Timeshare owners

DO NOT DO IT    Can you tell I feel strongly?  We bought in 1998 and our maintenance fees were $385 a year.  When we finally got rid of it, they were $800.  They also had extra fees if there were hurricanes in the area - an extra annual fee.  Once you are in them, you can't get out.  We had to PAY to get rid of ours.  It is a lifetime commitment.  You pay the maintenance fee, then possibly an exchange fee and possibly an exchange company fee.

We have owned 3 and all were horrible failures for us.  They cost us way too much to get out.  I would never do one again but if I did, the only one I would even look at would be Disney.
Stacy

My parents have one and they are very happy with it, but it is not right for everyone. First and foremost, you really need to look at it more as prepaid vacation than anything else. It is NOT an investment that is going to appreciate (if you do decide to buy one, check out the secondary market - you will pay much less than direct from the timeshare). My parents have a fractional ownership at a nice timeshare near to where we live. It's a place they like to visit and have reason to come to often, and it's not too far from their home. It's a large, professionally operated complex with strict rules. They own 8 weeks annually and usually use about three of them. The rest they trade in for points that they can use at other timeshares around the country (they can also use them internationally, but that's not how they prefer to travel when they go abroad). They have gone all over the US and have never been disappointed with one of the places they stayed.

The timeshare appeals to them for a few reasons - when they travel they really like having a fully stocked kitchen and other home-like amenities vs. a regular hotel room. The choices they have for exchanging their points are extensive and flexible. There are timeshares available to them all over the nation and in close proximity to most destinations they are interested in. The only US trips they've taken recently that they didn't use timeshares for were NYC and Boston. They also like being able to gift points to family members, which is an awfully nice treat every once and a while. They are retired and love traveling, so they have gotten extensive use out of their timeshare/points. When my stepfather had some serious health issues and they didn't travel much for about a year, they were able to roll some of their points forward, and they gifted some of them to family. It was the first time in the 10 or so years they've had it that they didn't use all their points.

That said, it is definitely not for everyone. Most of the timeshares are not located "in the heart of things" - so if you like to vacation in cities, they may not be a good choice. I would not consider a timeshare that didn't have an exchange option, and I would not consider one that required I be involved in the management at all. I have heard many times that people with kids have a harder time using their timeshares because of their limited times they can travel. My parents have great flexibility with dates because they are retired, and that is a huge advantage for them. If you are working around school schedules, you will probably have a harder time getting bookings because that's when everyone else wants to go as well.

There are quarterly fees with my parents' timeshare and though I don't know exactly what they are, they aren't insignificant. It's worth it for them. My mom was a CFO and believe me, she has priced it out many times over the years and based on their usage, they are still coming out ahead. That's not the case for many, though.

Basically, think long and hard about what your usage will REALLY be like (not in your dream world LOL), check the secondary market, and see if it makes sense. It's awesome for some, terrible for others.

My parents have one. They had the initial investment and then yearly maintenance dues. My cousin rented the unit next to my parents for a vacation the same week we were there (similar 3 bedroom unit directly next to my parents) and their weekly rental rate was LESS than my parents annual fees! Knowing that and how difficult they are to get rid of, there is NO WAY I would buy one.

We had one many years ago. Did not use it as we had thought, then it was almost impossible to get rid of. We ended up having to do a quit claim & are finally out from under it.

I'll be watching this thread. DH has toyed off an on with the idea of one. But I tell him that the money we would spend in fees per year would pay for a good vacation. But I'm curious what others think.

GAVE one on the beach in Myrtle Beach, SC to a guy in a divorce b/c it was (fully paid off) at best worthless and realistically a debt.

Idiot thought he got one over on me.....

After you pay - or pay off - the purchase price, there are annual maintenance fees and taxes. Then you pay an additional annual fee to a timeshare vacation club for the 'right' to trade your week for another week in another property. Ugh! Also, at least for mine, there was NO resale market and it did not appreciate in value.

It was waaayyyy cheaper just to rent something or stay on a resort on e a year.

Of course, your mileage may vary, yada, yada, yada.

We have one in Costa Rica. We thoroughly enjoy ours.

I bought one 3 years ago from someone who could not travel anymore. It is for one resort only but its the resort we had gone to for a couple of years. It was originally a 30 year share but when we took it over there was 7 years left with 1 extra week. We love it but it is also nice because it was only 7 years and then we can figure out if we want to do it again. Fees are $500 a year for 1 week, no booking fees. We also run into people at the resort needing to get rid of theirs because they are getting older and cannot travel much longer. They are usually free. I go on vacations, not trips (itinerary), and love going to the same place. When ours expires I will seriously consider another one. 

I have close friends that have one, they love it. But like others have said, they just look at is as prepaid hotel expenses. They did not buy it to be an investment. They just love to vacation and this is a way they like to do it. They bought a certain number of points and then you spend those points at various hotels around the world. More desirable locations cost more points. You can trade your points with other owners online or give them to friends or family. I have also been told that the timeshare can be passed down to your kids when you die. And yes, they have said there are tons of fees and dues always having to be paid.

That couple's daughter recently decided to purchase her own. She got buyer's remorse about two years into ownership and decided to try to sell it and quickly found out they are just about impossible to get rid of. So I would say if you're going to do it, be sure it's really a good idea for you.

I was gifted a membership that were purchased by the original owner in 1971. We pay only a monthly maintenance fee of around $90.00 which gives us enough points to go to any property in the timeshare family for 5 to 10 days depending on the season/# of bedrooms/location. I would NOT have bought a membership because the initial buy-in is pretty expensive but since I was gifted the membership, it's great. We use VRBO a lot also and have never had a bad experience. I can rent a lot of VRBO properties for the $20,000 buy-in. When our membership lapses in 2021 we're free to walk away.

We have several and we get bonus weeks and excursions. Our home resort is on Kauai (why I am not sure). We have 3 weeks there and maybe a week somewhere else. We traded 2 weeks last year to go to Kona Hawaiian Resort on the Big Island and then my parents went to their home resort for 2 weeks. Later this year they are going to Palm Desert to stay in a time share once again. (bonus week). 

My BIL and sister have time share points in Nuevo Vallarta. They love their home resort. It is very nice with all the amenities. I liked it a lot and BFF and I went there for 10 days. That was a lot of fun.

BIL and his new wife bought some more points so they can go for longer the next time. They are happy with the time share program. 

It isn't for everyone. It isn't for me and I don't feel the need to own any. I go to the presentations to get the free stuff (the same as everyone else does) and that is ok. 

I think we would buy ours again.