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Why I like Timeshares (they're cheap)

ronparise

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For those of you that dont know, Im a licensed real estate salesman in Fort Myers Fl

I recently sold a 19th floor riverfront condo in Ft Myers to a snowbird a $250000...condo fees are $600 a month or $7200 a year. Property taxes are $5000 a year

And this weekend I showed several $500000 condos to another snowbird. The fees here are a little more...$750 a month and property taxes about $8000 a year. (he made an offer, Ill know tomorrow if he got it or not)

In both cases my customers will not have a mortgage payment and in both cases they intend using their condos just 3 months out of the year. They will have the condo fees and taxes to pay, plus electric and cable bills. I figure that they will need to budget over $15000 a year to carry these places and they will use them just 3 months (13 weeks) a year

Compare that to 13 timeshare weeks I own...my mf is just under $8000 a year.(about half my customers bills). And I didnt have to pay anything like they did to own this stuff...and mine is every bit as nice as there's
 
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heathpack

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We own two weeks, plus another sorta week with DVC (most typically booked at 2 long weekends/yr). We are in for $2000/yr in MF. But easily tradeable for 7+ weeks per year, if we want to pony up another $1500ish in exchange fees. So I like that we have a flexible yearly expense, depending on how we want to use.

Admittedly our approach involved a larger initial outlay than Ron's but nothing remotely like his whole condo buyers.

Also loving TS. From my Hawaiian semi-TS vacation.

H
 

Beefnot

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Some people hire mgmt companies or use vacation rental sites to rent out their condos while they are empty. This can help defray the carrying costs.
 

Ridewithme38

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Are there people that own in florida and just rent out their places to snowbirds? I'm from Long Island so ALOT of the older crowd around here winter in Florida, but i'm not sure how the rental market is...Is it worth buying to live in for 9 months and rent out for 3?

I'm still amazed at how low the prices are in LeHigh Acres and even Cape Coral
 
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gnorth16

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I follow Leheigh Acres R.E only because my father in law used to live down there. unbelievable... I am trying to convince my parents to buy some R.E in Florida, but they are hesitant... They prefer to rent in Costa Rica for 3-4 months per year and next year they plan on 6 months. I personally love Florida but can't get a job in my field due to the US government restrictions. They will not hire foreign air traffic controllers.....:( And I can never be President of the United States:D
 

phil1ben

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Good Points Ron.

However, it is also important to note that many people BUY places in Florida to: (i) declare residency in Florida, (ii) avoid high State income taxes in the State they currently live, and (iii) avoid State estate tax which does not exist in Florida. I realize that you would need to live in Florida for 6 months and 1 day to benefit from the above, however, many buy a place in Florida for those purposes.

Those benefits do not exist with timeshares.
 

ronparise

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Some people hire mgmt companies or use vacation rental sites to rent out their condos while they are empty. This can help defray the carrying costs.

True enough, but "season" is Jan Feb and Mar. There is not much call for any other time of the year (and my clients plan to use their places at that time)
 

erm

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Ron, I own 2 annual and 1 EOY timeshares now (sold one 2 yr ago) and have loved every minute of owning them. But, now I'm selling another timeshare and will possibly sell the other annual so that I'm left with only one EOY Marriott. The reason we don't need our timeshares is that we bought a "paired villa" (duplex) here in SW Forida. We are 30 minutes from Dr. Beach's #1 beach...Siesta Key, same distance from Anna Maria beaches and about 45 minutes from DeSoto Beach, which is always on the list of best beaches. With timeshares, you know how difficult it is to get an exchange into SW Florida in the winter. If you were to buy these TS you know they still command top dollar and fairly high MF. I own a beautiful unit (built 2003)of my own in a gated community, paid less than half of what your clients paid, less than half the HOA fees and less than half the taxes. I own for what it would cost me to rent for the winter months here and I have something to sell if/when we decide not to do this anymore. Just wanted to offer another perspective on snowbirds and timeshares.
 

ronparise

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Are there people that own in florida and just rent out their places to snowbirds? I'm from Long Island so ALOT of the older crowd around here winter in Florida, but i'm not sure how the rental market is...Is it worth buying to live in for 9 months and rent out for 3?

I'm still amazed at how low the prices are in LeHigh Acres and even Cape Coral

Lots of folks do just that, but its tough to cover much more than your taxes, condo fees. utilities etc. I tell my clients that are looking to do this, not to expect any return on invested capital
 

ronparise

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Good Points Ron.

However, it is also important to note that many people BUY places in Florida to: (i) declare residency in Florida, (ii) avoid high State income taxes in the State they currently live, and (iii) avoid State estate tax which does not exist in Florida. I realize that you would need to live in Florida for 6 months and 1 day to benefit from the above, however, many buy a place in Florida for those purposes.

Those benefits do not exist with timeshares.

Clearly there are benefits to establishing residency in Florida...but I dont think it has to be 6 months and a day...We have a homestead law here and to establish homestead you only need to show that this is home base...ie drivers license, car registration, and voters id. Get your mail here and have it forwarded to other places rather than having mail forwarded here. If it had to be 6 months and a day, my one client dosent live anywhere...this is one of 5 homes he has in 5 states. I think he spemds more time on ships in international waters than he does in any of his homes.

