To Buy or Not to Buy…a Time Share
I asked the dads about TIME SHARES…here’s what they said.
Hey Todd,
I read your emails all the time, though this is my first response.
We own a timeshare.We love it. While the cost of the annual maintenance fee is pricey, (variable to the amount of points to own), we take several vacations a year. We’ve been to Scotland, Germany, and all over the US.With 4 kids, and travel baseball, it’s getting tougher to find time, though we have used it a few times for baseball also.Our timeshare is pretty flexible.We can use points for campsites, resorts, cruises, hotel rooms…I would ultimately say the price is they negative…Though, since I’m a tight wad, if we didn’t own it, we probably wouldn’t vacation often. Since we do own it, we’re always looking for new places to explore, and where we can travel to.To the extent that my kids always ask… “Where are we going to go this year”!I appreciate all you do, and the stories you send!Thank you! ~ Tim Borow
Actually, we own several.We, like you, had the intention of going for the freebies – but caved (partly because we were younger) when the emotional call went out – and he had us.I have mixed results on likes/dislikes.The first timeshare we bought on our honeymoon in the Bahamas. I’ve been less than pleased with the company, their ethics, and how they dealt with us after they had our signature on the paperwork and wound up never using it – paid it off and never used it. This was a type that gives you so many points per year over a 20 year usage contract. I’d HIGHLY recommend AGAINST this type as you are merely leasing time in the general pool, based on how many points you paid to get each year. The good news? When your time is up, you get to walk away. The bad news? The number of points you get don’t actually give you nearly what the salesman implies.The second timeshare we bought (less than a week later) was in Florida for a percentage of a deed of a property. I see a LOT more value in this, as we own a percentage of a deed of physical property. We actually own 1 week of a property, every OTHER year – so 1/104th of the property is deeded to us. The good news? We own a deed to physical property. The bad news? We own a deed to physical property, so we don’t have the option to walk away (don’t plan on reselling a timeshare – the market is flooded), so you get to count on the expense of upkeep each year to ensure that physical property is taken care of.The third timeshare we bought when we went back to visit the 2nd timeshare property. We were convinced into refinancing the remainder of what we still owed on the 2nd timeshare into a new loan for it and the 3rd timeshare. Now we own 1/52nd of a deeded property and get a week EVERY year instead of every other year.Everything has now been paid off for many many years, so the only cost is the upkeep fees each year. They tend to go up a small amount each year, but still less than what we’d pay for a nice hotel for a week each year. The key to the timeshare industry is to get a “red” week – something that is in high demand for easy exchange. Supply/Demand means that you need to have the supply piece that everyone wants. This allows you to exchange to anyone else that is also wanting to exchange. We’ve exchanged several times over the years – actually only staying at our deeded property location once.Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any questions you have – more than happy to help. Like anything else in this world, there are pros and cons to timeshares – just depends on what is truly a good fit, with the emotions removed. ~ Jason Robbins
Timeshares are awesome! However, the industry also has some shady sales tactics and is extremely complex which keeps many in the dark and companies making profits.I went into a sales pitch under the same conditions you did. Except I was weak and walked out an owner over a decade ago. Ownership did provide some wonderful family times. I don’t regret owning, but I regret how I became an owner.There are thousands of timeshares that people are trying to unload. Often for pennies. It isn’t usually the cost of the deed that is the problem but the fees that go along with it. Whether you pay thousands of dollars or a few cents for ownership, here are some other fees to be aware of:Maintenance fees – range from a few hundred to over $1000 each year.Membership dues for an exchange company.Exchange fees.Fee to save points (if points system).Extra housekeeping fees.Guest fees.If you buy smart, then timesharing is a great way to encourage annual, inexpensive vacations and provide comfortable accommodations. We like it because with a kitchen you don’t have to eat out all the time.A great resource to learn about timeshares independent of the big exchange companies is the timeshare users group. They offer a ton of free information. They also have additional membership perks for cheap ($10/year).Site isHopefully that helps direct you or others. I would get a referral benefit if you join and use my number below, but that is not the reason I am providing the resource.A fellow homeschooling dad,Nathan ZampellaHenrietta, NYTug # 32646
