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Free Resort Reviews

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.

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!

Send comments/feedback by email to: tug@tug2.net Timeshare Users Group

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Homepage updated Feb 22, 2008  by B. Rogers - Send email regarding this page to tug@tug2.net