Kiplinger.com Community - Timeshares are NOT an investment!

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Timeshares are NOT an investment!

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11-29-2005, 04:13 AM	#1
savingadvice Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 204	Timeshares are NOT an investment! For anyone out there who was even considering buying into a timeshare, don't even consider it - it's nothing more than a huge money wasting trap that you will surely regret. I've seen more people that are fairly financially literate get conned into these and lose a good portion of their income that could go into savings or toward retirement. No matter how slick the salesmen are, remember that something that loses 50% - 80% of its value the second you sign on the dotted line is not a good investment. Do your friends and family a favor. If any of them are considering purchasing a timeshare, stop them. They will thank you for it. __________________ My Personal Finance Advice Blog and Personal Finance website for saving money

11-24-2006, 11:26 PM	#2
secretlover Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5	Touche! I cannot agree more with the statement above. I just got out from under a horrendous timeshare "investment" and know all too well what a trap it is. Just take one look on eBay or type "timeshare resales" into your browser and you'll see how many of these things are just sitting there. You can't even give them away. I ended up getting out from underneath mine with a company called Timeshare Relief which honestly, was a godsend. They took complete ownership of my property after nearly three years of my trying to sell it. Take the advice of "savingadvice" above and stay away from timeshares!

11-25-2006, 08:51 AM	#3
Athena53 Spam Swatter Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Suburb of Kansas City, MO Posts: 347	A friend of mine buys timeshare foreclosures- probably a good way to buy them if you're really intent on having one. He and his wife actually use theirs, so they're not really doing it as an investment. I'm a bit too much of a control freak to buy a timeshare. I ask too many questions. How well is the place maintained? How do I know the maintenance fees will be kept high enough to include reserves for big things like resurfacing parking lots or putting on a new roof when needed? If there are potential renters, who decides which unit gets them? And I wouldn't count on exchanging my week in the Poconos for someone's ski chalet in Zurich. This concept has gone "upscale"- there are now some luxury resorts that sell "fractional ownership" going into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the promise that you can use your weeks at another resort in the group.

07-30-2007, 09:07 PM

articledon

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Join Date: Oct 2006

Posts: 201

Is it then a good buy if you get it after it has lost 50-80% of its value?

Quote:

Originally Posted by savingadvice

For anyone out there who was even considering buying into a timeshare, don't even consider it - it's nothing more than a huge money wasting trap that you will surely regret. I've seen more people that are fairly financially literate get conned into these and lose a good portion of their income that could go into savings or toward retirement.

No matter how slick the salesmen are, <b>remember that something that loses 50% - 80% of its value the second you sign on the dotted line is not a good investment. </b>

Do your friends and family a favor. If any of them are considering purchasing a timeshare, stop them. They will thank you for it.

07-31-2007, 09:34 AM	#5
Dingobiscuit No Disclaimer Necessary Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,772	It depends on what you pay for it. Remember, it is not supposed to be an investment. You are basically paying for a week of a room at a resort for life. What is that worth to you? It can save you and your family $100s (sometimes $1000s) of dollars a year (but only if you use it) and you can pass it along to your kids and they can pass it to their kids, etc. (as long as the resort is still there ), so anything it gets sold for down the road is pretty much gravy at that point. __________________ "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." - Yogi Berra

07-31-2007, 10:37 PM	#6
seeba Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 71	i think it can a good investment if you intend to use it and holiday in the same place, in the same season. when you're bored with it you can just sale your share. __________________ credit cards for people with bad credit

08-01-2007, 07:36 AM	#7
Dingobiscuit No Disclaimer Necessary Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,772	I have heard that selling them can be a challenge, but have no firsthand experience. I am trying to sell mine in Florida by year's end. I figure if you buy one and save thousands of dollars over its lifetime, then sell it for anything, you have made a good deal, depending on how much you paid originally and how much you saved (obviously). __________________ "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." - Yogi Berra

08-01-2007, 08:45 AM

articledon

Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006

Posts: 201

It sounds like its better to get a second hand timeshare. Especially for the infinite ones. After reading your post in the other thread I was doing some research and I notice that the ones at RCI are for 80 years. Not complaining, that is still 2 life times for vacationing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dingobiscuit

I have heard that selling them can be a challenge, but have no firsthand experience. I am trying to sell mine in Florida by year's end.

I figure if you buy one and save thousands of dollars over its lifetime, then sell it for anything, you have made a good deal, depending on how much you paid originally and how much you saved (obviously).

08-01-2007, 08:51 AM

articledon

Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006

Posts: 201

The jist of what I get from you is that if you use it, it can be worth it. But most people talk negatively about timeshares because they were expecting a purely financial investment. Kinda like a car, a car is a terrible financial investment but it can be immensely valuable to the user.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dingobiscuit

It depends on what you pay for it. Remember, it is not supposed to be an investment. You are basically paying for a week of a room at a resort for life. What is that worth to you?

It can save you and your family $100s (sometimes $1000s) of dollars a year (but only if you use it) and you can pass it along to your kids and they can pass it to their kids, etc. (as long as the resort is still there

), so anything it gets sold for down the road is pretty much gravy at that point.

08-14-2007, 04:44 PM	#10
James Boyer Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Morristown NJ Posts: 73	I agree, not a investment in the normal sense. Not likely to be able to sell it at a profit. __________________ James Boyer Realtor Associate RE/MAX Properties Unlimited Real Estate Morristown, NJ 07960 973-647-0253 (Direct) Specializing for Morristown NJ Real Estate, Madison NJ Real Estate, & Chatham NJ Real Estate all in Morris County New Jersey, give James Boyer a call 973-647-0253 (Direct)

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