# Tug is a God send



## Jeremy2011 (Nov 17, 2011)

Let me start by saying thank you to TUG and all members.  I'm humbled by your TS knowledge, expertise, and eager willingness to help newbies like myself.  All of you are awesome! 

After experiencing a presentation, my wife and I signed on and purchased a TS from the dealer for an EOY "white" week (ended up being in December in the Hill Country of Texas) for about $8,000. MF about $430 a yr. Interestingly, the salespeople skimmed through the fact it was EOY and I didn't notice until we were signing the contract.  I caved anyway and signed away.  My "prize" consisted of a gift bag of potato chips and crackers and a $40.00 prepaid credit card.  The hotel they paid for was mediocre, and I still paid $80.00 for two nights.  I wasn't expecting anything for free; however, considering what I was almost bilked for, it's clear I wasn't getting a decent deal either.  After six hours of a "90 minute" presentation, we walked out justifying to each other how we made the right decision.  All the while, in my heart and gut, I knew we made a mistake.  I like to pride myself in being a man who takes care of his family; thus, I justified the decision as being right b/c I was doing this for my family.  (The salesman apparently picked up on this since he focused that it would be good for my family).  He even told me after I signed that I did the right thing for my family.  As we enjoyed the remainder of the day and the stay at the hotel, I finallly got on-line and researched TSs.  I stumbled upon TUG (thank God!!!!) and realized the mistake.  I engrossed myself in this site for hours on end even through the wee hours of the night and knew, as a man who is willing to take of his family, that I needed to rescind.  I awoke my wife one morning (Sunday right before church) and told her that we were going to write the rescission letter after church and mail it first thing Monday morning.  Thanks to the example letter and knowledge that you guys have posted, the rescission letter was sent that Monday morning. We had 5 days and Monday would be 4th day.  We just received the confirmation letter from the resort advising us that the rescission letter had been received and confirmed and that we could expect full refund of the down payment and would not be obligated to anything with them at all. :whoopie:  THANK GOD!!!!!!

You guys are awesome and I write this with humility and extreme gratitude.  I'm continuing my research and taking the advice of waiting six months and renting prior to making any purchases.  I will be joining TUG soon and look forward to asking questions (I know ya'll won't mind) and blogging with you.  I plan to rent a week from that same resort for this spring or summer, so I'll keep an eye out in the Market place.  The only question I have at this time is: Other than TUG, what other sites are of reputable character to find postings of TSs for rent?

Once again, Thank you TUG and all members!!!!!  

Jeremy


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## DeniseM (Nov 17, 2011)

Jeremy2011 said:


> rescission letter had been received and confirmed and that we could expect full refund of the down payment and would not be obligated to anything with them at all. :whoopie:  THANK GOD!!!!!!



Congratulations!



> The only question I have at this time is: Other than TUG, what other sites are of reputable character to find postings of TSs for rent?



Most of the listing websites are just classifieds, they don't get involved in the rental at all, so it's the owner that you want to check out.

How to tell if a rental is Legit - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109479

In addition to TUG, I like www.redweek.com.


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## vacationhopeful (Nov 17, 2011)

I use Redweek also ... the $15 yearly membership fee is small as they too have resort reviews. The search functions are by state and city, which is very helpful to find resorts in/near where you want to visit.

Vacationtimesharerentals.com is a free site. As is Myresortnetwork.com. Sometimes these owner post a rental and never update their listings or response to replys. That is why the $15 is not an issue; you get what you pay for.


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## DeniseM (Nov 17, 2011)

In addition to Linda's good advice, you almost never get scammers on Redweek, because they are unwilling to register and provide a valid credit card to join.


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## timeos2 (Nov 17, 2011)

Thank you for the testimonial.  TUG exists only to be a resource for owners and potential timeshare buyers - there are no agendas except to help others. 

Welcome and know we are all happy to share our experience as best we can.  It is very satisfying to hear you already dodged a very bad purchase and now see the advantage to timeshare and how to buy reasonably for great value by resale.  

We look forward to your learning the ropes and enjoying some great vacations for that family of yours.


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## Passepartout (Nov 17, 2011)

Welcome Jeremy! It just makes us feel all warm and fuzzy when someone finds us in time and sticks it to a shyster salesweasel. Congratulations.

No hurry for you to spring for a TS. The 'deals' you find today aren't going anywhere. I think you are wise to rent a few times- maybe even indefinitely- without buying. Nothing wrong with that when you can rent for little more- and sometimes a good deal less than MF.

Stick around. Learn. Go on great vacations.

Jim Ricks


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## Rob&Carol Q (Nov 18, 2011)

Want to really see how fortunate you are?  Get on eBay and search the resort you were staying to see if anything is for sale.  willing to bet that you could purchase the very same package for less that $500 and that's including the closing...probably less.

I do wish more folks were as diligent as you turned out to be.  Heck, I wish I would have been as diligent waaaay back in the mid 90's when I bought mine!  Oh well, that wave has crashed ashore...:deadhorse: 

Yup...read, learn, ask a few questions...you'll be fine.


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## Tia (Nov 18, 2011)

Great to read happy endings


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## MULTIZ321 (Nov 18, 2011)

Jeremy,

Welcome to Tug! Glad you found us and were able to rescind.

You'll find a wealth of information on Tug - not just related to Timeshares.

Richard


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## Jeremy2011 (Nov 18, 2011)

Thanks for the info Denise and Linda. I've looked at Redweek and some other sites.  Since Denise made it clear that it's best to check out with the owner moreso than a site. That makes sense.  Also, thanks for the link to the thread of legitimizing rentals.  That's going to help out.  

I realize my fortune (hence the title of this thread) and that's why I'm extremely grateful  for the creation of this site and forum.  Once again, I'm also grateful for the experience of all those willing to help.  Even your gracious "welcomes" speak volumes of the kind of people who are members of this site.

As Timeos says 





> there are no agendas except to help others


. 

I'll be looking out for that perfect rental in the Market.

Jeremy


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## Dorian (Nov 19, 2011)

Jeremy2011 said:


> Let me start by saying thank you to TUG and all members.  I'm humbled by your TS knowledge, expertise, and eager willingness to help newbies like myself.  All of you are awesome!



I will echo Jeremy's comments.  I am humbled by just how helpful and eager to educate those who are new to timeshare ownership the folks on TUG are.  You don't get simple yes and no replies, they are well written and full of extremely useful information.  The results of helping the newbies must have saved many, many families years of financial hardship by educating before they signed on the "wrong" dotted line.  This was the best $15 dollars I've ever spent.

Thank you all!!!


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## AnnaS (Nov 22, 2011)

Happy to read you found TUG and were able to rescind.


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## chriskre (Nov 22, 2011)

Jeremy2011 said:


> I'll be looking out for that perfect rental in the Market.
> 
> Jeremy



RCI also rents units on their public sites many times cheaper than maintenance fees.   http://www.endless-vacation-rentals.com/


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## Talent312 (Nov 22, 2011)

timeos2 said:


> ... There are no agendas except to help others.



However, I have two additional agendas:

1. To read+learn from others, since I mostly recycle what I've learned here.
2. To ask posters to break their posts into digestable paragraphs.
... I get lost trying to read one more than 6-8 lines long...


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## HudsHut (Nov 22, 2011)

Jeremy:

Welcome. Thank you for taking the time to thank the TUG members here. We are so glad that you found us in time. It's great to hear a happy ending for a change.  

Where do you want to go first? We can recommend nice resorts just about everywhere. :whoopie: 

I, too, have learned an incredible amount here, and I have paid it forward by helping new members whenever I can. I am happy to pass along my knowledge others.


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## pedro47 (Nov 23, 2011)

Jeremy, Welcome to this web site there is so much you can learn from this forum.

Ask your questions and you will receive the truth, the good and you will hear about some bad experiences from real t/s owners; but always you will receive some great advice and answers from real t/s owners.


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## jehb2 (Nov 23, 2011)

Passepartout said:


> Welcome Jeremy! It just makes us feel all warm and fuzzy when someone finds us in time and sticks it to a shyster salesweasel. Congratulations.



Well said.

I've been tugging for 12 years and I still find useful information that saves me a lot of money or makes my vacation that much better.

Also, when news breaks out it's amazing Tug can be a pretty good news source.


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