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We have done this a few times and gotten some nice perks too.

Don't ever buy a timeshare at a timeshare presentation!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayerose (Post 1893479)

and decided to attend the timeshare presentation (for a gift card of $150).

I had never looked into one but did before the presentation and it doesn't seem to be a good fit for a lot of people as you are required to make monthly maintenance fees for the rest of your life.

We did say no a few times and were able to leave with no sale made :)

p.s. we also believe that an older couple were in the sales presentation as 'plants'.

You'll end up paying THOUSANDS (and in many cases, TENS OF THOUSANDS) of dollars. If you are really interested in a timeshare, do your due diligence on where you want, how often you may use it, annual maintenance fees and then buy one off of eBay for as little as $1.00 with no closing fees. Quite often, you'll find nice timeshares where the seller is now older, the kids are grown and the seller no longer uses it. They'll sell it for a low price just to get out of paying the annual maintenance fees. And quite often, the seller will also pay closing costs, just to get rid of it.

I got several timeshares on eBay for several hundred dollars, and pay $100 a month in maintenance fees. I get several weeks a year out of that which is well worth it. Would never ever buy from the timeshare corporation which would have easily cost $75k plus.

"There's a sucker born every minute."

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayerose (Post 1893479)

There are at least 3-4 companies that do nothing but get people out of their timeshare contracts. That says a lot about second thoughts.

I know in Florida, they had no strict rules regarding time shares. Once the Ponzi stuff came out, they tighten the rules quite a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayerose (Post 1893479)

We were supposed to learn as kids you get nothing for nothing. For me it was actually took more than one, one was free stamps on a matchbook cover. The second one was closer to our current home when there were sales of Florida land that was litterally under water.

Time shares? The ads for attorneys making a living getting people out of contracts they have signed should tell you not to.

I actually mistakenly did what the OP did, but by mistake...I didn't realize that it was a Hilton timeshare resort in Orlando that I had booked into. I just figured the low rate was a result of my near diamond status with them that year

had to listen to over an hour of why I should invest....

walked away saying phew, glad that's over with

Quote:

Originally Posted by J1ceasar (Post 1893743)

Actually timeshares will not be thought of as investments but can be a good deal if you look into the corporation offering them and their history the first thing you should ask is what their maintenance fees are and how much is their reserve. Then you have to ask if is it a Time limited timeshare like a 99-year lease or a point-based system or a real deed system. The only timeshares that have ever gone up are the ones that are on the islands in the Caribbean has any other ones most wanted for trades. By the way there are two major trading companies so you can use your weeks almost anywhere with enough time in advance we had four weeks in Puerto Rico for many years that cost us less than $300 per week for maintenance now compare that to the average of about $2,000 per week for a full one-bedroom suite that's currently being offered and you'll find out that we have saved quite a lot. Of course if you're 65 or older how many times more are you going to be going away? As for the shills I can't speak from any recent experience but it's commonly done in art auctions timeshare presentations and many other places by the way the best place to buy a timeshare is either on eBay or a place called tug t u g where you have owners reselling systems often for zero dollars just to get out of the maintenance fees that they can't afford anymore. Lastly unless your children are well off I definitely would not give them timeshares in your wills unless you discuss it beforehand. The only legitimate two ways of getting out of a timeshare is selling it, going into bankruptcy, or offering it back to the corporation. Excuse me three ways

I think a timeshare is a horrible product. I wouldn't ask the salesperson any questions. Read the contract yourself. Why would you care what the maintenance fee is today? It can double or triple in a few years after you buy it. Most timeshares can not even be given away and you may need to pay thousands of dollars to get rid of it. But, it is important for any potential heir to know that, if you inherit a timeshare (or anything else), you can refuse to accept the inheritance. So, as a potential heir, do not sign your name as a co-owner to a timeshare. And, if you inherit a timeshare and you don't want it, you can provide a legal notice to the executor that you are rejecting the inherited timeshare.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayerose (Post 1893479)

Timeshare salesmen are master manipulators. - The King of Queens | Facebook

Back in the early 80’s we went to one of these time share presentations. My wife at the time, made me go so she could ‘win’ the promised set of dinnerware. Total waste of time and after suffering through the entire session, they gave her a set of plastic dishes for four people! Horrible!! We also attended a presentation in Cancun. The absolutely beautiful girls that greet you ply you with beer and very stiff pina coladas then turn you over to a guy that won’t take no for an answer. They make it sound like you would be crazy to pass up such a great deal. Later, you find it was a horrible deal and an utter waste of time. Never, never again!!!

Our time share at a beach is very well managed. We don’t use it often because it rents for about twice what we pay to own it. Once we traded our week at the beach for a week in Switzerland. The unit is available to family when they want a beach vacation, that trumps renting it. So yes, we are happy with the timeshare experience but the return isn’t financial.

The aftermarket price per "point" is significantly less than what is offered during the presentation .. why ? the commission has already been paid. If you do your homework, you can pick up a high quality week for a reasonable price. Why would you want to do that ? I've stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms during my working years .. they are ok, but if i'm going to have a relaxing week somewhere, I like a 1200-1500 sq ft nicely furnished place. not a Red Roof Inn kind of person. The maintenance cost is way less than a hotel. Allows for the kids or friends to join for free. I have a friend that has accumulated 13 one week stays in Aruba, which he uses consecutively each year .. OceanFront. I only do Hilton or Marriott .. we could probably do the presentation. OTOH, we stayed at a Wyndham property on Sandestin several years ago .. both the presentation and the property were third rate

We have owned a Timeshare and did use it a lot, but it limits your ability to go where you want to go. We got lots of free dinners. Once we went on a presentation and the sales lady got up and slammed her stuff down and walked out when we said No. Did not leave a good impression!

Time share translates to “SHARE never ending high costs for a long TIME”