Can someone explain time sharing?

[capjak]

I'm not seeing reference to specific maintenance costs, just specific purchase prices. Can any one go there and share actual costs, i.e., purchase + annual fees over time?

Though not my thing, I can understand wanting familiarity, which is what I perceive timeshares as delivering. What I struggle with is why not simply RENT them for your vacation instead of getting locked into a timeshare contract?

Here is my situation:

I can spend on Maui 27 nights in a Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villa North (WKORV-North) studio which includes a washer/dryer and 2 burner stove top and full refrigerator with a balcony.

I purchased oceanfront view WKORV North 2 bedroom lockout (can be split up for 2 weeks, 1 week in studio and 1 week in 1 bedroom) resale 9 years ago for $19,000 (developer wanted $100,000 for the same unit, right now resales have gone up slightly to $24,000 but you may be able to find one around $19,000) I pay $2900 per year in maintenance fee that yields 18 nights in a studio. In order to get the additional 9 nights I purchased resale a Sheraton Vistana Villiages Key West 2 bedroom for $3,000 resale 9 years ago (about the same cost if purchased today) with a maintenance fee of apps $1200 which yields 9 nights in studio.

So 27 nights in a studio (washer/dryer, stove top, full frigerator) for $4,100.

$152 per night, $1060 week.

Plus opportunity Costs of $22,000 at 3% interest (not sure where cash/bond will pay 3% but lets go with that) (might lose some money when selling but over the last 10 years the resale market has not changed or is slightly up) so add $660.

So 27 nights for $4760 per year is $176 per night ($2100 week).

You can rent on redweek from an owner a studio for a similar price maybe higher if Oceanfront view) but I like the flexibility of changing my mind if I want to change reservation and I control the reservation.

Usually however I go for 3 weeks (jan/feb/March) as follows to insure I get an Oceanfront view that I own:

I split up my 2 bedroom WKORV-North into a studio 1st week and 2nd week stay in a 1 bedroom oceanfront view. The third week I use my sheraton and stay an additional week in a 1 bedroom (view varies with availability).

So studio $1100 for a week without op cost, $2100 based on 35 lost interest on original purchase. Redweek rental for about $2300-$3,000 from another timeshare owner.

If directly renting the unit from marriott's website it cost $5200 for a week.

$1100 per week based on maintenance fee only
$2100 per week based on maintenance fee plus 3% op cost
$2300 per week rental on redweek from another owner
$5200 per week from Marriott directly for a studio

 

[Music Lover]

We’ve thought about having a cabin somewhere which in some ways is like having a time share. Go to the same place every year, need to pay maintenance. It sounds sort of romantic and cozy in a way, but then we quickly realize, we rarely, if ever, return to the same place for vacation. We learned long ago that discovery and exploration of someplace new is part our vacation experience that makes it fun.

We have a cabin/lake house. It's less than an hour away and it can't be compared to a time share that often requires extensive travel and for limited stays, we get to come and go as we please.

We go there 4 - 5 days out of every week during the summer so we're using it a lot....20 days a month or so. It has our bed, our bedding, we have some clothes in the dresser, our own dishes and pots/pans, there's a stocked pantry, etc. You get the idea. We also don't have to worry who was there before or if there will be necessary kitchen items missing.

When we want to go we hop in the car and are there 50 minutes later. We don't have to reserve our stay or leave at a certain time.

 

[lakerunner]

Time shares are like a lot of other consumer goods. If you buy new, you pay the depreciation. My father owned 48 weeks of time shares in Florida. He bought them for net to nothing. Never more than $1,000 . He would stay for 12 weeks, then rent out the others. The rents covered the maintenance fees for all of the weeks, including those he used. I inherited many of them about 2 years ago. I have sold many off but kept eight weeks in a row in January and February. I can now go to Florida and stay in a 1 bedroom condo on the beach for about $5,000 for the 8 weeks. I am not ready to do that yet, so this year I have rented them out and will make a few thousand over the maintenance fee for my trouble.

But again. NEVER pay retail for a new time share. But some are worth looking t.