Post reply

Purchasing thru Redweek or other resale companies (by Kathi L.):

llhayden

patriciagayle wrote:

llhayden wrote:

Hi Hayden. We are experienced ts owners but when we weren't, we did make one mistake which we donated to charity. Buy your timeshare on e bay or Redweek but do not pay full price from a resort because you won't be able to get back the value. If you can, make sure it's a 5star resort which enables you to exchange anywhere. If you are bidding on a resort of interest go to the website of that resort and read the reviews (very important). Pix don't mean a lot. Also read trip advisor. Keep in mind that there is always at least one disgruntled person but if most say it's great than it's great. To exchange you do need to book a year or more in advance. Of course you can exchange 59 days out... which we did....and what is available is leftovers like a gorgeous condo in Florida when the temp is 110 in summer. If you are buying in a warm climate then google and find out the hurricane and /or rainy season. Interval charges about $125 to $139 for an exchange and RCI is about that too so that's in addition to your timeshare fee. Once you buy, your mailbox will never be empty again because you will be deluged with 3 night invitations for a "short tour". If no interest avoid those marketeers. Otherwise....it's really great, much better than a hotel and you get to go everywhere including cruises. Good luck to you. patriciagayle

Have you had any experience purchasing on ebay? I would be reluctant to do so...I did look at some that were being bid on ebay but thought against it.

I actually did accept a short tour for later this year at Marriott's Ocean Watch Villas in Myrtle Beach. Never been to Myrtle Beach (only Hilton Head) and would love to see what it's like. Actually, we've only been to one timeshare presentation at Sheraton Vistana Villages and we got a steal of a deal - 5day/4nights for $99 total, plus $100 back after the presentation. We were lucky because it was our first presentation, and we told them that we "had to go do our research on timeshares"...they kept coming back with more and more incentives - we actually ended up going back there the following year - but we never would purchase through them. It was a beautiful place and I'd love something there, but we realized it was stupid to be paying a maintenance fee the price of our normal vacation PLUS then pay a loan for the place...that's how I found redweek!

It never dawned on me to find out about hurricane season! Thanks for that tip! Lisa

Lisa; You'll like OceanWatch in Myrtle Beach. It's a lovely 5 star resort. We were there last September and are going back again in June. Last September we went on a trade - we own at Barony Beach in Hilton Head and traded a week for OceanWatch to see what it was like. It's a much larger resort than Barony, but equally as nice. So enjoy the tour, and I hope it includes some days at OceanWatch. Just don't buy from Marriott as I'm sure if you like it and want to buy, you can find someone who already bought who wants to sell! Or do what I did this year - rent a week from someone on Redweek. I paid $2100. for a June week in an oceanfront villa, certainly better than paying a ton to buy the week, and annual maintenance fees too. Have fun! Kathi