eBay deals vs. my Moms offer

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

OK, all I know about timeshares is that when I was a kid, my family would travel and hang out at places like the beach in Channel Islands or I would caddy for my dad at a golf course in Palm Springs. As a child, they told me we were going on TIMESHARES, but ofcourse I didn't care how we got there, so long as we we got there! *smile* In 2003 when I got married, they sent me and my new wife on our honeymoon to Aruba. All these excursions lasted at least a week each.

Now that I am grown, my mom said I can have one of their three timeshares. They are keeping the two that are paid off and offering me the one that is not. She said it's "RED TIME" that's worth about $15,000 and that they owe about $7000 on it with a $166 month payment and about $300 a year in maintenance fees. The home base is in Palm Springs. That's all she told me.

So now that I am interested in timeshares, I decided to come here and learn about it. I decided to stop by eBay as well to see what it had to offer. What I found is that timeshares on eBay are selling for as low as $350 bucks. Some are more at around $1000 to $2000 and such, but then i see others that are going for $42,000 dollars!!

I am totally confused.

The cheap $350 ones do not say anything about this being the 'downpayment only' wit a balance of $10,000 or anything like that. As far as I can tell, once you pay the $450 + transfer fees, you are done with nothing else to pay besides annual maintenance fee.

So why on earth would I take my moms offer and owe $7000 when I can go to eBay and get one for only $350 bucks?? What's the difference here? it doesn't make sence.

Please educate me. *smile*

[I-DE-HO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close I-DE-HO]

Like many people, and some of us here, your folks got talked into buying developer weeks from slick salesmen. That's why they still owe $7000. I don't know the name of the resort but you need to find out. Do NOT accept this week. You can do MUCH better by buying a resale week for MUCH less. Ebay is one option. www.redweek.com , www.myresortnetwork.com , www.bidshares.com , this site and www.tugbbs.com are other options. Take time to look around and study. Annual maintenace fees are more important than your initial purchase price because they continue forever. Good luck.

Phil

PS After looking around awhile you will see that the 'worth' of your parent's week is NOT $15,000. It's probably closer to $500>$1500. $15,000 is probably what they paid for it. Hundreds of thousands of people have bought developer weeks for $10K to $100K and that's why we have a secondary market.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Find out the name of the resort and what kind of week you own? Fixed or Floating, is it a Studio, One Bedroom, Two Bedroom or Three Bedroom? If it is Floating what weeks are in the float period and how you reserve the weeks - how far in advance can you call to reserve the week you want. Is it a RCI or an II resort - which exchange companies will you be able to use, if you want to trade it. When you have this you can compare it to units for sale on the list by I-DE-HO. As a general rule, you can by on the resale market from 30-50% of developer prices. Some times less, sometimes more depending on a lot of factors. Also, something to check out does the resort have right of first refusal? And can the loan be paid off? What is the interest rate, etc. on the loan.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

So why on earth would I take my moms offer and owe $7000 when I can go to eBay and get one for only $350 bucks?? What's the difference here? it doesn't make sence.

Welcome. You probably need to know that
1. The asking price is not the same as the price sold. eBay is few site that will will see a possible sold price.

2. TS is the money you spend for leisure, and it is a product you co-own with a few other strange, you have no control of the cost, therefore, if you need to sell it, it has much less market.

3. TS will need maintain, and it has higher maintain cost than regular home since it operators more like hotel, the wear and tear is quicker, therefore, it is liability if you don't plan to use it to generate money.

4. If you can use it, it may mean a lot to you. But if you can not use it yourself, then you need the money to pay MF, then you can not sell it easily, you need to rent it out, if you can easily rent it out, you have good chance to ask a rent price greater than MF. So a good week worth more than a bad week. A ocean view worth more than a garbage can view. A good management company worth more than a company that may or may not clean your unit, may or may not keep an eye on the property. The price different can be ten folder. The more you can do with that week, the more it can cost you. that say, there are people have no idea what to do with them, so you can always find people willing to take lower offer in order to sell them.

5. Because resell is such a market that favor buyer in probably 30 to 1. On the other hand, in retail, most people has no exposure to resell market, they are not prepare to purchase but get in with a broker that has all the leverage. It probably 30 to 1 favor seller in retail. Some company sees the opportuate, some just try to make sure its current buyer will not be too upset, they invent a clause - Right of First Refuse. That means, if you try to sell your TS, any price you get, they have the right to give you that money and take that week. But most company that has that clause will have higher resell price.

That say, you need to read riverdees05's post to find out info about your mom's week. Very likely, that may not worth 7000 now. Then you may want to let your mother know, and to decide what is best for both party. If it best fits the whole family's finacial benefits, you may have to take the payment from your mother.

Jya-Ning

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

It is my belief that there are very few timeshare weeks worth more than $ 8,000. These would be peak red weeks at highly desireable resorts. Most weeks are worth much less and some are worthless. You can exchange into many weeks that sell over $ 8,000 with a $ 2,000 week. So, unless you plan on going to where you own just about every year, it doesn't pay to buy the expensive ones if you can trade into them.

