I recently picked up a 2 bedroom lock-off unit at the Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort--Week 9, high floor with beautiful ocean and city views, for $1.00. I was the only bidder.
Last March, a similar Week 6 unit at this resort was on Ebay and 9 "unique" bidders were "fighting" over it. I sniped it for $1720. and felt I had gotten a great bargain.
We bought fixed Weeks 7 and 8 (lock-offs) at this resort in 2003 from a resale company and paid $3500. per week plus an $1100. Special Assessment per week a couple of years later.
I have not included the approximate $500. per week closing costs in the above figures.
So, altogether we have spent around $10,000. to acquire four prime Feb.-March weeks at a resort we love and look forward to using every year. If we choose to rent out the studio lock-off, and stay in the huge one bedroom half, our net cost for maintenance fees will be about $100. per week each year. Currently we bring 92 year old Mom with us. Because of the lock-off, she is free to keep her "strange" hours--napping on and off during the day, watching tv in the middle of the night, sometimes cooking breakfast at 3:00 a.m.
without disturbing us.
Were it not for timeshares, we would have bought a condo in Florida as our second (winter) home. The cost and responsibility would have been so much greater.
The two Ebay weeks were actually converted to RCI Points by the previous owners. We intend to use our "underlying" fixed week each year (instead of the Points) for the foreseeable future. But if our circumstances change, we will have the added option of using the Points for other vacation destinations.
So, I say, keep those great $1.00 weeks coming!
The economy will eventually recover. People who purchase stocks or homes at the "bottom" price will eventually reap large rewards. The trick is to figure out when the bottom has arrived. Fortunately that's not too hard to do when we're talking about $1.00 Ebay timeshares.
Can anyone find those free 09 ads on eBay?