Buying Timeshare?

We are considering buying a Time Share in Hawaii, having sat through the usual Resort marketing process and then decided it is better to buy privately and only consider Wyndham due to the RCI opportunities. We are from Australia and looking to buy Hawaii (Honolulu) due to the popularity of the exchange there, it is a place we would probably visit on a regular basis although not every year, utilising the exchange. On recieving RedWeek newsletters I have been reading the forums and am now wondering if it is really a good idea to purchase a timeshare at all. I would love to hear from members as to their thoughts, as there does not seem to be alot of positive feedback in the forums in regards maintenance fees etc. and willing it to the kids. If you had your chance again, would you buy ??? Thanks to all Marg

Well first of all, you were very smart not to buy from one of those sales presentations. Secondly, you were also very smart to look at resale and do some research before jumping at any purchasing opportunities.

That being said, what I would do is check reputable resale site (here on RedWeek, Timeshare Users Group, E-Bay, Craigslist, My Resort Network, etc.) and check what the going rate for rentals is. Then compare the going rate for rentals to what the maintenance fees are.

If you see that you can rent for about the maintenance fees, or even less than the maintenance fees, then I would just rent. However, if it's the opposite and "it is a place we would probably visit on a regular basis although not every year, utilising the exchange", then buying may make more sense for you.

Also consider the accompanying travel expenses and rigors before buying. For instance, you say you are from Australia. Consider the 10-hr. flight each way as well as the cost. Is that something you think you could handle most years? What about the cost of fuel in Hawaii, car rental, parking, groceries and restaurants, activities?

A good rule of thumb before buying a timeshare (and a lifelong commitment to ever-increasing maintenance fees) is to wait about six months. Ask questions (like you're doing now) and do research. Six months down the road, there will still be "deals" on buying timeshares like there are now.

I think you are smart to look at purchasing a timeshare in a desirable area where you want to vacation. When our kids where little in the early 90's we bought a timeshare in Hawaii through the sales presentation and spent a lot of money every other year and then several years later we vacationed there on our every ohter year trip and loved it and bought a second one so that we could extend our time to 2 weeks and the have once for each child. They salespeople would insist that if we did not buy directly from them that our benefits would somehow not be as good and that is why my husband elected to go with the resort and not the timeshart resale places at the discounted rates. We did use the timeshares ivery year, we took our kids on great vacations to Hawaii and all over the world. We signed up for RCI and did the exchanges system and our other property is a Hilton one. Now that the kids are grown our two bedroom units in Hawaii are too big for our needs and we can either rent them and break even, if we do not want to go during that vacation year, or with our Hilton property we can stay in a 1 bedroom unit for more days and they equal the value of my unit. Regarding the gifting. My kids do not want it, so don'g think that your kids will want it down the road. Regarding selling. I tried selling my Maui every other year 1BR unit which is located in Kaanipali Beach on the beach on Ebay / Craiglist for $1.00 + closing costs and it did not sell - so you cannot bet that you will be able to sell even Hawaii easily. The we had the Timeshare professional people cme to use that guaranteed to sell it for us and we paid two places money for guaranteed sales, and it did not sell and they disappeared with our money. It can rent for the maintenance fees.

Thanks for your feedback, good food for thought. We have been researching and our thoughts are that Hawaii (Honolulu) is a popular place and timeshare weeks are in demand for trading (I suppose we would pay a premium for this) We like to travel overseas every second year therefore we could trade our weeks for other countries ie Europe and other parts of US, there is also Wyndham in Australia to enable us to use our weeks here. Are we correct in assuming this will all work??? On researching I am still not sure on the definition of Deed and Floating, the Timeshare we originaly looked at was a Title for a specific unit and a specific week of the year. I really have no idea what the Floating Week option is !! Could this be expained in simple terms? In regards Maintenance Fees, is there any where I can find the average increase rate in fees, is this regulated at all or do they charge what they feel like or do they only increase when major works are required on the property??

margd9 wrote:

I really have no idea what the Floating Week option is !! Could this be expained in simple terms?

A floating week is a week within a specific timeframe (ie: all year or within certain months). When owning a floating week you need to make reservations well in advance to get the timeframe you prefer, especially for popular locations/times.

margd9 wrote:

Thanks for your feedback, good food for thought. We have been researching and our thoughts are that Hawaii (Honolulu) is a popular place and timeshare weeks are in demand for trading (I suppose we would pay a premium for this) We like to travel overseas every second year therefore we could trade our weeks for other countries ie Europe and other parts of US, there is also Wyndham in Australia to enable us to use our weeks here. Are we correct in assuming this will all work???

Be aware that trading for where you want to go and the timeframe you prefer is NOT guaranteed (depends on supply and demand). If you prefer popular locations at popular times you will need to deposit your week well in advance (some people deposit a year in advance) and start a search.

It looks like you really need to research timesharing backwards and forwards and inside and out before making a decision. When we were into timesharing there were no point systems (only deeded and floating weeks). Now, there are so many different point systems out there that it blows my mind to even think about researching all of them.

As someone else stated, if you can rent for somewhere close to maintenance fees then renting is the way to go as owning will be an albatross around your neck forever or until your week or points are sold along with ever increasing yearly maintenance fees.

Also, in this bad economy Hawaii is not as popular as it once was due to the cost of flying (and standing in long lines to go through security), rental car etc.

RENT, RENT, RENT. I've been the timeshare route. Maintenance fees never stop going UP! Any purchase moneys would be better put to use in a retirement account or buying a new car. Do an internet search for "vacation rentals." You'll be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Based upon my limited experience with having owned a timeshare (once) and renting many times, I heartily agree that renting is much better. My wife and I purchased a 1 week early April time share at Marco Island, FL in the 1980s when we had small children. After never visiting the place again we rented our share some years, traded for nice places 3 times, and ate our ever increasing owner fees, taxes, and insurance a few other years. A broker called us out of the blue one day and asked if we were willing to sell! When the purchaser met our price (a few thou above what we paid) we gladly accepted. The broker's commission ate up all profit.

I've had both a very negative experience of timeshare and swore I'd not do it again and then a very positive experience! We stayed at the Le meridien Limassol in the hotel without realizing it was also timeshare (fantastic) but it cost £800/week. Then 1 year later I found a timeshare resale for a 1 bedroom which cost £1800/21years and have been delighted ever since, annual maintenance fees (~£350/wk) have not increased much over 8 years. My advice would be the same as everyone else, truly pick somewhere you could use repeatedly. If you have a young family then the extra space you get over hotel rooms or family suites with separate bedrooms is in my opinion worth it. My experience with the cost of hotel suites in nice hotels says the cost of my timeshare is peanuts compared to the 000's I pay on these other weeks as I do not like to be couped up in a small room and want all the facilities of a top class hotel. Pick your timeshare wisely and you can be quids in!

i bought my timeshare about ten years ago....it was connected with fairfield which later got bought out by wyndham. i bought on the secondary market thru holiday group....paid about $2700....

for me the overall experience has been positive...if it all disappeared today - i think i got my money's worth out of it all. HOWEVER, as the years go by and the yearly fees go up along with this added fee and that added charge etc etc etc is not quite as good of a deal as it was when i first began....

if you keep your up front costs at a reasonable level it is worth doing what you are doing....checking it out & considering.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned but has become important in recent years is to researdh the financial condition of the timeshare. MANY timeshares are struggling since the recent economic downturn. Owners are abanding their units and or failing to pay their maintenance fees. Some locations are selling for next to nothing--I recently purchased a 2-bedroom beachfront condo timeshare for $67 and no closing fees. They want paying owners. Have used the unit with great pleasure for three years.

Also, i am not thrilled with exchanges. I mostly use my 6 weeks or rent them. First, you spend hundred to belong to the exchange company (althought some are now available for less or even free). Then you spend $14o to $180 fors the exchange. There are thousands of complaints on line from owners unhappy that they cannot get the exchange they want--if they can get one at all. For close to the total of exchanging plus your maintenance fees you can rent easier and with greater flexibility (visit several cities rather than be tied up for a whole week).

