Has anyone ever taken a timeshare deal?
It usually goes something like this:
- The timeshare company gives you some sort of great deal/offer
- In exchange you agree to listen to a pitch about their company and what it offers
Obviously this must work because companies keep doing it.
And what’s really the risk anyway? Often the offer is something that costs the company very little — like free or reduced lodging at one of their places.
In exchange, they get people to sign up for expensive and crazy financial timeshare plans that can’t be easily sold.
But this isn’t a post on what I think about timeshare companies. Instead it’s about our latest adventure with one which will play out over the next few months.
Before we get there, let me review a bit of our past efforts in this area.
My Parents are the Pros
I’m not sure exactly how many of these offers my parents have taken, but I know it’s several.
They are perfect for this sort of thing — they accept the freebies and there’s NO WAY they are buying something.
In fact, my dad is such a tough (i.e. annoying) negotiator that most of the companies probably try to get rid of him at the first possible opportunity.
In exchange they get to travel and stay at places they never would otherwise.
They have taken some offers in Hawaii that I know of and their next one is set up for Las Vegas. Let the good times roll!
Our First Experience
We are not nearly as experienced or as lucky.
A couple years ago we took a timeshare deal when we visited Branson, MO (like I would ever want a timeshare in Branson, but that’s another story).
I can’t remember the specifics but they offered us several incentives which basically cut the cost of our three-day trip in half.
In exchange, we promised to give them two hours of our time.
So when the guy pitching us rounded the two-hour point and seemed to be gaining steam, I was ready to go.
Now let me say that my wife is probably one of the nicest people in the world, and she would never want to do anything to hurt someone’s feelings.
I started making comments like “well, are we close to being done?” which were ignored by the guy and my wife (she didn’t want to seem rude).
So after THREE HOURS we left.
We certainly had a lot to discuss on the car ride home since the TWO HOUR thing was her idea. 😉
Our Latest Adventure
So when the latest opportunity came up, let’s just call me less than excited about it.
Here’s what happened:
- My wife was booking a hotel for us. We decided how to replace our canceled cruise trip (more on that coming in a month or so) and had a 6 am flight the first day. Since we live 1 1/2 hours away from the airport we’ll be using, we needed a room close to the airport for the night before.
- Hilton is our preferred chain because I have a ba-zillion points with them. Hampton Inns are our usual go-to hotels.
- While booking the room my wife was presented with an “opportunity” from Hilton.
I was listening to the conversation from the other room and could guess what was going on.
The Offer
My wife (while on the phone) came in and told me the highlights of the deal:
- We would pay $199 plus tax for a total of $228.45, charged to our Hilton Honors American Express (5x the points).
- In addition, we agreed to attend a 2-hour tour of Hilton’s new timeshare property located in the Georgetown/Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C.
- For this we would receive 3 nights and 4 days to stay in any Hilton hotel in the Washington, DC area.
- We have 18 months (November 2017-May 2019) to use the offer.
- There are no blackout dates, though there is an extra fee at Christmas and New Year’s.
- In addition, we received 5,000 Honors points credited to our account.
- And once we tour the property we will receive a $200 hotel voucher good for any Hilton property in the U.S. to be used within six months.
My first reaction was “NO WAY! NOT THAT AGAIN!!”
But then I started to reconsider. We do like Hilton, so how bad could it be? Plus seeing a new property could be “fun”. As a real estate fan, I always like looking at how properties are developed.
The big kicker is that it’s almost 100% certain we’re going to need a hotel in the DC area sometime in the next 18 months.
My daughter hopes to work there this summer and if she does, we’ll probably help her move there from college in Virginia.
And even if that falls through, we’ll take her back to college next fall and likely spend a few days in D.C. (a city we all love, BTW).
So why not pay for the expense now at a great rate plus get all those extras?
Are We Fools?
But my head kept screaming “NO WAY! NOT THAT AGAIN!!”
Yet I was conflicted and asked if we could think it over and call back.
Of course, the answer was “no”. The offer was only good while we were on the phone.
Ugh.
So within a minute my mind battled back and forth — the pain of the last experience fighting against a great deal.
It ended when my wife said, “They promised it wouldn’t be too painful!”
Famous last words.
Eventually my deal-wanting sucker nature took over and I said “ok”.
