Help. My sister is selling her timeshare...please rop.

[ScrimpAndSave]

She bought it in 1990 as a resale for around $1200. She would sell it to me for that (I have no idea what it is really valued at right now - would have to look up similiar ones).

It is through interval international and hers is a condo in the Poconos, Pa.

The yearly fee is $450.

Here is the deal - she simply "deposits" her place for the year and then she is able to travel and stay anywhere that is listened in her catalogue. She doesn't have to wait until her place is rented out. In fact, she never stays in the Poconos - only elsewhere.

The places in the catalogue are extensive and from what I can see, they normally rent for around $1300-$1500 a week.

Does this seem like it is a good idea? SO and I travel a lot (as in 3-4 trips per year)...this would make one of the trips less expensive.

[MonkeyMama]

PErsonally, I would never buy a timeshare.

Interval International is decent. my MIL owns a Hawaii timeshare, which means it is a popular one and she can always trade for anywhere else. We've stayed everywhere using it (is transferrable to whoever). I thought she paid a small fee to stay elsewhere though. I am not sure - she never tells us how much it cost - she just covers it. Got to Florida a lot (family), San Francisco, Hawaii, L.A., etc.

I am not picky and we generally stay at Motel 6. That being said, the Interval places aren't exactly high quality. Like Motel 6 with a kitchen. Some of them have maybe even been lesser quality (we have stayed at some nice Motel 6s). I don't buy for a second that the same room rents for $1500 per week, in most places. Another expense -we have had to pay large parking fees in LA and SF (to park at the timeshare property).

We utilize it all the time because it is completely free for us. I would never pay a dime for a timeshare. Too many horror stories out there.

Oh yeah - the whole time you stay there they just try to sell you more timeshares. Pretty annoying.

[ScrimpAndSave]

Thanks Monkeymama. About the $1500 thing...I guess I was just looking at specific places that I wanted to go and areas that I was familiar with...if i went on my own it would be around $1500 for the amount of nights that I want to stay.

[jeffrey]

Don't do it. Seriously. There are far too many negatives. The fact is that you can rent all those places listed for the same price from other timeshare owners without having to pay for it in perpetuity. Trades aren't nearly as easy as you might assume. Fees will rise and you will likely get special assessment fees (on top of you other fees) when they need to upgrade. Of all the emails I get, it is people desperately trying to get out of their timeshare that I get the most.

[Ima saver]

I agree, it is a very bad idea!

[graceful]

She bought it in 1990 as a resale for around $1200. She would sell it to me for that (I have no idea what it is really valued at right now - would have to look up similiar ones).

It is through interval international and hers is a condo in the Poconos, Pa.

The yearly fee is $450.

Here is the deal - she simply "deposits" her place for the year and then she is able to travel and stay anywhere that is listened in her catalogue. She doesn't have to wait until her place is rented out. In fact, she never stays in the Poconos - only elsewhere.

The places in the catalogue are extensive and from what I can see, they normally rent for around $1300-$1500 a week.

Does this seem like it is a good idea? SO and I travel a lot (as in 3-4 trips per year)...this would make one of the trips less expensive.

First of all, I think that $1200 for a resale is way too expensive. Especially, one she bought in 1990. Timeshares not only depreciate in value, they became a financial burden for many people.

So, there are many people GIVING them away free just so they can get out of the yearly maintenance fees. Check out ebay for cheap resales for an idea. tug2.net is a great resource for anything you want to know about timeshares.

As for the yearly fee, is that for the maintenance of the timeshare property? Please add on top of that the annual fee to be a member of Interval International which is $89 a year, plus the exchange fee of $139 when you find a property to stay at. So you would be paying $678 for each week you USE the timeshare and $450 each week that you DON'T with possible increases in fees in later years. And this is NOT counting the $1200 you would have to pay out front?

And there are NO guarantees that you will be able to exchange into the property you want during the time period you want. Holiday periods usually have studios available. Aside from places such as Orlando where inventory is high, people usually don't deposit the "good" resorts except during the off seasons.

