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I am not a timeshare addict but ...

MustangGuy

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Home T/S, we were up to 3 at one point. Since it was easy to drive just two hours for more sunshine. Later down to one(sold two).Then took on Holiday Orangelake in Orlando. Now back to two. Both RCI Resorts, perfect for trading etc.
Finding out as we get older, more time away keeps you healthy. :)
 

puppymommo

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You would think that wanting to buy more of something you can't give away would be a problem. Good thing I am perfectly normal around here.

LOL. Count me as "normal" then!

I only own 2 timeshares, although I recently added to my Wyndham points. But I regularly check Ebay and Tug Bargain deals. Although I have absolutely no intention of buying anything! $1 and FREE is so enticing. But I've got 7 RCI deposits to use up first!
 

sdgaskill1

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Addicted or not? What an interesting thread.

My daughters think I've never met a timeshare I didn't like. Bought our first in Mexico while on a cruise. Since then, bought more time there, 2 then 3 weeks in Hawaii, Las Vegas, Sedona, Santa Fe, and have occasionally traded to Co . and Branson. Now we sold Hawaii due to increased fees, long travel, but love timeshares because so much more room than hotel space. We even rent extra nights at those we own when we want more time. Once you're in the system, you find lots of ways to expand your use. If you didn't first own, you would never know about the great rentals,etc. Yes, we took advantage of the bad market and just bought a great one. Then we didn't feel so bad about the low price we got on our 2 sales. Happy travels. Sandra
 

MOXJO7282

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Just bought our 13th Marriott. 9th resale. I have no problem renting the extra weeks I have so until that changes I'm always looking for fire sale opportunities. Ebay which is definately a buyers market is a good spot to find them.
 

Picker57

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Random musings...

I'm not a Timeshare Addict, but I bought retail (which is worse). I AM, however, a Timeshare Browsing (eBay) addict. We now have Shell points, and that seems to work for us.

Question: The purchase price aside, our maintenance fees seem to translate to a nightly fee of $110-$120 for 1 brs at the places we like. This is fabulous compared to hotel/restaurant costs (esp. for families), but I wonder how this compares to other folks' experience with MFs.

Question: When one has a LOT of timeshares, I assume that many are rented out if they're not being used. Does this actually pay for itself? Can it work if using a rental agency? I guess I'm not seeing the reason for owning timeshares that won't be used (and, granted, living here in Colorado is sort of a DISincentive to travel only for the sake of traveling).

Question: Shell is well represented on Big Island and Kauai, but has nothing on Maui, our new favorite place. We just returned, and had rented two very nice facilities that we found on VRBO. Any suggestions for locating timeshares for rent/exchange on Maui?

Question: The Shell facilities are quite nice, but getting into non-Shell properties has been problematic. They use RCI (an annoying part of the annual Shell MF), and there's not much about RCI that I like. We would like to trade / rent into NYC and Europe, and I've heard good things about SFX for these locations. Any comments/observations?

I'm probably wandering off-topic at this point, so mahalo for your indulgence and any suggestions you may have.

Zach Kaplan, Fort Collins, CO

 

tombo

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Big time addict here. Owned well over 20 but have trimmed down to about 20. At one point this year I sold 3, but then I decided I needed some more points so I bought one more for a net reduction of only 2. That is a sickness.

I am trying to get down below 10, but I don't want to sell any of my weeks in particular. They have been paid for since I acquired them but those pesky annual MF's in January roll around every year, and they cost more every year.

I have to sell some before gas gets to $5 a gallon. Since I own over 20 and want to own less than 10 but can't decide which weeks to list for sale, how will I ever get there? Some I love to use personally, some have been historically great renters (not so great the last few years), and some are so hard to find resale that even though I don't need them I keep thinking once they are gone it will be almost impossible to replace them. If I don't list some for sale I will always own too many.

Which of my weeks do I let go? I can't decide. I am a timeshare addict.

Thinking about all of this is so depressing that I need a vacation.
 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
Then & Now.

When one has a LOT of timeshares, I assume that many are rented out if they're not being used. Does this actually pay for itself? Can it work if using a rental agency?
Before we downsized (last year), we had too many timeshares. Only 4 -- laughably few in contrast with some of the major league timeshare enthusiasts here on TUG, but as it turned out too many for us.

Once we got into RCI Points, the only reservations we wanted were bargain-rate Instant Exchange & Last Call. Even using our own deeded & paid-for weeks at our home resort seemed extravagant in comparison. Ditto straight week-for-week exchanges via RCI.