She booked it and we’ll now see how it plays out. I’m hopeful, but also cautious.
And this time I’ll be timing them with my watch — at two hours we are out of there. I will also make that clear at the start of the meeting. In fact, I’ll probably schedule an appointment for two hours after the meeting begins. 😉
So that’s our history with timeshare offers. Anyone else take offers like these? What experiences have you had with them?
Can not believe your circumstances regarding the Hilton time share offering ( laughing with you I hope). Back in early October I agreed to the same $199.00 deal in DC. And all for the same reasons as you listed.
Have never done this before and still not sure why I did it ( other than I plan to be in DC to attend my nephews graduation from GW in May. We shall see how it plays out.
I think I will use your suggestion. Once at the meeting I will set my smartphone alarm for two hours. I will try to be kind and give the sales rep a heads-up about my 2 hr alarm ?.
Still laughing at myself for engaging in this activity?
I used to sell time shares and many of them have changed quite a bit from what most people think of when they think of timeshares. They can be a great way to stay in 5 star resorts and save money.
Please keep in mind that the people selling them are trying to make a living just like you. They have quotas to fill and if they don’t make them, they loose their job. So please don’t agree to take a tour unless yoy’re going to keep an open mind.
“They can be a great way to stay in 5 star resorts and save money.”
If this is true, I think they will do fine selling all the places they need to.
I’m not so sure about the “save money” part (I can generally sniff out a deal many different ways), but I could be wrong. If the “savings” is off the retail price, that’s not really a savings IMO since many rooms can be had for less than retail, as we all know.
We’ll see what they have to offer. Perhaps I’ll do a follow-up post on our results. Think they’d be willing to be recorded? 😉
The resorts are rarely 5-star material. Most are pretty average in what they include inside the condos and locations. We have a timeshare, and use it, but would be happy to get rid of it. The internet and VRBO have made timeshares a bit obsolete.
I vacationed at a timeshare property in Vermont a few times. They tried to sucker me into a presentation once. I asked how much the annual maintenance would cost on the unit I was in. The maintenance cost was more than I had paid for the week’s lodging purchased from a third party. No thanks.
I have to admit. With the blog, I’m tempted to sit through once of these just to be able to write about how terrible they are.
+1 I want to do the same thing.
Ha. Well, over the years, we’ve been bitten three times by the time-share bug.
Once in NYC, once in New Orleans and once in the Bahamas— to say the least, all took over 3 hours to finish from start to finish. And, all three adventures prove to be equally painful events my wife and I.
NYC —- we were sold on visiting a Marriott property in Manhattan—- the lady (front person) who sold us (actually me more than my wife) was very nice and had a smooth line that led us right off the cliff.
Once we completed a quick breakfast, we were led to various rooms to see their show. In the beginning, it was exciting and very interesting—— the video we saw almost had me hooked (sad to say), but my wife kept giving me the eye, so we stayed with the plan of listening and learning —— never even thinking about buying. Honestly, after about an hour and a half, I felt like I had met with most key members of the Gambino Family —- talk about smooth talking, slick dressing sale guys—-wow, we had met our match —- and the last room, we met with the DON, who was making us an offer we couldn’t refuse—— I’m serious, I think he wanted us to kiss his hand when we entered the room. He was the best salesman on the planet, but we held firm and completed our time (over 3 hours) and earned our gift for participating—- $160 cold cash —- my wife and I enjoyed a nice meal and the Money helped pay the tab. Being from Texas, and understanding the power of horse trading, I learned a few things on my first trip to the Big Apple.
New Orleans —- much the same as NYC, but I had some experience and I went in with an attitude of being ready for anything they threw my way. After the BAD breakfast, it seemed to go down quickly —- we were ready to go after 30 minutes, but we couldn’t break free from these guys as quickly as I thought we could. Actually, at times, I felt like a prisoner and my poor wife, who’s been a trooper for over 35 years , kept giving me the eye , and I knew what that meant by now. We’re not buying anything from these guys , and I was spending most of my time looking for escape routes. After 3 long hours, we gathered our voucher for a free room and a nice meal. We took it and RAN. The meal was fine and the room was not great, but we took the free offer —/ ugh.
Lastly, the Bahamas—- I’ll cut this one short and just let you know that we didn’t get anything of value at the end of this adventure—- they could tell we were not buying by the way my wife was acting -//. She was giving everyone the EYE and this time is was more EVIL than ever. To say the least, we didn’t buy anything, but we did see some great properties and the view from the balcony was outstanding and actually the breakfast was very good —-/ oh, and we really liked the people we met on the tour with us.
Frugal fatigue—- we have not been on another adventure in over 15 years and now, we share our story with friends and family , and we enjoy laughing about all we experienced, but on each trip we take, my wife simply gives me the eye when we get off the plane and I’ve finally learned that I probably will not get to experience about time share adventure again.
Hi ESI,
I think you will be okay. I was getting solicited by Marriott for their vacation home timeshare program. It was from a friend who bought one and put my name in as a person to contact (thanks, friend…) as it helped him get more points by referencing other people. After emailing me a few times and when I had a few weeks between changing jobs we booked a 3 day / 2 night stay in the shoulder season in Phuket, Thailand. Our daughter was 16 months old and we brought her.
We were worried about listening to a pitch while having a fussy baby but they said they could have their babysitters take care of her in the kids club.
True to their word, they did the pitch in the kids club / nursery area while two staff were playing with our daughter with blocks and other toys. My wife was keeping a close eye on them and I was the one who listened to the pitch and asked different questions. If you were taking vacations on a regular schedule (we weren’t) and wanted to stay at Marriott or like properties around the world (we like to mix it up with AirBNB and other options) and were willing to spend about $1000 – 1500 each time (we vary that too) then it could all work out. After thinking it over I declined and that was the end of the session- it was 2 hours or less as promised and since then we have never been contacted and presumably never will again.
They gave us some vouchers for other activities and the entire weekend was zero besides the healthy tips we left for the staff. So it was a pretty good deal.
I only wish all the operators were this pleasant.
Good luck with Hilton!
-Mike
I have been tempted to try a timeshare spiel to get whatever juicy rewards they had on the hook. Never did because I knew my former husband would cave in to their sales pitch.
I have no desire for a timeshare or there sales practices. When you can start bidding on them for a $1 on ebay with 5 hours left…. explains a lot on there resale value.
The last time I did this was a year out of college for like 8 show tickets in Vegas for some 2nd (3rd) tier show. I was the only one with a FT job (a qualification) and it took forever. Three hours plus, never again. Hahaha but it is fun to go back and see the finished Polo Towers and my fond memories of it being sold to other people. 🙂
Place phone on table
“Hey [digital assistant], please start a two hour timer”
Now everybody knows the clock is running, and there’s absolutely no question about when it started.
My wife and I were on our honey moon in Hawaii on Maui. We were walking on the beach path on our way back to the hotel after dinner and stopped at a Marriott Vacation Club presentation stand for about 3 minutes.
The representative mentioned new we could get bonus points if we bought today and trade to “less expensive” club locations, as our ocean front location in Maui would receive more points. We said no thanks about 4 times.
My wife then took off her light jacket and the representative saw her shirt: a Purdue Football t-shirt. He told us Drew Brees just bought a unit in the building, and we should, too, if we liked Drew Brees and Purdue football.
I laughed at him, and we finally walked away.
Had one of these painful experiences with Hilton Grand Vacations about five years ago or so, in Orlando or a town right around Orlando. Lasted a bit longer than promised, which was fine, but getting the promised free Hilton rewards points took several months. Doing that selling job for a living must be terrible. We’ll never do it again, until the next time we hear about an offer at a place we want to visit…
It SURE IS quite awful being only 23 years old and making 10k a month off of you suckers. ?
DCAnn,
I own three time shares because, before my partner died), he was a sucker for deals. Even when you own a time share, each time you visit they want you to go to a presentation (update) is what they call it. They offer you an incentive for attending. The last time I was in DC the incentive was a $100 gift card and they would pay for my parking. Well after the presentation an individual takes me to see if I am making the best use of the timeshare I own. This person always try’s to make the timeshare you’re visiting more appealing than the one you own somewhere else. The kicker is you can never combine what you have or ever find another timeshare where you end up paying less money. And if that person can’t get you to buy or update to the next level, his/her supervisor comes in to try and make the deal sweeter. Last year I tried using the fact that I didn’t bring any credit cards to the meeting to get out. Believe me, this guy escorted me to my room and wouldn’t let me close the door, just in case I didn’t come back out with my card. I was pissed but kept trying to be tactful in declining an offer to update and pay at least $200 more a month. This guy tried everything imaginable including trying to make me feel obligated to do this for my grandchildren.
