Timeshare dilemma

[siggy_freud]

People generally sell them to get out from under the high yearly maintenance fees, especially after they determine they're not using them like they thought.

Chalk this up to an expensive lesson learned. A quick search via google shows many timeshares for sale in Vegas for 1k-6k depending on location, condition, etc.

Two years ago my dad and I went to Vegas and stayed for free at this place, but we had to attend their sales seminar. We both knew going in there was no way we were going to buy in, we were just taking advantage of a discounted trip to Vegas for a convention we were going to anyways (SEMA). I couldn't believe the money they wanted. It was like $25,000. It was a nice place, with nice amenities, but come on. For that price he and I could have made 20+ additional trips to Vegas, and at one every 1-2 years that would have covered us for the next 20 to 40 years.


OP sorry to hear about your situation, but like many have said this will be an eye-opener for you and probably spur you to spend money more cautiously in the future. You really have two options here:

1. Sell the timeshare and pay off whatever loss you have to. This gets you out of the yearly fees, maintenance, etc.

2. Keep the timeshare, pay the fees, and get as much joy from it as you can.

[Like2Plan]

If I can only sell it for $2000, then why should I sell it at all? If I did that, I would have $12,000 at 17% interest of debt and absolutely nothing to show for it. If nobody is willing to pay what it's actually worth, then I'm not willing to sell it. I refuse to take that much of a loss because doing so would be financially irresponsible.

Good point. If you are able to use it and emjoy it. But, then how much is it costing you?

1. in interest--at 17%. How much interest will you pay over the life of the loan? I think you will probably pay more in interest over the life of the loan than your initial "investment". You know that you will never recoup your interest cost?
2. in annual Maint. fees and taxes. This is another cost you will never recoup.

Could you rent out your timeshare to defray the costs?

You could consult with an attorney and see if there are any other options available to you.

[mrpaseo]

If I can only sell it for $2000, then why should I sell it at all? If I did that, I would have $12,000 at 17% interest of debt and absolutely nothing to show for it. If nobody is willing to pay what it's actually worth, then I'm not willing to sell it. I refuse to take that much of a loss because doing so would be financially irresponsible.

This made me laugh out loud. I think this thread may be a troll thread.

You seem to be confused on the value of your after market time share. You said "what it's actually worth".... It's worth ONLY what someone is willing to pay for it. If you list it for 14k and no one buys... it's not worth $14k. If you lower it to 12k, then 10k, then 8k and someone buys, then it is worth exactly what they paid.


And by the way, Time Share = Financial Irresponsibility, you are in a hole, how you get out of it is up to you

You could give it away as a gift, you would at least have a story that you gave away a 20k gift.

Best of luck.

[disneysteve]

You could give it away as a gift

Some gift. You'd have to give it to someone you didn't really like since they would become responsible for the annual maintenance fee. That fee typically matches or exceeds the cost of staying in a comparable property.

We have stayed in timeshare units several times by renting them for a week. That is virtually always cheaper than what the owner of the same unit spends for the annual fee not even counting what was spent to buy in. For example, there is a resort outside of Disney World that we've stayed in 3 or 4 times. We've rented for as little as $37/night ($259/week). I'm quite certain folks who own in that resort are paying more than that for their maintenance fee.

Plus, by renting, we aren't locked in to any certain resort, any certain company, or any certain dates. We have total flexibility and no financial committment.

[Petunia 100]

If I can only sell it for $2000, then why should I sell it at all? If I did that, I would have $12,000 at 17% interest of debt and absolutely nothing to show for it. If nobody is willing to pay what it's actually worth, then I'm not willing to sell it. I refuse to take that much of a loss because doing so would be financially irresponsible.

In your very first post, you write that no one will buy it from you as long as there is a loan against it. In other words, you can only sell it if the price is $0 and assume annual maintenance fees.

Now a few posts later you express surprise that it might sell for "only 2k", which is 2k more than you stated it was worth in the first post?

List it for sale at any price you like. If you are asking too much, it won't sell. It's that simple.

[JoeP]

If I can only sell it for $2000, then why should I sell it at all? If I did that, I would have $12,000 at 17% interest of debt and absolutely nothing to show for it. If nobody is willing to pay what it's actually worth, then I'm not willing to sell it. I refuse to take that much of a loss because doing so would be financially irresponsible.

You were one of those people who felt the timeshare was worth the price you paid. Just go find more people like you and I'm sure they'll buy it from you.

