Buy a Timeshare to Visit, or buy a Timeshare to Exchange?
So you are looking to buy a timeshare? First off congratulations on finding TUG before making that purchase, you are already well ahead of the game!
This article is meant to assist folks in answering a very common question everyone has when considering the purchase of a Timeshare.
Should I buy where I want to go on vacation every year? Or should I buy a resort for its ability to trade with other Timeshares?
As with most questions in the Timeshare industry, the real answer is "It Depends"!
Not terribly helpful I know, hopefully the remainder of this article that will discuss the pros and cons of each of these decisions can help you make this decision and allow you to purchase the right Timeshare for you!
Buy a Timeshare where you want to go on Vacation!
This is pretty much the suggestion and mantra of most TUGGERS when someone new asks this question on the TUG owner forums.
The logic behind buying a timeshare in the location you actually want to use, is that no matter what happens, you will always have the ability to vacation at a destination you and your family will enjoy! In this situation you never have to worry about finding an exchange you will like, or having to pay additional exchange fees. You will always be able to travel to a destination you know you enjoy!
Obviously the downside to this is that you limit yourself on where you can go other than your home destination and are at the mercy of Exchange availability (both in the large exchange companies like RCI/II, or if your resort has its own internal exchange system). This can be seen as both a negative or a positive depending on the level of dedication and interest you have into planning your vacations! For many folks its a challenge to find that perfect exchange, for others a hassle! It is up to you to decide which best fits you, but it is important to think long term as while timeshares are easy to buy, they are much more difficult to get rid of and the "perfect" timeshare for you might not be the case in 10 or 15 years!
The most common example of this is buying in Orlando/Disney, as your young family may love going to see Mickey every year now, when they turn into teenagers that will likely wear off as we see happen so often these days! At this point you now have a low demand/value week at the location with more timeshares than anywhere else on earth so your trade and resale value will be extremely low!
Buy a Timeshare for its Trade/Exchange Power!
It is no secret that more and more Timeshare owners today want flexibility with their vacation ownership, points systems, internal trading networks, floating weeks, all cater to individuals who want more and more options when it comes to going on vacation year after year!
This is the driving force behind the theory of buying a timeshare for its ability to trade, many times referred to as its "Trading Power". When you buy a timeshare that has a very high Trade value, you open yourself up for a huge selection of vacation destinations through either a large exchange company, or your resorts internal trading system!
Basically when it comes to exchanging a Timeshare, the value your timeshare has in terms of its trading power is going to almost always determine what options you have to choose from within that Exchange system! If you purchase the most valuable timeshare interval available, you will in most cases be able to trade for anything and everything you want at any time! Whereas purchasing a low end interval will generally only allow you to pick and choose from all other low end units available within whatever Exchange pool you are searching in!
It is really quite simple, if you purchase the highest demand week you can, you will of course maximize your options in terms of trading that week for other weeks each year when you decide to go on vacation!
As for the downsides to this, there are a number of them! The most important of which is that you are now dependent on exchanges to vacation where you want to go! This requires exchange fees to be paid each and every year, this also requires you to closely monitor the availability of exchange weeks each year to be able to reserve the week you want! Even if you have plenty of trading power to obtain any week within the exchange pool, if those high demand/value weeks are not available that year, no amount of trading power is going help you get that vacation!
For many, this risk is far outweighed by the reward of being able to vacation at a different location year after year, but for many Timeshare owners, this comes as a shock the first time they cant trade for something they really want! After all, just about everyone is "sold" on the idea that buying a Timeshare means you can trade for anything, anywhere! Sadly everyone eventually finds out this is a rather impressive stretching of the truth!
Anything Else to Consider when buying a Timeshare?
One often overlooked option for exchanging in the Timeshare industry is Timeshare Rentals! I would guess that more than half of owners have no idea that privately renting timeshares is possible, and this is a shame! What you ask does this have to do with exchanging? Well if you look at it from a bit of a different angle, you can actually obtain free exchanges by doing rentals! Investigating timeshare rentals is something that each and every owner should do even if they are not interested! It allows you to see the value that your unit (and the ones you want to trade for) actually is in monetary terms!
For example, if you can find a rental at the resort you want to visit for $1500 dollars, you might immediately think that "well if I exchanged for that week, it would only cost me the RCI exchange fee which is far less"! While that is "technically" true, you neglect to factor in that you also have to pay your own resorts annual maintenance fee despite depositing that week into RCI and not using it! So your true cost is the sum of your annual maintenance fee, plus the exchange fees!
If for instance you chose the rental route instead and rented out your own timeshare for near the cost of your annual maintenance fee (lets just use $1000 as an example). You now have $1000 to use towards a rental of another Timeshare anywhere in the world! This opens up many doors in terms of renting someone else's timeshare, and in many cases you can find some absolutely amazing deals in the Timeshare Rental Market!
I have personally rented a number of Timeshares from TUG members right off the marketplace using Wish Ads, each and every one of these rentals has been an amazing deal (3br units in las Vegas for $1000 for the week as an example). In some cases you can rent out your own week and break even or even make a profit compared to your annual maintenance fees, and use that to put towards a rental of your own wherever you want to go!
The obvious downside to this is that you are limited to the availability of the Timeshare Rental market, which is always going to be significantly smaller than the vast exchange pools RCI and II offer! It is however at least worth investigating! TUG is all about education, and the more you know, the better off you will be!
For those more interested in learning about Timeshare Rentals, here is a great guide to get started! Timeshare Rental Information! section.
Any more places to get Help with Buying a Timeshare!
Buying the RIGHT timeshare (resale of course) takes effort, patience and common sense. But the effort, if you are realistic in your expectations, will pay off and not to mention save you THOUSANDS of dollars!!
One tremendous resource for folks looking for the "right" Timeshare is our new owner questionnaire located here: What Timeshare is Right for me?. This set of questions is designed to narrow down all the various timeshare systems and allow you to focus on the ones that are the best fit for your Vacation wants and needs!
Check it out today, and for even better results fill out the answers and get input from thousands of owners who have been in your shoes in the past and can offer help and advice completely free!
Sign up for our Free Owner Newsletter
The TUG newsletter contains the most recent topics being discussed (or argued) by owners, as well as the most recent Timeshare reviews, Free Exchange ads, Last minute Timeshare rentals, and latest industry news!
With more than 50,000 subscribing Timeshare owners, it is the best way to keep up with topics and information important to owners and is completely free! Sign up today!
What does TUG offer Timeshare owners?
Click here to Join Now!
Access to Ratings & Reviews of more than 5000 Timeshare resorts all over the world!
All reviews are submitted by Timeshare owners who have traveled to these resorts and provide an accurate account of the property, room, local attractions and more!
The TUGBBS online community forums consists of tens of thousands other timeshare owners and is the first, largest and most informative online Timeshare Forum on the internet!
No timeshare question goes unanswered no matter how simple or complex! With Timeshare experts and owners alike, you will learn more from just reading and participating in these forums than you could ever imagine!
The TUG Timeshare Marketplace is one of the largest and most visited timeshare classified ad sites on the internet with Millions of dollars in completed listings and thousands of current ads posted by owners!
All ads are open to the public and do not require membership to browse! TUG Members receive free classified ads in our Marketplace to sell or rent your timeshare all year!
TUG Advice is probably the most helpful section of the site for new buyers/sellers just getting into timesharing.
Written by owners, members and experts. These articles cater to the entry level and intermediate level timeshare individual and are a must read for anyone thinking of buying or selling a timeshare and those who want to make the absolute most out of their timeshare experience!