He was totally pissed when I still declined after four hours of misery.
Two years ago I was convinced to switch the one week timeshare that I have paid for into points and all my timeshares would be the same and easier to use. Now I can’t use those points because they are saying I have to convert them back to a week and then it will be one year before I can use them. Another kicker is that there are levels of ownership and if you’re not on the highest level it’s hard to get your timeshare when you want it because loyalty is to the owners who they’re getting the most money from. And when you do get the time you want, you never get the updated unit. I could write a book; but I’ll stop here.
We have done presentations for both Hilton (Orlando) and Marriott (Aruba). In my opinion they were both worth the time. We used our Hilton certificate for a nice night downtown Cincy after watching the Steelers beat the Bengals. Both times we let them talk for about 30 mins. I then interrupted and asked them the total costs. I told them it does not make sense to our family and we would not be buying. After a few other shutdowns of their attempts to convince me they gave up and sent us on our way with our vouchers.
You can go anywhere to watch the Bengals get beat.
I did a timeshare presentation in Vegas in exchange for a $100 visa card. It was for a Wyndam property. My friend and I were both the type of people who would never buy a time share and we did not that day. But after three hours, I had to threaten to interrupt their current presentation (they staggered presentations throughout the day) and speak to the “boss” before they would release us and give us the visa card. As we were leaving, there was a couple who were unable to tell these folks “no.” I felt really sorry for them because I knew what they were getting into: heartache and a monthly fee they probably couldn’t afford.
My wife signed up for one of these discounted timeshare tour deals once. I had low expectations and was not disappointed.
I like to take my time to think about it before making a commitment. So, when they told us that we only had that day to accept their great offer, it was easy for me to say “No, thanks”.
We did one of these in Mexico to get discounted tour options. It was about 4 hours of our precious vacation time. But we did save about 200.00 on the tours. The beauty of this story is that the initial timeshare offer was 80k. We said no and that it was too expensive. They then went down to 40k. After seeing three different “supervisors” that last offer was 5k take it or leave it. We left it. I’m sure there was more in the fine print. But from 80K to 5k for a gorgeous timeshare. Don’t ever take the first price. They are more desperate to sell than people are desperate to buy.
To all you people out there that say it doesn’t hurt anyone to go get those freebies……. Those salespeople make commission only. Imagine if some mooches came into you job and took 1/3 of your day and you do it for free.
Andy, I have your back on this one.
Let us stipulate that the ‘timeshare’ offered is a bad deal; anyone who has drilled down to the daily-usage fees, maintenance assessments, and so-called ‘equity’ available to resell (at 20 cents on the dollar), doesn’t need an explanation.
Let’s also stipulate that the larger Corporation is not ‘hurt’, as they only pay commission and the turnover for that horrible job is massive. Who is hurt? The boots-on-the ground salesperson.
But having been through one of these, and dealing with an assigned salesperson, I can indeed say that I ‘stole’ their time. I had no intention of buying. The salesperson could have been doing anything else with their time (reading a sales book, familiarizing with endless product details/specs, or just resting so they wouldn’t be burned-out and frustrated when the next potential came through).
For those comfortable with going to the presentation and “earning” a few hundred dollars, okay. Do it, or don’t. But don’t pretend you are doing the salesperson a favor by helping them ‘hone’ skills when you aren’t a legitimate prospect.
Andy —-
Really??? Did you just write that? Free —- trust me, each time I went, I EARNED everything I got from these time-share sales people and I feel quite sure they were able to hone their skills because of my willingness to participate—- so, it was a win-win for all parties involved.
I don’t feel like I wasted 1/3 of their day —— I simply helped them prepare better for the next round of potential buyers.
After three times, I’m the big loser —- I lost about 10 hours I’ll never get back.
Never again, but I’m glad I did it.
To Esi money,
Really? They were able to hone their skills. Lol. REALLY? You think they need the practice? Wow… What a self-serving way to think. Congratulations.
I think you’re addressing the wrong person. I did not make that comment.
That said, I bet if you asked those sales people whether they would prefer a packed schedule of people who were likely not buyers or to only see people they KNEW would buy (which would probably be one person a month), they would select the former.
Besides, your reasoning doesn’t hold. Do you ever ask a clerk, car salesman, insurance broker, and on and on for help, advice, assistance, and the like and yet do not buy from them? If so, you’re wasting their time selfishly — according to your reasoning.
The sales people understand that most people signing up to meet with them do NOT want to buy. They know that most people will NOT buy. Here’s a news flash for you: that’s what the sales profession is about — meeting with non-buyers and making them buyers. It’s what they do. And those who can do it well are handsomely rewarded.
So I don’t think they would say that 1/3 of their day was wasted. Instead, they have another chance to convince a non-buyer to buy — which is their job.
I only did one of those presentations when we were in Vegas and got free tickets for a show. I vowed I wouldn’t do it again unless I got the kind of deal you are getting. Now I am kind of hoping they call us so we can do this. I think it would be interesting and knowing what I now know about timeshares I would never buy one, but they do put the heavy sell on you. Heck, I just helped a friend of ours contact a company that should get them out of the time share.
Looking forward to hearing your review.
Never done one. Frankly vacation time is too precious to trade two hours for two hundred dollars. Now if I was on a business trip and bored, why not. That’s unlikely though.
My favorite timeshare experience was a few years ago on Super Bowl Sunday. The employee said “You’re not really going to buy a timeshare today, are you?” When I said no, he said “Let’s get out of here then.”
Esi,
You are absolutely correct. Nobody goes into those meetings to buy. Guess it just bothers me when people brag about the free gifts and how terrible it was on them with no thought of the salesperson working their but off to make a living.
And to add……most you people that are posting do not know what you are talking about. You spend a few hours and your timeshare know-it-alls. I’ve had a timeshare for 29 year, since I was 19, and I love it.
We own three weeks of time shares and use them faithfully. We share the time with our grown children and they enjoy them, too. The great thing is you can exchange them for other locations all over the world.
I agree! We went for the presentation, loved the property but didn’t buy. Went back home and did some research and ended up purchasing it on ebay months later for a steep discount. The secret that most people don’t know is that it let’s you in the timeshare network club like Interval International or RCI. We book other people’s excess weeks all the time for as cheap as $250 for the week, but we travel up to 8 weeks a year and that’ll easily double when we FIRE.
I think the timeshares owned by hotels are pretty reputable. My parents have enjoyed a timeshare with another major hotel for decades. It’s not the best investment because it goes unused at times but we’ve taken some awesome family vacations at their properties.
I, on the other hand, tried a less reputable company and I experienced a master-class in high pressure sales. This company used so many shady sales techniques that I can’t say I felt bad for deliberately wasting the salesperson’s time. I wanted to see how far they’d go and I wasn’t disappointed. I just hope it’s inoculated me from similar tactics in the future
Yeah vaginelina by your comments, I can tell you are only 23.
This is going to sound a little crazy, but we have probably listened through 30-40 presentations over the last 30 years…we have bought twice from these presentations and cancelled within the 3 days. We have bought 3 timeshares, all through ebay or online vendors at extreme discounts. We never have been where we own and either trade or rent. We have had some good experiences trading to Aruba, Saint Martin, Hawaii, Orlando, etc. But, we haven’t been able to use them lately, and it costs money to keep extending them another year, so we are definitely in the market to sell at least 2 of them. The 3rd one we rent most years.
Strategies for the presentation: My Dad also listens to a bunch of these…if they tell him 90 minutes, he sets an alarm on his watch for 90 minutes and then tells them he is done…where’s my promised gift? We generally listen, tell them we are in the market to sell, not buy…and they let us go after awhile of trying to get us to give them our timeshares and receive a discount for one of theirs. I hate that we do this…I prefer to value my time as greater than the 2 hours I give up for the gift…but somehow, we sign up many times we vacation in a timeshare for the freebies. You can always tell them that IF you buy, you will buy on the secondary market (but be ready, they have a response for that one too…)
Good luck!
Interesting post and even more interesting comments – why I love your blog ESI! I love to travel, but would never buy a timeshare and won’t accept any offers to be pitched. The latter is mostly because of this: My down-time is too precious to spend it combating a pitchman, setting timers and considering an offer I’d never take. I love a deal, but compromising the previous reasons for some free hotel nights or a good meal – not worth it. Travel hacking, on the other hand, is totally worth it for me and has earned me much more than the time share freebies. Like Time Share Pitches, it takes some time and effort but it happens on my terms, not some salesman’s.
BRAVO JACQUIN!!! BRAVO
Time share ownership is great if you use it. We have used ours every year for 20 years. We feel it’s better than a hotel because we have a kitchen and a livingroom. Much more comfortable. If you take other people with you the couch in the livingroom becomes a bed. We love our timeshare and it has saved us a lot of money
Best of luck here with the timeshare. I receive these calls all the time. I don’t have the patience to deal with this and would probably not be a very fun person to present to during the 1 hours (or at least right now anyway). So I just decline. But I’ve never taken time to truly evaluate whether it is worth the discounted vacation or not. I’ll see how your follow up article goes 🙂 Hopefully it is better than your first experience. Good luck! Also – I am a Hilton user as well and have stayed at mroe Hampton inns than I every imagined.
Bert
My husband and I own 2 timeshares. They are Gold crown 4 season resorts. We received tons of points for each purchase. There are ways to make money with them as well as travel to some great places all over the world. We rarely stay where we purchased(You shouldn’t actually) but are able to take several weeks trips/year. Yes, there are yearly maintenance fees but that’s minor compared to the places and length we stay. We’ve learned over the years how to maximize them. There are positives to owning ts. This is just our experience. I agree the sales pitches can be brutal. But that’s how they make a living.
Andy, are you with a time-share watch- dog group? You seem to be very sensitive——. As for my experience, I went in with an open mind and didn’t get too many freebies , as I mentioned.
FYI – The opening statement from the lead HAWK in all three cases I was involved in presented the freebies and I bit on the idea —— not thinking about the high pressure guys losing their jobs, as a result of my turning them down. And, I had no clue they were working on full commission—- make sense now.
People are just sharing the good, the bad and the ugly about their time-share experiences, as requested by ESI. Actually, I’ve enjoyed reading all of the posts with the exception of yours. Why do you feel the need to help US all understand what these poor salesmen are going through with their jobs.
Life is about Choices —- I made the choice to participate 3 times in my life and all of those poor salesmen made the choice to sell time-shares. Seems like we are better off for seeking out this adventure—
I’ve leaned nothing from you.
Razorback,
Let’s be clear on one thing…. You went in with anything BUT an open mind. What drives me nuts is people that continue to take tours time after time with no thought of anyone but themselves. You say you didn’t know salespeople were on commission but I don’t think that will stop you from doing it AGAIN. Lol. And knowing there’s no chance you’ll EVER buy a timeshare is NOT going in open minded. But hey go get those free gifts.
Andy —-
Not ever going again ——
Try teaching lessons somewhere else. Not sure it’s working here.
Razorback,
If you’re never going back…..then you’ve seen the light. Hallelujah. Lol
Attended one in Orlando about 15 years ago at a nice place very close to Disney. Was feeling bad about saying no but they just kept running slicker and nicer dressed sales people at me and my wife. She had tuned out 15 minutes into the 90 minutes and it was all on me. What pushed me over the edge was golf carting through the employee parking lot and seeing all the tricked out BMW’s, Benz’s and a few Corvettes. I thought, wow this must be a “great deal” for me an my family. Have not wanted to torture myself like that again but I know if I ever want a divorce I just need to sign us up for another one.
My wife and I usually run the other direction when we get approached for time shares. However, my aunt and uncle have been doing them for years and just love it. Much like a lot of things, it depends on the deal and location. Best of luck if you decide to go that route!
LOL … I can’t believe you got suckered into a presentation like this. Then again, I couldn’t believe I had accepted yet another invitation like this last time i was coming up with a million excuses why I didn’t want to buy the timeshare.
I have been to a few presentations and I have had enough … (Since, we have been approached at least 3 times and the answer is always “No way! Not interested”)
For us, there is simply no value in what they offer. We can get the same accommodations around the same price point, and we don’t have the obligation of supporting the resort with a monthly timeshare payment.
Carlos this is for you……for all you brainiacs out there that say ” you can get the same accommodations for less money” … STOP!!!! CUZ YOU CANNOT. Last place I went to was a 5 star brand name resort 2 bedroom 2 bathroom full kitchen full living room and beautiful deck on the beach in New England in July. My maintenance fee is $375 per year and the exchange fee was $239. That’s $87 per night . You could get close to that price in January. So stop telling tales. Timeshare is definitely the best value if you vacation every year and you care where you rest your head. We all can find dinky little hotels that NEED our businesses and catch deals. But I like 5 star. And I get it for less than you can get a dump. Because of my timeshare I paid $5,000 for 29 years ago. So again people…… KEEP IT REAL.
Getting rid of the timeshare is the hardest thing about them.
My husband and learned the hard way that timeshare presentations are not worth it. We got talked into presentation by friendly guy on the street in Va beach. My husband is to nice not to say hello back to a stranger. This led to politely caring on a conversation that quickly turned into a pitch for presentation. Since we were at our favorite vacation spot (besides Maui) and were naive we accepted. We learned that day we have trouble saying no at these kind of things, especially when they would come back with ways to come down to our budget. We ended up buying at a lower tier that included different property then we were at. Later that night when looking at what was included we got buyer’s remorse. We walked down to property and were not impressed. Luckily, upon reading all the fine print I learned we could cancel with no cost within 3 days due to state law. It took meeting with several people to get this accomplished. Since then husband and I agreed no presentations. Also we don’t say hi back to sales people for things we are not shopping for. (Satellite TV at Sam’s club for example) I just keep going about my business.
Andy —-
Brainiacs —— really? Very weak way to motivate your learners. Go forth and buy more time-shares.
After thinking more about this exchange of ideas, I’ve reached the conclusion that you have multiple units that you would love to dump, but can’t find any buyers.
News flash, Andy. You will find too many buyers here either.
Good luck in life and keep thinking you’ve been getting a better deal. After 29 years of being an owner, it’s sad that you’re still trying to teach others how good of a deal buying a time-share is —- clearly, it’s not, as you’ve learned from many on this blog.
Razorback,
Hate to disappoint you…but no… I have ONE timeshare and I love it. What I don’t like is people like you who think only your time is worth something. And think you’re outsmarting salespeople who are forced to waste their valuable time with you just for you to get a FREE gift. It seems most of these people on these posts take a tour to learn about timeshare. That’s an open mind. But you seem to know it all and are wasting people’s time. AND YOU BRAG ABOUT IT. I think you need to get a life.
Guys — How about we call a truce? We know what everyone’s position is and let’s just leave it at that, ok?
If something interesting/worthwhile happens during my visit (which won’t be for several months), I’ll probably post my thoughts then and we can resume the debate.
And furthermore razorback….. The only experience most the people on this blog have is the couple of hours they’ve sat with a sales rep. I wouldn’t say that qualifies anyone as an expert. Would you?
ESI – OK.
Yes Esi. Sounds good
Frankly Andy I have owned three timeshare rentals in my life one in miami, one in vail one in atlanta. All places that was supposedly high demand areas and was supposed to pull a high rate trade. And the did for five years. then all three down graded and we couldn’t get trades like it was explained to us. Then the maintenance fees tripled. and we couldn’t swap. I wound up with three boat anchors. These where paid off and expensive might I add. taxes and fees where over 8,000 a year. I defaulted all of them back to the hoa. I just could not take the crazyness anymore. Now, give me a condo like Top sail now your talking. much rather buy it out right and have my team do the work except the outside. And collect my weekly rents on the property. I will never do a timeshare again as a investment. Now if I need a right off maybe, but owning 100 + apartment units I don’t see that happening soon.
Joe,
With timeshares it not only matters where you own but most important WHEN you own. If you owned ski season in Vail, winter in Miami, and summer in Atlanta you know doubt would still be trading successfully. But hey, add to your tale and say you did.
Gee Andy a little upset. Miami Christmas week vail was in January week 4 Atlanta was in May. Don’t need to trade own the whole condo topsail beach. Make enough to go where I want and write off the trip to see the beach in North Carolina when need to. I see that as a better investment
Joe,
Btw….APPLE MOUNTAIN is not ATLANTA
Gee Andy need help reading Atlanta has timeshares
Joe,
Golly gee bigshot….thanks for leaving timeshare to us poor people. With all do respect… I don’t believe you had Xmas week in Miami, and Jan in Vail. However I do believe you about may in Apple mountain (hour from Atlanta). Lol.
