Timeshares is good investment or not.

dianec350 wrote:

i need advice on a recent time share purchase,the state and placethey chose,which im confussed,i didnted want it, though our red week is for there, im very unsure about this whole timeshare,confussed as well.salesman didnt answer right questions,gave a good sales pitch though,made sense at time, im scared in making wrong financial decision. more talk on maintenance fees, off week fees,availability of resort condos.our DEED is TIMBER CREEK, DESOTO,MISSOURI which they never asked if this is what we wanted.no.looks like a very nice resort,bought for $11,ooo time share,our week is 52 week willing to sell it,

I'm very confused by your post ... if you didn't want it then why did you buy it in the first place, especially after the salesperson didn't satisfy you with their answers to your questions.

Having been in the management and sales end of the "game" for what is now Wyndham Worldwide, for nearly 13 years, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, that as far as a good 'financia'l investment, there couldn't be a much worse place to put your money … PERIOD !! If it manages to FORCE you to take desired vacations that you wouldn't take without it, then there is the ONLY benefit of owning ANY timeshare. As far as getting the "best bang for the buck", timeshare is a horrible way to go. With ALL the foreclosures in the timeshare world, there are countless GREAT DEALS available for a renter on Craigs List, Ebay, etc. I have owned Worldmark credits, have for over 12 years, and tried to exchange thru RCI for the past 7 years to go to Italy and Greece. HA. Virtually impossible to get any desirable locations in ALL OF EUROPE in September ( which is off season ) even with TWO YEAR NOTICE !!!! Got rid of my Worldmark crappets ( oops, credits ) and found two weeks immediately on Craigs List in Tuscany at a GORGEOUS B&B for $75 Euro/night, about $100 US. Then found another two weeks in Sorento and Amalfi on the southern coast of Italy for even less. AND THESE PLACES ARE GORGEOUS !!! Just desperate owners needing the cash to pay off their ridiculous maintenance fees. Personally, I hate renting anything BUT compared to the nightmare of owning timeshare with its never ending inflexibility and HIGH bottom line cost, its a blessing !!!!

Pat, a failure to pay your maintenance fee will almost certainly result in a foreclosure and this does have an adverse impact upon your FICA score (credit score).

There are two types of timeshare foreclosures. If you financed the purchase the lender secured the loan with the timeshare and your failure to pay that note allows the lender to foreclosure on the collateral, that is the timeshare. The second type of foreclosure is related to your failure to pay the maintenance fees. The developer filed a declaration in the deed records in the county where the timeshare is located and you purchased your timeshare subject to this declaration that allows the HOA to foreclose when the maintenance fees are not paid.

One should always pay their maintenance fees because other owners will be required to pick up the slack if you fail to pay but bad things happen to good people and especially in the present economy. Here are some suggestions for you should you default.

1. Make sure you have two or more credit cards that have a good payment record prior to defaulting on the maintenance fees. The recent Federal Law governing credit cards prevents the bank who issued the card from raising your interest rate or closing your account due to adverse information on your credit report. They can look only at your payment record on the card they issued to you. That is good news for you.

2. Make any major purchases including a home or car prior to defaulting on the maintenance fees. You will be able to buy a car after a foreclosure but typically at a higher interest rate so do it before the foreclosure.

3. More good new concerning future home purchases following a foreclosure. In an effort to aid in the recovery of the housing market, Fannie Mae has changed its loan rules for homeowners that went through a short sale or gave their deed back to the bank before foreclosure. The U.S. housing market has so far weathered six million foreclosures in the past three years, with another three million expected this year.

Beginning with applications submitted after July 1 of this year the applicant can buy a home with 20% down within two years of a foreclosure assuming no other dings on the credit report. If borrowers can show there were "extenuating circumstances" in their situation, such as medical bills or layoff, they may qualify for a loan with 10 percent down in two years.

The relaxed rules do not specifically apply to timeshare foreclosures but there is no reason to believe they will not.

Carvana, you provided me good info and education regarding defaulting on your maintenance fees. I was not aware that there could be adverse effects to the other owners should owners allow their timeshares to be foreclosed on. I'd hate to do that. Our credit score is excellent,so I'd hate to mess that up too. And my credit card payments have been excellent. We purchased our timeshare 10 years ago in Maui and it's been paid for long time ago. Very nice timeshare but of course maintenance fees continue to rise and we have other financial commitments, that's why I want out. We purchased this resort bec' it was once an Embassy resort and we could use other Embassy resort properties at lower exchange fees so we weren't planning on visiting Maui that often. And it is a High Season, good trading property. It's since been sold twice, with the good perks gone. Since we can't afford to travel to Maui (even every other year since we only have odd years), we're faced with rising maintenance fees, plus RCI costs to exchange. Gets higher than expected. With your words of wisdom I have something to think of before making that move. Like I said, I have it on the mkt to be sold and its on RedWeek so hopefully it'll sell. Thanks again.

Timeshares are NOT investments when examined in financial. Timeshares are purchased to accomodate family , small groups or individual vacation time. To my knowledge, there is NO timeshare ownership that contractually offers financial returns. Depending on the quality and location of the timeshare property and owership arrangements, some timeshares offer more ammenities to the owners. Timeshares should be purchased and utilized as owner ship needs for vacation are desired. When it becomes clear, that family and personal circumstances for vacations, using timeshares, are no longer accomodating, it is advisable to terminate the contractural obligation. Sell or give the timeshare away. Failure to use weeks which cannot be accumulated results in payment of ever increasing maintenance fees, neither,over which, owners have any control. This results in financial loss, when timeshares are proposed as investments. It has been and continues to be my opinion that "on the whole, the timeshare industries practices permits many questionable operations in the sale and re-sale of timeshares."

Remember, you will age and your income will probably decrease. It was fun and good when we had 3 children and 2 adults, but now with only 2 adults and the maintenance fees twice what they were in 1997 when we purchased, it feels more like a millstone around our necks that we are stuck with for life. I find excellent rentals through the vacation by owner websites, like vrbo and homeaway for less than my annual maintenance fees. We also have an aging dog that we don't like to leave so now rent pet-friendly condos and homes.

connys wrote:

Remember, you will age and your income will probably decrease. It was fun and good when we had 3 children and 2 adults, but now with only 2 adults and the maintenance fees twice what they were in 1997 when we purchased, it feels more like a millstone around our necks that we are stuck with for life. I find excellent rentals through the vacation by owner websites, like vrbo and homeaway for less than my annual maintenance fees. We also have an aging dog that we don't like to leave so now rent pet-friendly condos and homes.

timeshareis agood vacation program you can use itnearby save50dollars a month topay forthemaint fees stop smoking stopgoing to casinos cut back some to pay maint feesletyour child ren use it barter it there are plenty of great things one can do with timeshares GOOD LUCK