Tell me about timeshares....

[Mandelon]

I have an opportunity to take a discounted timeshare in trade.
Here is what I know. It is "deeded." I was told it is a week in Lake Tahoe. The month is August, which is apparently high season.
It is bankable with RCI as a "red" group....
Hope all that makes sense. Any info would be appreciated.....

[73beast]

Mandelon,check your messages.

[Catmando]

I have RCI, and my home resort is Bransom, which we HAD to take when we turned down our other home resort here in Texas. I wish I had not bought this timeshare, I pay, pay and pay, have to book sometimes two years ahead for swaps to popular resorts in Florida, the Bahamas etc.
And just TRY to sell it. :mad:

[Mandelon]

Where is Bransom?? :confused: Can't you trade it for somewhere else??

[Frosty_pop]

Sorry, as much as I hate to agree with the "big cat" I bought one in Vegas and paid more in fee's than I would of ever spent on hotels..... If you got a ton of money and just want to throw it away, let me give you my address and you can send it this way...... thanks

[burbanite]

Have a friend who works in the business.
Do not ever, ever, never never get involved in this. Very occasionally some are happy with it but invariably there are so many loopholes and hidden stipulations that it becomes a burden rather than the "joy" that it is supposed to be.

[Catmando]

FINALLY, somebody agrees with me on something. eek! Frosty and Burbanite have got it right. RCI/Silverleaf is a ripoff. :mad:
Bransom, Mo. is the second Nashville. Dolly Parton and all the biggies have concert halls there. She has biggies too. :D

[spectratoad]

Branson. Now that I also have some input on htis I can tell my wife that she doesn't need to look for one any longer. She always askes me about them and I keep telling her that it just doesn't sound right and now I have it in writing. Thanks guys. :D

[GlastronGuy]

I have to agree with everyone, pass on it.

[Seadog]

Time shares are Ok, if you get a good match. We have two condos at Powderhorn, that are great for us. It costs less than usual, we can cook all of our meals and we are close enough to the slope that we can come in for a break any time.
On the negative, they never maintain the condos to the level that they promise and if you don't use it, you are out your annual fees for that year unless you can rent it out.
Time shares are not an investment. They are a gamble that you will get more out of it than you would otherwise. It also depends on the type of timeshare. There are two outfits at Grand that are timeshare RV parks. They have advantages, but we did the tour package and passed, even tho we go to Grand a lot. My wife's sister and family have one there and spent years paying for it without using it because they wanted to have it for their family in the future and because they can go to Branson and stay..

[mickeyfinn]

If you think you want a timeshare schedule a tour of one and get the full salespitch. Just remember to say NO!!! After the tour you can just kind of walk around the place and spend some time in the common areas. Almost all of them have bulletin boards posted somewhere and current owners will be posting theirs to be "for sale" If you really want one this is the way to go. You can pick up one from someone who is unhappy for 10 cents on the dollar just to get them out of it. You can actually get a decent deal this way as they are not too bad a deal if the bulk of your cost is the annual fees. If you do the math you can tell that the only people who really profit are the people marketing and building the timeshare:
say they build 300 units and they sell 50 weeks out of the year for an average of 10,000 each. EACH UNIT IS BRINGING IN 500,000!!!!
That is $150,000,000.00 for the entire group.
Now think about the annual fees. A good number for annual fees is probably an average of 400 to 500 dollars per year so I'll use 450.00
50*450*300=$6,750,000 per year in nothing but maintence fees. And they don't even keep em up to meet resort standards.
If you want to take advantage of timeshares find some poor sucker who has already been had in the resort that you like and ask them to give your nam to the salespeople. Most of them will give you a 4 day 3 night stay in exchange for listening to a 90 minute presentation. This way you can see for yourself if you like it and maybe find a deal on the bulletin board.
My .02......which is worth nothing when compared to the money these guys rake in.

[Mandelon]

Looks like most experiences are negative. I have talked with a couple who enjoy and use theirs. Mother in law owns one in Mazatlan but doesn't use it....
From everyone I have talked with and the internet research, it sounds like if its in an area that you will use then it is worth it, but otherwise is a waste of money.
New ones sell for $11,00 to $16,000 (A SCAM) resale is about half of that at the brokers, and much less on E-bay. E-bay looks to have some real bargains! Again, only if you use it.
This "opportunity" is to take this in trade for some money that is owed me. I will get almost all the cash that is owed...$12,000 and will take this timeshare as trade for the last $1500. It is a week in Lake Tahoe. I need to find out what resort, the fee's, and some other details and what I can trade it for, etc.
We take an annual trip to ski, so I know we would use it.
He will pay this years fee and the transfer fees too.
Thanks for the help!! :D

[Essex502]

Two words: Forget it.

