Talk me into or down from getting into Timshares

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Post # 2 and 3 say it all and that is as far as I got.

My main reason for not buying would be the uncertainty of our economy. If it gets worse, more people will simply walk away from their obligations but someone has to pay these fees or the resort will go under (not maintained or bankrupt) and that someone is you and me.

I would never buy from a big developer again because they keep control of the timeshare resorts and they keep changing the rules and never in the timeshare owner's favor.

We still enjoy our timeshares but mainly for personal use at the resorts where we bought. You have to do a lot of homework as it is easy to buy but may be hard to sell. When you buy from eBay, you really have to know what you are doing. Start reading.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

OK.

Don't buy.

Rent for now as beaucoup timeshare owners are renting their weeks at less than maintenance fees.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

where do you live, where do you plan to travel to and how much time will you have for vacations?
sometimes there are pluses to owning that make it worthwhile but there are many drawbacks already mentioned.

[Sidewayzracer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sidewayzracer]

where do you live, where do you plan to travel to and how much time will you have for vacations?
sometimes there are pluses to owning that make it worthwhile but there are many drawbacks already mentioned.

I live in mass and was looking at time shares in the Ft. Myers area my grandfather lives there and i havent been down since my grandmother died nearly 10 years ago. I remember staying on the beach front at this bungaloo beach house thing im not sure what you would call it and i loved it.

I get on average 3 weeks of vacation time a year normally i just use it to not come into work.

i also see on ebay some auctions for timeshares by charities that have the years maintenance fees paid up along with transfer and closing fees. Are these a good deal or is it something to be wary off since it seems the owners had issues trying to sell it.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

timeshares on fort myers beach at the time of year you would want to be there still have some value. most of them are not super nice, but okay.

reason i asked, try to look up Christmas Mountain Village, UDI, and see what they are. they give you three to four weeks at a time with maintenance fee of around 1000, and a $55 fee every time you book, then add your $179 trading fee for each exchange and see if that is what you want to spend. The HOA is suppposedly going to give some foreclosed UDIs away.

[Ridewithme38 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ridewithme38]

You've got to expect when you buy a timeshare that you will NEVER be able to get rid of it....and that MF's will increase ATLEAST 10% a year(might not but you should be prepared for it)...Once you've accepted those two things as fact...and have accounted for the possibility of huge TS Fee increases...You maybe ready to start looking at locations

[Sidewayzracer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sidewayzracer]

You've got to expect when you buy a timeshare that you will NEVER be able to get rid of it....and that MF's will increase ATLEAST 10% a year(might not but you should be prepared for it)...Once you've accepted those two things as fact...and have accounted for the possibility of huge TS Fee increases...You maybe ready to start looking at locations

has anyone created a database to track how much individual timeshare companies have raised their maintenance fees. Would be interesting to see which ones have been known to raise rates more then others in the same area.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I have been able to sell my former timeshares for as much or more than I paid for them with 3 exceptions (early purchases before I had much knowledge). If you find a desirable week at a desirable location with good management you should not lose much if anything when the time comes to part with it. The more you know, the less you risk. As I stated before, now (and the next 2 years) should be a good time to buy-and a very bad time to sell.

[Sidewayzracer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sidewayzracer]

I have been able to sell my former timeshares for as much or more than I paid for them with 3 exceptions (early purchases before I had much knowledge). If you find a desirable week at a desirable location with good management you should not lose much if anything when the time comes to part with it. The more you know, the less you risk. As I stated before, now (and the next 2 years) should be a good time to buy-and a very bad time to sell.

i can see where the deflated values on timeshares can be linked with the housing and employment markets.

[Ridewithme38 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ridewithme38]

I have been able to sell my former timeshares for as much or more than I paid for them with 3 exceptions (early purchases before I had much knowledge). If you find a desirable week at a desirable location with good management you should not lose much if anything when the time comes to part with it. The more you know, the less you risk. As I stated before, now (and the next 2 years) should be a good time to buy-and a very bad time to sell.

