Free Timeshare - Should I accept it?

I know someone that wants to give me there Timeshare for free. Fees are 600.00 a year and they paid 9000.00 for it.

I know very little about these things. I know I would use the week, maybe exchange it or rent it out at times if I can do that? Can I?

Its with Interval International and its at the Parkway International Resort which is run by Island One Resorts. Its located only one mile from the Walt Disney World® Resort main gate, completely furnished two-bedroom, two-bath villa with Washer and Dryed, sleeps 8 they say.
It is for a week in Feb.

What do you think, do I have anything to loose? Its paid up for this year. Are there any other fees I need to be made aware of?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I know nothing about that resort so the "are there other fees" question is one I cannot help with, but I want to make sure you understand that you would be responsible for the annual maint fees for as long as you own it.

exchanging requires membership to the exchange company and exchange fees to make the trade.

If this is a location/time you would want to visit annually, sounds like a great deal for you. If that is not the case, take your time before you commit. timeshares are easy to buy and very difficult to sell.

Most timeshares in Orlando have poor trading value, unless they are the high quality ones (e.g. Marriott, Disney Vacation Club, Starwwood, Hilton Grand etc...). There are so many timeshare resorts in that location.

Owners tend to not want to come year after year once the initial fascination wears off, so they deposit their weeks with RCI or I.I. (the two largest exchange companies). The exchange companies wind up with a large number or deposited weeks and not enough requests for them as exchanges. They end up renting off the excess inventory as "Getaway" or "Last Call" weeks at a price that is usually way below the cost owners pay for annual maintenance fees. You could just rent what you want, when you want it, and not take on the responsibility of paying maintenance fees for years to come. It has become difficult to sell or even give away a week that you no longer wish to own.

If you would like to use the week yourself most every year, and you are sure that the resort and unit meet your standards and needs, this may be a great deal. It would be better, however, to wait until after you have had the opportunity to vist this resort, and compare it with others in the area.

Perhaps you could make an agreement with your friend that you will pay the maintenance fees for 2010 (they are usually due by December 31, 2009) and use the week in February 2010. If you like it, then accept ownership.

Keep in mind that February in Orlando is a busy time of the year, especially President's week (third Monday in February). Airfare and car rentals are very expensive that week, and the crowds and lines at Disney can be frustrating.

Don't worry, if you pass on this deal, there are hundreds more just like it on Ebay and timeshare resale web sites. Stick around here, read the Forums/bulletin boards, especially the "stickys" at the top of each Forum, and you will be in a much better position to judge what will work best for you.

If it's President's week, it will have a much higher exchange value than if it's another week in Feb. The highest value weeks in Orlando are Spring Break weeks and Christmas week from what I understand.

If this is a place that you'd like to vacation, great go for it. If you want to use it to exchange, it might not be your best option. It is a lot harder to get rid of an unwanted timeshare than it is to get one.

But you've come to the right place to ask questions.

Sue

The Price Is Right.

KamloopsBC said:

Parkway International Resort

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And the location is pretty good -- right next door to Vacation Village At Parkway near the intersection of I-4 & Rt. 192.

Maintenance fees of $600 annually are OK, too -- just so that's the annual total, & not just an operations-maintenance fee to which reserve fees & taxes have to be added.

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

You have to ask yourself, why is this free ?

1950bing said:

You have to ask yourself, why is this free ?

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Many TS are free today. Not because there is something wrong with them but because people don't want to have to pay the MFs forever. They try to sell them and for most TS there isn't much of a market. So the owner bits the bullet and gives the TS away rather than try to sell it for $100 - $500.

The price someone paid for it has nothing to do with how much the TS is worth today.

If you think you'll use it and it's worth $600/year to you, then take it. The maint fees will only go up over time. The resort will only be an average trader. Joining II and exchanging all costs money.

Deb

Accept only if it of value to YOU. About 6-8 months ago I was offered 2 weeks at a resort in the Caribbean. I am sure a lot of people would not want to own it for various reasons. But in our case, it was a perfect match. On one of my favorite islands, one of only three TS on this island located on the beach, this particular unit is about 50 feet from the water, and 2 weeks in a row in the same unit during the month we prefer to travel to the Caribbean. Uhhh yea, I'll take that. In fact we are here right now, enjoying our new TS.

So if it works for you and is a place that you will want to use most of the time, go for it. Just don't count of trading or renting it out.

1950bing said:

You have to ask yourself, why is this free ?

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Nothing in timeshareland is free. You have to pay the maint annually. $600 x 20 years = $12,000. More with maint increases and SA's.....

Yeah, but if you go on vacation every year and that's where you want to go, TS is the way to do it!

Sue

It's a very nice resort and still holds that five star/ premiere rating with II. It's still an easy exchange. I would bet there are still property taxes on top of that cost.

Are you absolutely sure it's paid off?

You say they paid 9k for it, but are they expecting you to take over payments? or is it free and clear, I would clarify this.

We've been there and it was really nice! Would return in a minute.

It's like paying $600 for your week's lodging for a vacation - well worth it to have a nice 2 BD condo. It will be more $$ to join II and trade, but will still be under $1000 for a vacation.

