Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Should you Buy Bluegreen Points from the Resort or from the Resale Market?

This article compares the premier benefits obtained by buying at full price from Bluegreen Resorts with the value of buying a resale contract on the secondary market.

It is very important to understand that any premier or VIP benefits can be changed or canceled entirely at any time, as these benefits are not tied in any way to the real estate ownership (which is why the developer can restrict these benefits from being transferred when the ownership is bought or sold on the secondary market!). In fact, shortly before this article was written, Bluegreen had just changed the benefits again- by reducing the privileges given to Bronze level owners (presumably to try and "encourage" more owners to purchase even more points and "upgrade" to higher levels).

Bluegreen pricing is currently about .85 to .25 per annual point.. Resale prices can commonly be found in the $ .25 to $ .40 per annual point range!

The Premier or Elite Levels of Bluegreen are classified as:

Bronze level VIP privileges are received by owning 15,0000 to 19,999 annual points.(Approximate cost of ,000 to ,000 if you buy resale and ,000 to ,000 if you buy from Bluegreen)

Silver level VIP privileges are received by owning 20,000 to 34,999 annual points. (Approximate cost of ,000 to ,000 if you buy resale and ,000 to ,000 if you buy from Bluegreen)

Gold level VIP privileges are received by owning 35,000 to 59,999 annual points. (Approximate cost of ,750 to ,000 if you buy resale and ,000 to 5,000 if you buy from Bluegreen)

Platinum level VIP privileges are received by owning 60,000 annual points or more. (Approximate cost starting at ,000 if you buy resale and 0,000 if you buy from Bluegreen)

Some of the benefits and privileges premier level owners receive are:

Villa upgrades: Premier owners are eligible to get a free one category villa upgrade based on availability. When you can request the upgrade and how many upgrades you can receive differ by level.

Bronze = 1 day prior to the reservation and a maximum of 3 upgrades per year. Silver = 2 days prior and 5 per year Gold = 3 days prior and 7 per year Platinum = 4 days prior and 10 per year

Presidential Villa Upgrades are only available to Gold and Platinum level owners and are subject to the same maximum count per year.

Gold - 4 days prior Platinum - 7 days prior

Question for potential buyers: Is having a chance (based on availability just before check-in) at upgrading to one unit size bigger than what you reserved worth paying more 500% more for ownership?

The Obvious Answer: No! However, chances are you will already have reserved the unit type you need for your stay since nobody reserves a villa too small to accommodate their family. While an upgrade to a larger unit is certainly a nice perk, it is not necessary and certainly not worth thousands of dollars!

Another possible benefit is the waiver of cancellation or modification fees when you change a reservation.

Bronze class owners do not receive this benefit. Silver level owners are allowed up to 3 modifications or cancellations per year. Gold level owners are allowed up to 5 modifications or cancellations per year. Platinum level owners are allowed an unlimited number of modifications or cancellations per year.

Basically, unless you own 20,000 points or more- you still have to pay cancellation fees! This restriction puts this benefit out of reach for most owners. Platinum class owners who routinely rent their points may find this to be very beneficial, but they will have to consider the vast increase in purchase cost as well as the risk that the benefit could potentially be changed at any time. For almost every knowledgeable buyer- the decision is simply that buying resale is the best choice!

Another benefit is that Gold and Platinum level owners can receive extended stays and reservations at no cost based on availability.

Gold members can have one free white and Blue Season reservation per year. Platinum owners can have three free white and blue season reservations per year.

At first glance, this seems like a fantastic benefit! Who wouldn't like to get vacations for free!

But when you really think it over- it's not as fantastic as it sounds. Another great point for resale buyers is that unless you own 35,000 points or more- you don't even get the chance! And when you compare the cost difference- this benefit is at best a bad joke! Owners are often paying between ,000 to 0,000 over resale pricing for the privilege of getting a few free nights? At a rental rate of 0. per night, it will take you more than fourteen years before you break even! If the rack rate is only 0/night- it then takes more than 35 years! Chances are that extra money in your pocket can purchase all the extra nights you will need.

As always, timeshare ownership at resort prices is far more sizzle than steak! Take your time, research the product and the benefits- and I'm confident you'll agree that purchasing a Bluegreen timeshare ownership on the resale market is the only smart decision!

Copyright (c) 2010 Richard Marquette

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