[jcmanson]

Anyone with one? Thoughts? Do you enjoy it? Do you use it? Who is it with?

What about those without one? Reasons?

[Sly Fox]

Yeesh ... I don't have one but many in my family do. I'll wait out other replies but suffice it to say that I prefer to use my money elsewhere. Although there are some good travel clubs if you have flexibility in your schedule.

[jcmanson]

Yeah, it seems everyone has a strong opinion on them one way or the other.

[jbock13]

If you use it a lot, it saves money.

If you don't, don't even bother with it.

My personal experience.

[RubberMallet]

i've not met one person who told me they were happy with their purchase. you wouldn't need such a push and aggressive hard sell strategy if they were worth it.

[LUconn]

The ones at Disney look sweet, but they're pricey. I think they'd only be a good idea if you were 100% going to use it every year and were pretty flexible with when. Not many people can say that.

[ALUmnus]

I'd say it's not just about your flexibility, but also the flexibility of usage. Can you use your share at other locations? I couldn't consider one if it's stuck at just one place.

[BJWilliams]

My parents have one through Westin resorts and they love it. we can take a family vacation or they can take a week for "mom and dad time". No problems at all and we've had one for I think 4 or 5 years

[Purple Haize]

Anyone with one? Thoughts? Do you enjoy it? Do you use it? Who is it with?

What about those without one? Reasons?

Time share owner for over 10 years and loved it. Here are things I would recommend
1. Buy on the secondary market. They are TONS cheaper then the ones you get hard sold at the beach etc.
2. This is NOT an investment. That is why I say buy on the secondary market.
3. Pay the money for a multi year membership in their Club. RCI, Wyndham etc. It will save you money
4. It will be near impossible to get rid of, but if you do you still have your RCi membership
5. Buy a prime week. Or prime points place. However they keep score. This gives you more trade in/exchange options.
6. MOST IMPORTANT, ok second most behind buy on secondary market. Know how much membership and maintenance costs are. Units on the beach will have a much higher cost then this just off the beach or somewhere else.
7. If you have kids this is a great deal because the lodging portion of your vacation is already taken care of.

Hope that helps. We recently sold ours but that was because our vacation schedules are much different now.

[jcmanson]

Anyone with any experience with Interval International?

I currently have a deal that I’ve accepted, but have 72 hours to cancel it with 100% refund if we want. Here’s the deal:

$4900 for a 4 bedroom unit in Williamsburg.
We are not tied down to any particular week.
We can transfer it to any timeshare in their directory in the US for $149 a week (same price if we stay in Williamsburg).
We can transfer it to any timeshare in the directory outside the US for $169 a week.
We get 5 weeks every 3 years if we use the 4 bedrooms. Or 7 weeks every 3 years if we only use 2 bedrooms.
Only annual fee is our maintenance fee of $225/year.
There’s other miscellaneous perks associated with it that are basically immaterial.

I have never wanted a timeshare or been enticed by one, but this seems like a very good deal.

[Purple Haize]

Anyone with any experience with Interval International?

I currently have a deal that I’ve accepted, but have 72 hours to cancel it with 100% refund if we want. Here’s the deal:

$4900 for a 4 bedroom unit in Williamsburg.
We are not tied down to any particular week.
We can transfer it to any timeshare in their directory in the US for $149 a week (same price if we stay in Williamsburg).
We can transfer it to any timeshare in the directory outside the US for $169 a week.
We get 5 weeks every 3 years if we use the 4 bedrooms. Or 7 weeks every 3 years if we only use 2 bedrooms.
Only annual fee is our maintenance fee of $225/year.
There’s other miscellaneous perks associated with it that are basically immaterial.

I have never wanted a timeshare or been enticed by one, but this seems like a very good deal.

II and RCI are kinda sorta the same thing.
Get clarification on your exchanges. Are the based on points, color, time of year etc. this is one of the big areas people don't check. For instance we had a 'Blue' week which was the least desirable. Red weeks were the most desirable. It was difficult for us to trade our Blue week in for a Red week.
Also understand that just because you CAN transfer the week does not mean that you will get the week and/or resort you want.
As you state it you have a 5900 up front cost then regardless of where you stay you pay 149?
The maintenance fee sounds about right. We were just off the beach and paid 400/yr
One last thing. Check on the additional costs you incur when they make 'upgrades' to the resort.

[jcmanson]

II has their resorts based on category levels – Elite, Premier, I don’t know what the other levels are. We have a Premier, so we can trade for anything Premier and lower. We cannot trade for an Elite. We can book our weeks as soon as 12 months in advance, and as long as there is availability, they tell us we can get in no problem. You can book online.

Yes, regardless of where we stay, we pay $149, or if its out of the US it’s $169.

We were told any “upgrades” to the resort would be covered in our maintenance fee which we have locked into for the next 3 years (2013, 14 & 15). At that point it could and likely will increase. The sales agent told us it’s usually “around 6 or 7 dollars per member” increase per year.