Saw your latest note about the timeshare spiel and I couldn’t agree more — our best times as a family have come on vacations (and my wife sees to it that we vacation about 12-weeks per year; since we homeschool and I work from home, we can do that!)Anyway, about timeshares — our family is actually the third generation of owners through Wyndham. From my wife’s grandparents, to her parents, to us…we’ve accumulated a lot of points and that gives us a lot of weeks and perks through Wyndham as VIP Gold owners. Let me tell you this — where we’re at is great. We love the perks, we love the resorts, we love the flexibility…and we take maximum advantage of it all. However, it’s horrible math!!! I would strongly dissuade anyone from buying a timeshare new, at retail, from a developer. They’re expensive up front, they cost a lot in maintenance fees over time, and it’s hard to get enough points to achieve the sort of status and flexibility we now enjoy (I think if we added it all up, our three generations have spent $180k or more on timeshare contracts). If I was going to advise anyone who wants to vacation with timeshares smartly, these things can be bought for pennies on the dollar in the resale market (check out resources like redweek.com and tugbbs (https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php). A prospective owner buying resale can never achieve “VIP” status through buying resale, but you can accumulate enough points cheaply that it really doesn’t matter. As an added vacation resource, you might check out (and advise other dads to check out) Groupon Getaways. I’ve found some crazy good deals on there for all sorts of unimaginable vacations for cheap (I just took our family of 5 to Ireland for 8 nights in castle stays, including airfare and rental car for less than $1k per person…that’s pretty good math for a vacation like that!)Anyway, always enjoy your newsletter and hope to see you again at a conference in the future. Best wishes! ~ Chris Dalton
After myself and three siblings were grown and “out of the house”, my parents bought into a time share. It was one where you could trade your week and go anywhere else in the network.In hindsight (they have since gotten rid of it), it was a fantastic blessing to our family. We used it five times (over about two decades) and were able to take trips that my own 6-member family would never have been able to afford. My parents would absorb the cost of the timeshare; we simply needed to “get there” and pay for a week’s groceries as well as any recreational activities in which we chose to partake.All of our trips were domestic but some of my siblings traveled internationally as well.Hey Todd,
My family is part of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) and it’s awesome. My wife is a huge Disney fan. She was part of the Disney internship program right out of college, and she swears they put something in the water to make you love Disney.The pitch on DVC was two fold….
1. It forces you to take vacations. The whole thing works on “points” that renew each year. If you don’t use your points, you lose them. Who wants to lose points, not me. We use every point every year, which makes us take vacations.2. It upgrades our vacations. They quality of the accommodations and service of anything Disney is second to none. I’m sure we would not have stayed in some of the fancier places if we had to pay cash out of pocket.The points can be banked (saved for the following year) and borrowed (use next years’s points this year) so you can actually use three years points in a single year if needed. We’ve done that a few times now and gone on the Disney cruise. They were awesome, all 6 of them. We went on our honeymoon and then decided we would return to the cruise every 5th anniversary. On our second cruise (our 5th wedding anniversary) we were introduced to DVC and jumped on board. Every cruise since has been paid for with points. We snuck in a few extra cruises between our 5th and 10th anniversary. But On our 10 year anniversary our extended families came along (they paid for themselves). It was my in-laws 40th anniversary so it made some awesome memories. Next year will be our 20th anniversary and the cruise trip has already been booked.
I know it’s expensive (I try not to think about that part of it) but it’s soooooooo worth it. You can’t put a price on the memories that have been and will be made.
