Is this a good deal?

[Hawk]

Hi folks:

The following situation presented itself today.

I can get a timeshare at Westgate Towers on 192 for a single bedroom for 4 weeks per year. The cost would be 20k. The owners are friends of ours in Vermont.

Is this a good deal?

Thanks

Tim/Hawk

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

I am going to vote NO. I would never buy into a timeshare again. We used to own Hilton, which gave us hotel options too. Never again. Besides the large payment for it, don't forget about maintenance fees and such.

I guess you need to sit down and calculate if you would use 4 weeks a year and if you did what would it cost you per week to stay somewhere else?


Sarah

 

[Detailor]

$5000 per week seems quite high for a timeshare resort resale. For a two-bedroom I'd think around $1000/week would be more in line with reality and you could be able to do better than that.

A bit more information might produce more responses - size of villa, season(s) or months that the weeks are available for use, are these consecutive weeks and, if they are consecutive, do you want to go to Kissimmee for four weeks/per year.

And don't forget that $20k isn't the total cost for these weeks. You need to factor in the annual maintenance fee cost, too.

Before you buy, I'd suggest that you take some time reading about the re-sale market at the Timeshare Users Group website.

Dick Taylor

 

[TrustedTraveler]

It's a terrible deal! You can buy red weeks in Orlando for almost nothing as many, many people are happy to get rid of the annual expense.
We've looked at the timeshare option many times and just can't justify it.
Check out ebay or better yet join TUG tug2.net. TUG has lots of free information on timeshares, although it's coming from a pro-timeshare group.
Your options to rent rather than own a timeshare, condo or pool home gives you much more flexibility without the upfront expense.

 

[Don Disney]

I have some waterfront property AND a bridge........ In my opinion,Timeshares are the biggest legal rip-off there is! I have a decent 4 bedroom home,and would LOVE to find 52 suckers,I mean members,to buy 1 week each for vacation ownership-Jazz Fest,Mardi-Gras,Sugar Bowl all 35 minutes away.....Any takers?

 

[mieuxmew]

$20K for Orlando is very high! There are much nicer resorts for much less than $5k/week!! If you are interested in timeshare purchasing, join TUG and learn a lot first before deciding to purchase anything. Then, start with one week and see if you like it. Timeshares are much easier to buy than sell, especially in Orlando.

 

[JimMIA]

NO! You can buy many fine timeshares on eBay for $1, often with free closing.

Your friends are not trying to rip you off; they probably paid far more than they're asking.

But join TUG and do your research and you'll find out that if you want to own a timeshare, you can do so for practically nothing.

 

[kathy884]

I don't see the point of buying a timeshare in Orlando as the area is so overbuilt, and it's so easy to get great rentals for a very reasonable price. Look at comparable resale prices on ebay, redweek.com, and tug2.net classifed ads section and you will probably find the very same or comparable properties for way less as other posters have said. Many people will sell timeshares for just about nothing as pp have said to get out of having to pay the annual maintenance fees. (My personal opinion is that if you can rent for not much more than the annual maintenance fees, it doesn't make sense to buy one of these and lock yourself in.) // If you are seriously considering buying, I would recommend joining TUG2.net for $15 a year, the timeshare users group. It's a great site for learning about buying a timeshare and will help you make wiser decisions. Note -- you have to be a member to access this site except for the classifed ads section.

 

[Hawk]

Hi Folks:

Thanks for those responses.

Tim/Hawk

 

[nilseks]

If I was going to spend that kind of money in Orlando, I'd buy into DVC. You wouldn't get as many weeks, but you'd have better location and amenities (in my opinion).

 

[TamaraQT]

I own a 3bdrm/3bath timeshare week in Orlando that sleeps up to 12 people. I bought it on Ebay for $1. So a week in Orlando costs me just maintenance fees per year. I like my timeshare unit and the resort itself so to me it's worth it. But to answer your question, NO it is NOT a good deal for $20K. You could buy a 2 or 3 bedroom for $1 on ebay and only pay maintenance fees a year and have a unit large enough for up to 12 people. If you do buy a timeshare, make sure you buy one where you would want to go to every year. Of course you can always trade it to go somewhere else. But at least buy where you wouldnt mind going and someplace that is easy to rent. But never pay high $$$ for a timeshare.

 

[henrylarry6]

Hey Tim I would suggest you to join TUG and do a proper research before you get into deal.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I own a 3bdrm/3bath timeshare week in Orlando that sleeps up to 12 people. I bought it on Ebay for $1. So a week in Orlando costs me just maintenance fees per year. I like my timeshare unit and the resort itself so to me it's worth it. But to answer your question, NO it is NOT a good deal for $20K. You could buy a 2 or 3 bedroom for $1 on ebay and only pay maintenance fees a year and have a unit large enough for up to 12 people. If you do buy a timeshare, make sure you buy one where you would want to go to every year. Of course you can always trade it to go somewhere else. But at least buy where you wouldnt mind going and someplace that is easy to rent. But never pay high $$$ for a timeshare.

Are you pulling my leg ? One dollar? On the other hand we rent at Sheraton Vistana for 589 per week 2 bd rm which is about what the fee would be .

 

[Don Disney]

Are you pulling my leg ? One dollar? On the other hand we rent at Sheraton Vistana for 589 per week 2 bd rm which is about what the fee would be .

Where did you get such a good rate? TIA

 

[DCTooTall]

Are you pulling my leg ? One dollar? On the other hand we rent at Sheraton Vistana for 589 per week 2 bd rm which is about what the fee would be .

Where did you get such a good rate? TIA

Do a search on Ebay, and some other reseller sites will show $1 timeshares as well. (well... usually $1 + closing costs).

There are a LOT of people who have been trying to unload their timeshares just to get out of the Annual Dues requirements, especially after the economy tanked. When looking at a market like Orlando, which is so overbuilt, it's sometimes even harder to find someone willing to buy the contract/deed/unit in some of the older or less centrally located resorts.


(In fact, one of the few reasons DVC has 'maintained' so much of it's value is that Disney for years actively utilized their right-of-first-refusal on resales which helped prop up the cost of DVC Resales)