'Are they worth the money?'

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Are they worth the money?

Lily (74.226.30.28) -

I have read a few things about time shares but I am wondering if they are worth the money. Is it cheaper to invest in a time share then get a hotel? Is it true that there is only a certain time of the year that you can actually use it?

Comment #1 Joe (152.163.38.35) -

A time share is a single property with multiple owners. For example, 52 people might each purchase a week. You would really own the property just 7 days a year, and only be able to stay in it those 7 days (ie: just at that very specific time of the year).

The beauty is that the price is much lower than the cost of the property. ie: you would pay about $2k for a 100,000 property or $20k for a million dollar property. (of course there are management fees, etc).

The disadvantage is you can only use it for the period you purchased it.

A better bet (if you have the resources) would be to buy a vacation property. You stay when you want and rent it out the rest of the time. You have management fees again, but the opportunity for an excellent return on your investment and the option to stay anytime you don't rent it.

Comment #2 endora (24.45.126.104) -

I wouldnt buy into a time share unless you always travel to the same destination every year. You can switch out time share places with other destinations but why bother imo. I would only do it if the week i purchased was a prime time to do to the location and i frequently traveled to that area.

Comment #3 tater03 (12.168.214.146) -

How much money are you talking for one week of being able to use it? I mean is it really cheaper in the long run if you go to the same place every year. I always thought they were pretty expesive to own. But I'm not sure because I never really looked into one.

Comment #4 sams from Travel (Contact Member) -

I think it will depend on how you use your ownership. There are people who knows timesharing very well and can use it to their own benefits. So for them timesharing is a great thing.

Comment #5 MissCrissy from Hanging around (Contact Member) -

Do you want to spend the same money for the same property year in and year out? It's not easy to sell a time share. Do your children want your timeshare? Yes, you have to will it to somebody and those people will have to keep paying for it. When DH's parents wanted to buy a timeshare I begged them not to because I don't want a timeshare.

But one of my best babysitting jobs was for a timeshare in Orange County, California. Easy work and lots of money.

Comment #6 Snowbird from The Frozen Tundra (Contact Member) -

My husbands parents gave us their timeshare and we have been paying annual fees on it for 5 years and have not used it once. Whenever we want to plan a vacation, the time and place we want to go is always unavailable. You have to be the type of people to plan your vacations at least 2 years in advance if you want to stay at a certain place. We can't do that. We can do 1 year in advance and that is always too late for us.

I'm going to try to plan something this year just to use it once and then get rid of it.

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