We have been offered an Interval International timeshare (one week-Paradise Village, Neuvo Vallarta)..FREE. My son will give it to us if we want it. We're retiring in another year and not sure if it's worth the annual $300+ for maintenance fees plus any change fees. In your opinion, can you find great package deals these days if you can go last minute? Or should we grab it? We're Canadian but can fly out of Detroit or Buffalo. I'm also thinking the best way to use it would be to change for a week within driving distance - ie. Boston, N.Y., Montreal etc. But what are the chances of getting one of these places in high season? Thoughts?

I can't tell you whether you should do it or not - but I have successfully traded my parents timeshare MANY times. Big Island HI, Oregon Coast, Williamsburg, 8 or 9 times in Scotland, 6 or 7 times in England, Lake Tahoe, and a few others.

These were in high and low seasons and have all been worth MANY times the small maintence fees.

There is a wonderful BBS out there for all timeshare owners. It is run by volunteers who own timeshares..NOT the developers or individual resorts. It's called Timeshare Users Group and you can get all your questions answered there by people who are very knowledgeable in this area. I strongly advise you to check it out. Go to:
WWW.TUGBBS.COM

I've been a member for about 10 years and have learned so much about how to use the system wisely. Just register and then, if you want, join for about $15 to be able to get into the *Members Only* sections.

My husband and I own a timeshare but it is traded with RCI not Interval International. Since you will be retired I think this could be a great opportunity. One of the reasons it works well for us is that we are both self employed and can take off whenever we want. If you learn the ins and outs of it, it can be great. Because we can travel without much notice we can put in a request and take it if it comes up. A lot of people have a set time they can take vacation and that limits the availability for them.
If you travel overseas it can be a great savings. We travelled to Edinburgh on an exchange which cost us just over $200.00 for the week when the unit went for $200.00-$400.00 a night because of the exchange rate. Exchanging to Hawaii can save you lots of money too. Anything on the beach has become very pricey. I would look at his Interval book and see if there are lots of places you would like to go.
We have a friend that owns a timeshare but never uses it. He pays for the maintenance but never uses it. Take it if you like to travel. Good luck

If you don't have to actually buy the timeshare itself, they aren't a bad deal. Think of it as pre-paying for your hotel room! We own a timeshare in Las Vegas, where my husband is happy to visit every year. It is nice to have a kitchen and free parking.

Ours is associated with RCI, where the annual membership (necessary to exchange through them) is about $100 and the exchange fee is $150. Keep those costs in mind if you're planning to exchange a lot.

To my knowledge there is only ONE timeshare resort in NYC (The Manhattan Club), and it is nearly impossible to exchange into it due to demand.

Is this timeshare in Mexico a deed forever, or only a 20-year deed (which are most common for timeshares in foreign countries)?