Are there GOOD, BETTER, BEST places to own a timeshare?

How do you decide 'where' you should buy?

What are the BEST weeks?

C. M.

In my opinion the best timeshare to buy is the resort and location you want to spend every year going to.

Buy what fits your family for years to come and not just next couple years like say Disney. We as many others almost bought into Disney Resorts in Orlando years ago and they are great and have great trade value. Problem is after three trips to Disney we have not returned in over ten years now because our daughter grew out of it.

The only reason to ever buy a timeshare is for your family vacations each year. Exchanging or trying to rent is a second option when you want to try another location.

If you want to deal with II Exchange make sure you buy a resort that deals with them or another company you might like. Also my opinion is II is by far the best exchange company out there for fair trade and top resorts.

Follow these rules and you will never find yourself on one of these forums whining about being scammed by a resort sales pitch!

Our resort is Ridge Tahoe in Lake Tahoe and we spend fourth of July week there every year and never worry about other resorts and their problems.

We even bought a even year unit last year just to have something to exchange every other year if we want to go somewhere else.

Make a list of area's and resorts that fit your family and try staying in them to see how you really like the resort. After finding the resort of your dreams watch the resales listings until you find the deal you want and try and pay cash so only expense will be maintenence fee's each year. This will make for happy vacations for years to come!

PHILL12

Phil L.

I agree with Phil that the best timeshare to buy is where you like to go each year and when you prefer somewhere else you can exchange it.

Having said that, I would rent (from timeshare owners) before I bought in this economy. You have to remember the rising costs of maintenance fees each year and possible special assessments. Many rental rates are comparable to maintenance fees .... with fewer people vacationing many owners are having to lower their rental rates.

R P.

Last edited by jayjay on Apr 19, 2009 08:36 AM

Good Suggestions. Thank you!

C. M.

location, location, location... that's the first rule.

It has to be on a city where everybody wants to go, It has to be on the beach, It has to be a nice place.

Look for RCI crowns, II rewards... but mainly keep it a short flight close to home. That way is cheaper for you.

Love2travel L.

It's all about supply and demand of any given resort and the time period owned.

R P.

love2travel4 wrote:
location, location, location... that's the first rule.
It has to be on a city where everybody wants to go, It has to be on the beach, It has to be a nice place.
Look for RCI crowns, II rewards... but mainly keep it a short flight close to home. That way is cheaper for you.

Your idea's are fine if the person is buying with the main thought to exchange or try and rent which is worse reason to ever buy a timeshare.

You don't need to buy on a beach or big city but as I stated many times buy where you would enjoy going each year. Exchange is second option only!

Some people love the ocean and others like us love the mountains and last place I would ever buy was on the ocean or in a big city. I can always exchange for that or rent from a owner if needed.

Some people need to have a twenty thousand dollar timeshare and others are very happy for five thousand dollar timeshare. Every one has different needs and wants in their timeshare.

PHILL12

Phil L.

phill12 wrote:
Some people need to have a twenty thousand dollar timeshare and others are very happy for five thousand dollar timeshare. Every one has different needs and wants in their timeshare. PHILL12

And some people love their $1.00 timeshare they bought from Ebay auctions :o).

Again, it's all about supply and demand of the most sought after resorts/timed owned if that's what you're loooking for

R P.

I own two timeshares at Windjammer Landing in St Lucia and go out twice a year - once in the high season and the other in June. I love it. I have many friends on the island, have learnt to dive there, play music with the locals and have a lot of fun. This June it was very quiet due to the recession but still a lovely place to go. We have owned for 10 years and feel we have had value out of it. I bought off the developer because I did not know any better. If we did sell I would like to get something for it but have no plans to sell at present.

We were told about the various exchanging opportunities but have not bothered so far.

Babs O.

Yes! based on location the top 5 places in accordance to value: 1) Hawaii 2) Vail 3) Aspen 4) Hilton Head Island 5) Florida Keys, this is the list so why not take advantage. I've worked for many companies in the business, and have found this to always be true. I am always up for conversation on this matter so please do reply to this post or send me an email@adolph_edwards@yahoo.com.

Adolph E.

adolphe wrote:
...based on location the top 5 places in accordance to value: 1) Hawaii 2) Vail 3) Aspen 4) Hilton Head Island 5) Florida Keys, this is the list so why not take advantage.

Personally, I define what's "best" as being where one can easily afford to buy (resale only, of course, with no loans) AND where one can afford (and be comfortable with paying) the annual fees --- AND where one will (and can afford to) annually go and use. Buying ANYWHERE just to "trade" is increasingly just a fool's errand, in my opinion, in view of ever-worsening exchange company shenanigans regarding "deposits".

Timeshares generally do NOT accrue in value. They are NOT good "investments" in a "financial" sense. More often than not, a seller is lucky to sell for somewhere around what was paid in in the first place (...and that's resale). With developer-direct purchases, that "investment" usually decreases in monetary value by 90% (or more), before the ink on the contract paperwork is even dry. Sad, but true.

That all said, the fundamental problem with the above location list is that while they are certainly all GREAT places, they are all ALSO places where the purchase prices (particularly Vail and Aspen, HHI to only a slightly lesser extent) even resale (...and please don't forget those hefty annual maintenance fees) are consistently somewhere between very high and outright OBSCENE. To Hawaii, add in the factor of continually escalating airfares and fewer and fewer available airlines (...no one can drive to Hawaii--- and it's much too far to swim).

