There was an article in the FinancialWeb 3 Tips to Investing in a Deeded Timeshare. The article gives the three tips to investing in a deeded timeshare.

 

The article basically suggests purchasing a deeded timeshare in popular destination, paying a close attention to the maintenance fees, and future potential of the resort and surrounding area. It's a relatively small, but informative article. The only issue we have with this article is with the word "investing". They are using this word more than once. In general, we don't think of timeshares as financial investments.

 

 

 

There was an article in the FinancialWeb 3 Reasons to Pass on a Cheap Timeshare. The article pointed out the three major reasons why you should not purchase a cheap timeshare. The author talked about resale trouble, no financial benefit of timeshares, and RTU vs. deeded timeshare. Let's talk about all of these points in details.

 

Resale Trouble. According to the author, "timeshare resales traditionally go for less than 50% of the purchase price for a new unit". While this statement might be true, it references new units purchased from a developer. We agree that you should not purchase a timeshare from a developer, unless you are really a great deal, which does not happen often. However, you can often find cheap timeshare deals on eBay - that's what we do. So, the negative statement about resale trouble doesn't really apply if you purchase a resale from eBay.

 

No Financial Benefit. This section talks about paying maintenance fees for a two-week vacation. Yes, you will have to pay a maintenance fee for your timeshare. In the given example in the article, your cost per day works out to be $57 (if you're paying $800 per year in maintenance fees). Yes, you can probably find a $57 room, but generally you can't compare that room to a timeshare unit with extra amenities such as saunas, spas, pools, kitchens, extra sleeping space, etc.

 

RTU vs. deeded Timeshare. We agree that you definitely need to know what you're buying. Sometimes you may want to buy the "Right to Use" or RTU contract so that you don't feel stuck with the timeshare if you don't want to commit "for life", especially for the right price and low maintenance fees. But it's up-to-you to read all the details and research the timeshare before you buy it. If you're buying on eBay through our site (or not), make sure you're absolutely clear on the property details such as RTU vs. deeded, exchange rights, etc.

 

 

 

 

There was an article in the CBS Money Watch entitled Should You Buy a Timeshare?. The author talks about three main reasons why you should not purchase a timeshare. First the author talks about the new timeshare resorts will get obsolete very quickly, or the "Miami Condo Problem". Then the author is talking about liquidity of timeshares as assets. The third reason in the article talks about being stuck with the same location and time every year. Let's talk about these three reasons.

The first reason for not buying a timeshare was your timeshare resort would quickly become obsolete after being built. First of all, don't buy a timeshare strictly as an investment instrument. While timeshares are assets, they never meant to be financial investments. Timeshare owners will only benefit timesharing when they use their timeshares. Don't buy it if you know you're not going to use it. As far as quickly becoming obsolete, good resorts are continually upgrading their facilities in order to keep up with the new properties around them. A great deal of timeshare owners are very happy with the resorts they own.

 

Another reason mentioned in the article is timeshares are not liquid assets. This is partially true. First of all, by saying that timeshares are not "liquid assets" the author means that they are hard to sell. The issue is that it's not hard to sell, but it is hard to sell for the high price if you bought your timeshare directly from a resort. You could be losing over 90% of the value if you tried to do that. However, had you purchased a resale timeshare, let's say on eBay (through our site or not), you would be buying a timeshare for the eBay resale price which is already 90% of the original value. So, if you wish to sell it later, it would be much easier to get most of your money back, or even make some money on top.

 

Being stuck at one resort and time every year is the third reason mentioned in the article. While the article mentions that the time shares can be exchanged, the author does not go into details explaining how this would work. As you most likely already know this, most timeshare exchange companies let a timeshare owner travel to many places most of the year. Many timeshare resort companies, such as RCI, Wyndham, Bluegreen and others, have different programs that allow for this flexibility. "Floating Week" timeshare can also be purchased to be used anytime so you don't feel stuck with a week.

 

We feel that the major assumption in this article is that you would be buying a new timeshare unit from a developer. There is a huge difference in argument when you purchase an already discounted timeshare resale. Search our current eBay listing for Florida timeshares to judge for yourself.