Thats not really something you can depending on...your three resorts were outliers...so to speak...the general rule is TS's are worth NOTHING on resale...if anything, more often then not it COSTS money to get rid of a TS....its a dangerous precedent to make, to tell possible buyers that there will be ANY value in their resort when they go to sell....if we are going based on the evidence...since the birth of TS's....prices will continue to decline...soon even those 3 will be hard to get rid of...even if offered for free

[bjones9942 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bjones9942]

You've got to expect when you buy a timeshare that you will NEVER be able to get rid of it....and that MF's will increase ATLEAST 10% a year(might not but you should be prepared for it)...Once you've accepted those two things as fact...and have accounted for the possibility of huge TS Fee increases...You maybe ready to start looking at locations

My mf's went up 1% this year. Just saying.

[bjones9942 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bjones9942]

... I also see on ebay some auctions for timeshares by charities that have the years maintenance fees paid up along with transfer and closing fees. Are these a good deal or is it something to be wary off since it seems the owners had issues trying to sell it.

One man's trash is another man's gold. A good deal is often subjective. Many people would probably pass right by my Mazatlan timeshare, but I love it.

I just purchased a timeshare from the 'popular' charity (I have no idea if they are or not) selling on eBay. So far, things are going smoothly. They use another company to do the closing, so they're the ones you'll be dealing with. Unfortunately, mine didn't come with a free years usage

[fishingguy Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishingguy]

can even rent from RCI

As previously mentioned, renting may be an option. In fact, RCI often rents TSs called Extra Vacations. [I've been following them for about 8 months now; comparing weeks and points TS exchange availability to the RCI rentals.] Unfortunately, you'll need at least 1 TS to get an RCI account to see these Rentals, but you can get some very good prices at many resorts, for a very nice price -- often a fraction of the maintenace fees for that TS. There is some nice availability here lately at many resorts, you just need to plan a little in advance to get the better bargains, and watch. [An RCI affiliated TS that has very low maintenance fees (MF) and occupancy of once ever 3 years would get you an RCI account.]

Another option that doesn't require an RCI account is to go through the Wyndham rental website. Although the prices aren't nearly as good as RCI Extra Vacations, they still aren't too bad, and the inventory is very close to RCIs Extra Vacations. You don't have any MF or RCI annual account fees going this route, which will tend to offset the higher cost, especially if you book more than 1 TS a year. [This also may be a good option for someone who is looking to get into TSs before they buy. It gives you a chance to check things out, talk with other TSers at the resort, see a resort you may be thinking about buying resale, etc.]

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Thats not really something you can depending on...your three resorts were outliers...so to speak...the general rule is TS's are worth NOTHING on resale...if anything, more often then not it COSTS money to get rid of a TS....its a dangerous precedent to make, to tell possible buyers that there will be ANY value in their resort when they go to sell....if we are going based on the evidence...since the birth of TS's....prices will continue to decline...soon even those 3 will be hard to get rid of...even if offered for free

Don't tell the guys that paid 8k for two of them. There are 9 resorts where I would be happy to take free timeshares from. Gee, I will even pay money to get them. Prices are currently at rock bottom and will be going up in a year or so. Some have already left the bottom. Desirable properties will always have some value- crap will continue to be crap.

[fishingguy Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishingguy]

...on the other hand

The neat thing about TSing is that you can take it to whatever end you desire. That includes your own preferences in accomodations, how often you can travel, where you typically want to travel to, how much you can afford, personal circumstance, and so on. Planning before you buy is likely the single best advice anyone can give, if you intend to go this route. Then you can learn to use what you have to get the most from it.

As BJones pointed out, TSing can also be very subjective. We all have different travel habits, tastes, interests, disposable income, available time and lifestyles. Nothing wrong with that, it's a fact of life -- but it might explain why there are so many diverse responses to the OP. I don't think there is any right or wrong answers.... So, owning may be right for some, and not for others.

We've never thought of any TS purchase as an investment or expected to recover what we put into it. [Fortunately, we've always been able to find what we wanted via resale.] Our MFs are the cost of travel and nothing more; just like gasoline, airline tickets and other expenses. But I admit, we do like the independent resorts vs "big" chains, when it comes to stability and unexpected changes.