I've been telling you all for a while now that we are paying off our stupid tax, but we haven't told much of anyone what that was, until now. A timeshare. Ugh. Before you rush to judgement let me tell the story.
Last February, Hilary and I had a wonderful weekend getaway to the Smokey Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN. It was a great trip, in a private cabin, perfect weather and a great time together. Hilary wasn't pregnant yet, so she wasn't sick. We had a friend watching Charlotte that weekend for us so we were able to enjoy the time to ourselves.
On the last day, practically on our way out of town, we stopped for some directions to a popular pancake place. The person giving directions wasn't just giving directions, they were recruiting potential timeshare buyers. After tempting us with a free breakfast and $75 cash for just a 2 hr tour and sales pitch we decided to check it out.
They drove us to the Westgate Smokey Mountain Resort, just a few minutes down the road. This place was beautiful. Great looking lodge, filled with slick salesmen. They breakfast was over, replaced by nasty hotdogs and chips. So much for pancakes. We sat down with a sales guy named Glenn. At this point, we had NO intention of buying. We just wanted a free breakfast and some cash.
Glenn was smooth. He slowly explained timeshare ownership at this particular resort, and explained reasons to own a timeshare with this particular company. All these were very convincing. He then did some math, explaining that financially, over a long period of time, it makes sense to invest in something like this because you basically pay for vacation now, and have it for free for the rest of your life (sort of). I can't explain it all now, but it made sense to us then. Now, keep in mind I have a VERY critical spirit towards these kinds of things, and so does my wife. We aren't gullible people. I've made plenty of mistakes in the past that have made me very cautious.
After the sales talk, we were taken on a tour. This is when our emotions got the best of us. This resort is in the heart of the Smokey Mountains and is a high class resort. Very nice. Glenn showed us the indoor water park, a few other things, and then showed us a 1 bedroom cabin. The cabin had a full, stocked kitchen, 1 bathrooms with large tub, a large bedroom, and a living room with a pull out couch. It supposedly can sleep 4-5 people. The view was incredible.
After the tour, impressed but still skeptical, we made it back to the lodge. At this point no prices had been thrown out, and I still assumed that something like this was way out of our price range. We sat down with Glenn and another sales manager who presented us with a 1 bedroom package - for right around $13,000. When they said that number, for some reason I went from "I'd never buy one of these things" to "I think this could actually work". It was all over from that point.
They told us about how you can rent these out to anyone - at any price you choose. You can let anyone use the timeshare - friends, family, whoever. You can trade you timeshare week (7 days) at this resort and exchange it for any of the other Westgate Resorts or Interval International Resorts around the world. There is also a cruise package - super cheap cruises OR you can even trade your resort week for a cruise instead (no cost obviously). Also, there are these things called buyer nights. If you don't want to use your week or if you run out, you can buy additional nights for $50/night. You can sell those to friends and family also, at any price you choose. The downside of all this is maintenance fees, $550/year. But the upside is very flexible scheduling. You aren't restricted to one particular week. If you schedule it right, you can get whatever week you want.
So after about 5 long hours, we signed the contract and bought a timeshare. I have the deed-it's mine. It is real property. I still can't believe it. We were financed with Westgate, but if you pay it off and get refinanced privately you can get better interest rates and 5% off your price.
After getting home from this very emotional and in the clouds experience, the realization of what we had done set in. I immediately started researching - they don't really give you that chance in the moment. Westgate has a horrible BBB rating (mostly because of the sales tactics and negative timeshare image). However, I did call the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce and they said that Westgate is in good standing and they've never had a complaint.
Our local bank gave us a loan and we paid off Westgate. So, we currently have about $12,000 left on our Timeshare loan. When the mobile home sells, we will probably have enough to pay off the mobile home loan AND timeshare loan. We haven't used our timeshare yet this year, and I don't really think we will be able to since we moved further away from Gatlinburg and we also are about to have another baby and are busy with new jobs. Maybe we'll get to use it next year. A cruise would be nice.
Looking back, even though this isn't 100% negative, I still consider it a stupid tax. We are not travelers right now. We don't vacation regularly even though I'd love too. We are in NO financial position to owe $12K on a timeshare when that money SHOULD be going to my student loans. But, this is a lesson learned. I have to deal with it. I went to the store and I got suckered into buying some lemons. So, I'll have to just make some lemonade.
So what are we doing now? I listed our Timeshare with Timeshare Hotlist - who helps you to sell and rent your timeshares to corporate and business clients (for a fee). Nothing yet, but if it works it will be well worth it.
Until then - we are offering to rent our timeshare and benefits to anyone interested. Friends, family, anyone.
- Do you want a 7 day vacation in Gatlinburg? Make me an offer! I need to cover my maintenance fees and a little extra would be nice.
- Want a cheap cruise? Book through me!
- Want to go on a vacation, anywhere? Check with me! I can probably get you an amazing deal!
Until we sell or rent this thing, we are going to try to get the best use out of it. If we can't sell or rent it, hopefully WE can actually get a chance to use it.
Visit the Westgate website for more info: http://www.wgsmokymountains.com/rooms.htm
So now you know my stupid tax. Hopefully it will all work out for the best. Hit me up for a cheap but amazing a vacation.
Till next time,
Thomas
5 comments:
I had to LOL when I read Westgate Resorts. I have some really good friends who also got caught up in the sales pitch for a time-share while on vacation in Orlando, FL. They bought into it and have only used it three times in the last five years. The husband was recently laid off from his job and they "had" to file bankruptcy and I'm dying to know if they were able to include this debt? Oh well.
hi
This story will help to sell timeshare and focus on the judgment to buy a timeshare.
Hi Beth, yeah, we aren't pleased with ourselves but at least we have something to show for it. If we can manage to use it and/or rent it (and at least cover our maintenance fees) then it will be better than nothing. Hopefully it will sell through that timeshare hotlist service but it might not.
Thats horrible about your friends and getting laid off. I would hope that timeshare debt would be covered in a bankruptcy.
Thanks for reading!
Hi! I'm a friend of Hilary's. I'm am LOVING this blog!! Great job! I hope you get it all paid off soon :)
Thank you Jenna, I'm glad you enjoy it. I hope to keep it up and keep it interesting. It is sometimes overwhelming looking ahead at what we have to do, but with the Lord's help and lots of patience and diligence, and encouragement from people like you I know we can do it.
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