What would your advice to a friend be on a first purchase of timeshare?

[PerryM]

It's all the same..

Perry - I respect your thinking when it deals with the high-end market but I think you have a closed mind about the low end. I can just as easily say....

Buy a cheap timeshare for $1.26, MF of about $300, rents for (I don't know as I use it), and no history of special assessments and you have a BARGAIN.

I've probably had a number of these over the last 6 or 7 years and still have six. I've had two special assessments, both last year, both about $400, both Katrina related. No non-disaster special assessments like I had with my Marriott Monarch or like I have read about with the Marriotts in Vail and Fort Lauderdale.

I'm not trying to say I'm right and you are wrong. I'm just saying there are multiple markets out there to pick and choose from - like to each his own or something like that.

By the way, I got started in the timeshare arena with Marriott way back in the Monarch and Sabal Palms days. I broke about even selling three and made real good money selling my Monarch Crown Suite. It is just that I don't like having a bunch of money tied up in timeshare weeks.

GEORGE

One of the best timeshares, in my opinion, is the Park Plaza in Park City, UT. You can get 2BR week 52 units for $6,500 (resale) as my friend just did.

It’s an II 5-star, RCI Gold Crown, RCI Points affiliate, and many more. It allows you to bank your week to next year, borrow a week from next year, has an internal rental program. It has a free van service to anywhere in Park City.

I regularly rent a Christmas/New Years 2BR for $2,500 with a MF of $700. I’ve already paid off my purchase price on 2 of the 3 2BR units we own.

The Park Plaza has an inverse risk factor – it has been paid in full and generates a great income.

I must confess that below these figures I have no actual first hand experience. We own 4 South African units that are collapsed into RCI Points. These were bought at $250 each for 2 and $450 each for 2. They are special since currency fluctuations in the Rand and US Dollar must be taken into account.

If a $100 timeshare with a $300 MF has a 3 year or less period of risk (another name for payback period) then it’s a great timeshare.

That’s the beauty of timeshares – a very expensive one can have the same low risk as a cheap one. You simply define the level of luxury you want and find a timeshare that will deliver it to you; year after year.

It’s like how I trade stocks; I trade 1 minute, 5 minute, 30 minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly bar charts. They all look identical. If the time frame and price range were whited out you have no idea what time frame you are trading - the charts all look the same.

Same with timeshares – if you can find a timeshare with a 3 – 5 year risk factor the price paid is meaningless. You simply pay more bucks for more luxury, and/or features.

 

[bangell]

How much flexibility do you want?

If you like to vacation at the same place (and possibly same time) every year just buy where and when you want at the cheapest price.

On the other hand if you want variety and flexibility, I would suggest Fairfield/Wyndham. But you have to be careful how you buy. If you buy FF points anywhere except through FF/Whynd they won't qualify for VIP status levels which offer some significant perks. If you can travel with other owners, go with them to an "update" and listen. The update will be with a Senior Member Services Rep who doesn't work on commission. He or she also has access to a list of specials available from repossessions, etc. If you can't go with an owner, attend one of their regular sales talks but if you buy, buy the smallest size available because the commissions are substantial. On subsequent visits insist on speaking with a senior Member Services Rep. If you want to purchase additional points, be sure you are shown the specials.

The main reasons I like FF/Whynd are that points are used to stay at any of their hundreds of resorts and there is NO EXCHANGE FEE. You can also stay partial weeks. Or you can exchange thru RCI for the usual exchange fee.

Just don't buy the bunk that timeshare will save you money on vacations. It will however vastly improve the quality of your vacation stay but if you love Motel 6, don't buy a timeshare.

Bill

 

[Jya-Ning]

If you can travel with other owners, go with them to an "update" and listen. The update will be with a Senior Member Services Rep who doesn't work on commission. He or she also has access to a list of specials available from repossessions, etc. If you can't go with an owner, attend one of their regular sales talks but if you buy, buy the smallest size available because the commissions are substantial. On subsequent visits insist on speaking with a senior Member Services Rep. If you want to purchase additional points, be sure you are shown the specials.

I don't think they differentiate update and sell. As far as I know. But some region sale office may work different.

As to buy, don't buy unless you know what you are doing. Buying the smallest package is the worse idea. You did not get any VIP perk anyway. And there is a fixed effort to sell to start with. Buy a resell and you can still listen to senior member service rep if they truely are not commision based.

