Live 12 months in TS? Help! How do we best do this?

[Laurie]

Sorry to be negative, but IMO Bad Idea, Don't Do It. I say this having been a happy timeshare trader for almost 25 years, during which we've taken 50 or 100 trips of a lifetime. I have owned, bought and sold quite a few over time. I still own two, and so far have kept hanging on, for old times' sake I guess.

You just asked about better business models. I like booking.com the best: thousands of options, good maps, easy to use, mostly generous cancellation policies.

Also there are a few websites that are actually owned by same company as RCI, which do timeshare rentals as cheaply as Last Calls and Extra Vacations - I can't recall their names right now, but perhaps someone can chime in. One of them is for vets, another is for general public. Same inventory as RCI, but better cancellation policies.

airbnb and vrbo are both good for specific destinations - in fact we own a vacation rental condo and exclusively rent through vrbo. But as a traveler, show me a quick and easy map, and lots of users reviews, for best results. Also as a traveler, I often don't feel like interacting with a homeowner, which is the case for many airbnb's. But sometimes that can be a plus, in certain circumstances, depends on your preferences. Some airbnb's are remarkably low-cost.

Try something with zero commitment for some months, during which time you can research further, and just experience first-hand whether this is for you.

 

[kwelty]

Also there are a few websites that are actually owned by same company as RCI, which do timeshare rentals as cheaply as Last Calls and Extra Vacations - I can't recall their names right now, but perhaps someone can chime in.

You can try these, although the prices and availability are not as good as RCI offers for members, Last Call and my favorite, RCI Points Vacations under 10,000 points (like a last call but better selection).

Military/veteran

Armed Forces Vacation Club - Official AFVC Website

AFVC offers active and retired military exclusive travel savings on resorts, car rentals & more. Free membership is one small way we thank you for your service.

www.afvclub.com

The enhanced Heroes Vacation Club offers all-new travel benefits
exclusively to medical professionals, firefighters and police officers.

Heroes Vacation Club - Official Website

Exclusive travel savings for current and former medical professionals, police officers, firefighters, teachers, government employees, and their spouses.

www.heroesvacationclub.com

-Available to anyone
https://www.condodirect.com/travel/welcome.homeCondo Direct


Endless Vacation Rentals

Endless Vacation Rentals

Endless Vacation Rentals offers over 200,000 vacation rental accommodations in the Florida, US, Europe, Mexico, Caribbean and more.

www.endlessvacationrentals.com

-Available to anyone

 

[OurAdventure]

Awesome ideas. Thank you!

 

[OurAdventure]

Sorry to be negative, but IMO Bad Idea, Don't Do It. I say this having been a happy timeshare trader for almost 25 years, during which we've taken 50 or 100 trips of a lifetime. I have owned, bought and sold quite a few over time. I still own two, and so far have kept hanging on, for old times' sake I guess.

You just asked about better business models. I like booking.com the best: thousands of options, good maps, easy to use, mostly generous cancellation policies.

Also there are a few websites that are actually owned by same company as RCI, which do timeshare rentals as cheaply as Last Calls and Extra Vacations - I can't recall their names right now, but perhaps someone can chime in. One of them is for vets, another is for general public. Same inventory as RCI, but better cancellation policies.

airbnb and vrbo are both good for specific destinations - in fact we own a vacation rental condo and exclusively rent through vrbo. But as a traveler, show me a quick and easy map, and lots of users reviews, for best results. Also as a traveler, I often don't feel like interacting with a homeowner, which is the case for many airbnb's. But sometimes that can be a plus, in certain circumstances, depends on your preferences. Some airbnb's are remarkably low-cost.

Try something with zero commitment for some months, during which time you can research further, and just experience first-hand whether this is for you.

Thank you Laurie. It's not negative at all. We deeply appreciate your thoughts. I believe there are a dozen good options/ways to do this. And your ideas have the best "exit strategies" built in. I'm also looking at "executive housing" rental apartments, furnished, for business men and women who are staying in a location for one to six months. They are nicely furnished, and no long-term commitments.

And I'm looking forward to more good ideas to still come! Thank you!

 

[Cecile Boisvert]

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. There is certainly a lot of wisdom and experience here.

Here are some questions just to clarify some of the comments (I don't know some of the ideas being referred to...):

"HOA Controlled Independent Resorts" - are there any examples (out west here) that you can provide for me, so that I can begin researching them?

