Original Message:
ask-redweek-timeshare-exit-holiday-inn-settlement (by Patrick V.):
The problem even in the good old days of deeded weeks/units is that people thought they were actually buying property. They weren't. They were prepaying vacations and agreeing to pay annual dues for upkeep. There is no free lunch folks. And even if you bought a home on the water and paid likely MILLIONS you may lose money as markets fall or with upkeep, taxes, utilities, repairs, furnishings, and the dreaded hurricane insurance and flood expense and hazard insurance for fires. We bought with a respected legacy developer in Hilton Head and have deeded fixed week and fixed units, but the flexibility of Interval exchanges or Interval Getaways, or even Developer Bonus Weeks, and free internal exchanges with other developer properties and if necessary we can call reservations and move our fixed week for one season no cost. Best of all worlds. What is it worth? I dont know. But its gorgeous. The view is incredible and the resort is awesome. And we drive there and no airline tickets are necessary. So we are good. Did the developer get a BUNCH OF MY MONEY? YEP. DID I PAY IT WILLINGLY? YEP. We even transferred from an older property and got every dime we put into it then, and just upgraded. Treated FAIRLY. My kids LOVE IT and they are now grown and married and will use it with grandkids as they come along (one due now!) . Everyone thinks they got scammed into buying. I know of few if anyone who got scammed. Some were a bit high pressure. Sure. But in every case you got what you contracted and paid for. If you bought a resale on TUG or REDWEEK you did VERY WELL. CONGRATS! I bought mine from the developer because HE DELIVERED PRECISELY WHAT I WANTED: BUILDING, UNIT, WEEKS, FIXED. ANNUAL. BIG THREE BEDROOM UNIT. We've exchanged to Europe twice btw. Awesome vacations there. (Malaga and Paris/Normandy).
We bought deeded unit and deeded weeks. Not floaters. Not points. WE STILL HAVE THE SAME FLEXIBILITY. IF I WANT TO SELL ONE OF MY WEEKS, I WILL POST HERE. OR MAYBE THE DEVELOPER WILL BUY IT BACK SOMEDAY because its an awesome unit and he needs inventory to sell. Meanwhile people pay 10,000 a week or MORE to rent part of a house on ocean side or inland waterway side of Hilton Head. Its crazy. I love some Marriott properties and Hilton properties but we own with a legendary legacy developer and are very happy. (You are welcome Mr. T! ; - ) Some whining people. 90% of people dont know how to use and leverage their timeshares. Even fixed week people. Its sad.