| What should we all be looking for when we decide to buy a timeshare? | |
| There are an assortment of things to look for, and it's not just the price. First let me give you an idea of who the TimeShare Vacation Company is, and how we can help you make that all important timeshare buying decision just a little bit easier. The Timeshare Vacation Company is a real estate brokerage, licensed in the state of New Hampshire and located right here in the Mt. Washington Valley. | |
| What kind of timeshares do you offer? | |
| The TimeShare Vacation Company offers timeshare re-sales, that is, timeshare weeks that are currently owned by folks just like you and I,who have decided that they no longer want the week, so they have brought the property to market, much as you would if you chose to list your home for sale. | |
| Can you give us some facts about the timeshare industry itself? | |
| You would be surprised at just how much and how fast the industry has grown since it started just over 25 years ago. For instance, today there are over 4,100 timeshare resorts in 81 countries worldwide. Of all those resorts, 67% are located in the United States and Europe, so timesharing is very popular here in the states. | |
| How many of those resorts are located in the United States? | |
| The United States has over 1,500 resorts, and over 1.7 million timeshare owners, with nearly 120,000 US families becoming new owners each year. In fact, since 1990, timesharing worldwide has grown by a factor of 75% in terms of new resorts. That's almost 1,800 new resorts in just six years, with 1.3 million new households purchasing a timeshare in that time period. | |
| Who are these timeshare owners? Friends of my parents own a timeshare in Barbados, but do you have any facts on just who purchases timeshares? | |
| You might be surprised, because I'll bet your parents' friends are typical timeshare owners, because typical timeshare owners are well-educated, 55% have at least a bachelors degree, they are middle-aged, 67% are 45 years of age or older, although we're seeing more and more younger families purchasing a timeshare in order to control the cost of that all essential family vacation. Once more interesting item, the typical timeshare owner is in the upper-middle income bracket, with almost 70% of all timeshare owners in the over $50,000 a year income bracket. | |
| What else is interesting about timeshare owners? | |
| The best news, especially for business owners that cater to vacationers here in the Mt. Washington Valley, is that the typical timeshare family vacations for an average of eleven nights each year, and that same family spends an average of $1,900 on direct consumer expenditures such as dinner at Horsefeathers, or shopping at the outlets, or riding the Conway Scenic Railroad. Add an additional $1,600 in travel expenditures by these timeshare owners, and you can see how economically valuable the timeshare vacationer can be to a resort area like the Mt. Washington Valley. | |
| Timesharing can be found throughout the United States. Can you tell us about what the most popular areas are for timeshares? | |
| No surprises there. Florida is the most preferred resort destination, which explains why there are so many timeshare resorts in the Sunshine State, followed by California, Colorado, North Carolina, Texas, and finally Arizona. | |
| No New England states? | |
| Not yet. | |
| Why do families become timeshare owners? Why not just rent a hotel room when you vacation, and leave it at that? | |
| Timeshare owners have told us that the most important motivating benefits in purchasing a timeshare include such factors as the high standards of the resort at which they own. The value of being able to exchange their vacation for a vacation at another resort. It's really the flexibility of the exchange and the cost savings value of owning, rather than renting our vacation. | |
| Can you explain exchanging your timeshare vacation in the Mt. Washington Valley for a vacation somewhere else? | |
| The real value of owning your vacation here in the Valley is being able to exchange that vacation for one at one of thousands of resorts worldwide. The exchange benefit allows an infinite variety of options, and its the most popular of all the benefits of timesharing. | |
| If we owned a timeshare, how would we go about exchanging our week at Attitash Mountain Village, for example, for a vacation at The Kona Coast Resort in Hawaii, or Bluebeard's Castle in the Virgin Islands? | |
| There are two companies that handle the vast majority of exchanges. Resort Condominiums International, which we refer to as RCI, and Interval International, referred to as II. Together they have approximately 4,000 affiliated resorts worldwide, with more than 2.2 million members. Simply call one of these companies and deposit your vacation with them, it allows you to request another resort for your next vacation. | |