And to Cecile, thank you! You wrote:
OurAdventure,
i recommend that you not do this - this is just about the worst idea at the worst time!
there are simpler ways to be « homeless » and on extended vacation with cash in your pockets, without purchasing a bunch of timeshares
these timeshares will cost you a fortune in maintenance fees (even if you pay them 1$ each…) and it will also be very very hard to get rid of them.
timeshares are an outdated business model, sorry to say

I really appreciate your opinion, especially about the timing of this (post-pandemic year, etc). What I am curious about is your comment about "timeshares is an outdated business model..." What do you see as the current better models? I believe there may be better models out there, just as we now see "industry disruptive" businesses like Uber/Lyft changing the transportation industry. Would it be AirBandB, which is somewhat disruptive to the hotel industry? I am very curious and open to your ideas.

Susie and I are open to all of your thoughts, ideas, out of the box thinking. We're not rushing into this. And we may not be able to actually do it. But we'd really like to if we can.

Doug and Susie

Oh, and we have joined TUG, but under a different user name.

Thank you, OurAdventure
About timeshare Being an outdated idea: it is my own personal conclusion when I see that so many timeshares are given away or sold for a dollar or that so many people are actually willing to pay thousands of dollars to get rid of them (that means they have negative value…) - this is bad ! of course this not does mean that there is no value for anyone - it just means that it is bad mainly for new buyers who have to carry the costs for many buyers who want to get out (and stopped paying fees to force foreclosure)

about alternatives:
there are so many! You can rent timeshares (easy, with Redweek or Tug)
you can rent homes, condos (not just with AirBnB - other « peer to peer« sharing or professional rental platforms exist)
and…hotels! I find that offers, bargains, packages can be found there too (many adapted to AirBnB offers in that way…)
instead of spending hours trying to book back to back timeshares for a whole year, spend some equal time finding out about alternatives. Lots of fun !

 

[OurAdventure]

professional rental platforms

Wonderful. Thank you. Do you know of any websites?

 

[daverunfast]

About timeshare Being an outdated idea: it is my own personal conclusion when I see that so many timeshares are given away or sold for a dollar or that so many people are actually willing to pay thousands of dollars to get rid of them (that means they have negative value…) - this is bad ! of course this not does mean that there is no value for anyone.

I agree with this. There are plenty of resorts where even the high season weeks are worthless... it's sad to see as these are often some of the worst buildings/units in their neighborhoods. The old timeshare model allowed developers and agents to sell the project above prevailing market prices but left the owners with a business structure that became a liability (non-profit HOA, complex deeds, etc.). The solutions offered by the timeshare industry weren't any better, exchange systems and vacation club system made the product more flexible, but in the longer term the solutions they've offered have proven to be self serving and have largely taken advantage of the HOA ownership model.

That being said there are still hundreds of HOA controlled independent timeshares out there. In most cases these fixed week deeded timeshares really do own and control the resort, but accessing the value of the real estate isn't easy. Powder ridge village at powder mt utah is a good example, I recently got a winter week for free from timesharenation. The association owns 20% of the weeks another 20% are deliquent. The association doesn't take deedbacks, but I'd guess they'd get 75% of the remainder back if they did. Say you could consolidate all the weeks in a single unit, buy out all 50 or so of them. You could "buy" the deeds up for almost nothing, but you'd have to pay about $47K a year in maintenance fees. The HOA isn't currently getting that much due to deliqunecies, but the failure of the business model is clear.

 

[bshanebowl]

Thank you in advance for your thoughts, brainstorming, and help.

My wife and I are thinking about selling our home of 22 years, and relocating in Arizona in 2022 or 2023. But before we purchase in AZ and settle in, we would like to travel. And we are strongly considering living in a timeshare(s) for up to 12 months once our home in beautiful Bear Valley Springs, CA sells this late summer or fall (2021). We have wondered for a while if this CAN be done, and are now convinced that it CAN be, because we have read the stories of several people who are actually doing it.

Now what we would love to learn from you, the experts, is the best path to doing this.

