A couple of folks have asked, so I’m putting as much info down as I can remember. I just finished my homework, so that’s not much. 
I started doing research into timeshares, because resale prices are VERY low right now. I read good things about Wyndham Vacation Ownership (http://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com/) and liked the way they are set up. With many timeshares, you get a week at a particular resort. If you want to stay somewhere else, you have to “trade” that week with someone at the resort you are wanting to visit. There are companies set up to do this, and I’m told it can be pretty easy to do, but it still sounds risky to me.
Wyndham gives you points, instead, that can be spent at ANY Wyndham resort, although each resort has their own rates. When you buy into a Wyndham timeshare, you are still buying into a particular resort, and you get priority at that resort, letting you book before other people. I think that’s really only important if you’re wanting to go on a holiday week or own someplace super exciting like Hawaii.
A little about the money side of timeshares: When you buy a timeshare from the resort itself, you’ll pay anywhere from $10k-40k. After that, you’ll pay an annual fee (broken out to monthly payments, usually) that covers your property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and administrative costs. The amount of this annual fee varies by resort. If you buy into an older resort, they will occasionally hold a vote of all the owners on whether the place should be renovated. At that time, there will be a “special assessment” where everyone chips in $500 or whatever, and the place gets new carpet, paint, beds, furniture, TV’s, etc.
Right now, many people can’t afford the annual fees, even if they’ve paid off the purchase price of the timeshare. Rather than have that negatively impact their credit, they just want OUT. That’s where you come in. I bought my timeshares on ebay for $1 and $400. The $1 is a Wyndham and the $400 was a place in Vegas called Tahiti Village that I really like. On both of them, the ebay auction specified that I’d also pay closing costs, so read the ads VERY carefully. The seller of my Wyndham timeshare was called luvmytime and includes a 2nd free timeshare with your purchase of the first timeshare, you just pay a $100 transfer fee. That’s how I got my 2nd Wyndham timeshare.
A friend of mine got an even better deal last week, not having to pay any closing costs at all! When you win the auction and pay, the money goes into an escrow company’s account until the deed is transferred. You’re buying real property that you can leave to your children, etc. so there’s a lot of paperwork involved. 6-8 weeks later, you get a copy of the deed and a letter from the resort and you can log into their website and start looking around.
I immediately booked in Vegas, and mom and I had a great week when we were there for work. We thought more of the family was coming, so I booked a 2-bedroom “Presidential” at the Grand Desert, and it was larger than my house! I have a FB album with pics, if you want to see. I was blown away by the resort and how nice it was. It’s off the strip, which is a plus for me, and includes a full-size washer and dryer and full kitchen. I bought some light groceries (chips, cereal, OJ, and stuff) and we got to have a relaxing, cheap breakfast every morning. I’ve now booked a stay in San Antonio to see my friends’ new baby, and will be staying in Vegas for a week in September for work and play. Owning the timeshares is going to make me take vacations each year (or send friends if I can’t use all of them), and costs me about $140 a month. It’s a great value, and you can always give it to someone or sell it for a $1 down the road, since you haven’t invested anything in it.
Please, please, please do your own research to make sure that this works for you before you buy anything. This is a real commitment, and I don’t want you to take my word for anything until you’ve verified it for yourself. You can’t be too careful when dealing with real estate!
(Hopefully) Useful resources:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/memberdirectory11-12/
The “catalog” with all the Wyndham points at each resort. This will help you decide how many points you want to own. I bought one resort (Vegas) with 154,000 points and my freebie was in Arkansas for 123,000 points. That seems like a pretty good start to me.
http://tugbbs.com/forums/
A great website with tons of information about timeshares. This is where I did the bulk of my research.
Hope it helps! Tagging people that may care.
-CP
Posted from Plano, Texas, United States.
