Timeshares

[Loosehead]

Whenever I hear the word it starts alarm bells ringing! I've never met anyone who's happy with theirs and I've never met anyone who has sold or transferred theirs so the question is has anyone had a positive experience with timeshare or is it a total maze of misery heaped on the unsuspecting victims?

[Oneeyedvic]

I know two people who have timeshares and absolutely love them. i know one is with RCI in Kettering, don't know who the other one is with.

[dzug]

The problem is not with timeshare as a concept but with the way it is almost invariably marketed at many times its real value.

Those who have bought it with realistic expectations, unfired by salesmen, will be satisfied. Those who have been taken in by the hype - probably the majority - will not.

[AllYourBase]

We have a timeshare in the lake district which we have owned for the last 20 years. We visit every year in the first week of November and it is the most fabulous place. The accommodation is lovely, the facilities amazing and we always have a great time. At no point have we ever felt ripped off or mis-sold. We paid about �5000 for it back in those days, and have another 60 yrs left to run. Similar weeks now retail at about �11000 so we feel we have not only had our money worth for 20 weeks holiday , but actually bought something that has not gone down in value. When the site went private, we also bought a share in the estate. It is quite simply the best thing we ever did.
It is part of the RCI virtual chain if we ever wanted to swap our week somehwere else we could (though there is no chance we ever would).
Details here:
http://www.langdale.co.uk/

[panhandle]

I own two. One in Malta and one in Tenerife. The former I bought in 1995 and the latter last year. I have never been back to Malta (I bought it because the package holiday hotel we were in was atrocious) but have exchanged it through RCI every year and stayed at some excellent resorts around the world.

The answer is to see what you are buying, speak to other owners and make an informed decision. I have never had a problem and all my holidays over the last 10 years have cost me the flights plus a small exchange fee to RCI. The annual maintenance works out at around �2 per week.

The two time shares cost about �5,000. Not a bad investment for two weeks holiday for life.

[buildersmate]

Ditto Panhandle's experience.

There are huge marketing costs in selling new timeshare, so the answer if you want it is to buy secondhand, having visited the resort before you buy.

[Loosehead]

Thanks everyone, it does seem there are some happy timesharers.