1. We don't own a timeshare. Never have. If you were going to start out like we are, what company or companies would you invest in to do this for a year? What companies have the best inventory, availability, flexibility, and cost? I guess a company with a point system would be preferred - something like WorldMark?
1.a. We live in the western states, and would spend most of our time in and around (Scottsdale) Arizona. And we have kids and grandkids in Portland area who love to go to the coast, and a son in Film School at BIOLA just outside of Los Angeles. These would be our target destinations. So primarily west coast and Arizona, and western United States.
1.b. I would on rare occasions go to the east coast to work with some of my clients in person.
1.c. Our "ideal" monthly housing budget (MoFees, housekeeping? exchange fees? etc.) would be between $1600-2000.

2. We would have cash from the sale of our home. We would like to purchase our timeshare(s) on the resale market - not retail - if possible. Unless there is some kind of punishment from the companies for doing so.

3. Would there possibly be some kind of tax advantages available for living in timeshares for 52 weeks, owning no other residence? It would not be "entertainment" or "vacation" property at this point, but rent. And for working remotely from the timeshare as my office? If read all that I can on this, but can't find this from tax advisors. Have any of you "full timers" found a way?

4. Finally, what would be a good exit strategy? Once we purchased a house in Arizona after our long adventure in timeshares, we would not want to pay the monthly fees for such a large amount of points. We might want to keep two or three months, but no more. So is there an exit strategy that we should consider before we begin purchasing points/weeks?

We appreciate your thoughts and ideas. We are completely open to your ideas and experiences and out of the box thinking. This would be a completely different way for us to live our lives for a period of time.

Doug and Susie Cowan

I'm no expert but I think this can be done. I am only just now having my first unit transferred over to me. The thing that I don't think you can do, unless you have a lot of discretionary income, is to go from not doing it at all to doing it all the time immediately. But I think if you lean into it gradually it is something that can be accomplished and you may have found out already that there are some people that are already doing it. I have been in regular contact with a member of one of the ts/rci/tug groups and he stayed in time shares 12 months last year and it cost him less than $11000. I'm going to start working towards that over the next few years with the goal of my wife and I getting to the point where we could choose 12 months of time share vacationing by the time she is eligible for medicare in a few years and our budget will be 15k annually. So I will be following all the hacks, conducting all the searches, accumulating as many rci points as possible, and getting the best deals I can as far as points to maintenance fee ratios. So I have just started by getting a 122000 rci point week at Grandview Las Vegas transferred to me shortly and that gives me about 6 weeks of vacation if I utilize it properly. I will probably focus on Grandview as time progresses because they have 61000 point 1 bedroom weeks and 122000 for 2 bedroom weeks. Maintenance is $417.50 annually and $835 annually respectively. Massanutten has a little lower points per maintenance fee ratio but I believe it's a better candidate for assessments and and mf over time due to the nature of the resort. So I have pitched my tent with RCI points, not weeks, after checking things out and hope to grow from here. There are other people who will make other choices and I'm sure they will end up being perfectly happy but I have researched this since April and I have decided this is what's right for us. Do not pay for a time share, as I'm sure you've heard. Many times you will be able to get what you want if you are patient for little to nothing, only having to pay transfer fees and sometimes you can get those paid for or split. Good luck and keep me posted. I will be following so I can gain some hacks myself.

 

[lkc1234]

Guess what! My husband just sold our house, put our stuff in storage, and are planning an extended stay (maybe a year or so) in timeshares.

I have a moderate number of timeshares (about 40) that I mostly rent as a hobby/sideline. But last year, many of them didn't rent because of the pandemic. So, now we have a tons of points and weeks -- and a shortage of money.

We didn't know when our house would sell, so we weren't able to bookour timeshares much in advance. So, we are spending out first 6 weeks in Orlando. We start driving south from Michigan today!

One of the reasons this is affordable is because we own two Christmas Mountain Village contracts in Wisconsin, a rare type of fractional that allows booking quite a few weeks per year, depending on availability. The weeks there are very cost-effective traders. There might be someone here on TUG who has a Xmas MT UDI to sell or give away.

I think RonandJoan used mostly getaway/last call. I would *not* start off by buying a lot of timeshares.

How do you go about renting your timeshares?

 

[bogey21]

"HOA Controlled Independent Resorts" - are there any examples (out west here) that you can provide for me, so that I can begin researching them?

I don't know if this is far enough West for you but I used to own a Week at Pinecliff Village in Ruidoso, NM. Older, large units and a great location in Ruidoso...

George

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Guess what! My husband just sold our house, put our stuff in storage, and are planning an extended stay (maybe a year or so) in timeshares.

