Judy, it's nice to see you here again. I think you have WorldMark, (when it was still Trendwest), and didn't you used to have MROP? I think we chatted about both of those, back in the day. I agree about the addiction - it's easy to fall into the "I want it all, and I want it now" mentality. You have a real benefit of knowing exactly how it works, and what to expect before you jump in. One advantage of being slightly battle scarred is that it makes you circumspect before plunging back in.
For me, all those Weeks ownerships I had came and went. I bought and sold a lot for resale stuff before deciding that Weeks just wasn't a long term fit for me. They were all sold off, and then I bought just WorldMark. It's working great for me so far, and I'm happy with how it's going. I see those bargains you're talking about, but so far, the bug hasn't bit me again. I'll leave them for you to enjoy.
Keep us posted on your finds!
Dave
Wow, Dave you remember me quite well! Yes, I own Worldmark, although I'm not sure it was still Trendwest when I bought it. I was just talking about the availability problems in the WM forum here, although I think WM works well for people who live near the west cost and take frequent short trips there. I wish it were easier to get peak reservations in WM, but I can always rent out surplus credits. so it's all good. I am glad WM works well for you.
And yes, I owned three MROPs. The fees went up on those, so I deeded two back, paying a $250 fee on each. I had a MROP with special booking privileges in the Pacific Northwest, and a Tugger from Washington state was happy to take that third one.
As for my finds, my husband gave me a resale DVC about 15 years ago, and I'm so glad we got that. Disney now offers some great developer-only perks, but we are grandfathered in. I rent my DVC out each year because I just can't bear to spend that much on a one week's stay in Orlando. Instead, I can sometimes book Disney's Saratoga springs via RCI. We get about a 7% or 8% ROI on our DVC after figuring in opportunity cost and depreciation on the RTU. I could make a profit selling it, but renting it is good and the perks we get are great.
Other than DVC and WM, I also own some Sheratons. I tried buying a Marriott years ago, and lost it to ROFR. So, I decided to go with Sheraton instead -- no ROFR. II can give some very nice trades up using Sheratons. I also rent Sheratons out.
I own the rare fractional UDI-type contract at Christmas Mountain Village in the WI Dells. Availability has gotten much harder to find there, but I still get decent value. I rent a summer week, deposit some weeks into II or RCI Points, and have four weeks each year for WM Exchange plus.
I own an every-other-year week that trades in RCI Points. And, I have a VRI-managed week in California that I've owned for a long time and have been trying to find a new owner for. It rents for almost enough to cover MFs. It's a nice place, but small and unknown to the public. I should list it for rent in AirBnb, which gives renters confidence in renting unknown places.
I've had some dangerous health problems on-and-off that limit my online time, but mostly my health is better now. I also had some bone fractures in the past year or so that made sitting at the computer difficult, but those are better, too. I am working on some writing projects, and that also limits my time on TUG. I tend to catch up on TUG in bursts, so I'm posting a lot this weekend.
I can't travel on my own, but I hope I will be able to soon. I can go on trips if I have family to help me out. I love to travel, and timesharing makes it so much easier than a hotel. If I am resting, my family can do stuff in the living room, and the kitchen makes it way easier to follow dietary restrictions. Most of my timeshares have bell services to carry my luggage -- it would cost a lot to stay at a hotel with that level of service. II ePlus is great if I need to postpone a trip. I am thrilled to have gotten into timesharing.
For flights, I use Southwest airlines because canceling is so easy. My husband and I pretty much always have a Southwest Companion pass, which we get by signing up for credit cards.
I'm a Financial Security Advisor and I have to wonder...you say "the economy has improved..."....
I agree that the economy is still precarious. By "the economy has improved," I just mean that my hometown of Ann Arbor is now mostly a middle-class place again. During the Great Recession, I routinely saw evicted people's belongings piled on the curb in my neighborhood, and there was a tent city behind my local mall. I can't imagine how awful it must be to live in a tent in Michigan in the winter. But, that's how bad things were here.
It's true that timeshares can be very risky. I had to get rid of a lot of timeshares during the Great Recession, so I know which timeshares are easy to get rid of and which aren't. (My general rule -- if a timeshare can be easily rented for more than the MFs, someone will probably want it. If not, it will be a problem to get rid of.)
What I have learned with my timeshare addiction is only acquire what you can use and what will be easy to find a new home for when you need to give it a new home. ...
Ah, yes, that is true for sensible people. But, I have a true addiction! I just gave a couple timeshares away and closing is nearly complete on those. So, I want to get new ones!
And, despite my addiction, I'm really not planning to get more timeshares immediately. I promised myself I'd finish up various things I need to get done before "rewarding myself" with my next timeshare. Plus, there are
so many great deals to evaluate!
