# Which timeshares are you regretting right now?  I have a bunch, but we own a bunch.  I am going to be selling some.



## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

I am tired of owning all of these:

[Mention of 5 holdings removed to prevent this from being a sales solicitation.]

I am afraid that if something happens to me, Rick is going to have a tough time managing all of this.  He will not be happy with me.  I need to whittle this down.

What I love:
1. Number 1 favorite, Hono Koa, oceanfront units (only 4 of the 27 units), where we own 3 weeks.  Fees and taxes for 2022 are high, $2,230 per week owned and we own 3, but we use this one every year.  It's the ONLY one we stay in every year.  We have friends who would take those over, if anything happened to one of us. 
2. Disney points, wish I had bought more when they were $60!  I bought 500, but it's not enough.  I rent them for a good profit.
3. Marriott's Willow Ridge Platinum 2 bedrooms (incredible traders)
4. Sheraton SBP and SDO
5. Val Chatelle ski weeks (very rentable) our 3 summer weeks are not so great for exchange at $23 per TPU.
6. Twin Rivers for PIC with Wyndham (low fees and worth 254,000 points each)
6. Foxrun (only one left)

Our daughter can manage all of the above ownerships, should something happen to me.  I have to teach her a little bit and coach her, and I need to do that.  As I approach my 67th birthday next month, this is on my mind currently.  I am not sick or anything, no bad news from the doctor, but things happen.


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## MotherBear26 (Feb 3, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I am tired of owning all of these:
> 
> [Mention of 5 holdings removed to prevent this from being a sales solicitation.]
> 
> ...


Wow when you said you had a lot, you were not kidding. Happy early birthday! Since you are a seasoned owner, I hope it is OK to ask.

(I own HVGC and love thus far. My in-laws have a lot in Marriott, and they have mentioned in the past about if we were interested in it. We have been lucky enough to travel every year with them and our families. My husband and I want to do the same with our kids and their families someday.)

I have been trying to understand the Marriott system but also am wondering if there is a better/cheaper alternative to trade into Interval to access Disney, i.e.?


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## Makai Guy (Feb 3, 2022)

Before anyone else posts about timeshares you own and regret ...

Mentioning timeshare holdings that you "regret" is in effect a solicitation for somebody to take them off your hands.  Such ads are not permitted in the discussion forums.

TUG members may post such ads in the Marketplace, or anyone may offer them in the Bargain Deals subforum subject to the Bargain Deals posting rules..


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

MotherBear26 said:


> Wow when you said you had a lot, you were not kidding. Happy early birthday! Since you are a seasoned owner, I hope it is OK to ask.
> 
> (I own HVGC and love thus far. My in-laws have a lot in Marriott, and they have mentioned in the past about if we were interested in it. We have been lucky enough to travel every year with them and our families. My husband and I want to do the same with our kids and their families someday.)
> 
> I have been trying to understand the Marriott system but also am wondering if there is a better/cheaper alternative to trade into Interval to access Disney, i.e.?


We traveled 21 weeks in 2021.  Rick won't let me book that many weeks for 2022.  First, he is a homebody.  Second, he has projects in our yard before we get too old for him to do them, like redoing our backyard pond to make it easier to maintain and not leak, he wants to place pavers in the back corner of our yard and add a few areas for planting flowers, and he wants to build a gazebo.  We have a big yard.  We wish we didn't have a big yard.  We love our home, but we cannot take care of that much land and travel as much as I want.

I only have one resort that trades into all dates at Saratoga Springs that are showing, and it's my Marriott one bedroom platinum week.  My understanding is that the studio will not trade into Disney, but with an ongoing search, it just might.  I was able to get a 2 bedroom Marriott's Ko Olina with the studio and upgrade fees through II.  That was through an ongoing search. 

I don't want to advise anyone on what to buy for exchange because I am not as much an expert as others here.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

I didn't think of that looking like an ad, but that makes sense.  Never occurred to me.  

I meant it as a warning to others not to get too deep into these systems and oddball timeshares that are getting too expensive to own and give nothing in return but heartache and stress.  I guess you can look at what I own and know what I regret buying.


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## Tank (Feb 3, 2022)

I have one system , and have mastered it for now. ( till they change rules on us) 
One system is working good for me. 
Honestly I have found renting what I don’t have from others correctly, doesn’t tie me up to learn a new system.

I have worked on a “how too” paper to make it as easy as possible for them to take over when they have to. Yes one is willing as he sees how well I do.

To many systems for me would muck upthe water. 
Found it much easier also having extra points to work with. 
Extra weeks I own have resale potential.
So I’m not sticking anybody.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

Tank said:


> I have one system , and have mastered it for now. ( till they change rules on us)
> One system is working good for me.
> Honestly I have found renting what I don’t have from others correctly, doesn’t tie me up to learn a new system.
> 
> ...


I agree with all of that! Especially the too many systems.  

Getting rid of some things is tough, but brokers promise to get rid of my worst stuff.


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## easyrider (Feb 3, 2022)

I had good reasons for all of our timeshares but did get rid of the everything that would be a burden a while back. Everything but our Worldmark are RTU's that expire before we are 70. Some begin expiring this year. 

Bill


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## buzglyd (Feb 3, 2022)

Legacy Resort Group in Carlsbad is contacting me to list my Carlsbad Inn. I’m thinking of doing it. I rent it for more than the maintenance fees every year and we occasionally enjoy the day use. Since it’s a late summer week it will go for a good price and I won’t have to deal with renting it. Once I burn up all my 2023 Vistana points, I”ll probably cut that one loose too. 

I’ve been thinking about cutting down and then picking up a cheap Marriott trader to play in that world for a bit.


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## PigsDad (Feb 3, 2022)

We've limited ourselves to a single system as well, and that has worked for us.  I have considered picking up something else, but figured it is just easier to rent the occasional place outside of our system if we want to go somewhere we can't get with HGV.

Kurt


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

buzglyd said:


> Legacy Resort Group in Carlsbad is contacting me to list my Carlsbad Inn. I’m thinking of doing it. I rent it for more than the maintenance fees every year and we occasionally enjoy the day use. Since it’s a late summer week it will go for a good price and I won’t have to deal with renting it. Once I burn up all my 2023 Vistana points, I”ll probably cut that one loose too.
> 
> *I’ve been thinking about cutting down and then picking up a cheap Marriott trader to play in that world for a bit.*


That is actually a good idea.


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## hintok (Feb 3, 2022)

I do not regret buying any of mine.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

hintok said:


> I do not regret buying any of mine.


When I look at your list, I totally understand!


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

PigsDad said:


> We've limited ourselves to a single system as well, and that has worked for us.  I have considered picking up something else, but figured it is just easier to rent the occasional place outside of our system if we want to go somewhere we can't get with HGV.
> 
> Kurt


You did great with yours!


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## buzglyd (Feb 3, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> When I look at your list, I totally understand!



I guess I don’t regret buying any of mine either. My Carlsbad Inn unit will sell for 6 times what I paid for it.


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## Tank (Feb 3, 2022)

hintok said:


> I do not regret buying any of mine.


After awhile I regretted buying my first two, forcing us to go on vacation was actually a good thing. 
It got really hard to change weeks to a week we could use. Going to the point system was very helpful.

I’m glad  we have them now.  Having more then I need has made it so much easier to use.


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## TravelTime (Feb 3, 2022)

Without saying which ones I regret, I wish I would have just consolidated everything into Marriott. I have sold a bunch because I was getting confused with too many timeshare systems. I do not see “forced vacations” as a benefit since we always went on plenty of vacations before. We tend to do at least one non timeshare vacation every year. I guess part of me wishes I did not have any in order to have total flexibility of how to spend my time and money. However, now that I own several, it is too costly to unload them all.


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## pedro47 (Feb 3, 2022)

I only regretted one timeshare purchased  and that was 560 Ocean Club, Atlantic City, NJ.

This timeshare was located off the boardwalk and next to a major casino. 

This ts resort was forced to closed by the courts & 560 Ocean Club HOA.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

Tank said:


> After awhile I regretted buying my first two, forcing us to go on vacation was actually a good thing.
> It got really hard to change weeks to a week we could use. Going to the point system was very helpful.
> 
> I’m glad  we have them now.  Having more then I need has made it so much easier to use.


But do people ever regret buying Hilton resale?  Developer, yeah, regrets, but resale, it's going in with eyes wide open (and it lessens the sting of that initial purchase).


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Without saying which ones I regret, I wish I would have just consolidated everything into Marriott. I have sold a bunch because I was getting confused with too many timeshare systems. I do not see “forced vacations” as a benefit since we always went on plenty of vacations before. We tend to do at least one non timeshare vacation every year. I guess part of me wishes I did not have any in order to have total flexibility of how to spend my time and money. However, now that I own several, it is too costly to unload them all.


