Question: I need some background information on a timeshare company in which I am planning on investing in the (very) near future. Questions relate primarily to
1) experiences (good/bad/ugly) with the company(s) 2) financial viability of the company 3) is the concept of timesharing a good idea?
The company I am interested in is TrendWest Resorts Inc. (based in WA). The name of the club that actually owns the timeshare properties is WorldMark (previously known as Club Esprit).
Answer: Here’s a word from a SATISFIED timeshare owner. A few rebuttals to the remarks above:
a) Think of what the maintenance fee pays for. In our case its a pool, tennis courts, equestrian center, volleyball/racquetball courts, golf course, fitness center, and other resort facilities. In addition, it pays for the unit to be thoroughly cleaned/repaired for one week every year, and for ALL of the furniture/accessories/decorations to be replaced once every five years (including wallpaper, etc.). It helps to ensure that the unit is clean and in good repair for all of those who use it.
b) Our timeshare IS for life. Once we pay it off (in 10 years, not 30), its ours — its deeded property, which means we can pass it on to whoever we like, even if we die before its paid off. And it is a mortgage, so the interest is tax deductible.
c) The price isn’t so bad if you think of it not as a money-making investment so much as a way to ensure good accomodations almost anywhere you want to go. Think about it — renting a beach house with occupancy for 6-10 can cost around $1500/week, depending on where you go. With the cost of a timeshare around $13,000 (without interest), if you do that 9 times in a lifetime, you’ve paid what you would pay to own a timeshare. For us, because we’re paying our loan off early, with interest, our total cost will have been around $18000 (not including tax deduction for interest) — so make that an equivalent of 12 weeks at the beach. We’re young and we like to travel, so for us its worth it. The other thing is, most hotels don’t include the amenities that timeshares usually do — full kitchens, laundry facilities, etc.. You can really save on the amount of $$ you spend while on vacation by not having to eat out all the time, especially with kids/large families. We’re using our timeshare, along with my parents’ timeshare, to host a family reunion for 22 people next summer. Since we’re scattered all over the country, transportation cost is a big deal, and its alot easier to swallow when you know you won’t have any lodging cost and the cost of meals will be much less than if you were staying in a hotel somewhere.
d) About being forced to use it on someone else’s schedule — absolutely not if you plan far enough in advance and are a little bit flexible. We’ve only had ours for a couple of years so we haven’t traded it around too much. But my parents have had theirs for over 10 years and have successfully traded it for places in Australia, Hawaii, Virginia Beach, Nags Head, etc.. As an example of flexible, I mean planning 6 months to a year in advance, and specifying the month in which you want to travel as opposed to specific days. And after all, how many folks plan major trips without about 6 months lead time? Plus, if you buy “red” time at a popular resort, you get high priority in the trading game. The key to timesharing is trading. After all, not many people like to always go to the same place for vacation; instead, use it as your key to thousands of nice resorts all over the world. Plus, if for some reason you can’t use your week one year, you can bank it and use it anytime within the next two years. That way you can accumulate time for longer vacations. Our unit has separate entrances to the upstairs and down, so we can trade it either as 1 week of 12 or 2 weeks of 6, EVERY YEAR. Which means, if we want to, we could bank our weeks this year and next and have 6 weeks to use the following year.
e) Obviously, as with anything, you could get ripped off if you’re dealing with the wrong people and aren’t careful. But please don’t generalize — not all companies are like this. Our resort gave us a free weekend in Williamsburg to see the place. They didn’t use any high-pressure tactics to sell us — the deal sold itself. Our salesperson told us upfront that if we were looking for a profitable investment — something to make $$ off of, this probably wasn’t the way to go (although we also have the option of renting our unit if we don’t use it). But what was clear to us was that as a way of saving money in the long run and ensuring ourselves nice places to stay anywhere we want to go, it was a good deal. We’re just starting out — we’ve got another 50 years or so to take advantage of this investment. You can’t tell me that in 50 years of vacations we won’t MORE than make up the costs.
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