I have a moderate number of timeshares (about 40) that I mostly rent as a hobby/sideline. But last year, many of them didn't rent because of the pandemic. So, now we have a tons of points and weeks -- and a shortage of money.

We didn't know when our house would sell, so we weren't able to bookour timeshares much in advance. So, we are spending out first 6 weeks in Orlando. We start driving south from Michigan today!

One of the reasons this is affordable is because we own two Christmas Mountain Village contracts in Wisconsin, a rare type of fractional that allows booking quite a few weeks per year, depending on availability. The weeks there are very cost-effective traders. There might be someone here on TUG who has a Xmas MT UDI to sell or give away.

I think RonandJoan used mostly getaway/last call. I would *not* start off by buying a lot of timeshares.

Judy, congrats on selling your house in MI, so happy for you...enjoy your adventure

 

[JudyS]

@JudyS A "moderate number" is 40? I hope to be moderate some day!

Ditto!!!! A "moderate number is 40" That is just awesome. You must be excellent with numbers. LOL

A poor choice of words! I meant moderate compared to people who do a lot of renting. I know one TUG member (no longer active) owned 300 weeks or so.

 

[JudyS]

How do you go about renting your timeshares?

First, you need to own something that rents for more than the annual fees. Then, there are many places to list them for rental -- there is a sticky on the Buy/Sell/Rent board with places to list timeshares for rent. But, it's hard work. I really think I'm doing this partly because I'm a timeshare addict.

 

[JudyS]

Why not just buy two relatively inexpensive Weeks in HOA Controlled Independent Resorts, one that trades in II and one in RCI. This would give you access to Last Calls whatever II calls them. Make sure the two Weeks you buy are at places you might like to use multiple times. I say this because the Independents I used to own always had unused Weeks that they were willing to rent to Owners at discounted rates. For the rest of your travels why not check and see if you can rent cheaper than MFs. All this would cut your capital outlay down to almost zero and minimize your occupancy expenses. It will also enable you to pull the plug on your plan anytime you want without much effort or expense...

George

I think this is a good idea, at least to start with. Like many others here, I don NOT suggest running out and getting ownership of a bunch of timeshares, even if they are "free." If you aren't careful, you'll get lots of weeks that aren't worth the annual fees they charge. I've accumulated mine over a period of almost 20 years, and along the way I've given away or deeded back many that weren't worth owning. Annual fees vary widely, for all sorts of reasons. Most $1 timeshares aren't worth owning.

You could check with Lake Lure Realty and see if they have any Fairways of the Mountains to give away. Fairways of the Mountains trades in both II and RCI, so one timeshare can let you join both exchange companies.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

A poor choice of words! I meant moderate compared to people who do a lot of renting. I know one TUG member (no longer active) owned 300 weeks or so.

WOW! It is all relative ha! Thanks for sharing

 

[lkc1234]

First, you need to own something that rents for more than the annual fees. Then, there are many places to list them for rental -- there is a sticky on the Buy/Sell/Rent board with places to list timeshares for rent. But, it's hard work. I really think I'm doing this partly because I'm a timeshare addict.

Do you post rentals on redweek and do you post the same timeshare on several sites at the same time?

 

[elaine]

I would not buy for 12 months TS stays. I do think strategic TS ownership can be very cost effective. So, I would do a hybrid: get something for a good deal that you can EASILY unload later--that might be WorldMark points-but not more than enough for 6 weeks of stays--as you want to only have a manageable amount of points when you have a house later. Find some place that you can get a 6 month lease for a reasonable price-try to get something when it's high season for your TS places, as it'll be more points and harder to get deals on TS. This will give you some continuity in the same place and a break. Store documents, personal items, and furnishings/kitchen items (bare bones for an apt or more things in case the TS living doesn't work out) in a storage unit. Then piece together your travel and fill in gaps thru websites listed above. I favor II for better getaways than RCI extra vacations (at least for East coast). So, maybe another TS that trade thru II to have that account, as well.

 

[twise625]

I personally have used VRBO and Airbnb for longer, month long stays like this place just outside St. George Utah that I rented for the month of May 2 years ago and used as my jumping off spot to visit the state and national parks like Zion and Bryce Canyon. I just did a search and its available for the month of July $1576 all-in. I'd mix something like this with timeshare stays because I feel moving every week or two would get old for me very quickly.