You can say which you regret, but I still own the ones that I regret, so I was moderated, and rightfully so.  

I love my Disney, and I think you owned some too, right?  I also love Marriott and want to get into it, but I have things to give away before I can do that.


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## TravelTime (Feb 3, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> You can say which you regret, but I still own the ones that I regret, so I was moderated, and rightfully so.
> 
> I love my Disney, and I think you owned some too, right?  I also love Marriott and want to get into it, but I have things to give away before I can do that.



I sold all my Disney, a Hyatt and a Westin. May sell more but not sure yet.


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## Fredflintstone (Feb 3, 2022)

Man, you and I share our love for Hona Koa in Maui! Although I haven’t travelled for 3 years now  due to , my plan is to visit Hona Koa again. You are right, maintenance fees are very high. I can rent a full week for 1300.00 all in. Sometimes, the site has flash deals for $129 a night. Since they are all 2 bedroom units, all of them work well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## chemteach (Feb 3, 2022)

I just give away timeshares that I am no longer using if they aren't worth more than a few hundred dollars.  I don't know if I regret any purchases - I just dabbled in different systems over the years to see which ones worked well for me.  The first thing I ever bought was San Clemente Inn as a "Tiger Trader" in RCI.  It did well for me.  And I sold it for a few hundred more than I paid for it.  I thought I would want to go to Big Bear, so I purchased Lagonita Lodge.  Within a few years, I realized being tied to a place was not good for my family travels.  I think I have sold more than 8 or so weeks and given away another 6 over the last 2 decades.  It's been fun.  At this point, I wish I didn't own my Diamond US Collections ownership - the maintenance fees are too high.  But we've had great vacations where we travel with 3 or 4 other families.  Couldn't have done that without owning many weeks.  TUG has been a great help, and I always appreciate everyone's helpful posts.


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## RX8 (Feb 3, 2022)

I was one of the lucky ones as I found TUG before I purchased anything. In fact, I was on TUG asking a lot of questions for 1.5 years before I finally purchased a timeshare. That helped me get what worked perfectly for my family, a resale fixed summer week at Grand Pacific Palisades that included an option for 8400 HGVC points. My kids have grown up thinking of GPP as their second home. So far, only once have we swapped the week for HGVC points but I love that option as my boys get older. In 2018, I found a great deal for DVC Grand Californian (160 points x $155/point). I wish I would have purchased more points knowing how easy they rent out. So I sit today with two timeshares. 

I haven’t yet said it but THANK YOU TUG for answering my many questions when I was young and naive and for helping guide me into the right timeshares!

P.S.  before I purchased GPP I answered an ad for someone giving away Carlsbad Inn for free. I was second in line so lost out but the lady, getting out of timeshares after many years, had told me she wished that I had gotten it instead because of my young boys. @buzglyd, was that you who got that free Carlsbad Inn in 2012?


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## DrQ (Feb 3, 2022)

The only one I "regret" is the Ramada Vacation Suites (RVS) which got bought and sold before becoming part of the Westgate resorts.

We are thoroughly integrated into HIVC which gives us enough choice to keep us happy. Additionally, HICV gives us a way to use our Westgate clinker by depositing it into RCI and getting 90K HICV points back through Global Choice for $75.


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## seascapemvy (Feb 3, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> I only regretted one timeshare purchased  and that was 560 Ocean Club, Atlantic City, NJ.
> 
> This timeshare was located off the boardwalk and next to a major casino.
> 
> This ts resort was forced to closed by the courts & 560 Ocean Club HOA.


So what happened to your unit?


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## chellej (Feb 3, 2022)

I have owned as many as 26 weeks ( at one time)   over the years and now have whittled it down to 3 weeks.  One we use every year,  one I bought because it exchanges with GPX to get into Hanalei Bay resort and my 3 bd twin rivers....which has really low maintenance fees, does well with II, and is great with the independents because I never have to pay an upgrade fee.

The only one I regret getting rid of was my Shell Hawaii club.  A number of years ago DH got laid off so something had to go and it had the highest maintenance fees.   I sure do miss not being able to book shell Kauai coast oceanfront.  It is my favorite timeshare on Kauai.


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## pedro47 (Feb 3, 2022)

seascapemvy said:


> So what happened to your unit?


The courts allowed the HOA to take over all the timeshare units and that have been over two decades ago.


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## seascapemvy (Feb 3, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> The courts allowed the HOA to take over all the timeshare units and that have been over two decades ago.


Did you get anything back from your purchase?


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## geist1223 (Feb 3, 2022)

I do not regret the 4 we own. I regret giving a 80K RVC to a friend for the transfer fee. I wish we had kept it.


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## buzglyd (Feb 3, 2022)

RX8 said:


> I was one of the lucky ones as I found TUG before I purchased anything. In fact, I was on TUG asking a lot of questions for 1.5 years before I finally purchased a timeshare. That helped me get what worked perfectly for my family, a resale fixed summer week at Grand Pacific Palisades that included an option for 8400 HGVC points. My kids have grown up thinking of GPP as their second home. So far, only once have we swapped the week for HGVC points but I love that option as my boys get older. In 2018, I found a great deal for DVC Grand Californian (160 points x $155/point). I wish I would have purchased more points knowing how easy they rent out. So I sit today with two timeshares.
> 
> I haven’t yet said it but THANK YOU TUG for answering my many questions when I was young and naive and for helping guide me into the right timeshares!
> 
> P.S.  before I purchased GPP I answered an ad for someone giving away Carlsbad Inn for free. I was second in line so lost out but the lady, getting out of timeshares after many years, had told me she wished that I had gotten it instead because of my young boys. @buzglyd, was that you who got that free Carlsbad Inn in 2012?



No my friend. I was in Hawaii at the time and say an eBay auction from a Florida recycler. It was listed as a week 35 Carlsbad Inn. I knew all the weeks and units were fixed. I asked him what the unit number was since they only had it listed as week 35. He came back with a great unit number and I offered him an instant cash rate. He closed the auction and took my credit card number.


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## dioxide45 (Feb 3, 2022)

I regret selling some of the ones we sold. A couple of SVV Prime 2BR weeks with 81K StarOptions. Can hardly find them now.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2022)

dioxide45 said:


> I regret selling some of the ones we sold. A couple of SVV Prime 2BR weeks with 81K StarOptions. Can hardly find them now.


Terrible loss!  I should have bought some of those, but I was put on a buyer freeze by someone who lives in my house with me and has been married to me for nearly 49 years.


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## geist1223 (Feb 3, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Terrible loss!  I should have bought some of those, but I was put on a buyer freeze by someone who lives in my house with me and has been married to me for nearly 49 years.



Yeah Patti had told me very clearly that buying more is a NO. It is not the cost. It is the ongoing Maintenance Fees.


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## dougp26364 (Feb 3, 2022)

We have an EOY in Branson I’d like to get rid of, but Spinnaker makes it difficult to transfer a title. It’s a decent resort with minimal fees. The problem is that we also have Marriott points that we could easily use for Branson that are much more flexible aNo easier to book exactly what we want as far as changing room size, arrival day and number of nights. I find we just don’t need it and booking it actually gets in the way of us going someplace else we might enjoy more.

next time around I’ll see what happens if I put the week into their rental program. Maybe that will work to cover the MF’s. 

I’ll eventually push them to take the deed back. Failing that, I’ll eventually force their hand and simply default on the MF.


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## SteelerGal (Feb 3, 2022)

I have 2 Independents that I want to get rid of.  I do own in 2 systems, Marriott and HGVC.


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## VacationForever (Feb 4, 2022)

I have regrets in selling some our timeshare but we had bought too much and wanted to whittle down so that we did not feel enslaved to travelling.  We are down to MVC and Vistana and we had paid a total of $80K of what we still own and will get back about $25K at this point if we were to sell.  Timesharing has given us tremendous vacations which we would not have had so all money spent in acquisition has been well worth.  I can see us timesharing for another 7 years before selling or deedback our ownership as we get older and no longer want to make those long drives and we hate flying.


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## joestein (Feb 4, 2022)

Some of you are crazy with the amount of weeks you own.  I hope you bought them resale.

We used to own 2 units at Wyndham.   It worked great for us, especially when they had the 'RCI' trick - any Wyndham week could find any other in the system.    You coud deposit a blue studio and get a red 3-bedroom in return.   Plus, I could easily get 4 or 5 weeks of stays through RCI for a week's worth of points in the system.

However, Wyndham changed over time.  Loophole disappeared, no longer allowed to transfer points, fees went up dramatically, etc.  While I don't regret buying the timeshares, I was at the point that that I was starting to regret having them/paying maintenance.  I felt the last few years that I was forcing myself to use the points, rather than do what I wanted (to cruise usually), so we gave back our points right before the Pandemic started (good timing!).

It is a new game today, plenty of rentals available, Airbnb, etc..    I don't think I will get back in the game anytime soon.   However, who knows what I will do once retired.  I have always wanted to travel back and forth across the country using timeshares.  Stay a week here, travel 7 or 8 hours, stay a week, there, etc....


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## joestein (Feb 4, 2022)

geist1223 said:


> Yeah Patti had told me very clearly that buying more is a NO. It is not the cost. It is the ongoing Maintenance Fees.



isn't it always.


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## pedro47 (Feb 4, 2022)

seascapemvy said:


> Did you get anything back from your purchase?


Not one penny.


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## joestein (Feb 4, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> Not one penny.



What happened to the actual timeshare property after it closed and the HOA took it over?    Sold, demolished, still around?


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## pedro47 (Feb 4, 2022)

joestein said:


> What happened to the actual timeshare property after it closed and the HOA took it over?    Sold, demolished, still around?


560 Ocean Club is a private condo in Atantic City.  The ts condo units were  never to be rented or lease as timeshare units.


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## Sugarcubesea (Feb 4, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I didn't think of that looking like an ad, but that makes sense.  Never occurred to me.
> 
> I meant it as a warning to others not to get too deep into these systems and oddball timeshares that are getting too expensive to own and give nothing in return but heartache and stress.  I guess you can look at what I own and know what I regret buying.



I'm getting ready to whittle mine down, I also worry that I own too much...

I know the two I will get rid of and will do so prior to retiring. I just want to use both of them a few more times...

I will be keeping 4 weeks when I retire, two weeks in a summer location in my home state of MI and two weeks in Naples, FL, my happy place. Both of these are independents and the MF's are reasonable.

I still regret giving away my SDO, it was the first timeshare I purchased with the help of TUG via resale.


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## elysium5 (Feb 4, 2022)

PigsDad said:


> We've limited ourselves to a single system as well, and that has worked for us.  I have considered picking up something else, but figured it is just easier to rent the occasional place outside of our system if we want to go somewhere we can't get with HGV.
> 
> Kurt



I'm looking into buying a Hilton Resale (already a happy MVC owner). I'm attracted by the fact their points system look super flexible and they don't lose value, when you buy resale.


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## bogey21 (Feb 4, 2022)

I had what I consider good success with 6 HOA controlled Independents.  I paid about $8,000 for the bunch figuring I would get next to zero when divesting them and I was right.  I think I netted about $100.  But if you take into account that I used them all for 5-6 years and the MFs were relatively low, it was a pretty good deal.  Said another way, it sure beats paying $30,000 for a Week and watching it slowly (maybe not so slowly) head South...

George


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## JanT (Feb 4, 2022)

The most weeks we ever owned at one time was 9 - Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton, Windjammer Landing in St. Lucia, and Polo Towers which eventually was taken over by Diamond.  Only 2 of them were bought from the developer.  Was FINALLY able to get rid of the Polo Towers week when Diamond was in their "we'll take it back for a $500 fee" mode.  It worked for us at the time but MFs were escalating, and it definitely wasn't worth the MFs. 

I whittled us down to 2 weeks at one point - one Marriott and one Hyatt.  Now, we're back to 5 weeks - all Marriott and Hyatt.  We had really planned to travel a significant amount when we sold our house in 2020 but obviously Covid has slowed that plan down.  We just bought a new house because I'm sick of living in an apartment and just want my "stuff" around me again.  We'll travel when we can but will probably end up just selling several of the weeks we currently own.  I don't think I actually regret owning any of them but probably do regret buying the last 4 in the middle of Covid under the stupid assumption that Covid wouldn't continue to hinder the ability to travel.  Oh well - live and learn.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 4, 2022)

JanT said:


> The most weeks we ever owned at one time was 9 - Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton, Windjammer Landing in St. Lucia, and Polo Towers which eventually was taken over by Diamond.  Only 2 of them were bought from the developer.  Was FINALLY able to get rid of the Polo Towers week when Diamond was in their "we'll take it back for a $500 fee" mode.  It worked for us at the time but MFs were escalating, and it definitely wasn't worth the MFs.
> 
> I whittled us down to 2 weeks at one point - one Marriott and one Hyatt.  Now, we're back to 5 weeks - all Marriott and Hyatt.  We had really planned to travel a significant amount when we sold our house in 2020 but obviously Covid has slowed that plan down.  We just bought a new house because I'm sick of living in an apartment and just want my "stuff" around me again.  We'll travel when we can but will probably end up just selling several of the weeks we currently own.  I don't think I actually regret owning any of them but probably do regret buying the last 4 in the middle of Covid under the stupid assumption that Covid wouldn't continue to hinder the ability to travel.  Oh well - live and learn.


Covid hasn't really put a damper on our travel.  We are vaccinated and had Covid over Christmas and couldn't see our newborn grandbabies, twins born 12/26, until they were almost two weeks old.  We go again today to see them a second time.  We are healthy, everyone is healthy, which is great.  Those babies are adorable, boy and girl, but so much work for mom and dad.  

I can get rid of most of what we don't want.  It's not like I am stuck.  Seriously.


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## chellej (Feb 4, 2022)

joestein said:


> Some of you are crazy with the amount of weeks you own.  I hope you bought them resale.




I was lucky to find tug before I bought any timeshares.  At the point I owned 26 weeks, 13 of those were a quarter-share I paid $880 on eBay and then sold a number of years later for $4000.  It was probably the best deal I ever purchased.  Used 1/3 of the weeks and rented the rest and made money every year.

The most I ever paid was $2500 for a raintree membership and it is the only one I lost money on ( with the exception of 2 or 3 I gave to Tuggers).  It has been a lot of fun


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## pittle (Feb 4, 2022)

We have bought & sold quite a few since our first one in 1991.  We bought most really cheap on ebay used them for trades so that our family could travel together at Thanksgiving and have 3 2-bedroom units at the same place.  Plus we wanted at least 2 weeks for just us in February each year. I would rent them to family members for the cost of the MF & exchange fee. We eventually sold 4 on ebay for the same as I originally purchased them for.

One that we bought in Mazatlan was sold to another company that would not honor our contract and so we walked. We had gone 8 years in a row for the month of June in the summer.

Another has had problems for quite a while and in 2018, I did not pay MF because it was higher than our Buganvilias Sky Suite with nothing like the amenities, they called and asked if we wanted to stay part of the "family" and I said no.  I have not heard back from them since. We did go there 8 times.  It was up in Conchas Chinas, in PV.

A few years ago, we decided to adopt the philosophy of own where you want to go.  We have 2 Grand Luxxe weeks that we currently pay 1/2 price for and starting late next year, we will have no MF.  We will have to pay the 10 year renewal in 2024, but that is basically the cost of 1 year's MF, then no more.   We all love the Buganvilias, but will not renew when the contract expires in 2026. Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay expires 2031. (We mostly use it for SFX exchanges).

Our "kids" are not interested in owning any of these.  We are 75 & 76, so we just hope to travel as long as our contracts are still valid.


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## joestein (Feb 4, 2022)

pittle said:


> they called and asked if we wanted to stay part of the "family" and I said no.  I have not heard back from them since. We did go there 8 times.  It was up in Conchas Chinas, in PV.



I love that line.   Part of the family.  They must be thinking of the Dad/Mom part where you keep shelling out money.


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## JanT (Feb 4, 2022)

I'm glad you've felt comfortable traveling and especially that you got to see your grandbabies!!  We've traveled around some, too - just not the international travel we wanted to do.  Our intent when we sold our house was to travel internationally quite a bit but that's obviously been much harder than traveling around the U.S.  We're both vaccinated and have done some of what we wanted to do but we really wanted to be able to move around a bit more freely.  We've got a couple of bucket list trips we want to take and once we can do that, we will.  Have fun seeing your grandbabies!!!




rickandcindy23 said:


> Covid hasn't really put a damper on our travel.  We are vaccinated and had Covid over Christmas and couldn't see our newborn grandbabies, twins born 12/26, until they were almost two weeks old.  We go again today to see them a second time.  We are healthy, everyone is healthy, which is great.  Those babies are adorable, boy and girl, but so much work for mom and dad.
> 
> I can get rid of most of what we don't want.  It's not like I am stuck.  Seriously.


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## missyrcrews (Feb 4, 2022)

I don't regret any of mine.  I bought all 5 weeks resale, at very reasonable prices (or free!)...and all but one are used most years.  (That one is in October, which is a time of year that I can't travel until after retirement...but it trades very nicely.)  They are in drive-to locations, so Covid hasn't really impacted my use.  All in all, still very happy with what I own.


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## pammex (Feb 5, 2022)

I mostly am happy with all the timeshares we have, we either use them or trade. Covid has made things different. 
I have one right now that we sort of have outgrown even though it is a large 2 bedroom in Mazatlan.   So maybe that is a regret. Have been trading it.


