What are you gaining by owning?

[JudyS]

Well, I think this is the best time ever to buy a timeshare. (Resale, of course.) Searching for exchanges is as fun as gambling--except the odds are in my favor and I keep "winning" cheap vacations!

The one thing wish is that I were starting now, rather than when I actually started buying timeshares, 7 years ago.The timeshares available cheaply today are way better than some of the ones I bought in the past!

Timesharing is not for everyone, and buying from the developer is pretty much a sure-fire way to get ripped off. However, if you know what you are doing, and timesharing fits your needs, then there are some great deals out there.

Todd, September through mid-November is the easiest time to get timeshare trades. Do you have some flexibility in when you can travel, or will your job specify a particular week during that period? In other words, could you put in a request with II today, ask II for a Starwood week in Hawaii anytime between September 15 - November 15 2012, and then if II told you next spring that they had a match for a particular week next fall, could you get that week off from work? If so, then I think exchanging will work well for you.

Buying a two-bedroom every-other-year lock-off might work best for you, since you just need a one-bedroom for one week per year. I know Starwood has those, but I'm not sure if they have them in Arizona.

 

[gnorth16]

SDO (Sheraton Desert Oasis) in Scottsdale is a good II trader. It is my second TS which I use for trading only. For now, Arizona is not my "style", more beach and Disney :whoopie: It is a good way to start in TS and minimal investment.

A 2BR L/O EOY is a great idea. Especially if you are looking at some instant trades in the shoulder seasons or something a bit more last minute. It essentially acts as two 1BR's, instead of other places that have a 1BR and a studio.

SDO is where I was told to start looking and I am glad I did. Be patient, the last eBay auction for a 2BR went for over $1800 for an annual float and there is a buy it now for $2000. Both a bit pricey. There will always be another TS for sale tomorrow!

Research now and ask lots of questions. I am constantly learning new things about my own timeshares. The people here are a great resource.

 

[lprstn]

Truth is, if I didn't own I wouldn't be traveling. I know it's bad to say but it's true in our case. Since most of what we own is Wyndham Points we are rather happy that Wyndham within itself has a lot of locations we can travel to. Also, we've made some great trades and figure that what we pay out in mfs + cost of the timeshare works for our needs.

The only thing I hate is that they are hard as the dickens to get out of.

 

[MichaelColey]

If you compare four different ways of vacationing, it'll help you understand the costs:

1) Staying in a hotel. It's far more flexible (you can usually make a last minute reservation and can stay just the days you want) and includes daily housekeeping, but can be small and cramped and it often the most expensive option.

2) Renting a timeshare. It's usually cheaper than a hotel and has a ton more space, but is less flexible (usually must do a 7 night stay with check in/check out on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and requires more advance planning to get what you want. Sometimes you can find some incredible deals, like in the Last Minute Rentals section here or through RCI Last Calls.

3) Buying from a developer. This is hardly ever a good deal. You'll pay a bunch of money upfront and when you amortize that over time it is often more expensive than a hotel. Plus, the salesmen will fall back to offering you a considerable discount on a less desirable week (that is virtually worthless). You can get the same thing for pennies on the dollar buying resale.

4) Buying resale. This is often the best deal. One thing you'll quickly learn is that prime weeks, prime seasons, larger units and lockoffs are a much better value. For an off season week and/or a smaller unit, you can almost always do better renting.

How much vacation time you get, how flexible you are on your travel, where you like to go, and what size/view of units you would like also factor in. If you can only go a week or two and are restricted to school holidays, timesharing is a bit tougher.

 

[am1]

2) Renting a timeshare. It's usually cheaper than a hotel and has a ton more space, but is less flexible (usually must do a 7 night stay with check in/check out on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and requires more advance planning to get what you want. Sometimes you can find some incredible deals, like in the Last Minute Rentals section here or through RCI Last Calls.

Renting a timeshare is very flexible. Can book up to a year in advance or with weeks of check in. No need to book a week starting on a fir, sat or sun. Just book the dates, room size, resort that you would want. Much more flexible than owning and trying to exchange.

 

[MichaelColey]

Renting a timeshare is very flexible. Can book up to a year in advance or with weeks of check in. No need to book a week starting on a fir, sat or sun. Just book the dates, room size, resort that you would want. Much more flexible than owning and trying to exchange.