| But wouldn't it be just as easy to just call up and make a reservation at the resort you want, and not even have to worry about exchanging? | |
| That's where the value of timesharing comes in, the cost savings found when you own, rather than rent your vacation. Keep in mind that hotel room rates worldwide go up an average of 2-3% per year. The nightly room rate for a 2-bedroom, sleep 6 deluxe unit is $185 a night. A 7-night stay computes to almost $1,300. By owning your vacation you can cut that cost significantly, and for growing families that can mean the difference between taking a vacation, or staying home. | |
| What costs are involved? | |
| There are always other costs involved. All resorts must be managed in order to maintain their respective amenities, which would include the cost of housekeeping, maintenance, etc., and each owner is assessed a portion of that cost. Maintenance fees at our Mt. Washington Valley resorts, based on the size of the units, can range from a low of about $175 to a high of $375 per year. | |
| Are there any other costs we need to know about? | |
| There is the cost of exchanging your vacation. When you become a member of either RCI or II, the exchange organizations, you are assessed an annual membership fee of approximately $60-$70 per year. And, when you exchange to another resort, there's a charge of about $100. | |
| What about a mortgage? | |
| Add the costs I've already mentioned to the cost of the down payment and mortgage payments, and you have a good idea what amount you'll need to budget. But, keep in mind it's like owning your own home. While you are paying for it, it's yours forever, and rather than throwing that rental money away, you can invest in your vacations, and control the cost each year. | |
| Is timesharing more than just a hotel room, is it really a condominium with separate bedrooms, kitchen, hottub, etc.? | |
| Timeshare units are usually equipped with at least a partial kitchen, most have full kitchens, which helps to control the cost of meals while you're vacationing. And, yes there are separate bedrooms, hottubs in the units, along with wood stoves and fireplaces, complete utensils, pots and pans, along with additional resort amenities like indoor and outdoor pools, exercise equipment, tennis courts, playgrounds, all the amenities that a real resort, not just a hotel, can offer. For a lot of folks their home resort is exactly that, their home away from home. | |
| What should we be looking for in a timeshare? | |
| The first thing is whether you like the resort in the first place. Whether the amenities are what you want, whether the location is right for you, and what amenities the resort offers, such as tennis, playground, pools. It sounds simple, but I talk to folks everyday who bought at a resort that they had visited only once, and haven't returned to since. | |
| Are you saying we should do some research before we buy? | |
| Do more than research, DO THE MATH! Because the next thing to look for in a timeshare purchase is affordability. It is important to know how much you can afford monthly, so your vacation investment does not become a bother. Owning a 2-bedroom condo during Christmas week at the Isle of Bali in Orlando may seem like a great vacation idea, but if you have to pay $650 per month in mortgage payments just to have it, then it may make sense to shop around for a better value. | |
| Is this how a timeshare broker can help? | |
| Yes, the timeshare re-sale market here in the Mt. Washington Valley offers some very competitive buys. The popular weeks and the good prices are usually the first to sell, with weeks during the popular Christmas and February vacations almost non-existent, although we have a few. | |
| What is a good recommendation? | |
| Well, obviously I'd recommend contacting us, the TimeShare Vacation Company. Like most real estate brokers, we want to make the sale happen, so we can tell you what you'll actually be able to purchase, and at the lowest price. We specialize in just the resorts that we know can deliver the best vacation value, and we can provide you with accurate information about the resort itself. | |
| Is it like buying a house through a real estate broker? | |
| Yes, we are real estate brokers and will counsel you about your needs, including your budget, the number of bedrooms you'll need, exchangeability, and direct you to the product which will actually end up best serving your vacation needs. | |
| What about the specific resort properties? | |
| Because we offer weeks at several resorts, we're not emotionally tied to any specific week or resort. And, if we do a good job for you, you'll recommend us to your friends. It may sound trite, but "Buy Quality", even if all you want to do is exchange, the better quality resorts have stronger exchange value. Financing is now available for timeshare re-sales, and we offer financing on all of our sales through a mortgage company that finances just timeshares. It helps to make that timeshare purchase fit the typical family budget. |