We fell into the practice of renting out our own deeded & paid-for weeks for enough money to cover maintenance fees, plus a little extra. Then we used the surplus to pay for our own Instant Exchange & Last Call reservations at other people's timeshares. It was as close as we could get to vacationing el freebo.

When times got tough & great timeshares started going for $1 on eBay & rentals at nice resorts went begging, we lost our nerve & gave away the outstanding 3BR lock-off timeshare we had been mainly renting out.

The (minimal) timeshares we have left are still too many for just The Chief Of Staff & me. But with additional use by members of our extended family, it all works out just about right.

For a while there, I think a few people on TUG must have racked up some pretty nice positive cash flow via their own cottage industry of renting out their own timeshares. It wasn't just the economic downturn that threw sand in those gears. Some of the points-based timeshare systems -- e.g., Wyndham, Diamond -- changed the rules in ways that discourage renting units out commercially, even on a modest, homespun scale. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

funtime

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While I had never heard the term "timeshare junkies" I am afraid that I fit as my sister and I have many more weeks than we can use. So we rent them out and wait for our own retirement which is only a year or two out, meanwhile busily shuffling the deck - oops I mean timeshares. Funtime
 
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jackio

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I am on strict orders from DH that for every one I acquire (gifts from others looking to downsize, ebay middle-of-the-night impulse buys, etc) I must give 1 away. I have 5 now and DH is convinced I am part of a cult.
 

ronparise

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Im not a time share addict, but I've contracted for 10 in the last 3 months and Im looking for more.......I have a plan, I really do
 

yumdrey

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About this time of the year in 2010 (March 2010), I had 5 or 6 timeshares.
I have sold three annual TS and bought 5 biennials, so MF is still about the same ;)
And then I got 3 TS (annuals) for free from other tuggers.
I love WorldMark system and my 20,000 annual credit was not enough, so I bought two more contracts during the last 6 months (6000 credits and 7000 credits).
Believe it or not, out of 14 timeshares I own, I use 10 or 11 each year for myself and family. I rent 3 or 4 weeks each year too.
I know I am a TS addict, but cannot stop watching ebay 3-4 times a day :D
 

Patri

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Which of my weeks do I let go? I can't decide. I am a timeshare addict.

Put them all on the market, and when the first five (or 10, you set the number) are gone, you can pull the rest off.
 

DrBopp

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I've bought 3 Timeshares and 400,000+ Wyndham Points since Sept 2010 and I am in negotiations for a 4th TS assumption(MF, not mortgage) . I'm just trying to hold on until the economy turns around!

Gordon
 

tombo

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Put them all on the market, and when the first five (or 10, you set the number) are gone, you can pull the rest off.

Actually that is a great idea. It is easier to say than do for an addict who really wants to keep them all lol, but it is an option I might actually do. Thanks.
 

MichaelColey

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Put them all on the market, and when the first five (or 10, you set the number) are gone, you can pull the rest off.

Actually that is a great idea. It is easier to say than do for an addict who really wants to keep them all lol, but it is an option I might actually do. Thanks.
The only problem is that the best 5 would probably be taken first and you'll be stuck with the worst 5.
 

jlwquilter

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I am not a Timeshare Addict

but... ok, I am! And worse, I have no intention of kicking my addiction for now.

End of story :ignore:
 

rickandcindy23

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but... ok, I am! And worse, I have no intention of kicking my addiction for now.

End of story :ignore:

We are two peas in a pod, you and I! :D
 

rcollinsny

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I am not an addict

We started out buying 308,000 Wyndham developer points and within 2 years had grown that into 1,225,000 developer points. Then we discovered TUG and started getting educated. Within the next 6 months, we bought another 5 million points on the resale market at an average purchase price of .0028 cents per point including our closing/transfer costs.

See, I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are NOT timeshare addicts!! :hysterical:
 

jlwquilter

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I love this thread.

Now when DH asks "Just how many timeshares do we own now??" I can point to this thread and show him how very much in control I am. Because SOME OF YOU are really addicts!
 

vacationhopeful

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truly not an addict ...

Remember the old "Cheers" TV show and its theme song "Where everyone knows your name"?

At checkin at one or more resorts, I get greeted with "Linda! Are you staying with us?" before I get to the counter. As the week progresses, other guests ask if I work there since everyone seems to know my name.

Therefore,
You are not an addict til you don't have to provide a credit card on checkin.
 

JMAESD84

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I chose timeshare ownership over the option of having a second home and built my portfolio with a concrete plan regarding my life as a "snow bird" once retired.

I'm closing now for additional points for one system and I've been tweaking my inventory slightly over the past two years. I'd like to adjust my inventory further while achieving a 25% overall reduction in inventory.

