louise

Since the timeshare business has really been booming in the past 10 years or more, I often wonder what criteria do many timeshare owners meet? Such as, income levels, children (if any) etc...As popular as the business has become, it really amazes me to see just how many timeshares there are for resale....The numbers are unbelievable....I do not own a timeshare (but we are thinking about purchasing one later), Why would anyone pay retail for something that has no value, except affording you a vacation every year if you can get it....It amazes me that people will spend $10,000 - $30,000 for one weeks vacation.....I understand that most of them are deeded ownership, but good grief!!...Who's really making the money??, the realtors who are selling the resales, or the resort owners who are selling at top dollar..??? OOPS, and lets not forget the perks the owners add in (airline tickets, cruises, free maintenance fees for a year).........What are your thoughts about timeshares?? Good or Bad!!!!

Margot

Hi Louise -

Whew, you sure ask a lot of questions, so, rather than try to address each one individually, let me just share with you our subjective experience of being satisfied time share owners since 1989:

We bought our 1st week of time share (we now own 4), back then at the Lawai Beach Resort on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. We made the decision to do so for several reasons: first, we adored the island and knew we would want to return again and again, and when we figured the costs of renting rooms or condos in Kauai, we found that in the long run we would come out way ahead with the time share. In addition, we loved the flexibility of having a place where we could cook and spread out, rather than be confined to a single room. The final thing that initially sold us was that we could go any time we wanted, i.e., we weren't locked in to using a particular week. This time share is affiliated with RCI, and with RCI, owning time share in Hawaii gives us the highest trading power when we want to exchange for other times shares elsewhere, and in fact, we've always gotten what we wanted, even on relatively short notice. We knew going into it that we weren't looking to make any profit, that we were buying it because the property was high calibre and met our needs. However, you can certainly use the resale market to your advantage when you are in the market to buy, because you can pick up a unit that sold for considrably higher by the developer for a fraction of that original cost. We got wise to that by the time we bought our 3rd and 4th weeks at the Pahio Resort on Kauai's north shore. We have been totally satisfied with our experience, and have no regrets about having taken this plunge. While we currently are unable to use all 4 weeks we have purchased, we are hoping to be able to do so in the not too distant future. In the meantime, we have been known to give some weeks as gifts (i.e. wedding)to friends and/or family. A cautionary note - the maintenance fees do add up, especially when you own multiple weeks as we do, and there's no question in our mind that the time share companies make off like bandits with these, when you consider that they are collecting fees from 50 people for just one unit!! Hope this has been helpful - sorry I haven't addressed the more financially based questions, but at least this gives you a peek into the time share experience.

Gary

If you want to talk to timeshare owners, do a search for timeshare users group. There is a great web site that is non commercial. I have received endless advice there. I am not a timeshare owner, but rent one to two weeks of timeshare time each year. I prefer to rent as I have the flexibility of always staying at the newest and best. If you rent directly from the locations front desk you can ususally cancel within 48 hours for no penalty. Also try Condolink which is a rental broker for owners. They have good rental deals, but require all money when reservation is made and the money is NONREFUNDABLE. The conveniences of staying in a condo versus hotel are wonderful if you like to eat simple meals, and are trying to save a few bucks on eating out. Usually the pools and recreation facilities are great too. Most of our timeshare experiences are in Orlando and Las Vegas if I can be of help to you.

Karen

Hi, Louise -

We, too, like Margot, own two weeks at the Lawai Beach Resort on Kauai. It has been a wonderful experience for us. We have been going to HI for the past 14 years and purchased our first week about nine years ago and our second week (we, too got smart and bought the second week from a timeshare resale office). We should have done this at the inception. First of all Lawai Beach is managed extremely well and have truly competent personnel. This is of paramount importance. We have an oceanfront condo that a similar room would cost us approximately $200-$300 a night. Our weeks have paid for themselves already in our relatively short term of ownership. We are able to trade, however, that was not our intention. It doesn't get much better than Kauai and Lawai Beach Resort. We have been disappointed in the few times we have traded (we never seem to get an equal trade - oceanfront for oceanfront). However, I'm sure it can be done. Even factoring in our maintenance fees, we are well ahead of the game. Good management of a resort s a key ingredient in making interval ownership work as well as keeping your maintenance costs contained. Although, as Margot, mentioned the maintenance fees are collected from 50 people for each week, our only concern has been, does this work financially for us, and it does. It takes an incredible number of personnel to maintain the grounds, clean and update the units, i.e., painting, utilities, refurbishing, repair, pools, hot tubs, and on and on. After using our two weeks for quite a few years, we still have the ability to sell them at any time so there is some residual value. We always caution people to buy where you basically want to stay and not with the sole intention of trading. That way, you have a vested interest in "your property" and in making it work. Timeshare owning has been a wonderful experience for us.