JUST LIKE HOME, AFFORDABLE, POOL, SHOPPING, GOLF - Apartments for Rent in Washington, Utah, United States (airbnb.com)

 

[JudyS]

Do you post rentals on redweek and do you post the same timeshare on several sites at the same time?

Yes to both.

 

[bshanebowl]

You can try these, although the prices and availability are not as good as RCI offers for members, Last Call and my favorite, RCI Points Vacations under 10,000 points (like a last call but better selection).

Military/veteran

Armed Forces Vacation Club - Official AFVC Website

AFVC offers active and retired military exclusive travel savings on resorts, car rentals & more. Free membership is one small way we thank you for your service.

www.afvclub.com

The enhanced Heroes Vacation Club offers all-new travel benefits
exclusively to medical professionals, firefighters and police officers.

Heroes Vacation Club - Official Website

Exclusive travel savings for current and former medical professionals, police officers, firefighters, teachers, government employees, and their spouses.

www.heroesvacationclub.com

-Available to anyone
https://www.condodirect.com/travel/welcome.homeCondo Direct


Endless Vacation Rentals

Endless Vacation Rentals

Endless Vacation Rentals offers over 200,000 vacation rental accommodations in the Florida, US, Europe, Mexico, Caribbean and more.

www.endlessvacationrentals.com

-Available to anyone

Just checked afvc today out of curiosity for last second deals and they have some deals many people would find appealing.

 

[bshanebowl]

Thank you in advance for your thoughts, brainstorming, and help.

My wife and I are thinking about selling our home of 22 years, and relocating in Arizona in 2022 or 2023. But before we purchase in AZ and settle in, we would like to travel. And we are strongly considering living in a timeshare(s) for up to 12 months once our home in beautiful Bear Valley Springs, CA sells this late summer or fall (2021). We have wondered for a while if this CAN be done, and are now convinced that it CAN be, because we have read the stories of several people who are actually doing it.

Now what we would love to learn from you, the experts, is the best path to doing this.

1. We don't own a timeshare. Never have. If you were going to start out like we are, what company or companies would you invest in to do this for a year? What companies have the best inventory, availability, flexibility, and cost? I guess a company with a point system would be preferred - something like WorldMark?
1.a. We live in the western states, and would spend most of our time in and around (Scottsdale) Arizona. And we have kids and grandkids in Portland area who love to go to the coast, and a son in Film School at BIOLA just outside of Los Angeles. These would be our target destinations. So primarily west coast and Arizona, and western United States.
1.b. I would on rare occasions go to the east coast to work with some of my clients in person.
1.c. Our "ideal" monthly housing budget (MoFees, housekeeping? exchange fees? etc.) would be between $1600-2000.

2. We would have cash from the sale of our home. We would like to purchase our timeshare(s) on the resale market - not retail - if possible. Unless there is some kind of punishment from the companies for doing so.

3. Would there possibly be some kind of tax advantages available for living in timeshares for 52 weeks, owning no other residence? It would not be "entertainment" or "vacation" property at this point, but rent. And for working remotely from the timeshare as my office? If read all that I can on this, but can't find this from tax advisors. Have any of you "full timers" found a way?

4. Finally, what would be a good exit strategy? Once we purchased a house in Arizona after our long adventure in timeshares, we would not want to pay the monthly fees for such a large amount of points. We might want to keep two or three months, but no more. So is there an exit strategy that we should consider before we begin purchasing points/weeks?

We appreciate your thoughts and ideas. We are completely open to your ideas and experiences and out of the box thinking. This would be a completely different way for us to live our lives for a period of time.

Doug and Susie Cowan

Wondering what your takeaways are at this point? I am convinced this can be done to one extent or another, for no more than a decent rental or a reasonable mortgage payment would cost, tops. As long as a significant effort is made to plan and you maintain total flexibility. Plus you may have to add in a dash of expect to occasionally be a little disappointed. I'm about a month away from starting to roll out the beginnings of whatever my plan evolves into and I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like in a few years.

 

[rapmarks]

Wondering what your takeaways are at this point? I am convinced this can be done to one extent or another, for no more than a decent rental or a reasonable mortgage payment would cost, tops. As long as a significant effort is made to plan and you maintain total flexibility. Plus you may have to add in a dash of expect to occasionally be a little disappointed. I'm about a month away from starting to roll out the beginnings of whatever my plan evolves into and I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like in a few years.