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## travelhound (Feb 6, 2022)

buzglyd said:


> I guess I don’t regret buying any of mine either. My Carlsbad Inn unit will sell for 6 times what I paid for it.


How are you planning to sell it?  I have a Carlsbad seapointe and a Grand Pacific palisades yo part with soon.


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## buzglyd (Feb 6, 2022)

travelhound said:


> How are you planning to sell it?  I have a Carlsbad seapointe and a Grand Pacific palisades yo part with soon.



Im probably going to use Legacy. The office is located at the Carlsbad Inn so potential customers are on property and see exactly what they’re getting. The fees are steep but they’re also likely to get more money for it. Maybe Red Week if I don’t use Legacy.


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## travelhound (Feb 6, 2022)

buzglyd said:


> Im probably going to use Legacy. The office is located at the Carlsbad Inn so potential customers are on property and see exactly what they’re getting. The fees are steep but they’re also likely to get more money for it. Maybe Red Week if I don’t use Legacy.


Thanks I’ll look into it.  I’ve used red-week before.


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## Larry M (Feb 6, 2022)

Check your sunset dates. If you have a fixed week or a unit outside the US, there's a good chance that it's not a forever ownership. Like milk, it has an expiration date. Do you want to sell or abandon a unit now when you could wait and cash out in a couple of years? Do you think you could get a lot of money selling it, when the buyer looks at the contract and sees that he's only buying four years? 

What about buying? It's a little scary knowing you might be buying a fixed week forever, buying one with four years life remaining makes it easy to estimate the Total Cost of Ownership (purchase, transfer fees, plus e.g., 4 years of maintenance fees compounded at ~5%), and the chance that there might be a really good cashout.

I haven't observed a lot of discussion on TUG about sunset dates, but as the timeshare boom ages, they may become a more popular topic of discussion.

*When was the last time you read your contracts and listed their sunset dates?*


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 6, 2022)

Larry M said:


> Check your sunset dates. If you have a fixed week or a unit outside the US, there's a good chance that it's not a forever ownership. Like milk, it has an expiration date. Do you want to sell or abandon a unit now when you could wait and cash out in a couple of years? Do you think you could get a lot of money selling it, when the buyer looks at the contract and sees that he's only buying four years?
> 
> What about buying? It's a little scary knowing you might be buying a fixed week forever, buying one with four years life remaining makes it easy to estimate the Total Cost of Ownership (purchase, transfer fees, plus e.g., 4 years of maintenance fees compounded at ~5%), and the chance that there might be a really good cashout.
> 
> ...


There has been some discussion about it.  I think ours at Val Chatelle is 2034.  That is too far out to save us from this building bad debt.  Bad debt is where owners are not paying for whatever reason: death, age, tired of owning, etc.  We have quite a few weeks that are HOA owned.


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## dtdt (Feb 6, 2022)

I only have one regret purchase. My first, which was before I found TUG. We bought Pueblo Bonito Sunset.... beautiful resort and we did have many happy trips there with the family. But we got greedy and upgraded to their point system which I never understood. I wish I had just kept things simple. It is hard to deal with Mexico but this purchase is now tied up in a PICC with Wyndham so I cannot unload it.  Otherwise, I LOVE my Wyndham and Marriott purchases, mostly resale with a few small purchases for system benefits that worked out well for us.


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## silentg (Feb 6, 2022)

We have had a timeshare since 1981, I didn’t want it, but my husband, didn’t take vacations and he convinced me that buying a timeshare would force him to take one week off each year. We kept that timeshare for over 30 years. It was a RTU so was easy to be rid of it. Meanwhile I found TUG and we bought a SA timeshare for trading, it served its purpose until it didn’t. Then we deeded it back . Other weeks we got for little investment and am happy with what we have now. I did buy a contract at a resort that we never used, they were asking absorbent fees for assessments with no guarantee of when we would be able to use . They offered an out at that point so we took it.
For all the years of timesharing, we had more success than defaults. Learned so much, from TUG and don’t think We would have been able to negotiate some deals without the expert advice we got here. So thank you to all who helped us and hope we have helped others as well.


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## heathpack (Feb 7, 2022)

I love my timeshares.  The problem is: I’m not sure timesharing really makes sense for us these days.  Lots of our travel involves dogs, and timeshares don’t work well for dog travel.  Also- the planning a year out doesn’t always work out because so much other life stuff we might want to do in life doesn’t operate on that kind of schedule- dates get set a few months in advance, not a year or two.  So we keep having conflicts and needing to cancel trios.

But the timeshares themselves are actually great.  The resorts, the units, the seasons, the value for initial purchase, the ongoing MFs, the rental market are all good.  So if we sell our timeshares it won’t be anything to do with the timeshares themselves- more that our lives have evolved away from timesharing.  We’re not quite ready to give up on it yet though.  Maybe our lives will swing back in the other direction.

We bought all six of our timeshares resale for around $25000 total.  They’re now worth around $35000 total.  So I really think the math works for us.  Still we’re all hotel and AirBnB travel currently.


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## MOXJO7282 (Feb 7, 2022)

I've bought and sold 50+ timeshares since 2001, all Marriotts.  The funny thing is the only one I regretted was the very first one, a gold Grand Vista for $14,100 in 2000. I bought it because I believed the salesman's lie that I could easily trade into Maui.  So I put in the trade request for Maui and waited and waited and waited. After 8 months and no trade I realized that was BS and I was looking to dump it and forget TSs.  Then 9-11 happened and I finally got the trade I wanted because basically everyone stopped travelling and many Maui units were deposited.  I'll never forget flying there is a practically empty flight and an equally empty resort.  At that same time Marriott introduced a trade up program where you received full credit of your purchase price and still all the points incentives. I was told I was one of the first to take advantage of it. So they allowed me to apply the $14k towards a MOC purchase which I jumped on. Several months later Marriott, because so many were looking to trade up changed the deal and started taking 40% of the purchase price. So I was lucky to get the trade and the full credit trade up. I believe if both those event didn't happen I would never have achieved what I have because I was ready to sell if the trade never happened or if they had only offered me 60% of my GV value.  Now we have 33 Marriotts, 16 on Maui, 10 HHI, 2 Newports, 3 Frenchman Cove 3BDRMs, a Custom House and just purchased a Grand Chateau 3BDRM.   So far we rent more than we use each year but that is about to change as I plan to retire this year if my wife's restaurant continues to prosper.  With our portfolio we will be able to vacation for as much as 20 weeks and still cover MFS and then some. I hope to start this ASAP but currently caring for my MIL so that plan is on hold for now.


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## joestein (Feb 8, 2022)

heathpack said:


> I love my timeshares.  The problem is: I’m not sure timesharing really makes sense for us these days.  Lots of our travel involves dogs, and timeshares don’t work well for dog travel.  Also- the planning a year out doesn’t always work out because so much other life stuff we might want to do in life doesn’t operate on that kind of schedule- dates get set a few months in advance, not a year or two.  So we keep having conflicts and needing to cancel trios.
> 
> But the timeshares themselves are actually great.  The resorts, the units, the seasons, the value for initial purchase, the ongoing MFs, the rental market are all good.  So if we sell our timeshares it won’t be anything to do with the timeshares themselves- more that our lives have evolved away from timesharing.  We’re not quite ready to give up on it yet though.  Maybe our lives will swing back in the other direction.
> 
> We bought all six of our timeshares resale for around $25000 total.  They’re now worth around $35000 total.  So I really think the math works for us.  Still we’re all hotel and AirBnB travel currently.



I felt the same way.   That is why we gave them up and will rent a timeshare when needed.

In the past, we would had to have our plans for our 2022 vacations finalized already.   With the pandemic - who knows what we will do.   I love the freedom to not worry about how I am spending my points or letting them expire.

Maybe when we retire and have more time available we will consider getting another timeshare.

Joe


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## CalGalTraveler (Feb 8, 2022)

heathpack said:


> I love my timeshares.  The problem is: I’m not sure timesharing really makes sense for us these days.  Lots of our travel involves dogs, and timeshares don’t work well for dog travel.  Also- the planning a year out doesn’t always work out because so much other life stuff we might want to do in life doesn’t operate on that kind of schedule- dates get set a few months in advance, not a year or two.  So we keep having conflicts and needing to cancel trios.
> 
> But the timeshares themselves are actually great.  The resorts, the units, the seasons, the value for initial purchase, the ongoing MFs, the rental market are all good.  So if we sell our timeshares it won’t be anything to do with the timeshares themselves- more that our lives have evolved away from timesharing.  We’re not quite ready to give up on it yet though.  Maybe our lives will swing back in the other direction.
> 
> We bought all six of our timeshares resale for around $25000 total.  They’re now worth around $35000 total.  So I really think the math works for us.  Still we’re all hotel and AirBnB travel currently.



