Post reply

Re: Price Range is puzzling ?? (by Patrick P.):

Here is my 2 cents.

1st there are big differences in units/time of the year/view within a single resort, etc... For instance one resort we go too often (in Hawaii) breaks its units out by Mountain View (Hint dry hills and parking garage - eckkk) and Ocean View (Actual Ocean and View as well --- totally cool Brah!). This difference alone can nearly double the resale value and presentation value of a room. They also have two bedroom units, two bedroom lockout and a three bedroom lock out. Finally some of the two bedrooms are top level and have vaulted double height ceilings. Then, in the case of Hawaii, all weeks are often high season but New Years and Christmas are Platinum +. Just about any large property has this level of price complexity or greater.

Often, listings on Red Week either do not cover this level of detail or are purposefully vague because a 3rd party is posting on Red Week and they choose to be vague, the seller is clueless (Such as an inherited or estate resale), or they genuinely are either sloppy or ignorant of the property variables. None of these issues are really correctable or related to Redweek. Moral here is you need to know what you are buying... and I mean exactly. You need to do detailed homework or you may get a very bad purchase.

Now, if in fact the listing is for an identical week or class of week, unit size, view etc... and the price listed varies radically; this is quite easy to explain.

Some 3rd parties just want an up-front fee to "represent" you or help you sell your unit. They will post crazy high prices or let you believe that you can get what you think you can get for a unit. Behaviorial Economics is a fascinating field that covers this phenomenon. We "anchor" on a price. Real Estate is an emotional product and dang it, I paid XXX dollars for a week and that is my minimum selling point. It does not matter that the resale prices of time shares have dived due to the speculative nature of the investment or general carnage to individuals cash flow this recession has caused. In short, people are simply dillusional about the value of their "presentation priced" time share. Really, our minds gear us to this dillusion. This was Auntie Flow's gift to us, it's worth XXX dollars and nothing less. My mom paid XXX for the time share - if I sell it for less am I slamming mom? We are messed up at our core and it's OK to personalize money - - we all do. Just attempt to recognize the emotional side of money here.

Having said all this, it is a great time to buy on the secondary market. We just picked up a fantastic property in one of our favorite California Properties for less than 25% of the presentation price. Rentals for this pencil out (after maintenance fees) to an 8% return on the unit at close to the lowest rental rates going on this site. Timeshares are not investments but for the first time in decades, many could actually qualify as such. We picked a 2 bedroom unit with an Ocean View in the resorts second less desirable time period. We didn't want the Platinum week as we have kids and wish to go to the Theme Parks in Winter or Spring Break. Availability is actually a bit better than the Platinum weeks and we have been and stayed at the property several times before purchasing. We stated the price we would pay to several buyers (It was far below listed secondary prices) and we just waited for someone to want to sell it to us. We had no time line.

Hope this covers your question. Know what you're buying and be aware of the lunacy of our otherwise organized minds.