Who has a Timeshare AND IS enjoying it???
 

For those who have one and are enjoying.

:read:

Why own a timeshare with plenty of Airbnbs available ?

The folks who sell them sure like them.

We have considered them and decided why tie ourselves down to one place and friends not easy to do an exchange of a week or two.

Maybe if you had asked it more clearly...:rolleyes:

We have friends who have a timeshare, with locations in Florida, Vegas, and a variety of other states. They go every year and really love it.

We have a friend (I know that's shocking) who are with Hilton Grand Vacations.
"You" really don't own one unit or one location.
They have hundreds of locations (not the hotels, jus resorts).
"You" can book your location 9 to12 months out, then at 9 months...it's open to all to reserve.
Fairly user friendly site.
They are enjoying the gig.

Not many RESORT Air's.

The only problem is the maintenence fees that constantly go up every year.

Semantics. With a timeshare, you don't own a unit either. Hilton Grand Resorts is just a clever way to market timeshares. The difference between buying a timeshare and buying a condo is that the timeshare will decrease in value, but the condo will increase in value. I would rather rent a hotel room or a condo when I want one.

We own the Disney Vacation Club version of a timeshare and love it! Family members we get to gift vacation weeks to love it also! And if we don't want to go to a Disney resort, we can swap out with an RCI resort property or use the points for a Disney cruise or an adventure trip like Alaska, too! We sponsored a 13 member family reunion in DW a couple of years ago - 3 Villas and 2 Studios and prepared a homemade Thanksgiving Dinner for all - it was a grand time going to the pool before n after dinner instead of bundling up in the cold!

We own with Marriott Vacation Club (MVC). Our ownership is based on points and not specific weeks. Now that MVC owns the Sheraton, Westin and Ritz Carlton timeshares, we have even more choices when traveling. Timeshares aren't for everyone. We couldn't/didn't really take advantage of our timeshare while working simply because we couldn't plan a year out which is typical when reserving timeshares in highly sought after locations. Now retired, we are truly enjoying our purchase. We spent Thanksgiving Week in Vail, CO, 10 days in St. Kitts for New Years, all of February and March in Hawaii and had the entire family (kids and grandkids) together for a the 4th of July Week, our Annual Family Reunion in Orlando. I admit the Annual Maintenance Fees are high but the ability to pull the family together without burdening the kids with Hotel/Resort Bills is worth it to us.

I got one given to me when my mom passed away. I’ve only had it 2 years. Aruba. I went the first year to sign papers and check it out. It’s really nice and right on the water with a great view. 2 weeks. I ended up renting it out last year and was only looking to cover the fees but ended up making a little more on top. I would never buy one though.

Note that, if you inherit a timeshare, you are not required to accept it. You can reject any inheritance. Many timeshares have negative value, in which case, you may need to pay a company to get rid of it.

Wife and I were just talking about that not long ago.
Everyone connected to finance business say don't buy one and yet
many of our wealthy friends all own one.
One has 4 that they own........:shrug:.........and these are frugal people with their $$$$.

What am I missing??

They probably succombed to high pressure sales tactics.

The key word is WEALTHY.

Example:

Initial buy-in $25k to $35. (there are more, there are less)
Gets you one week usage (annually) at any of their locations.
Annual fees $2k. (there are more, there are less)

So if you use it for 10 years you have paid $50k to $70k for ten weeks of vacation in a condo......full kitchen, two bedroom, living room, with resort grounds.

So to wealthy people..............fifty grand, nice place to stay...........why not.

Why in the world would someone own 4 unless he has a way of renting out his week and making money on it.

The key word is frugal. A frugal person would never buy a timeshare, unless they were the victim of a high pressure salesperson. I would never buy a timeshare.

I think MG's example jus proved you wrong..............one individual owns four......victim four times?? Probably not.

Maybe you're not wealthy enough. :jester:

Wealthy people are not always smart. I suspect that they are not as frugal as the poster thinks.

Can you think of a reason to own 4? Other than if you rent them out and make a return on your investment makes no sense to me.

Sure.............lock into your favorite four locations (since you have priority at your purchased location).

A wealthy person with $5mil, it's only 1% of your funds................no big deal. :ho:

At a Club Wyndham presentation years ago. They use a points system so you can stay at any of their resorts plus RCI resorts. They wanted something like $35,000 for about 125,000 points which worked out to about 2 weeks of vacation each year. I declined and started researching resales. Found an older man who ended up selling us 818,000 points for $5,000. The points renew every year so we get 8 to 10 weeks of vacation every year. It could have been a scam but seemed worth the risk and has paid off handsomely. Not for everyone but it suited us perfectly.

