Timeshare Properties

Question:

I'm considering buying a timeshare, and wanted some advice. The standard advice is "DON'T", but I wanted to run through some details to see whether this "deal" is more worthwhile.

Went to Orlando, got sucked into the Hilton Grand Vacations Club tour for $100 -- property was really nice, but at $17,000 for 5000 points == no thanks. Ebay seems to be listing similar properties, albeit at the older Orlando site, for about $6-7000.

First question, is this deal more reasonable? I would never be interested in an old style timeshare with fixed weeks or having to exchange weeks, etc., but this gives points with flexibility to use anywhere in the 31 HGVC hotels -- I was specifically thinking of going to the Flamingo for a week this summer. Plus the tie in to RCA seems neat.

On the flip side the $700/year maintance fees seem high.

Yes, you can stay in a hotel for much less quite likely, but the 1 or 2 bedroom suites seem very nice, especially for a family of 4 (2 kids, aged 8 and 4). The resorts seem really really nice as well.

I've heard you can join RCA as a non-owner and get similar benefits. I know one can buy such vacations on the internet, but have not done so ever, so am unlikely to start now.. So the question is

a) Any comments about Hilton Grand Vacations Club in general? b) If I could get two Gold weeks (RCA red) for $7K and $700/year is it worth it (obviously it is not worth it at $17K).

Thanks for any help -- I need to decide fairly soon (in a couple of days)

Answer:

The reason should be pretty clear from your own message. There are rules and restrictions with any timeshare or club. The more rules you have the greater the odds of not meeting the requirements or forgetting something. They make $$$ from revolving door suckers who sign up then fall out of the program. They either can't afford the maintenance fees or want to take a vacation in another location, etc. Invest your money in a true asset or pay down your existing debt instead.
The fact that you are feeling under pressure to make a quick decision is probably good enough reason to back away from this. The fact that most people lose money on timeshares is more reason to be wary. Right now with real estate values are at an all time high and interest rates projected to begin rising, timeshare properties are probably even less likely to hold their value, even if purchased on the secondary market.

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