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View Full Version : Does anyone have a time share and what are your thoughts on it?



JLiebCamm
05-05-2004, 11:49 PM
I've always had the impression that time shares were a bad idea, although I don't have any specific reasons for thinking such a thing. It seems as if in the past few months I've heard more and more people talking about loving their time shares and what great vacation destinations they've gone to through trades. I'm a complete novice about how all of this works but would like to know a bit more about it, good or bad.

goosey77
05-06-2004, 12:41 AM
I'm not an expert, but i do have a few thoughts.... DH and I bought a timeshre on our HM in Cabo and we took a HUGE hit when we sold a year later (we recouped $0) before even getting a chance to use it.
-wherever you buy a timeshare, make sure the home base is in a location where you will have easy enough access. For example, we live in Florida and we bought a timeshare in Cabo San Lucas. STUPID. It is outragously expensive for us to fly to Cabo from Florida. So in order for us to use the dang timeshare, we would have had to shell out big bucks just to get there. We could have swapped for locations closer to us, but then you still pay extra and it's not as easy as they make it seem.
- Annual has better resale. Ours was every even year (ie. 2004/2006/2008 etc.) and it was harder to resell.
- Eveyrone has always said go for the nicest place you can afford. Makes it easier to trade in for different locations.
- Do you vacation every year/every other year? It makes more sense for people who are big into vacationing.
- When you do vacation, are you always staying at nice places? Here's another area where we didn't think enough.... when we travel, I always scout out the best deals and go wherever it's the best value. We really don't care so much about how nice a place is, as long as it's not icky, b/c we rarely spend time in the room.
- Don't fall for high pressure sales!!!!

To be honest, I really didn't want to buy the timeshare. But DH grew up vacationing with his family's timeshare. Eveyr summer they drove to Branson, Missouri for vacation. Now his parents use the timeshare for other locations. But it made sense for them.... the drive wasnt bad/expensive, they always vacationed (both parents teachers), and they liked going to the same place every year. It was cheaper for them to get the timeshare b/c they knew they would always do something, and in the long run it was cheaper. But it seems like timeshares are cheaper only in the long run - you don't recoup for a long time, if at all. I think people who do like them like them for the convenience.

Hope that makes sense.... too late for me to be editing what I wrote!

RwnMayfair
05-06-2004, 04:22 AM
We don't have one ourselves, but my father has two, and he's had relatively good experiences with both. They're both through the same company, and both annual. One is in St. Thomas during the week of July 4th every year, and the other is in Massanutten (it's a ski resort area in VA). The Massnutten one can be driven to, where as you obviously have to fly to St. Thomas.

My father goes to St. Thomas practically every year, though if he doesn't go he can trade it in and go someplace else, or "bank" the time he has there. He traded in some of his time at Massanutten this year for a week in the Bahamas for my stepbrother's honeymoon, for instance. He's also offering to trade some for another place for us later this summer, since he's got some time he's not going to use himself.

My father's main complaints so far are that he's actually got too much time at the place in Massanutten, and that he would have rather had a place in St. Croix than St. Thomas. But these were purchased before he and my stepmother divorced several years ago too, so things have changed a bit for him since they were originally purchased. I know he was talking about doing something about it, but I can't honestly remember what it was.

Overall though, he's been very pleased with it. He's got nice enough places that he can very easily trade them for other places if he chooses, and he vacations enough to make at least the St. Thomas one worth it. Granted, he's got enough time between the two to be able to get places for relatives and friends as well, so he's not too worried about the amount of time he has.

But I would agree with the advice that you need to make sure you get plenty of information and be careful. Make sure you're getting what you want, don't let yourself be pressured into something. My father researched the whole thing a fair amount before they got either of the timeshares he has, and I know there are some people whose experiences haven't been anywhere near as good.

