New Members - Please Introduce Yourself!

[rikkis_playpen]

Congratulations on your new ownership.. I'm confident that you will find vacation ownership to be a great experience for your family! Don't worry too much about buying from the resort- most owners do!

As you learn more about your ownership and the industry in general, you'll find great opportunities to maximize your current ownership, and also to get the most from your next purchase when you decide to add to your portfolio.

Welcome!

[sanbap]

Hi Everyone,

We came back from a vacation to the Smokey Mountains. I got suckered into signing a contract with Club Wyndham Plus (the sales staff sure beats the proverbial snake oil salesperson). It's 5 days now and I finally got the time to review timeshares. I spoke to Wyndham corporate office directly (avoiding the sales staff in TN) and they asked me to FAX and send a certified rescission snail-mail to:

Attn: Rescission Dept.
Wyndham Consumer Finance
10750 West Charleston Blvd.
Suite 130
Las Vegas NV 89135.

TN Addendum allows for 15 days cancellation. I was asked to write the member # and contract # in the cancellation contract. The admin staff at the corporate office was very helpful. I am sending that via priority return receipt, first thing in the morning.

I am an educator and my wife is now a homemaker by choice. Our oldest boy is a Freshman in college and the younger one has a couple more years to go, leaving us with an empty nest in the near future. We have ample free time during summer months (I stopped the stressful grant writing work several years ago). My teaching schedule during the academic semester is Tuesdays and Thursdays, therefore I can take off starting from Thursday evening through Monday evening without being missed. I can't think of a better life than being in academia (though, it took 40 yrs of hard work to get to that).

This forum has helped my wife and me make the decision to rescind the contract - a no brainer. We were impressed by the Club Wyndham Plus program and we feel that we need 300K points annually to have the flexibility to go anywhere we choose at any time. eBay deals are going for $300 to $1,000 + Closing. I have several questions regarding Wyndham (what's the difference between Wyndham and Wyndham Plus, why is it that older contracts have different schedule schemes (Red, etc.) compared to newer contracts that have Quiet, Value, High, Prime etc.? Is there a forum for Wyndham?

I look forward to reading the forums and getting to know the timeshare industry and you all.

Sanjay

[chargerfan]

Hello I am Sally and I am new to forum. HELP!!!! I wanted to start a discussion but I do not know how. I own a timeshare at lake tahoe (embassy) now DRI. It is paid for along with 5500 extra points that i bought in Sedona. I have a total of 16,000.

I cannot afford the MF anymore. It runs close to $1800.00 a year. Please any suggestions?

[Hobbitess]

Originally Posted by sanbap

Is there a forum for Wyndham?

Scan down "Timeshare Forums" to "Resort Chain Forums" for the Wyndham/Fairfield subforum.

Wyndham/Fairfield Resorts - Timeshare Forums


I've been here a while, but pretty much stuck to the Bluegreen Resorts subforum, so I thought I'd post to the Newbie thread.

Hubby's boss offered us his RCI week at Christmas Mountain Village last September, and we took the Bluegreen tour and ended up buying a Sampler there (9000 points with considerable limitations that expire after one year). We never had the remotest interest in fixed week timeshares but got pretty excited over the points system, since it circumvented a whole lot of the things we didn't like about the other. Plus I liked that you could get a full kitchen in any of the Bluegreen units we'd be likely to use within the next however-many years.

Wasn't enthused about commiting to years of maintenance fees without doing some homework first, so I'm really glad Bluegreen had the Sampler option. Although just doing the routine with the salesman might have motivated me to check into it all anyhow, I dunno. But going to four of the resorts without serious commitment was a terrific opportunity to verify that Bluegreen fits our style very well (and we have a fifth resort visit on our Sampler in September). So we're in the process of purchasing a CMV points resale.

This is a lovely site. Just thought I'd mention that.

[jbplott]

Hi,

My husband, me & our 5 year old daughter went to Myrtle Beach last week for our vacation, we typically go there 1-2 times a year. While at breakfast a man approached about a free $75 gift card & 2night/3day stay for a 90 minute presentation, we took the tour it was with Bluegreen. We didn't sign onto anything big just the sampler package $300 down $75 per month.

When I got back home I read a lot of negatives about them as well as other timeshare programs, now I am nervous. We have 9000 points for our trial year, if we choose to re-new we will have 7000 points every other year. I haven't tried the program yet but we plan on making a trip back to the beach in September (we can't use June, July or August per the program) Due to us both working with limited vacation we are going to have to use weekends which will pretty much eat up all of our points because we don't have the bonus option with this program.

