What to do if you're invited to a Trendwest information evening

So, what should you do if you've been invited to a Trendwest information evening?

I'd recommend these 3 golden rules:

• Read the Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Statement before attending (that way you'll be able to ask questions while being fully informed)
  
• Search the Internet for the current market value of memberships being resold by existing unitholders (many are referenced on this website, some go as low as $1/unit)
  
• Analyse your own spending patterns, financial resources and holiday desires so you'll know the value of your annual holidays now and in the future
  

You should be very comfortable with the above before committing yourself to $10,000 to $20,000 on the purchase of timeshare property which you never actually "own".

Before signing, be sure that you know:

• All the costs (up-front, annual maintenance, housekeeping, membership of point interchange clubs, etc)
• How much you can afford
• How much you typically spend on holidays (the past is a good predictor of the future)

As with any financial transaction (especially where you're spending enough to buy a new car!), read all the documentation! It's written in fairly friendly, easy-to-read language so you've got no excuse to ignore it.

Once you're comfortable with the above, go ahead and join -- seriously!

However, one thing to note is that there are existing Trendwest owners who are looking to sell their Holiday Credits (actually units in a Unit Trust). You can pick up a real bargain by purchasing from an existing owner -- there are many examples of such sales on this website.

When buying units direct from Trendwest, you pay $2.05/unit. I've seen units sell on the Internet for only $1/unit -- that's a saving of 50% or more, and it provides excellent value for your holiday dollar. Plus, it gives existing Trendwest unitholders an opportunity to exit from their financial commitments.

Tags: trendwest worldmark

Destinations Magazine

Interested in seeing the publication that WorldMark South Pacific members receive?

Well, now you can read it online.

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Timeshare Users Group

While surfing the Internet I found the Timeshare Users Group.

They state:

The quote we hear most from new members is "I wish I had known about TUG before I bought my first timeshare"

It looks like timeshare is gret for many people, but even better if you do your research beforehand. This goes against Trendwest's strong encouragement that people buy "on the night".

I wonder if they've tried disseminating information separately, with enough time for people to digest the implications. Or would they not sell enough that way?

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Trendwest Sales Commission

Perusing the Financial Service Guide I note:

The sales representative will be remunerated by way of commission ranging between 3.0% and 7.25%, and a manager between 1.3% and 3.0%, of the consideration paid on the issue of Holiday Credits to you.

If the sales representative wants to earn $50,000/year they need approx $1000/week.

They therefore need to sell $14,000 to $30,000 of credits per week -- that's 2 sales/week.

There's plenty of job ads out there if you want the job.

Tags: trendwest worldmark