New Members - Please Introduce Yourself!

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

Welcome, Haole-Don. Hope you are active on the Hawaii board, and all the others as well.

[travelSFO Member Find all posts View Profile Close travelSFO]

I don't meet the definition of a typical timesharer, I think - being younger than most and single. I bought my first (Sheraton Broadway) pre-construction in 1998 on vacation in Myrtle Beach my first year out of college with my first job.

Hi Zendala,

I also bought my first timeshare when I was single (and fairly young ... I believe I was 25 at the time...) Got tired of all my young friends telling me timesharing is for senior citizens so I just stopped talking about it. Now that everyone (including myself) is married with kids or kids on the way, they are ALL ears about timesharing! It was difficult getting friends to agree to go somewhere with me on a timesharing vacation. Now that I'm married, I'm finding I'm looking forward to it so much more! I have a husband and, soon, a daughter who MUST come with me :-)

My first timeshares were in South Africa. I then added a couple of Southern California summer season units and got rid of the South African timeshares. And, we are in the process of purchasing a week 52 in the Orlando area (looking ahead for when our daughter is ready to experience Disneyworld!)

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

Hi everyone - not sure I count as new. Been here a few weeks but have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger on Trading Spaces!

Thanks Frank for the invite.

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

Welcome Theresa, we have missed you.

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

Hi All,

My name is Mary and am married and have a small four year old daughter. I bought my first timeshare when I was single about 12 or so years ago (I can't remember when). I answered a rental ad for a small studio in beautiful La Jolla across from the beach. It was so terrific I happened to ask the owner if she knew if any were up for sale. She mentioned she was thinking of selling hers. Voila, here I am! I've used it for awhile and I exchanged it once through RCI a few years back for a 2 bdrm at the Bay Club in Hawaii (I was really impressed!). Since then, both my mom and brother have bought HGVC in Vegas locations. My mom passed away a couple of years ago, so the kids inherited her property. We just completed the purchase of HGVC in Vegas (can you tell we love Vegas). We recently just joined SFX. We've exchanged into Hawaii (Bay Club, Kona Hawaiian Village, HGVC Hawaiian Village, HGVC Orlando, Vegas). We'll be in Hawaii again at Hawaiian Village on September 3 for the USC-Hawaii football game. I am in both TUG and recently joined the forum. I think these are great to hear other peoples experiences and provides great insight about t/s.

Thanks to everyone.

Mary

[SciTchr Member Find all posts View Profile Close SciTchr]

Hello

My name is Ruth. My husband, Rick, and I purchased our first 2 timeshares 1.5 years ago. We thought we would never own a timeshare! Had been on ts promos before and always walked away thinking, "Not for us!". A trusted friend told me that she and her husband had purchased a SA ts and they loved it. We had alot in common with this couple finacially and felt if they thought it was good, we would try.

We bought 2 - a one bedroom at Silver Sands and a 2 bedroom at Dikhololo - from Herb with Timeshare Specials. We got the discounted RCI for 10 years and a bonus week. We thought it was a good deal, but I had no idea how much fun I would have FINDING our trades. I had run across TUG a long time ago when I was into looking for TS rentals for our vacations. I signed up and began to read the reviews for places of interest. From there I discovered Timeshare Forums. What great resources sites like this are for "newbies" like me!

I have really enjoyed placing searches and getting good trades. So far we have gone to: Puerto Vallarta/Sheraton Bouganvilias 2 bedroom; Barbados/Bougainvilleas Beach Resort. Trips that are confirmed now and we will be taking in the future are: Sedona/Sunterra Ridge 2 bedroom; Vancouver Island/Pacific Shores 2 bedroom; Puerto Vallarta/Sheraton Bouganvilias 2 bedroom; NYC/Manhattan Club 1 bedroom. Two of these exchanges (the hardest 2 - Manhatten Club and Pacific Shores - I received with online help from new friends.)

Rick and I are retiring in 2 years and can't wait to make ts travel a main part of our lives. Right now we are limited to the busiest travel times, since I am a teacher. My friends are amazed at the interesting things we have begun doing since we bought our little SA traders (although we do plan to visit SA after retirement). We just bought our 3rd from my new online buddy, Jaybee, who was downsizing. Thank you Jaybee!

Another benefit of being able to trade a timeshare is that we can get 2 bedroom units and can invite family and friends to come with us! My 80 year old parents came with us to PV and will be coming to stay with us in Sedona and perhaps PV again. Since we live in different cities, that is a special benefit for us, since we don't see each other as much as we would like.

I am so pleased to have discovered both timesharing and these great travel boards to help with planning! Thanks to all.

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

Hey, I live in Denver too, and I am married to Rick. Hopefully not the same Rick.

