Post reply

Re: WALK AWAY FROM TIMESHARE (by Ray S.):

TS's are not created equal. Stick with a well-known company (like Marriott). Maintenance fees cover all the stuff you'd normally have to pay if you owned your own condo/house in the area of your choice but a whole lot less. TS's give you flexibility to travel and not be obligated to go to the same place every vacation. TS's are NOT investments and one should never purchase with the idea of "making a killing" in this kind of real estate. All Exchange company's are also not the same. RCI vs II - no contest from all I hear about RCI. If you have anything less than an ocean resort week or a ski resort week, you are likely to get a 3rd rate exchange with RCI. Re: multiple weeks - I have been conversing with 2 individuals who own 22 and 30+ weeks. Yes, they use them and yes they rent them and yes they exchange them and yes they share them with extended families. Too much scheduling for my taste. They never worry about plumbing, a/c, etc when they aren't occupying the unit. The furnishings and appliances are regularly replaced and they are able to write off the taxes on the units. Our puny 2 weeks have been parlayed into 7 weeks of quality vacations at 4 different resorts over our 2 1/2 yrs of ownership when you include the "bonus weeks" we received from II. So, compare apples to apples. After paying for your week, you get a quality vacation for the cost of the maintenance fee annually. Not such a bad deal in my book. Could you maintain an entire house or condo for 12 months for the price of a maintenance fee on a week of TS? I doubt it. Save some bucks and buy re-sales. Developer costs of a week are grossly inflated even at pre-construction prices. There are deals to be had in re-sales. Disclaimer: I neither work for nor have any affiliation whatsoever with any TS organization, re-seller TS affiliates. RCS