Buying a timeshare...

[BoomerNJ]

Anyone have any experience, tips or tricks? I'm looking at buying somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly BVI or USVI, maybe the Caymans, etc... I have no idea how to even start. Thanks in advance for any help!

Chris

[fire diver]

Originally Posted by BoomerNJ

Anyone have any experience, tips or tricks? I'm looking at buying somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly BVI or USVI, maybe the Caymans, etc... I have no idea how to even start. Thanks in advance for any help!

Chris

Yeah, DON'T!

Timeshares are huge waste of money. It will cost you 10's of $1000's just to buy the basic membership. Then you have to pay yearly maintenance fees which would be close to just renting a place anyway.

My father-in-law has one, bought it 30 years ago. Since it's paid for, it's not bad to use. But how long will it take you to pay down that membership. Some of them are over $100K.

Look into it long and hard before you commit to anything.

[ianr33]

Second the suggestion to just say NO.

If you must then buy it from an existing owner off Ebay or similar. DO NOT buy from the developer.

Take a close look at the maintenance costs. Buy somewhere you will use it. The "exchange" companies RCI and II are a racket.

[Martin2]

The advice above is good if you're considering a new timeshare; however, there are lots of timeshares for sale through brokers. People just wanting to get rid of theirs. In many cases, the base price has already been paid off and you only have to cope with the monthly fees and whatever they're asking for the timeshare itself. Remember that they do NOT hold much if any of their value. My parents recently gave theirs to us. Paying all of the fees is fine for the time we have with it. Just do your research and be sure to get what you really want. And be certain that what you are buying is not time limited. Many that they sell now are only for a certain number of years.

[sravin1]

A complete and true waste of money to buy one. period.

[sravin1]

PM me if you want a huge explanation. I sat down to calculate one day and at the end was wondering how stupid I must have been to even consider the option.

[FailedExistence]

A family friend bought one of these a while back and regretted it ever since. They didn't buy through the developer, and still ended up paying way too much for something they rarely make use of.

[tonka97]

This thread, hopefully, saved readers thousands of dollars, and a lot of hassle!

I love the pitch salesmen use about "AND you can swap your timeshare apartment with our other facilities all around the world!"

GOOD LUCK! By the time you read the very fine print, and try to decipher their 'point' system, you throw in the towel.

They are a racket.

[jbres1]

Flame away,
I for one am a very happy timeshare owner.
I have gone on many vacations that never would have happened if it weren't for my timeshares.
First I would say , do your research into timeshare. Go to Timeshare Users Group - The first and largest online community of timeshare owners providing timeshare resort reviews, timeshare ratings and timeshare advice and read everything you can.
1) buy resale , not from the developer.
2) Buy where you wouldn't mind going every other year.
3) Buy someplace that you can get to without a large cost to get there, unless you get free airfare.
4)Buy a high demand week at the resort, and a resort in a high demand area.
5)Don't buy with the idea that its real estate,because it isnt.
6)buy into a resort that is managed by one of the big hotel companies.

And if you think I'm full of it, this was my last timeshare vacation.
Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club: For a memorable vacation in Kapolei - Oahu

I stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Resort on Oahu from July5 the thru July 12, 2008 for a total cost of $1,212.00 for the week.
($1,123.00 maint fees for home resort plus exchange fee of $89.00)
Add in the original cost of my week, $13,000.00 , if you take the loss of income, add about $650.00 for the week. (based it on a 5% return on lost investment)
So my total cost plus loss of income comes out to $1,862.00.
I don't think thats a bad price for a 2 bdr 2 bath full kitchen unit for the week.

If you want to talk, pm me.

Jim Breslin

[JCAT]

We love ours, We hate ours. Depends on what day you ask us. They work very well if your flexible or retired.

Do your research. TUG (Time share users group) is a wealth of info.

my 2 psi.