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Re: Diamond Resorts International (by KC):

joem961 wrote:

Well, I recently did a "tour" of DRI to take advantage of some of the perks they were offering during a weekend vacation in Tahoe. So yeah... a bit of tunnel vision here. Generally though, time share vacations and perks has intrigued me but I also do not like the feeling of obligating myself into anything.

The points package I was looking at was 7500 at $30k with $1600 annual maintenance fee (kinda pricey).

My parents had Wyndham and I've used it through them in the past. What I didn't like was they didn't seem to be as flexible as DRI and sometimes I'd still have to pay to stay and some of their resorts or they simply didn't have availability during the times I needed it. Not sure why... maybe they were out on points? I dunno. These concerns people are having with DRI and whatnot is starting to make me feel a bit disenchanted with the time share concept...

So basically are there any time share companies that allow you to "have your cake and eat it too" but not be committed into paying into some crazy annual maintenance fee? Because even after I pay off the $30.... $1600/annually ($113/monthly) is still pretty pricey.

With no disrespect or personal offense intended, paying developer-direct prices is ALWAYS both entirely unnecessary and usually outright foolish. You ARE aware that there is a secondary (resale) market, right? In my opinion, there is no timeshare on Planet Earth worth $30k (plus non-deductible interest, for years on end, since you would apparently be financing the purchase). That's frankly just plain nuts, at least in my personal opinion.

I can't tell you what you should buy or what would work for you (...possibly NOTHING in timeshares, quite frankly), but just know and understand very clearly that you could acquire a FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND Wyndham points in the resale market for a few HUNDRED dollars. I had a 182,000 Wyndham points ownership, with an attached prime fixed winter week in Atlantic Coast Florida, that I gave away a few years ago FOR FREE. I now own and use only a few fixed weeks (ALL of them purchased ONLY in the resale market).

ANY and EVERY timeshare, by definition, necessarily involves annual maintenance fees. That's simply the nature of the beast. Furniture, appliances, televisions, landscaping, repairs, pools, hot tubs, air conditioners and property insurance and electricity don't all just happen by magic (or for free) --- materials, labor and management all cost money. What you might consider "crazy" for annual fees is of course your own personal determination and decision. It's all relative, but in any scenario there is no free ride (...and no free cake).

No, you cannot "have your cake and eat it too" (your words) --- some would call that unrealistic mindset "the millennial mentality" (I have no idea of YOUR age, but it doesn't really matter). That aside, I'm not really sure that timeshare is the right "fit" for you at all, given your overtly stated aversion to "commitment". You can always just rent when / where you want to travel. That would be a fair number of trips for the $30k you are currently (and unwisely) considering throwing away. In any case, good luck with whatever you decide ---- but buying DRI (or anything else) developer-direct would be an expensive mistake.