Why not just rent rather than buy

[JudyS]

Originally Posted by docdvm

The 2 bedroom lockout sounds very interesting! understanding that Myrtle Beach is a 12 hour drive, what would you recommend for location and resort? ... Any thoughts on a home resort that would trade well?

This really depends almost completely on where and when you want to travel, and what quality of resort you want to stay in. Can you tell us how you'd like to vacation?

[docdvm]

Well looking historically and living in Canada we like to just get away from winter for a couple of weeks, kick off our winter boots and stroll along the beach. Don't golf anymore but like to cycle , walk, kayak, nature photography, primarily birds, etc. Of course some history and good restaurants to spoil ourselves is a delight. We have enjoyed a variety. For instance last year we spent a few days at the Grand Canyon, followed by a week in Las Vegas. Both the natural beauty of the Canyon in February and the action in Las Vegas during NBA Allstar week were fun. So to answer is not that easy. My wife LOVES Disney. I love nature but we enjoy a bit of both. Charleson is one of my favourite places but I have not seen places like St. Augustine and Savannah. Myrtle Beach is great for Golf, has good beaches but is really commercial. Maine is just perfect but way too cold in winter. Have not seen Atlantic City in ages. (before casinos) I would think that no single location can satisfy all our desires. Still a secluded beach within driving distance of a city like Charleston would be great especially if it had good trading power. Does a Charleston timeshare have any trading value?

[docdvm]

Based on the responses it seems that if time is flexible that it makes better economic sense to rent weeks and hold on to your capital. Timeshares are not appreciating in value. If one wants a time in prime season like say Xmas week, New Year or spring break then you have a better chance of reserving by buying. Also if one is a trader and becomes expert at it you can trade prime weeks for multiple bonus weeks or off season weeks making the purchase more economical. It would thus make more sense to just rent whenever we are ready and then if we fixate on a location or a time that requires us to buy we should look for the best resale value. Any ourchase over $5000.00 would result in a financial loss. If we can buy a resale at a time that is suitable in a location that is attractive and has good trade value then it might make some sense to buy. Still that location might be just as easy to rent at a price equal to or slightly more than the management fee. Right? Are there any exceptions? I would think that Disney Vacation Club might be one. Any others?

[Jya-Ning]

You better figure what you want first. You originally want to go to beach at Sept/Oct time frame. Which is O.K. The best they have is shoulder season, so you can have chance to rent cheaply or buy a cheap exchanger and exchange.

Now, you are thinking stay south during winter around beach area. The exchange to good FL or Mexico beach during that time will be rarely, and the rental price are often more than MF.

Find out what your goal is from now to next say 5 years. Lay down where you want to go, and ask yourself, with the quality you can live with (or your spouse can live with), what is the rent fee you are willing to pay. Then go to AAA, get their hotel book, look at these places, see if you can get these rate. Go to redweek, see if you can get AAA rate beat easily. Then you will know if you want own or not.

Since you are close to retirement, the 1st goal probably is to estatblish a live style that work within your means, then see if you want to rent or own to extend that live style.

Jya-Ning

[docdvm]

From posters you would think that trading your timeshare weeks or points to experience different places is a benefit of timeshare. You do not have to be concerned with always travelling to the same resort. In addition if you buy a timeshare with trading value in peak season not only can you trade for another locale but you can also trade for more time. One poster suggested that if I bought a 2 bedroom lockout I could trade for 3 weeks in non peak times. That would make the purchase more reasonable.

Others have suggested that we should define our vacation preferrances over the next 5 years and only then should we look at the differences between purchasing or renting.

What if we like a variety of vacations, not preferring to stay at the same hotel/resort every year. Isn't that what the majority of timeshare traders do? Is it worthwhile to do just that? Are you saving or at least breaking even in comparison to renters? Can you trade as easily as rent? Are there added costs in addition to the Management fees and membership fees in RCI, II, etc? Along the East coast what are the best traders? Is it the popular areas like Myrtle Beach , HH, or Orlando, or the out of the way places like St. Augustine, or Charleston or where?

[timeos2]

Originally Posted by docdvm

What if we like a variety of vacations, not preferring to stay at the same hotel/resort every year. Isn't that what the majority of timeshare traders do? Is it worthwhile to do just that? Are you saving or at least breaking even in comparison to renters? Can you trade as easily as rent? Are there added costs in addition to the Management fees and membership fees in RCI, II, etc? Along the East coast what are the best traders? Is it the popular areas like Myrtle Beach , HH, or Orlando, or the out of the way places like St. Augustine, or Charleston or where?

If seeing different places and not returning to the same place year after year is the main goal, and you are correct that many timeshare owners prefer that, then buying a week of timeshare someplace is not the best approach anymore. Until the rise of the mini-systems a week to trade was about the only way to accomplish visiting other timeshares away from your home resort but now week for week trades are a poor choice as a primary exchange method. You shold plan to use ownership of a week to get a special resort and or a high demand time over and over again. If your main goal is to travel to different areas nearly every use year then a good points based system with many resorts such as Wyndham, Sunterra, Worldmark and others offer an easy way to do that. They are all flexible enough to stretch your points into 2 or 3 weeks in one year or a single week in a super swank or large unit another. Plus they all have access to RCI or II for the places where they don't have a resort of their own. It is the best choice for variable destinations and usually the points are available resale for very low cost. The Disney Club is also a points based system but has resorts in very few places - you basically are back to being tied to an area again - and costs too much to use as a trade although they trade very well.