It MIGHT be more flexible than owning in some cases, but it's still nowhere near as flexible as a hotel room. You can get nightly rentals through some (like Wyndhams), but many (most?) others are a week at a time.

As an example (not something I'm looking for, just made it up)... If I wanted to go to San Antonio from 12/1 - 12/3, where could I find a timeshare rental? I can easily find dozens of hotels with rooms. I probably could have booked a timeshare a couple months ago with no problem. But now, it's going to be very hit and miss. I checked Wyndham. Nothing for those dates. I checked RCI Weeks. Nothing for those dates (exchange, Extra Vacations or Last Call). I checked RCI Points. The closest I could find was a 2BR 100 miles away in Lago Vista. I searched the last minute rental section here on TUG. Nothing for San Antonio. Checking RedWeek.com... Well, what do you know... I found a 1BR for 12/1 - 12/4 (one day more than I was searching for) at Wyndham La Cascada for $250.

That's nowhere near as flexible as finding a hotel. I just went to Kayak.com and searched for the same location/dates and found 335 hotels.

Don't get me wrong. I love timeshares. But they're hardly ever "flexible".

 

[DeniseM]

Also, in some systems you can only make reservations for Fri., Sat., Sun. check-ins until you get within a certain timeframe. Starwood is like that.

 

[timeos2]

Also, in some systems you can only make reservations for Fri., Sat., Sun. check-ins until you get within a certain timeframe. Starwood is like that.

With a timeshare rental the cost is often so low that even if you onlly want/need 3 or 4 nights it is cheaper than a hotel room for those few nights to rent the whole week but only use 3-4 nights. We have doone that about 1/2 dozen times. The bargains for timeshare rentals, largely due to the incredible over supply available, can be terrific. As noted often far cheaper for a week than a hotel would be for two or three nights.

The other factor is the often overlooked reality that 80% of all timeshare use times are "less than the best or desirable times". In fact it is often stated that 80% of the owners chase 20% of the time - obviously the math does not work. Again in reality it may be more like 90% chasing the top 8-10% - in other words the truly marketable, valuable and desirable resorts/times/locations are extremely limited - and only those are easy to rent if you own them - while the overwhelming majority are far more pedestrian times easily available for low cost purchase or rental. In fact many (most) won't rent for what it costs to own them (annual fees) thus the lack of value for resale / rental that plagues this market.

The ever-so-wise majority of informed owners here on TUG have spent (usually) years learning & tweaking what has value and how to obtain it at the best cost. The average vacationer / potential timeshare owner doesn't hold that background and tends instead to buy into the inflated and often misrepresented picture painted by questionable sales pitches at high pressure "presentations". To think that majority would understand the true differences between the exact same ownership of a week at resort "X" on a prime week - which may number 10 or less at a seasonal resort - and the other 40+ weeks - which cost the same to own - is completely unrealistic. In fact it's a key reason the slick sales folk can sell what we realize are "dog" or undesirable times as easily as they sell the best for the same price.

I shudder when a newbie arrives here asking if they can make money renting or easily trading cheap timeshare purchases and then some old pro's say "it can be done". They mean with luck and proper information that a newbie simply isn't likely to have or grasp. Better to say "not possible" and point them to the one true way to get value out of any timeshare ownership - use it as best you can. Anything else is a big risk and not recommended for a first timer IMO. It is an exception even for those with years of experience - and a virtual impossibility for a new buyer.

 

[Larry]

I have owned timeshares since 1992 and have been tracking my savings by staying in timeshares vs. hotels on a spreadsheet for each stay and I have been saving at least $1,000 on each vacation. I should state that I almost always stay at high end timeshares were daily rates would be at least $300 to $450 per night during prime season which is when I travel.

Examples are;

Herod's Palace Israel $450 per night + tax for 1BR suite that we stayed in.

Crane Resort Babados $400 per night+tax for 1BR suite.

Windjammer Landing St. Lucia $500 per night for 2BR luxury suite with private pool.