P.S. As far as income levels relative to buying, it is as easy as purchasing a car. You can write a check and pay for the whole thing upfront or you can finance as you would a vehicle for just about any number of years. Closing costs are very minimal.

tee3

Hi Louise - I wish we could get rid of our timeshares. We never had any intention of buying a timeshare - but now we own two. Both are in Pompano Beach, FL: one at the Santa Barbara and the other at the Royal Vista. The property taxes and maintenance fees are over $1300 a year for both. We owned the one at the Santa Barbara first (through RCI) and then bought at the Royal Vista through Fairfield so we could convert the Santa Barbara to points. It's a big hassle right now. The sales guy at the Royal Vista lied to us and told us we'd be able to use our points to stay partial weeks at any of the timeshares affiliated with Fairfield. Wrong. You can only use full weeks. We enjoy getting away for long weekends, but we can't use our timeshare for that. Plus nothing is ever available where we'd like to vacation - like Hawaii, Acapulco, etc. I don't even want to go into the whole story of why we hate our timeshares, because it would do no good in this forum. Suffice it to say, if we could even come close to getting 50% of what we paid for the timeshares, we'd jump on it. They're just not worth it to us. (P.S. For what it's worth, we're in our mid-thirties, no children, and love to travel.)

mark

I owned a timeshare in Cancun and also had good trading power. I found however that unless you want to go to the same place year after year it is far from worth it-financially or otherwise (I am a CPA). The pain of trying to exchange is horrible. Attempting to rent it is worse. Sure, friends love it when you give them a free week somewhere but that's not a reason to own a timeshare.
I will never do it again. I have more fun exploring new places and not always staying in a resort.

Thyra

I wouldn't buy a condo, so I can't speak from personal experience, but my In-laws did. And they claim it was the worst mistake they ever made. It took them years and money to get rid of it, they didn't get to use it enough and they bitterly regret not having spent that money on travel to exotic locations.

Thyra

Ops, can you tell it's late in the day... I wouldn't buy a TIMESHARE.. not condo.. should have checked that before posting. Sorry

jo

We bought a time share week at South Seas on Captiva Island in 1979 and have never been sorry. now we own 4 weeks -should have bought them in '70 as they have gone up in value considerably -as have the maintenance fees. We meet the same group of people every year and have made fast friends from there. Have found trading for desirable places difficult. Stayed in the mountains in italy, miles from nowhere, but it was fun. Also Fairfield in Cashiers, NC which is quite nice. We've enjoyed our experience as have all our children. The time shares will be theirs one day.

Patrick

I know a number of people who own them, but I still don't get it. In addition to the original outlay of cash (or worse if you finance it) and the annual maintenance fee, plus the inevitable special assessment (friends were just assessed $2500 to refurnish their 12 year old apartment. ($2500 times 52 weeks is one hell of a budget for redoing a cheesy condo with rattan furniture), there are just too many unknowns. I keep trying to figure, OK if I put the original amount, say $25000 in any decent investment, and added the yearly assessment to the interest income, I could be vacationing in a top resort every year for that week with money left over. Am I wrong?

Doug Weller

Happy timeshare owner. Timeshares in the UK (ours is on the Isle of Wight) get good trades through RCI. If I want to, our timeshare owners will rent it out for us (10% commission)and give us a sizable profit for the week. We get a free week at our timeshare as well. And they also own other weeks (trade-ins) elsewhere we can use for free).
Initial outlay expensive, but we wanted to make sure we had decent holidays, and it's worked!

Doug

gail

No deal here! We like to stay in hotels especially ones that are historical. We like to travel to different places without regard to whether they are "in the plan". We have avoided all the sales hype until our recent trip to New Orleans where we were recruited to go to a Timeshare in the Art District. We went because it was in an old Firehouse. That sounde interesting (Plus the $50.00 credit towards the swamp tour). I think we shouldn't go to Margaritaville so soon before walking by the tour booths from now on! The place had been gutted. It had no resemblance to a firehouse and I found the sell dreary and boring. Who would want to stay there when the French Quarter is blocks away? Not me!

