Ok here is the deal. The new wife is most likely getting the family house in Honolulu about a jillion years from now. When we are old and gray and retire, we will likely spend the nice summers in MN and the cold months in Hawaii.

Her house is like most in Honolulu, way up on a hill in a crowded city. Not to belittle the place, its nice, but its up on a hill in a crowded city.

Anyway, I love Maui and have not been to Kuai yet but mostly like that one too. So I was thinking since we would be spending time there every year in her house, it would be nice to have at least one week per year at a nice beach resort. I could by a preowned one at a good spot, let the resort rent it out to pay the annual fee most years until we retire and just pay the purchase price until we start really making good use of it. Get a two bedroom unit so that family or friends could come out and visit, yada yada.

But it seems that there are lots of people who seem to think they are money pits and there are tons of resales on the market. Not looking at it as an appreciable investment, more like locking away something to enjoy years from now at today's prices. Land there is amazingly expensive, there is a whole land trust thing there, its very complicated, but you are not allowed to just buy land anywhere and build on it.

Anybody own a timeshare somewhere and what do you think? Love it or hate it?

 

I bought one in college. I hate it. you are stuck with the same week every year, if you want to change, you have to put it in a pool with everyone else on earth. and each year you pay maintenance fees, mine are $450. so factor in the up front money with the annual costs, plus the annual membership fee (for RCI) and you dont save much money until several years down, if you save at all. you lose travel flexibility, you are stuck with air rates for that day as opposed to a package that could save hundreds.

My dad tried to talk me out of it, i just wish i had listened.

and how do you plan on buying it outright? ive never heard of that. these places make so much on annual maint fees, they would never get rid of one.

Dave

 

Aren't yours on a point basis, so you can trade points to go some other week and wherever? My dad has i think 3 timeshares with Marriott along with other points he can use for cruises and stuff, so last year he gave me a week somewhere with my g/f at the time and we went to ft lauderdale. What company is your timeshare with?

 

if you're going timeshare, be sure to get it in a highly sought after area, i.e. Aruba. I've got a Marriot timeshare there and love it. PLus, it's so wanted that if I get tired of Aruba, there's a line of people waiting to trade me for the year.

 

I've got one at the Westin, in St. John USVI. We can move our week around, rent the place out, trade it in for points, or just swap it for a week somewhere else.

It's in high demand and there is a long waiting list for cancellations.

I bought it four years ago, and they sell for double what I paid.

Like any real estate, location has a lot to do with it.

 

Maui is also a highly sought after destinations and supposedly very easy to trade. How diificult has it been for you to find a renter when you don't want to use it?

 

No prob at all. Although with money getting tight for a lot of people these days (read: losing shirt on over mortgaged house), it may become more difficult.

 

Points-based (Trendwest/WorldMark) and we love it. I'd never buy single-location because I want to vacation all over. I really can't tell if we'll ever save money over just renting as we go but this way forces us to take vacations.

 

When you rent the things do you do it yourself or it it easiest to have the resort do it for you and take a cut?

I don't think I would be that interested in swapping in the near term because I would either use it myself or just be holding it for more use in retirement and looking to defer the annual dues.

 

I haven't rented it yet. We've either used it or given it to family members for the week.

The Westin will rent it for you, but take 50% of the rental money. You can rent it yourself, but if the renters damage the place it's your responsibility.