Original Message:
There are no valid "one size fits all" statements or answers... (by KC):
bobr273 wrote:There are still many timeshare weeks which have and hold their value (...so far, anyhow). Locations, seasons, supply and demand all factor in (and JayJay, please refrain from identifying and announcing to the world (again) what I happen to own; it's not really your role or place to do so).How could there be any value for a time share...... Even the lawyer who owns DFAC writes on his site he has a so called extremely valuable Westin Kaanapali, but that timeshare is sitting on E-bay for a penny with no bids.
I could easily sell (or donate) ANY of my weeks, even in this lousy economy, but my weeks happen to be in seasons and locations where demand still consistently exceeds supply and where particulalrly affordable rentals are seldom offered (let alone for the price of or less than maintenance fees). You also can't usually "exchange" into these areas in peak season either, since most owners who don't use their weeks (as I always try to do) seem to find rentals to be quite lucrative --- and much smarter financially than "depositing for exchange" and far-too-seldom seeing anything as good offered and available in return.
Hawaii has become an unfortunate and somewhat unique case in recent years. Yes, anyone CAN definitely now frequently find afforable purchases and rentals there, but for a multitude of rather unique reasons. First and foremost, airfare costs have become just obscenely high (and you can't get to Hawaii any other way). Additionally, state and County and local Island governmental entities in Hawaii seem to be continually inventing new ways to impose new costs upon "non-resident" owners and somehow "squeeze" more money out of them.
These are tough times and the timeshare industry has certainly been widely impacted at both the developer level and in the resale market as well. Nonetheless, there are few blanket statements or "one size fits all" proclamations that are universally accurate or correct....