How do timeshares work?

I'm interested in renting/owning a timeshare but thought I would get the basics out of the way. How do timeshares work? I know someone who has a timeshare in Arizona, but they travel to the Bahama's all the time. Does the location matter? Can you own a timeshare in one place, but use it at every location? If that's the case, why not buy a cheaper location and just go to the nicer resort? Other considerations?

Timeshares are considered real estate. Once you sign on the dotted line you are committing yourself to a lifetime of never ending increasing maintenance fees and assessments. My advice is to rent one from a n owner rather than buying one. You can find listing for renting them on this site and many other websites sometimes for less than the owner pays for their maintenance fees.

If you get the desire to buy one make sure it is a resort that you want to visit anually. Exchanging your timeshare for another location can be a hassle. If your are looking for a specific location and week you will probably be disappointed. A lot of the desireable weeks are taken up immediately if they are available at all.

NEVER purchase a timeshare from a developer. The secondary market offers you the same resort for a fraction of the price a developer charges.

NEVER buy points. A fixed week or floating week at a resort is the best way to go. Read through some of the threads in the forum and you will see how hard it is to get anything unless you have a huge number of points and that number can change yearly so they can sell you more " points ". Along with the extra points comes additional maintenance fees and assessments. It's a never ending cycle than can put you in deep debt.

Going back to the begining I would advise you to rent before you buy and my advice is not to buy one at all and just rent them and not commit yourself to the process that always favors the developers.

justinm116 wrote:

I'm interested in renting/owning a timeshare but thought I would get the basics out of the way. How do timeshares work?

Timeshares are sold in fixed weeks (same time and same unit each year), floating weeks (search forums or Google for explanation) and points (search forums or Google for explanation) as there are many different point systems.)

Quote:

I know someone who has a timeshare in Arizona, but they travel to the Bahama's all the time. Does the location matter? Can you own a timeshare in one place, but use it at every location? If that's the case, why not buy a cheaper location and just go to the nicer resort? Other considerations?

They belong to an exchange company (the two largest exchange companies are RCI and II). Where they can deposit their owned week and exchange it for a different week IF that different week is available (exchanging is a crap shoot).

As donp stated ..... timeshare ownership is a complicated process ..... until you learn all the ins and outs and are fully educated on the subject then I recommend renting from an owner and never buy from the developer .... always buy on the resale market.

If you buy resale, go to your home resort annually, OR join an exchange club like RCI, learn the exchange system thoroughly, and vacation at exchange sites, in other words USE your investment, timesharing is awesome. We have deeded weeks that are over 25 years old and have stayed all over the country thru RCI in addition to our home HIlton Head weeks. Maintenance fees are expected, manageable, and still no more than a week of renting the units. RCI has all kinds of ways to book trips and when you get really good, you can find ways to beat their system and book for practically weeks for practically nothing. It's like being a travel agent; if you enjoy that kind of stuff, there's no limit to trips you can find and take.

If you buy from a developer, never go to your home unit or don't completely learn the exchange program, it's a waste of money.

Timesharing basically forces you to take your vacations, at least if you want to get your money's worth. Personally, I get the creeps thinking about renting. AND, my deeded timeshares will pass to my children upon my death.

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susanw33 wrote:

Maintenance fees are expected, manageable, and still no more than a week of renting the units... If you buy from a developer, never go to your home unit or don't completely learn the exchange program, it's a waste of money.

Timesharing basically forces you to take your vacations, at least if you want to get your money's worth... AND, my deeded timeshares will pass to my children upon my death.

You bring up some good points about owning timeshares but I will disagree with you on some points:

1) " Maintenance fees are... still no more than a week of renting the units."

In many cases you can rent for less than what the owner is paying in maintenance fees. Of course, the one you own has a desirable location at a desirable time so rentals in that case will usually exceed the maintenance fees. But if you look for last minute deals, know how to negotiate, or find a less desirable time/place, maintenance fees usually exceed what a rental would cost.

2) "Timesharing basically forces you to take your vacations..."

True. But it sometimes forces you to take vacations that you cannot afford. Remember, there's more to a vacation than the cost of accommodations. Add in airfare, car rentals, food, cost of activities, and really all owning a timeshare does is allows you to stay in a unit that's more spacious and comfortable than a hotel room.

3) "My deeded timeshares will pass to my children upon my death..."

If you stipulate that in your will and your children want it, then yeah, it "will pass to my children upon [your] death." But there is no law forcing them to accept it. You have a week that seems to be in good demand so maybe your children will want it. But they might not want the yearly fees or timesharing might not be their preferred style of travel.

Yes, you bring up good points and counterpoints to my points! Just further reinforces my belief that timesharing is an extremely individual-oriented endeavor. It works really well for some; and not worth the investment/time/energy/expenses for others. Believe me, I DO check rentals and actually have about a bazillion frequent stayer points in 5 different hotel programs; and almost that many in our frequent flier accounts. I am a numbers person and LOVE to travel and LOVE to work the systems.

I actually have a formula that I use before I book a timeshare vs booking a rental or hotel for travel. It includes the base amount I paid for my timeshare(s), including one in Fort Lauderdale that I got dirt cheap in 1988, plus RCI membership fees, plus maintenance fees, etc. DEPENDING on the solution to that mathematical endeavor, I then decide whether to book a timeshare, rental, or hotel. You are right, the VENUE also determines whether timeshare or hotel. I don't need a spacious condo at a beach or in Vegas, for example. All I need is a room with bed, toilet, and shower. BUT, if the condo experience is part of the vacation (think laid-back style) and with whole family, then a spacious unit bigger than a hotel room is what I want.

Guess I've gotten lucky with maintenance fees; they have barely increased over the past 10 years or so. Still, it amazes me when this family we see every year at our home resort acts like paying their maintenance fees is a total surprise every year, and they can't confirm their week until the last minute cuz they haven't paid the fee. Actually our HIlton Head condo complex is small, family-owned and maintenance fees are less than $500. On the beach too. That's barely $40 per month.

Timesharing doesn't force me to take a vacation that I can't afford. You're going to have cost of airfare, car rental, food, etc no matter what kind of accommodation you choose. I never ever take a vacation that I can't afford; and always always have it fully paid up/saved up before I even leave my house for the trip. I could patent the travel-on-a-shoestring-budget philosophy. And in the RCI system, you have 3 years to take your deposited week and use it. Of course, I would never advise someone to take a vacation, with all the associated costs, just to use the timeshare. My point is don't buy a timeshare if you don't intend to use it.

My teen daughters will be upset if we DON'T pass the deeded weeks to them. Our home week first week of June on HIlton Head Island is our holy grail of vacations, like a huge family reunion with all the other timesharers there. My girls love when I surprise them with our latest RCI exchange trip; it's like "Mom, where are we going next?"

Finally, although I am a planner by nature, having a fixed week at a home resort where we know we want to go every year gives me peace of mind that I don't have to deal with reservations on a first-come first-serve basis, trying to get one before they're sold out.

We own 3 fixed week deeded units and:

USE one every year. RENT one out most years (which more than pays maintenance fee) EXCHANGE one; put in RCI pool every year. Starting to strategize about international travel/exchanges.

Timesharing is just part of the wider world of travel when it comes to accommodations. Like anything else, you have to be a very informed consumer and stay on top of your units/weeks/fees etc. To some extent, it is a real estate investment. Not as simple as make one phone call and reserve a room. Nothing wrong with that; I do that too, depending on the purpose of my travel.

Timesharing definitely isn't for everyone. It either works really well or not at all for most people, seems to me.

You certainly did your homework before buying .... kudos to you (btw, I also love Hilton Head).