[logline]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Time shares are not all bad

Oh yes they are.

Every. Single. One.

Every timeshare has a better, cheaper, more flexible or more desirable counterpart that you could buy without a high pressure sales pitch... and without paying a middle man. All timeshares are evil.

[BBMW]

You can buy one on the secondary market at a fraction of the price.

Originally Posted by logline

Oh yes they are.

Every. Single. One.

Every timeshare has a better, cheaper, more flexible or more desirable counterpart that you could buy without a high pressure sales pitch... and without paying a middle man. All timeshares are evil.

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by BBMW

You can buy one on the secondary market at a fraction of the price.

Yep...sometimes less than a penny on the original dollar cost. That's where the real deal is.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by logline

Oh yes they are.

Every. Single. One.

Every timeshare has a better, cheaper, more flexible or more desirable counterpart that you could buy without a high pressure sales pitch... and without paying a middle man. All timeshares are evil.

Here was my experience. The Mrs. & I both worked in high-pressure high-profile professional jobs in Silicon Valley. We always found excuses not to take a vacation - work was always in the way, and work always expanded to fill all available time. We wished we cut successfully cut down to only 60 or 70 hours per week. (There are 168 billable hours in a week - ask me how I know).

We did the timeshare presentation thing in Palm Desert for a typical 3 days/2 nights, and of course we had heard mostly bad things about timeshares. We had our defenses up - we were absolutely NOT going to buy.

But the timeshare experience was fine, we had fun, we had a vacation, and during the sales pitch - it was incredibly inexpensive (pre-construction pricing on the next project next door).

So, we purchased a week. Our rationale was "we just never take a vacation. This way, we lock it in a year in advance & it is not easy to cancel just because work gets in the way."

That was about 12 years ago.

We actually used it exactly once in Palm Desert. BUT we used it 7 times elsewhere in the US, including Steamboat Springs CO (ski vacation), Park City UT (ski vacation), Vail, CO (summer vacation), & Las Vegas.

The times we didn't use it, we rented it out on VRBO - and our ROI on renting is quite good.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by logline

Oh yes they are.

Every. Single. One.

Every timeshare has a better, cheaper, more flexible or more desirable counterpart that you could buy without a high pressure sales pitch... and without paying a middle man. All timeshares are evil.

Everyone -- if you get a chance, see the documentary Queen of Versailles (http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120034/the_queen_of_versailles - broken link) . It is the rags-to-riches-to-rags story of billionaire time share tycoons David & Jackie Segal. He built the Westgate Timeshare empire from scratch. And, of course, it crashed.

Westgate Las Vegas & the crash of the real estate bubble, and in particular real estate financing, was his undoing.

The focus of the film was on them attempting to build the largest private residence in the USA - 90,000 square feet (they currently live in a 30,000 square foot home that is too small for them, they say). All the wealth was built on the timeshare industry, of course.

The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival a few months ago.

EDIT: Magnolia Pictures bought film rights to the movie ... the company is planning a summer theatrical release. Bravo purchased TV rights & plans a 2013 TV premiere. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ris...mentary-307427

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Here was my experience. The Mrs. & I both worked in high-pressure high-profile professional jobs in Silicon Valley. We always found excuses not to take a vacation - work was always in the way, and work always expanded to fill all available time. We wished we cut successfully cut down to only 60 or 70 hours per week. (There are 168 billable hours in a week - ask me how I know).

We did the timeshare presentation thing in Palm Desert for a typical 3 days/2 nights, and of course we had heard mostly bad things about timeshares. We had our defenses up - we were absolutely NOT going to buy.

But the timeshare experience was fine, we had fun, we had a vacation, and during the sales pitch - it was incredibly inexpensive (pre-construction pricing on the next project next door).

So, we purchased a week. Our rationale was "we just never take a vacation. This way, we lock it in a year in advance & it is not easy to cancel just because work gets in the way."

That was about 12 years ago.

We actually used it exactly once in Palm Desert. BUT we used it 7 times elsewhere in the US, including Steamboat Springs CO (ski vacation), Park City UT (ski vacation), Vail, CO (summer vacation), & Las Vegas.

The times we didn't use it, we rented it out on VRBO - and our ROI on renting is quite good.

We also use our timeshares (all 3!) every year. Ours is a points system with Wyndham...so much flexibility...can use them anytime throughout the year and at any Wyndham timeshare location across the country...and there's about 70 of them...including Wyndham's Grand Desert in LV.

