Timeshares - good or bad idea?

[SteveNU]

I bought one on E-bay and we did use it for years, but I found I could not sell it or even give it away. I basically bought an obligation to pay the maintenance fee that I had zero control over (including paying for people who just stopped paying).
The fee went up quite a lot each year.
Finally I was able to turn it back to the resort by paying a fee of $250.

I think this is one of the key issues. When you no longer want to be bothered with it you will still be getting that annual maintenance fee bill. How do you get rid of it. Some of the places will buy it back, some won't. It's like owning a piece of property that you can't sell or even give away.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[RobbieB]

That's too funny. You have to pay to get rid of it, can't even give it away.

I remember these things from the "free dinner" nights they sponsored. Amazing.

 

[CaliKid]

Do NOT buy one.
You can rent one often cheaper than the yearly fee from Timeshare Users Group - The first and largest online community of timeshare owners providing timeshare resort reviews, timeshare ratings, FREE timeshare advice and FREE Timeshare Classified ads!

I rented a week on the Vegas Strip beside the Bellagio (the one with fountains) for about $300 when just Sat night at Bellagio was $500.


I bought one on E-bay and we did use it for years, but I found I could not sell it or even give it away. I basically bought an obligation to pay the maintenance fee that I had zero control over (including paying for people who just stopped paying).
The fee went up quite a lot each year.
Finally I was able to turn it back to the resort by paying a fee of $250.

If you are not convinced, at least buy or get one free from Tug2.net or e-bay.

Do I understand you are comparing the old Jockey Club to the Bellagio? I would rather pay $500 for Saturday night at the Bellagio than $300 a week next door! Sorry, just being honest. However, little known fact that timeshare gets access to the Cosmo pools as part of their agreement when Cosmo was built. Or at least as of a couple years ago that was the deal. That would improve the value immensely for sure... but still would rather stay at Bellagio.

 

[robnplunder]

Very bad idea. If you must buy, you can go to EBay and buy one for practically nothing. Many owners are desperate to dump theirs.

 

[RobbieB]

I remember the "jockey club", I used to get "free 3 days" all the time from them when I lived in So Cal.

I'd rather pay $500 a night and not have to walk. Might fall down and hurt myself after drinking too much.

Besides, 3 days is all I can take of that debauchery -

 

[Sunset]

Do I understand you are comparing the old Jockey Club to the Bellagio? I would rather pay $500 for Saturday night at the Bellagio than $300 a week next door! Sorry, just being honest. However, little known fact that timeshare gets access to the Cosmo pools as part of their agreement when Cosmo was built. Or at least as of a couple years ago that was the deal. That would improve the value immensely for sure... but still would rather stay at Bellagio.

Yes I think it was It was my first time to Vegas and the Bellagio would have been about $1,400 for the week, so this was a good deal.
I also did go visit the Grand Canyon overnight, because my week rent was so cheap I didn't feel bad leaving it empty 1 night.

 

[Scuba]

Interesting posts, thank you all. Sounds like buying on resale market would be the way to go, if we even want to consider it. We tend to vacation in remote and somewhat exotic places that don't have Hiltons or Marriotts or any big hotel chains so it might not fit our travel preferences anyway. However we are soon to RE so will have more time to travel and will likely do more US travel.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[48Fire]

We have one that the DW bought prior to our marriage. The unit is on the corner of Canal and Decatur in New Orleans, which is a great location.

Great place! We stayed there once

 

[48Fire]

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT BUY! Unless you want to buy my parents two places

The maintenance fees are constantly going up, and there is no controls at all. My parents are trying to get rid of theirs which sets up the next series of scams for people to work them over. It's a disaster, and it is a constant sore point of family discussions

 

[flyingaway]

A QUESTION: If you buy a one-week timeshare in Florida, can you claim residency for state tax purpose?

 

[SumDay]

flyingaway: I'm too lazy to read this: Flsenate Archive: Statutes & Constitution > View Statutes

 

[Sunset]

A QUESTION: If you buy a one-week timeshare in Florida, can you claim residency for state tax purpose?

no.

