Newbie - Looking to buy a timeshare

[polyester1970 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close polyester1970]

I'm trying to understand timeshares - I'm not sure why it seems so complicated.

I was looking at this site, (link removed):

Here's the pricing info about it:
Price: $1,800 (sale) $0 (rent)

Points: n/a
Maintenance Fees: Pay only membership rate when you use!

Ownership: Right To Use
Usage Type: Annual - Every Year
Week(s): Floating

And in the title it says "RTU to 2016."

So what exactly do you get for $1,800? My best guess is if you want to use it for 1 week/year you can pay $1,800 up until 2016? What if I don't use it?

Then I see listings like this:
(link removed)
325 WEEKS FOR SALE! 150 UNLIMITED GOLF WEEKS! 2 PRESIDENTIAL SUITES PER YEAR
Price: $57,500 (sale) $7,500 (rent)

Ownership: Right To Use
Usage Type: Biannual - 2 Times Per Year

So I don't imagine it costs $57,500 per year - so does this one mean you pay a one-time fee of $57,500 and you can go there 325 times without paying anything more? But that doesn't make sense either - that would be < $200 a week - what's going on here? Why is this so complicated? I even read their FAQ's and it still doesn't make sense. I guess this site is designed for people who already know the system. Please help - thanks!

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

What you have here is an RTU or right to use. The sales price is the price to buy that RTU. When you book a week after buying this type of RTU, you have an additional maintenance fee and, since this is an all inclusive(AI) resort group, you also have a mandatory all inclusive fee per person, per week.

This fee to book plus AI fee gets rather expensive and a visit to these resorts is often cheaper when booked as a rental though a travel agency. Owners at other timeshares that have traded(exchanged) into this resort group have also sometimes been switched to a resort other than the one confirmed.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

You can also rent from a timeshare place too ! Often they have spaces open and would rather rent them than let it just sit empty. You then avoid all the fees which can add up to quite a large amount and not have to deal with all the hassel of ownership.

[polyester1970 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close polyester1970]

OK - I got it. That makes a bit more sense, but this ad seemed to have left out the maintenance and other fees. That seems crucial to determine if this is a good deal or not.

Well - it seems like the savings are too small to justify the risk of not using it and paying the required maintenance fees.

I'll probably just rent a timeshare or just get it through a travel agency/site.

Thanks,