Timeshare In Retirement May Be The Answer To Your Annual Winter Escape
Timeshare offers one possible alternative to owning a second home if you live in a place that experiences a cold winter. Even if you live in a warmer climate year-round, the flexibility offered by owning timeshare may be something that appeals to you. Instead of staying in a one room accommodation in a hotel, you’ll find yourself staying in the equivalent of a luxury condo usually with a full kitchen and, quite often, with extra room for guests.
It used to be that, when you bought timeshare, you were committing yourself to go back to the same place at the same time every year. That is how it was sold when it first came out but things have changed drastically and for the better. Now there are exchanges where the time and the location you own have a value that can be exchanged so that you can go to another property at another time. It gives you much greater flexibility. The only caveat is that you usually can't get something highly desirable if you own a week of timeshare in a place that is not in demand. As with any business, timeshare comes down to supply and demand. Owning a week at a cabin in the mountains of Pennsylvania may be absolutely ideal for your family but does it have the same appeal a luxury condo on the shores of Kauai in Hawaii? You might be able to get that exchange, but the likelihood isn't high. Like anything in real estate, it's location, location, location. The good part about using it the winter months for our escape from the cold is that the demand is lower and our chances of being able to go where we want to go are very good. Summer is still the king when it comes to vacation time. Traveling in the winter is just one more of the great things about retirement.
To be sure, timeshare isn’t for everyone and it doesn’t come cheaply. But, when you consider the expense of a second home, you might come out ahead financially with timeshare if you’re careful with what you buy and how you use it. In our snowbird adventures we have met many timeshare owners who do the same thing that we do every winter: move around the warmer locations of our beautiful country to escape the winters of the north.
Timeshare Lets You See The World
We have been fortunate enough to travel the entire state of Florida from Key West to the panhandle and everything in between, then journey over to the gulf shores of Texas with stops in Mobile and New Orleans along the way. We’ve been from Arizona and New Mexico and traveled up the California coast across to Lake Tahoe and then down to Las Vegas. It was the trip of a lifetime and the best thing about it was that we knew we could do it any year we wanted. We have a winter in Hawaii in our sights and we’re thinking about Australia as a possibility. Life does not get any better than that.
The great thing about timeshare is the variety that it offers you without the burden of actually owning a second home that you worry about whenever you’re not there. It’s not cheap and, to own the amount of timeshare that we own, is a substantial investment without having the resale value of real estate. We’re quite happy with the arrangements we have made but know that it isn’t for everyone. One could easily argue that it probably doesn’t make financial sense but, when we weighed the plusses and minuses, the lifestyle it provided us during the winter months made it worth the cost. With the strategy we employed, we also enjoyed wonderful vacations each year leading up to retirement and were able to offset the annual maintenance costs through a rental program my wife developed. We know of many retirees who have made a substantial income from renting their timeshare and still had enough weeks to escape each winter. Again, timeshare worked for us because we made the effort to make it work but we can’t endorse the concept for everyone. That’s a decision for you to make.
Do we think it’s something everyone should consider? It depends on your situation. Look at it from the perspective of making the most of your vacation and retirement and you might do what we did. If you look at it from solely an investment perspective your first instinct would be a very quick "no" because there are other things to do with your money that will provide a greater return. We thought the same thing until we saw the whole luxury rental market take off. If you're careful about where you purchase and work with a reputable company, you can actually have quite a rental income from timeshare weeks in desirable locations. The market has changes so much that there is a whole new category called fractional ownership. That tells you that there is money to be made. At the other end of the spectrum, you see a lot of advertising for people who want to get out of their timeshare. Everyone has to make their own decision.
We have enjoyed all the travel opportunities timeshare has provided our family. Our children love using it and we’ve arranged vacations for a large group of our friends and had a great time enjoying each other’s company where no one had to clean house or share bedrooms. On the rare occasions where we need to stay a day or two in a hotel, we realize how spoiled we have become with the accommodations our timeshare provides for us. For us, it has been a great way to Enjoy Retired Life!
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