re: I was offered a timeshare. Should I take it?

Run. And I mean RUN as far away in the opposite direction as possible and don’t let ok back

No ,indeed.

I’d be insulted. Of all the neighbors, she thought you would be the one to fall for it?

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This is the best advice when it comes to considering a timeshare. Ex: get 20 ppl together, each puts up $100k, buy a condo. Put it in a trust. Set rules. Each member gets 5 weeks per year on rotating basis. Rent two high volume weeks ( ie July 4, Memorial Day) to help offset annual costs.

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So you buy a 2 million dollar property, you earn maybe 15k a year for the three “high volume weeks,” then you have insurance, cleaning, and other maintenance costs. It will still be a money pit. It is just that you won’t have any scam artist to try scam you into the deal. You are going willingly in to the deal with future former friends who will not hold up their end of the deal when they get pissy when they can’t use it or need to pay a huge lump sum for a catastrophic event like a hurricane deductible.


If you have the cash, you are better off just buying a condo and have total ownership. That way you pick when you use it, and rent it out the rest of the time as an investment to pay off the property and pay insurance and other fees, and pocket the money as passive income when it is paid off and generating a net income.

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stay away.

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^this

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My neighbor is offering to transfer ownership of her timeshare to me at no cost.

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HERE"S YOUR SIGN

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My neighbor is offering to transfer ownership of her timeshare to me at no cost.

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Gee, I wonder why.

There is a thriving legal subspecialty just for getting people out of their timeshare. That should be a clue.

This really depends on how big your family is, how often you travel, and how on top of it you are with planning your vacations.

If you have a family of 2-3 and don’t need a lot of space when you travel and can easily fit into normal studio or 1BR hotel rooms then a timeshare won’t really seem worth it to you. If you aren’t a regular traveler then you might not use your timeshare points. And if you don’t plan your trips in advance, then you may not be able to book a place where you want to go.

If you have a family of 4-6, and need multiple bedrooms when you travel, or if you like traveling with friends families etc. nothing beats a timeshare.

The $1k price per year is nothing compared to what you would spend for equivalent hotel rooms. For 150k points you can get a 2BR place for a week in a highly desirable area or a 4BR place in an off-area. If you bank your points and only use them every other year, you’ll have enough to get a 4BR place in a high area for a week.

Timeshares have earned a bad rap, but the person who paid the upfront cost of 10-20k for those points already bit the bullet for you.

I use my parents points all the time. We used a total of 40k points a for a last minute, two bedroom suite in colonial Williamsburg last spring break for 4 nights. That’s not the norm, but is just an example of what you can do. That’s about $300 worth of your yearly fees.

OP: