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Wyndham Points article 7 of 10 This
Timeshare Advice article discusses buying Wyndham Points on
Ebay. Written by TUGGERS and provided to you
free by the Timeshare Users Group!
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Article
VII - Wyndham Maintenance Fees
by TUGGER: GoofyHobbie
Wyndham
resorts which are sold out may have re-sale units. Those resorts
and other Wyndham resorts that are not sold out should have a
significant and,
in some cases, a well established “maintenance fee” history. If you are
seriously considering Wyndham for a traditional fixed week ownership or
for the
flexibility of Wyndham points, a group of owners has formed a community
to help
you. This group keeps track of the “maintenance fee” history and
special assessment
history. That history is available for you as a potential buyer. The
history in
some cases goes back at least ten years and for the most part the
information
that I have investigated has proven to be accurate or easily checked.
Research
the Property Owner’s Association (POA) (“maintenance fees”) before you
buy. The
POA fee history can be a reasonable precursor of things to come. Note
the
reference to Maintenance Fee Spreadsheets later in this article.
Owner-controlled resorts because they are owner controlled, often have better cost controls in place. If a management company hired by a Property Owner Association is not getting the job done the owners have the power to employ a different management company.
Research Issues That May Apply To
Your Resort
TIP: Maintenance
costs and what exactly that
involves is something you better get straight well before you decide to
buy
retail, through an eBay® auction, or by some
other means. Those considering a purchase at a non-Wyndham resort may
find such
information more difficult to access; but some information should be
available
if you dig deep enough.
Be wary of any
suggestion that maintenance fees are much lower at some of
the new resorts like Wyndham Capital Cove at
When the subject of
maintenance fees at
Although my
experience
with developers and their business model is extremely limited, it did
not
surprise me to learn that other resort developers have understated or
overstated maintenance fees while they are still in control of the
on-going
operations of the resort. A developer can control the POA if they own
enough
units and/or have enough proxies from unit owners so that they can
control the
Board and determine how and by whom the resort is managed.
An example that comes
to
mind is The Manhattan Club, where the developer is said to be retaining
control
by expanding the number of timeshare units. Some
owners at the Manhattan Club may have
anticipated that the resort would be “sold out” by now and that they,
the
owners, would gain control; but it is said that the Board is controlled
by the
developer.
If you were about to become a buyer of timeshare at The Manhattan Club you would be making a mistake, in my humble opinion, if you failed to do your homework. Some owners are no doubt concerned about the escalating maintenance fees being charged. A casual review of The Manhattan Club’s 2010 budget reveals that over six million dollars (roughly 20%) of the 2010 Budget is being paid to the management company and that is over and above the $15.6 Million budgeted for administrative and labor cost. A casual observer would have to ask “what is up with that?” Source: http://www.tmcny.com/budget-2010/scheduleb.htm
When considering a
timeshare purchase the buyer should be aware of what is going on
because your
biggest expense over time is going to be your share of the maintenance
fees. As
a longtime timeshare owner and as a TUGGER, I have learned to be
skeptical when
something doesn’t seem to jive with what my experience has taught me. There are probably many
benefits to having
owner control of a resort POA; not the least of which would be picking
the
management. But,
owner controlled
resorts can also have difficulties. Ask questions of owners at the TUG
forums and/or
other websites that have open forums where the discussions are
predominantly
about timeshare. Get an idea of what is going on at the resort where
you plan
to become an owner. Pay attention to the maintenance fee history at any
resort you
consider.
That
$2.87 per thousand points quoted for
Common sense tells me
that the maintenance fees at
Remember, it is
imperative that you know beforehand as much as possible about the
current and
likely maintenance cost at what will be your “Home Resort.” Those costs
are
something that you will live with until you eventually pass on or
transfer the
timeshare property to someone else.
What you are going to pay in “Sunk Cost” is pretty much self-explanatory when you carefully review the developer proposal or an auction advertisement. If you are concerned about making a serious mistake when buying re-sale you are not alone. But at least when buying on eBay® if the advertisement turns out to have a material mistake you can immediately address the issue after the auction closes. If you cannot get satisfactory resolution you always can fall back on eBay® polices, especially the one that states that real estate auctions are not binding.
