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How To Tell Family/Friends You Bought A TS?

The Colorado Kid

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Tell them it's like house-flipping. Many get stung because they don't research the property and don't know what they are doing. So many pundits say, "Don't do it" to avoid liability. Same for timeshares. You researched this intensely, and picked your opportunity via resale for pennies on the dollar. Show them how much you are saving over renting and how that will pay off.

If they still argue with you, then tell them that you appreciate their concern but the overall risk is low due to the low cost of resale and MF. It's a risk worth taking because it won't bankrupt you if it doesn't work out.
Loooove this @CalGalTraveler ! #TSFlipping
 

qwerty

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Our first T/S was in Squaw Valley at a developer resale price that we still own since 1994. At a family gathering back then, we rec'd ridicule and disdain. We all know the bad about T/S. But I basically told who ever asked that if you don't own or want to own a T/S then they can offer no comment except to wish us well. We have never regretted our purchase even as we no longer ski. I would like to point out that if you own at Parkway, you cannot exchange into Disney.
 

pianodinosaur

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Timeshares are a luxury. Many of us Tuggers have worked very hard and want to have great vacations. Timesharing is fun.
95CC28E7-FC79-4700-AF1A-391FE3A96E3C.jpeg

Cancun August 2019
BAFD50CC-6C25-462A-8081-908A87861BF7.jpeg
 

Icc5

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Many people have been pestered on vacations to buy a timeshare. You used to run into salespeople at the entrance to casinos,on the street in Hawaii,New Orleans,etc. Then you have the ones that heard of others bad experiences because they couldn't afford what they got into,didn't know how to use it,etc. Another problem is even if they come with you they get attached by the sales idiots.
We heard so many negatives that we expected to hear the same from our attorney when he was adding our4 into our trust. Instead we were stunned for him to say how much he loved his in San Francisco. Turned out he owned several units at Club Donattelo where we bought our first one.
Some of our relatives want nothing to do with them and that's fine we mentioned it once and know where they stand. The relatives that we gave a week as a wedding present sure enjoyed the week and one of them bought a unit and loves it. The other relative now owns more then we do but always want to go with us to Lawrence Welk in Escondido because like me it's their favorite resort to go to for relaxation.
Bart
 

DeniseM

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I don't tell them - sometimes I don't even tell my husband!
 

Larry M

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Timeshare is a scam when people buy from the developer AND don't use their timeshare. If you buy resale and use it, it's not a scam.
Yup! Bought it for $1500. Used it every year. When my life changed, I told my son his family could use it every year--and they love it! Maintenance has gone up, and there have been assessments (South Carolina Coast is not a great place to have been for the last several years, but my obligation evaporates at 4:30 pm on the third Sunday in January, 2026.
 

macmanrider

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It's funny we bought 2 fixed weeks from my father-in-law $500 each week. He had 8 fixed weeks and he just paid the reinstatement fees for 30 more yrs. So we jumped on it . it a 1970s built timeshare in pv mexico. No other kids wanted it but now they all want to use it. Sorry no go. And we have family that want to take it over . when we are done with it.
 

macmanrider

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Yup! Bought it for $1500. Used it every year. When my life changed, I told my son his family could use it every year--and they love it! Maintenance has gone up, and there have been assessments (South Carolina Coast is not a great place to have been for the last several years, but my obligation evaporates at 4:30 pm on the third Sunday in January, 2026.
Is it fixed
 

DeniseM

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I don't tell them - sometimes I don't even tell my husband!

Funny, yes, but actually true - I'm in the process of acquiring one right now.
 

macmanrider

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I had friends who bought and asked them why they did ... just asked, no judgement - and they immediately got defensive and never did answer my question. About a decade later I decided that I just wasn't taking vacations any more and needed the shove each year to do it. So when I saw I could get a decent property in Mazatlán for $1 on ebay, that the annual maintenance fees were crazy low, and that the right-to-use was up in a dozen years I was in. I've since added another week at that property, a week in Puerto Vallarta, and an eoy-e week in South Lake Tahoe. Tahoe was primarily for trading, then I moved to Mazatlán and the two weeks here are being traded until the contracts are up (2 more years).

When I told family/friends I made sure I told them it cost me $1 plus the crazy low annual maintenance fee. A few pointed out that I would have to go to the same place every year - and then I'd mention that for a couple hundred more I could bank it and trade to a lot of other properties (well, the Tahoe property at least - it gets me good trades, and I can trade the Mazatlán weeks for other México resorts fairly easily). Most of the family/friends didn't think I was as crazy as they first imagined ;)
We have 2 fixed weeks in pv mexico up in 2030 for renewal. Or let it go . 1 week in north shore lake tahoe. Cost for 3 weeks $1020. Have fun we go every year.
 

bogey21

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Hot Springs Village offered low cost golf fees to all property owners within the village.

If your desires are golf and horse racing, Hot Springs Village is a gem. It has 7 or 8 great golf courses with low fees for owners and is an easy drive to Oaklawn Park, one of the best race tracks in the country. Better than buying a TS there do as I did and buy a condo. Use it when you want and have a RE Company rent it out by the week when you (or your friends) is not using it. It was about 25 years ago but I bought a nice 2 bedroom condo for something like $28,000, used it for 5 or 6 years and sold it for like $32,000. In addtion I actually made a profit from the rental income...

George
 

alexadeparis

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I tell people if they ask. I am known in my social circle for vacationing every 6 weeks or so, So if they ask how that’s possible, then I explain I own several timeshares and use them all every year. Then I immediately say that they are a good value if you know what you are buying, and are willing to plan out your vacations up to 2 years in advance. That’s where I usually lose most people, and the conversation ends there. Once in a while someone will say something negative and I will usually remain polite and just say that mine are working well for me. (My husband and I are both politicians so we know how to get out of conversations that are tanking rapidly and timeshare conversation is usually one of those kinds.)

