Time shares (Colorado Springs, Vail, Breckenridge: sales, rent, homeowners association) - (CO) - City-Data Forum

rosie · 03-20-2008, 10:12 PM

We recently moved to CO...love the mountains.....and are considering buying some property in the mountains...but also looking at time shares since it is so expensive to own property.... Does anyone out there have any positive or negative experiences with owning time shares? Most people I have talked to regret buying a time share.......

Maynerd · 03-21-2008, 09:34 AM

Take a very close look at maintenance fees. Particulalrly in timeshares near the ski areas, the various fees they layer on to the purchase price are ridiculous.

Amery523 · 03-21-2008, 01:21 PM

Well, we bought last year at one of the timeshares in Breckenridge and we have been quite happy so far. Of course, we are newer owners. Maybe some others who have owned for a while will post. In my work department there are 3 others who bought at the same place we did. They've been owners for years now and still have good words to say. A lot of the time, we trade our weeks away and go stay at other places. One friend trades and goes to Hawaii every year. We have family in So Cal, and this year we are going to stay in Newport Beach for a week.

Our maintenance fees (for the owners association) is $425 a year. That pays for upgrading the furniture, cleaning, etc. Our timeshare also allows us to have day use of the resort, all 365 days of the year. Sometimes we will drive up and snowboard for the day (usually at A-basin), go over to the timeshare and soak in the hot tub, take a shower, grab some dinner, shoot some pool, and recharge so we can endure the 2 1/2 hour drive back to Colorado Springs. In the summer, the kids like the swimming pools. In the fall when the leaves start changing, we invite our in-laws along and they can also hit the pools and hot tubs, as long as we are with them. I figure if we do this a couple times a year, that homeowners association fee isn't so bad.

sgermanguy · 03-23-2008, 09:25 PM

Time shares are a horrible investment. Worse than a trailer......

Baja Boomer · 03-26-2008, 04:03 AM

You should never think of timeshare as an "investment", other than an investment in vacations. In fact, in the USA it is against the law to sell them as an investment and anyone/company doing so faces big fines if caught.

I own four weeks in four different places. The first one I bought from the developer 20 years ago in Mexico and I still look forward to going there every year. The other three I bought on the resale market, and I suggest that if you want to own one you should decide where you want to own and then look for a resale because you'll generally get it for pennies on the dollar. All four are in places I enjoy going back to every year; I rarely exchange. In the event I can't get to one or more in any given year, I rent them to friends/family/co-workers for the price of the maintenance fee (not looking to make a profit, though I know of some owners who do), so I'm not out any money.

If you are really interested in finding out the ins and outs of timeshare ownership you should visit The Timeshare Users Group at http://tugbbs.com/forums where you will quickly find out answers to any questions you might have, and whether or not it is for you. They will steer you straight, and there's no one who knows more about the subject than those folks do.

rosie · 03-28-2008, 08:16 AM

Thank you to all of you! Since my posting we went to one of those "time shares" sales-presentation....we were hesitant (they were only interested in us signing up there and then!!!), then said no (also after they came $ 10,000 down) and were "shown the door"

because the sales guy was in a rush to talk to the next potential client in

Anyway, back-home we searched on-line and found exactly the same place second-hand - also new - (but one bedroom bigger!!!!) for $ 30,000 less!!!!

So, everyone be aware!!! We definately would now only buy second-hand

froggin4colorado · 04-04-2008, 07:20 AM

We inherited my in-laws timeshare through RCI. They bought it years ago...Orange Lake in Florida. We are able to change weeks by paying a $100.00 change fee...our maintenance fees are about $700 a year. With that being said, it is an excellent deal due to the large 1700 sq foot condo that we get for basically $100 a night, should go for 3-4 times that. We have only transferred it once to a resort in Vail. RCI has been wanting to do a point system, yuck. We like owning a deed.