After play around, if you decide you want go to VIP, you can always go in and buy 300,000 points from FF, I know none will reject your offer just because you have bought resell point before.

Jya-Ning

 

[JMAESD84]

Advise to a friend

First I would explain that timeshares or vacation ownership plans are not for everyone. Everyone needs to first understand what their vacation interests are and how much they can afford to spend.

My belief is that if you like what a typical timeshare unit offers over a hotel room then timesharing might be right for you. If you don't mind traveling off season, you can rent many nice accomondations far below the cost of ownership and this is what I would recommend doing. If you are interested in peak season travel to timeshare locations you would be better severed owning rather than renting. This way you can ensure that your destination will be available to you and at a lower average cost than renting.

You must buy resale and I would recommend purchasing on eBay. Become an eBay member and add timeshares of interest to you to your watch list and don't bid. See what they actually sell for, learn the market place, and develop a confidence that you can distinguish a very good purchase, from an average purchase and from a poor purchase. Do this for months or even a year before you make a purchase. The two costs to consider are the acquistion cost (purchase price, plus all closing costs and transfer fees) and mantenance fees and taxes (often included in the MF). The maintenance fees are the equivalent of your rental costs or annual costs for the unit. If you can rent it cheaper or even reasonably close to this cost DO NOT BUY. Be aware of any special assessments that are planned. Ask sellers all the questions you would like answered.

Compliment your reseach of the market place by reading the reviews and resort ratings of the resorts in the areas you'd be interested in. So you can hear others opinions of these resorts: RCI, TUGs, Redweeks, Trip Advisor are all good sources of this information. Make sure it's a place that you would like to own, visit or rent if you can before purchasing.

If you would be happy returning to the same resort year after year and aren't interested in exchanging to different locations (much) then I would recommend buying a weeks timeshare even if the resort has converted to a points resort. These weeks are often much cheaper to acquire because they present a less convenient exchange option than a points unit.

If your vacation style is such that you need to try different locations often (mostly) then I would recommend buying into a points system. I chose the RCI points system but there are several others and some might fit your needs better than others. However, decerning which is the best fit might prove a difficult analysis. Look to acquire the number of annual points that you will need to satisfy your vacation needs and still be within your vacation budget.

Once you 've done this due dilegence you are ready to buy. You should know what you would like to buy and how to recognize a good purchase.

I'll throw this in for RCI Points purchases. My current analysis of the market place suggests that the following is a very good purchase of an RCI Points unit. This is based on the annualized number of RCI points deposited for the owners use.

Total Acquisition Costs / Annual RCI Points should be less than .0275
Annual MF(including taxes) / Annual RCI Points should be less than .0091

Mix weeks and points units to best fit your needs. Don't spend more than you can afford and don't buy more than you will be able to use. Unless of course your want to be in the rental business.

That's what I would tell a friend or any stranger that wishes to hear my thoughts on the matter.

I practiced what I preach and recently purchased three units. Each a 2BR lock-off, each a Gold Crown or II 5 Star and each from eBay, in Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale area (Weston) both weeks units, and a 75000 Annual RCI Points unit.

 

[Dave*H]

If you had a close friend...

This came up because several of our friends, our kids' friends, and the firefighters Rick works with are always asking us what to buy.

If it was truly a close friend, I would quiz them about their needs, vacation plans, etc, and try to determine if and what timeshare would work for them, and plan on handholding them into the indefinite future. The unfortunate thing is the vast majority of people will never learn enough on their own to properly make use of a timeshare. Even for a close friend, if their principle objective it to trade, I'd point them to TUG and leave it at that. If they aren't willing to put in the time to learn from TUG, the chances of them putting in the time to be satisfied with trading is very low.

As for the list of friends you mentioned, either you have a lot of "close" friends, or you are a gluten for punishment. Not to sound cold hearted, but for most people, I'd point them to TUG and walk away. I'd hate to be responsible if they are ultimately not satisfied. If you get too involved, you are signing up to help make sure they are satisfied and that can involve lots of time for years to come. If you do get involved, make sure you are very up front about all the downsides.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Dave, you live in Colorado, too, so you know that timeshares at some of the average Colorado resorts are pretty cheap, some even free, so I think that would be a good suggestion. How can you beat free?

I also forgot about the points deal advertised here on TUG and 4MS that is pretty good and requires almost no investment. I think that is a great place to start too.

I sure love the idea of Fairshare Plus points, too.

I would never suggest anyone buy Hawaii, unless they wanted one resort every year.