Anybody Here Own a Timeshare?
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I dont, and do not plan to. Haven't heard too many good things about them, though I do have a friend who has one and really likes it.
Hilton, Marriott and other major timeshare operators regularly flood the inboxes of their loyalty-program members with tantalizingly cheap stays in Las Vegas, Hawaii, Florida and other vacation spots.
The hitch? They are trying to goose their timeshare-owner pipeline. There are Reddit threads devoted to the deals, and tales of travelers who churn through them for cheap vacations.
My offer: $149 for a three-night stay plus a whopping 100,000 Hilton Honors points. It was the best deal I’ve seen outside of those free stays that casino players get for gambling a lot.
and
One lower-level package that salespeople pitched me cost $23,980 for 5,500 annual timeshare points. (Don’t confuse these with Hilton Honors points, though you can convert timeshare points to the program.) That would get me between 12 and 21 nights a year in a studio at a standard property or a week at an upscale resort, company materials say.
There’s also an annual maintenance fee of $1,718 on this package. When I bristled at that, one salesperson told me that’s merely the price of a long-weekend hotel stay these days.
Left unsaid until I asked: Those maintenance fees go up over time. Timeshare owners struggling to pay those fees regularly try to resell them on the cheap or give them away to someone who will take over the maintenance payments.
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Hell, no.
Anything that requires the kind of sales techniques these people employ has got to be of questionable value.
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Funny timing. I just got an email from someone I haven't talked to in a few years (clearly they sent it to their whole contact list) about a timeshare they have but can't make the trip this year and if anyone is interested in renting it.
I don't know much about timeshares other than there's a big selling process and then there's pressure to use it. No thanks to both accounts.
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I’ve been considering something a little different. I’ve been interested in purchasing a vacation property that would be rented out to cover the expense.
My original idea was something 4 seasons (since I’m a 4 season type of guy). I was thinking of something like the Poconos that would be near skiing in the winter, lakes in the summer, and beautiful foliage and pleasant weather for hiking/camping in the spring and fall. Other prospective targets are Davis, WV and Deep Creek, MD (@Aqua-Letifer bait). The problem that I’m running into? Those places don’t rent out nearly as well as you might think, and they have far larger maintenance issues because of the different seasons. More roof repairs, HVAC repairs, and such…
What I’m actually starting to drift towards strictly from an investment standpoint are those small 1 bedroom or even 0 bedroom oceanfront condos. The costs are low, maintenance and upkeep are low, HOA fees are high, but the amenities offered makes them more attractive rentals and they simplify the utilities…
I wouldn’t go more than once every year or two, but as an investment they are better than most.
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@LuFins-Dad I remember reading a story about somebody rented an apartment (or maybe a condo) in a good location and then rerented it out on VRBO or similar to make back their rent money + more.
THey made it sound so great, but seems pretty sketchy to me. I am guess that most lease agreements, this would not be legal.
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@LuFins-Dad I remember reading a story about somebody rented an apartment (or maybe a condo) in a good location and then rerented it out on VRBO or similar to make back their rent money + more.
THey made it sound so great, but seems pretty sketchy to me. I am guess that most lease agreements, this would not be legal.
@taiwan_girl said in Anybody Here Own a Timeshare?:
@LuFins-Dad I remember reading a story about somebody rented an apartment (or maybe a condo) in a good location and then rerented it out on VRBO or similar to make back their rent money + more.
THey made it sound so great, but seems pretty sketchy to me. I am guess that most lease agreements, this would not be legal.
This wouldn’t be me renting, it would be a purchase, then me renting out the condo probably with a service actually managing it.
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I remember running a marathon at Virginia Beach and experiencing sales people at the hotel where I stayed which also had timeshare units. I kept thinking to myself.. Maintenance fees? Ok, but what happens when something major happens eg. the roof caves in, the pool cracks open and leaks everywhere?
With condo units of any kind, buying or time share, I think a person needs to project and anticipate what can happen in 10 yrs. Buying is easy, but selling can be hard. Major repairs will always be needed. Peoples’ life situations always evolve. -
I remember running a marathon at Virginia Beach and experiencing sales people at the hotel where I stayed which also had timeshare units. I kept thinking to myself.. Maintenance fees? Ok, but what happens when something major happens eg. the roof caves in, the pool cracks open and leaks everywhere?
With condo units of any kind, buying or time share, I think a person needs to project and anticipate what can happen in 10 yrs. Buying is easy, but selling can be hard. Major repairs will always be needed. Peoples’ life situations always evolve. -
@LuFins-Dad My neighbor does that with a house in Cape Cod.
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I bought one years ago in Cancun. We were on vacation there but my wife was getting her MBA at the time and all she did was study. We bought a timeshare. $5,000. Never went there, never used it. They charged us some money for "whatever" and we never paid.
We got a blanket from the deal.
It's around the house somewhere and it's called the "$5,000 blanket."
