I've never owned a timeshare before, and recently a friend purchased a unit at DIVI VILLAGE in Aruba. He's been going to the property for 8+ years, and his sister owned there as well. I've gone to Aruba twice now, stayed at The Mill and loved it. Now our friend is mildly twisting our arm to purchase at the same time they own so we can have fun and party together...

If you had to do it over... would you BUY or RENT a timeshare?
What things do I need to make sure of, or be careful of, when purchasing?
I'm considering WEEK 52 and WEEK 1. Any thoughts on which would be better?
What questions must I have answered before committing to purchase?
What is the process of transferring property?

Thanks in advance,

Les
LESMAN@HOTMAIL.COM

les, the major thing to watch for is how it is deeded. some are deeded to end after X visits. some are deeded to never end and be passed thru generations until the building falls, lol. if you buy something that ends you are actually, in my opinion, just renting.

i own at costa linda. i love the fact that i own but i didn't buy it to trade or sell. i bought it to force us into taking a vacation which we tended not to do. now that we have a little more time i still am not sorry that i bought because i can be assured that i have that same week every year and don't have to search for a timeshare that week. would i do that again? yes, if the situation was the same. now we can be a little more flexible though and so do not really need to be locked in to a sure thing. however, i have checked rentals at our place and can tell you that what i pay for my yearly fee is about 1,000 less than what i could rent for. it works out that each extra year i go to my timeshare i have actually saved more money if i average it out.

now, i also rent at the aruba phoenix to extend my time. i rent thru a guy who is very reasonable so it would take quite a few years to be able to average out if i purchased now.

all of this chatter really boils down to what your needs are. you are planning to go in high season. your rents could be very high. check that and weigh it against the price of the property and remember to check how the property is deeded.

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vote now!!!!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/N...uba/index.html

The Divi Village is owned for 40 weeks only (or as Sherry said, basically rented). Less if it's a resale. I just bought there for a week in March with 35 weeks left and paid $3,200. which is cheap as it is considered peak time other than Christmas and New Year's which is the highest time. Check on sites to check out prices of resales. Week 52 will be VERY high in price, but every so many years there is a week 53 that you can use just by paying the maint. fees. Did your friend buy those weeks? Problem with timeshares (which is huge to me) is that they are normally weekend check-in dates with some exceptions and the airfare is higher on weekends, especially around the holidays. I got a pretty cheap airfare this year on a Sunday because it is Christmas Day. Another thing to do is to look at the check-in dates for the next few years and see when they fall on the day you would check in. I was looking at buying 52 & 1 also, but I love the fireworks that start several days after Christmas and some years would miss a lot of the firework nights. My goal now is to book a room for New Year's when I can get the airfare at the cheapest price I can starting the 25th or later for the flight, book two weeks then, and then another two weeks in March when I own the timeshare. I had to bank my 2006 time share because I already have reservations for the week we own. I am curious to see what I will get in return, I am looking for the week prior to owning the timeshare in 2007 and also New Year's week. Transfer was very easy $250. paid to Divi, only notarized signatures by both the sellers and buyers.

2006 week 1 check-in dates: Fri. 1/6, Sat. 1/7, Sun. 1/1
52: Fri. 12/29, Sat. 12/30, Sun. 12/24. Sunday has a week 53 with check-in 12/31

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For all the reasons that sherry mentioned, buying timeshare was the best thing I ever did. Mainly, it's a forced vacation for me or I'd hem and haw about taking the time... something else would always be a priority. If I had it to do all over again, I'd do the exact same thing. I own 3 weeks and it's still not enough.

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Thanks for all the feedback. As it turns out, I've made the commitment to buy at DIVI and found a fair deal on WEEK 1 w/ 37 weeks left on the contract. As noted, it's a locked in week... with a term that ends. But I agree with the "forced vacation" arguement.

We have a 7 year old daughter, and I figure this will give us something to look forward to, plan for, and have memories of for many years to come. By the time my 37 years is up, I'll be 77. Before then I'll be able to decide if a few more weeks make sense, and when and where.

The only downside I have right now is that my first available year to use it is WEEK 1 of 2007... so I have to wait over a year. I suppose I could always accellerate one of my weeks and use it sooner!!

Can't wait!!

Congratulations Woosh, and enjoy the next 37 years!! Trust me, you'll be happy with your decision and I can see in the future that you'll be adding more weeks!! lol

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Rent vs buy is a constant conversation for us, and right now renting is winning. I'm able to get us into Costa Linda for appx $800/wk, which is a great rate on one of the best properties in Aruba, so it's hard to justify making the big splash. As for the forced vacation concept - not an issue with us, we can't do enough vacationing! Now if I can only find a way to squeeze more vaca days out of my company...

Congrats Woosh, enjoy!

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What Divi did you buy at? I was looking at week one, but the check in dates were later than I wanted as I am determined to be in Aruba by 12/27 and really only want to stay 2 weeks. Sometimes you can get a good deal, but never from the companies, always on a resale. Did you get a studio? I never really card if it was a studio, 1 or 2 bedroom, as long as it had room for me!

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Divi Village - Aruba
Studio in "D Building" 2nd floor
Week 1 (doesn't seem to specify DATES)

... and I can accellerate up to 10 of the weeks for any dates between Apr.16 and Dec.31... so it looks like if I want to stay for 2 weeks I can try to request the week before my week 1.

I bought directly from the original contract holder... and I think I got a very fair deal. Haven't finalized the contract transfer yet, but we've got a down payment paid to them and a signed notarized contract... so I feel pretty confident that it's going to be a done deal soon.

I like the Divi Village area (low rise) much better than the high rise area. Enjoy your timeshare, I'm sure you will.

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