But occasionally Someone will sincerely ask me for more details, and depending on how close I am with them I may offer to let them use an exchange of mine. So then if they like that, when they return I will sit down with them one on one and talk to them and coach them on what timeshare they should look into (used of course).
 

Talent312

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I don't tell folks. I just say, "We're staying in a condo for a week."
But then DW pipes up and says, "It's one of our three timeshares."
That invites comments. But usually, they just want to know more.

I don't want to sound like a TS sales-weasel, so I end up saying:
"They're easy to buy, but not so easy to unload.
It works for some people, but not for everybody."

.
 

WinniWoman

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My parents owned a timeshare and loved it and that’s how we eventually came to owning also.

I usually tell people we “own at a resort in Vermont and New Hampshire” and go every summer. If they press the issue asking if it’s a condo or a second home I just say yes- we own time in a condo and leave it at that.
 

schenriq

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Most people outside of t/s ownership have preconceived notions that are hard to change so I don't even try. At most, I do a single rebuttal then try to switch topics afterwards.

For my immediate family, nothing beats a first-hand experience to convince a cynic. We're lucky that a couple of the weeks we acquired came with an unused week. I deposited those freebies to one exchange company; able to snag a better week/room and gave my siblings free lodgings.

After staying at SDO, one sibling is now a timeshare owner as well.
 

CPNY

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You say look, I got a timeshare and pause and wait for their reaction. If it’s negative, continue and say good you’re not invited. That will handle that.
 

TravelTime

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Most people do not ask me. If I say I am staying at a Marriott or Westin or Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons or Disney, it does not occur to them to ask if it‘s a timeshare. If I tell then it is a timeshare, then they are in shock.
 

easyrider

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After five or so years of owning timeshares we started acquiring more. Many of the people that thought timeshares are a scam when we started out actually felt comfortable renting our weeks. After renting our weeks many of those renters turned into resale buyers. I usually explain that timeshares are a travel luxury that can be bought resale for very little but the ongoing costs and exit plan are something that should be considered.

Bill
 

jules54

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This was a fun thread to read. I’ve owned timeshare since 1994 bought first property on my 40th birthday from a developer in Mazatlan, MX. Resale was unheard of at this time. Used that timeshare for 5 years In a row. Friends always traveled with us. I called us the Herd from Nebraska. I never never let any friends buy property from the developer. Always had bunches of question on what and how. I would suggest they rent from me and then if they enjoyed it I’d tell them I would help them buy resale. Of course some people never listen because they think they know better and are smarter or they caught up in the presentation like they are actually buying a second home. I’ve had friend buy from developer even after they called me during the sales presentation and I told them all the reason they shouldn’t buy and THEY STILL BOUGHT.
Of course I’ve had to help a few friends rescind their purchases in a few days.
i have bought and be given many many timeshares through the years. We use them and rent them and give time to our adult children. Our whole family grew up traveling and love it.
We are now retired and travel a lot. Even when we think we are kind of tired of being gone from home after we are back about 10 days we are ready to go again. Some of our other hobbies also revolve around our timeshares.
We have a younger friend by 15 years that shared our timeshares a few times on motorcycle trips and trips to Playa Del Carmen, MX. He begged me to let him in on this timeshare thing. I told him to wait I’d give him some of mine in a few years. He says NO he can’t wait. Please Please. I started looking for him found an excellent give away resort owner paid all closing and it has Interval International points. Grand Crowne in Branson came fully loaded with a years Points. It’s fantastic. I knew my young friend would never have time to either learn about nor manage this property. So I put my name on the contract also. I’ve given him a couple of tutorials, but it’s easier for us both for him to tell me where and when and I find it lol. The way upside for me is I also have access to this Great Property and the Interval International Points account which will pull Marriott’s and Hyatt’s for my use also win win.
The rest of the people I usually give the same advice to “The best 2 days of your life are the day you buy a timeshare and the day you sell a Timeshare. I feel the same about boats and jet skis.
 

VegasBella

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I don't try to convince people that we made the right decision to buy 4 timeshares. We just use them an enjoy them.

The people who are super negative about them will not see the light.
The people who are positive about them are usually suckers and would overpay, so they actually need to be discouraged or redirected to resales.
MOST just won't 'get it' so it's not worth talking to them about it.
 

Fredflintstone

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Funny, yes, but actually true - I'm in the process of acquiring one right now.

@DeniseM. This reminds me of when I told people I was on a diet. Then, I stuff a bag of chips under my shirt, slip into the bathroom, turn on the running water and start munching making sure I leave no crumbs behind...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

DeniseM

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Update: I ended up telling my husband, because he needed to be on the deed to put it in the same account, and he was pleased.
 

DannyTS

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Only to very close friends, I used to tell them how I did to have such nice vacations for such a good price. I think I looked really smart for a while.
Then Covid came along ;)
 

macmanrider

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Only to very close friends, I used to tell them how I did to have such nice vacations for such a good price. I think I looked really smart for a while.
Then Covid came along ;)
I only tell them when they are interested in my vacation. I tell them how much it cost for the deed and and how much m-f are then they come back with a cheaper rate they found and it's usually only for 4 or 5 days. So i tell them look for 7 days. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
 

dgalati

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There are many people that buy from the developer who use the timeshare and are happy. Just because someone makes a decision to not use the timeshare doesn’t turn it into a scam. What makes it a scam is timeshare salespeople lying through their teeth to convince someone who can’t afford it to pay thousands of dollars for something that is worthless on the resale market.
 
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