timeshares

[Jon Holdman]

No, not selling timeshares. A real question about them. I've never seriously considered timeshares. I've worked hard in numerous places to avoid timeshare salesmen. Amazingly, the same techniques that work with beggars in India work with timeshare salesman.

I read a recent article in the NY Times talking about how timeshares have plummeted in value. No surprise there. A little searching on ebay shows this is actually true. Lots of timeshares selling for a few hundred bucks, or even less. Most require you pay closing costs, transfer fees, and, sometimes, 2009 annual maintenance. There are lots of these that could be had, all in, for under $1000. Annual fees vary pretty widely, but $500-600 seems pretty typical.

Now, I always advocate staying away from HOAs for investments. They can suck too much out of your pocket and interfer with renting the place. But for a vacation property, I see some advantages. I used to have a second home in Texas, and always ended up mostly working on the place when I was there. Great for the family, not so great for me. So, I've always figured for another second home, I'd just as soon have a condo and at least have my work limited to the interior.

I have to admit I'm seriously tempted by some of these beach timeshares. Not HI, which I really like but which is too expensive to get to every year. Nor Vegas, since hotels are always cheap and part of the fun. But FL, or southern CA, or some such.

What's the downside? I realize its essentially a lifetime commitment, since there's no real resale market for these. Can these turn into huge money pits?