We have owned more than seven weeks (hard to keep track of timeframe), but that's how many we owned when I started liquidating. Up until 2005, we used 6 weeks a year ourselves.
Then . . . natural life changes everyone goes through.
In 2008, after several years where we were not using them, I began liquidating. I had jettisoned our first, two, Wastegate weeks long before that, and at first in 2008 it looked promising for the others. I was able to flip one for about 1/2 the going rate just a year before, for golf rights to a local resident at a resort (where we still own a week for golf rights which I don't use right now, but don't like to burn my bridges, golfwise). I mean, there's everything else in life, and then there's golf!
I gave away two other weeks there, for free, or, as I like to think it, $1600 a year, forever.
I gave away two prime weeks (that had always been top traders in RCI up until faux points) at a
diamond in the rough resort. Those were our trader weeks. A month ago we deeded back our last week there, after I lobbied the resort to do so for 10 years. For those who wonder if it makes a difference if you are persistent, I asked them if they were offering deedbacks to everyone, and they said, "No, we have a list."
We had owned and paid fees there since 1992.
About 10 years ago, a confidante at RCI suggested a SW FL resort we had never considered, after exchanges to SW FL in Snowbird Season, totally disappeared, down from the 15-20 resorts I formerly had been able to choose from. We exchanged into that resort for several years, then, in 2011, we bought a house there. That resort offers year-round amenities (beach) for local owners, and I found a distressed week from an older couple who could no longer travel, so that became our beach club. Then, I flipped that week to another local couple, and bought a
better week from the association.
Except for the deedback, I have prepared and recorded the deeds on every
sale.
So, now we own just two weeks, both for year-round amenities rights. At one we pay $800-ish, and get $600-ish when we rent it, and at the other we pay $500-ish, and get $700-ish when it rents.
But, I do more business with RCI than ever, after more than 160 exchanges, getting Extra Vacations and Last Calls for others, with three couples who have 5-year Guest Passes under our account. I have gotten stuff for one of them for 7 years now.
So, life is simple now. All I have left is waiting for a Tesla that can pull our travel trailer, so we can haul our five cats and dog back and forth from Florida, so we have our own motel at any WalMart, and a third bedroom/bathroom at our little Florida house.
In an irony, DW had a brief stint last year working at a local resort for the company that owns the first resort we toured 30 years ago, and my Summer job is with the company that sold their resorts to the company that was our second tour 30 years ago, Wastegate. & I see timeshare-type people all the time.