How long would it take you to even break even? It's only a great deal if you can snag a 2-3 bedroom. And NEVER count on a 3 bedroom - they are rare like the unicorn, unless you are depositing a 3-bedroom yourself. I personally don't think the studios or 1-bedrooms that dominate the inventory are worth it because you can get better or similar deals, paying OOP for the exact location and dates you need.

Honestly, I would only even consider it if the timeshare was FREE as a "favor" to your sister to take the financial burden off her hands.

Now my parents overpaid for a Mexican timeshare over 20 years ago. They only went to the actual timeshares in MX a handful of times. The airfare is a killer and who wants to spend $$$ to go to the same place over and over (well, unless it was DISNEY Lol). I think they lost a few non-bankable weeks and gave a lot of weeks away over the years just so it wouldn't go to waste. They bought 2 weeks a year.

Now that they are pretty much retired, they use it all the time. Mom likes to stalk the Interval website and when a great unit becomes available, she pounces! They go FAST! This only works if your vacation days are flexible. You literally have 18 minutes to complete the transaction. No more "holding" it for 24 hours or even a couple of hours while you figure out if airfare is available or will kill the deal.

I use to "help" use some of the weeks in the past when we were childless or when the kids were very young. Now that we are bounded by the school holidays, we haven't been able to utilize it. Much easier to book what we want, when we want, rather than stalk the website for weeks on end in the "hopes" of finding something that may never materialize.

Our family really enjoys using the timeshare but we definitely lost a lot of money on it already which are basically "sunk costs." Mom and Dad only consider the costs of the II membership and the exchange fee when they think about how much the week is costing them. In reality, they are ignoring the purchase price (over 5 figures) and the annual maintenance fees which they feel they have to pay anyway even if they never use the timeshare.

Bottom line - don't do it unless it was free to you and even then, only if you know how it would work for your family.

[ScrimpAndSave]

Ok thanks all!

[disneysteve]

graceful - Terrific post. Great job spelling out the problems.

The timeshare industry has really been transformed in recent years by some big players like Disney, Marriott and Hilton entering the business and lending a great deal of much-needed legitimacy. Disney timeshares, in fact, actually appreciate in value over time, previously unheard of among timeshares.

The other companies, though, are still lousy investments. Many resort towns are so swamped with timeshare properties that you can rent them for a fraction of what it costs to own. We've rented a timeshare in Orlando several years and paid as little as $37/night for a beautiful 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit. People always ask us why we don't buy one. It would be stupid for us to do so. Rentals are dirt cheap and we aren't tied to one property or family of properties and we don't pay anything unless we actually go.

I say "fuhgetaboutit"

[graceful]

The timeshare industry has really been transformed in recent years by some big players like Disney, Marriott and Hilton entering the business and lending a great deal of much-needed legitimacy. Disney timeshares, in fact, actually appreciate in value over time, previously unheard of among timeshares.


I say "fuhgetaboutit"

Hehe... we actually own at Disney but didn't want to complicated things since the question wasn't about the the big 3 you mentioned but one of the older timeshare models. Even then, it really depends on other factors such as travel habits and the ability to carry the on-going financial obligations, among many others.

Specifically regarding Disney, the appreciation is artificially sustained by Disney themselves by raising the price they are willing to exercise their right of first refusal. I don't think that they will allow prices to fall anytime soon but who knows what will happen the last 10 years or so before the 50 year contracts expire?

So, I always advise people who are considering a DVC purchase to make sure that they are not counting on always getting their money back or losing a lot less on resale. Although, it is a nice short-term fringe benefit. And to make sure that they will actually plan on using it AT Disney and not to exchange out. And above all, it is a luxury purchase that will in the long run COST them a lot more money than they will ever save them on accommodations.

That said, I love my DVC.

[MonkeyMama]

Don't do it. Seriously. There are far too many negatives. The fact is that you can rent all those places listed for the same price from other timeshare owners without having to pay for it in perpetuity. Trades aren't nearly as easy as you might assume. Fees will rise and you will likely get special assessment fees (on top of you other fees) when they need to upgrade. Of all the emails I get, it is people desperately trying to get out of their timeshare that I get the most.

If I had an impression about Interval Intl, it would be that their hotels/condos/timeshares are a little on the old, run down side. Special assessments are probably very likely.

[b4freedom]

NEVER BUY A TIMESHARE. Period.