Timeshares...a waste of $$?

Adriamichelle83

Does anyone have timeshares? A friend of ours has one and they seem really nice and are able to exchange them out for places all over, but then I also hear bad things about them. Are they worth the money? Anyone with experience with them?

JOEBunny

No.  Not worth it.  You have to pay the fees every year, which are usually high and special assessments for things that aren't covered. You can take a nice vacation for what some of the fees end up being, which is not the number they give you in the sales pitch BTW.

EastCoastBride

I have a couple friends who have timeshares and seem to really like it and use them and I don't hear them complain about the cost.

But recently we were trying to find a timeshare using FIL's account.  OMG.  By the time we were done, DH and I both were like "We don't want a timeshare!!!!".  Maybe FIL doesn't have a great one - who knows - but I felt like the availability and the options weren't that great.  I dont' want to be limited!

Mrs.JLC

Both DH and my family have timeshares. IMO, there are pros and cons just like anything else. We travel each year with my extended family so we will get a few 2/3 bedroom condo style rooms with full kitchens. We go for an entire week and eat most of our meals at the timeshare. Because we all chip in the cost is greatly deflated. However we often have to plan our trips a year in advance and we still sometimes have to adjust our desired dates based on availability. If it were just for DH, DD, and I then I would say that the annual fees and the up front cost are not worth the investment. Also, if DH and I didn't have as much vacation as we do we would not be able to take a smaller immediate family vacation as well so we would probably not go with the extended family each year. There are also some pros and cons to traveling with such a large group each year. The memories are wonderful but it can be a bit hectic. Sometimes it's a chore just to agree on a time/place to go.

SouthFloridaMommy

My mom bought a timeshare a few years ago and told me how great and flexible it was.  I had always heard bad things, but she seemed so happy.  Fast forward to this past summer - she warned me and DH about buying a timeshare because we had seen an offer for a place we liked.  She said the yearly fees are outrageous, there are constantly special fees/assessments, and she can't sell hers. 

Plus, the idea of going to another timeshare location isn't as easy as it seems.  For example, this past year she used hers to go to an all inclusive type resort that is in VA (her normal timeshare is in SC).  The point of sending her to the VA location is to sell you another timeshare in VA.  The catch is also that if she doesn't buy at the new location, she can't go back there for 5 years.  So even if she liked it, she can't go back unless she buys there.

I know lots of people like them, but I don't think it is right for us.  

Adriamichelle83

Thanks for all the input! The one my friends have is through intervalworld.com. Apparently they bought a top floor suite in HI during whale season a long time ago, and now if they don't use it during that time period, they get 10,000 pts. Well, a typical resort only costs about 1000-2000 pts, so they always have a TON left over. So they give them away, like they're doing with us, so they don't lose the points. I'm not sure about the details like how much it cost them, but it seemed like a sweet deal, but like a PP said, if you can't get away that often, it would be kind of moot. Anyway, thanks for all the input!