Many years ago when time share selling was big business in Orlando, my wife and I attended several seminars that offered free Disney tickets.
That was a definite time share bargain, and saved the kids a good few $$$.
The sales people sussed us in the end, and we were black listed from all seminars!

Any other timeshare is definitely not for me. I bought into the Disney Vacation Club back in 2007 because of the flexibility. When my mother died in 1990, her timeshare company tried to pressure me into taking her 'week' and I told them to go pound sand and foreclose.

It's really only "worth it" if you visit Disney often and want to put some "cost stability" into your hotel stays. BUT, that being said, we've rented out our points many times for a profit. The flexibility of which resort and what size room and when makes the deal - IF you go there. You're somewhat insulated from the crazy hotel price hikes.

And we have no trouble finding renters (I use a broker). Heck, renting out our points at the Animal Kingdom Lodge has paid for our honeymoon and contributed towards trips to places from New Zealand to Germany and Italy.

Now there are for sale by owner websites jus like: houses, RV's: Vacation rentals, cars, etc.

I have three weeks in Hawaii is my homebase. But like it’s been mentioned if I don’t want to go to Hawaii, I just trade them into RCI or ICI, which has a bank of timeshares and go anywhere. I want wait times have gotten longer these days, but Hawaii is always a number one draw so I never have a problem trading it in. Biggest problem is they just don’t use it every year. Even considering selling it for the price I paid for it 20 years ago. And yes, I may not on an individual unit I do on a week at this resort times my three timeshares giving me three weeks
Also,I would be interested in selling one, two or three weeks if anybody’s interested.
I too, have stayed in Hawaii on different islands, Florida, Vegas, Tennessee, and a couple others as well I believe.

Watch this very informative and funny(!) video before getting into a timeshare:

https://youtu.be/Bd2bbHoVQSM

I have one in Williamsburg VA that I never use and would gladly give away. It's paid in full. Just annual maintenance.

Not at all or $25-$35,000 a week
I have three weeks in Hawaii and willing to sell them for $6000 a week
And Hawaii is one of the most in demand area

We are with MVC now having come via Starwood. Bought to start because my brother lived in florida and my dad loved Disney, so we all met up every year. Now my points will cover enough nights in a one bedroom (not a studio) for my husband and I for about 40 nights anywhere in their network. Or reserve larger units for kids/ grandkids. Average “price” if you use maintenance cost per point is about $100 a night for a 2-3 bedroom using and $50 or less for a one bedroom. No taxes. No cleaning fees. And resort amenities. No idea if it would be a good deal to buy into today, but we are keeping ours!

Time share 4 sale
 

I have one for sale cheap. Main location is Vail, CO but they are part of a group with units in other States. Just contact me.

How much is the annual maintenance, and what recourse do you have if they raise it?

Good luck, I have a week in Maui that I can’t give away!

Why would someone pay $6000 per a week plus maintenance fees and a long-term contract, when you can rent an oceanfront room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for way less than that? To me, timeshares don't make sense, especially where hotel rooms are readily available.

Good experience for us
 

We owned two time share weeks since 1982. We have exchanged over the years to many places that otherwise we wouldn't have gone to. They are not for everyone but for us it forced us to take a vacation especially since my husband was not a traveller. Maintenance fees did go up over the years but not exorbitant ...When we couldnt go, we rented a week out and it paid for the fees. Last year, I sold one because we can't travel anymore but I still have one week left to sell. So for the person who is still young enough to travel a time share is not a bad deal. It's not a big investment but it's an investment for pleasure and enjoyment.

People pay a lot of money to rent courtyard villas in my neighborhood in the winter. So I figure I’m already living in something other people consider a resort. my home is paid for. The Villages is my version of a time share, and I don’t have to share. I’m happy with the arrangement.

Maui timeshare
 

I have a two bedroom in Maui to give away. Maintenance is 2,000.00 a year. It’s a titled property and can be traded through RCI or Interval or rented. Used it since 1986 and traded for ski trips and other vacations. Just not traveling much anymore.

So, it costs $104,000 ($2,000 x 52 weeks) per year to maintain a 2-bedroom condo? Wow. What would prevent them from raising it to $3,000?