Avian Gamers Network

All,
I know some of you have mentioned owning timeshares... what's the experience been? Good, bad? I'm thinking of getting two... one for Points on Hilton Head, another cheap one for weeks (Branson, Colorado, perhaps as it has the lowest maintenance fee). I'm thinking of going Marriott... I figure it's worth it to go quality.

Any suggestions, hints, good/bad experiences?

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--The Hermit

Yak, we bought a timeshare on Hilton Head for Points through RCI/Marriott b/c it just sounded too good to turn down. I liked it b/c it was an investment and if you work it right you can get 7 timeshares when you trade in your 1... We have also begun taking advantage of the perks that come with it, like enrollment into some club that gets us hotel and airfare discounts.

Another appealing thing is that every one of their places is a top quality (4 starish) destination, so it is forcing us to live in luxury and treat ourselves well.

We have not used it yet so I really can't comment on much else... I had the attitude going in that timeshares are a scam and I was just there for the free round of golf and hotel room that came with the presentation, but by the end of it I didn't see how I could turn it down. Good salesman, maybe? But I am not easily fooled and I think this will be well worth it in the long run.

Hey, can we give you a referral to the HH one? It'd help us out with our maintenance fee (you can pay for it in referrals).

Either way, let me know how it goes. Good luck.

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TheMole
Section 5
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Now Playing: WoW
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On our honeymoon, D and I got scammed for a loss of 30K in Mexico, with a company called Royal Holiday Club. It was one of those things were I was not wanting to be a party pooper on our honeymoon…. Little did I know D was thinking the same thing. We never had a chance alone to talk it over, thus we signed without knowing each others true feelings.

It was not a real scam, it is probably legit organization, but it was more than we should have committed to at that time. They would not let us out of the deal once we signed, thus we lost the down payment. Luckily I was able to get out after the down payment, but still loosing 30K was a hard pill to swallow.

It was not exactly timeshare; it was more of a points system which you could cash in at resorts all over the world. Regardless, they took advantage of us, oooh-ed and ahhh-ed us, prodded us to commit without private time to think it over.

Worst mistake I have ever made.



On the flip side my uncle has two timeshares, one in Gulf Shores Alabama and another one somewhere in the Carolinas. I think both are in the Marriott system, and he likes them very much.


My advice is to make sure both of you guys really want the timeshare. Make sure it is something you can afford. Make sure you will be able to use it as planned. You are a smart guy, just don’t let them pressure you, and you will be alright.

Also, watch out for Hurricanes.

I'd like someone to show me numbers that make sense and can, with confidence, say you're not loosing money in the end. I personally just don't see it. I've been to the freebie sales points from all angles on this. Once I sat with a calculator and the salesman and just could NOT make things add up.

Also, you can always rent these points from other people for a fraction of the cost! I went to a Marriott Resort a couple years back and just rented the points. Very simple and was VERY cheap. Also, this year we're going to Disney world for 5 nights, paying only $85 a night to stay at Old Key West. It costs the people a fortune for this .. but, there is a website dedicated to selling points that people are gonna loose if they don't sell.

Anyhow, my opinion .. don't do it

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Nasiobo Aprillis
Star Wars: The Old Republic | Jedi Consular (Nasiobo)
Slicing, Scavenging and Cybertech

Thanks, all.

I spent a few hours and ran all the numbers. I plugged in everything I could think off, adjusted fro interest and put it all in "2006 dollars", factored both for a low-growth and high-growth economy. I factored in what the place would probably sell for, and what the same amount would be worth if I used it to pay of a mortgage. My Econ professor would have been proud.

What I've determined is that the numbers are close... but that the salesman left out a few key points. Still, it's close, but nowhere near as "obvious an investment" as the salesmen say.

If you take a vacation to a REALLY NICE place (33% of the time local and 66% foreign) for two weeks every year... it'll work out within $1000 each year. If you miss one year and just go on points 2 out of 10 years, you'll wind up eating a bunch of $$. It's good for forcing you to take vacations... so it doesn't seem to be either a really bad or good idea.

I think right now, I'm going to put the money into paying off my mortgage and just take each vacation as it comes, and rent out other people's time shares, if needed.

Anyway, thanks for the advice! Back to the beach for the yakko. (and no slams about geeking out, it's been raining all day!)

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--The Hermit

It probably won't save us much money over the next 7 years while we pay it off... but after 7 years we'll have "free" vacations forever... or at least we won't have to pay for the room. Just have to pay about 400 a year in maintenance fees. It is also something we can pass on to our kids. In the long run it will be well worth it for us.

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TheMole
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I don't have an incredible amount of personal experience on the subject, but I do know that, as a long term investment (probably something of the order of 15+ years), under the right circumstances, it can save you a substancial amount of money. I don't however know what constitutes the "right circumstances"! I do know that you really need to be taking regular annual holidays to the same place, at the same time, each year (you can exchange for a different place but that will cost a bit more). It's easily best taken advantage of when you are retired, but probably not worth it before then. I also think that timeshares can be inherited (certainly the case in the UK) and so once paid for, provides your children with an effectively free holiday each year.

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X2-PB

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If anything why not purchase a timeshare from someone that is willing to sell? Timeshares are very hard to get rid of and usually you can purchase the exact same thing from someone else for a fraction of the cost.

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Nasiobo Aprillis
Star Wars: The Old Republic | Jedi Consular (Nasiobo)
Slicing, Scavenging and Cybertech

What's market value in HH for a 2 bed/2 bath timeshare... 1st week in October? anybody have a clue on that?

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"Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense

I was going to the www.tug2.net website to calculate Market Values.. base on the ones being sold there.

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--The Hermit

I guess I'm very negative about em because I've know a handful of people who have owned in the past, and, I can say that 100% of them have NOTHING positive to say about them. These range from lower wage salaried people to high salaried people, from friends out of work, to people here at work, to my parents (yes, they purchased in the past). The range of timeshares were from RCI, Marriott, "general" timeshares (not sure of the name .. just a house at the beach), to others. Every person I've spoken with has said they wish they could turn the clock back.

Of course, to be honest, I'm sort of glad a few of em have the timeshares That is how I went on vacation to Park City, Utah .. and to Montana a few years back, and to Orlando last year .. all for a very small price by buying their week hehe.

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Nasiobo Aprillis
Star Wars: The Old Republic | Jedi Consular (Nasiobo)
Slicing, Scavenging and Cybertech

I bought on Ebay 3 years ago a timeshare in Orlando, Florida for 2500 dollars. It was 620 dollars a year for the annual fee and there was an additional charge of around 800 for every owner to replace all the roofs and redecorate all the units. My total was 4000 after getting the deed etc.

I went with friends who have an entire family (4 kids and a mother in law) the first two years. It's a 3 bedroom lock-out unit with 3 full bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and it's own washer/dryer and patio. My friends have paid the fee for me each time so I haven't spent a dime on it yet since then.

For me it was probably still not worth getting because I was relatively happy in a cheap hotel for my week each year. I travel off season all the time so availability was never really an issue. On the other hand if I had a whole family of my own or went twice a year (like you can with the lock-out unit) then it might have been worth the money.

I think if you can get in for a very low initial investment, it's not a bad deal. Just make sure that you know the facility and it's in a location that you enjoy going back to repeatedly. There is usually a value killing charge with these to change resorts. I would never let recommend buying new. It's even worse than with a car. The value drops as soon as you buy. There are tons available used. Don't buy new.

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My name is Tobias Smith and I approved this post.