Outsider's view here: wouldn't it be lower risk to find a mature development and buy in the aftermarket? No matter your destination or preferred brand (HGVC, MVCI, etc.) it seems like in the current market you'd have plenty of selection across the price/quality continuum.

Other than the lifetime hotel status (which seems to require a LOT of timeshare purchases!), I don't quite get the full value of buying from the developer directly, especially when the developer price is 100-200% marked up from the aftermarket.

(I'm sure this is probably a common n00b question on the TUG boards...)