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So many regrets

WVBaker

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It seems as though, if you come to visit this site among others and read the posts, there are so many people that are sorry they ever purchased their timeshare.

One day they woke up and thought, why did I ever do this? It seemed so promising and wonderful at the time. Now, it's nothing more than a heavy financial burden that they carry and can't get out from under.

Isn't there anyone out there that's happy with their decision and would do it again? Isn't there anyone out there that has indeed profited, no matter how small, by renting out a timeshare they couldn't make use of?

Come on people. There must be more than a few that are happy with their decision.

Sorry... rant over.
 

jhac007

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Ko Olina BC, Waioha BC, Crystal Shores (2 Gold), Kierland (Gold Plus), Ocean Pointe, Eagle's Nest, Vistana BC, Villas at Doral, Mizner Place, Windward Pointe, Star Island
My experience in TS owning/reading on this site it that the unhappy/disgruntled folks are in the minority!
 

theo

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Isn't there anyone out there that's happy with their decision and would do it again?

Regrets? None whatsoever. We have parted company (rarely at any "profit") with numerous timeshares in which we have lost interest over the years, but we're very happy with our remaining intervals and always use and enjoy them. We would make any of those purchases again. Having said that however, we have never purchased developer-direct, only resale. I suspect that the sting of having paid obscene developer prices results in a different (and more likely to be negative) perspective for some people, particularly if / when they have difficulty even giving their interval(s) away for free later (Westgate comes immediately to mind as an example of grossly overpriced developer purchases becoming completely worthless in the resale market).

Isn't there anyone out there that has indeed profited, no matter how small, by renting out a timeshare they couldn't make use of?
We've never purchased timeshares with any goal or objective to "profit" financially, but on those occasions when we've been unable to use our intervals, we've had no trouble at all renting them out for about 150% of our maintenance fee amount. Then again, our remaining intervals are all in relatively high demand places and seasons; I readily acknowledge that our successful experiences would not be the same in low demand locations or seasons.

I'm sure there is a broad range of perspectives on timeshare ownership. As always, to each their own, but for those who purchase and use wisely, interval ownership is a great (and money saving) avenue to fully equipped condos for vacation. IMnsHO, you can keep the motel and hotel rooms.
 
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ronparise

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While there are plenty of folks that come here with sad stories and regrets, most of us that stick around have figured out how to squeeze some value and enjoyment from what they have

I for one am more than happy with what I've done with my Wyndham ownership
 

Panina

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I am a very happy timeshare owner, never once had a regret. I purchased my first timeshare at retail, the rest resale. My profit is the money I save each year using my timeshare versus renting.
 

sts1732

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Sunset Harbor Key, west
Pinion pointe Sedona, az.
Once we learned how to play the game we have been able to rent, trade, and sell. Like Theo, we also bought the first one developer, found Tug, and after 20yrs. we pretty much go and do what we want, and had in mind for financial gain. By the right one, in the right season...............NO PROBLEM !
 

SueDonJ

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Marriott Barony Beach and SurfWatch
Don and I are and always have been very happy Marriott owners, and if you go by the poll in the Marriott forum most owners who participate here are also very happy. Don't confuse timeshare ownership with timeshare selling practices, and don't believe either that TUGgers "universally" hate all timeshare developers/sellers. Some of us, who wanted very specific ownerships that were available at the time of purchase only from developers, have gone into those purchases with our eyes wide open and still don't regret it. :)
 

BM243923

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Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort-Weeks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
We have been owners for 11 years now and are very happy timeshare owners. We use our units every year and look forward to next visit.
 

jehb2

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We absolutely love our timeshares. We've taken awesome vacations and stayed in fabulous accommodations. Yes I sound like an infomercial.
 

TUGBrian

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site is full of many thousands of happy timeshare owners.

However it is quite common for folks to not separate the severe dislike for the retail sales process of buying a timeshare from a developer....and the actual use of the timeshare itself for family vacations and instead simply label the entire product as a terrible idea.

to hate one and enjoy the benefits of the other is perfectly normal.
 

NiteMaire

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Marriott G. Château
HVC Sedona Summit
VVR The Colonies
site is full of many thousands of happy timeshare owners.

