Maybe a good time to invest in a timeshare?

never seen the point in them
Timeshare fraud involves an investment scam that claims you can easily become a property millionaire from buying a timeshare. You are asked to attend a timeshare presentation and are invited to buy a share in a property that allows you to use it or rent it out for a certain number of weeks every year.
Click to expand...
 
My parents had 2, luckily they managed to get rid of them a few years ago.

They offered them to me but the costs just don't make it worthwhile. The annual fee was around £600 and then to be allowed to swap to another hotel was around £300. Given how cheap some hotels are when booked with flights it just wasn't really a good idea. Maybe they're good if you know you want to go to the same place every year, but i'd rather not.
 
Martynt74 said:
My parents had 2, luckily they managed to get rid of them a few years ago.

They offered them to me but the costs just don't make it worthwhile. The annual fee was around £600 and then to be allowed to swap to another hotel was around £300. Given how cheap some hotels are when booked with flights it just wasn't really a good idea. Maybe they're good if you know you want to go to the same place every year, but i'd rather not.
Click to expand...

If you want to go to the same place every year then why not just buy a cheap apartment there instead and rent it out on Airbnb?

Time shares are literally a waste of money and always will be.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
If you want to go to the same place every year then why not just buy a cheap apartment there instead and rent it out on Airbnb?

Time shares are literally a waste of money and always will be.
Click to expand...

That's what they ended up doing, but i imagine the reality of buying/maintaining a flat vs paying a few grand for a timeshare is many multitudes different in terms of upfront cost and buying a second property is likely out of the realms for 99% of the population. A timeshare isn't.
 
Martynt74 said:
That's what they ended up doing, but i imagine the reality of buying/maintaining a flat vs paying a few grand for a timeshare is many multitudes different in terms of upfront cost and buying a second property is likely out of the realms for 99% of the population. A timeshare isn't.
Click to expand...

Then using a hotel is the far better option. You get to try a new hotel every time and see what they are like. The last thing for example I would want to do is stay in the exact same place every time when even Airbnb is an option that can work out cheaper too if at times.

The only folk who make money from timeshares is the owner of the company that built it and the staff who work there. Folk buying them usually miles off better not buying one.

The £600 annual fee you spoke off alone pays for a hotel for a week or two in most places in Europe and luxurious accommodation in Asia.
 
Oh don't get me wrong i'm fully in agreement, it's why i turned down a "free" timeshare and why my parents were happy to just hand it back rather than trying to actually sell it.
 
Up there with buying parking spaces in terms of investment categorisation.
 
I remember when timeshare properties become a thing back in the day. I think the attraction back then was if you wanted to stay in a location for a longer time than you'd rent a hotel room. I think thats how the calculation was made, hotel room cost per day vs paying a flat fee per year on a property.

I also remember the scandals that came with the contracts. People ended up locked in to contracts on some properties that weren't even ready to use. Timeshare scams were always on those consumer report programmes.

I think these days the likes of Air BnB have replaced the timeshare as they solve the original problem without being locked in to lengthy contracts.

Maybe an alternative would be to get in to the Air BnB business and put properties you own on there to charge rent on them?
 
Sitting through two timeshare sales pitches in the 1990's was certainly interesting experience in how blatant some people can be at lying to your face. My (very very !) ex-wife would have had the thieving scum dipping their hands in our bank account forever !
 
peterwalkley said:
Sitting through two timeshare sales pitches in the 1990's was certainly interesting experience in how blatant some people can be at lying to your face. My (very very !) ex-wife would have had the thieving scum dipping their hands in our bank account forever !
Click to expand...
I remember being 10 in Florida with my parents and they somehow got conned into going to a presentation. Distinctly remember how upset my mum was. I think we got free tickets to Busch gardens which we had to sell to eat that night :cool:
 
Worked for a private island resort that sold timeshare (some cheap in the off-peak months, a summer week was a 6 figure amount..)
Met hundreds of families that came back year after year and pass the timeshare on to their next generation. Wonderful place and timeshares work brilliantly, but horrendous scams in the past elsewhere has soured the concept for many.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom