Who invests in timeshares? Do you get your money's worth?

[QuarterMillionMan]

Does anyone invest in timeshares and do you get your money's worth? I always hear horror stories of people who buy timeshares and regret it. I don't own any timeshares myself but sometimes when I'm in Las Vegas I think about attending the 2 hour timeshare presentation (not to buy the timeshare) but to get the timeshare promotion (ie., free show tickets, free buffets,etc).

[disneysteve]

Does anyone invest in timeshares

Let's stop right there. Timeshares ARE NOT investments. With one exception (Disney Vacation Club), they do not appreciate in value. In fact, if you buy them "new" from the resort, the value plummets immediately. A timeshare that you purchase for $15,000 will routinely be worth no more than a few hundred dollars on the resale market and that's if you are really lucky and can find a buyer. You can't even give them away most of the time. Charities won't accept them as donations.

There are a number of reasons for this. The sale price is greatly inflated. Several prime markets are glutted with timeshare units. As a result, they can generally be rented for very reasonable rates that make owning of no value. I have personally rented timeshare units in the Orlando area for as little as $37/night. I'd have to be insane to spend thousands to purchase an interest in the resort when I can rent that cheaply and not be locked in to any contract.

Should you do the presentations to get the freebies? Again, with the exception of DVC, I'd say no. Life is too short and vacation time too valuable to waste it being locked in a room with a high-pressure salesperson just to get a free meal or free show tickets. If you're at Disney, absolutely go for it. It's quite fun. But anywhere else, stay away. Even the big companies aren't worth it. We are Marriott Rewards members, very loyal to the chain, and decided to do a Marriott timeshare presentation a few years ago. It was a really bad experience - and I let them know it too. The salesman was an idiot, rude and condescending, made many incorrect assumptions about my wife and I and despite me correcting him repeatedly, continued to base his sales pitch on those assumptions. We couldn't wait to get out of there.

[Wino]

Timeshare and other such presentations with "free gifts just for attending" are held exclusively in the Hotel California. Once you get in the door, it takes an armed SWAT team to get you out without buying what they're selling and also having your "free" stuff. I did it ONE time, and it went on about 4 hours, not two. Had I purchased, it would have been less than two hours.

And the "free stuff" was junk. I never even ordered any of it. It was vouchers for some 99 cent store type of internet site.

[jeffrey]

Timeshares are depreciating assets -- you should never invest in a depreciating asset.

[QuarterMillionMan]

This is an interesting article that illustrates what goes on at those timeshare presentations.

http://www.moneycrashers.com/attending-timeshare-presentation-free-vacation/

[hamchan]

Where do you find time share rentals? That sounds like a good idea. Hotels have gotten crazy expensive.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Why is disney vacation club okay?

[disneysteve]

Where do you find time share rentals? That sounds like a good idea. Hotels have gotten crazy expensive.

Check skyauction.com. Also browse vrbo.com and homeaway.com. The first one is mainly timeshares. The others are mainly homes and condos but might list timeshares too.

[disneysteve]

Why is disney vacation club okay?

I don't think DVC is okay but it is definitely different than the rest. Historically, the value of DVC points has appreciated. To my knowledge, it is the only timeshare that has consistently done so.