 

[48Fire]

A QUESTION: If you buy a one-week timeshare in Florida, can you claim residency for state tax purpose?

You are joking, right?

 

[samclem]

A QUESTION: If you buy a one-week timeshare in Florida, can you claim residency for state tax purpose?

Yes, you can claim to be a Florida resident even without a timeshare.
You would be breaking the law and might owe a hefty fine and potentially other penalties if caught. And the states are often quite aggressive about getting what they consider to be theirs.

 

[flyingaway]

I am not joking. Somewhere there were discussions about travelling around the world slowly and maintaining a house in the U.S. I was thinking that it may be possible to have a timeshare in a state of the U.S. and claim the residency there and come back once in a year.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Hi, this is my first post so please be gentle. I think one answer to that question could be. Are you willing to invest the time to learn how to use your timeshare to it's best value? In 2006 I made the mistake of not doing my homework and purchased from the developer. I later saw the same timeshare available for pennies on the dollar on Ebay. Water under the bridge, I have learned to use it well and have had many wonderful vacations with it. In 2007 I joined the Timeshare Users Group, a forum of amazing timeshare owners who share their knowledge with other owners. I did my homework for the next 8 years and In Feb 2014 I purchased my second timeshare resale for $285. With that wonderful little timeshare, during the last 2.5 years my friends, family and I have taken 32 weeks of vacation at some very nice places at an average of <$85/night. Many of those vacations would not have happened without my timeshare. So my answer would be, if if you are willing to do your homework, timeshares are wonderful. It was on the TUG forum that I learned about this ER forum. I have been lurking for a number of months hoping to learn and maybe make more educated financial decisions as life goes on. I actually just joined today and probably wouldn't have posted for months if this question hadn't come up. I am here to learn and will have many questions as time goes on.

 

[zinger1457]

The maintenance fees are constantly going up, and there is no controls at all.

On one of the forums on the TUG website referenced above there is a thread about the Maui city council really sticking it to timeshare owners, in this case it is at the Westin (WKORV) resort on Maui. Earlier this year the Maui city council decided to go back to 2008 and add a special tax assessment for that resort that all current owners have to pay. Sounds like it was all started by a separate legal issue the resort brought against the city so the city council did the tax assessment in retribution. The really strange part is that even if you weren't an owner 2008, say you bought it in 2015, you still have to pay the special 2008 tax assessment, it averages about $500 per owner.

 

[CaliKid]

I am not joking. Somewhere there were discussions about travelling around the world slowly and maintaining a house in the U.S. I was thinking that it may be possible to have a timeshare in a state of the U.S. and claim the residency there and come back once in a year.

According to wikihow:

If you are already living in Florida, you'll need to fulfill the basic residency requirements by getting a Florida drivers license, registering your out-of-state car, and registering to vote. If you have live in two different states, you'll need to file a Declaration of Domicile to prove that Florida is your primary place of residence. In order to get the declaration approved, you will need to prove your physical presence in Florida as well as your "intent" to stay. Proof of intent might include a job, a spouse, community involvement, and being registered to vote. Know that it will be much easier to establish residency if you are currently employed in Florida!

 

[bclover]

I own a Disney Vacation club timeshare. I love it. getting ready for a quick trip down for the food and wine festival.
I broke even years ago and my annual fees are less than 1100 a year. which is a lot cheaper than the cost to rent.

Don't know about any other

 

[Sunset]

Hi, this is my first post so please be gentle. I think one answer to that question could be. Are you willing to invest the time to learn how to use your timeshare to it's best value? In 2006 I made the mistake of not doing my homework and purchased from the developer. I later saw the same timeshare available for pennies on the dollar on Ebay. Water under the bridge, I have learned to use it well and have had many wonderful vacations with it. In 2007 I joined the Timeshare Users Group, a forum of amazing timeshare owners who share their knowledge with other owners. I did my homework for the next 8 years and In Feb 2014 I purchased my second timeshare resale for $285. With that wonderful little timeshare, during the last 2.5 years my friends, family and I have taken 32 weeks of vacation at some very nice places at an average of <$85/night. Many of those vacations would not have happened without my timeshare. So my answer would be, if if you are willing to do your homework, timeshares are wonderful. It was on the TUG forum that I learned about this ER forum. I have been lurking for a number of months hoping to learn and maybe make more educated financial decisions as life goes on. I actually just joined today and probably wouldn't have posted for months if this question hadn't come up. I am here to learn and will have many questions as time goes on.