[disneysteve]

Are you serious? I don't believe it. There is no way that something I paid $20,000

If you still doubt what we are all saying, let's do this. Tell us the name and location of the resort where you bought your timeshare. I'll do a search to see what it would cost me to buy a unit in the same resort on the secondary market. I'll also search and see what it would cost me to rent a week to stay there on vacation.

[rennigade]

Wow everyone here got trolled tuff.

Newbie comes here posting on a topic that has been beaten to death, and everyone keeps chiming in. Everyone please take a moment and re-read their response. Each reply they post causes more people to chime in. This is a classic textbook spot on troll show...and everyone fell for it.

Well played OP!! (original poster.)

Hell I semi troll at times, but even I could never keep a topic this dull going.

Congrats again OP...you done good.

My advice...but 3 more timeshares ranging from $12k-$16k. Im not sure how this would benefit you but my gut tells me its the right thing to do. As a matter of fact...im going to cash out my 401k...take a massive hit in penalties...buy timeshares until I have $25k left and put the rest on black at the MGM.

[KTP]

Oh, I was pretty sure it was a troll, which is why my reply included the comment about free tickets to O

Normally that would be pretty insensitive...

[rennigade]

Oh, I was pretty sure it was a troll, which is why my reply included the comment about free tickets to O

Normally that would be pretty insensitive...

Good call. At least you picked up on it early. And yes, even free tickets to O wouldn't entice me to purchase a timesh*t

[disneysteve]

I'm not convinced that OP was a troll, but even if he was, I think it was a useful conversation for anyone who might possibly have been considering buying a timeshare.

I have many friends and relatives who own timeshares and love them and would buy them again in an instant given the opportunity. In fact, some of them started owning one week and over the years purchased several addtional weeks because they loved it so much. So the entire concept isn't without merit. You just have to do it right. Buying it brand new from the resort for 25K at 17% interest is most certainly not the right way to do it. Most people I know who have bought timeshares have paid less than 2K/week for their units (except for DVC which is a whole different conversation).

If anyone is seriously considering timeshare ownership please, please, please do your homework. Paying literally ten times the price you need to pay is entirely insane and unnecessary.

[04261]

Good point. If you are able to use it and emjoy it. But, then how much is it costing you?

1. in interest--at 17%. How much interest will you pay over the life of the loan? I think you will probably pay more in interest over the life of the loan than your initial "investment". You know that you will never recoup your interest cost?
2. in annual Maint. fees and taxes. This is another cost you will never recoup.

Could you rent out your timeshare to defray the costs?

You could consult with an attorney and see if there are any other options available to you.

1. If I can only sell the timeshare for what others say I can, I have to pay that 17% interest anyway because I will still have the loan even without the timeshare

2. Yes, this is a problem, but those fees are less than a regular vacation. My issue with it costing too much was the interest payments and the maintenance fees combined. If I can't get rid of the loan, then it makes no financial sense to get rid of the timeshare, too.

I'm not sure about renting.

[04261]

This made me laugh out loud. I think this thread may be a troll thread.

You seem to be confused on the value of your after market time share. You said "what it's actually worth".... It's worth ONLY what someone is willing to pay for it. If you list it for 14k and no one buys... it's not worth $14k. If you lower it to 12k, then 10k, then 8k and someone buys, then it is worth exactly what they paid.


And by the way, Time Share = Financial Irresponsibility, you are in a hole, how you get out of it is up to you

You could give it away as a gift, you would at least have a story that you gave away a 20k gift.

Best of luck.

What is a troll?

If the resort is selling it for $20,000, then shouldn't it be worth that? Isn't selling something for more than it's worth fraud?

[04261]

In your very first post, you write that no one will buy it from you as long as there is a loan against it. In other words, you can only sell it if the price is $0 and assume annual maintenance fees.

Now a few posts later you express surprise that it might sell for "only 2k", which is 2k more than you stated it was worth in the first post?

List it for sale at any price you like. If you are asking too much, it won't sell. It's that simple.

Why should this be a surprise? Nobody wanted the loan because of the interest rate attached.

[04261]

If you still doubt what we are all saying, let's do this. Tell us the name and location of the resort where you bought your timeshare. I'll do a search to see what it would cost me to buy a unit in the same resort on the secondary market. I'll also search and see what it would cost me to rent a week to stay there on vacation.

Tahiti Village, 1 bedroom, Las Vegas