starting with a timeshare?

[odegie]

Hey, this isn't exactly moving in a permanent way (at least not yet), but I was wondering what your thoughts might be about buying into a timeshare in Hawaii. I know there are lots of them, of varying quality, but I figure it's a good way to get my foot into real estate in Hawaii. Perhaps I could even sell the thing for a profit and then get something more permanent. Do you know if this is a good plan?

We vacation there at least once a year so it's not like we wouldn't use the TS in the meantime.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

MO

[SouthKona]

Re: starting with a timeshare?

Perhaps I could even sell the thing for a profit and then get something more permanent. Do you know if this is a good plan?
We vacation there at least once a year so it's not like we wouldn't use the TS in the meantime.

Buying a timeshare with the idea of reselling it for a profit is a questionable plan. The newspapers have announcement after announcement of timeshares that are being sold off due to forclosure.

Meanwhile, there are sure alot of people who buy timeshares in Hawaii that enjoy using them for vacations! (Just not as a "resale" investment.)

[Jonah K]

Re: starting with a timeshare?

Hey, this isn't exactly moving in a permanent way (at least not yet), but I was wondering what your thoughts might be about buying into a timeshare in Hawaii. I know there are lots of them, of varying quality, but I figure it's a good way to get my foot into real estate in Hawaii. Perhaps I could even sell the thing for a profit and then get something more permanent. Do you know if this is a good plan?

We vacation there at least once a year so it's not like we wouldn't use the TS in the meantime.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

MO

Buying a vacant lot in the Royal Gardens subdivision in Puna is probably a better real estate investment than a timeshare. It's probably best to buy a timeshare to use for vacation purposes, not as a way to get a foothold into the Hawai'i real estate market.

[vivG]

Re: starting with a timeshare?

This is a bad idea. Nobody ever sells timeshares for a profit, except the sharks who sell them to vacationers in the first place. If you're throwing down money just because you want a good vacation spot, then that's one thing. But if you want to invest, it's bad because there's no resale value to timeshares: people don't want the same vacation over and over again, and often there are bad facilities, tons of unexpected fees and taxes, unavailable or untradeable weeks, and overall lameness. In the worst cases a company called Timeshare Relief is your only way to get out of paying fees forever on a useless piece of property.

If you really want to get into real estate, start with a condo (see the condo thread in this forum) and then move up from there. You could even go with a vacant lot if a condo is too pricey. In either case, it's better than throwing away money on a timeshare.

[pzarquon]

Re: starting with a timeshare?

I know very little about timeshares, but I'm inclined to agree.

A close friend of my in-laws is a serious timeshare fan. She has several, scattered all over. She loves them, she bounces around and enjoys living and relaxing in different cities. But she's using them. She has a timeshare unit on Kauai, and the demand for it has always been good for earning credit at other places. I think she's shopping for one on Oahu now.

If there are any she's not using, she's had more luck basically trading them, or just unloading them at a loss. There may have been some vision of buying and selling like conventional real estate to make money at first, but I think she's come to realize timeshares are not investments. Just nice to have if you like to travel and hate hotels.

Start with a timeshare to have a place to call home waiting (most likely) when you do have a chance to spend time in Hawaii? Maybe. But as a first step toward making a permanent home here, I don't think so. Start with a tiny condo and work from there.