After reading all of the horror stories, I believe the sampler package is as far as we will go. I don't relish the idea of paying on something for 10 years & re-selling should the maint. fees get too high for a 1/3 or less of what we paid. At the same time, as hotel rates continue to go up a TS does seem like a better option. We paid $112 per night (included taxes) on this trip, stayed Weds until Sun for a hotel across from the beach. They may not seem like much to some people but it is to us. We take 2 trips per year one like this & one weekend trip Fri, check out Sun.

Of course we would like to take more vacations but we can't afford to. Our goal is by the time our daughter is 8 or 9 we want to take her to Disney I have heard this can be VERY expensive, that is another reason we considered the time share, because a big portion of your money spent is always on the room. Any feedback any of you have would be appreciated. It appears to me, if we choose to re-new we will be locked in at least until we have it paid for & then we will have to pretty much give our points away to get out of it.

Thanks,
Jib

[Hobbitess]

Originally Posted by jbplott

I don't relish the idea of paying on something for 10 years & re-selling should the maint. fees get too high for a 1/3 or less of what we paid. At the same time, as hotel rates continue to go up a TS does seem like a better option.

Buying a timeshare from the developer is usually like buying a new car from the dealer - the minute you walk away with your new purchase, its market value drops horrifically. The secret to keeping value in timeshare is the same secret to keeping value with a car; buy used in the first place. Then the difference between what you paid and what you can sell it for will be minimized.

You also might look into timeshare rentals, rather than timeshare purchase. While I would never suggest someone buy a timeshare meaning to make back their maintenance fees by renting it out, people do rent them out all the time, and often you can find a rental for not much more than the owner's maintenance fees.

Personally, for what I want, I think I get a better deal buying Bluegreen, but your needs are not the same as mine so you may get a better deal doing something else.

[rikkis_playpen]

Originally Posted by jbplott

Hi,

My husband, me & our 5 year old daughter went to Myrtle Beach last week for our vacation, we typically go there 1-2 times a year. While at breakfast a man approached about a free $75 gift card & 2night/3day stay for a 90 minute presentation, we took the tour it was with Bluegreen. We didn't sign onto anything big just the sampler package $300 down $75 per month.

Don't drive yourself crazy with worry or buyer's remorse.. Enjoy your sampler package and use it! Spend time in these forums learning how Bluegreen works (and other programs as well), the differences between buying from the developer and buying resale, and even get info on renting and exchanging possibilities.

A year from now- put it all together and make an educated decision as to what best serves your family's needs! I'm confident you'll find that timeshare ownership can be a very positive experience..

Welcome!

Rich

[ewmfcc]

My wife and I bought a timeshare after researching exactly what we wanted. No high pressure sales.
We purchased at Club Cascadas in Cabo San Lucas, and oh my, did we get more than we expected!! This is not a concrete monstrosity in a nice location. This is a work of art, right on the edge of heaven. Private Villas hidden among a thousand palms, on the 2 mile stretch of Medano Beach. It's quiet, peaceful, and the service and food are fantastic.
Although we only own 2 weeks per year, we have visited many times in between.

[Syed]

Originally Posted by ewmfcc

My wife and I bought a timeshare after researching exactly what we wanted. No high pressure sales.
We purchased at Club Cascadas in Cabo San Lucas, and oh my, did we get more than we expected!! This is not a concrete monstrosity in a nice location. This is a work of art, right on the edge of heaven. Private Villas hidden among a thousand palms, on the 2 mile stretch of Medano Beach. It's quiet, peaceful, and the service and food are fantastic.
Although we only own 2 weeks per year, we have visited many times in between.

Congratulations! You bought in a great timeshare resort. Everyone I know who has a timeshare at Club Cascades loves it. I am confident it will bring you years of enjoyment.

[Jfultz81]

Hi all! Newbie here that has been lurking for a few days. We've never owned a timeshare, but are interested in buying points with Bluegreen (resale of course, "new" is just too expensive for our budget!).

We mostly cruise for our vacations, and do shorter driving trips throughout the year. I think the BG would fit our needs since they have locations close to a few cruise ports and one just a few hours from us (Big Cedar). I just wish the whole exchange thing worked a bit better because we are hoping to go back to Europe in the next few years and South America/Antarctica after that.