I agree with you on pets however this is a travel issue and not just a timeshare issue - which affects any travel especially with a hotel or air.

We love taking our dog and one cat to our drive-to second home. They love the car. The problem is we have another cat who detests travel, howls and get car sick so we must board him, and another one who is young and we are trying to train for car rides but jury still out.  Boarding all the animals can run $175/day which can be more than a hotel room.



joestein said:


> I felt the same way.   That is why we gave them up and will rent a timeshare when needed.
> 
> In the past, we would had to have our plans for our 2022 vacations finalized already.   With the pandemic - who knows what we will do.   I love the freedom to not worry about how I am spending my points or letting them expire.
> 
> ...




IMHO....Timeshares do not have to be all or nothing. Renting is a hassle and a risk (and can be significantly more expensive in places like HI), however having too many timeshares is also a hassle and risk (as you pointed out) .

They key is balance: having just enough TS  for the places we regularly visit where the rental rates are significantly greater than MF, but not consuming the entire vacation budget so we can rent hotels and AirBnBs as needed elsewhere. Over the past 8 months we visited HI 3x with extended family. These trips would have been prohibitive if we had to rent or use hotel rooms without a kitchen (especially during Covid).  The TS pools and amenities kept the fam busy and made it much better than an AirBnB too. If one visits locations where rent is cheaper than MF then TS don't make sense.


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## elaine (Feb 8, 2022)

CalGalTraveler said:


> They key is balance: having just enough TS for the places we regularly visit where the rental rates are significantly greater than MF, but not consuming the entire vacation budget.


I'd say overall, no regrets. This is our strategy. We have "reallocated" our TS holdings--going from a high of 5 to now 2, swapping a few for different ones and adding more DVC points. We now need more vacation dollars to cruise and stay in hotels in Europe and need less big units for the family as kids are now young adults. It's also harder to commit to a family trip at a year out or even really 6 months anymore. DVC and HGVC (both added after we divested 2 others) allow us to swap out a reservation or bank the points forward--this flex works well for us.
We also thought in "retirement" we'd travel lots around USA. --and I kept a couple TS traders with visions of 3 week EOY trips out west. With an elderly parent, we really need to be going to FL at least 4X/year, so staying on East coast with a big trip to Europe looks more like our travel pattern for the next few years. So, I added a SW FL HGVC and am divesting a "retirement trader" (that used to be a big annual family trip). I can envision picking up another TS in a few years if needed--as the travel trailer is a hard no by DH!!


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## joestein (Feb 8, 2022)

CalGalTraveler said:


> I agree with you on pets however this is a travel issue and not just a timeshare issue - which affects any travel especially with a hotel or air.
> 
> We love taking our dog and one cat to our drive-to second home. They love the car. The problem is we have another cat who detests travel, howls and get car sick so we must board him, and another one who is young and we are trying to train for car rides but jury still out.  Boarding all the animals can run $175/day which can be more than a hotel room.
> 
> ...



You live in CA - Hawaii is not the same  trip for you that is for us on the east coast.  I have never been there - though I have gone to the Caribbean many times.   I guess that is the east coast substitute.   I would like to visit Hawaii one day.

I have rented twice since we gave up our timeshares.   Both times I stayed at places I would not have been able with Wyndham Points or RCI.   Between the two rentals - I am slightly ahead in cost vs maintenance.

Joe


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## bogey21 (Feb 8, 2022)

MOXJO7282 said:


> Now we have 33 Marriotts...



Out of curiosity do you have any idea how much you have invested to have gotten to this place...

George


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 8, 2022)

heathpack said:


> I love my timeshares.  The problem is: I’m not sure timesharing really makes sense for us these days.  Lots of our travel involves dogs, and timeshares don’t work well for dog travel.  Also- the planning a year out doesn’t always work out because so much other life stuff we might want to do in life doesn’t operate on that kind of schedule- dates get set a few months in advance, not a year or two.  So we keep having conflicts and needing to cancel trios.
> 
> But the timeshares themselves are actually great.  The resorts, the units, the seasons, the value for initial purchase, the ongoing MFs, the rental market are all good.  So if we sell our timeshares it won’t be anything to do with the timeshares themselves- more that our lives have evolved away from timesharing.  We’re not quite ready to give up on it yet though.  Maybe our lives will swing back in the other direction.
> 
> We bought all six of our timeshares resale for around $25000 total.  They’re now worth around $35000 total.  So I really think the math works for us.  Still we’re all hotel and AirBnB travel currently.


You did well with your purchases, especially Hyatt and of course Disney. 

I am most proud of my Disney points, but I sure wish I purchased Grand Californian.

Not much else that we own is worth anything to anyone. Wyndham is a sore subject for me right now. I used to love it, but not so much lately. RCI Points are fine, but with Wyndham, I don't need them anymore. As long as Wyndham doesn't cancel all of my accounts, Wyndham works to get what I want through exchange. I don't need the crazy amount of RCI Points I have. I will enter a search through regular RCI Points, and a week later I will enter a search through RCI Wyndham (Founder's Level Platinum), and the Wyndham will come through first every time. So I know it's not a fair system for regular RCI owners. I know I get preference as Wyndham. I love it, don't get me wrong. I especially loved getting priority over others for Disney one bedrooms. Still, we didn't get the options that Welk owners got until suddenly I was able to get a 2 bedroom at Saratoga Springs, which I haven't gotten in years.

Blue Ridge Village increased the fees for 2022 by 20% and sent us an invoice for a special assessment starting June, two payments, $570 or something per payment, due in June. I guess having it due in June was supposed to lessen the blow.

I love my Colorado weeks for an occasional stay, but I cannot generally get the exchanges I want through weeks without using two weeks for one exchange. At $880 for a week, that makes for an expensive exchange. I am unsure what to do with my summer weeks. I tried using Hawaiian Timeshare Exchange, but they didn't extend my deposits after Covid cancellations, so two months later, my deposits were gone.


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## CalGalTraveler (Feb 8, 2022)

joestein said:


> You live in CA - Hawaii is not the same  trip for you that is for us on the east coast.  I have never been there - though I have gone to the Caribbean many times.   I guess that is the east coast substitute.   I would like to visit Hawaii one day.
> 
> I have rented twice since we gave up our timeshares.   Both times I stayed at places I would not have been able with Wyndham Points or RCI.   Between the two rentals - I am slightly ahead in cost vs maintenance.
> 
> Joe



Hawaii and Cabo are west coast go-to destinations. Flights right now are insanely inexpensive at approx.  $150 - $200 RT (was $500 - $700 RT pre-Southwest and Covid).

I love the Caribbean. St. John is one of my favs. But like you, it is too far to travel plus time zone adjustment from the West Coast on a regular basis especially when you can go to Cabo for a long weekend with minimal time zone change.


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## ilene13 (Feb 8, 2022)

We bought our first timeshare in the Bahamas in 1980. At our high we had 10 weeks now we only have 7.  We have bought and sold units, so we actually only own where we want to be.  We do belong to II we use it for our non Marriott weeks to change dates as we own fixed weeks.


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## Big Matt (Feb 8, 2022)

I like all of mine right now, but I wish I would have had the foresight to understand how things change as I went from a family with two young kids 21 years ago to now when the kids are 27 and 24.  Plus, my wife is retired and my job is pretty flexible location wise.  I may have bought a couple more cheap(er) Marriotts prior to the conversion to points.  Too expensive to do that now.  Yes, my Foxrun is still hanging in there with good trades (I'm at Newport Coast Villas this week using my FXR).  Can't complain about 75 and sunny, and my 27 year old son and his wife are with us.


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## nomoretslt (Feb 8, 2022)

An acquaintance gave me a one week TS near Animal Kingdom in Disney World.  I regretted it the first time I stayed there....free is never really free, it was close to $1,000 yr for dues/maintenance...a 2 BR duplex.  Used it for 3 years for girl trips with my sister in law and mother in law and was able to give it back to Diamond when they took over.   I check sometimes and you can’t even cover the dues if you rent it. 

Kind of regretted buying Saratoga Springs Resort at Disney before it was even opened ($92/point if I recall correctly)....we already owned Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas.  We did receive 2 annual passes for one year.  The resale market wasn’t really a thing then.  We never stayed there but used those points twice to go to Aulani and we were always able to use the points to stay at Boardwalk.  We didn’t learn about the resale market until 2009 I think when Bay Lake Tower was ready to open.  Our DVC guide asked us why not sell our Beach Club points to put toward Bay Lake  (since we never stayed there either....we always ended up at Boardwalk).  We were like “we can do that?”.

Kept watching the resale market after that (sold Beach Club in a day or so)...Saratoga was selling for like $60 10 years ago.  When Riviera came along in 2019 we sold Saratoga for $102/point and put the $$ towards Riviera.  So even though I regretted the Saratoga purchase, it served us well for 15 years and we made a profit.

