Are TSs Ever been worth having? Can you sell them or make money from them?

[firstlady95 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close firstlady95]

Perhaps those of you who have had timeshares for some time can tell me this: Has there ever been a time when
you could actually sell a timeshare for any amount of profit?

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Unless you got it for free then no

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I once made a little money on a Marriott. Bought and sold resale. The value of timeshare lies in the discounted vacations available through ownership, definitely NOT in investment in the timeshare itself. Before I would buy a timeshare, I'd ask myself what it would cost to stay in the area if I didn't own. That includes available timeshare rental options. If I couldn't amortize and recoup the investment across two visits, I didn't buy.

I'm sure there's a way to make some money on points rentals, people do it but it's a volume business.

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

Yes and several times from a decade ago to this summer. If you buy at the right price (resale) at a desirable place and a good week you can sell it for what you paid for it or more.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Yes if you buy where there is decent demand and not a lot of supply, and in prime time, and have bought resale at a favorable price.

[firstlady95 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close firstlady95]

Best Areas to buy ?

Yes if you buy where there is decent demand and not a lot of supply, and in prime time, and have bought resale at a favorable price.

Are there people are places that actually list the best areas to buy ? Websites etc??

[firstlady95 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close firstlady95]

So by Discounted vacations with your points can help to retrieve some of the maintenance fees, etc? Do you use local rental agencies for this?

[firstlady95 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close firstlady95]

Where in the USA are there desirable places? There are tons of TMSs on the coastlines . Are they desirable? Florida?? I have a points one in Florida. I wouldn't think
it would be on that list. I guess I'm searching for help in how to make any money to help pay for the fees that keep going up every year. Any suggestions?

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

Perhaps those of you who have had timeshares for some time can tell me this: Has there ever been a time when
you could actually sell a timeshare for any amount of profit?

The question was "Ever been worth having" I'm having trouble with your idea of "Worth" I'm a VERY VERY poor single father, because of the two modest timeshares i owed for just the last 3-4 years, my now 8yr old has been able to travel to locations I would Never have taken her had i not owned them...We've been to Williamsburg 3 times, Hershey PA, Poconos PA, Myrtle Beach, Massanutten and a few other place....

Now granted, i mentioned i'm poor, but the cost isn't necessarily cheaper with timeshares for me vs. hotel rooms, BUT, being poor i'm also pretty bad with money...Because i am able to PRE-PAY with timeshares, i don't have to save up thousands of dollars for a vacation, i can literally travel with 'pocket money', because the main expense, the room was paid for months ago......Pre-paying helps me in other ways too, You see, when I pay ahead for something, i'm much more likely to use it, vs. needing to save up overtime.....Paying ahead has 'forced' me to vacation a lot more then i normally would

So have timeshares "Ever been worth having", for me, the answer is, they have always been worth having

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

Yes. The only good way to profit from timeshares is to rent them out, imo. One of the best rentals I have is a TS I bought for $1 with a low MF. One of the worst I have now was one of my best that I also bought for $1. For about 6 years it traded into Worldmark recieving 10,000 wm points for $29.00 + mf.

The most profitable ts I bought was for $1 and had two banked weeks which I rented for $1500 a week.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

So by Discounted vacations with your points can help to retrieve some of the maintenance fees, etc? Do you use local rental agencies for this?

Do not buy a timeshare (or MORE timeshares) with the intention of making money doing rentals - it is a VERY tough business with LOTS of competition.
Use what you have and enjoy your personal vacations.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Where in the USA are there desirable places? There are tons of TMSs on the coastlines . Are they desirable? Florida?? I have a points one in Florida. I wouldn't think
it would be on that list. I guess I'm searching for help in how to make any money to help pay for the fees that keep going up every year. Any suggestions?

Some of those geographical areas (and you also should get prime season) are SW Florida, particularly Sanibel and Captiva, Key West, southern California coast, San Francisco, New York City, and Charleson, SC.

In many beach areas in summer, timeshare weeks sell fairly easily. On the Outer Banks of NC, for example, a prime summer week will bring at least $2,000-3,000., sometimes more depending on how you sell it.

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

There is a simple solution.....Never pay more then $1 for a timeshare, even these 'prime weeks' Caroline is talking about can be had for nothing, or trading into for pennies...If you never buy for more then a $1 you never have to worry about 'resale value'

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

So by Discounted vacations with your points can help to retrieve some of the maintenance fees, etc? Do you use local rental agencies for this?

Most rental agencies do not do timeshare rentals. In some areas there are specialized timeshare brokerages that handle resales and rentals, and some of them produce good results. For example, we have not been using our summer oceanfront Outer Banks week the last few years as I have been working in Europe, so we have used the local timeshare specialist broker, Outer Banks Resort Rentals to rent it for us. It rents like a charm for a decent profit. Renting timeshare can be a tricky business if you do not know the local rental market and how to play it.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

There is a simple solution.....Never pay more then $1 for a timeshare, even these 'prime weeks' Caroline is talking about can be had for nothing, or trading into for pennies...If you never buy for more then a $1 you never have to worry about 'resale value'

The only times you could pay $1 for a prime week in the areas I mentioned is if there were some financial problem at the resort - a looming special assessment, excessive maintenance fees, etc. An example of that is The Manhattan Club in NYC where excessive maintenance fees have resulting in weeks there selling for $1. Maintenance fees and resort financial stability are other things you need to check out before buying.