In addition I rent out 6-7 weeks of my timeshares which covers all 14 weeks maintenance fees that I currently own so that leaves me with about 7 weeks a year of free vacations. This works out great since being retired for two years now it's way better than owning a seperate vacation home or staying in hotels with none of the things included that have already been mentioned here. :whoopie:

 

[JudyS]

...

I shudder when a newbie arrives here asking if they can make money renting or easily trading cheap timeshare purchases and then some old pro's say "it can be done". They mean with luck and proper information that a newbie simply isn't likely to have or grasp. Better to say "not possible" and point them to the one true way to get value out of any timeshare ownership - use it as best you can. Anything else is a big risk and not recommended for a first timer IMO. It is an exception even for those with years of experience - and a virtual impossibility for a new buyer.

Although I am a big timeshare fan, I generally agree with this. To clarify, my earlier post on this thread referred to using timeshares as a way to vacation, which the Original Poster (Todd) had asked about.

The question of whether an ordinary person (as opposed to a developer or a postcard company) can make money on timeshares was also asked on this thread, and here I'd say the answer is, "It's close to impossible in this economy."

I'm actually optimistic that the economy will eventually improve, and fairly optimistic that timeshares will improve in value. But, even if timeshares do gain in value, it may be a number of years, and it will likely be tough to cover MFs until then by renting.

Of course, knowing all this didn't stop me from buying another timeshare a few months ago!

 

[JudyS]

I have owned timeshares since 1992 and have been tracking my savings by staying in timeshares vs. hotels on a spreadsheet for each stay and I have been saving at least $1,000 on each vacation. I should state that I almost always stay at high end timeshares were daily rates would be at least $300 to $450 per night during prime season which is when I travel.

Examples are;

Herod's Palace Israel $450 per night + tax for 1BR suite that we stayed in.

Crane Resort Babados $400 per night+tax for 1BR suite.

Windjammer Landing St. Lucia $500 per night for 2BR luxury suite with private pool.

In addition I rent out 6-7 weeks of my timeshares which covers all 14 weeks maintenance fees that I currently own so that leaves me with about 7 weeks a year of free vacations. This works out great since being retired for two years now it's way better than owning a seperate vacation home or staying in hotels with none of the things included that have already been mentioned here. :whoopie:

That sounds great, Larry! Where do you own?

 

[patty5ia]

I own at SDO in Scottsdale because I got good resale value and because I want to visit during March and during holidays to be with my family. Renting at those times is expensive. It works for me!

 

[gnorth16]

I have to say that many TUGer's don't just see TS's as a place to stay, it is also a hobby. The amount of time that people research, check trades, post rental ads and all the little things that take up time is truly amazing.

Some people ask me about timeshares and my answer always has a disclaimer. If you are not willing to put in the time and learn what you are buying, don't bother because you will only be disappointed.

The reason we bought our TS's is because a hotel room is no longer practical. My son who is 10, has Autism. After a day at Disney or a day at the beach, he needs his "decompressing" time. He goes into the other room and takes all his toys out, his blankets and stuffies and chills out quietly by himself for a bit. The rest of us relax in the other room and after a while everyone gets together and we carry on our day. My son needs routine and a TS allows him to have the same routine as coming home after school. Without that, our vacation would be too stressful.

 

[linsj]

I bought Hilton points because I can stay for 3+ weeks in Hawaii for less than $1000 MF/year. I recouped my buy-in cost in about three years, compared to the price of the rooms at the resorts I stayed. I bought oceanfront Kauai Beach Villas for the guaranteed view. The MF are still less than a hotel stay.

Owning is an investment in myself. I'm self-employed with an intense, crazy schedule. Owning makes vacations affordable and also makes me take them since I don't want to waste the money. Timesharing has done wonders for my well-being.

 

[MichaelColey]

I bought Hilton points because I can stay for 3+ weeks in Hawaii for less than $1000 MF/year.

Is that $1000 per week or $1000 for 3 weeks? What size unit?

$1000 per week isn't that great (some of my most expensive exchanges are half of that), but $333 per week is pretty awesome. (That's about what a 15 TPU exchange costs me.)

 

[linsj]

Is that $1000 per week or $1000 for 3 weeks? What size unit?