Personally, I gave up my ownership of a prime winter week at a (mediocre, not at all high end) Florida Keys timeshare when the annual maintenance fees first hit $1000. I can RENT at nice (and different each visit) places in the Keys virtually any time I want for well under a few hundred dollars per night, so why on earth would I want to continue to pay $1k per year to "own" one specific, particular week at a mediocre facility, (even if it WAS a prime week)? It made no sense.

Just my two (maybe three) cents' worth....

Last edited by ken1193 on Jan 07, 2010 02:08 PM

love2travel4 wrote:
location, location, location... that's the first rule.
It has to be on a city where everybody wants to go, It has to be on the beach, It has to be a nice place.
Look for RCI crowns, II rewards... but mainly keep it a short flight close to home. That way is cheaper for you.

--------------- ------------------- Yess!! It's all about location, location, location

Aruba so far has done more than fab on exchanges for us. Red Hot(high) all year. A simple 500 sq.ft studio exchanged for a 2 Bedroom in florida and I even got 2 weeks for the 1(one) I have with Interval Int. The maintenance is only $550 per year for a studio I bought over 20 years ago for just $9000 Rental to others go for just under rack rate so I never pay the fees. Whoa!

Roland R H.

Ken, How did you 'give up' your ownership? Any legal repercussions? We've had a timeshare on Hilton Head for several years, when we use it we love it, but having purchased a vacation home in FLA recently, we see no reason to keep the HHI Timeshare. Annual maintenance is high (not quite $1K yet, but who know's how soon that'll happen) And it's been posted for rental here for awhile without any bites yet.

Just getting out of it now without paying.. that'd be really good.

Michele B.

shellyv16 wrote:
Ken, How did you 'give up' your ownership?

When I said that I "gave up" my ownership I meant that I SOLD it.

I sold it for nearly two thousand dollars LESS than I paid for it (resale, of course) some years earlier, but I nonetheless felt (and still feel) that I got sufficient value out of the ownership while I had it.

Last edited by ken1193 on Apr 21, 2011 01:25 PM

adolphe Yes! based on location the top 5 places in accordance to value: 1) Hawaii 2) Vail 3) Aspen 4) Hilton Head Island 5) Florida Keys, this is the list so why not take advantage.

This list is alright if your reason for buying is renting or exchanging only! I stick with my opinion of only buying a timeshare for one reason and that is your family use.

We own in the Lake Tahoe area on the mountain and love it and have owned there two different times over last twenty years. I don't think any place we have exchanged into is better for us. Others like the ocean and that is fine as long as it is where you would want to go every year.

The value of the timeshare like on the list means nothing if your family doesn't enjoy being there. I also agree with statement that now days travel cost very important. Hawaii great but your stuck at what ever cost the airlines charges you. We lost our last Hawaii vacation in 2008 because both airlines we had booked and re-booked closed their doors.

We can drive in about three hours to our resort so time and gas prices don't have any thing to do with our plans. If we want to go some place else we can exchange or rent from a owner.

PHILL12

Phil L.

Last edited by phill12 on Apr 24, 2011 12:16 PM

phill12

adolphe wrote:
Yes! based on location the top 5 places in accordance to value: 1) Hawaii 2) Vail 3) Aspen 4) Hilton Head Island 5) Florida Keys, this is the list so why not take advantage.
This list is alright if your reason for buying is renting or exchanging only! I stick with my opinion of only buying a timeshare for one reason and that is your family use.

I would NEVER buy just to exchange ONLY since exchanging is so iffy these days. My recommendation is, and has always been, to buy where you like to go and exchange on those years you don't wish to go to your home resort, however you should deposit your home week well in advance to get the best choices in an exchange.

R P.

rolandh9 wrote:
love2travel4 wrote:
location, location, location... that's the first rule.
It has to be on a city where everybody wants to go, It has to be on the beach, It has to be a nice place.
Look for RCI crowns, II rewards... but mainly keep it a short flight close to home. That way is cheaper for you.
--------------- ------------------- Yess!! It's all about location, location, location
Aruba so far has done more than fab on exchanges for us. Red Hot(high) all year. A simple 500 sq.ft studio exchanged for a 2 Bedroom in florida and I even got 2 weeks for the 1(one) I have with Interval Int. The maintenance is only $550 per year for a studio I bought over 20 years ago for just $9000 Rental to others go for just under rack rate so I never pay the fees. Whoa!

Daniel T.

Hawaii is the best place to own (with Wyndham) South Africa is the second best place to own (Because of the their low maintenance fees.!

Joyce K.

joycek101 wrote:
Hawaii is the best place to own (with Wyndham) South Africa is the second best place to own (Because of the their low maintenance fees.!

Hawaii for some might be the best place to own but cost not helping with your idea! High MF and taxes plus traval expenses and cost for the weeks hurting the Hawaii timeshare business. Your idea of Africa because of low maintenance fee's is ridiculous! Years ago timeshare companys like in Flordia and Hawaii sold with low maintenance fee's and now their some of the highest plus forcing owners into added fees in the thousands of dollars to fix many older timeshares up.

Lowest maintenance fee doesn't give the resort the needed funds to keep update of the units. This causes the older units to go under with owners justing walking when hit with added charges so they can update the resort.

Phil L.

The best place to own is where you wouldn't mind going every year since exchanging has become challenging in recent years.

R P.