Is a Timeshare a good investment?

[Luvtoride]

Joe, vacationing with the kids is EXACTLY the time owning a timeshare was most beneficial to us. Having the space of a 2 or 3 bedroom Villa vs. paying for 2 hotel rooms (or renting a condo or villa) was one of the primary benefits of owning timeshares for us.
Today, with our kids grown (who we do still travel with at least once a year) my wife and I sometimes travel alone and when we stay in a 2 bedroom villa (no lockoff at some locations) we feel like we are "wasting" all of the space afforded by a timeshare.
The only times we have stayed in HOTEL rooms when traveling the last few years, was when we did a guided tour in Israel and a couples trip to Paris. We felt downright claustrophobic staying in such small accommodations.

 

[bogey21]

Back in the 80s the sales pitch was "Buy tomorrow's vacations at today's prices". They didn't tell us that MFs would increase every year and that the value of the TS they sold us would be worth pennies on the dollar 5-10 years down the road...

George

 

[Rjbeach2003]

My answer is different this year than it would have been two years ago. If one doesn't pay attention or unforeseeable events occur, it can be money down the drain.

For me it was having some points transfer to RCI because I forgot to extend them with Shell for another year. Next in 2020 I used points from the 2020 year as well as future points to secure 2, 2 bedroom units on the Big Island. Then of course Covid hit. The points were returned, but since the 2020 points were past the use year, and hadn't been extended they went into RCI.

I know that RCI looks like it's ok on the East Coast and other places, it is for crap as far as TS involved with it. Few TS. Only 15 or so with in 6 hours drive of Portland OR. So now I am trying to figure out how to use them before they expire. I even had to pay another $139 to extend them another year. I probably will have to give some up at a loss of several thousand dollars. Either that or use them somewhere it will cost several thousand dollars to get to.

So my advice is beware, think long and hard about making such a purchase, even if the are resale, which most of mine are.

 

[Luvtoride]

My answer is different this year than it would have been two years ago. If one doesn't pay attention or unforeseeable events occur, it can be money down the drain.


So my advice is beware, think long and hard about making such a purchase, even if the are resale, which most of mine are.

Rj, sorry to hear about your difficult situation. Hopefully you had many years of enjoyable and efficient usage of your timeshares before Covid hit. Yes, it sucked for many of us in many ways and not just disrupted vacations, as we lost weeks or points or ended up with "restricted" use points due to short notice cancellations.
None of us know what the future will bring as far as challenges to our normal routines. These past 20 months have certainly made all of us more wary about planning long term in many respects. Good luck.

 

[TUGBrian]

certainly a very loaded question...

hotels are extremely popular all over the world, however if you asked that same question youd likely get the same 90+ percent response rate of "no a hotel is a terrible investment"

doesnt make hotels bad ideas, or even bad ways to spend your money.


a better question would be "do you find value in Timeshare ownership"...and youd likely get far more useful responses to use in your story unless your goal is to completely trash the product like most other media pieces do!

 

[silentg]

A timeshare isn’t an investment. It’s buying a vacation home or time to go to new and various places or if you like your home Resort go there every year and make memories. We have been timeshare owners since 1981 and we still enjoy going places. Mostly just us two now. And being retired we can travel more often. Just have to start going more when Virus goes away.

 

[KimmieM]

I'm writing an article for my website and will include a link to this thread.

JasmineReedTheAuthor.weebly.com

Buying a timeshares as a investment is very similar to building a lead zeppelin.

 

[Ty1on]

Buying a timeshares as a investment is very similar to building a lead zeppelin.

And timeshares are terrible blues rock guitarists.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Agreed, BUT.....
- You dont buy a luxury cars or boats in a high pressure sales presentation.

I respectfully disagree with this point. Have you ever heard of used car salesmen?

 

[joestein]

Joe, vacationing with the kids is EXACTLY the time owning a timeshare was most beneficial to us. Having the space of a 2 or 3 bedroom Villa vs. paying for 2 hotel rooms (or renting a condo or villa) was one of the primary benefits of owning timeshares for us.
Today, with our kids grown (who we do still travel with at least once a year) my wife and I sometimes travel alone and when we stay in a 2 bedroom villa (no lockoff at some locations) we feel like we are "wasting" all of the space afforded by a timeshare.
The only times we have stayed in HOTEL rooms when traveling the last few years, was when we did a guided tour in Israel and a couples trip to Paris. We felt downright claustrophobic staying in such small accommodations.

Not really staying in hotels. I have rented timeshares for the last couple of vacations (we owned before then). HOWEVER - renting allows me not to waste maintenance on a timeshare that I don't want to use either because it is not where I want to stay or it is not the type of vacation I want.

We really enjoy cruising. We had 2 cruises booked for 2020 before everything went to pot. I am really hoping that we can cruise again this summer, but we have to feel comfortable enough.