Finally I got some great advice 25 years ago when I was buying my first timeshare--ONLY BUY A PROPERTY YOU EXPECT TO USE NEARLY EVERY YEAR. I, or my kids or friends, use all of my weeks every year. I have not traded for nearly 20 years. I have rented one out when illness prevented using, but after 25 years we sill look forward to our week in New Orleans every year.

My advice is if you find a reasonbly priced timeshare that you really would want to use most years, go for it. Otherwise economically and enjoyment-wise You probably you should use a competant travel agent to arrange your vacations.

In response to your request for opinions on buying timeshares, let me say this: We are feeling very lucky these days, we managed to get rid of our 3 deeded timeshare contracts in Hawaii. We turned them back to the developer and will never purchase another. The fees plus a special assessment had produced an astronomical bill each year. We had our money's worth and wanted out plus our kids will never be able to afford them. If you buy, only buy deeded contracts.

As an Australian, you most likely can get very good rates on hotel packages in Hawaii as you do on cruises, European travel, etc. Stick to that, I would say and avoid timeshare ownership. Of course, if you don't pay your maintenance fees in the U.S., your credit probably will not be harmed in Australia either unless Wyndham has Australian connections. Good luck!

We are fans of timeshares having purchased our first 2 weeks in Spain in 1986. We followed that with a week in Idaho, US, when we made one of our first exchanges and later an odd year week in Kona, Hawaii (our favorite island). The week in Idaho is a fixed red week and we usually go there every year. The weeks in Spain have converted to points and we have only been there once but have used this resort to exchange for many places around the world. Over the years we have added to the odd year week in Hawaii so that now we own a total of 6 weeks at the same resort (2 weeks were bought last year). The weeks we own are all in winter floating time so we can escape some of the Canadian wintertime although we sometimes will exchange our Kona time for other places. All our weeks are deeded so we can rent them, gift them, and will them. We had one bad experience with a timeshare we bought which ultimately went bankrupt. It was a leased type and the developer skimmed the maintenance fees. We frequently rent condos for added vacation time as well, but to get equivalent timeshare quality and be able to stay where we want to be we have found the rental fees generally exceed the average cost of our timeshare maintenance fees. Here is a summary of our do's and don'ts and the benefits when considering whether a timeshare is for you.

Do: - Choose one you would visit often - Choose a fee simple property (deeded not leased) - Buy on the used market - Check rating for exchanging (prime/red time?) - Consider ones using points - Ask about condo fees (Currency? When payable?) - Investigate whether or not the owners are involved in the decisions Don't: - Treat the purchase as an investment - Buy if you can't plan ahead - Expect condo fees not to increase - Expect exchanges to always work Benefits: - Prepaid quality accommodation - Not tied to one place - No maintenance chores - Can start small - Can exchange around the world (Join RCI or II)

I support this posting... as it very closely follows my own experience, including one bad property ownership that went under. I haven't used points, so no experience there.

I'm up to three timeshares now - one I use every year, one that I use frequently and trade sometimes, one that is a red week with good trading power and lower maintenance fees that I almost always trade. My expense (maint. fees, etc.) gives me more than just booking a rental.

christinea70 wrote:

We are fans of timeshares having purchased our first 2 weeks in Spain in 1986. We followed that with a week in Idaho, US, when we made one of our first exchanges and later an odd year week in Kona, Hawaii (our favorite island). The week in Idaho is a fixed red week and we usually go there every year. The weeks in Spain have converted to points and we have only been there once but have used this resort to exchange for many places around the world. Over the years we have added to the odd year week in Hawaii so that now we own a total of 6 weeks at the same resort (2 weeks were bought last year). The weeks we own are all in winter floating time so we can escape some of the Canadian wintertime although we sometimes will exchange our Kona time for other places. All our weeks are deeded so we can rent them, gift them, and will them. We had one bad experience with a timeshare we bought which ultimately went bankrupt. It was a leased type and the developer skimmed the maintenance fees. We frequently rent condos for added vacation time as well, but to get equivalent timeshare quality and be able to stay where we want to be we have found the rental fees generally exceed the average cost of our timeshare maintenance fees. Here is a summary of our do's and don'ts and the benefits when considering whether a timeshare is for you.

