Original Message:
Re: Trading power of Palm Beach Resort and Beach Club (by KC):
valeried50 wrote:===================================Hello,I'm new to timeshares and this board. My husband's parents want to give us their timeshare at The Palm Beach Resort and Beach Club. It is for the week of July 4th. We would just have the yearly maintance fees of about $700. I'm wondering if anyone may have some information about this resort and also how much trading power it might have with RCI. I am able to travel during the off season but I think I prefer vacations at more of a "resort" property than a condo like property. Maybe one of the gold or silver crown options. Could July 4th week at this property trade for an off season week at a more resort like property? Thank you in advance for any help. I'm new to all this and just trying to figure out how it all works.
According to the RCI directory, Palm Beach Resort & Beach Club is resort #0616. The resort number itself indicates that it's an older place, certainly well over 20 years old. There is no "rating" indicated. No on site amenities indicated beyond an outdoor pool. There are 1BR units and 2BR units there, but your post does not identify which of those two possibilities your in-laws own. The difference between the two obviously and greatly affects the trading power of that week.
Personally, I do not know whether the July 4 week is a popular one at a place like this and RCI "trading power" is frankly always a little bit of a mystery anyhow. That disclaimer clearly stated up front, unless July 4 is actually a popular week here, you just might encounter some difficulty trying to "trade up" from an unrated resort into a Gold Crown resort, unless it's in "off season" for that Gold Crown facility.
$700 is in the high range of annual maintenance fees (for non-Keys Florida, anyhow) --- and a 20+ year old facility might well also be looking at "special assessments" before too long (unexpected fees which are imposed *in addition* to annual maintenance fees, to cover major refurbishing and upgrades, or storm or hurricane damage, etc.).
Clearly there are some internal family dynamics for you to also consider, but unless you actually like this facility for what it is and for where it is and for when it's available, you might want to give some serious thought as to whether this "gift" is really right for you at all. That $700 per year annual maintenance fee is a figure well on the way to paying for a week's rental at a whole range of other actual resorts in Florida, maybe at a different place every year, without any of the time, effort (or uncertainty) of annual trading (with an exchange fee of $164, subject to future increases) payable to RCI for each and every such exchange. That now makes your annual ownership cost a minimum of $864 if you "exchange".
No judgement of any kind rendered or intended here, just some factual info and other food for thought....