I first bought a timeshare 11 years ago while on vacation in Orlando, Florida. I was invited to a presentation, where they offered me money- $50 - to go to a presentation to see "timeshares", something where you actually own a part of a vacation resort- you get a deed- and you agree that one particular week each year is for your use. The name of the timeshare was "The Oak Plantation Resort". When we arrived at the place (me and my friend and co-worker, Rose), we registered at the front desk at the Presentation Center at the Resort, and then they directed us to a table, which they said was ours, and they invited us to go over and grab some food that they had set out for guests. We walked over and grabbed some danishes, Yoplait Yogurt, coffee, cranberry juice, donuts, bagels and cream cheese. It was a decent free meal while we waited for our hostess. Finally she arrived, and she sat down and asked each of us what we did for a living, and our vacation habits, what we were doing on this vacation (Walt Disney World), and stuff like that.
Then we got a tour of the resort, which as not open yet for guests. From the Presentation Center we could see the pool being built just outside. We followed our hostess and she took us to a model of the guest quarters that were available for purchase. They were really nice. She described how the Resort would look when finished. It was a beautiful place already- the neighborhood had a lot of oak trees in it naturally. She proposed to me to purchase an area right near the pool, but upstairs from it. It was a 2-bedroom unit. Again, it was not built yet so I couldn't see it. I thought about it- I loved going to Walt Disney World, and the idea of having a place to use every time that I came back, and having a good reason to come back- made me want to buy it.
So it came to pass that I bought the timeshare, a nice 2 bedroom unit during week 24 (which is about the 2nd week of June), for $9,500. I was among the first 25 owners to purchase a unit at this brand-new Resort. They brought out a bottle of champagne for theatrics. It was cool, though...I knew what I was getting into. I can honestly say that I have used the timeshare, that the Resort is really nice, and that I have one of the best locations in the best weeks at the Resort. I have gone to this Resort and used my week there about 7 times. The other times, I have exchanged my week with RCI (Resorts Condiminums International), which is a company that is like a club, where time share owners can deposit their weeks with RCI and choose to book a week-long vacation at another RCI-affiliated resort. Through RCI, I have stayed at resorts at Lake Tahoe, California (twice), Canmore, Alberta Cananda (near Calgary and Banff), L'Anse St. Jean, Quebec Canada, and Pagosa Springs, Colorada (where Oprah went on TV with her pal Gayle).
I have learned a few things over the years, and, one thing that I know is that if you decide to buy a timeshare, you should shop around. Today there are a lot of people who have bought their timeshares and want to get rid of them, for various reasons- they bought into their timeshares at crazy interest rates, they can't control their spending, they can't get the week off from their job to go on vacation, and other reasons. A timeshare is a luxury, not a necessity. Food is more important to you than vacation, at least for most people.
If you decide to buy a timeshare, make sure that you shop around first. Ebay is a great place to look at timeshares, and sometimes you can find them there really cheap- I've seen some being sold for as little as $500 total purchase price. One thing to be aware of- timeshares cost you each year. You have to pay taxes and maintenance fees, and the Resort Association will send you a bill each year. These fees can go up- not the taxes so much, but the maintenance fees can really climb. (When I first joined with Oak Plantation, the fees were $350 per year. Now they are $700 per year!).
What? $700 per year! That's expensive! Yes, but if you were to rent my room at the Resort during the week that I have it each night for a week, you will pay $125 per night. I have a prime location at the Resort, and I like when my week is, so I'm hanging on to it. RCI costs about $95 per year to be a member, but they have some good perks of being a member, like Extra Vacations, where you can pay like $199 or $299 and still stay at a great RCI resort and not pay maintenance or exchange fees (because you didn't exchange your unit- you're just renting out available space!). If you have time and money to vacation, and you want to save some money, owning one timeshare and having an RCI membership is a good way to go.
In one of my next posts I'll tell you about a great Timeshare that's for Sale at a great price!
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