Having a large and diverse portfolio provides a capacity that enables access to almost any destination. Trying to balance out the portfolio to maximize the benefits while controlling the costs is an ongoing activity.

I view my addiction to timeshare ownership as an involved hobby that directly contributes to my most passionate leisure activity (travel).

It's funny, that when asked "So how many weeks do you actually own?", I reply, that all depends on how you want to count........ ;)

You know your addicted when "that all depends" factors into the answer.

Like the poster that claimed owning over 5 million annual Wyndham points...trying to quantify that in terms of weeks of travel is very subjective....a valid answer is more than many.
 

bjones9942

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But the koolaid tastes good!

Last year I bought my first TS. Fixed unit, fixed week ... I enjoy the place and the peace of mind I get from knowing it's waiting for me.

I will admit to a slight addiction to watching the eBay auctions. Ok, maybe not slight. Does two or four times a day count as obsession? *Sigh*. Yesterday I found one I really have trouble passing up. I won't mention it here because it's a REALLY good deal and someone will snatch it out from under me! I can justify the heck out of why I should buy, but there's that nagging in the back of my head telling me that justification won't be paying the maintenance fees.

Perhaps after I spend the $$$$ on the iPad 2 I intend on purchasing tomorrow I will feel differently. Probably not.
 

ada903

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I spend 3-4 hours every day watching ebay auctions and reading new resale ads, placing rental or resale ads, looking for the next best purchase, reading tug, searching Interval, dealing with the title company, calling owner services, planning my next (four or five) vacations, etc. Now if that's not addiction, what is it?

We only own 4-5 Marriott and Starwood timeshares at any given time, but I am always in "sale" or "resale" process... I can proudly say that with the help of tug and lots of research, we are the lucky people who never bought a developer timeshare, and even flipped a few for profit.. and maximizing ownership with exchanges, we end up in the best Marriott and Starwoods (sometimes in season and sometimes off season!) for about $100/night in a two bedroom.

The best parts of this is that my family has memories of traveling the world and spending quality vacation time that otherwise we could not afford, and that I enjoy this to the fullest. Those hours I spend with you guys every day, and reading and researching, are pure enjoyment.
 

flexible

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I met & married a Timeshare Addict at a timeshare!

I have enjoyed travels all my life including working for four airlines just for the travel benefits.

My FIRST and ONLY timeshare purchase was 91 points (about one week) EOY (every other year) from VacationInternationale on a dark, cold night in November 2002 when I lived near VI's headquarters in Bellevue, WA.

Two months later a teenager in a SUV sped through a stop sign, hit my small car broadside (some call it Tboned) rendering me unconscious with the car kicked like a tin can nearly crashing into a restaurant window. I was lucky to survive.I did not use the VI timeshare until 2006 because I was undergoing so much medical care. SAFECO should have paid the policy limits (100K) of the parents of the teenage driver but played games for four years. My medical expenses for neck and other injuries were high. I need FOUR dental implants for my four front teeth. SAFECO's first offer was 35K in 2006. The quote for the dental implants alone were $25,000 USD.

On December 9, 2006 I arrived at VI's Torres Mazatlan the SAME day as Ken. His wife had died earlier that year. We met three days later at the patio when he went to use their laundry mat after his 10 day drive to Mazatlan and I was using WiFi looking for a different dentist. He offered to take me to his dentist. Nine days later he drove me to the airport telling me how much he wanted to marry me.

Ken has probably purchased timeshare contracts from over 50 (FIFTY) companies since his first purchase of Garza Blanco in Puerto Vallarta in the early 1980s. He'd fly his plane to PV in those days. Then he'd drive Callifornia to Mazatlan later. He owned timeshares at 13 DIFFERENT properties in Mazatlan alone when I met him. I am not saying 13 weeks. He owned 3.4Million El Cid points (you could rent about 80 weeks a year at half points then get upgraded because of VIP status etc). In Puerto Vallarta he owned about 6 contracts at various properties. 4 weeks at Velas Vallarta would be one contract. Also 4 deeded US (Hawaii, Marriott's Breckenridge, Jockey Club & Polo Towers.)

We have enjoyed using the timeshares including points for cruises. I am so glad his portfolio had decreased when I met him simply because some of the properties like Garza Blanca had gone bankrupt. Liz Taylor endorsed it. He paid 10K, used it ONE year then it was bankrupt. Ken's an optimist. That didn't deter him from buying more.

I've been downsizing as best I can and he is agreeable to whatever I want to do regarding the timeshares. His MF was 20K per year when I met him. I think we are now down to 15K per year.
 
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