Refreshing my memory on renting vs. owning a TS

[hotwired]

Good Morning All,

My wife and I are early fifties, and as soon as our daughter is a little more independent, (17 now) we're going to start traveling more and more. Back of the envelope plan looks like this: Explore the country and world, focusing on Central and South America, then Europe, then Asia, with the goal of being out of our home state of Maine from New Year's until April or May, give or take, then eventually (10 years down the road) most likely owning something in Central or South America to hang our hat. We want to take advantage of "Geoarbitrage" which, if you've never heard the term, is a fancy way of saying "Take our US money and use it where it will buy 2-3x more than it does here". Our income is derived from rental real estate so we can travel quite a while, as we have a trusted team in place.

We live in Maine and we DO love vacationing in our own back yard, that is, Old Orchard beach, Boothbay Harbor, and a little bit in Acadia. We like ocean first and foremost, preferably with long beaches.

The question, more or less, is "does owning a TS or 2 fit into a plan like this, or are we still better off renting? I know just renting can be simpler. Nothing to trade, deposit, calculate, etc.

If it does possibly fit, given our situation, what might you do? Buy up a bunch of Wyndham points with the lowest maintenance fees? I always thought that if I could get something useful in the $3,000-$5,000 range with no more than $500-$750 annual maintenance, it might be a good "supplement" to our plan. Any thoughts are appreciated, even "stray" ones!

Thanks much!

 

[LannyPC]

When you say Europe, are you focusing on the big cities or the countryside? There are very few TSs in major European cities.

 

[hotwired]

When you say Europe, are you focusing on the big cities or the countryside? There are very few TSs in major European cities.

Europe would start out with London then Italy, and would probably be a variety of locales, both big cities and countryside, wine country, etc.

 

[SmithOp]

If you are a traveling couple that prefers exploring a location versus staying in a resort then I would recommend renting homes/condos over TS ownership.

We’ve been to London twice and rented a flat from Homeaway. We plan to go to Italy in 2020 and will do the same, combined with a cruise from Venice. Europe is not a TS rich zone.


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[Jan M.]

If you are looking to travel out of the States you would better off buying something in RCI points. Grandview Las Vegas is a good resort to buy as you can get a lot of points for the maintenance fees. The top two 2 bedroom units get 122,000 and 98,000 points with maintenance fees of $835 for this year. The top two 1 bedroom units get 61,000 and 49,000 points with maintenance fees of $417.50. There are lower point weeks for both the 1 and 2 bedrooms but as you pay the same maintenance fees no matter how many points your week gets they aren't a good value.

 

[Crafty71]

Based on how far and wide you want to go, my feeling is you would be better off renting...much less hassle. I know that Wyndham points outside of the US (and even across large swaths of the US) are not useful. Wyndham is targeted, they aren't everywhere...

Cheers!

 

[hotwired]

If you are looking to travel out of the States you would better off buying something in RCI points. Grandview Las Vegas is a good resort to buy as you can get a lot of points for the maintenance fees. The top two 2 bedroom units get 122,000 and 98,000 points with maintenance fees of $835 for this year. The top two 1 bedroom units get 61,000 and 49,000 points with maintenance fees of $417.50. There are lower point weeks for both the 1 and 2 bedrooms but as you pay the same maintenance fees no matter how many points your week gets they aren't a good value.

How would one best go about acquiring these particular points? Just search for resales or do they sell resales directly from there? This sounds like pretty neat logic: Get as many points as possible per maintenance dollar. Of course one has to know what the point ranges are so we know what a "good, OK, and lousy" week is. Thanks for any quick education you can share!

 

[vacationhopeful]

European timeshares are mostly in the country .. where the Europeans vacation. RENT in Europe.

Want warmth in the winter? Florida is NOT warm in the mid 70s unless you are down by Ft Lauderdale or further south. Might look at South TX or Southern AZ.

Another way to search is where does MLB have their Spring Training parks. BUT expect to pay a pretty penny IF you try to book places WHEN Spring Training is running. (Did Spring Training TWICE in AZ ... sibling trips).

PS I spent the Winters of 1970-1971 and 1971-1972 and 1973-1974 just west of Daytona Beach .... decades before I got into timeshares. I knew better than to consider Orlando to warm my bones in the winter.

 

[WinniWoman]

European timeshares are mostly in the country .. where the Europeans vacation. RENT in Europe.

Want warmth in the winter? Florida is NOT warm in the mid 70s unless you are down by Ft Lauderdale or further south. Might look at South TX or Southern AZ.

Another way to search is where does MLB have their Spring Training parks. BUT expect to pay a pretty penny IF you try to book places WHEN Spring Training is running. (Did Spring Training TWICE in AZ ... sibling trips).

70's is warm to me! My fav temps are between 50 and 70! I start to feel very "hot" when it hits 75. Then again, I am a northern type.

 

[hotwired]

I fully agree on the temperature. I'd never lock into anything above Sarasota area. 3 of the past 4 times we've been to FLA in December and January we've needed winter coats. (40-50 degrees) including our most recent last week to Orlando. It's ridiculous. My most vivid memories of Disney and Universal the last 6 years are of shivering and spending $300 extra dollars on scarves and winter hats.

 

[geist1223]

Where we live 60's is shorts and T-shirts. In the 70's where SIL and BIL live (Melbourne Beach Florida) they are in sweaters and gloves. Several years ago we spent 2 weeks in Orlando and we had everything from near 80 to frost on the ground.

 

[WinniWoman]

I fully agree on the temperature. I'd never lock into anything above Sarasota area. 3 of the past 4 times we've been to FLA in December and January we've needed winter coats. (40-50 degrees) including our most recent last week to Orlando. It's ridiculous. My most vivid memories of Disney and Universal the last 6 years are of shivering and spending $300 extra dollars on scarves and winter hats.

Kind of defeats the purpose of snow birding for some people, doesn't it?