Relative Giving us an Orlando Vistana Timeshare? Do you own there? WWYD?

[*pixie*dust*]

A relative wants to "give" me one of his time shares. It's at the Vistana resorts in Orlando. Now I am familiar with DVC, as I was an owner when I was married, so timeshares aren't completely foreign to me. (Though I don't know much about this particular one.) I see the value of timeshares, if they are viewed as a prepaid vacation and not an investment. My cost would be basically closing costs and then annual maintainence fees which I could afford.
I am not sure what to do. On one hand I see the benefits. It would be an inexpensive way to travel. On the other hand I have always been an "on propeperty" girl and I am guessing that it is propbably pretty hard to trade out of Orlando if we wanted to go somewhere else.

If anyone owns at Visatana could you give me some insight? Would you take this opportunity?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

My understanding is that Vistana is part of Starwood as it is a Sheraton. This would allow you to trade it out for almost anythinbg that Starwood has. This includes the Swolphin on property. m So if you visiut other locations that WDW you can use your points there.

 

[dvcgirl]

I think that your relative probably has good intentions. However, this really isn't a "gift". You can stay at Vistana per night, pretty cheap. My DH and I stayed here back in 2004 for a long weekend. It was fine...not a bad resort at all, but I would never in a million years sign on for closing costs and maintenance fees.

I don't follow DVC all that closely anymore, but the timeshare market is really in big trouble. You could buy in....even just with closing costs, and more importantly maintenance fees (which keep on comin'!). I'd really and truly thank your relative....and pass.

 

[3DisneyGals&1Grumpy]

Do you know which section the unit is located in.... Springs, Falls, Cascades, etc?

We are owners in the Falls section and would not buy there again or accept one as a free gift. The units and Vistana as a whole are much better since the recent renovations but there are too many good Disney/ Orlando deals out there to be found including as a PP stated at Vistana as well.

Something to consider... your annual maintence dues will need to be paid in January. Not the best time of year for most people and they do go up in cost EVERY year. Also, if your unit is in one of the sections that is still undergoing renovations you will need to pay that as well. The Falls unit ran around $2,500. Also, and maybe most importantly, there are a lot of foreclosures and non paying units in the timeshare community right now. Those non paying unit expenses are being passed on to us paying owners.

On a brighter note, after we experience a few days of Disney Magic on property in one hotel room, we do love spreading out in the timeshare, doing laundry, and cooking a few of our own meals. Vistana is a nice resort and is very close to WDW. To sum it up, we don't dislike Vistana but think there are much better deals for vacations than a "free" timeshare.

 

[dvcgirl]

Do you know which section the unit is located in.... Springs, Falls, Cascades, etc?

We are owners in the Falls section and would not buy there again or accept one as a free gift. The units and Vistana as a whole are much better since the recent renovations but there are too many good Disney/ Orlando deals out there to be found including as a PP stated at Vistana as well.

Something to consider... your annual maintence dues will need to be paid in January. Not the best time of year for most people and they do go up in cost EVERY year. Also, if your unit is in one of the sections that is still undergoing renovations you will need to pay that as well. The Falls unit ran around $2,500. Also, and maybe most importantly, there are a lot of foreclosures and non paying units in the timeshare community right now. Those non paying unit expenses are being passed on to us paying owners.

On a brighter note, after we experience a few days of Disney Magic on property in one hotel room, we do love spreading out in the timeshare, doing laundry, and cooking a few of our own meals. Vistana is a nice resort and is very close to WDW. To sum it up, we don't dislike Vistana but think there are much better deals for vacations than a "free" timeshare.

This is a very good post....and what I was thinking. All that I hear about the Timeshare market is absolutely a nightmare right now. I mean....it is in a death spiral. I wouldn't do it....because just the maintenance fees according to this owner are very high.

On this very site, The DIS, there are Vistana deals posted nearly every day....where you can stay for $100 of less per night.

At a minimum, I'd go down for a few days, pay cash and check it out.

 

[minnie1928]

We recently stayed with friends at Vistana using their timeshare. The room that we got was definitely showing its' age. We had all stayed at Bay Lake using our DVC the week before and to go from there to Vistana was a bit of an adjustment. The room looked tired...the sofa cushions were flat/squished, paint was needed and it needed a deep cleaning. On the surface, things were clean and presentable but after you were there a few days you really began to notice the age/condition of things.

I wouldn't go for it if I were you...tell your relative thanks but no thanks.

However, my friends do trade out to hotel points a good bit so if that is more suited to your tastes then it might be worthwhile. Their points are structured that if they don't use them, then they lose them. So they've done this in order to not lose the points.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Do you travel much in general? We own DVC and use it exclusively to travel to WDW. But we also own another misc. timeshare (1 week every other year) in Austria that we only use to trade. For the maintenance we pay and $99 exchange fee, we get a cheap vacation every other year. We've gone to Hawaii, New Orleans, Branson, Florida, Gatlinburg, etc. and we do enjoy it.

 

[robsmom]

I would suggest that you do a year to year "rent" deal with the owner. He/She can continue to try to sell the unit and you would agree to pay the maintenance fees for the year in exchange for using the time. Either of you can end the arrangement any year. This would avoid the closing costs and give you a chance to try it out. In addition, you do not end up with the liability of owning the unit. It is likely that your relative can not sell the unit, and just getting some relief from you taking it over for a year, two or three would help him or her. My in-laws have a Vistana timeshare and we have already decided that when they pass we will not take it from the estate. We will hand it back to Sheraton as we are unable to sell it and we do not want the liability of paying on it for the rest of our lives. They are too old to travel alone and really just want to be rid of it. Unfortunately, they need to continue to pay as they are worried about their credit score. On a positive note, they have been able to make some trades with it in the past and the Vistana location in Orlando is very convient, so I think you could get some reasonable vacations out of it by "renting" from your relative.

 

[mrsstats]

I bought there within the last few years. Resale so the lost was low. Right after I bought their maintenance fees went up by a few hundred dollars a year. I love the resort, love the location but if I had it to do over, I would not buy. There are many others in the area with lower annual fees. And thre are people giving them away. However, I would still have some timeshare as I would rather stay in a timeshare than a hotel.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I would suggest that you do a year to year "rent" deal with the owner. He/She can continue to try to sell the unit and you would agree to pay the maintenance fees for the year in exchange for using the time. Either of you can end the arrangement any year. This would avoid the closing costs and give you a chance to try it out. In addition, you do not end up with the liability of owning the unit. It is likely that your relative can not sell the unit, and just getting some relief from you taking it over for a year, two or three would help him or her. My in-laws have a Vistana timeshare and we have already decided that when they pass we will not take it from the estate. We will hand it back to Sheraton as we are unable to sell it and we do not want the liability of paying on it for the rest of our lives. They are too old to travel alone and really just want to be rid of it. Unfortunately, they need to continue to pay as they are worried about their credit score. On a positive note, they have been able to make some trades with it in the past and the Vistana location in Orlando is very convient, so I think you could get some reasonable vacations out of it by "renting" from your relative.

That is a great idea. I had not thought about a "rental" situation. That may be the best for both.

I really appreciate all of the honest replies. There are some details that I had not considered. Thank you all.