Wow thanks! Tons of info there! looks like buying re-sale would be much better. I'll need to keep reading up on this stuff. Thank you again!

Never seen a timeshare that was a good deal.

The deeding and exchangable points are common.

We attended a Marriott presentation with the same pitch about passing on the property to your heirs, etc.

Did they tell you that the property also includes special assessments from time to time?

Marriott also had the points that you use towards vacation lodging there or elsewhere via a clearing house.

A friend of mine bought a timeshare in Belize and tried to use the points to stay elsewhere. He could never get decent availability and ended up wasting his points on a dump in Orlando. This place was such a dump that during busy season, they were charging $35 per night. So much for the value of his points.

Bottom line.. Look at timeshares for sale and see what the resale value is.

In many cases, people who buy timeshares can't dump them at any price.

Yeah I travel maybe twice a year at most. The deal was appealing, but i have seen points for 1/3 the cost of the retail price! I am concerned with the avialability with the points usage. Some sites say there is never a problem if you can book in advance. Others say that you need to book the first day of the 10th month at 8 a.m. meaning its a slim chance that you will be able to use your points for the hotel you actaully want to stay in.

Some thoughts to consider:

Another term the bigger players in the timeshare industry prefer to use is "vacation ownership." Unlike the term "timeshare", I think "vacation ownership" more accurately reflects that you are committing money annually to vacationing through a specific company. This can be helpful in that it forces individuals to plan to take the time -- use it or lose it. Otherwise, it's easy to take a much more casual approach to planning vacations that may never happen. We have definitely enjoyed traveling and vacationing more since we purchased.

Purchasing a timeshare / vacation ownership property from one of the bigger hotel-related companies will effectively tie you to their brands as a return customer. Consider how many hotels are available for using (or further accumulating) points. To maximize / increase your accummulation of hotel-related points when staying at these properties, consider getting a corporate-branded credit card.

There are benefits associated with owning multiple weeks from a single company vs. single weeks at multiple companies -- additional time in advance of making a reservation to lock in a date and more "pull" when getting a desirable room with a view.

Realize that some properties / destinations are more in demand than others, so if you desire to "trade" your week(s) for a different destination, the property you own and the time of year you want to travel will determine your relative trading power. So don't build expectations of purchasing a low-demand property in hopes of exchanging into a property in Hawaii in prime season. If you purchase property in Hawaii ($), it won't make a lot of sense to trade your "time" there for a lesser destination elsewhere. Probably the best approach is to purchase where you want to return on a regular basis.

When it comes to establishing resale value, what you see as "sold" on eBay may not really be "sold." A "right of first refusal" clause in the original sales contract may require the seller to advise the developer of a pending sale price being offered by a prospective buyer. The developer will likely find a low-ball price attractive and elect to buy from the seller (leaving the prospective buyer without a purchase). In this way, a developer can effectively control sales prices -- good for owners, not so good for buyers looking for an outstanding deal.

Litllam88 said:I LOVE going to timeshare presentations just to get the freebies, but nothing more. ... I own two in Hawaii.

At least on two visits, you did something more.

Do you use/trade/rent your 2 TS in HA? Presisely where/when are they?

Nice! At least you know what you are talking about. I actually work at one of the Worldmark properties and at one point nearly quit, but.....I realized through research they are the best deal out there for people who can not normally afford to travel. They are three times larger then their nearest competitor and with dicounts on travel they are hard to beat! I have helped single Mom's take much needed vacations and couples take Honeymoons they never dreamed they could! In Europe they have a law that makes them vacation and quess what, they have stronger family ties and less divorce and less stress! Us American needs something to force to take vacation and this product does just that a an afordable cost!

wdzorro said:My wife and I are Wyndam owners at Seawatch resort in Myrtle Beach. We have stayed at different places in the Wyndam resorts and have always been happy. I highly recommend it.Have you checked your resale value lately?

We owned a Timeshare for a while, I loved when friends would proclaim "timeshares are terrible investments". I never replied but since when are vacations considered "good investments"?

Anyways we ended up selling it for well over our purchase price.

We got 322,000 points for $10,000. I would be courious how much others have paid either resale or at the resort. The only downside is that they do not xfer the VIP status. This is a big reason not to buy from Wyndam as this kills the resale value. I have been told that over 50% of the purchase prices goes right to the sales person since they are commission only.