Gary

Unless someone's on a really tight budget and doesn't require much flexibility, I can't imagine why timeshares would be worthwhile.
At least half the fun of travelling for us is being able to go where we want, when we want with no restrictions.
And I LOVE the conveniences and amenities of nice hotels...that's part of the joy of being away from home for us.
Just haven't ever been able to understand the timeshare thing...except from management's perspective.....it's a great deal for them!!

jo

I think one's perception of timeshares depends on where it is and how well it's maintained. ours has been redecorated 4 times, new appliances, etc. The cost is figured in the maintenance we pay each year and we're not assessed additonally for anything except refurbishment of the beach - twice in 20 years.

Maureen

Your inquiries are obviously rhetorical. What makes you think, though, that the timeshare business has been "booming"? Anyone can tell that the price/value ratio is ridiculous. Who wants to go the same place the same time every year for a price many times over the rate of a luxury hotel? Your best bet to to go on those "free" sales pitch weekends. Endure (somehow) the required "we'll sell you or else" required visits, have dinner, and get the hell outta there. Are you suggesting that you might pay anything at all for something with "no value"? And, you don't really "own" anything at all. The restrictions are preposterous. Why did you start this thread anyway? Are you positively nuts?

Patrick

Jo, or anyone else, would you mind telling us just what that annual "maintenance" fee amounts to? If you own one week a year, what does that annual fee come out to per day added to the initial outlay of cash? I know that people will pay about $25000 plus $500 per year for a week's worth of decent condo here in Florida. If they invested that original money even in a conservative CD, drew the interest annually and added their $500 each year, they would have about $2100 a year to spend on a week's accomodation. Boy, you can get some pretty great places for $2100 per week without dealing with the hassle of "trading weeks" or seeing what limitations are offered to you. Sorry, I just don't get it.

Mark

It is amusing reading the comments of those that have not owned timeshare weeks.

I have owned timeshares for 21 years and have raised my family taking them to exciting destinations for family vacations. It has been wonderful for my family and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I have found that usually those that talk poorly of timeshare are those that haven't used them and are the sour apples staying home. Those that own and use timeshares, are the ones that are traveling and having the fun. Purchase in a good location in a high season and go have some fun. Thank you!!!!

charlie

Patrick - you are soooo right! Timeshares, even if purchased in the resell market, do not make financial sense. I have researched timeshares in Hilton Head, Disney, Cancun, FL, and the NC coast. None, but none of them ever came close to matching the sound financial wisdom of putting your original investment plus yearly fees in a low risk mutual fund, (like a Total Bond Index or Money Market Fund or even the S&P 500) and using the proceeds plus the principal to pay for a great $2000 - $3000 vacation every year. Without going into great detail or risking sounding evangelical, let me state that timeshares are designed for and marketed to people who's investment skills are questionable. And just because someone has great memories of vacations spent at their timeshares doesn't mean it was a good financial decision. To anyone who doesn't agree, put the numbers on a spreadsheet with a very conservative 6% return on your invested money and back out what it takes to pay for an equivalent vacation. Then run those numbers out for as many years as you would own the timeshare (keeping in mind that more taxes are paid on someone inheriting a timeshare than on the equivalent value of securities like stocks, bonds). Timeshare ownership always loses by a big-margin. Plus your assets remain liquid in case financial family emergencies occur.

bill

Mark,
You are missing the point. No one is saying that timeshares aren't fun and don't provide exciting destinations for family vacations. And I'm sure non-timeshares owners aren't sour apples who stay at home. Most vacationers aren't TS owners. If you care to overspend to go on vacation it's your business. I too have overspent on vacations (not timesharing) and don't regret it. Just like I don't regret having a great dinner at an overpriced restaurant. But if someone wants to know whether they will be ahead financially by investing the downpayment and annual fees and assessments and researching goods deals on vacations whereever they please then the answer is yes. I sold timeshares in CA on the resell market for 6 years. Backoffice talk included the shared knowledge that these customers would have fun but they would be better served financially to pay for their vacations out of pocket as they took them. And the liquidity statement by Patrick is right on. Besides, are you having more fun with better memories than the vacationing family next to you who aren't TS owners? Unlikely.

Roger

I would just like to take a moment to state that this is the most honest, straightforward, useful discussion of timeshares which has ever appeared in this forum.
It is soooo refreshing!!
I don't wish to offend anyone, TS owners included, but it's so difficult to convince TS owners of the financial and practical shortcomings of this method of vacationing.
Thanks to everyone for their input.