We are thinking about a Timeshare Purchase, whats your honest opinion???

Hello all,

My wife and I are new to Red Week and joined to start doing some purchase research.

We love Marco Island Florida and have been renting a home for the past couple years, we like to travel in late Sept.- early Oct, the "off season". We like having our own pool and spa, but its a pain to drive and a walk to the beach, then try to find chairs. We visited the Eagles Nest and liked what we saw, there are many opportunities to buy a flex share there for around $3000.00 + yearly fee's approx. $1200. Even if we can catch a "deal" on a house its at least $1600+.

What's your honest opinion on all the above and more?

The timeshare industry has changed over the years. Years ago I would have said that a timeshare was a good deal but today the corporations have turned it into a money pit of ever increasing maintenance fees and assessments. The point system is a Ponzi scheme where they can change the number of points required at their discretion. Some corporation have even reverted to taking control of the HOA and allowing themselves to raise fees just for profit. An interest in a vacation home in my opinion is better than timeshares and vacation clubs especially if you like a certain destination.

I own with two time share companies and would honestly say not to buy. You are locked in for life and must pay the increase in maintenence fees. $1200 is high. I would shop the rentals and find someone who would rent what you want through their membership. I own worldmark Indio and really like it but I also own polo towers in Vegas where I'm tied into high maintanence fees. Feel free to contact me through indio, California rental for more discussion. Annette

I checked out your favorite resort. Beach looks great but look at owner reviews. I think Hyatt Coconut Plantation Resort would be a great place to rent. But again, I don't advise buying . There ae plenty of renters out there just trying to get the maintenence fee paid for. Annettte

I enjoy renting a timeshare because I like the space vs a hotel room. I am going to be renting a floating week for the next three years and at the same time I need to rent out week 52 in the Marriott Aruba Surf Club. I would like to rent out all three years at once. I see that it is going for $10-$11 grand for this week. Any thoughts on how I should price it? I was thinking $8995 for one year. But I would like to ask 8500 per year if the renter agrees to both years. I was also thinking of charging 8100 if I can get three years of rental from the same family. That way I can secure the rentals and give a big break on the price. Thoughts?

There are many schools of thought. If you buy a timeshare in a location that you love, you will always have a vacation spot to go to. However, if you are one who likes to travel a lot and see different places, a timeshare becomes a burden. Also, always buy it from someone other than a timeshare corporation. You will save thousands of dollars. As for trading, that'a a crap shoot. The spot you want to go to is hardly available and if you're thinking of trading in Europe, it will almost always be unavailable or the timeshares are far from tourist attractions. You may have to travel many miles to get to the center of anywhere. So, my advice is this: Pay close attention to the maintenance fees (which are ever rising) and think about renting a timeshare from other owners instead of buying one yourself. All us timeshare owners get stuck and would love to rent our timeshares to at least cover our maintenance cost. So it becomes a win for you because you never had to buy it and you're not stuck going to the same place every year.

You can look at RedWeek listings on Polo Towers in Las Vegas. You can get a deeded 2 BR unit on top floor for $0.01 (a penny).

johnh1645 wrote:

Hello all,

My wife and I are new to Red Week and joined to start doing some purchase research.

We love Marco Island Florida and have been renting a home for the past couple years, we like to travel in late Sept.- early Oct, the "off season". We like having our own pool and spa, but its a pain to drive and a walk to the beach, then try to find chairs. We visited the Eagles Nest and liked what we saw, there are many opportunities to buy a flex share there for around $3000.00 + yearly fee's approx. $1200. Even if we can catch a "deal" on a house its at least $1600+.

What's your honest opinion on all the above and more?

Good advice so far. We got into timeshare back in the early 1980's and have several 'ownerships' they're all very different. As others have said the industry has changed over the years. Our first one was a fixed week and fixed unit, with relatively stable annual maintenance. But those deals are not found anywhere any more. The new business models have flex, floating, registered, fair trade or a bunch of different terms that all mean that you have NO GUARANTEE that you can actually GET IN when and where you want (lots of overselling going on these days). Some outfits require you to make reservations 9-12 months in advance (and pay fees at time of making the reservation)... and the fees are no longer stable.... especially since 2008 crash in the real estate and hospitality (and timeshare) industry...as well as the general economy. Best advice is to check sites like Redweek, TUG and others to see what OWNER RENTALS are available at the times/places that you want to go. Many of (us) old-timer owners don't want to go any more, and are more than willing to rent our places at cost or maybe just a few bucks over. (just to not have the burden of paying the maintenance fee). You might also find some owners who are desperate to sell for a song & dance.... again, just to jettison the burden.

I wouldn't even think about it. Once you sign up you're stuck. Stick with renting..........

I wouldn't either.. Id read first people's experiences with different timeshare companies, point systems etc. It might sound good at first, but might turn out to be something you were not prepared to pay for. They might scam you into the system which is not as good as it sounds.