Research
Maintenance Fee History
When
picking an Undivided Interest Ownership (UDI) or Unit(s) that
have been converted from fixed Week(s) to Points choose a Property
Owner’s
Association (POA) that has a reasonable maintenance fee history given
the
resort location. There is more about the importance of that information
below and
within Article VI – Buying Wyndham Points On eBay®.
When doing your
research, keep in mind that an owner of Wyndham points where the resort
is in
TIP:
Wyndham
as a developer does not currently sell
fixed timeshare weeks. They
only offer
points. However, in
addition to
acquiring UDI points in the secondary market, you may find the
opportunity to
acquire a points contract that came about because the original owner
converted
a former Fairfield Resorts, Inc. timeshare fixed week to what is now
known as
Club WyndhamSM
Plus points at the time of a retail purchase of
points or by paying a fee to make the conversion.
Note:
If
a conversion to Wyndham points has been
made the pre-determined allotment of points is deposited into the
owner’s point
account at the ten month mark. During the Advance Reservation Priority
(ARP)
period the owner of the fixed week has the option to notify Wyndham
that he
intends to use the specific underlying week.
If the owner has not so notified Wyndham by the last day
of the ARP
period the points are placed in the owner’s account
and the
specific underlying week for that Use Year is no longer available to
the owner.
TIP:
If
you simply want your points as cheaply as
possible and you adhere to the concept of Points are Points then factor
in the
acquisition cost up front and the relative Club WyndhamSM
Plus
Assessment fee going forward for the contracts that you are looking to
purchase. In my humble opinion, if you are using the points are points
strategy
it really does not matter that much if you buy a UDI contract or a
converted to
points fixed week contract
Before You Go To eBay® Or Buy Elsewhere Do
Your Homework
Make sure you have
carefully decided where you want your “Home Resort” to
be and make sure you fully understand the current situation at that
resort. Failure
to fully understand the facts you should know can cost you money and be
inconvenient
to you later. If you have not been to a Wyndham presentation at the
resort you
are considering, the experience is worth the trouble because of the
materials
you can acquire to complete your research.
The “buzz” the sales
people will impart will create questions and you
should take the time to write those questions down before you leave. Be
cautious regarding anything a sales person offers that is not in
writing. My
recommendation is to NOT PURCHASE from the developer at least until you
have
carefully researched other options.
Since my personal
choice for situate was
Research
helped me to discover that the underlying “maintenance
fees” at Wyndham Westwinds are significantly higher than the underlying
“maintenance fees” at SeaWatch Plantation or
As
mentioned previously, the largest cost factor that you will
encounter when buying timeshare
interests may not be the purchase or “sunk cost,” especially if you are
buying
re-sale. The largest cost is more than likely going to be the on-going
underlying maintenance fees that are charged by the Property Owners
Association.
At this
point you might be asking yourself what difference it
makes. It mattered to me when I was trying to determine my on-going
cost given
my plan to buy multiple contracts involving different property owner
associations. If you are just interested in one contract and the
information
provided by the seller is accurate you probably could care less.
If you want to do more due
diligence, consider comparing the “maintenance fees” for the underlying
properties
that you are considering. Why? Because you should make sure that you
acquire
property that has reasonable fees when compared to similar property.
Go
to
the Wyndham Resort Forums:
http://forums.atozed.com/viewtopic.php?f=164&t=5890
Full
Credit for this information goes to the
site owner: Glenn Benscoter and the volunteers who maintain the
spreadsheets. Be sure to thank the
volunteers at that free
website.
To those
underlying “maintenance fees” you will have to add the Club
WyndhamSM
Plus
program fee that will be charged to your account. However, the
rate charged can end up being less per thousand points owned if you
eventually
buy more contracts.
How much an owner of
Wyndham points has to pay toward
the program fee is NOT determined by how the points are acquired. It
makes no
difference if you purchase your ownership re-sale or from the
developer, you as
an owner pay the same program fee that any other owner has to pay who
owns the
same amount of points that you own. It is the total number of points in
a
member’s account that determines the rate per thousand points charged
for the
program fee.
Source:
Club WyndhamSM
Plus Program Summary dated June 17, 2009
Footnote:
If, you have any inquiries regarding how to
use Wyndham’s product
features or benefits consult Wyndham’s written documents and materials
including
the resort directory for additional information about how to use the
product.
and post Free Timeshare Classified ads in the |
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page updated June 29, 2010 by B Rogers - Send email regarding this page to tug@tug2.net