-Melissa

Taran Reed - Nov, 20, 2003

egoldber
05-06-2004, 09:18 AM
We have the Disney timeshare and so far, we like it. But it is honestly the only one we would consider. We go to Disney usually once a year and stay at moderate to deluxe resorts. Their timeshare does not limit you to a particular time of year or place to stay, so it works for us. We also bought a re-sale and did not pay full price. We bought it with no intent to trade, just to continue to feed our Disney habit. :)

I would ask yourself how do you typically vacation? Does the timeshare fit into that style, or would you have to change your style. If your style would have to change at all, then I wouldn't do it.

Also, pay close attention to the re-sale markets. Make sure you can re-coup your money if you decide it isn't for you.

HTH,

Dcclerk
05-06-2004, 12:41 PM
I do not have a timeshare but have researched them extensively. (I apply the same tendency to over-research any purchase that brought me to these boards to everything, I guess :) ). I would highly recommend that you spend some significant time on the Timeshare Users Group website... http://www.tug2.net/

The website is not very sophisticated but the info is EXTREMELY helpful. They have ratings for all of the timeshares so you can have a sense of what are good locations, companies, etc. before you buy. I generally think that buying resale is the best way to go for bang for your buck, but there are some advantages to buying direct from certain companies. (For example, the Four Seasons has some amazing places, but you can't trade to any of their other properties if you don't buy directly from them. Marriott has the most extensive listings, but you can't use your timeshare points to "purchase" hotel rooms, rather than just timeshare units, if you don't buy from them, etc.) From what I have read and seen from my relatives' experience, most people become unhappy when they have unrealistic expectations regarding what they can trade into and the flexibility of their timeshare.

I could see myself buying a timeshare in the not too distant future. I think the advice that you choose a place that you would be happy going to for the majority of your time is very sound advice. And watch out for the maintenance fees! They can really eat up much of your savings.

For me, I would be most interested in the timeshares related to hotel chains. They are more expensive by a lot, but also have better resale value, better amenities (usually), and more consistent options. For my DH and I, I would most strongly consider Starwood (Westin), Hyatt, Disney, and Hilton or Marriott (generally in that order).

Seriously, though, the TUG website will help a ton with your decision. Good luck!

RwnMayfair
05-06-2004, 05:40 PM
Beth,

My husband and I looked at the Disney ones when we were there last time ourselves, since we've got a Disney habit as well. (And we like to stay at the moderate to deluxe resorts too.) It all looked really interesting to us from all of the information they gave us and everything. How did you find out about a re-sale one though? Any additional info or anything that you could give besides the information they give you at the Vacation Club places I'd love (and really appreciate!), since we still really want to go that route at some point.

Thanks in advance! :)

-Melissa

Taran Reed - Nov, 20, 2003

mamahill
05-06-2004, 07:54 PM
I don't know a lot about timeshares, but my parents have a timeshare in Kauai through Marriott and they love it. They said they got it to "force" them to take better vacations. I'm not sure if this is always the case, but you can "trade" your location for another. And I think they said that Kauai is one of the more sought-after destinations, so they can easily trade it for other locations. They've either gone to Kauai, or traded it for Florida, France, England, Italy or Spain each year. I think they have 1 week every year, or 2 weeks every other year. Anyway, they love it. Plus, they have miles for the flights or they get them from orbitz.com or somewhere.

egoldber
05-06-2004, 09:47 PM
This is where we bought our DVC re-sale:
http://www.dvc-resales.com/

And read here for lots of terrific info and advice:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/dvc/index.html

HTH,

RwnMayfair
05-06-2004, 10:07 PM
Thanks so much for the links! I'll have to go through those sites and get my husband to look at them as well. :)

-Melissa

Taran Reed - Nov, 20, 2003

JLiebCamm
05-06-2004, 11:38 PM
Thanks for all your replies. It all seems so very complicated. The one that I'm looking at is in midtown Manhattan. I haven't committed to the sales pitch yet, so I don't know how outrageous the price might be. But I love the city and always leave there wishing I had more time to stay. I used to be a bargain hunter on vacation but now that we have DS I lean towards cleaner, more comfortable places. I think I should look at resales after seeing these posts; it might be a better bet.