Clark Howard

[JeffR]

Although I don't listen to Clark Howard's radio show, I was given his "Get Clark Smart" book as a gift. I was looking through it and noticed that he paints timeshares in a pretty bad light and specifically mentions Disney twice. He sums up timeshares this way:

- Timeshares are worthless and cannot be resold.
- Prizes that are promised are usually overblown and of little value.
- Don't attend timeshare presentations because you might be tempted to make a huge mistake and buy.
(All on page 233)

On page 231 he says "If new operators like Marriott and Disney think timeshares are such a good deal, why don't they offer to buy them back for the selling price?"

Before I posted this I did a search and found several references to Clark on these boards and all were very positive. Seems he is a pretty popular guy.

Wanting to evaluate his statements, I have reviewed my investment. Among other things, I found:

- I will realize a $50,000 net gain over the life of the contract. This is a *very* conservative number and assumes I paid cash (thereby losing the interest I would have otherwise earned and ignoring any tax benefit from a mortgage).

- The payback period is 10 years. This is a relatively long time, but again, it assumes I paid cash up front. I believe this would be shorter if I were to recalculate using a mortgage (less lost opportunity cost).

- Because I purchased my points after staying at a resort, I was able to treat my extended family the very first year to a week long stay at BWV in a 1BR and Studio. The "market" cost of this stay equaled almost exactly 1/2 the cost of my points.

I have sent him an email highlighting these and other points (including the active resale market) and chided him for projecting the stereotypical timeshare model onto companies like Disney and Marriott.

Having never been to a Disney resort, let alone WDW, before stumbling upon the HH property, and having been to timeshare presentations that were laughable in their value, I can assure you that I "crunched the numbers" before making my decision.

I assume that many on this board will take offense with Clark either because of emotional ties to Disney or as an affront to your financial savvy. I'll let you know if he responds.

You can review his "cliff notes" at Clark Howard Timeshare Tips

 

[ralphd]

I think Clark Howard is correct in his warning that too many people buy timeshares without understanding the long term obligation. Clark is a respected consumer advocate and has said in the past that "timeshares are okay if you buy from a resale company and intend to use the weeks yourself every year".
Timeshare companies had a bad reputation in the past. The climate changed when companies such as Marriott, Disney, Morritts and the Royals entered the business.
We own at four resorts (including BWV) and have been very happy, but not everyone was fortunate to have a positive experience with their timeshare company.