[Jya-Ning]

There are 2 things about ownership. 1st you need to come out purchase money. If you are working, sometimes, these money will come and go. You may sepend it on travel, you may spend it with no good reason. If you are approaching retiring, this is going to be your tool to generate income or reduce your debate more likely. At least until you know how much you are spending. 2nd is every year, you have to come out MF (Maintainence fee) and SA (Special assessment) if it happen. And to use the TS so you don't waste your MF and SA, you will have to come out more money at least to travel to that places. And if you just like to be in different places, then you will come out more money to do seesight.

As TS owner, you also need to remember 1) you have no control over MF/SA. It is not like your home, if your carpet is wore, or kitchen is outdate, a plate is broken, you can delay to replace it until you have enough money to pay. TS is controlled by a lot of owner, so if something broken, it will be replaced, if something is outdate, it will be remodeled, and it may or may not come out a convient time. 2) it is a market supply out bigger than demand in lot of places. So unless you know what you doing, you may expect to loss even if you buy resell.

Now, let us go back to different opions. If you don't plan to stay in the same places, then you are basically doing the similar things as an renter. And most of time, exchanger will be for bargin hunter. There are times, you use exchange to go places you did not go. But since you already pay MF for your TS, it makes you loss your selections. So you will be going to places where there is enough supply of TS for exchanges.

When you 1st start, you list the times and places you like use the TS is when there are enough supply of TS in the places you like to go.

So to make it worth, people wll suggest you can buy a point system or a prime lock off week in prime location and split it.

Now, you start to think you are in a world where TS is everywhere, and think the same maybe able to achieve on prime season and location (Winter in FL beach fit this well).

If just look at the current places you list, and the time solt, I can probably say you should buy a point system like Blue Green, and you will achieve what you want to go.

But if say in 3 years, you suddenly develope a desire to go to Asia or East European because you want to enjoy different culture, then TS will not help you, and you will think TS is a lousy product because you feel like you are stuck to places only have TS unless you are very comfortable of renting them out.

I think you need first figure out what kind of travel style and live style you have in mind, then look at your finacial situation to figure yourselves out what is the best approach.

TS definite can say money. But the big save is when you travel with several kids and have to be in prime season. When you now have all the time in the world, and in a situation where you may choose to go or not to go, you can always wait for the best rental deal to come out then go, then owning does not make too much sense at all. But if you are very commit to travel every years say for 3 month, then you need carefully planning how to add TS or other travel owning into your mix so it beat renting only. Because now most of the time when you travel, you can even take a stdio, so you need extreme careful about the MF and exchange fee.

Figure in next 5 years fisrt, it will help you much much more

Jya-Ning

[tonyg]

I'm in a rut lately and haven't been to a new resort in a couple of years and it's been about 6 years since we tried a new area. That will partly change later this summer when I try out a new resort in a familiar place. Some of us are comfortable returning to the same places. For me, downeast Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Cancun are enough to keep me happy- but the Mrs. would like new places.

[wackymother]

Originally Posted by docdvm

Based on the responses it seems that if time is flexible that it makes better economic sense to rent weeks and hold on to your capital. Timeshares are not appreciating in value. If one wants a time in prime season like say Xmas week, New Year or spring break then you have a better chance of reserving by buying. Also if one is a trader and becomes expert at it you can trade prime weeks for multiple bonus weeks or off season weeks making the purchase more economical. It would thus make more sense to just rent whenever we are ready and then if we fixate on a location or a time that requires us to buy we should look for the best resale value. Any ourchase over $5000.00 would result in a financial loss. If we can buy a resale at a time that is suitable in a location that is attractive and has good trade value then it might make some sense to buy. Still that location might be just as easy to rent at a price equal to or slightly more than the management fee. Right? Are there any exceptions? I would think that Disney Vacation Club might be one. Any others?

I think that this assessment is exactly right. For a couple traveling in the off-season, it does not make economic sense to buy a timeshare. You can even stay at Disney fairly inexpensively if you visit there in November or early December, for example. And you will not be limited to locations where there are timeshares--you can stay anywhere there is a hotel or motel.

I love timesharing for my family, because we have three kids and we're completely bound by school schedules. We like having more room and a kitchen and a nice resort. But if it were just my DH and me...well, the world is full of wonderful places and good hotels!

[BoardGirl]

To my knowledge, there are only 2 resorts in Charleston, SC.

One is Lodge Alley Inn, a Bluegreen resort. You could own in any Bluegreen resort and use your points to book LAI, or Orlando, or Williamsburg or Hershey, PA or Myrtle Beach...

You wouldn't have to care about trading power while you make your 'free trades' within the network. But, on those occasions when you want to trade outside BG, you have plenty of resorts and seasons to choose from for making a deposit to an exchange company.

LAI seems to have very good TP, based on supply and demand.

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