[Steamboat Bill Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Steamboat Bill]

You need more info...with TS, you GET what your pay for. Find out the name of the resort and color of the unit and bedrooms.

I would take the TS if it is a Marriott in palm springs...otherwise, go to redweek.com to compare resales.

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

WHOA!!!!!

Ok, I like this web forum. Unlike MANY other discusion boards, this place is full of friendly people with good advice. And I didn't expect a response so fast. I was gonna check back next week. *smile*

OK....my mom just got back from a cruise today, and as soon as she wakes up, Im gonna call her and get the detailed juicy info. I'm gonna have her pull out the contract and read it to me verbatim. Then I'll report back you guys, and you can tell me if my mom is seriously misled, or if she has a goldmine deal.

Thanks fellas, I appreciate it. Expect to hear from me this week for sure!

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

WHOA!!!!!

Ok, I like this web forum. Unlike MANY other discusion boards, this place is full of friendly people with good advice. And I didn't expect a response so fast. I was gonna check back next week. *smile*

OK....my mom just got back from a cruise today, and as soon as she wakes up, Im gonna call her and get the detailed juicy info. I'm gonna have her pull out the contract and read it to me verbatim. Then I'll report back you guys, and you can tell me if my mom is seriously misled, or if she has a goldmine deal.

Thanks fellas, I appreciate it. Expect to hear from me this week for sure!

Shannon,

It is unlikely a 'goldmine deal,' unless it is one of the two or three 'top' resorts in Palm Springs, and then only if it's a peak season week... but hopefully your mom hasn't been 'seriously misled' either (though I worry when I hear about anyone taking out a loan for a t/s)... So don't get your hopes up, but do let us know!

Avery

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

WHOA!!!!!

Ok, I like this web forum. Unlike MANY other discusion boards, this place is full of friendly people with good advice. And I didn't expect a response so fast. I was gonna check back next week. *smile*

Welcome to TS4Ms Shannon.

IF this is a fixed week in March when the Pacific Life Open takes place and IF this is a larger unit and IF it is a name brand timeshare such as Marriott then it may be worth or something close to your mother's asking price.

A lot of "IFS".

Otherwise Palm Springs/Desert is a so-so location for timeshares and reflects in the value and the trade power. Even though RCI shows RED for all weeks in a calendar year there are MANY shades of red from fire engine red to the blush pink nose on a white rabbit.

Please let us know what EXACTLY your mother is offering you.

What resort?
Fixed or Float week. <If fixed which week number. If float which season can be reserved>
How large is the unit?
What are the annual maintenance fees AND property tax fees <they are separate bills in Palm Springs.>
If your Mom has traded in an exchange company, which company did she use and what was she able to trade for?

You can also search like-for-like sales on Ebay to get an idea of what the true value is but you must know all the above answers, except the last one, to do the research.

We look forward to helping you.

[Republiman Member Find all posts View Profile Close Republiman]

Wait A Minute!

How can we be giving dear Shannon advice to not buy her mother's timeshare?!? Her mom is going to have to pay the thing off anyway. Why would we want her to buy a fourth timeshare for the family.

Sure, maybe Mom didn't do the smartest thing by buying from a developer, but are we going to leave poor Mama holding the bag?

Do the right thing. Work with Mom, and figure out something equitable so that years from now when you inherit the other two timeshares you will only have 3 maintenance fees annually instead of 4.

Fred

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

How can we be giving dear Shannon advice to not buy her mother's timeshare?!? Her mom is going to have to pay the thing off anyway. Why would we want her to buy a fourth timeshare for the family.

Sure, maybe Mom didn't do the smartest thing by buying from a developer, but are we going to leave poor Mama holding the bag?

Do the right thing. Work with Mom, and figure out something equitable so that years from now when you inherit the other two timeshares you will only have 3 maintenance fees annually instead of 4.

Fred

Good point, I agree. If you have any interest in the timeshare, try to work something out that's equitable with your mom....It would be the nice thing to do, even if not the most financially beneficial...........

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

Our advice should be to tell what the timeshare is worth. If someone wants to pay more or less to buy it from a relative, that is another factor that requires a personal decison or judgement.

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

Another suggestion is to have mom sign up here and get everything from the horse's mouth, so to speak

After all, if she has more timeshares, she needs us!

If it's a MDS Platinum week, sound real disappointed and say you'll take it off her hands, OK?

Pat

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

If it's a MDS Platinum week, sound real disappointed and say you'll take it off her hands, OK?

Pat

My guess is it's not. Even if mom bought from the Marriott at the pre-construction price, it was more than $15K

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

Find out the name of the resort, size, and week number. Then go to ebay and search for Completed Items. Look at what similar timeshares SOLD FOR. Not what sellers were asking, but what did they actually SELL for. That will give you the true worth of your mom's timeshare. It's not necessarily what she paid for it.