I made a huge mistake once, and never would fall into any of those systems in entire of my life again! I see all those systems more or less scamming systems, besides how much nicer it would be to travel every year to different place? Its in many cased even much cheaper to book on your own plus its so free... no maintenance fees etc. to take care of. I never recommend any such systems with my experience and understanding. Might be a bit different also in Europe and in States, but still Id think twice. Whats sounds too good to be true never is... (something like that)

In response to the reply:

"I enjoy renting a timeshare because I like the space vs a hotel room. I am going to be renting a floating week for the next three years and at the same time I need to rent out week 52 in the Marriott Aruba Surf Club. I would like to rent out all three years at once. I see that it is going for $10-$11 grand for this week. Any thoughts on how I should price it? I was thinking $8995 for one year. But I would like to ask 8500 per year if the renter agrees to both years. I was also thinking of charging 8100 if I can get three years of rental from the same family. That way I can secure the rentals and give a big break on the price. Thoughts?"

THE $10 - $11 GRAND IS TO BUY RTU FOREVER AND A ONE TIME CHARGE. RENTING IS DIFFERENT. COMPARE TO THE RENTAL RATES AND GO UP FROM THERE SINCE IT IS A HIGH DEMAND WEEK.

The answer to your question is ----- It depends on you. It depends on you, your financial status, and your belief system. For the many Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, it might not be a wise move. To the more fortunate who do not need to account for every hundred dollars spent, it might be something to consider. Its pretty wonderful to stay in full-featured, luxurious condominiums when you are on vacation. However if you are just a 2-person married couple, it might be too much; however if you have a larger family, 5 or more, then the costs analysis vs. renting hotel rooms become much more attractive. Its a huge topic. If in doubt....do not proceed.

My advice would be if you purchase make sure your guaranteed the time you want so you don't need to request it. If you can't do that don't buy it just rent at the resort you want to be in. We own 2 timeshares in places we love to go to each year and it has worked out for us. You also want to have a desireable time as it's easier to rent out. Definitely a nicer way to vacation. We stay in luxury places that would have cost us twice the amount if we had rented the same units in the same location. Again, just make sure you buy the best you can buy if you decide to buy and definitely check the resale market first but my guess is you won't get the best time and guarantee that you can negotiate with the resort you purchase from. If you can't get that guarantee DON'T DO IT as we initially learned the hard way. Hope this helps.

My main advice is only buy where you want to go. The sales pitch is always you can exchange and travel around the world but it does not really work that way. The advice you have from others is spot on. You may save a little between maintainence fees and the house rental but you can walk away from the house rental and you are locked in for your maintainence fees. I own too many timeshares and I use them but would not buy more.

Unless you have money to burn don't buy "points". Buying points is like buying an unknown. Although the companies claim they only sell points that are backed by their inventory of deeds, I, as well as (I believe) the majority of owners, don't believe them. It seems they just keep printing more points much like the US Treasury keeps printing money, thus diluting the value. Then they try to sell you more and more points to cover the ever increasing number of points required to book a unit.

Buying a deeded unit isn't much better. We have 3 floating deeded weeks every other year at Poipu. We must contend with ever increasing maintenance fees and special assessments; and must book 360 days in advance (as well as pay MF in advance) to even have a chance of getting what we want.

One more point to consider before you buy anything: the manmagement company controls the resort's boards of directors (HOA and AOAO) so they can do whatever they want to maximize their proffits. If anyone knows of a timeshare company where this is not true please post.

agreed with the previous posts on this topic. take advantage of current owners renting a week. you will get the same benefits of ownership and may get the vacation for less than the yearly maintenance. Invest your down payment instead and hope you can pay for future vacations with the interest you earn.

lorraine36 wrote:

There are many schools of thought. If you buy a timeshare in a location that you love, you will always have a vacation spot to go to. However, if you are one who likes to travel a lot and see different places, a timeshare becomes a burden. Also, always buy it from someone other than a timeshare corporation. You will save thousands of dollars. As for trading, that'a a crap shoot. The spot you want to go to is hardly available and if you're thinking of trading in Europe, it will almost always be unavailable or the timeshares are far from tourist attractions. You may have to travel many miles to get to the center of anywhere. So, my advice is this: Pay close attention to the maintenance fees (which are ever rising) and think about renting a timeshare from other owners instead of buying one yourself. All us timeshare owners get stuck and would love to rent our timeshares to at least cover our maintenance cost. So it becomes a win for you because you never had to buy it and you're not stuck going to the same place every year.

Before buying a time share, check what is avialable with Redweek. I have a fixed week at Massanutten and have been very happy with the resort. I make sure I get an excellent location each year by paying my maintence fees and making my reservation two years early. I have also successfully rented through Redweek 1/2 of my 12 person unit each year.

I didn't read all of the previous posts, but I'm sure you will continue to hear that the maintenance fees are with you forever more and the cost of the one week ownership can be significant. We have enjoyed outstanding vacations, which we would have never, never known about thanks to timesharing. But I have spent hours, days, months...... on the phone and computer in order to maximize our ownership. I can't say I regret it, but, if you know you are going to spend money to have great travel vacations. Don't own, just rent. You will have much more flexibility for your family and will save thousands++++ of your hard earned dollars. If you do decide to buy, go with one of the top companies. You do get what you pay for. Safe Travels.

I suggest renting for awhile and also joining TUG- Timeshare Users Group- or go on as a guest- and ask questions. Then, if you still want to own- buy resale. You can acquire many timeshares for free on TUG, here on Redweek, and also at Timeshare Nation- where I acquired one for free. (I also own one that I bought through the developer at a steep price).

There is also a Facebook page called Timeshare Resorts Users Group where you can learn a lot and ask questions.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info.