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Renting may be better even in season
Many replies talk about renting time in the off seasons. I've also found that I can often be very specific about resort, use time and unit size when renting - far more than in week to week trades. Over the past decade exchange guests have been downgraded to second class at many resorts while an owner that is renting will often know the exact unit you will get. Even if you pay a small premium over annual fees (I'd expect to but often it seems we don't) you ae still saved from the upfront money of a purchase. For a $1000-$5000 timeshare not a big deal but once you start talking $10,000 and up - even at resale - renting looks mighty good and it would take an awful lot of convincing for us to buy rather than rent any timeshare that sells for over $5000.
As for off season you can virtually steal rentals anywhere. Often a 2 or 3 bedroom timeshare will rent at or below the cost of a local hotel. Now those are deals. Of course you can also trade in easily but be very careful that the value you give up isn't too high compared to the rental cost.
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