36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Advice on what to buy is weak, December 2, 2005
This review is from: Timeshare Vacations For Dummies (Dummies Travel) (Paperback)
This book has some good basic information on what timesharing is, and the different types of timeshares available (deeded versus right-to-use; fixed versus floating; etc.)
However, the advice about what to actually buy leaves a lot to be desired. For example, she specifically advises buyers that good deals may be had in developer ("new") timeshares in overbuilt areas, that is, areas with many, many timeshares. In fact, overbuilt areas generally give very low trading power and are therefore a poor value. In particular, the author presents Orlando as the best place to buy a timeshare. In reality, Orlando timeshares are a glut on the market and (unless you own a Christmas or Spring Break week) rarely receive good trades. The author gives an example of how you can't trade into a top Orlando resort with a non-Orlando timeshare that cost only $1,000 resale. Well, I've done it -- repeatedly.
Some of the advice here makes me question how extensive the author's knowledge of timeshares is. For example, she says it is often a good idea to buy a 3-bedroom unit that "locks off" into three 1-bedroom units. However, there are few, if any, timeshares that work this way; "lock-off" units almost always convert into two units, not three, and usually only one of the two units is a one-bedroom, rather than a studio. Also, the author says (p. 23) "Private sleeping capacity is just that: separate sleeping rooms." This is misleading; private sleeping capacity is based on each couple sleeping privately, not each individual. So, if a timeshare unit sleeps six separately, that means it has three private sleeping areas that each hold two people, not six private sleeping areas.
The internet has an active timesharing community, full of people who respond very strongly when they feel that a timeshare salesperson -- which this author is, or at least used to be -- is giving out misleading information. That is why this book is getting criticism here. The criticism is coming from the online timeshare users' community, not from timeshare salespeople.
My advice? This book is OK if you just want some info about timesharing, but before you plunk down serious money to actually buy a timeshare, [...]
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Stay away!!, October 5, 2005
This review is from: Timeshare Vacations For Dummies (Dummies Travel) (Paperback)
For anyone who is looking for more info about timeshares, this book is the last place that you should look. Like others have pointed out, it is biased towards buying from the developer and mentions Orlando timeshares as being good buys, when Orlando is probably the most overbuilt area in the world. If there is anyone who really wants to learn about timeshares, spend some time researching online at good sites like tug2.net
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good primer for beginners, May 11, 2006
This review is from: Timeshare Vacations For Dummies (Dummies Travel) (Paperback)
I found the book fairly informative and basic for those of us completely new to timeshare. I have to think some of the reviewers here never read this book, because the author indeed goes out of her way to reference informative webpages (including tug2.net mentioned here and others) for further information.
Did a good job of breaking down the "lingo" that I had a hard time slogging through online. A good place to start, but not the be-all and end-all if you really need to learn about time shares, but I don't think it was meant to be. But this book is certainly a good jumping-off place.
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