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Home > Here's what I've been working on... Resort Vacations!

Here's what I've been working on... Resort Vacations!

April 11th, 2006 at 03:03 pm

As you can read from my previous post, I have been working on an "information product" (book). A big part of why we are in debt is a BAD decision we made to purchase a timeshare a few years ago. We learned a lot about how to get scammed and how to avoid getting scammed when buying a timeshare. I'm writing my book about this. It should be ready in a month or two.

We also learned how you can take vacations at luxury resorts and pay the same or less than you would to stay in an average hotel.

If you want this free report about how to stay in luxury resorts for cheap, visit my new website,

Text is www.ResortVacationing.com and Link is http://www.resortvacationing.com
www.ResortVacationing.com.

(Yes, that's me and my wife in the picture at the top!)

16 Responses to “Here's what I've been working on... Resort Vacations!”

  1. jeffrey Says:
    1144773828

    Yuck! - I'm so sorry to see that you chose timeshares which are the absolute worst money wasting things that people can get hooked into. Even if they buy resale units. often they lose tons of money on maintenance fees. I have received more emails from people trying to get out of timeshares than any other financial problem since starting this site. While I don't want to put a damper on your project, timeshares are just a pain that you will long regret.

  2. outofdebt Says:
    1144774708

    I hear you, jeffrey. I agree with you for the most part. It is CRAZY to spend $15,000 on a timeshare and then pay $1,000 a month on maintenance fees all for a resort you end up not going to and you aren't able to exchange for what you want.

    Yet if you can get one for $2,000 and pay $600 a year in maintenance fees for a 2 bedroom unit your whole family can and WILL use yearly, you are able to stay in a luxury resort unit which fits your entire family for basically the price of your maintenance fees -- which is much cheaper than staying in a hotel (or 2 hotels rooms to fit your whole family).

    There are 1000 ways to get ripped off. Even people who think they are wise buying on the resale market are getting ripped off. I'm just writing a book on how to make sure people are properly educated if they are considering buying.

    Incidentally, I did a survey of 50 user of a popular timeshare users discussion forum. Of the 50, nearly all of them (>90%) were very satisfied with their timeshare experience. I assume they were satisfied because
    a) they could afford the maint fees
    b) they used and enjoyed their timeshare resorts

    Incidentally, >90% of these users also believed that timeshare salesmen lie to make the sale. It is these lies I am trying to set right.

  3. jeffrey Says:
    1144804352

    I guess my big issue is that I also get lots of emails from people that have their maintenance fee raised or are given a special "vacation resort improvement fee" that they never expected. Just like credit cards, they can make changes with the fees pretty much when they want and you're stuck. My question always is, why not rent out a timeshare in the destination you're going - you still get all the room without any of the risk of owning the timeshare unit for about the same price. This also gives you so much more flexibility because you aren't stuck to one place (and anyone who has owned a timeshare knows how difficult it is to trade) - Owning just doesn't make financial sense when you can rent for the same price since timeshares only drop in value.

  4. outofdebt Says:
    1144806621

    That's the point I make in my special report available at
    Text is www.ResortVacationing.com and Link is http://www.resortvacationing.com
    www.ResortVacationing.com and a point I'll make in my book when it is finished.

    But yearly maintenance fees will almost alway be cheaper than renting (not by much, but at least a few hundred dollars yearly). So if someone has a location they know they like and want some of the extra benefits available with some of the "vacation clubs" -- like last minute weekend rentals for $40 a night (which my wife and I have used a lot for weekend getaways), timeshare ownership is a viable option.

    Timeshares values drop faster than new car values -- if you buy from the developer, it loses 50%-70% of it's value in 5 days (the typical rescission period). But after that, the prices on the resale market remain pretty stable. If you buy it on the resale market for $3000, you should be able to sell it for at least the same.

  5. jeffrey Says:
    1144817032

    Your sounding like a timeshares salesperson already Wink There is just a few problems with your focus on buying:

    "But yearly maintenance fees will almost always be cheaper than renting (not by much, but at least a few hundred dollars yearly)."

    You need to look at these numbers closely. say the difference is $300. The $3000 you put into the timeshare could be sitting in an online bank earning 4.8% -more if you went the CD route. That's $150 a year in lost interest. So in reality you are only saving $150. That's conservative - other investments would pay more. If you have to finance it, you're already losing money. If you have the cash, you're saving $150 over using the most conservative investment, but taking on a number of huge risks:

    1. If you need the money, you can't get quickly (not liquid) and would be forced to sell at a deep discount.

    2. Fees and special assessment fees can come at any time without warning. In addition, for newer timeshares the statement that fees will be less may apply, but as they get older and need more repairs and face lifts, this is not true.

    3. Something happens so you can't go one year and you are in the red.

    4. Used timeshare do lose value - not near as stable as you say - especially after 5 years when there are newer resorts in competition in the same area not to mention the glut of timeshares in many areas

    5. there are costs associated with selling a timeshare that will mean you'll almost always come out behind (even if a resale unit was purchased)

    6. You don't need to be a timeshare owner to get those $40 weekend deals - there are other ways to get the same thing without buying a timeshare.

    I would advise one and all to stay away from timeshares - in fact, one of our sisters sites was developed specifically because of all the email I was receiving about horror stories with timeshares -
    Text is Timeshare Trap and Link is http://www.timesharetrap.com
    Timeshare Trap.

  6. outofdebt Says:
    1144847793

    Wow Jeffrey -- I didn't know who I was dealing with -- you've got your own timeshare-related website !! You make some good points, especially about the fees increasing as the resort gets older. I'll need to research this more.

    So where is this other option to get a $40 weekend deal?

  7. jeffrey Says:
    1144860455

    So where is this other option to get a $40 weekend deal?
    We just planned a 4 night stay at the yokohama hotel for a total of $6 from the mistake found at
    Text is Free Traveling and Link is http://www.freetraveling.com/
    Free Traveling with reservation confirmed.

  8. TimehareBlogger Says:
    1194546388

    As always, the absolute best value in a timeshare is to USE IT. As soon as you cannot fit that week into a vacation you will begin to see it is a very expensive thing to own and not use. Perhaps it is an incentive (albeit a negative one) to take a vacation?

  9. bridgette love Says:
    1203693909

    I have one in the bahamas. Anybody want to buy?

  10. James A, Says:
    1218738136

    You Tube has some resources on [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHEE4jZamo]timeshare promotions[/url} that could help you out. I think everybody should know what to expect before they go into a timeshare presentation.

  11. James A, Says:
    1218738305

    Text is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHEE4jZamo and Link is
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHEE4jZamo

  12. robert Says:
    1227381257

    ATTENTION! I have found the solution to getting rid of your timeshare. I found a company in Orlando that is NOT a listing company and is NOT a resale company. this company saved me from paying those M&T's, they actually took back my timeshare and now i am not responsible for paying that unwanted fee every year. The company is called TIMESHARE RESCUE GROUP, not to be confused with timeshare rescue out of Colorado, which is just another resale company. This company helped me and I am so glad i found them. If you want out of that timeshare then email them at info@timesharerescuegroup.com. Believe me this company rocks!

  13. Jerry Says:
    1231781726

    I lost my job and needed to get rid of my timeshare. I went to
    Text is Timesharefast.com and Link is www.timesharefast.com
    Timesharefast.com and got out of it quickly and put cash in my pocket. It may not work for you, but it did for me.

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