Our goal is to visit every property at least once. This year, we're doing a week in Williamsburg, VA in the summer, and taking the grandson to Disney for his very first time in the fall. My wife is also doing a 3-day girls weekend trip with her grown daughters to AC in the summer...and I still have over 100,000 points to use up before the end of the year!

We pay a mantenance fee each month...($72 for 1 property, $62 for prop #2 and $35 for prop #3) for a total of $169 per month....or about $2000 per year. The beauty is that we bought them all on the secondary market for about a penny on the original dollar ($700 for 1 prop; $405 for another and $350 for the last one...about $1500 for properties that originally cost $100,000 straight from Wyndham!) That $1500 was a one-shot purchase...done.

So we're getting 3 weeks accomodations for our $2000 maintenance fees per year at first-rate Wyndham properties. Another beauty is the money saved on food. These places are like apartments with full blown kitchens in them. Just eating breakfast and lunch there, while dining out for occasional dinners really saves a travelling buck. For those who think the maintenance fees constantly go up...ours went down a few bucks from last year.

I was so impressed with Wyndham that I bought some stock in 11/2010. Since then, I have realized a 66% gain (stock has gone for < $30 to almost $50!) which has paid for my maintenance fees for the 2 years I've owned them.

In retirement, the timeshares will be great. And when we get too old and don't use the timeshares anymore, we'll pass it on to kids/grandkids, if they want to pay the monthly fees. If not we'll give 'em away...it's not like we paid a huge initial investment for them.

So, to us, timeshares have been a great deal. Like S&M said...it forces us to take needed vacations right now...which is wonderful. My suggestions if you do buy into them...stick with a top-notch company...look for a points system (as opposed to a fixed week)...AND NEVER BUY ON THE PRIMARY MARKET.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by L.V. SnowBird

I'm curious does anyone have experience attending one of the Riviera sales presentations. They offered 3 days and two nights at their hotel and a lot of other goodies for attending a 90 minute sales presentation. I was assured it wasn't a time share package. The salesman described it as a vacation package....

I didn't sign up for it YET, but was wondering if anyone has any insight into the offer.

My cousin has a vacation every year in Lake Tahoe when the local timeshare guys send her a similar invitation. She takes them up on it and never buys anything.

All timeshare companies want to sell you timeshares, however, they know that a certain percentage of the people will say no. They factor their marketing budget with this. There is no shame in going to the presentation and saying no.

If you want to go, then go! Just say no. You're not interested. Don't give them a reason (because they will have a counter for *any* objection you give them ESPECIALLY MONEY). Just tell them you aren't interested, but thanks for the invitation.

Make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements and do *everything* you are supposed to do because you are going to have to give them a credit card number and if you fail to "follow the rules" you will be charged for the room. Read all the fine print. You have to be between certain ages, make a minimum income, and usually cannot live within 250 miles of the timeshare being sold. Also, you have to register, sit through the presentation and have your invitation "signed off" by the sales man or sales manager. Make sure you understand all the requirements before deciding to do this.

20yrsinBranson

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements and do *everything* you are supposed to do because you are going to have to give them a credit card number and if you fail to "follow the rules" you will be charged for the room. Read all the fine print. You have to be between certain ages, make a minimum income, and usually cannot live within 250 miles of the timeshare being sold. Also, you have to register, sit through the presentation and have your invitation "signed off" by the sales man or sales manager. Make sure you understand all the requirements before deciding to do this.

And when you couple the inconvenience, time and hassle, what they give isn't worth it. They claim the presentation will be "90 minutes." But even if you arrive with a stopwatch (which wouldn't be a bad idea), they'll find a way to make it go long. I'd plan on a few hours dodging sleazy sales tactics.

For this reason, I have never taken them up on the offer. We're only talking a couple hundred dollars worth of hotel. My vacation time is worth more than that to me. I work too hard to waste vacation time sitting through a sales pitch.

[binionrat]

And to get out of there and away from the sales team remember the statement to your partner "...well we should be discharged from our bankruptcy pretty soon...." They'll be the ones trying to get rid of you then.

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by binionrat

And to get out of there and away from the sales team remember the statement to your partner "...well we should be discharged from our bankruptcy pretty soon...." They'll be the ones trying to get rid of you then.

Another quick way is to say "let's check eBay for XYZ timeshare. I heard you could buy them for pennies for what you're selling them for!"