When is enough timeshare ownership really enough?

[pittle]

We currently have 4 weeks with options of bonus weeks as needed. We have since taken the buy where you want to go philosophy and we own at Buganvilias and Grand Luxxe. Buganvilias is for Thanksgiving week and GL floats. We do own a PBEB in MAzatlan that one of our "kids" thinks they want. I need to explain to them exactly how all this works before I change the name.

We have had as many as 12 - we lived in the Midwest and went somewhere warm every February for 2 weeks when we worked and a month once we retired. We also did a week or two at Thanksgiving with extended family, so needed at least 3 units for the group + 1 for us a 2nd week. I bought a bunch of cheap ones on eBay that traded well for several years. Then I sold them for what I paid for them.

Actually, from 1995 - 2007, we did have a full ownership condo at The Lake of the Ozarks that was with RCI & II through the Lodge of the Four Seasons. we never added it to our exchange accounts, but could. It made it interesting at presentations - we could honestly say that we had 60+ weeks of vacation availability and did not need any more.

 

[AnnaS]

I guess enough is when you don't have the time to use them all up. Do not enjoy them. Can't afford to keep up with them?......

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

@Ralph Sir Edward , lol, your reply is so logical! Nice approach.

For me, the question is, “Where do I want to go (or “what do I want to do?”) that I can’t reach with existing ownerships? How can I reach that goal most effectively?”

Sometime back, that usually meant buying a small slice of a different timeshare. Generally, today, I can reach places using existing timeshare and tools or use cash.

But, yes, I now find myself toying with a Welk resale as a friend mentioned they were hoping to offload theirs. What does it get me that I don’t already have: day use of the pools but more than an hours drive. Is that practical? Not likely ... I might just continue playing in the sprinklers. (Waiting for Warner Springs Ranch to reopen their pools is a crazy long wait. How long have they been closed ... 7+ years??)

I can't help it, I've been a computer programmer for nearly 40 years. . .

 

[Beverley]

I often wondered that myself, Dave. For a really long time I found that I was always borrowing points from a future year.... in the red points wise. At that time I owned 6K. So we bought more to be at 12K and found we were still in the red often although not every year. Sooooo we bought more. We now own 20K and we have enough. We are not generally in the red although every other year we have borrowed from a future year. I think we should have stopped at 17K and that the last push to 20 is more than we need.

If you are consistently borrowing half or more of your renewable credits, I would say get a few more. If you are not consistently borrowing then you most likely have the right balance for your desires and stay put.

Beverley

 

[Panina]

I now know the answer. I now have too many timeshare ownerships as I am depositing more due to not using and I have more then enough deposited that keeping all of them would mean having to either rent or deposit weeks I have no need to deposit for trading. Now the hard part rent or get rid of some. Procrastinating as they are all so good.

 

[CanadaGuyEh]

Sounds like you have an amount that is working for you now. A big question is what do you plan to do in retirement and how close is that? Will children, grandchildren or pets limit your travels. And, of course, realize that things will change over time. We spent a lot of time skiing in the winter but that has ended for us.

Travel is one of our most favorite things to do. We currently spend 6 to 8 months on the road with most of that time in timeshares. Obviously, you don't own nearly enough for that kind of a plan. (We own 25,000 WM among a ton of other timeshare systems and still use a lot of Monday Madness and FAX time.)

So, I'm going to go ahead and list what we own for two reasons.

1) I suppose to brag a bit.
2) To show you that you have a long ways to go before becoming timeshare crazy.

497 Vacation Internationale Points
25,000 Worldmark Credits
17,000 Shell Vacation Club Points
12,450 HGVC (New York) Points
88,000 Vistana StarOptions (EOY)
144,500 RCI Points from Independent Resorts

So....whatever you do, I'm sure you will enjoy your vacation time.

I have 14,000 Hilton points and 20,000 WorldMark and 154,000 Wyndham. This must work out to roughly 7 weeks a year in a 1 bedroom timeshare. Double that almost if do a studio. Is a lot - not sure I can even use it. I thought family would use it but turns out they have their own plans and even free accommodation doesn't make it affordable as need plane fare and spending money etc etc.

 

[OldGuy]

As for the OP/question, when is enough enough, for those who no longer use them or need them . . . when you get rid of the last one.

If you are in RCI, and still want an occasional TS vacation, you can still get one, and not have to have anything deposited.

 

[skimeup]

With the availability of airbnb at rates similar to good ts mfs, I've gotten rid of a couple of timeshares. I have more flexibility at a great price using airbnb and vrbo.

I really love traveling to cities and have accummulated 200, 000 points with Royal Holiday (I know, terrible rep.) It works for me and a I usually get at least have of my points paid for by friends who want to use the Manhattan Club or who travel with me.

Before adding more points you might have to get rid of, check out the airbnb's in the area of interest.

 

[jeffwill]

Just with RCI, I have almost 1 million annual points . Taking advantage of last minute bargains of 72K- 65K- or 45K- discounted to 7500 points, I have over 130 weeks to use per year. In my case, the answer to the original question is obvious. But since I am a full timer, I balance quality with quantity and works for me.

 

[rapmarks]

I own only one, which we use. Wish I had one within an hour or so in Florida on the beach.

 

[OldGuy]

Check the ones near you to see if they allow year-round day-use. There's plenty to check out.

 

[chellej]

It has really varied over the last 20 years. At my high point, I owned 26 weeks, due in part to 1 1/4 share that was 13 weeks. Back then, MY DH and one or more of my children would use about 8 weeks of the 1/4 share and the other weeks would get deposited and/or rented. SO things have changed and kids have grown, we live where we used to like to go so I widdled it down to 2 weeks plus 8250 shell points. When DH got laid off 3 years ago, the shell points had to go but I held on to the 2 weeks.