Welcome.
When I had my timeshare I used TUG as well, found it fantastic.
Even got a free rental from there one time, which was fun to do.
The advice on the site was worth so much.
I also rented from there once and it was terrific.
Glad to hear you are getting some value out of your timeshares.

We still have one timeshare, as it's complicated family ownership, so we make sure to use it each year.

 

[rodi]

I am a big fan of renting other people's timeshares. Much less expensive and you're not locked into one location (or exchange fees).

We've done it in Cabo, in Kauaii, and in southern Spain.

I'm also a big fan of just renting apartments (not necessarily timeshares) when on vacation.

 

[brucethebroker]

About 15 years ago, we were "given a free week" by friends with a TS on Daytona Beach. Sales people immediately pestered us to buy. We attended a seminar (to get the free dinner at an upscale restaurant, near by). Our arms were twisted to buy a week of TS for $12,500. We refused, saying both of our kids were in college and we did not have the extra cash. The salesman gave up, but then brought over the mgr. He promptly dropped the price to $8,500. We said no, left, and enjoyed the dinner. It was hard work for a free meal, though......

 

[Scuba]

Thanks brownhaired_girl, interesting info. Not sure I'm willing to put in the effort so maybe we will just keep renting, at least until we RE. Afterwards it might be fun to do some detailed research.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[ivinsfan]

Hi, this is my first post so please be gentle. I think one answer to that question could be. Are you willing to invest the time to learn how to use your timeshare to it's best value? In 2006 I made the mistake of not doing my homework and purchased from the developer. I later saw the same timeshare available for pennies on the dollar on Ebay. Water under the bridge, I have learned to use it well and have had many wonderful vacations with it. In 2007 I joined the Timeshare Users Group, a forum of amazing timeshare owners who share their knowledge with other owners. I did my homework for the next 8 years and In Feb 2014 I purchased my second timeshare resale for $285. With that wonderful little timeshare, during the last 2.5 years my friends, family and I have taken 32 weeks of vacation at some very nice places at an average of <$85/night. Many of those vacations would not have happened without my timeshare. So my answer would be, if if you are willing to do your homework, timeshares are wonderful. It was on the TUG forum that I learned about this ER forum. I have been lurking for a number of months hoping to learn and maybe make more educated financial decisions as life goes on. I actually just joined today and probably wouldn't have posted for months if this question hadn't come up. I am here to learn and will have many questions as time goes on.

Welcome, those are some impressive numbers and could be the reason that some here would try out the timeshare market. Since you seem to be keeping track I have a couple of questions I wonder if you could answer them.

Are all of these trips considered off-season trips, ie not Florida in Jan? How much notice do you normally have to travel and use the units. Does the 85 a night really include all taxes and fees and the add ons that come along with timeshares on check-out day, like cleaning fees and utilities upcharge.

And last do you happen to live in an area with a huge supply of timeshares. This can make a big difference in the utilization factor of bonus or extra weeks.

 

[FIYes]

For me, time shares have no appeal. However, one time when we cruising out of Florida we signed up for a time share presentation deal....free hotel and free week parking and transportation to the cruise terminal. The sales pitch presentation wasn't too bad. It took an hour or so. I asked the sales guy what percent actually bought the time share and the percent he quoted (if true) was higher than I expected.
I'll admit that I was a little nervous signing up for this deal. However, I figured we were in the USA, spoke the language, and most importantly we had our car and could easily go somewhere else and find a hotel and parking.

Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum