Why I Buy Timeshares (instead of a second home)

[ronparise]

This is a picture of the leaking garbage disposal I just removed from under my kitchen sink. and Im on my way to Lowes to buy a replcement. I have no doubt that I will spend the best part of my afternoon installing the new one. Id be quicker except my 70 year old joints dont bend as well as they used to, and once I get most of me in the cabinet, under the sink, I cant easily get back out, and back on my feet)

Now this is my home, and not my second home, and I rebel paying skilled plumbers rates for doing want I know I can do myself, so I do it without too much complaining, but I cant help but remember my old next door neighbor (from New York) who spent so much of his vacation time doing maintenance on his Florida home; he always seemed to be busy with one project or another, instead of just enjoying another day in paradise

I have some personal experience with this. I also own a second home (a boat) The last time I was there my wife and I spent the first few days, cleaning 6 months of dust accumulation, not to mention the several days I spent sanding and varnishing the teak rails. I have a list of things to tackle on my next trip

Timeshares are different. The place is clean and everything works (most of the time) when I arrive. I can unpack my bags pour a glass of wine, and immediately start enjoying my time away from home.

 

[WinniWoman]

The more things you own the more work there is. I'm with you. Same reason I don't like RV's.

 

[x3 skier]

Used to have a vacation condo but sold it a few years ago. Now I spend my time building an airplane. More fun

Cheers

 

[Panina]

I agree with you. Over the years, being I own and use many timeshares, I been told by many why don't you just get a second home? It would be easier to be in one place. I've learned to pack light, love visiting different places, and enjoy not having the headache or expense of a second home.

 

[dundey]

I agree Ron! And with all of the previous comments as well. Used to own a vacation home but sold it because we were too busy. Now as we get closer to retirement I've thought about it again but our timeshares will do the trick I think.

 

[VacationForever]

I cannot agree with you more. Home ownership is a pain, other than the associated stability. We bought our second/retirement home - a condo, which we have moved in. Cannot wait to sell our other home - a large home with alot of frills, which also means large expensive maintenance and as needed repair bills. I pinch myself each morning, thankful not to need to worry about the yard and how much easier it is to vacuum a single level as opposed 2 storeys, and half the size.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I'm 52 and do all my own lawn and construction work around my home. For the longest time I really enjoyed the hardwork and of course savings the money but every year that enjoyment is getting less and less. My kids are getting older and we should be empty nesters within 7 years I'd assume so I'm hoping around that time we can to downsize to a modest condo near our kids if possible and our TSs being where we will spend a total of 3-4 months away.

 

[Bailey#1]

I am another one planning on going the timeshare route. While we still are about 5 yrs from retirement our plans have changed from 3 years ago. Three years ago we were thinking vacation home, now the Timeshare route seems like the way to go. The only thing that may cause us problems is the dog. She's 6.5 yr now so when we retire she will be 11.5, that will be the big question mark....

 

[vacationhopeful]

Wimps!

I have lots of pet "homes" ...

Auntie's house built in 1702 on 12 acres. And across the stream, soybean field and then the road, is my old 1951 house with 3.5 acres of land ... which I think I will subdivide and keep 1 lot but sell the rest.

The townhouse I am roosting in these days ... which I have owned 35 years .. I am the 1st owner.

And the traditional vacation home near a ski area.

And my oceanview timeshares in South Florida during the winter season.

 

[rapmarks]

We have had a vacation home since 1988. And we own timeshares too. Both homes are in resort communities. In Florida outside work is provided by association, I do a maintenance plan with a local company. In Wisconsin we have a home in the woods, no grass to mow. We spend our time involved in lots of activities. We consider ourselves very fortunate, we will do it as long as we can.


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[easyrider]

I guess it depends on what you have going on in life. We picked up a mountain home on a river and it is a fixer upper. I does keep me occupied as I am semi retired. I have a few more things I would like to fix and if my health allows I should have it the way I want this summer. The "cabin" is in a recreation area near a wilderness area so there is plenty of jeeping "wheelin trails" , motorcycle trails , hunting and other outdoor activities. I enjoy having a fire by the river watching the moon shine on the cliffs across the river.

What I didn't expect or even think about was my recent heart attack at 58. This kind of changes how I feel today about owning a cabin and timeshares. As I get better I might not want to do things like snowmobile as that is how I had my heart attack. Lifting a 700 pound machine out of a snowbank three times did me in. I did like to lift logs and cut firewood but now I have my doubts on many of the physically hard things I used to do.

That takes me to timeshares. I was going to Hawaii and Mexico for about 4- 6 weeks each winter. Now I am thinking of only heading to one destination for the entire winter. A destination that has an E.R. that can handle most anything.

I think I will be living this next season of my life a bit easier. As to what I plan to keep Im going to give it a year. My point is you never really know what life has in store. Circumstance change and so do our thoughts.

Bill

 

[Bailey#1]

I guess it depends on what you have going on in life. We picked up a mountain home on a river and it is a fixer upper. I does keep me occupied as I am semi retired. I have a few more things I would like to fix and if my health allows I should have it the way I want this summer. The "cabin" is in a recreation area near a wilderness area so there is plenty of jeeping "wheelin trails" , motorcycle trails , hunting and other outdoor activities. I enjoy having a fire by the river watching the moon shine on the cliffs across the river.

What I didn't expect or even think about was my recent heart attack at 58. This kind of changes how I feel today about owning a cabin and timeshares. As I get better I might not want to do things like snowmobile as that is how I had my heart attack. Lifting a 700 pound machine out of a snowbank three times did me in. I did like to lift logs and cut firewood but now I have my doubts on many of the physically hard things I used to do.

That takes me to timeshares. I was going to Hawaii and Mexico for about 4- 6 weeks each winter. Now I am thinking of only heading to one destination for the entire winter. A destination that has an E.R. that can handle most anything.

I think I will be living this next season of my life a bit easier. As to what I plan to keep Im going to give it a year. My point is you never really know what life has in store. Circumstance change and so do our thoughts.

Bill

I hear you with the snowmobile, one of the hardest things to do (especially when it is getting dark) is getting that out of a snowbank on a very cold day, I think the only thing that saved me was I was a few years younger than you. Today, I would probably have a heart attack also.

 

[MOXJO7282]

My dream is to get a place in Hawaii, preferably Maui and it's very doable in my mind but DW thinks it will be too far from loved ones so I'll have to settle on a 4-6 week trip to paradise.

 

[ronparise]

I am another one planning on going the timeshare route. While we still are about 5 yrs from retirement our plans have changed from 3 years ago. Three years ago we were thinking vacation home, now the Timeshare route seems like the way to go. The only thing that may cause us problems is the dog. She's 6.5 yr now so when we retire she will be 11.5, that will be the big question mark....

I bought a bunch of worldmark over a couple of years.. The plan was to spend a couple of months in a resort near my wife's son (SanDiego) and a couple of months in resorts near my daughter in Oakland, and the winters at home in Florida. We had two dogs when I started buying. One has since died but her sister is still going strong at nearly 17. so I never got to execute that timeshare plan I sold off the worldmark and bought a boat in San Diego. docked at a marina that likes dogs... The boat is our second home, but like a house or RV, there is always something to do.

by the way, the disposal project that started this thread is now installed

 

[bluehende]

The one advantage to a second home is the appreciation ( hopefully) that you get. Having said this I just sold a beach house (near the beach). I sold at a modest profit to the time we owned it. I was overjoyed to get rid of the worry of the second house. I would prefer the timeshare route also for the reasons mentioned by all. If you enjoy puttering around the house though I would buy a second home as long as you have a place you want to spend a lot of time at.

 

[ronparise]

The one advantage to a second home is the appreciation ( hopefully) that you get. Having said this I just sold a beach house (near the beach). I sold at a modest profit to the time we owned it. I was overjoyed to get rid of the worry of the second house. I would prefer the timeshare route also for the reasons mentioned by all. If you enjoy puttering around the house though I would buy a second home as long as you have a place you want to spend a lot of time at.

Appreciation can be a real thing
But

Let's say I'm buying a $250000 condo as a second home and my plan is to use it 6 months a year. So I have just committed $250000 to the real estate market

Compare that to buying enough Worldmark credits to stay at a resort for 26 weeks. 100000 credits would do it. And the cost would be about $30000
Leaving $220000 To invest in something else for appreciation

 

[bcancelliere]

As a past owner of 2nd homes, I could not agree more. We live in South Carolina and we were able to assemble 4 weeks (the month of August) in the Georgia mountains. Our 1500 sq ft freestanding mountain home is under 2 hours from our home in Greenville, but it's a different world, lower humidity, about 10* cooler, one of the best mountain golf courses, tennis courts and a load of fishing places. Surprisingly, there is an abundance of excellent restaurants. We arrive, pick up the key and drop it off at the end of the month. My only regret is we didn't do this years ago. I'm over 80 and hope we can get another 10 years of use from an investment that has returned years of happiness.

 

[bcancelliere]

I am another one planning on going the timeshare route. While we still are about 5 yrs from retirement our plans have changed from 3 years ago. Three years ago we were thinking vacation home, now the Timeshare route seems like the way to go. The only thing that may cause us problems is the dog. She's 6.5 yr now so when we retire she will be 11.5, that will be the big question mark....

Do it as early as possible and try to assemble a block of weeks in the season that's best for you. We live in SC and it can get pretty hot and humid in the summer. We were able to assemble 4 weeks (the month of August) in the GA mountains where is less humid and about 10* cooler than our home area. We have a terrific mountain golf course, tennis and plenty of places to fish. I'm over 80 now and hope to continue enjoying our freestanding mountain timeshare home. I only wish we had done this earlier.

 

[vacationhopeful]

The difference I know between a timeshare resort and a free standing vacation home ... the world changes over the years. Timeshare MFs go up and you get special assessments. With a 2nd home, you usually decide IF you want to pay for granite counter tops or flat screen TV or pillow top mattresses. With a timeshare, those upgrades are usually bundled into a SPECIAL ASSESSMENT.

Plus ... I know if the vacation house is empty and that I can roost for 2 nights or 7 or 10 or 30 nights.

 

[avad88]

I can see both sides and have experienced both. When hubby retired 4 years ago, we decided to winter in Fl in timeshares. Our kids and family are up north so we don't want to move permanently. The first year, we stayed in FL 2 months and it was a lot of work and trouble getting 9 weeks of timeshares in the winter, not to mention packing up almost every week and moving. The following year we wanted to stay 3 months and got a 1 month rental (at considerable expense) and 8 weeks timeshares (again not easy). Since we wanted to stay in Fl longer, last year we purchased a small home in a retirement community and plan to live 6 months at each place. We will sell a couple of timeshares and still travel with the others.
We never know the future but hope to continue the snowbird lifestyle for a few good years.

 

[gsedlock]

Around 1997, my wife and I considered buying a vacation home, but when we thought about it, we couldn't find one place that we'd want to go year after year. So, we bought a week from Marriott in Kauai after receiving an offer to stay at the resort for four nights. (I didn't know about TUG at the time or would have bought resale)

As our family grew, we used the time share for different types of vacations. When our two children were in high school and college, we would spend a week at a resort in CA or FL near locations where they toured with drum corps.

Once they got out of college, we traveled with another couple to places like Sedona and Myrtle Beach for a week.

At one point, we stayed in Las Vegas for a week at the Marriott time share and ended up buying vacation points. Marriott switched over to the point system at that time. (Still didn't know about TUG and resale)

Since then, we've been trading in the week for more vacation points and have gone to Europe several times - Italy, London/Paris, and Portugal/Spain. We're going again in September to Ireland. We've also gone on a short cruise.

This may sound strange, but owning a time share "forces" us to plan vacations - it would be easy just to let things slide year after year.

So with the variety of places that we've been, having the time share and vacation points has turned out to provide us with a lot of options and a lot of enjoyment. Plus, I'm not the kind of guy who enjoys doing home maintenance work. Ugh!

 

[rapmarks]

One advantage for us is that Florida does not have state income taxes. That saves us enough to pay all expenses on our home. Plus our taxes are homesteaded, under two thousand, home has appreciated. we did five seasons of multiple timeshares or a combination of timeshares and rentals, we like this much better. Unless there is another housing recession, our children will have no trouble selling, and most sell furnished. We now fly back and forth, so no more timeshares on the way to the other home


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[newportbeach]

I have both now for several years. Each serves a different purpose. I find my preference is variety with regard to my enjoyment of going to new places, and timeshares help in this regard. Vacation home is a much bigger commitment, and something that is harder to
walk away from and costs more on an annual basis. I wish I had stayed with a 2 bedroom condo instead of upgrading to a much larger free standing home.

 

[easyrider]

I have both now for several years. Each serves a different purpose. I find my preference is variety with regard to my enjoyment of going to new places, and timeshares help in this regard. Vacation home is a much bigger commitment, and something that is harder to
walk away from and costs more on an annual basis. I wish I had stayed with a 2 bedroom condo instead of upgrading to a much larger free standing home.

I enjoy variety regarding winter time location too. We use our ts weeks for snow birding in different locations each year. My problem is I now have too many locations to fly to. Im getting to the point that I do not like flying so I am considering doing 6 or 7 weeks in one location in Mexico or Hawaii instead of going on 3 separate trips each winter. In the past I would have been very bored staying in one place for that long but now I am actually going to try it. I decided to drop Hawaii this year and will likely head to sunny Mexico.

Bill

 

[JohnPaul]

This really caught me eye because we often talk about having second homes in San Francisco, Napa, New York, Colorado, Lake Tahoe, Seattle, etc through our timeshares.

Like everything in travel (life??) it's all about your likes/dislikes and what works for you and your personality.

Even though we have sizable maintenance fees since we own a LOT of timeshares, we still strongly believe that our costs are substantially lower than owning a second home.

In addition, we enjoy the ability to go to a lot of different places (although we never miss NYC and Lake Tahoe is a favorite that we use a lot) without the need to do any chores, including cleaning when we leave. As much as we love Tahoe, I'd hate to feel like that's where we HAD to go since we had a home there.

Now that we are retired, the timeshares are really paying off. In the last year, we did 5 weeks all around Washington and Oregon, 2 weeks in NYC, 2 weeks at Sun River in Central Oregon and a week in Sun Valley Idaho, 2 and a half months skiing Colorado, Utah and Tahoe, with upcoming travel of a month in Southern California and Arizona/New Mexico and a week in Palm Springs.

August brings 2 weeks in NYC and a week in Chicago. Thanksgiving this year will be the penthouse at Tahoe.

So. If you don't mind the chores and you like going to the same place anytime you want without having to plan and book ahead then a second home might be great. And, yes, hopefully you will see some appreciation on your investment.

In the meantime, we will stick with our second homes all around the county!!