how many people on here

[Gamma]

have a favourable impression of time shares?

[Islandman]

Is that a trick question? LOL!

[Bruce]

Time shares is a ripoff.

[Bricktop]

Unfavourable here.

[Gamma]

no...seriously.

ok let me put my own opinion out there.

i'm sure it works for some people..i am completely turned off by the salesmen and sales pitch... (usually deceptive in order to get a captive audience) kinda like amway.

[Jangle]

It is a double-edged sword. The problem is exchanging it with Interval International. They always do not have any rooms available in the hotels that you want to go.

[Assasin]

It depends.

If you like going the same place, and with a big family if the travel expense is right.

If you buy it and can pay it off full then you fine but the interest rate they want to charge is ridulous.

i know someone who want to sell a Orange Lake one fi a litte money.

[Islandman]

The Truth About Timeshares

Myth: I can get a great deal on a timeshare and go for vacation every year! Plus, I can always sell it if I get tired of it.

Truth: Timeshares are one of the biggest scams on the market today. Once you are stuck in one, you are stuck in a black hole.

The first word that comes to my mind when I hear timeshares is RUN! Run far, far away! If you run fast enough, you can eventually escape that annoying, high-pressure salesperson!

Let's think about this for a minute. Why in the world would you pay thousands and thousands of your hard-earned dollars for a place with minimal square-footage that you MIGHT get the chance to visit for one week each year? Add to that the fact that you have absolutely no equity in the place. And you have to pay extra ongoing "maintenance fees". And selling it is near impossible. And it's basically just an expensive, ongoing headache. And, and, AND!

Sounds completely ridiculous, doesn't it? That's because it is!

Why all the buzz?
Timeshares are one of the top sellers in the travel and hospitality industry. Thousands are available and millions of people "own" them. But that doesn't mean timeshares are a good idea. An article on MarketWatch.com tells us that timeshares are generally marketed and sold to people who really can't afford them. So if you think you can afford it, you can't. Even if you really think you can, trust me, your money is better off in a cookie jar.
Don't believe me? Check this out: The average cost of a timeshare in the U.S. is $13,000. If you put that money in a mutual fund averaging 12% over 10 years, you would have almost $43,000. Pretty good. In 20 years, you would have over $141,000. Even better. In 40 years, you would have over $1.5 million! That's a LOT of free money! Hope you like the vacation house!

Throwing money at a timeshare is not an investment and will NOT generate money for you. An investment implies that you can eventually sell it and make money. With timeshares, you're just pre-paying your hotel bill for the next 20 years whether or not you use it.

Getting out of the deal
If you've already taken the plunge and paid your stupid tax, here's how to get out of it. Call the place as a potential customer and find out what a similar unit is selling for. They will probably tell you that you can't do that. Just be strong and tell them you want to know what options you have available so that you can either sell it back or sell it to someone else.
Contact the executive director of sales if you are getting trouble from any of the sales managers. Tell the director you'll sell it for half of what the going rate is and pay double the commission.

You're definitely going to lose money on this. Timeshares go down in value worse than a car. But it's better to cut your losses than to continue to lose any more money. If you can't sell it back to the company you bought it from, don't go to one of the list services where you have to pay a fee. Donate it here.

Is it worth it to go to a "great presentation" just to score a free dinner at a nice restaurant? NO WAY. For the money you put into a crummy timeshare, you could go to Europe every summer for the rest of your life and never have a problem.

[Gamma]

'sass....yuh good....

i know someone who want to sell a Orange Lake one fi a litte money.

[Gamma]

in a nutshell...that is my own opinion...except for the mutual fund part.

mi grandfather's "farmer's logic" has led me to keep far from them and those salespersons are so EFFING annoying and deceitful......

[Islandman]

I know a couple who actually took one of thier "free" weekends to visit the timeshare property they were trying to sell them.

They said the salespeople got on thier nerves so much the entire time trying to guilt them into buying one that they didn't think it was worth it.

Yes the mutual fund comparison is suspect, but they do try to convince people that they are buying "investment property" when in fact they lose thier value very quickly on the secondary market.

[Gamma]

they abound in orlando...last year when the missus was making arrangements for a family outing to universal...she said that we could get free tickets for attending a "time share presentation" but that we had to stay the whole time and something else....

mi just tell har fi cancel dat blow wow.....wi wi pay fi wi owna ticket...afta we naw beg nuhbaddy nutten!!!

[Farmah]

Oh no!!! Time share and Favourable do not go nicely in the same sentence. Next time sobebody try to sell yuh a Time Share just tek time walk fast...very fast...in di odda direkshan !!

[Willi]

Cho unno too pessimistic!

I went to one presentation with the inlaws.

We did dun know that we wasnt buying anything. They tried their best but we brushed it off and collected our $200 in hard cold cash. Oh yeah, did I tell you they paid transportation to and from our hotel and pushed my father in law around in a wheelchair, as he was too lazy to walk?

The whole thing too less than 4 hours and was pretty entertaining.

[Mosiah]

Yankee thievery at its best!