7.
Buy through a licensed real estate broker
with a trust account to hold funds until the sale closes.
8. Be sure you receive Title Insurance. (Assuming you're buying a
deeded property.)
9.
If you as the buyer are supposed to
receive either the current year's use week, or any banked weeks, be
sure the seller's understanding is the same as yours by having it
written into your escrow papers to be signed.
In conclusion, by keeping
in mind all the above considerations when shopping for timeshare,
you'll not only make a wise buy price-wise, but of utmost importance -
if you'll use your overall timeshare program at every opportunity,
you'll achieve in my opinion the most important goal of all - taking
time to share quality time with loved ones!
We hope this article helps you maximize your vacation dollar, and net
you the perfect timeshare to Exchange with!!
Feel free to stop by our
Timeshare Community Forums if you
want to ask specific questions, with more than 65,000 other Timeshare
owners and experts, no question goes unanswered!