~ John Gampp
Hi Tim,
I’m sitting next to the pool at the timeshare my wife and I bought 28 years ago in Sarasota on our second anniversary. We only used it a couple of times in the first few years. Once we had kids we used it more and traded it for other locations a few times. But for about the last 15 years we’ve come here exclusively. And what you said is absolutely true in out case. My wife recognized that having a vacation prearranged and paid for simplified the planning and gave us no excuse not use it. So, we look forward every year to coming here. We love this place and we’ve made many good friends and have watched our families grow, and kids grow up. We only have one kid left to come with us, but our oldest son and his wife will be giving us our first grand baby in a few weeks. Maybe they’ll make this a tradition as well! So for us it’s been great and has created a lifetime of memories. (YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY)~ Greg Meahl** My name is Todd, Greg 🙂
Kim’s Mom and Dad purchased a number of timeshares and we enjoyed them in the beginning but couldn’t wait to get rid of them. Initially, when he was still purchasing units, the timeshare company treated us great and gave us wonderful units. After we tried to start selling them back, everything changed. The big problem with timeshares is the maintenance fee that is forever (like taxes) even if you don’t use them. After you own a timeshare, they are next to impossible to get rid of. Kim’s dad was lucky enough to find a company that bought his timeshares at a heavily reduced price, but it got us out of the annual maintenance fees. I have heard of another company through the Dave Ramsey show that will get you out of your contract for a fee. I believe the fee is in the thousands of dollars though. I would not encourage anyone to get involved with a timeshare.
~ Jim Bouchillon
Hi Todd,
Greetings from the state of Maryland. I had the pleasure of meeting you and your family back in 2015 at a homeschool convention in Richmond, Virginia. I am one of those rare breeds of dad who homeschools his children and also simultaneously runs a small business, in my case a small law practice.Anyway, I have accumulated several timeshares over the past 10+ years, many of them either free or quite cheap. I have used them to make priceless memories taking my family on vacation for several weeks out of the year, or have made a little bit of cash on the side by renting them out. My family and friends often refer to me as the Donald Trump of timeshares! Well I never set out to be a timeshare tycoon, nevertheless they have been a great blessing for our family.If I could share a few simple tips, I think it would be informative for you and the Dad’s on your email list.1. Never buy at a timeshare sales presentation. If you go to a sales presentation, even with nice freebies, you will be paying a premium for your timeshare that is not necessary for you to do.2. Re-sale Market. There is a huge resale Market for timeshares where you can buy a Timeshare from someone who no longer wants theirs. Many timeshare resellers are willing to transfer their timeshare ownership interest to you for pennies on the dollar (often free) compared to what they paid for it when they bought it from the developer.3. Location. When you buy a Timeshare, choose a location that you would like to go to every year (or every other year) with your family, and a place that you can drive to within one day or so. Many people fall into the trap buying a timeshare in a distant place such as Hawaii or Mexico, which means that just to get to your timeshare each year will cost you thousands of dollars in plane tickets.4. Annual maintenance fees…..BUT: Every timeshare has annual maintenance fees which can range from $600-$1,100/year (or even more) depending on the location, age, and amenities offered by the timeshare, so go in knowing that there will be maintenance fees, find out how much they are and how often and by how much they have increased historically. BUT, when you compare the price of maintenance fees to the cost of a hotel room(s) large enough to accommodate your family, you will usually find that the maintenance fees are LESS, often significantly. Moreover, with a timeshare you get a whole deluxe condo with more square footage, usually 2 bedrooms, full kitchen with appliances, usually a sleeper sofa in a separate living room, and usually nice amenities (pool(s), exercise room, business center, etc.) and/or activities offered by the resort; you will not simply be in a hotel with 2 beds, a rollaway cot, mini-fridge and microwave. So usually you will end up getting much more and paying the same or less than a hotel – there’s really no comparison between the accommodations in one versus the other. This is the value of a good timeshare.5. Exchange (or rent). All timeshare resorts allow you to exchange your vacation week to go elsewhere, depending upon availability, through an exchange company (RCI or Interval International). There are fees associated with exchanges, but if you plan well ahead of time (key) then you are usually able to exchange for something good elsewhere. However the uncertainty of exchanging is why you want to make sure that your “home resort” is a place that you enjoy going to, in the event that you do not get your desired exchange. If you can’t use your week, you can rent it out either through the resort or on the open market and usually break even or often make a small profit.Let me know if you have any follow-up questions or concerns. I really appreciate your ministry, Todd. I lead Men’s Ministry in my local congregation. Blessings to you and your family! ~Paul Rivera
This Post Has 0 Comments