Do: - Choose one you would visit often - Choose a fee simple property (deeded not leased) - Buy on the used market - Check rating for exchanging (prime/red time?) - Consider ones using points - Ask about condo fees (Currency? When payable?) - Investigate whether or not the owners are involved in the decisions Don't: - Treat the purchase as an investment - Buy if you can't plan ahead - Expect condo fees not to increase - Expect exchanges to always work Benefits: - Prepaid quality accommodation - Not tied to one place - No maintenance chores - Can start small - Can exchange around the world (Join RCI or II)

I have owned timeshares from almost the beginning of the concept. My first timeshare was a 13 year term. It was in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Then the timeshare industry grew and I purchased two in Ormond Beach, Florida. I used them exclusively for trading through RCI. I had great exchanges for many years until RCI was bought out by Cendant and they started selling the prime weeks on the open market depriving members of those exchanges.

Then the maintenance fees started increasing more that expected. I was also hit with special assessments. It became more than I was willing to pay especially since I was having trouble getting decent exchanges through RCI.

I finally got rid of those two timeshares through deed backs two years ago. I have just one timeshare left. That is at the Jockey Club in Las Vegas. This one I will never part with. I go there often and when I don't use it I rent it out through their in house rental program. It pays my maintenance fees and I've never had a problem renting it. It's on the strip between Cosmopolitan and Bellagio. It's run by Tricom Realty. They keep the maintenance fees low and the property is well maintained.

If I choose to travel anywhere besides Las Vegas I will go to Redweek or another site and rent one. This way I am not committed to ever increasing maintenance fees and assessments.

I think Christnea70 wrote a very helpful thread. Her advise is right on the money. I hope more people will read her thread before committing themselves to a lifetime contract.

I'm sorry we ever bought our timeshare..Our maintenance fees go up every year..we paid alot for it to begin with (about $25,000!) We have to pay to exchange it to go somewhere other than our home resort..have even had to pay to go TO our home resort since we had deposited our week already...It's a never ending pay pay pay! We didn't know much about it when we bought it..It was our own fault..we should have researched it more....Do your research if you're considering buying. I know people that are giving them away just to get rid of the maintenance fees...Have never tried to rent it..maybe we should...

I own 6 weeks (Maui, Desert Springs, CA and West Palm Beach, FL) for 10 years through Marriott. My family totally enjoyed our vacations and the have always found the properties to be very well maintained. However, my circumstances have changed and now I am finding it very difficult to sell my timeshares. I think Marriott needs to improve their resale efforts on behalf of owners, because that is the only reason I would not recommend buying.

I agree totally with Camille. Timeshare ownership is a good experience at first. Then when your circumstances change and you don't wish to travel as much there should be an exit plan. The problem is that when we first purchase our timeshare we are elated and don't think of what might happen down the road. We don't consider that we agreed to a lifetime commitment when we signed on the bottom line.

I advise anyone thinking about buying into a timeshare or vacation club to research the web and ask a lot of questions before obligating yourself to a lifetime of maintence fees and assessments. Just like buying a boat the happiest times are when you buy it and sell it.

Cogent response.

Saved me the time in replying to the original question.

Lastly, not too many resorts can offer the unit size of a timeshare at a time share maintenance cost.

Good Evening, I just read your "buying timeshare" info. Just curious how you were able to sell your timeshare? I thought the brokers were all scams? We have tried to sell our multiple different ways and have never had any luck. We don't trust all the companies that call us all the time to buy them. We have just read so much on scams and how these companies say they will buy your property, but you have to put money down and then you never hear from them again. We own two in Myrtle Beach SC, we live in NC. We do use ours alot to go scuba diving at different islands, but really want to sell them. We are like everyone else. We are tired of the fees to trade and the annual maintenance fees going up every year. We tried to give them away and nobody wants them. They are truly a curse. Everyone always seems so unhappy about the same issues. I really don't know how this industry is able to get away with this. ITs such scam. Sorry to vent, just wondering if you have any recommndations or suggestions? Thanks