I had just gone through the presentation at the Maui Westin Villas. The price tag was $40K+ for a 2 bedroom lockout every other year. I could not shell out that type of money but wanted to do more research afterwards. I came across websites that resells timeshares and the same thing was on sale for $17K (plus - the annual maintenance fee was much less via the web). Now, why would I or anyone for that matter purchase the timeshare via Westin directly??
I am just trying to make sense since I was sooo tempted to purchase via Westin.
Thank you to all who could shed some lights on my confusion.
If you buy a timeshare from any one but the Westin you are not entitled to any of the other services. That means that you can not trade weeks or the lock off
peopl who don't know any better buy timeshares directly from the company's. Often the company's will try to throw in free "gifts" to entice you to buy. However, as you have found there is a much cheaper way to buy timeshares. I have a friend who has purchased two time shares (she does points) and has been able to find them on craiglists for $500. There is always a cheaper way to do things :).
I have a timeshare and I love it. I have Worldmark by Wyndham. They use points and to me it is one of the best. I have been to a lot of presentations and Worldmark had the best offer. I can go for a weekend or a week. They go by points and I have enough points to go for 2 weeks. When the Winter Olympics came to Utah, I used my points to stay at two of the timeshares. It was great having a full kitchen and a washer and dryer.
So before you put your money into it, check them out and too see how they compare and which ones fits your needs.
Worldmark has a lot of places to go in California so that was my main goal. they just opened up one in Anaheim right down the street from Disneyland. There is one in Reno, 3 in Tahoe, 3 in Las Vegas, several in California, Washington and Oregon. One near Disneyworld in Florida, several in Arizona, Hawaii, Fiji, Australia and new Zealand.
People say it is expensive to own one, but these timeshares are 5 stars plus, and to stay at a 5 star you will be paying more than $200 a night. For me, once it is paid off all I have to pay is the maintenance fees but the good thing is that I can Will it to my daughter, god forbids anything happens to me. And now that I am a grandparent, my grandchildren can have the timeshare when they get older and when their kids get older as long as they pay the maintenance fees every 3 months or make the payment in full.
As the owner of 4 timeshares of which 2 were bought as resales that is the only way to go. You could also look for another Westin resort and still go to the Maui one. Maint fees can be a killer. If you do want to buy one resales are the best way to go. You can also but an every other year one cheaper as well called EOY's.
Simple answer: someone wasn't using their timeshare and wants out. Problem is that it's VERY hard to get out and you often lose much of your initial investment. I would think very carefully about a timeshare, my parents happily used theirs for several years and then started to not want to travel far as much... traded a few times, but haven't been able to find anything to trade for... tried to get out and found it's darn near impossible. So my guess is that is someone trying to get out for the least loss possible. Good luck and power is in the research!!!
As far as I am concerned purchasing time shares is a waste of your money, you pay all that money for what a couple weeks a year plus the maintenance costs each year. Don't do it, timeshares are not worth it, believe me I know I have a couple and would like to sell them and can't. I'd sell mine in FL on the beach to you real cheap.
It is a good question. Some one must buy them for the full price, but we asked around from friends in the biz and they all recommended resell. But some also said that it was a poor return on the money. You are paying in advance for hotel rooms whether you use them or not. 17k goes a long way if you pay for them as needed. They don't sell for much once you decide that you don't use it. Almost everyone who we spoke with said they weren't worth it.
We had a timeshare on Kauai but had to sell it when the economy tanked. We purchased it for about $15K from an agency that specializes in selling timeshares (they are local to Kauai, but I think they have an office in Maui too). I think at the time that same timeshare was selling for $30K if we had bought it directly from Embassy Suites. We had no problems buying it through the agency - saved $15K and got the exact time share we would have buying from the resort directly. When we sold it, we sold it for $17K through the same agency we bought it from! I think something you should think about is that deeded timeshares are much easier to re-sell than the "points" type timeshares. Long story short, it really doesn't matter where you buy it from - you're getting the same thing. Best to go with the cheaper option! =)
Don't fall for the sales pitch! You will regret it for the rest of your life.
http://www.daveramsey.com/article/the-truth-about-timesha...
