Time Share Help

[del_mo]

At the end of 40 years the gov't is supposed to buy it at market value.

Trust very little what a timeshare salesperson tells you. If it ain't in writing, it probably won't be happening.

Points are a pretty good thing, except in some very high demand locations. Points allow shorter mid-week stays when points go farther. In high demand locations, they usually require you to stay for a whole week, using up tons of points.

I'm impressed by cow boy's abitlity to trade. There are some locations that will be almost impossible to trade to because of high demand and low inventory (unless Aspen in August turns you on). I wouldn't buy with trading in mind. Buy what you want, and if later on you can trade for something else, then consider it a bonus.

 

[WaterWayne]

...There are some locations that will be almost impossible to trade to because of high demand and low inventory...I wouldn't buy with trading in mind...

Yes, I bought my timeshare with trading in mind, and I've been quite disappointed. I don't know about the other organizations, but RCI as a trading resource has been useless. I think they're quite oversold/understocked, because it's gotten worse in the last few years.

That actually makes an owned property in the Caribbean more valuable, because if you don't use it yourself in a particular year, you can rent it to others for real money instead of trading it.

 

[caymaniac]

Trust very little what a timeshare salesperson tells you. If it ain't in writing, it probably won't be happening.

Points are a pretty good thing, except in some very high demand locations. Points allow shorter mid-week stays when points go farther. In high demand locations, they usually require you to stay for a whole week, using up tons of points.

I'm impressed by cow boy's abitlity to trade. There are some locations that will be almost impossible to trade to because of high demand and low inventory (unless Aspen in August turns you on). I wouldn't buy with trading in mind. Buy what you want, and if later on you can trade for something else, then consider it a bonus.

You are right about that...get it in writing. I figured if I used it 10 times, I'd be even and I've passed that point awhile back. So far, I've traded for a condo in Kissimee sp? out side of Disney World, Grand Cayman twice (Plantation, Morrits), St. Croix, St. Maarten, Marathon Key, Turks and Caicos, and Bonaire.

 

[Tavi]

Besides our weeks on Grand Bahama, We have a week in Florida. It's a half mile from the entrance to Disney World. Excellent trading power. There is always somebody that wants to take the kids to see Mickey.

 

[Chocoholic]

My wife and I are thinking about buying a one or two week time share somewhere in the Caribbean. We have been considering a couple of places. It would most likely be during Christmas break for school reasons. We have travled to numerous islands over the years, but there is certainly much left for us to see. Great diving is definately a must. We also have kids so the saftey of the island is important and a few out of water activities would be nice. A foreign language is not an issue for us.

We own several weeks in Cabo, the best thing about owning a timeshare for us is that we use it, and actually go on vacation every year. We own fixed weeks. You would want fixed weeks if you know you want to holiday at Christmas break. A lot of timeshares are sold floating weeks or points and those will be difficult to get the school holiday weeks although some resorts will allow you to book a year in advance, that still doesn't guarantee Christmas break like a fixed week would.
Definitely check out all the resales sites on the internet, we bought two of our weeks on resales and it cost less than half of the original price of the first one we bought. The maintenance fees go up every year, I think the average is $550 per week for a one bedroom unit.
Like somebody said here, "get it in writing", we have been to a couple timeshare presentations where you hear something different from every salesperson.
We have managed to trade our weeks in several times, but RCI has gone down hill in the amount of weeks available. It seems to have a lot of All-inclusives available but not a lot of regular weeks, especially in Mexico. I have never dealt with Interval International. I have a hard time finding trade-in weeks to the Carribean in popular times like Jan/Feb/Mar. Check out tripadvisor.com or RCI.com for info about specific timeshare hotels.
Have fun, Choco

 

[Chocoholic]

My wife and I are thinking about buying a one or two week time share somewhere in the Caribbean. We have been considering a couple of places. It would most likely be during Christmas break for school reasons. We have travled to numerous islands over the years, but there is certainly much left for us to see. Great diving is definately a must. We also have kids so the saftey of the island is important and a few out of water activities would be nice. A foreign language is not an issue for us.

We own several weeks in Cabo, the best thing about owning a timeshare for us is that we use it, and actually go on vacation every year. We own fixed weeks. You would want fixed weeks if you know you want to holiday at Christmas break. A lot of timeshares are sold floating weeks or points and those will be difficult to get the school holiday weeks although some resorts will allow you to book a year in advance, that still doesn't guarantee Christmas break like a fixed week would.
Definitely check out all the resales sites on the internet, we bought two of our weeks on resales and it cost less than half of the original price of the first one we bought. The maintenance fees go up every year, I think the average is $550 per week for a one bedroom unit.
Like somebody said here, "get it in writing", we have been to a couple timeshare presentations where you hear something different from every salesperson.
We have managed to trade our weeks in several times, but RCI has gone down hill in the amount of weeks available. It seems to have a lot of All-inclusives available but not a lot of regular weeks, especially in Mexico. I have never dealt with Interval International. I have a hard time finding trade-in weeks to the Carribean in popular times like Jan/Feb/Mar. Check out tripadvisor.com or RCI.com for info about specific timeshare hotels.
Have fun, Choco

 

[Desert Pig]

I would consider myself somewhat of a self-made timeshare expert. The first rule is to buy a timeshare where everyone else in the world wants to visit, not necessarily you. Remember that Europeans love to travel - for example, the Grand Canyon. A timeshare in AZ is always "red" year-round, and WAY cheaper than others. Also, look for a resale in your local paper. Just be aware that there could be some back dues or taxes as well. If you have questions, email me direct jrdelung@hotmail.com and put ScubaBoard in subject to bypass filters. Happy hunting!

 

[k8brandt]

Ditto to get it in writing. Here is a timeshare resale site that might assist you. http://www.tug2.net/

 

[Spratman]

Same with ours. Ours are through Interval International and it used to be great for trading. However, in the last couple of years, we cannot find anything. We think what they are doing is when people put their weeks in the pool for exchange, the good ones, like ours are banked for a certain percentage of the membership. The rest of us are stuck.

For instance, during the summer, you can get a resort in Palm Springs without any problems. Sure...I'll go there. 120 degrees....

Good luck!

Yes, I bought my timeshare with trading in mind, and I've been quite disappointed. I don't know about the other organizations, but RCI as a trading resource has been useless. I think they're quite oversold/understocked, because it's gotten worse in the last few years.

That actually makes an owned property in the Caribbean more valuable, because if you don't use it yourself in a particular year, you can rent it to others for real money instead of trading it.

 

[BrianV]

I almost bought a winter week in Park City, UT (for trading power mainly), but decided I wanted to do more research. It was with Marriott. The maint fee (~$800 / year) was steep considering you can almost cover a nice hotel with that.

Also, some timeshare buildings are fairly newly renovated while others seem more run down; in many cases a name brand hotel would offer nicer accommodations.

One question I have for the carribean time share owners: Are you ever concerned about storms/hurricanes wiping away the time share? Is there insurance against that? What if it doesn't get destroyed but the island itself is damaged enough where not many tourists come, hence your timeshare's demand falls down greatly.

What do you all think of Marriott's time shares? I definitely think fixed week is the way to go by the way!