I admire those of you that are so savvy with trading your timeshares.  With DVC, it used to be easy to use my Saratoga points to book Boardwalk at the 7 month mark....but as the DVC portfolio and DVC family grew, it started to get difficult.  So now I have 8 contracts at 3 excellent resorts.  And now that we can use II, the cash getaways can fill my need to go elsewhere (because we always use every single DVC point).

Although the dues bill is getting to be a bit much.....around $6,000/yr. But we have not yet grown tired of going.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 8, 2022)

Big Matt said:


> I like all of mine right now, but I wish I would have had the foresight to understand how things change as I went from a family with two young kids 21 years ago to now when the kids are 27 and 24.  Plus, my wife is retired and my job is pretty flexible location wise.  I may have bought a couple more cheap(er) Marriotts prior to the conversion to points.  Too expensive to do that now.  Yes, my Foxrun is still hanging in there with good trades (I'm at Newport Coast Villas this week using my FXR).  Can't complain about 75 and sunny, and my 27 year old son and his wife are with us.


That's a win, sharing with family.  

So what week do you own at Foxrun and does it see the Disney deposits?  Curious because I am considering depositing a week 52 but thinking I should leave it in RCI.


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## MOXJO7282 (Feb 8, 2022)

bogey21 said:


> Out of curiosity do you have any idea how much you have invested to have gotten to this place...
> 
> George


I know exactly how much.  I've spent over $1M overall including all maintenance fees over 20 years and a little less than half was on acquisitions of the TSs. Absolutely crazy numbers considering I didn't have much money to start with and used 0% credit cards over and over again to build our portfolio buying resale after procuring the first 4 direct.


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## heathpack (Feb 8, 2022)

CalGalTraveler said:


> I agree with you on pets however this is a travel issue and not just a timeshare issue - which affects any travel especially with a hotel or air.
> 
> We love taking our dog and one cat to our drive-to second home. They love the car. The problem is we have another cat who detests travel, howls and get car sick so we must board him, and another one who is young and we are trying to train for car rides but jury still out.  Boarding all the animals can run $175/day which can be more than a hotel room.



We’re pretty fortunate in that the dogs travel extremely well.  They just fall asleep in their crates in the car and literally don’t make a peep until we arrive at our destination.

We’re also fortunate that there’s so many places we love to visit that are within driving distance.  So we don’t give up much by doing driving trips with the dogs: Coastal California, Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia NP, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, Sedona, St George, Zion, Bryce, Park City, Moab, and so on.

The cost of boarding is a non issue for us.  I can leave them at work for $45/day.  But.  I don’t want to leave them!


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## dougp26364 (Feb 9, 2022)

We own a timeshare in Branson we’ve regretted the last few years. At one point we’d go to Branson once or twice a year. Not so much anymore.

The problem is the management company who runs the property makes it difficult to transfer ownership. They have to approve the new owner and, they require the buyer to pay two years MF’s in advance. They won’t allow the seller the make that payment, it has to be the buyer. They put those restrictions in because of the scam companies using the Viking Ship model to dispose of timeshares. No trust or corporation is allowed to take over the deed and, forcing the issue of MF’s paid in advance scuttled most of those title transfers. Good for the HOA’s but it makes it nearly impossible to transfer the title.

Eventually well just stop paying the MF and force their hand with a foreclosure. We just haven’t arrived at that point yet.


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## The Colorado Kid (Feb 9, 2022)

dougp26364 said:


> We own a timeshare in Branson we’ve regretted the last few years. At one point we’d go to Branson once or twice a year. Not so much anymore.
> 
> The problem is the management company who runs the property makes it difficult to transfer ownership. They have to approve the new owner and, they require the buyer to pay two years MF’s in advance. They won’t allow the seller the make that payment, it has to be the buyer. They put those restrictions in because of the scam companies using the Viking Ship model to dispose of timeshares. No trust or corporation is allowed to take over the deed and, forcing the issue of MF’s paid in advance scuttled most of those title transfers. Good for the HOA’s but it makes it nearly impossible to transfer the title.
> 
> Eventually well just stop paying the MF and force their hand with a foreclosure. We just haven’t arrived at that point yet.


Ouch - do you mind sharing the timeshare name? Hoping other HOA's don't follow suit.


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## Sugarcubesea (Feb 9, 2022)

heathpack said:


> I love my timeshares.  The problem is: I’m not sure timesharing really makes sense for us these days.  Lots of our travel involves dogs, and timeshares don’t work well for dog travel.  Also- the planning a year out doesn’t always work out because so much other life stuff we might want to do in life doesn’t operate on that kind of schedule- dates get set a few months in advance, not a year or two.  So we keep having conflicts and needing to cancel trios.
> 
> But the timeshares themselves are actually great.  The resorts, the units, the seasons, the value for initial purchase, the ongoing MFs, the rental market are all good.  So if we sell our timeshares it won’t be anything to do with the timeshares themselves- more that our lives have evolved away from timesharing.  We’re not quite ready to give up on it yet though.  Maybe our lives will swing back in the other direction.
> 
> We bought all six of our timeshares resale for around $25000 total.  They’re now worth around $35000 total.  So I really think the math works for us.  Still we’re all hotel and AirBnB travel currently.



I so agree, I really love my timeshares, it has allowed me to vacation with my adult kids and make some amazing memories.  Out of the 6 weeks I own now, I have not paid more than $5K for a unit and that was my summer week at Pinestead Reef.  This same summer week is now going for $10K and going within days of being posted, because the demand is so high and the supply so low (It took me 5 years of cozying up to a retired couple that had no kids, to convince them to sell me their summer week once they were done with it) I will make money when I sell.

My Hyatt is my next highest and I paid $4K for a Diamond, 2,200 point week and I know I will make my money back when I'm done with this one...  All of my other units I bought off ebay or received free from TUG.


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## Ralph Sir Edward (Feb 9, 2022)

It's hard to truly say regret, but I was glad to end my Marriott experience. OTOH, I made a profit on them when I sold them back to Marriott. I guess it evened out. . .

But, courtesy of the wonderful posters here, I bought "where I want to go" - Big Island Hawaii. Plus I have started (or will start once things settle down) a new plan, timeshare-lite, in the continental US. (CONUS for the ex-military). Shreveport for one night in April (American Rose Society's national rose garden is there). Galveston in the fall (never been there), on the beach. Lots of Hilton Homewood Suites around CONUS. I can get a 2 bdr 2 bath suite at most of them. Advanced planning required? Yes, but no continual MFs. Pay for what I use, when I use it. A 3-4 day trip is nice, and less than 4 hours away by air. 

Happy trails, I hope. . . .


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 9, 2022)

MOXJO7282 said:


> I know exactly how much.  I've spent over $1M overall including all maintenance fees over 20 years and a little less than half was on acquisitions of the TSs. Absolutely crazy numbers considering I didn't have much money to start with and used 0% credit cards over and over again to build our portfolio buying resale after procuring the first 4 direct.


That is very believable, and honestly, what do people want to do in retirement?  They want to travel, and so that retirement money is for maintenance fees and travel and for purchasing timeshare.  I do consider resale timeshares an investment.  I know you aren't supposed to look at it that way, and maybe the kids will disagree with the it once we are dead and buried.


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## Big Matt (Feb 9, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> That's a win, sharing with family.
> 
> So what week do you own at Foxrun and does it see the Disney deposits?  Curious because I am considering depositing a week 52 but thinking I should leave it in RCI.


I have a week 39 that is at the beginning of leaf season.  It sees the 1BR Disney Saratoga Springs units that are currently on II.  So do my Marriott studios


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 9, 2022)

Big Matt said:


> I have a week 39 that is at the beginning of leaf season.  It sees the 1BR Disney Saratoga Springs units that are currently on II.  So do my Marriott studios


Even the June-July weeks?  That is surprising to me.  I haven't seen those even with SBP.  The problem I have with SBP is I used to be able to choose a week to reserve after maintenance fees were paid, and then I could deposit the week into II for exchange.  I would choose a week between 24-32 for the best trading power. Now Vistana and II have decided to give a combined trading power to all weeks.  The weeks are 9-43 and 47.  Combined trading power is not all that wonderful.  I haven't tried an ongoing search for the June-July dates.  I should do that and see if I can get the summer that way, not that we would go in summer.  It's too hot.  I remember taking the kids when they were teens and it was even hot in my 30's.


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## pedro47 (Feb 9, 2022)

Sugarcubesea said:


> I so agree, I really love my timeshares, it has allowed me to vacation with my adult kids and make some amazing memories.  Out of the 6 weeks I own now, I have not paid more than $5K for a unit and that was my summer week at Pinestead Reef.  This same summer week is now going for $10K and going within days of being posted, because the demand is so high and the supply so low (It took me 5 years of cozying up to a retired couple that had no kids, to convince them to sell me their summer week once they were done with it) I will make money when I sell.
> 
> My Hyatt is my next highest and I paid $4K for a Diamond, 2,200 point week and I know I will make my money back when I'm done with this one...  All of my other units I bought off ebay or received free from TUG.


