I believe that most TUGgers would recommend that you NOT buy a timeshare in Orlando unless it's at a resort that you would like to use yourself year after year. And even then, there is such a glut of timeshares in that area that you will almost always be able to rent a week directly from an owner for less than the maintenance fees they pay each year.
Alomost always is a stretch. You might be able to rent for less than you would pay for maintenance as some resorts, but not all. And you won't be able to rent for less than maintenance at the best resorts, or for the most popular weeks.
Better still, Orlando weeks show up all the time as rentals in RCI "Last Call" inventory (from 7 to 60 or is it 90? days prior to the check-in date). I.I. has similar deals available as "Getaway weeks." You can rent these weeks for a few hundred dollars. I have often times booked Marriott weeks in January and February for $300. or less--including 3 bedroom units at the Marriott Grand Vista.
Again, a real stretch. While you can rent for January and February for $300, those are also the weeks that have the lowest demand. You might find last call weeks for that kind of price, but that's 45 days before check-in. If you want to plan farther ahead, you will find the nicer resorts during prime times are $800 and up - $200 more than I pay in maintance fees for my Orlando timeshare. And if you're looking for the weeks around Easter, be prepared to look daily in the wee hours, because if they show up, they won't last long. RCI simply doesn't have that inventory.
By renting as you need the weeks, you avoid the on-going burden of paying mainteance fees for years and years.
If you think they will be great traders, think again. Because of the glut of deposits, the trading power is generally low, except if you own a premium name brand week such as a Marriott, Disney Vacation Club, Starwood, Hilton Grand, etc...But then those premium weeks will never be on Ebay for $1.00. I've been watching Ebay for years and they fetch thousands of dollars.
There are plenty of other very nice Orlando resorts that sell anywhere for $1 to thousands depending on who is bidding. Remember that Marriott, Disney, and some others have first right of refusal, which artificially inflates the resale prices. Resort without it can be purchased for far less - and the listing price doesn't mean anything.
Aside from the poor trading value of an Orlando week, there is another reason not purchase one for exchange purposes. RCI will not allow you to use the week to exchange into any other Orlando resort except the one you own at.
Not at all true. A handful of Orlando resorts restrict trades in, but most of them don't. I just checked with my Orange Lake week, and in January 2009 it pulls up 30 resorts, including several of the nicer ones.
There are a lot more things to take into consideration before buying a timeshare, no matter how cheap it seems. Please use the "search" feature near the top of the Forums homepage to do lots of homework. (I think you may need to be a paid TUG member to acces it. But it will be the best $15. investment you ever made).
Agreed it is not something to just jump into, but with a purchase price of a few dollars for decent resorts, it's not such a big problem. I wouldn't forsee a real problem renting a good week in Orlando for more than the maintenance fees. Sure, if you panic and try to rent it on eBay with a low starting bid you won't get more than maintenance fees, but if you advertise localling, and are willing wait past a few lowball offers, you will get it. Homework is great, but you also can't be scared of something that sounds like a good deal - not something that sounds too good to be true, but a reasonable bargain. Sure, there are better deals to be had, but is it really worth the effort to dig for them? I suspect not for the majority of people interested in getting into timesharing.