Loueloui
newbie
Hi all,
My wife and I have been discussing purchasing a timeshare, probably in the $5-10K range. I have fairly generous amount of vacation time at my work, and we typically take several small and 2-3 'big' vacations per year. I also have a small child, so there are only 3 of us.
I don’t know too much about timeshares but being from Florida I know enough to buy them 'used'. I also understand the concept of maintenance fees and that some weeks are more desirable than others and may cost more $, points, wampum or whatever.
We are also big time Disney nuts. We have passes and go pretty often (16 visits last year). I am interested in DVC, however having lived in Orlando we both know the area well and go so often we feel we get more value from renting hotel rooms off property.
My Questions are:
Would it even be worth it for us to buy a timeshare seeing as there's only 3 of us and we typically don’t need or want cooking facilities? We enjoy dining out a great deal when traveling, and a fridge and a microwave suit us just fine.
We are interested in the points programs because of the flexibility, especially DVC even though we would not use it much for rooms. I had heard that they no longer third party owners to trade their points for cruises or other extras. Is this still the case?
In DVC, is it really a big advantage to paying more for a desirable home resort? What is the appeal?
How much should we expect to pay for points in a program?
Is renting a good way to judge whether we should purchase a timeshare? Is the experience comparable to staying somewhere you own at?
Which timeshare companies we should avoid?
Any help would certainly be appreciated. If anyone needs detailed info on Orlando or Central Florida, I would certainly be willing to return the favor.
My wife and I have been discussing purchasing a timeshare, probably in the $5-10K range. I have fairly generous amount of vacation time at my work, and we typically take several small and 2-3 'big' vacations per year. I also have a small child, so there are only 3 of us.
I don’t know too much about timeshares but being from Florida I know enough to buy them 'used'. I also understand the concept of maintenance fees and that some weeks are more desirable than others and may cost more $, points, wampum or whatever.
We are also big time Disney nuts. We have passes and go pretty often (16 visits last year). I am interested in DVC, however having lived in Orlando we both know the area well and go so often we feel we get more value from renting hotel rooms off property.
My Questions are:
Would it even be worth it for us to buy a timeshare seeing as there's only 3 of us and we typically don’t need or want cooking facilities? We enjoy dining out a great deal when traveling, and a fridge and a microwave suit us just fine.
We are interested in the points programs because of the flexibility, especially DVC even though we would not use it much for rooms. I had heard that they no longer third party owners to trade their points for cruises or other extras. Is this still the case?
In DVC, is it really a big advantage to paying more for a desirable home resort? What is the appeal?
How much should we expect to pay for points in a program?
Is renting a good way to judge whether we should purchase a timeshare? Is the experience comparable to staying somewhere you own at?
Which timeshare companies we should avoid?
Any help would certainly be appreciated. If anyone needs detailed info on Orlando or Central Florida, I would certainly be willing to return the favor.