$1000 per week isn't that great (some of my most expensive exchanges are half of that), but $333 per week is pretty awesome. (That's about what a 15 TPU exchange costs me.)

<$1000/5000 points. I book studios off season because that's all I need and when I went to travel.

 

[csalter2]

I gain peace of mind

I like owning because I gain piece on mind. I like knowing that I can plan my vacations in advance and get exactly what I want. I have really not had a problem getting what I want and I have floating weeks in Marriott and points in DRI. I am able to go to Hawaii and stay in both systems in the summer with no problem and have done so on many an occasion.

I also feel that with owning I am able to get more for my money. I could do two weeks on Oahu with my lock off at Ko Olina. To me that is still a great deal in summer with my maintenance fees. If I were to lock off I could get more than maintenance fees if I rent.

The DRI points are nice because of the flexibility. I can get much more mileage from them because I can get last minutes reservations under 60 days and other deals they offer and maximize my points. When I do this it really gives me many more weeks. I envision using my timeshare a great deal during retirement in which I will be able to do a lot of last minute reservations and enjoy lots of resort style living for many, many weeks in which staying at a hotel would cost me much more money.

So owning can be advantageous, but one needs to be flexible and understand what they have and how to use it effectively.

Most people who are unhappy either don't use their timeshare or don't take advantage of it.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Timesharing has done wonders for my well-being.

This is so true for my family. Aside from all the money we've made renting our extra weeks, its the quality family time these vacations have given us. We would have definitely taken vacations without Marriott TS ownerships but nothing like Maui 5 times.

 

[Tamaradarann]

Vacation for 17 Weeks for $6000 Annual Maintenance

I'm new to time sharing and my wife and I sat through our first presentation about a month ago. I've been looking around this board off and on since then. Ok, If you buy there will always be the annual MF. Are the MFs that much lower than what you can rent a week for to make a purchase worth it? Am I missing something?

The developer made it sound like a no brainier: Buy! He actually called it a 401V(btw, there is no such section in the code) and a way to lock in our future vacation costs.

Any thoughts/insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

In 2011 we will be vacationing for 17 weeks in timeshares for our $6000 annual maintenance. We own 7 weeks total mostly in the Hilton system. All our ownership are points so we can stretch our points by mostly staying in Studio's and 1 BR Suites. We vacationed for 12 weeks on waikiki beach in Hawaii from January Thru March. Easter Week in Orlando in a 3 Br with our children and grandchildren. 2 weeks in October in Las Vegas at the HGVC at the Flamingo. Finally, we are looking forward to 2 weeks in South Beach on Ocean Drive in December to finish our year. I would estimate the cost in these precise locations during these prime times for 120 nights at $150/night would be $18,000. Some of these locations and times you could not get for as little as $150/night and you do have significant taxes to add to you nightly fee. If you have a good flexible timeshare system like the Hilton system and know how to use the system to your best advantage you can save alot of money on extensive vacationing.

Furthermore, while the rental market for vacations is low priced right now the economy and in particular the real estate market is very depressed. Rentals will not be as inexpensive in a hot economy when people are anxiously buying rather than selling vacation and first homes as they are now and more people have money to vacation.

 

[Marilyn]

We like owning at the beach

We started buying TS because we realized that we cannot afford to rent a place with a kitchen at the beach. We have TS in Maine and visit family for three weeks every year. Maint fee is $300 a week for a $379 per day unit. Maine is a tough trade.
Also own in Carlsbad EOY and just bought Capistrano Beach (for a $1.00!!) week. Maint fees for those are $400 a year for the EOY and $620 for the Capistrano week.

We will use the Capistrano for trading in II and/or rent out.

My rules for TS:
Be able to plan your vacation a year in advance
Buy resale in a place you want to go every year
Pay cash always
Consider that cash is gone forever and you will never get any $$ back if you sell.
Don't buy to trade- it's a risky game and can be a disaster.

this has worked well. I just quit claimed my Mexico timeshare back to them since we do not want to go there anymore-- so no tears about the $$ we spent for it on resale. glad to be rid of it.

Marilyn

 

[Picker57]

I have to say that many TUGer's don't just see TS's as a place to stay, it is also a hobby. The amount of time that people research, check trades, post rental ads and all the little things that take up time is truly amazing.