I know you can establish residency in rented homes or even a hotel...why not a timeshare
 

ronparise

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I follow Leheigh Acres R.E only because my father in law used to live down there. unbelievable... I am trying to convince my parents to buy some R.E in Florida, but they are hesitant... They prefer to rent in Costa Rica for 3-4 months per year and next year they plan on 6 months. I personally love Florida but can't get a job in my field due to the US government restrictions. They will not hire foreign air traffic controllers.....:( And I can never be President of the United States:D

Lehigh Acres is a special place. I helped a client through a shortsale in Lehigh. They paid $200000 in 2006 and we sold it for $50000.. When I moved here in 1995 you could buy a building lot there for under $500, prices shot up to $75000 (for half acre lots) and now they are back down to a thousand
 

bogey21

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Are there people that own in florida and just rent out their places to snowbirds?

I have a friend from Toronto who has owned a condo in Fort Myers for almost 30 years (He paid cash for it in 1983). He rents it out Jan-Feb-Mar usually to the same people year after year. His rental income from those 3 months covers all expenses including replacement of furniture, carpets, etc. when necessary with money left over building his US Bank Account. The other 9 months are available for personal use including use by his friends (including me). The only cost for friends is to leave $50 on the table when they leave for the cleaning lady.

George
 

sandkastle4966

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I have a florida condo I rent -

when the inside breaks, I have to fix it.......

timeshare - call maintenance ! plus weekly housekeeping !
 

ronparise

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Lehigh Acres is inland(why go to FL?) , how about oceanfront?

No snow and warm temps,

I live in Cape Coral and I havent been to the beach (except to show property) in 10 years. I have a pool and my house is on a canal with Gulf access. Those of us that live here dont use the beach very much...Its like when I lived in Washington DC....The only time I visited The Mall was when I had visitors from out of town
 

Rent_Share

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Ron you remind me of my grandfather, who moved from DFW area to SOCAL in the 1940's

"the beach would be OK if it wasn't for all the sand and water"
 

moonstone

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We are not snowbirds yet (DH taking early retirement in Dec. but will probably go back on contract for a while) but we purchased a condo in St Augustine Beach last summer just for an investment. We are renting the condo out on an annual basis (not to vacationers). There seems to be a glut of vacation rentals in the area but a shortage of yearly rentals. Our place rented within 4 hours of the ad being posted on Craigslist. We paid a lot less than half the price that the developer was asking when we first looked at it nearly 10 years ago. The rent we get covers all our costs with a little left over that will stay in our US Bank account for when we need to fix or repair anything.(Renters have paid a fairly hefty damage deposit as well).

We plan to continue using our timeshare weeks, Extra Vacation weeks & Last Calls for our vacations until we are both fully retired. So for now, some stranger is living in our condo in warm St Augustine while we sit up here in the freezing cold and snow.:annoyed:
~Diane
 

ampaholic

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I have been eyeballing a 1/8 interest in one of these in Seattle as a sort of "condo". 6 weeks to cruse the Sound, and up the inside passage -- wahooo!

homeMagellano50-big.jpg
 
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rapmarks

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today at lunch, someone mentioned their friends buying into a timeshare on a boat. there are 9 places int he area where they can get the boat (must be lots of boats and types). I thought that sounded great. this is in Estero/Naples area.
 

Ridewithme38

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Lehigh Acres is inland(why go to FL?) , how about oceanfront?

I Live on Long Island, so i'm surrounded by beach and during the summer months i find myself going less and less every year....What i tend to be doing more as i get old is boating...The Sand and the Sea is fun when your a kid...but as i get older i'm really starting to enjoy sitting on the deck of a boat with a fishing rod in one hand and a beer in the other...i noticed (Some) canals around LeHigh Acres...for me, as long as they lead out into the sea....thats all i need
 

Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
I have been eyeballing a 1/8 interest in one of these in Seattle as a sort of "condo". 6 weeks to cruse the Sound, and up the inside passage -- wahooo!
We were in a yacht lease program similar to what you are describing in Seattle several years ago when we lived in the area. It sounded great going in but we unfortunately did it the year that there was over 90 days straight of rain. Every quarter we had time allotted that we could reserve on the calendar but it's not a whole lot of fun to go boating in the rain.

If you have a 1/8 interest, you aren't going to get six weeks in a row to use the boat. The other seven people in the plan want the same six good weeks that you do! Plus, in addition to the monthly fees every time you use the boat there are extra charges for fuel and other stuff.

It was an expensive learning experience but it did accomplish one good thing: It kept us from buying a boat, which we had originally considered doing.:)
 

ampaholic

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We were in a yacht lease program similar to what you are describing in Seattle several years ago when we lived in the area. It sounded great going in but we unfortunately did it the year that there was over 90 days straight of rain. Every quarter we had time allotted that we could reserve on the calendar but it's not a whole lot of fun to go boating in the rain.

If you have a 1/8 interest, you aren't going to get six weeks in a row to use the boat. The other seven people in the plan want the same six good weeks that you do! Plus, in addition to the monthly fees every time you use the boat there are extra charges for fuel and other stuff.

It was an expensive learning experience but it did accomplish one good thing: It kept us from buying a boat, which we had originally considered doing.:)

Yea this unit would be 2 weeks in the summer (red) two in the spring or fall (white) and two weeks in the winter (blue).

I am trying to poll the other owners to see if it is feasible to moor it further south (SF Bay area would be nice) in the winter.

I am only about 15% "sold" on it - we'll see.
 

rapmarks

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I don't think you lots in Lehigh acres include access to the gulf.
and moonstone, we in sw Florida regard St Augustine as cold, in fact many peope claim Sarasota, Orlando, the villages, etc are cold. ;)
 

Beefnot

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What i tend to be doing more as i get old is boating

Your interpretation of "old" is likely very divergent from most of your TUG peers. You're just a baby.
 
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