Interested But Ignorant - Need Help

I'm interested in possibly purchasing a TimeShare within the next year or so. What I really need is a place for about 3 to 4 weeks per year - my initially thought was to buy a condo but I am now leaning towards a T/S.

I'm just now reading the message boards and I'm picking up great information but if anyone can offer specific pointers, it would be more than appreciated.

At first glance, T/S appears like the way to go, but there are always hidden costs and hidden horrors. I see most folks purchase one week - as I said I need 3/4 weeks, if that possible?

Thanks

First of all there are plenty of rentals to be had without the hassles of ownership. Once you buy a timeshare, you will be responsible for maintenance fees until you sell it or die, and even after death the maintenance fee responsibilty will be passed on to your heirs.

However, if you are set on ownership the mantra is to always buy resale (can save you a LOT of money). Have you decided where you would like to own? Are you looking for 3-4 weeks in a row in the same location or in different locations? Are you buying to strictly use or to exchange?

Could you please offer more details so that we may help you?

jayjay wrote:

First of all there are plenty of rentals to be had without the hassles of ownership. Once you buy a timeshare, you will be responsible for maintenance fees until you sell it or die, and even after death the maintenance fee responsibilty will be passed on to your heirs.

However, if you are set on ownership the mantra is to always buy resale (can save you a LOT of money). Have you decided where you would like to own? Are you looking for 3-4 weeks in a row in the same location or in different locations? Are you buying to strictly use or to exchange?

Could you please offer more details so that we may help you?

Thank you Jay-Jay for your response. Well, I don't know if I really need to buy or what. I just know that I need 3 to 4 weeks per year - together with no breaks in between. Buying would seem the logical approach given that I will need that period of time each year. Or, are you saying that I can rent 3/4 consecutive weeks in say, Maryland, Virginia, or the Washington, DC area every year?

My vacation time normally falls in either February or July/August. This is fairly solid from year to year.

jayjay wrote:

First of all there are plenty of rentals to be had without the hassles of ownership. Once you buy a timeshare, you will be responsible for maintenance fees until you sell it or die, and even after death the maintenance fee responsibilty will be passed on to your heirs.

However, if you are set on ownership the mantra is to always buy resale (can save you a LOT of money). Have you decided where you would like to own? Are you looking for 3-4 weeks in a row in the same location or in different locations? Are you buying to strictly use or to exchange?

Could you please offer more details so that we may help you?

And, I'm looking to mainly use although exchanges from time to time is possible.

rashada wrote:

Thank you Jay-Jay for your response. Well, I don't know if I really need to buy or what. I just know that I need 3 to 4 weeks per year - together with no breaks in between. Buying would seem the logical approach given that I will need that period of time each year. Or, are you saying that I can rent 3/4 consecutive weeks in say, Maryland, Virginia, or the Washington, DC area every year?My vacation time normally falls in either February or July/August. This is fairly solid from year to year.

Well, it may be a little difficult to find 3-4 consecutive weeks in a row at the same resort in the same unit by buying resale, however if you wouldn't mind changing units each week you should be able to find something in your choice area to buy or rent.

Have you looked at the areas you are interested in the Redweek ads to see what may be available for your timeframe?

Actually it's pretty easy to find multiple weeks in the same unit- a lot easier than one would think. Renting may not be a great option in the time frame set for your vacations as these are high demand times in desireable times/locations. I would suggest buying 2 weeks to start and expanding if needed. February is very high demand in warm locations/skiing areas, particularly Presidents week. Before suggesting what and where to buy, tell us what you like to do on vacations.

Rashada;

I agree that depending on the resort (I mean which company owns it - Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, etc.) you should be able to book consecutive weeks.

We own at a Marriott resort, and once you purchase in a 'season', you can book all your weeks for the same week (perhaps for a family reunion) or for consecutive weeks. At Marriott, you can book up to a year in advance of the dates you want to go, and if you are an owner of multiple weeks at the resort, you can book 13 months in advance.

I'd think the biggest problem would be in picking up enough resale weeks in the chosen resort in the same season and also in the same locale (for instance my resort has gardenside, oceanside and oceanfront locales). So if I owned one oceanfront week, and three gardenview weeks, maybe I could downgrade to 4 gardenview weeks when booking, but I certainly couldn't get four oceanfront weeks. Or, as Jayjay said, maybe you wouldn't mind moving from condo to condo each week within the same resort - I certainly would but everyone is different.

First though as others said, you need to pinpoint where you want to be, and in particular, which specific resort you want.

Good luck!