Timeshare Grand Summitt

Does anyone have any opinions on purchasing a timeshare at the Grand Summitt? Thanks, Kim

Timeshare Grand Summitt

I own a timeshare (not at Grand Summit) and would certainly give you all the standard warnings about buying a timeshare and making sure it it right for you. When I was in NC over Xmas, I took a tour of the GS and it looked very nice and has a great location at Attitash. I have no idea what the price of the units are so can%26#39;t tell you if it is a good deal.

While trading is fun-- when you can trade for someplace you want to go at the time that you have available, I would start with buying a place that you would want to use at a time that you would be able to visit.

Timeshare Grand Summitt

Thanks for the info. My concern is that we would not use the timeshare in the summer (place in ME on a lake) but would love it for the winter. Apparently the rental history is good but I don%26#39;t know if it%26#39;s the best choice for us giving our limited use. A 1 bedroom unit is going for around 36K for 1/4 timeshare. Does that sound reasonable? Is your timeshare in or near NC and would you recommend it? Thanks again, Kim

I assumed that you were talking about the GS at Attitash but sounds like you may be looking at GS @ Sunday River which I know is a quarter share. Time shares, cruises, _____ you fill in the blank, whatever you want to talk about are just not for everybody. Please don%26#39;t make this decision based upon what I say. Heck, even my wife doesn%26#39;t do that (jk- a little). If you are at all not sure, then you don%26#39;t do it. If the bug stays with you, there will be another available. Remember, you will probably never stay in the unit you own and even if you did, it looks just like all the others.

Kim --

Would add my word of ';caution'; to the ones you%26#39;ve already received.

Timeshare ownership is definitely not for everyone. Take a minute to look beyond the glitz of the resort andthe promises of the salesmn and ask yourself just how much you would really use your share after you bought it.....then ask yourself if the investment (purchase price plus your annual mainenance fee) will really be worth it to you....

We%26#39;ve been owners of a timeshare in North Conway NH for nearly ten years and find that we enjoy that kind of vacation. We bought a unit in the middle of ski season (even though we don%26#39;t ski) because it had a higher trading value than some of the other weeks we considered. And we%26#39;ve had some great trades -- Willimsburg, VA; Sedona, AZ; other NH resorts. But, we%26#39;ve also heard many other owners who regretted their decision, simply because they didn%26#39;t think through what they were doing before they bought.

The reality is:

-- maintenance fees on a timeshare increase over time, just like the cost of home maintenance

-- the trades you want are not always available at the times you%26#39;d like to go

-- you may or may not like the idea of being ';tied'; to one resort unless you actively pursue other destinations

On the other hand, we also meet lots of happy owners like we are.

My suggestion: take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle, on one side list all the ';positives'; (you love the resort, you like the area, etc) and on the other half, list the ';negatives'; (purchase price, purchase of time you may or may not use, maintenance fees, etc). My guess is that very soon you%26#39;ll discover you already have a preference one way or the other....and go with that.

Timeshares can be fun -- but they%26#39;re also a big investment....

Thanks for all the great advice. I primarily want a timeshare for the winter (would rent in the summer)to go skiing. I definetly need to put some more thought into this because the ski season is short. Thanks again, Kim.

We owned a quartershare at the Grand Summit. In the long run it wasn%26#39;t really worth it - condo fees are high, rental income is low and trades may or may not be available when you want them.

Resale is tough...we sold (luckily) last summer at a $5K loss.

Originally we purchased so that we could use the owner%26#39;s room, valet service, ski locker, gym and pool since we live locally. We also liked to use space A to go to Sunday River %26amp; Killington.

The bathrooms are generally pretty dirty and the gym/bathrooms are run down... You wonder what might be growing in the jacuzzi :-)

You can no longer do space A at the other ski resorts since American ski sold them....

The new owners of Attitash don%26#39;t really want to be in the hotel business. They increased their rental fees which has upset many of the owners.

We did do several great trades - Sedona, San Diego, Orlando... but once you figure out the ';real'; cost with all the fees, it would have been cheaper to just book a vacation at those places instead of doing a trade.

Hope this helps.

PS - if you want to email me at llittle62@roadrunner.com I can forward you my excel spreadsheet that outlines my revenue %26amp; costs for the time we owned it (before the rental fees went up)

It has been our experience that you will get your value out of a TS investment in your use and enjoyment. If you don%26#39;t plan in advance and book your vacation time it will go to waste every year. You can expect your maintainence fees to increase over time, just like everything else in the world. So calculate that into the annual cost.

We have owned TS properties for almost 30 years and have traveled all over the world on TS exchanges. We have stayed for the most part, in accomodations that were superior to what we could have rented for the same money. But I%26#39;m convinced that our success and enjoyment is due to the fact that I plan at least a year in advance and confirm my exchanges that far out. I currently have 3 vacations planned for the balance of this year and I%26#39;m about to confirm an exchange in Palm Springs CA for March 2010. Obviously, before we retired, we didn%26#39;t vacation as often, but we still planned that far ahead, so our annual vacations were something we could always look forward to, and they always went as planned.