No one doubts it can be done. Most warn against buying the timeshares, you can’t get rid of them

 

[tonyg]

This topic brought back some times from the past on a couple of timesharers that have passed on. Ray Harper lived on Cape Cod and spent his winters in various Florida timeshares, many of which he owned weeks at. Ray and I graduated from the same school. Then there was Bruce CZ who came to mind with the mention of UDI's. Bruce could get an unbelievable amount of weeks out of his ownership and rented out many of them. I've owned many timeshares over the years and now have only 2-1/2 weeks. One thing I look for is affordable yearly cost and they keep going up. Getting out of a timeshare is often not difficult if you avoid and ignore the scammers that say they can do it. More HOAs have exit programs and have found doing so has actually been beneficial. Having traveled from timeshare to timeshare for multiple weeks in a row, I would not be looking forward to year long hopping from timeshare to timeshare.

 

[GeneMurray]

You could access excess timeshare resort inventory using TripBeat.com. Weeks are available from $300 to $400, also short stays. You don't have to own a timeshare, nor do you need membership in RCI/II. No maintenance fees and timeshare disposal worries.

 

[dbts]

Thank you in advance for your thoughts, brainstorming, and help.

My wife and I are thinking about selling our home of 22 years, and relocating in Arizona in 2022 or 2023. But before we purchase in AZ and settle in, we would like to travel. And we are strongly considering living in a timeshare(s) for up to 12 months once our home in beautiful Bear Valley Springs, CA sells this late summer or fall (2021). We have wondered for a while if this CAN be done, and are now convinced that it CAN be, because we have read the stories of several people who are actually doing it.

Now what we would love to learn from you, the experts, is the best path to doing this.

1. We don't own a timeshare. Never have. If you were going to start out like we are, what company or companies would you invest in to do this for a year? What companies have the best inventory, availability, flexibility, and cost? I guess a company with a point system would be preferred - something like WorldMark?
1.a. We live in the western states, and would spend most of our time in and around (Scottsdale) Arizona. And we have kids and grandkids in Portland area who love to go to the coast, and a son in Film School at BIOLA just outside of Los Angeles. These would be our target destinations. So primarily west coast and Arizona, and western United States.
1.b. I would on rare occasions go to the east coast to work with some of my clients in person.
1.c. Our "ideal" monthly housing budget (MoFees, housekeeping? exchange fees? etc.) would be between $1600-2000.

2. We would have cash from the sale of our home. We would like to purchase our timeshare(s) on the resale market - not retail - if possible. Unless there is some kind of punishment from the companies for doing so.

3. Would there possibly be some kind of tax advantages available for living in timeshares for 52 weeks, owning no other residence? It would not be "entertainment" or "vacation" property at this point, but rent. And for working remotely from the timeshare as my office? If read all that I can on this, but can't find this from tax advisors. Have any of you "full timers" found a way?

4. Finally, what would be a good exit strategy? Once we purchased a house in Arizona after our long adventure in timeshares, we would not want to pay the monthly fees for such a large amount of points. We might want to keep two or three months, but no more. So is there an exit strategy that we should consider before we begin purchasing points/weeks?

We appreciate your thoughts and ideas. We are completely open to your ideas and experiences and out of the box thinking. This would be a completely different way for us to live our lives for a period of time.

Doug and Susie Cowan

My hubby & I lived almost 2 years in timeshare while he was on a virtual assignment back in 2013-2015. We owned 10 timeshares but finally sold them and ONLY own (1). We are members of RCI and ONLY need (1) timeshare to use EXTRA VACATIONS. Owning the 10 we originally did (combination of weeks and points) was too expensive when you combine maintenance fees, exchange fees, etc. So........ONLY own (1). We chose a tri-annual Grandview in Las Vegas which has cheap maintenance fees and usually offers a FREE week/year. Prices are increasing now - we used to get $99/week but not any more. We stayed in Lake Conroe, Texas and Clermont, FL several times. Sometimes Airbnb may offer better options. Monthly rates are generally a nice way to save and it really does take a month or so to check out an area. Please DON"T buy more than (1) timeshare or perhaps (1) week and (1) point resort. They are difficult to sell. You're paying for the experience and as properties age, the costs skyrocket....maintenance fees become prohibitive!
Good luck to you ..