I'm one of them. Purchased 4, currently own 3. The first one was from the developer. The last 3 were resale listings on TUG and RedWeek. Happy with all 4 purchases as well as the trades on II.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 

PamMo

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WVBaker, if you browse through all the different forums on TUG, you'll see plenty of complaints, but most members are helping each other maximize usage of their timeshares. TUG contains an incredible, collective wealth of knowledge about how to work the different timeshare and exchange systems. The depth of knowledge is amazing. Tuggers can almost instantly pull up view categories of individual units, historical record of MF's, best restaurants/things to do near a resort, availability and tips on booking, details on possible (and real) scams, resort legal and tax documents, timeshare resort owner's manuals, sales records, etc. PLENTY of Tuggers are using this site to enjoy their timeshares!

I'm a very happy timeshare owner - thanks a lot to what I've learned on TUG. Do I like everything about timesharing? No. But, we love staying in our resorts, bought them all resale, and are able to rent a few units to cover the MF's of some of our other timeshares so we can enjoy almost "free" vacations.
 

Jan M.

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Wyndham Presidential Reserve at Panama City Beach
Club Wyndham Access
Grandview Las Vegas and Discovery Beach Resort - Both in RCI Points
Woodstone and Summit at Massanutten - Both in RCI weeks used as Wyndham PICs
Most of the people I've encountered that were unhappy with their timeshare purchase never learned how to navigate the system and make full use of their benefits. Last August when we were in Panama City Beach, staying at a resort through RCI, another couple wanted to give us their Wyndham points because they were so unhappy with their purchase that was made about three years ago. It was only 154,000 points and at a resort with maintenance fees a little higher than I like so I declined plus I just wasn't interested in adding more points. Throughout the week she talked to several other couples asking them if they wanted it.

I felt bad for them because I understood her complaint, that 154,000 points wasn't enough to get them the reservations they wanted. Suggesting they buy a cheap resale contract to add more points really set her off. There is no way they are giving Wyndham one more penny of their money. They think what they have is so worthless that they wouldn't consider burdening their adult children with it. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face attitude! And the sad part is that since they are now retired there are plenty of places they could go for a week with that 154,000 points but they have no interest in learning how to look online at what is available.

In the first couple of years we owned I slowly learned the Wyndham system with a lot of help from the VC's. Once the online system became available I found it very easy to use and made much better use of our points. We also own at a resort in the RCI system and I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I found the RCI system to be much more challenging. After about five years of owning and the second time we had points we had to use and could not extend I finally buckled down and learned the RCI system. We started making such good use of our RCI points that I bought a second week of points to use.

Here is a good example of learning to maximize our ownerships. My husband has to make a trip to Arkansas for business. Through RCI sale weeks I booked a two bedroom unit at Wyndham Fairfield Bay for $199.70 and no points. Yes, I could have booked it using my Wyndham points but why use the points if we don't have to as we can use them for other stays. Plus he has to have a receipt to be able to put it on his company expense account. His company and department head are happy because it is far cheaper than a hotel would have been for a week and they will pay for any groceries he purchases for the meals he chooses to eat in saving them even more money. Considering that in the next five months he is going to be doing more traveling for the company this is a win-win all the way around. Staying at the resorts is much more comfortable than a hotel and my husband truly hates having to eat all his meals out by himself. Also anytime there is a resort he can stay at I am glad to tag along, so kind of a vacation for me!

We bought developer from Wyndham and spent enough money that we could have bought a second house. There is no way in the world we want the work and headaches of a second house. Nor do we want to be stuck going to the same place. We purchased most of our RCI points resale so only have a small fraction of money we spent buying our Wyndham points invested in them. I maximize my discounts, upgrades, sale weeks, etc. with both the Wyndham and RCI ownerships. We love staying at the different timeshare resorts. We already go a lot and once my husband retires later this year we will be going even more.
 

dagger1

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Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch, Hyatt Main Street Station, Hyatt Ka’anapali; Marriott Ko’Olina, Marriott Waiohai; Marriott Maui Ocean Club; Wyndham CWA points, Worldmark credits.
It seems as though, if you come to visit this site among others and read the posts, there are so many people that are sorry they ever purchased their timeshare.

One day they woke up and thought, why did I ever do this? It seemed so promising and wonderful at the time. Now, it's nothing more than a heavy financial burden that they carry and can't get out from under.

Isn't there anyone out there that's happy with their decision and would do it again? Isn't there anyone out there that has indeed profited, no matter how small, by renting out a timeshare they couldn't make use of?

Come on people. There must be more than a few that are happy with their decision.

Sorry... rant over.
Hmmm.. I haven't come across these "unhappiness" posts. I'm sure they are there, but I haven't seen them. Most of what I see are "happiness" posts, from both developer and resale buyers... We began receiving our Wyndham points the end of January, and already have trips booked to New Orleans, Alexandria, San Antonio (already took a SA trip to La Cascada and Westwinds in Myrtle Beach and going to SA again in July), Flagstaff, Sedona, Durango, National Harbor, and 2 x 3 BRs at Wyndham Bonnet Creek this Christmas... We are thrilled with our purchase. And I'm looking forward to the next TUG get together next January!
 