Some people ask me about timeshares and my answer always has a disclaimer. If you are not willing to put in the time and learn what you are buying, don't bother because you will only be disappointed.

The reason we bought our TS's is because a hotel room is no longer practical. My son who is 10, has Autism. After a day at Disney or a day at the beach, he needs his "decompressing" time. He goes into the other room and takes all his toys out, his blankets and stuffies and chills out quietly by himself for a bit. The rest of us relax in the other room and after a while everyone gets together and we carry on our day. My son needs routine and a TS allows him to have the same routine as coming home after school. Without that, our vacation would be too stressful.

I think this note should be a classic timeshare guideline. It makes the point, beautifully, that the value of timesharing relates to one's personal situation. It's a great exercise in honest self-evaluation. If you have the time/interest/cojones to buy as an investment....go for it... and good luck (remember, "There's larceny in the heart of every sucker.). When it fits your personal situation - as it often does ours - it's great. Example: Because of my geezer sleep patterns, we don't do hotel rooms unless we have to. Does that change the metric$? Hell yes! Would I vacation any other way? Not in this lifetime. Does it take a lot of time? Yep, if you want to do it right, but IF you buy where you want to vacation (or buy points in a system that has good locations) and the price is right, it's not rocket surgery. We don't own a ton of timeshare stuff because we live in Colorado and don't have a lot of motivation to leave very often. But - when we do - it's fun working through the timeshare opportunities.

Zach "I Love Hawaii" Kaplan

PS Our grandson also has some autism "type" issues (diagnostics have been inconclusive), and we're hoping that their family can benefit from some of the timesharing 'perks'.

 

[d2r4s]

Owning or Renting

Its not much different than whether to rent or own a house, it all depends on you. Owning has advantages, but also the cost of initial aquistion and on going costs whether you use it or don't. Unlike a house its not saleable at a profit, although in todays R.E. market that could be quesitonable.

You can take the aquistion cost, future maintenance fees and determine the annual cost for a specivic number of years, and then only have the maintenance fees going forward.

Renting even when costing more is more flexible, you don't feel compeled to go someplace or trade as with owning.

For me owning makes sense as we use our weeks, travel the world, and have a studio, one bedroom or 2 bedroom to use with kitchen and other amenities. We can bring along others and that is a bonus when looking at costs.

Its a process of knowning what you want and the best way to get there.

 

[talkamotta]

One thing sales rep said that was true

The only TRUE statement that a salesman will say is "Owning a timeshare will make you travel".

If you are always looking for rentals it would be easy for you to wait for the next opportunity. For many, they will look back on thier life and realize that they didnt travel very much and think "I wished I would have traveled more when my kids were younger" or "I wished I would have traveled more when I didnt hurt so bad".

If you buy a timeshare, some years you could have rented cheaper especially on last minute deals. Remember that your timeshare, hotel, etc are only part of the cost. If you know what week you are traveling you can shop for car rentals and air.

Before you buy make sure you are ready for the committment of using your timeshare and educating yourself on your best use. The saddest thing I hear is "Im selling my timeshare because I never used it and the developer/salesman said it would be blah, blah blah."

 

[bnoble]

The only TRUE statement that a salesman will say is "Owning a timeshare will make you travel".

That's my take as well.

Truth be told, we are spending more money on vacations than we used to. We are also taking more vacations. That's not such a bad thing. For the most part, expenses are relatively predictable, but every once in a while a special assessment or some other unforeseen cost crops up. On the other hand, once in a while, some unforeseen travel opportunity crops up, and you jump at doing something you might not otherwise do, and that's great too.

If you are on a tight budget, and interested in the lowest possible amount spent, owning probably is not ideal. However, if you have some play in your budget, and the time to travel a bit more, it's not a bad way to go, and can often give you decent leverage.

 

[presley]

The only TRUE statement that a salesman will say is "Owning a timeshare will make you travel".

This is the reason I have purchased TS. We own a small business and have rarely taken full vacations because when we are gone, we are closed for business and that gets expensive. The low resale prices combined with the incredible exchanging deals from the smaller places are giving us multiple vacations in 2012. Some will be full vacations and for some, we will only stay a couple nights.