Timeshare Article

Here is just a small part of that article

moneytalksnews said:

Why you should always buy a timeshare from a current owner

Those maintenance fees are why you should always purchase a timeshare from a current owner rather than buying directly from a developer.

You see, some people are desperate to get out from under those annual fees. Their kids may be grown; their job may be downsized; they may have developed a health condition that limits travel. And yet those annual fees won’t stop coming. And selling a timeshare isn’t easy.

As a result, some owners may be willing to sell their timeshares for pennies on the dollar, especially if you’ll help cover the closing costs.

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Hits some great points, mentions TUG, solid article!

The article was very well written. The key is buy direct from t/s owner.

Thanks for sharing. I agree, it's a good article that presents some pros and cons.

Mike

"On its consumer website Vacation Better, the American Resort Development Association touts a timeshare as being a way to prepay future vacations at today’s prices. The association notes the average timeshare costs about $20,000, and, depending on where you vacation, that could end up being a bargain compared with a lifetime of hotel costs."

Isn't that one of the lines that TS salespeople use? Of course the ARDA or TS salespeople never mention that airfare, car rentals, and theme park prices go up over the years. How does purchasing a TS today protect an owner from increases of those costs?

Nor do they factor in the interest paid on $20,000. I guess I could go on and on about these lines that Salespeople and the ARDA try to feed people but...

LannyPC said:

"On its consumer website Vacation Better, the American Resort Development Association touts a timeshare as being a way to prepay future vacations at today’s prices. . . .
Isn't that one of the lines that TS salespeople use?

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The TS salespeople also fail to mention the ever increasing maintenance fees, too.

This is actually one of the best "outside" articles on timeshares I've seen. Most such articles are very poorly researched, woefully inadequate in providing important and / or highly relevant details --- and frequently even include outright misstatements of fact, even if unintentionally. Not so for this particular article.

One item to which I must take exception is Stacy Johnson's video suggestion that an owner / would-be seller contact the developer "to see if they have resale buyers". As we certainly already know around here, that just ain't how developers operate and the answer from any developer to that particular question will always be NO.
A better recommendation from Mr. Johnson would have been to suggest that a bailing owner / unsuccessful seller ask the developer "if they would accept a deedback", which is of course a very different question and one to which the answer will sometimes be YES.

All in all however, otherwise a pretty darn good article!

LannyPC said:

"On its consumer website Vacation Better, the American Resort Development Association touts a timeshare as being a way to prepay future vacations at today’s prices. The association notes the average timeshare costs about $20,000, and, depending on where you vacation, that could end up being a bargain compared with a lifetime of hotel costs."

Isn't that one of the lines that TS salespeople use? Of course the ARDA or TS salespeople never mention that airfare, car rentals, and theme park prices go up over the years. How does purchasing a TS today protect an owner from increases of those costs?

Nor do they factor in the interest paid on $20,000. I guess I could go on and on about these lines that Salespeople and the ARDA try to feed people but...

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I agree completely with these observations, but with respect those observations may go a bit "sideways" from the article to (always "spinning" and predictable) ARDA.

In fairness to the author(s) of the article, they merely quoted some (predictably lame, incomplete and somewhat misleading) ARDA-issued statements and figures.
I can't fault the article authors for not delving any further into travel cost increases, which obviously apply to virtually any and all travel, irrespective of timeshares.
It's ARDA (i.e., not the authors of this article, who merely quoted ARDA's words) who always deliberately paint a biased and incomplete financial picture, no?