[Purple Haize]

II has their resorts based on category levels – Elite, Premier, I don’t know what the other levels are. We have a Premier, so we can trade for anything Premier and lower. We cannot trade for an Elite. We can book our weeks as soon as 12 months in advance, and as long as there is availability, they tell us we can get in no problem. You can book online.

Yes, regardless of where we stay, we pay $149, or if its out of the US it’s $169.

We were told any “upgrades” to the resort would be covered in our maintenance fee which we have locked into for the next 3 years (2013, 14 & 15). At that point it could and likely will increase. The sales agent told us it’s usually “around 6 or 7 dollars per member” increase per year.

I'd back out and buy an Elite level place on the secondary market. The key word is AVAILABILITY. Remember availability is based on the owners who own at that resort followed by Elite members who put in their request followed by your request on a first come first serve basis.
You can ask if you can save a request. For instance, you want to spend the 4th of July at Virginia Beach. Can you put a request in and they will contact you once it becomes available or do you have to call back and see what they have at that moment?
Hope that helps. They do make it sound good. Ont they?

[jcmanson]

I appreciate the insight. They do make it sound good. I’ve been on these presentations before and was never enticed. I wasn’t enticed yesterday until he brought the price down to $4900. That made me actually think about it.

[Purple Haize]

I appreciate the insight. They do make it sound good. I’ve been on these presentations before and was never enticed. I wasn’t enticed yesterday until he brought the price down to $4900. That made me actually think about it.

That's a solid price about what we paid. We more then got our money's worth but I'm just sharing what I would do if I had to do it again.

[jcmanson]

Thanks. I have no experience with these things so I'm a little apprehensive. I wouldn't have done it if they didn't give us the 72 hour opt out clause.

[Purple Haize]

Thanks. I have no experience with these things so I'm a little apprehensive. I wouldn't have done it if they didn't give us the 72 hour opt out clause.

Be prepared to catch grief when you don and be prepared to be nasty!

[Sly Fox]

Yeah, my parents backed out a year or so ago after initially agreeing while on a trip to Branson. The phone call wasn't pleasant but they have generally left them alone outside of some mailers.

Since we homeschool, we have tons of flexibility in when we travel for vacations. But if you have kids in school, it is generally very tough to schedule timeshares. Just something to consider are your kids start getting a tad older.

[Cider Jim]

I wasn’t enticed yesterday until he brought the price down to $4900.

That amount would buy a really nice used CAMPER, too.

[Hold My Own]

My Fiance's parents have that same deal you're talking about JC. They havent been disgusted or hate that they did it, but they did recently tell me they wouldnt do it again. The only experience I have with some of the "resorts" (hotels, let's be honest) is at VA Beach...both this year and last year was not a good experience with not a lot of good options and just seemed old a little dirty. But we did trade one stay for a get away to Orlando and the place was really nice. We used another for Las Vegas which was nice (Hilton). I think its hit or miss...its hard to get the reservations though because they go really quick.

[Purple Haize]

My Fiance's parents have that same deal you're talking about JC. They havent been disgusted or hate that they did it, but they did recently tell me they wouldnt do it again. The only experience I have with some of the "resorts" (hotels, let's be honest) is at VA Beach...both this year and last year was not a good experience with not a lot of good options and just seemed old a little dirty. But we did trade one stay for a get away to Orlando and the place was really nice. We used another for Las Vegas which was nice (Hilton). I think its hit or miss...its hard to get the reservations though because they go really quick.

We spent a week in Vegas at the Wyndham resort behind the MGM. All I can say is WOW it was awesome. I WOULD buy one there if we bought another one. I love me some Vegas.

[BJWilliams]

if you do your homework jc (and it certainly looks like you have), they can be a wonderful way to take a trip on the cheap, whether its just you and your wife or its a full family gathering

[bradyfan]

Ahhhh, timeshares eh?

Some people love them and others hate them.

My opinion: These look like a really good idea on paper but they generally end up being a waste of money. Additionally, many people buy these thinking that they are buying part of the property but they're really just buying time on that property. They make sense if you find a particular resort that you like and you're willing to stay there each year. You also have to account for the maintenance fees you'll be paying each year, regardless if you actually use the timeshare. I also read a stat somewhere that says timeshares lose 40-75% of their value, the minute you purchase them. It's similar to buying a new car, once you drive it off the lot, it depreciates. I don't know what your financial situation is, but beach front or lake front real estate is a much better investment.

[jcmanson]

beach front or lake front real estate is a much better investment.

Purchasing a timeshare is not an investment. You said it yourself, they depreciate. Why would you invest in something that depreciates?

[From the class of 09]

beach front or lake front real estate is a much better investment.

Purchasing a timeshare is not an investment. You said it yourself, they depreciate. Why would you invest in something that depreciates?

Actually one of the bigger selling points for real estate is depreciation Negative net income with positive cash flow is a big selling point.

Oh you mean actual price depreciation not some crazy idea created by the IRS. Gotcha