Getting into Timeshares?

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

About 7 years ago when I was in the Marines, my wife and I went to a meeting about Timeshares, and while they sounded great, with me being military, we couldnt commit to doing one.

Now We are both 27 yrs old and ready to get a timeshare for my family. We are looking into Myrtle Beach, St Petersburg beach, Pensacola, and a few other places..

However we dont know how to get into them, what everything means. Would you guys be willing to explain? How can we get a timeshare in one of these areas?

Also do you know of any good ones? Especially in Pensacola?

[brucecz Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close brucecz]

Stick around and do not buy for 6 months until you obtain some heart ache saving knownlegde. Try a few rentals to scrach that itch.

Therte are great bargins out there and some have far greater value than others for the same money.

Timeshares are easy to buy but like a marriage you buy the wrong timeshare they are costly and hard to get rid of.

Good luck to you.

Bruce

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

Yeah I definatly gonna plan and search.... Would you guys recommend anything in pensacola to rent first then maybe buy later? I loved Pensacola when I was stationed there, and my wife loved it when her family went there a few years ago.....

Pensacola is right now my top choice, with St. Petersburg being second.
My wifes are Pensacola and Myrtle beach (only 4 hours away)

We also plan on getting one in the mountains later on for skiing and good stuff...

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Go to the interval international and rci websites and browse through the resort directories of both to see what timeshares exist in your areas of choice. Then do some searches for reviews of those resorts. We have reviews here and trip advisor has reviews. Then do some searches for resales at those resorts to see what people are asking for those resorts at the time of year you want to visit them. Then read everything you can here about timeshares. Keep asking questions. Don't buy until you know what you want and what you want to pay for it.

[Jeanne Sz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jeanne Sz]

Be sure to read the timeshares primer on this site before you decide if and where to buy. Remember there's more to owning than the purchase price: you have a maintenance fee bill to pay every year as long as you own, so look for a place you like and think you'll be able to afford every year. Some of those resale deals look great up front, but the MFs hurt, and will keep getting bigger.
Good luck and welcome!

[catwgirl Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close catwgirl]

This is the only one that I see on RCI for Pensacola. I don't know anything about the resort.

Welcome to Soundside Resort

Myrtle Beach, on the other hand, is FULL of timeshares. Many very nice ones.
Stick around here and learn more before you commit to anything. And always buy resale, never directly from the resort. There are many good deals out there. Some very nice resorts are being given away because people cannot afford to pay the maintenance fees, so keep that in mind.

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

And when you find resorts that meet your criteria, check out what they're selling for on eBay. DO NOT BUY before you've done research!

Figure out if you're a 'points' or 'weeks' person. Think about fixed vs floating weeks, AI (All Inclusive) and EOY (every other year useage). Watch out for resale units (eBay, redweek, etc) that list bargain maintenance fees for eoy units - usually you pay those EVERY year, not just use year - so your mf's are twice what they list (some list mf's as monthly or quarterly fees as well).

If you plan on trading your unit, you might want to buy into a different area that has more trading power. I always recommend buying where you want to vacation - at least with the first timeshare! Being able to drive to the resort is always a good thing too!

Take your time. Ask lots of questions. Once you've figured out what you want you can search the timeshare forums for bargain basement sales, and look on redweek.com and eBay. Don't get sucked into buying at developer prices!

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

What are some good areas for trading???

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

Now that's a GOOD question

Not Mexico. Most likely not most of Florida (unless it's something like Disney, or a really nice resort). I would think anything oceanfront in Hawaii would be good. Remember too, it also depends on what time of year your unit is reserved for.

So far I haven't traded, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of better responses from people with real experience.

If you purchase with the idea of trading, make sure you factor in the cost of your membership in the trading company (if applicable) and then the cost of the actual trade.

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

Hello
Glad you are reading and discussing with people on the forum...Keep asking your questions, reading past posts and learning.

This entire week I spent at a timeshare. Just purchased it in October and gave it to my spouse and me for a Christmas gift. When I was first learning about Timeshare-more then a year ago -one person told me to buy where I wanted to go. Which I did. Upon arrival at this new timeshare I was very pleased with my purchase so was my spouse. The week was great. My first preference was buying where we could drive to. Next was near the beach.

Good Luck with looking. It is fun and I must admit rather addicting....

[Ryne08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryne08]

May I suggest that you purchase resale and please to donot buy from the developer. You can easily save yourself some "Big Dollars" by buying a resale timeshare. I would check e-bay someone just purchased a Marriott time share at the Manor Club in Wiliamsburg,VA for under $3,000 week 27.

[brucecz Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close brucecz]

IMHO unless you want to go to Hawaii every year at the same resort I would pass for the some of the following reasons. Hawaii is a far easier trade because of the New economics.
High maintenance fees and except for the best resorts they are harder to rent out and because of the New economy in regards to airfare. Family of 4 maybe a cost of $3,000 or more for airfare in most times. Also for most of us it it a darn long flight

MF's for a Hawaiian 2 bedroom about $1,000 or more. Island transfer costs, high food, etc. Go over to ebay at look at the Completed timeshare for sales for the state you are interested and track for 2 months.

We used to own on the central Florida Gulf coast and they had great sand.

When we first got into timesharing we would try to visit and/or take tours of 4 to 6 resorts to get a real feel for the and the area.

If you find a resort you really like and you can afford a good fixed deeded week then that might be the ownership for you.

Then you do not have to hope a exchange company can get you the week you want. There for no exchange fee. But you made want to join that resorts exchange company and use their rentals and some last minute rentals are below the owners maintenance fees.

In regards to points IMHO with Some but not all points programs is they can change the rules and you have no HOA say. Go back and check the old posts on any points systems you are considering to get a feel on their past and present history on how they threat their owners.

I am now tending to agree more and more with some on this that even have more than the 11 years or so timeshare ownership experience that we have of the about 50 timeshare ownerships we have ownned that some of the best mature resorts are wholly owner owned and that is no longer developer controlled and managed by the developer. Lots of developer resorts and Point resorts are controlled by the developers by the use and control of the proxies through the bylaws the developer legally made and the owners are basically powerless even if the bylaws are not fair to the owners.

In regards to exchange companies there is a wealth of valuable knowledge on this and other sites. Good luck, timesharing can to great or a burden.
Bruce

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

Wow, I sure do have a lot to learn and stuudy, thanks everyone!

[brucecz Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close brucecz]

Don't worrry about learning, you will know when time is right, and you have pentty of time to get whats right for you.

Remember what works for one person in timesharing may not be your cup of tea but does not make you or them wrong.

But the learning experiance can be lots fun and if you learn bit by bit you should do fine. Keep studing and learing as there are lots here willing to help in most cases. Have fun.

Bruce