Timeshares? Good or Bad

[CdnBlingGal]

Hey all,

I need some help. Friends of ours signed up for a timeshare with the ''points'' system. This is with Point to Point Destination and they are affiliates of RCI. I''ve been doing some research and I have come up with a lot of negative information about timeshares. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with either company or if anyone has any feedback in regards to timeshares. Anything will help.

 

[Dee*Jay]

My dad has a timeshare in Orlando that be bought about 15 years ago. It was not on the points system, but rather he paid a set amount of $ and they are entitled to use the property for a certain week each year. They can also trade it but that proves to be QUITE difficult (we've tried twice now and both times ended up settling for something that was not at all what we started out looking for).

The points system, as I understand it, is that you buy a certain number of points and then you can go where ever you want--if there's availability--and "pay" with those points. On one of the two times we switched they tried to get my dad to trade his current time share for points. No way.

Personally I think the points systems is a bad deal. You're essentially pre-paying for your vacations. That might be good if you look at it in terms of today's dollars and consider the time value of money, but it's bad if you consider that they are in complete control of how many points it takes to stay somewhere. So, if it costs 10,000 points for a week in Aspen now it could cost 20,000 for that same week in Aspen next year, and 30,000 for that week in Aspen an time after that. Plus, you are at the mercy of availability, and no matter what they tell you IT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS to go where ever you want.

ETA: I forgot to say that with the first system you have what I consider to be more of a true "asset." For instance, when my dad passes away he plans to leave me the time share, but once the points are gone, they're gone.

 

[movie zombie]

i think all time shares are basically a rip.....try and sell one on the ''used'' market. a fried did this in the last year and took a real loss.

movie zombie

 

[CdnBlingGal]

I totally agree with you both. I have to vent though...

We''ve tried to tell our friends to hold off and cancel their membership before it''s too late. Do some research and if they still think it''s a good deal then do it. They went into the presentation without any research and since our friends didn''t feel the sales pressure, they figure it was a good deal and signed up for it. Point to Point Destinations did a reverse psychology on them and it worked.

They pay around $213.00 a month plus $279.00 for maintenance fees. They get 25,000 points a year so this works out to about $2800 a year for 7 years and after that, the timeshare is theirs.

They have 17 properties. They''re in BC -in which they live here, Ontario, Texas, Hawaii, Minnesota and Arizona. (They won''t go to most of them so what''s the point of owning timeshares at these places?)

They can take their points and exchange them for airline tickets, cruise, car rentals, other properties worldwide and etc through their affilate RCI points.

Okay, now our friends have twins and a 17 yr old son. They don''t have a whole lot of money that they can just throw away. All they figure is that this will allow them to travel every year for cheap. Where do they think this is going to be cheap? They''re paying $2800.00 already for accomadations, what about airfare and all the processing fees and exchange fees?

They think that with the affliate RCI points, they''re going to be able to get the flights they want for 50% less; sure but will you be able to get the flights you want is the question. It''s not like there are not 100,000+ other timeshare holders worldwide that are thinking the same thing as them plus they have booked a year in advance.

Then, with only 25,000 points, it limits them to where they can go unless they spend more money to buy more points. So where the heck is the savings? This membership is going to cause more grief for them then it''s worth.

I really hope I''m wrong about this. Thanks for letting me vent. Argh!!!

 

[movie zombie]

like you, i hate seeing my friends...especially those that can''t afford it...be stupid with their resources. but it is their decision, their $$$, and their life.

you''ve done your duty and tried to get them to do research. when they piss and moan about how they got ripped or about how they''re so locked into these places unless they spend more $$$ to expand their destination list or how much its costing them to get to their destination, tell them you don''t want to hear it and change the subject of discussion.

it is so well known how these things work, i''m surprised that people still fall for it.

my friend got a bit of use out of hers as she was ''shopping around'' the west coast for places to buy a home and eventually move to. however, renting motel/hotell room would have been cheaper in the long run.

if your friends are really insisting they''re going to do this, they should buy from someone that is trying to unload theirs. they''d save some $$$ and make someone very happy.

movie zombie

 

[Mara]

this has always sounded tempting but not really...one of my friends is talking about buying a house in hawaii with some friends which sounds intriguing as well except that then you are locked into it with other people...don''t know that i''d want to own property with friends. maybe family.

 

[pinkflamingo]

I have never heard or read very positive things about them. We considered getting one in Key West, because we adore it there and would love a place to stay in every year. But, really, there are no savings. I have read horror stories of people leaving horrendous messes before they leave, and who wants to spend vacay cleaning? (supposedly there was a maid service but they barely cleaned anything- it wasn''t like clean like a nice hotel). It ended up being more expensive than a nice hotel, so what''s the point?

 

[cpster]

I really don''t think timeshares are worth it at all. Besides the purchase price, you have to pay a yearly maitenance fee. We looked at one in Hawaii one year and for the price of the yearly maintenance fee you could just stay at a hotel instead. Also, I agree with others that it will be really hard to trade. Think about it, everyone wants to go to Hawaii or the other popular spots.

If your friends are dead set on doing this, I highly encourage them to look into buying their share off of the resale market. A lot wind up there after people realize what a drag it is to have to pay the yearly maintenance fee even when they don''t use the unit.

Of course if I was rich I would consider fractional ownership with the Ritz Carlton where you get a month or more in the SAME unit, but I haven''t won the lottery yet so that won''t be happenning.

You are a good friend for trying to talk them out of it.

 

[diamondfan]

My dh and I never thought times shares were so great, committing to the same week unless you go through trade hassles and having to go to the same place each time. We then did some research on these vacation clubs which have homes or hotel access all over the world, and you buy a membership of a certain number of days per year. You can chose where you want to go, and of course, it pays to be organized, because you have to consider the other members making their plans and the popular places do get booked up quickly. We went to Mexico with our kids and my mother in law and her boyfriend and we had a great experience overall. They have concierge service to book restaurants and excursions for you, and they have access to house keepers, people to cook for you and babysitting if you need it. It worked out pretty well overall, and we are going to Turks and Caicos this winter with it. Of course, my husband is Mr. Anal, let''s plans our trips out 3 years in advance, so I am always looking up the kid''s schedule for him, BUT, it is nice that he is a take charge guy with this. And, you can decide to change venues or times, no penalties or anything like that. They have places all over and some of them sound really amazing. They also have mulitple places in one locale so if you want to go with a group and not all be in one spot it is great. Since we have three kids and often bring a sitter or my mother in law, I like that we have more space and access to a kitchen and laundry, rather than all being in small and expensive hotel rooms, paying top dollar for high season and paying 75.00 for three kids to have cereal and juice in the morning. We will see how it works in the long term. Another nice thing is you can sell your share back to the company (I think they limit membership so there is always something available to members) and you really do not lose too much. My dh is a researcher and an investigator so if it passed his muster I say, no trouble, and am open minded about giving it a shot.

 

[VegasAngel]

My husband just asked me the other day what I thought about time shares & whether I would want one. He wanted something in Maui. I told him no, I just dont think they are worth it with all the fees & whatnot.