That is very strange, that I am posting right after you.

We have owned timeshare for 24 years, believe it or not, after being sucked in at the tender ages of 26 with three small children. We couldn't really afford the two weeks we bought back then and tried to rescind but were told that rescission was only for in-home purchases. The sad thing--we believed it! Maybe it was true back then, but I have no idea how those laws have changed. We just paid through the nose until the weeks were paid off and have used our own units only early on, while paying for them. Now we trade all over and have had great vacations, from Hawaii to Pennsylvania, San Diego to Orlando. Yes, we still have regrets about purchasing our first two, but education is the key, which is what this forum provides, if only newbies can find it before they spend too much.

I am a frequent poster on TUG and we own most of our weeks in Colorado, but three in Hawaii, two on Maui (Gardens at West Maui and One Napili Way) and one on Kauai (Bali Hai).

We are trying to sell Gardens because the unit is too small for our family of six-seven, depending on who wants to go, but we rent it for more than the MF's, so not a big deal if we cannot sell for a while.

My timeshare wish? Pahio @ Shearwater instead of Bali Hai because I just want those ocean views. We would have purchased a resale at Shearwater but they were very expensive back then, now they cost about the same as we paid for Bali Hai. I think we would continue to rent Bali Hai instead of selling because we can get way more than MF's, or exchange it with SFX and possible get that bonus week.

I love smilies. There are a whole bunch of them here.

Cindy

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

Greetings

Hi There,

My husband and I are considering purchasing a timeshare for our retirement. My heart is set with Freeport, Bahamas because it was my home away from home when I was alot younger and travelled with my parents.

Have a great day,
Wanda

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

hello

Hi- I am new to the boards and new to Timeshare... sure we have been on about 15 tours over the last 20+ years but we finally decided to buy... and really I'm not sure we did the right thing... I think the vacations will be great but we bought out of state in FLA and I am not sure I understand all the trading power stuff... but hopefully with everyones help I will figure it out.
Vicki

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Hi- I am new to the boards and new to Timeshare... sure we have been on about 15 tours over the last 20+ years but we finally decided to buy... and really I'm not sure we did the right thing... I think the vacations will be great but we bought out of state in FLA and I am not sure I understand all the trading power stuff... but hopefully with everyones help I will figure it out.
Vicki

Vicki If you bought from a developer than you may have paid to much. Are you within the recind time frame. If so then please try to get your money back and then buy 2 nd hand from a previous owner.

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

If you want to rescind, please follow the instructions completely otherwise the company may not give you an out. Read what it says in your contract and follow it 100%. If they say to mail it to so and so then that is what you do. Do not call or fax or email it in that case because you will have no leg to stand on.

I would make sure that you have a copy of your mailing too. A certified letter with a request for receipt so you have proof!

If you want to keep it or it is too late to rescind your contract, just enjoy it even if you paid too much. Many people have bought from developers too just like you and found out too late to rescind the contract and are now making the best of it. Learn how to trade well and people here know how to do this and will help you.

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

My husband and I got into timesharing after we retired. We love it!

We originally bought 4 weeks resale at Charter Club on Naples Bay, because we liked renting there. A few years later, we liked it so much we moved to Naples, FL. Now I'm in the process of selling our original weeks, and buying weeks where we want to go - mostly somewhere cool in the summer.

We've traded with RCI, getting good weeks in the past - but not recently. RCI isn't what it used to be. Timeshares are so cheap on the resale market, it's easier to buy where you want to go and then sell. I've always made a profit on the sales.

I've already learned a lot from this board - thanks to all who make it possible!

Gigi

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

We paid too much; now trying to make the best of it...

Hi everyone. My husband and I temporarily lost our minds three years ago and bought a timeshare from a developer. We were so mad at ourselves each time we had to make a payment that we didn't use the timeshare until just this month. We were thinking about dumping the thing, but I decided we should at least give it a try before trying to sell. So I booked a week at one of our sister resorts, Villa del Palmar Flamingos, in Nuevo Vallarta. The two-bedroom suite was very luxurious and the beach was wonderful. In short, we had a great time and are now reconsidering our decision to sell (after all, we would lose a huge amount of money in the process ). I am here to hopefully learn all I can about exchanging so we can get the most out of our purchase. I've checked out the website at Interval International, and frankly it is a big mystery to me!
This site looks great and I hope I can find some good tips to make exchanging easier!

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

New Member

My name is Lana and my husband and I have owned timeshare with Fairfield about 2 years. We have 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
I recently retired and my husband has about 3 more years to retire. We have enjoyed using the timeshare so far and I think we will enjoy it even more when we are both retired.
I hope to learn more about timesharing and see new places.

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

Welcome Gigi, Jen and Lana! Nice to have you here.