DS got married earlier this year and I used everything banked, and all my bonus weeks and one of my 2020 weeks to get the 7 units we needed. So, I have since acquired 2 more weeks, telling myself one was an upgrade for a 1 bedroom white to a 2 bedroom Red at the same resort....but somehow I am still debating whether to get rid of that 1 bedroom unit. DH is now retired so, I think the 4 weeks will get used.

This got me thinking to what I have owned the last 20 years, and they were all purchased for a specific reason, sometimes driven by TUG ( South Africa, Pelican etc) and for the most part, I have always sold them for more than I paid, except for a few I gave away. Really a lot of them were purchased to maximize my trading power in RCI. I dropped RCI a number of years ago and it has made trading much simpler and less stressful.

My ownerships over the last 20 years:
Island Park Village weeks 6, 23, 52, (2) red float, white float, blue float ( these were great traders in RCI for prime weeks)
The Villages (Silverleaf) wk 26 ( day access and bonus time at silverleaf)
Oyster Bay Week 50
Mt Amanzi float ( low Maintenance fees)
Perna Perna Mossel bay , wk 48 (low maintenance fees)
Dikhololo Space bank.... Remember these...you could buy a space banked week to try it out
Pelican week 30 ( Can't remember why so many tuggers bought these...an hoa sale?)
Tangalooma Island resort ( Austrailia craze)
Topic Leisure Club (St Thomas)
Regattas of Abaco
Inn at Silvercreek 1/4 share, Week 28
Perigrine Townhomes, week 11 ( HOA Sale)
Landing at 7 Coves, float (HOA Sale)
Club Regina EOY
MROP rotator
Perenial Vacation Club EOY
Hotel on the Cay ( Bulk TUG purchase)
Palace Resorts
Foxrun Week 15 ( Great II trader)
Fairfield Points 105000 pts
Shell Vacation Club 8250
Twin Rivers wk 29 (HOA Sale)
Indian Palms, Flt (GPX Exchange)
Sand Pebbles Ft (Great RCI trader)

What have other tuggers portfolios looked like, and why have you changed?

 

[DaveNV]

Chelle, this ^^^ is impressive! The larger question is, however, do you know when enough is enough?

I don't remember all I've owned since I started. They've mostly come and gone quickly. Some I bought and later sold, without ever using them. Some were bought to test out the system, then when visiting for the first time (Schooner Landing) I was really freaked by the parking lot sliding into the ocean. I sold that one while I still had a week reserved. I gave the Buyer the reserved week, too. I never did stay there. Some were mini systems (MROP, VRI, RAVC, others?) that came and went. One was an RTU place (Kuhio Banyan) that was cancelled when the 40-year lease was renewed. One I kept and used a lot was sold (Kauai Beach Villas) when the management company was being changed (Wyndham to Grand Pacific.) I had purchased another Grand Pacific location (Carlsbad Seapointe), wanting the option of a drive-to location. Then realized my two brothers would never let me stay there, when they lived within a few miles of the place.

Eventually I realized owning Weeks was holding me back, because I didn't want to commit to staying seven nights in the same place any longer. So I sold them all, and bought WorldMark. Problem solved, for now.

Dave

 

[rapmarks]

Check the ones near you to see if they allow year-round day-use. There's plenty to check out.

Any I have checked do not.

 

[chellej]

As long as I can afford the maintenance fees when they come due......you can also use one more and rent it out if you have too.

I realized today, like you, I bought quite a few to try out the system and they came and went quickly and to find the BEST one for trading in RCI ( Mine was a summer Sand Pebbles for 50 TPUs). Letting go of RCI was one of the best decisions I have made. I got rid of interval for a couple of years too and was content with the independents.

 

[OldGuy]

Any I have checked do not.

I'm 1 for 1:

Thanks for your reply.

If you are an owner at Shell Island, you can call the day before for availability for day use.
Check in at the office and you will get parking pass once we confirm ownership with your drivers license.

 

[rapmarks]

I'm 1 for 1:

Thanks for your reply.

If you are an owner at Shell Island, you can call the day before for availability for day use.
Check in at the office and you will get parking pass once we confirm ownership with your drivers license.

The problem is during season resorts near fort Myers beach or Sanibel take so long to get to, not worth the trip. Bonita and north naples have reasonable drive times even in season. We did a group boat trip on Sanibel in March, three hours to get home.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Great question: We currently have 3:

We have 2 HGVC annuals (1 bHC NYC to use; 1 Vegas we trade in HGVC Hawaii/RCI).
We have 1 Vistana to use EOY (WKORVN).

This gives us "best of both worlds" i.e. buy where you want to stay, AND save MF via a trader. Plus each system gives us II/RCI getaways and a complementary mix of locations.

We are considering picking up another EOY trader in Vistana to augment the one we use in Vistana to add more flexibility with staroptions. But we are also asking the question, "Do we already have enough?"

Lastly, EOY instead of annual could also reduce risk. We are considering an EOY resale instead of annual to keep the MF commitment lower and buy-in cost down (<$500) and not be forced to rent out. Having a trader to augment a use unit keeps the average MF cost down and gives more point options in a mini-system.

 

[OldGuy]

OK, I won't look any more.

The problem is during season resorts near fort Myers beach or Sanibel take so long to get to, not worth the trip. Bonita and north naples have reasonable drive times even in season. We did a group boat trip on Sanibel in March, three hours to get home.

 

[rapmarks]

OK, I won't look any more.

If we start spending the entire year in Florida, then we can get to the same beaches in half an hour. Then it would be worth it.