You have master how to use timeshare ownership to your advantage.  IMHO.


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## Sugarcubesea (Feb 9, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> You have master how to use timeshare ownership to your advantage.  IMHO.



Thank you, I feel like I have learned from all of the masters here on TUG, I really work hard to make these work and each are in locations that it would cost me more per night to rent then to own the timeshare...


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## Big Matt (Feb 9, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Even the June-July weeks?  That is surprising to me.  I haven't seen those even with SBP.  The problem I have with SBP is I used to be able to choose a week to reserve after maintenance fees were paid, and then I could deposit the week into II for exchange.  I would choose a week between 24-32 for the best trading power. Now Vistana and II have decided to give a combined trading power to all weeks.  The weeks are 9-43 and 47.  Combined trading power is not all that wonderful.  I haven't tried an ongoing search for the June-July dates.  I should do that and see if I can get the summer that way, not that we would go in summer.  It's too hot.  I remember taking the kids when they were teens and it was even hot in my 30's.


It does not see the June and July weeks.  It starts with the second half of August.  My Grande Vista 1BR and studios are the same, but a 2BR GV or Manor Club see the June/July weeks.


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## dougp26364 (Feb 9, 2022)

The Colorado Kid said:


> Ouch - do you mind sharing the timeshare name? Hoping other HOA's don't follow suit.



Spinnaker management is the company that put these restrictions in place


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## escanoe (Feb 9, 2022)

I found tug and was a lurker for abt 3 years until I jumped in to make my first purchase (resale) in 2018. I paid my TUG membership the same day I signed a sales contract. Everything I own is peak season and has good trading value. I expect some of my good traders may become not good traders over time. (I am a bit more concerned abt my VV holdings than my HGVC.) I am 47 and hope to enjoy what I own into retirement for a few years before starting to worry much. I have asked myself if one of my units were to get to a point where it had negative value how long I would keep it. My instinct is probably that I would try to get out before being under too much water.


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## jmhpsu93 (Feb 10, 2022)

We've owned an RTU unit in Cancun since 2006, which has since converted from a weeks/MF system to a points/no-MF system where I just pay for the all-inclusive fee which varies by season.  We are SO happy with our purchase - we've gone almost every year and sometimes twice a year, same staff, and everyone knows us and our daughter basically grew up there.

We entered the MVC world before I found TUG (oops), bought retail DC points and then learned how to best use them once I found this place.  I bought resale MGV and SVV where I was basically paid to take them.  I also stole another 1,000 DC points right when the pandemic started (at 0.76/point) when MVC wasn't even looking at ROFR.   We then decided what we had was a little too much and after offering the SVV (voluntary) units here for free (no takers) we deeded them back to Vistana. 

Regrets?  Sure I wish I might have bought my original purchase resale, but we get so much value out of our membership (spent like 85 nights in a TS last year) I'm OK with that loss.

Now that we've settled in to a usage pattern that I think will continue (4-6 weeks a year snowbirding in Orlando or HHI plus another 3 weeks or so on true "vacation"), we might pick up one more unit with a higher trade punch.  At some point we'll expand that portfolio further once our (if... ) daughter moves out and we don't need the space we have here.

So a long-winded answer to the question...no regrets.


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## Bxian (Feb 10, 2022)

We own 3 weeks at the Charter Club of Marco Island (HGVC).  No regrets.  Bought all resale. A well-managed resort which we think of as our home away from home. I've held off on buying more. We play the hotel points and miles game, and also enjoy bed and breakfasts and cruises (although the latter have been a no-go during Covid).  Even though we are both retired, I still feel like there are too many possibilities for adventure, yet too little time.


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## SteelerGal (Feb 10, 2022)

I have a two that I want to shed and they are independents.  I am going to try to give them away but it will be a hard sell.  Covid just caused soo many changes so I don't need the weeks because I'm having to dump them in II.  And I have too many weeks in II already.  Hell, I still haven't found any way to use my RCI points that will expire this year.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 10, 2022)

SteelerGal said:


> I have a two that I want to shed and they are independents.  I am going to try to give them away but it will be a hard sell.  Covid just caused soo many changes so I don't need the weeks because I'm having to dump them in II.  And I have too many weeks in II already.  Hell, I still haven't found any way to use my RCI points that will expire this year.


RCI Points are tough to use.  I appreciate the II resorts for quality.  I love Marriott and book quite a few Marriott resorts with my SBP for the reduced exchange fee.  Now that Disney is with II, it's another reason to get rid of RCI Points.  The thing is, no one is buying RCI anything, not the ones I am selling.  I can book ARP week at my home resort, but now that it was taken over by Wyndham management, I have to add a guest certificate through RCI. That makes me crazy.


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## joestein (Feb 10, 2022)

escanoe said:


> I found tug and was a lurker for abt 3 years until I jumped in to make my first purchase (resale) in 2018. I paid my TUG membership the same day I signed a sales contract. Everything I own is peak season and has good trading value. I expect some of my good traders may become not good traders over time. (I am a bit more concerned abt my VV holdings than my HGVC.) I am 47 and hope to enjoy what I own into retirement for a few years before starting to worry much. I have asked myself if one of my units were to get to a point where it had negative value how long I would keep it. My instinct is probably that I would try to get out before being under too much water.



Love Captain Caveman


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## SteelerGal (Feb 10, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> RCI Points are tough to use.  I appreciate the II resorts for quality.  I love Marriott and book quite a few Marriott resorts with my SBP for the reduced exchange fee.  Now that Disney is with II, it's another reason to get rid of RCI Points.  The thing is, no one is buying RCI anything, not the ones I am selling.  I can book ARP week at my home resort, but now that it was taken over by Wyndham management, I have to add a guest certificate through RCI. That makes me crazy.


We are stuck because I had to dump Hawaii into RCI.  We only would use for local SoCal.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 10, 2022)

SteelerGal said:


> We are stuck because I had to dump Hawaii into RCI.  We only would use for local SoCal.


Hilton points in RCI.  Yes, that could be tough to use them for something as great as Hilton. Not much out there.  People will argue with me about it, but RCI doesn't have much.


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## escanoe (Feb 10, 2022)

I will not argue with you, but politely disagree. RCI Points has been good to me. With a family and being tied to the school calendar it seems to have a lot that I enjoy using in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In addition to local travels, it has been good for longer stays on Hilton Head Island.

One other thing about RCI, is there are trading bargains available when and if you are free to book something with little notice, and you do not have to trade your whole unit or side like how II usually works (with exceptions).

Anyone that reads all my posts knows I have plenty of criticisms of RCI. But for my family’s needs at this time I find it offers me more than II.

I am sure II meets your needs better. But until I move or my family schedule situation changes, RCI is offering me more upside.

Very rarely would I consider using my HGVC points in RCI. That is usually not a good deal. 



rickandcindy23 said:


> Hilton points in RCI.  Yes, that could be tough to use them for something as great as Hilton. Not much out there.  People will argue with me about it, but RCI doesn't have much.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 10, 2022)

escanoe said:


> I will not argue with you, but politely disagree. RCI Points has been good to me. With a family and being tied to the school calendar it seems to have a lot that I enjoy using in the Mid-Atlantic region.
> 
> In addition to local travels, it has been good for longer stays on Hilton Head Island.
> 
> ...


We definitely are coming from different ownerships.  I mostly own Vistana and Wyndham.  Wyndham does great for RCI, like Shearwater.  I have had great success with RCI for Wyndham resorts and I used to like Disney.

I am a Marriott gal.  That is what everything I buy from this point on will be.  I also like Sheratons for trading.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 10, 2022)

Thanks to TUG, I can't say that I've truly regretted any.  A couple of times I've had second thoughts, but later events have verified my original assumptions. And in one case, Winners Circle, the purchase has proven far better than I originally anticipated. And Raintree, while no longer offering features that originally attracted us, still been ok for us.

Our first purchase was a developer purchase at Marriott Lihue. With thanks to TUG, we rescinded that purchase.  But that presentation sold us on timeshare, and we knew that we wanted a unit on Kaua'i.  Before we left Kaua'i on that trip, we had decided that we wanted to own at Point at Poipu (an Embassy Vacation Resort at the time).

Our first completed purchase was a fixed week 52 at Winners Circle resort in Solana Beach, CA. That was an eBay auction, and using information gleaned from TUG, I put in a lowball I was comfortable making, with no expectation I would win.  I didn't win the auction, but the winner flaked and the seller came back to me as the #2, willing to accept my offer. So I picked it up. For years I deposited it for exchanges in RCI, Trading Places, SFX, and HTSE.  At one point we added it to Diamond Club Combinations to help get us to Gold level.  If we were to sell it now, we could probably sell it for more than we purchased. 

