Why not just rent rather than buy

[docdvm]

My wife and I are approaching retirement and so are considering travelling if we ˙ave more spare time. Since flying is not a good option for us and living in Eastern Canada we are looking at travelling along the east coast as far as Florida. Of course if work commitments do not affect plans and there are no children in school we can truly travel anytime. RCI and Marriott are offering decent deals to view SummerBay resorts (RCI) and MArriott choices too. Before agreeing to expose us to the hard sell and then buying resale I have to ask, why wouldn't it be better to just rent whenever we want? As far as I can see there are many timeshares renting for the price of the Management fee. Why be committed to the fee is we can just travel anywhere on a rental? For instance, if we decide to visit Atlantic City or the Outerbanks for a week in September wouldn't it be just as easy and less expensive to pick up a rental?

[Spence]

The answer is yes, if you can travel off-season and/or the spur of the moment. Attractive destinations at holiday times are hard to get for bargain rental rates.

[Bill4728]

For people who travel during peak travel times or to super high demand resorts. Then buying is a great option. Also if you buy resale you can pickup some real bargains.

But, as Spence said, if you travel off season, you may find that renting from the owners (not the developer) can be a very good option. Try looking at websites like redweek.com for TS rentals by the TS owners to find some bargains.

[JudyS]

If you want to stay in very high-end resorts (Marriotts, for example) you can often trade into them during the off-season for much less than the cost of renting. This is especially true in overbuilt areas such as Orlando.

A "combination" stragey would be to buy one timeshare that trades via Interval Int'l. Use that for one trade a year (or two, if your week qualifies for an Accomodation Certificate, which is a bonus week) and then use Interval Getaways (i.e., Interval's rentals) for the other weeks that you want. (It is possible to beat even Interval's off-season Getway prices by trading, but only if you have a very cost-effective trader.)

[riverdees05]

If you get a good quality two bedroom lockout at the right time of the year that trades with II, then could end up with three weeks. Lock it out - one bedroom and studio, then you deposit the one bedroom with II and get maybe get an AC. That would give you two one bedroom units to get with II and the original studio to stay in or deposit with II for another exchange.

[dougp26364]

The way I've always looked at it, I can rent but, sometimes I would have to settle for whatever is available when and where I wanted to travel. By owning I can travel to the destinations I own at druing times that fit my needs and stay in the units I want to be in (assuming I've purchased unit specific).

Exchanging should offer me better choices than renting since exchangers should have first choice of available inventory. However, this is very much up for debate as RCI has been accused of skimming the cream off the top to rent out for profit while leaving the less desirable weeks for exchange. Proving that they are doing that may be an entirely different matter.

However, renting would most likely be less expensive and require less overhead. If you're flexible enough and not to picky, renting should be a very attractive alternive.

[tonyg]

Renting may be a better alternative in some cases and RCI's rentals not only hurt exchangers, but also can hurt developers. On my last timeshare presentation, I brought along a copy of RCI's rental page for the resort, which blew the salesperson's mind. I could rent cheaper than the maintenance fee without buying- how can you sell someone a week when that's the case ?

This might be a good ploy for someone going to a presentation- and might put pressure from developers on RCI's rental programs.

[BoardGirl]

I would agree that renting is an attractive option at this time, especially if off-season is appealling to you. There are many rental outlets offering very cheap weeks.

If you plan to never go to the same place twice, I see little reason to commit to a week somewhere. There are mini-systems and points systems that could accommodate your needs, but, these also show up in the rental pool.

I believe that just renting what you want can be more economical if you are reasonably flexible on time, place, and price. It will take some work, but so does ownership.

I would say, try before you buy. And maybe you will never feel compelled to buy and that's just fine!

[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? Presently we have a waterfront residence for our home so would like to travel during the winter. Is it better to purchase prime time , likely summer and then trade for say February or November or just get the season we would likely use?

There are SO many options and resorts. For instance Myrtle Beach is overdeveloped in my opinion. Hilton Head sounds more upscale and has limited availability with Marriott leading the competitors , I believe. In winter I believe North Carolina is too cold. Orlando is over developed unless you select a DVC property. Any thoughts on a home resort that would trade well?

[docdvm]

Summer Bay Resorts are offering a plan for
$199.00 4 day 3 night package with a sales presentation. Is it worthwhile?