[HavasuDreamin']

It sounds like most of them are shady and costs come up that were never explained. I would say read the fine print.

[Ziggy]

Know a few peeps with them and both are not to pleased. WAY advance to book it, trading is nearly impossible to get a nicer destination, lots of annual fees..the list goes on. Only benefit one guys told me was it forced him to take that family vacation(or loose $)
Take their tour and say "No" but thanks for the free gift. :D
Seems to me you can save the dollars and vacation for less "where you want to go".
[ May 12, 2003, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Ziggy ]

[summerlove]

I've had a timeshare on Kauai for years. It is great. While many have had bad luck, be sure to do your homework on the resort. Make sure the place is top-shelf, and also find out the resale value of the units at your resort. While many originally sold for 10-15K, they now sell as resale in the 5-10K range, depending on location. A buddy of mine just bought a timeshare at the Havasu Dunes on ebay for under $600. It was a great deal - havasu in a 2 bedroom condo for $75/night sounds good! Just do your homework, like I said, we've been very happy with ours...

[Doug H.]

oh boy!!!! this is a great topic with me, so here we go, my wife and i went to a timeshare in havasu at london bridge two years ago and was nice but we did not buy a damn thing, we got to stay for free and enjoyed the river. we go to these timeshare things all the time and get free gifts (vcr) black angus vouchers ($50) a small (tv) and other free bees, we know ahead of time that we won't buy and never will but hell ya we'll take that free gift or stay at a river etc. if they are going to give we will gladly accept take the opportunity and do the same but DO NOT BUY. "THE COMMANDER HAS SPOKEN".....doug

[Havasu Doug]

I've always hated timeshares but bought one anyway at the London Bridge Resort in Havasu. I don't waste the money for the exchange program (Interval International) because it's a double ding. You have to pay annual dues to belong to it and then you have to pay an additional fee to exchange to a different resort. I just use my time in Havasu. The point that suckered me into to this in the first place is the "bonus time" dealio. You can go there for additional time for $35 a night for a studio, $55 a night for a 1 bedroom, and $75 a night for a 2 bedroom. COOL! I'M IN! Just one catch though. There has to be vacancies to use this option.

[Havasu Doug]

One good thing though. When we're plastered at Kokomo's on Saturday night for OP6-V, we'll just be taking the elevator up to the room. :D

[Free Agent]

Go in with your eyes wide open and don't buy on the spot,, think it over a spell.
The "You gotta take it now to get this price" is usually bunk and you can go back later and get the same deal.
Just think it over a while and decide if it's for you.
We bought a membership at a beachfront RV club in Parker when they couldn't give them away. I paid in the hundreds and thought I got my Huevos clipped and fed to the Coyotes.
Today, people are lined up at the sales office to gladly hand over 6 grand.
Just think it over if it's the way you want to go and fits your needs.
[ May 13, 2003, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: Free Agent ]

[WILD LAVEY]

man, all this negative response has got me thinking. 2 weeks ago i had put a deposit for a time share at the nautical inn. what sucked me into it was the bonus time. its $50 a night for the new beach condos. they claim that 30 units of the new condos are for time share only, so there would always be room available. (id like to see that in writing) i just wonder how hard its gonna be to get my deposit back if i pull out of the deal. :rolleyes:

[Seadog]

Since there is a lot on the negative, I thought I would pop up with something about the positive. First we bought ours at a bankrupcy and got it for about half price. We are guaranteed the same two bedroom, the same week every year. We have also used our membership to get discounts on additional condos for other family members or to go during other weeks.
For $300/year, we have a week for at least two couples at a smaller ski resort. The lift tickets are about 50% of the big resorts, we have the ability to tailor our skiing to our individual wants and we do not have to bring or buy our meals while there. All is not perfect, but I have tried several different resorts and all have their problems.
It depends on what you want to do and accepting the fact that it is a 'throwaway' purchase.

[Free Agent]

Seadog:
It depends on what you want to do and accepting the fact that it is a 'throwaway' purchase. That says it all.