Anyone else mourn their sale of their TS?

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

The truth is that there are very few situations that warrant buying a timeshare any more, or even taking one for free.

I believe the general public leans in my direction.

I dunno, people keep buying them direct from the developer, which amazes me in this day and age when it's so easy to research timeshares (and just about everything else...). The big movement in sales right now seems to be "New Luxury," wherein people go out of their way to spend a fair percentage of their income on non-necessities, to the extent that profit margins for that sort of thing are crazy high. People are paying for the name and the prestige of being able to say they can pay for it, and a big part of that whole thing is "belonging to the club" of those who overspent, and it sure looks to me like the points TS systems are working that whole angle something fierce.

But Timeshares have never been necessary for anybody at any time -- even when they made the most financial sense for people who wanted to travel, they were still for vacations, and vacations are non-necessities. The ancient holy days, especially the ones that demanded people move out of the house for a time or spend the day in the cemetery or whatever, served much the same purpose by giving people a change of routine and environment, along with time to bond with the family and often a feast or other indulgence, at a much more reasonable cost. Some people still spend their holidays that way, going camping locally or spending the day at a local beach or park or whatever, and considering traveling on vacation a waste of time and effort. If vacationing is, by definition, a non-necessity primarily done because it's how people want to indulge, then practicalities are going to be somewhat secondary.

I think it's just as unbalanced to assume that timeshares are wrong for everyone (or even for most owners) as it is to assume they're a great deal for everyone who can afford them.

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

I think it's just as unbalanced to assume that timeshares are wrong for everyone (or even for most owners) as it is to assume they're a great deal for everyone who can afford them.

They are definitely not for everyone.
They are for me though because I've been traveling alone since I was 10 years old.
Back then it was flying to see family but still I had the travel bug very early on.

It has definitely become my accommodation of choice though, because I do want to share my time with others.
Hotels don't allow that flexibility for the bargain price we get a TS unit for.

For example I have three units at a timeshare this coming week.
One week I own and never ever trade but always use and pay $500 in MF's for a 2 bedroom.
The second one is an exchange with RCI that cost me $450 in MF's and exchange fees.
The third is an extra vacation that cost me $269 from RCI.
Three units all oceanfront.
Two 2 bedroom units and a studio.

We have enough room to sleep 14 people.
Three kitchens to cook and prepare for our big party on Sunday's BBQ
and it costs me less than most people would pay for a beachfront high end vacation in a hotel room.
Nobody needs to go home driving drunk because there is a place for everyone.

Yeah we could probably rent a house on the beach on VRBO.com but it certainly wouldn't be for $1250 a week with
as much personal space as we have with our 3 units.
As a matter of fact I don't even see anything comparable for the price I am paying for our 3 units.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...east/hollywood

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

I was stupid for buying the thing, I signed the form so
it is my bad. What got me is what happened after the joint was turned over to a board.
They had no clue how to control a budget. They missed it by thousands every year. The had no clue how to handle the people who did not pay. People like me who pay their bills and others like me became the cash cow, just pass all the bills on, they will pay it.
One day I got a SA ( no mention of that in the sale ) because "we" had to replace faulty concrete in the pool. If it was faulty I would have brought in the contractor to inspect the job.
Was it design, was it an incorrect choice of concrete, was it the installation etc. ???
The just passed it on to the cash cow. There was no effort to go after the deadbeats because the could get by on the backs of us guys who played by the rules.
Timeshare street hawks thinks everyone needs a timeshare, they have a job to sell at any cost. They don't care if you don't have the means to take on the burden of the cost. They don't care if the product fits your vacation needs or not, they don't care to school you on how the get rid of it when you no longer want it.
Sharing time is a good concept, it is the marketing of the product and the managing of the facilities which includes a budget within reason based on real costs and plan that works for owners who choose not to play by the rules.
Timeshares works for a lot of people who know " how to work it". By no means is it for everyone !

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

Timeshares works for a lot of people who know " how to work it". By no means is it for everyone !

I think it's also a style thing. People who always want to be going to the latest hot spot will always feel behind the curve with timeshares, I suspect. Part of the reason it works so well for us is we actively avoid the hot spots and the crowds and we like going off season and we don't care if the resort has any onsite activities beyond a pool.

It's also giving up control, IMHO. Going on Bluegreen, owning points systems insulates you somewhat from Special Assessments (since generally hurricane and upgrades and other major expenses are shared by the entire club), and the members tend to rise up en masse with a collective shriek over suggested changes, which so far BG responds to, so there's a lot of inertia that people owning at an individual resort don't have on their side. But corporate is going in a direction a lot of the long-term owners aren't crazy about (expanding more into luxury units that are very points-pricey), so even though there haven't been any major changes in terms of what there was when I joined, there's no direct control, either. You're buying into the future, without knowing what the future will be.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I think there's a bit of a balance on this forum, sometimes, some blowing smoke up people's shorts and others trying to inform folks of the pitfalls and shortcomings.

I guess what I don't understand is the need to pick on each other.

But, then, the really, really, really old veterans, the ones who have been on these forums for a really, really, really long time, know that's the way it's always been, someone always trying to one-up the others.

Oh, did I say Orange Lake?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Here's pretty much how it's going for me, trying to pass ours on:

"After speaking with family members they have convinced me that a timeshare would not be in my best interest, and I am going to buy a condo instead. Thank you for taking time to write me and I wish you much luck."

Mourning would be so nice!