 

[joestein]

certainly a very loaded question...

hotels are extremely popular all over the world, however if you asked that same question youd likely get the same 90+ percent response rate of "no a hotel is a terrible investment"

doesnt make hotels bad ideas, or even bad ways to spend your money.


a better question would be "do you find value in Timeshare ownership"...and youd likely get far more useful responses to use in your story unless your goal is to completely trash the product like most other media pieces do!

Actually... I beg to differ. We have friends who have bought hotel units on the Jersey Shore. The units are rented out and they get a share of the proceeds. They simply let the hotel know when they want to use them personally. They find that the rental income covers the cost of the maintenance and they still have something to use a few weeks out of the year. Not really sure about the return on investment.

 

[joestein]

I respectfully disagree with this point. Have you ever heard of used car salesmen?

You can buy used cars on the internet, show up and examine them and complete the purchase. You can also walk away and come back and speak to someone else another day.

 

[Brett]

Actually... I beg to differ. We have friends who have bought hotel units on the Jersey Shore. The units are rented out and they get a share of the proceeds. They simply let the hotel know when they want to use them personally. They find that the rental income covers the cost of the maintenance and they still have something to use a few weeks out of the year. Not really sure about the return on investment.

sure, and you easily buy mutual funds that hold only hotels and motels (REITs)
But like commercial real estate funds those stock prices are still below 2019 valuations

 

[AJCts411]

An Investment? Not really but for us more of an insurance policy. I have vacationed in the same 1 or 2 weeks over the last 10 years. The cost for rent in KW was rising and I thought that it would rise above my budget...and it has. We use ether 2 weeks or one and rent one out. One unit has been completely paid for (initial cost and maintenance) by renting. The other, a lockout we use and cover about 50 percent of maintenance by renting out the studio side. And both have a decent resale value. But no predicting the future. So investment Yes/No...depends.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

You can buy used cars on the internet, show up and examine them and complete the purchase. You can also walk away and come back and speak to someone else another day.

Carvana etc. was in response to the high pressure tactics that lasted for decades at auto dealership showrooms. You can do the same by working with a resale TS broker, buying on Redweek etc. - no pressure.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

An Investment? Not really but for us more of an insurance policy. I have vacationed in the same 1 or 2 weeks over the last 10 years. The cost for rent in KW was rising and I thought that it would rise above my budget...and it has. We use ether 2 weeks or one and rent one out. One unit has been completely paid for (initial cost and maintenance) by renting. The other, a lockout we use and cover about 50 percent of maintenance by renting out the studio side. And both have a decent resale value. But no predicting the future. So investment Yes/No...depends.

@AJCts411 Love your comment...so in investment terms...a TS is like a futures contract!

 

[bogey21]

Love your comment...so in investment terms...a TS is like a futures contract!

I said exactly this in my Post 10 in this thread....

George

 

[The Colorado Kid]

I said exactly this in my Post 10 in this thread....

George

@bogey21 Brilliant! I hadn't read all the posts but glad that at least 3 of us feel the same ha!

 

[TUGBrian]

Actually... I beg to differ. We have friends who have bought hotel units on the Jersey Shore. The units are rented out and they get a share of the proceeds. They simply let the hotel know when they want to use them personally. They find that the rental income covers the cost of the maintenance and they still have something to use a few weeks out of the year. Not really sure about the return on investment.

using an example of something that applies to a fraction of a percent of "hotel users" out there is not a terribly compelling argument in most cases unfortunately.

also need to point out that your example certainly applies more to a Timeshare than a hotel, thus being a "pro" box vs a con!

 

[shorep]

Even if you buy a car from the showroom, it is something of value, very useful, and you get a nice warm feeling, does that happen with TS????

 

[noreenkate]

@bogey21 Brilliant! I hadn't read all the posts but glad that at least 3 of us feel the same ha!

I said exactly this in my Post 10 in this thread....

George

@AJCts411 Love your comment...so in investment terms...a TS is like a futures contract!

no idea about futures contracts but I agree with post 10

 

[dioxide45]

Even if you buy a car from the showroom, it is something of value, very useful, and you get a nice warm feeling, does that happen with TS????

It sure does!

 

[Ty1on]

@AJCts411 Love your comment...so in investment terms...a TS is like a futures contract!

If futures contracts come with annual fees whose increases routinely meet or exceed CPI increases, then spot on.

 

[joestein]

Even if you buy a car from the showroom, it is something of value, very useful, and you get a nice warm feeling, does that happen with TS????

Yes, until you realize that using it is not as simple as the salesperson said....

 

[Big Matt]

I've read the responses and several people are saying that timeshares aren't an investment. Two comments: 1) the survey asked if they are "good" investments; 2) they are absolutely an investment, just a bad one in terms of rate of return or return on investment, IF you are looking at dollars and cents.

What I've found over the last 20+ years is that timeshares are an investment in: a) time - to master how to use them and maximize their value; b) memories - what your really get out of them on a personal level; and c) giving - the gifts that those who stay with you get from all of your efforts.