The next purchase was a resale week at Point at Poipu. We still own that  week, and in the years since we've extended our ownership so that we can reserve two units to host multi-generation family vacations.

Our next purchase was a resale ownership with Raintree Vacation Club.  RVC was attractive because it had locations that aligned with our interests in Mexico (particularly Isla de Mujeres, Puerto Vallarta, Oaxaca) and Whistler.  We ended up renting this property for quite a few years, making about 20% ROI on our purchase.  More recently, we started using the property ourselves, pre-COVID,

Next we purchased some ownerships at Club Regina, Whiski Jack Fitzsimmons, which we flipped for profit.  Also a unit at Pahio Bali Hai Villas (now Wyndham), that we got for a song on another eBay auction.  We put the Bali Hai Villas in Diamond Club combinations (along with the Winners Circle week) , to help us get to Diamond Club Gold level.  Later we gave that away to a good friend, who has loved using it every year. 

Our last purchase was a developer purchase at Pacifica in Zihua.  A developer purchase which actually penciled out when I ran the numbers.  We can't wait to get back there again.


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## Larry M (Feb 12, 2022)

rickandcindy23 said:


> There has been some discussion about it.  I think ours at Val Chatelle is 2034.  That is too far out to save us from this building bad debt.  Bad debt is where owners are not paying for whatever reason: death, age, tired of owning, etc.  We have quite a few weeks that are HOA owned.


That is, in fact, what caused Egrets Pointe to end in 2021, even though the contract sunset date isn't until 2026. The current board admitted that a prior treasurer hadn't pursued non-paying owners for years, to the point that it was "too late" to go after them. I don't know whether that was a statutory limit, or just Southern graciousness, just as I don't know what was behind the failure to bill and dun.

Why not propose an early sunset at Val Chatelle, as was done at Egrets Pointe? They mailed out a poll which strongly supported that, followed by a ballot, and the deal was done.


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## CPNY (Feb 13, 2022)

I regret buying from the developer.


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## FlamingoFrolic (Mar 27, 2022)

My Dad regrets buying a *HOUSEBOAT *timeshare. The cost of diesel was insane, and not really considered before they made their first trip and the diesel bill caught them by surprise. You had to run the generators for air conditioning and all of that was not part of the MF or even expected.

But that's not the worst of it.

Someone _sank _one of the three timeshare houseboats. *Let that one sink in*, lol.  

Truth is stranger than fiction. Anyway, Dad got an enormous _whatever-you-call-that-fee-when-the-timeshare-sinks_ in the mail. He didn't pay any more into the timeshare and just "let it go." I couldn't figure out how this cost wasn't covered by some sort of insurance policy, but maybe the owner had done something not covered? Anyway, be careful out there!!


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## buzglyd (Mar 27, 2022)

FlamingoFrolic said:


> My Dad regrets buying a *HOUSEBOAT *timeshare. The cost of diesel was insane, and not really considered before they made their first trip and the diesel bill caught them by surprise. You had to run the generators for air conditioning and all of that was not part of the MF or even expected.
> 
> But that's not the worst of it.
> 
> ...



Which plan was that? What lake. There were two houseboat TS back in the day. One in South Carolina and one in Georgia.


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## buypearls (Aug 17, 2022)

[buying/seling/renting not permitted in the discussion forums]


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## buypearls (Aug 17, 2022)

[buying/seling/renting not permitted in the discussion forums]


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## Sugarcubesea (Aug 17, 2022)

Bxian said:


> We own 3 weeks at the Charter Club of Marco Island (HGVC).  No regrets.  Bought all resale. A well-managed resort which we think of as our home away from home. I've held off on buying more. We play the hotel points and miles game, and also enjoy bed and breakfasts and cruises (although the latter have been a no-go during Covid).  Even though we are both retired, I still feel like there are too many possibilities for adventure, yet too little time.



Every year when we are in Naples, I look at the Charter Club of Marco Island and would love one day to exchange into this resort...


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 17, 2022)

buzglyd said:


> Which plan was that? What lake. There were two houseboat TS back in the day. One in South Carolina and one in Georgia.


I think there are still some in AZ at Lake Havasu.


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## silentg (Aug 17, 2022)

Ones I regret are gone to others . Happy with ones I have.


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## MasterDisaster (Dec 26, 2022)

buzglyd said:


> Which plan was that? What lake. There were two houseboat TS back in the day. One in South Carolina and one in Georgia.


I believe it was in Texas or Oklahoma.


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## Talent312 (Dec 26, 2022)

I regret buying the one in Gatlinburg becuz...
Now have to go to Gatlinburg every frickin year
to see my in-laws (they live nearby).

Without, I could make an excuse not to go.
As it stands now, I have a life sentence.
.


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## normab (Dec 28, 2022)

We bought two that disappointed, and eventually got rid of them. Marriott St Kitts is a lovely resort, but we bought it a couple of years before the 2008 downturn in the economy. After that there were very few flights and made it difficult to travel there. By the time airlines started flying there again, the maintenance fees had gotten so high we didn’t feel it was worth it. 

We also bought at the Marriott (Horizon) in Branson and it was a really good trader for us for many years, low maintenance and a lock off that got us some really nice trades in the Caribbean. However the maintenance fees jumped when it went from a Horizons brand to a Marriott brand, and finally they almost tripled. At that point it wasn’t even worth it as a trader for us.

We still own three beachfront Marriotts and are enjoying them and the flexibility of the points system tremendously.  So I’m not sure that I can say I regret those purchases, they just didn’t work for us long-term.


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## Glynda (Dec 28, 2022)

The I0,000 Bluegreen points we've owned for 20 years.


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## Carolinian (Dec 30, 2022)

My timeshare portfolio has evolved over the years.  I first bought a resale summer red week on the NC Outer Banks for trading, then added a white week and a blue week at a different OBX resort, also for trading.  On TUG, I learned about South Africa weeks for trading, so I sold the OBX white and blue weeks, breaking even on them, and bought South Africa weeks.  From deals I found on TUG, I also added an Australian week, a Sint Maarten week, and a Dutch week.  The first two of those I subsequently sold at least breaking even, and the Dutch resort wound up and was sold, giving me a decent profit.  I got elected to the HOA board at the first OBX resort I owned at, so I bought a summer week there to use.  I bought two UK summer weeks from their HOA for a very low price, but in about 6 years the resort reached its sunset.

When I went to work in Europe full time, it meant shorter travel to timeshares, but it also meant that things could come up where I simply could not take off when I had exchanges.  That was one factor that took me out of timeshare exchanging.  The other was the huge customer-unfriendly changes at RCI.  I kept in the exchanging game for a time with independent exchange companies like DAE, SFX, and UKRE, but eventually got down to just the one summer week to use on the OBX.  We are in the purchase process right now of another summer OBX week at a different resort.

As my usage pattern evolved, and that also changed after I got married as well as from job changes, I simply changed my ownerships.  Overall, I have come out a bit ahead in buying and selling timeshares, but much of that was finding good deals when I bought.  I got one of my SA timeshares free from a Tugger, and I gave that away to one of my employees in Europe.  The others I bought cheap and sold cheap.

Now, we will be happy with using our two summer OBX weeks ourselves.  The one we have owned for years has only one unit during our week that is put up for rental and none for exchange, and all the others are occupied by owners, so we see the same group of people every summer, and that is a nice aspect of timesharing.  One of the other owners during our July 4 week served on the HOA board with me for several years, although both of us are now off the board.

Exchanging was great in the "old days" before the current corporate ownership of RCI (which someone on TUG called "The Borg" after its transition), and when DAE Europe was going strong, but that is all now in the rear view mirror.

I think the key is recognizing when your travel agenda changes and adjusting your timeshare portfolio as you go along.  It was neat owning some real tiger traders in the old days of RCI like my summer Dutch week and my two August UK weeks, but times changed and both Points and Points Lite skewed the exchange system away from supply and demand.  The RCI system now panders to developers still in sales, and that has corrupted the system.  But you cannot cry over spilled milk, and instead just adjust your ownership to what still works for you.

We came very close to getting back into exchanging by picking up a free May week on the OBX, but before we concluded the deal, I had a conversation with the DAE Europe office, where we planned to use the week to trade, and learned that RCI was going to buy the parent Australian company and they were not sure what would happen with the Europe franchise. Ultimately, the Europe franchise was also purchased by RCI, so we decided not to get back into exchanging.  In waiting to see what would happen, someone else had snatched up the May week anyway, and those late spring weeks do not come up free on the OBX that often.

The one thing I really miss is the Canal Boat exchanges in the UK, which my wife also loved, but we have two credits left with UKRE and that is probably what we will use them for.


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