What is involved in buying a timeshare?

[alexsmith]

I want to buy a timeshare ownership. I like to know about the rental timeshare and timeshare exchange in details. What is involved in buying a timeshare? Please forward me reliable timeshare company’s web site links.

Thanks in advanced.
Alex

 

[Howard Klahr]

Here is one ...

timeshares.com - All About Timeshares

Hope it hels

 

[Restrain]

Never buy from one of these timeshare companies. Buy one off of Ebay. Prices range from $300-$600 per week. Never pay what Wyndham, etc want to sell one for. Also, beware of Wyndham as they are not selling deeded weeks. They have, what I consider, a scam going, where they sell "points". You are only buying the right to visit a Wyndham resort and paying $10-20K for that right, not mentioning all the maintenance fees.

Go out to Ebay and check closed sales, and it will give you a good idea for what you should actually pay for a time share. That being said, I've got a couple I purchased that way. It's a much cheaper way to travel. I've gone to see the Mouse in Orlando, stayed in a 4-star golf resort, 2 bedroom condominium, and my fee was $125 plus my maintenance fee for my home resort of $400. Try getting a week's hotel room with such amenities.

 

[JRS at OBX]

They go up for foreclosure on the courthouse steps here every week. I think you can pick them up for pennies.

 

[Mike Boyd]

There are two types of resorts. I forget what they are called but for discussion puposes, let's call the RED and BLUE.

RED is prime....in the hottest area and much in demand and usually with more amenities. You can trade your deeded time with almost any other resort anywhere in the world.

BLUE is in a marginal location at a marginal resort and with few amenities. You can also trade your time but only for another BLUE resort. In most cases, you can upgrade your trade from BLUE to RED but with a hefty fee.

Strahan is correct. Decide where you want your timeshare to be headquartered and shop ebay or some other major shopping source. Do not buy from the developer or from an agent dedicated to getting the highest price. There are literally thousands for sale at any given time. Shop around before you buy and compare prices.

 

[Thomas Fiehler]

I would look for one that has the points and not just a week. I believe Strahan is incorrect because we have a deeded week but we have over 300K points. We can use the points anyplace there are resorts and the # of points depends on the size and time of use. We could get a 4 week efficiency for the same # of points plus we are not locked to a specific week. We can use it for as few as a 1 night stay so if you are traveling that can be helpful. Points that are not used can be used for other items like tickets to Disney that never expire (just keeping going up every year). Just do your homework and I would not overlook the timeshares.com website as you can bid what you want to offer. Now if you want something in Cancun, I have a friend who is getting divorced and wants to sell his and donate proceeds to charity.

 

[ccooper]

ditto above. don't buy from a timeshare resale company or from the devloper. I bought a timeshare from a buddy of mine for less than 1/2 the cost new.

I also own a full condo at a project here in Branson that was put into the RCI system years ago. I have the condo on a nightly rental program and am able to bank as many weeks of the year as I want to (up to 50). I just pick out which weeks during the peak season are the slowest and bank 2 or 3 each year.

If you have questions, RCI.com can give you some help on which projects might be better or which red/white weeks would be better for trading. They are not the only trading company but they are the one that I use.

If you are trading to a very sought after destination, you have to put your request in really early. A couple of years back we had a family reunion in Lake Tahoe. I got 4 condos at Christmas but I put in my request almost 3 years in advance.