Ask your self one question, why is this timeshare free? Nothing in timeshare or life is free with no costs involve. One yearly cost will always be m/f.
You must also pay to transfer the t/s deed in your name and join an exhange company like II or RCI.

Good luck and enjoy life.

This thread seems silly to me..... And it never fails to amaze me how many TUGGERS act like they hate timeshare ownership... Reminds me of that Little Rascals episode with all the boys blustering on about the virtues of the "He-Man Woman Haters Club"- but everyone is simply hoping the pretty little girl will smile at them! Guarantee you half the negative posters in this thread would be all over this if it was an eBay auction from one of the PCC's....

Real simple answer-

Can you and will you use the ownership?

If the answer is yes- use a good closing agent to transfer the ownership and ensure there aren't any unpaid fees- and know that you got a fantastic bargain!

If the answer is no- politely say, "Thank you, but I don't think we can use it at this time!".

Have the owners post an ad here or in the freebies section of TimeshareForums and they'll get plenty of attention..

February is a super month for FL vacations. That's the reason that WDW is crowded then. So if you thought it out, and you KNOW that the ownership is fixed for that time (i.e. not "floating"), then it could be a good deal.

Richard M:

"And it never fails to amaze me how many TUGGERS act like they hate timeshare ownership... Reminds me of that Little Rascals episode with all the boys blustering on about the virtues of the "He-Man Woman Haters Club"- but everyone is simply hoping the pretty little girl will smile at them."

I am with Richard on this one. Tuggers have warned so many folks of all the pitfalls that it is almost a knee jerk reaction. For a timeshare that one is paying 9,000 to 30,000 the advice is well taken. But for a free timeshare, I say roll the dice. What are the odds if you tire of it in four to five years you can find someone to take it off your hands? Pretty good, I would say. No deal is perfect but where the risk is low, I say go for it and use this first week to get into timesharing, into trading and simply enjoying timesharing. If the people who want to give this to you are friends, I would also let them know that if they ever want to use the week, just let you know and if they pay maintenance fees and taxes you will let them do so. That would be a nice gesture. Funtime

From my experience form owning time share property in Florida, you can expect a separate bill for Real Estates taxes. Taxes shouldn't be too much on a $9000 property.

Not Everywhere In Florida.

Big Jake said:

From my experience form owning time share property in Florida, you can expect a separate bill for Real Estates taxes.

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We don't get separate tax bills for our Orange County timeshare(s) in Florida.

Annual fees are itemized in 1 annual bill for each, sent by the resorts' management company (which also collects the money), consisting of (a) operations & maintenance & (b) reserves & (c) real estate taxes.

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

Property tax policies vary by resort in Florida..

Florida property taxes are billed in arrears.

Many resorts bill taxes together with the annual assessments, but not all. Some resorts will attempt to estimate the tax due, and then issue a credit or debit for any difference (DVC is an example of this!)..

Other resorts will simply include the 2008 taxes with the 2009 assessments (Vacation Village at Bonaventure is an example of this!)... Chances are if your fee breakdown doesn't specify the tax year- this is what is occurring.

It's never caused much of an issue for any buyer or seller I've dealt with, but it can be confusing since there is no uniform policy in the state.

Just curious...

richardm said:

Florida property taxes are billed in arrears.

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Richard:
I know that this is indeed so, but do you happen to know the logic surrounding this practice? I could be mistaken, but I don't know that billing property taxes "retroactively" is practiced in many (if any) other states besides Florida.

I think Florida is simply trying to compete with the US Virgin Islands for an international inefficiency award!

Sorry I don't have a better answer.. I was born in Florida (and rarely seem to find time to leave it lately) and I've never seen or heard an explanation for this process. If anyone know the answer- please share!

richardm said:

This thread seems silly to me..... And it never fails to amaze me how many TUGGERS act like they hate timeshare ownership... Reminds me of that Little Rascals episode with all the boys blustering on about the virtues of the "He-Man Woman Haters Club"- but everyone is simply hoping the pretty little girl will smile at them! Guarantee you half the negative posters in this thread would be all over this if it was an eBay auction from one of the PCC's....

Real simple answer-

Can you and will you use the ownership?

If the answer is yes- use a good closing agent to transfer the ownership and ensure there aren't any unpaid fees- and know that you got a fantastic bargain!

If the answer is no- politely say, "Thank you, but I don't think we can use it at this time!".

Have the owners post an ad here or in the freebies section of TimeshareForums and they'll get plenty of attention..

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What you said is likely the best answer. If it is a TS that he'd use, then free is a good price.

PS there are currently over 50 TS in the marketplace with a free (<$1.00) price tag. So if he'd like to timeshare but doesn't like the TS his friend offered him, there are about 50 others listed here for him to choose from.

Bottom line here is simple! Price is great for you as a friend and helps them get out of something they don't need at this point in their life.

Still check to make sure it is paid off and they are not behind on any fee's.

If this is a resort you would use more than one time and has decent exchange power its a good deal for your family.

Just understand the fee's every year you will have by taking it over and enjoy the timeshare world.:whoopie:


PHIL