I learned a longtime ago if you want something extra auto boat etc I needed to buy a property that will pay for the property and thre extra that I wanted. So I did that every time I would buy a car truck boat etc. Many times. Timeshares are a way to spread the cost of the luxury rentals for the land developer. I have yet to see a good return on it. A invesment generates income. I have yet to see that from a timeshare. Yes, I was dumb enough to have three timeshares. They only cost 20,000 on the average. My experience all of them up the maintenance as the building gets older. So spend (mortgage) 250k to 300k for ocean near ocean condo. rent it out for 1200-3000 per week which is more per month income than the mortgage of 1700 payment. I have preference to that then paying a payment every month then paying to trade off for some place else then pay a little extra a day.
Andy with all do repsect. Yes, I have I have been wealthy then poor and damn near homeless and the back to making 20,000 a month. by purchasing four family buildings for 30 ,000 or less each and borrowing that money at 12% I purhased over 30 four famies some two famiies and some sfhs So if you knew realestate you would understand real investing. by the way I have done that since 2009. In my opinon Timeshares are not a real investment and I don’t know any realestate investors investing in timeshares frankly
Joe,
Didn’t say timeshare is an investment you make money off. It is an investment in family time.
And, lol,….in answer to your remark about me knowing anything about real estate……. That’s what I do bigshot….I own 46 apartments. So your little speeches about how successful you are and you clawed your way up may work for you in your local Hooters bar….but not here. Not with me. Lol. Good day Joe, I said good day
Andy,
I have run my personal life like a business since age 12 from which I was paying my way as far as necessities like clothes and extras I needed in life. Seem like you threw the first stone and not only at me but others. I started out as a IT consultant that went national. Then 2009 hit and a lot of large corporations went south. Never been to a Hooters bar. Even for an investment in the family, I don’t think a timeshare makes it. To this day my daughters talk about all the trips been snow skiing and water skiing. I have given my daughters life experiences from New York to San Francisco on a shoestring budget. I just don’t like wasting money thats why I dumped my time shares
Joe,
Let’s be clear here…..you addressed me with your comments. That is also what happened before.
What I have done is answer those comments. Nothing more and nothing less. Please pardon my sharp tongue, for I do not suffer fools well.
Let’s work together to Make Andy Great Again !
Alright Yyz.you must be related to Joe. Lol
Yeah…that’s what I thought
Andy you have no life get over it.
Seems like some contributors are angry and nasty. Not sure why they want to fight and argue with people they’ll never, ever meet.
Again —— nobody is listening. Not the messenger——
Razorback,
Wow….you have time to type? I would’ve thought , today being Sunday , you’d be too busy mooching free gifts at a resort to take jabs at lil ol’ me.
Hmmm……multi Tasker, huh?
Joe,
Get a life? Lol. With as much imagination as you’ve shown me thus far, that’s all you got? How disappointed I am. But hey being the real estate mogul that you are, maybe you can answer a question for me. How do you use your condo on topsail for the summer and yet manage to rent it out in the off season? Hmmm……. I’m sensing that’s ANOTHER story from you Joe.
It generates the numbers Andy or do you need lessons on investing. 90% of the condos there are for rent. That’s why there are lots of real estate brokers there. Just 30 weeks out of the year we get 1,500.00 per week which comes up to 45,000.00 minus the mortgage 15,000 (that’s for the Year) Leaves me 31,000 to do with what I want and do some upgrades that I do myself. My relatives were there for Christmas and friends are there as we type. They are down there painting the kitchen and living room which took two days the rest is whatever they want to do. It was high sixties low seventies for Christmas. Personally, don’t care to go into the ocean but love walking the beach on a cool day.
Tell you what Andy do the math yourself heres the website http://www.treasurerealty.com Look for shipwatch which is on the ocean notice they are already booked starting in February They also have one for sale at 295,000 the next one is 400,000 Even though it books for a lot more (some are 5,000 a week) One next store just sold for 200,000 and needs to be updated but she will make it back even if she puts 100,000 They where making 50% of where getting without all the needed updates like new decks three stories up. New sliding glass doors.
Joe,
I stand corrected. Have a Happy New Year.
Joe,
I’ll take a look. Thanks for the heads up.