Sugarcubesea

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It seems as though, if you come to visit this site among others and read the posts, there are so many people that are sorry they ever purchased their timeshare.

One day they woke up and thought, why did I ever do this? It seemed so promising and wonderful at the time. Now, it's nothing more than a heavy financial burden that they carry and can't get out from under.

Isn't there anyone out there that's happy with their decision and would do it again? Isn't there anyone out there that has indeed profited, no matter how small, by renting out a timeshare they couldn't make use of?

Come on people. There must be more than a few that are happy with their decision.

Sorry... rant over.

I love my timeshares, I bought them all resale and have stayed at very nice resorts for cheaper then I could have stayed in a hotel room.
 

dominidude

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I just came back from the Ford's Colony Marriott in Williamsburg, the going rate for that resort is about $300 a night now that it's winter. I booked for $50 a night using an "AC" (accommodations certificate) that II gives timeshare owners. I love my timeshares. But the key is buying resale :)
 

K2Quick

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Fortunately I discovered TUG before jumping into timesharing so I've never had the misfortune of sitting through a timeshare spiel. I've been doing this for about eight years or so now and it's become really painful to stay in a regular hotel room after enjoying the benefits of the extra space and amenities of timeshares and I usually do it for less than I'd pay for a cramped hotel room.
 

Born2Travel

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Also happy with our timeshares, however all were purchased resale. (somehow found TUG before purchasing - I don't remember how we found TUG but very glad we did) I might feel differently if we had purchased from the developer or purchased the wrong timeshares, but we've taken vacations we wouldn't have taken and stayed in much nicer properties than we would have if we didn't own timeshares. We mainly use what we own along with a couple of traders.
 

hjsweet2002

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It seems as though, if you come to visit this site among others and read the posts, there are so many people that are sorry they ever purchased their timeshare.

One day they woke up and thought, why did I ever do this? It seemed so promising and wonderful at the time. Now, it's nothing more than a heavy financial burden that they carry and can't get out from under.

Isn't there anyone out there that's happy with their decision and would do it again? Isn't there anyone out there that has indeed profited, no matter how small, by renting out a timeshare they couldn't make use of?

Come on people. There must be more than a few that are happy with their decision.

Sorry... rant over.
We purchased our first timeshare in July 2011 and have purchased several more since then. All of them have been resale. We love our Wyndham resorts. We have gone and will go places that we would never have gone if we didn't own TS. We also have loved the fact that we have been able to share our resorts and vacations with many family members whom also would have never gone to those places. No regrets here.
 

MabelP

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We purchased four developer weeks from Marriott and have never looked back. Have enjoyed so many vacations with family and friends. Priceless!
 

WinniWoman

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We bought ours full freight and never regretted it for a moment. Our second one we got for free and we love having that one also.That said, as we get older we will probably divest ourselves of our 2 week one and just keep our second one to downsize. I think people unhappy with their timeshares are people who don't understand how to use them and also people who expect to be able to always exchange to go anywhere in the world they want whenever they want. We have fixed weeks and go where we own within driving distance of our home (no airfare) and if we can exchange once on a while it is considered a bonus. And we did exchange a lot on the past.

Oh, and also a lot of people take out loans and really can't afford them, along with the maintenance fees.
 

rapmarks

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I bought two resale weeks in 1991, sold them a few years ago, I have been combining and extending since then. I just met my ongoing search for November, Club Regency, Marco Island and noe have about 75 Tpus left, i figure three more exchanges and then ??????


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

geist1223

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Salem Oregon
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Worldmark 97,000 Credits
DRI Cabo Azul 50,500
Royal Solaris San Jose del Cabo
Patti and I bought our first 6K Worldmark Points together even before we were married. We have added since then both Developer and resell. We have also branched out to Royal Solaris and DRI. We had Raintree and sold it to a friend. We would never have travel as much as we have over the last 14.5 years without our timeshares. We have been to Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France, New Zealand, Australia (to include Tasmania), Fiji, Mexico, Canada, and all over the USA. As other people have said many of the complaints come from people that do not take the time to learn how to use their timeshare (s). You don't buy a timeshare as a financial investment. You are buying tomorrow's Vacation and trips with today's dollars. Now my children are starting to enjoy them.
 
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