2BR Suite at Pueblo Bonito Sunset

Yes it’s true, my wife and I have purchased two timeshares in Cabo San Lucas Mexico on e-Bay. Since a few people have been asking I thought I’d give the “Coles notes” version of what this process is like and what to expect if you want to do the same. First – some background. When people grow tired of their timeshare or they foreclose on it, the resorts that own the vacation “rental” (which is what a timeshare is).. buy the timeshare back from the owner. What then happens (in short form)

• Timeshare is sent to a timeshare-holdings company
• Holding company puts the timeshare up for sale on e-Bay
• People bid (usual e-Bay stuff happens here)
• Winner of the bid has won the rights to use the timeshare
• Once paperwork is signed (digitally at first, you must get final “deed” documents signed, notarized and faxed back to holdings company) you own the timeshare

My wife and I were married at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula. We couldn’t afford to stay at the resort but since some of our family had bought timeshares online we thought we’d watch e-Bay for a timeshare at Pueblo Bonito. After winning this auction (we paid $350 to win it) we paid our paperwork (transfer fees) and maintenance fees for 2010. What this means now is that we can stay in a luxury studio suite at the resort for 1 week every year for the next 25 years. We pay $495 for the entire week (7 days). This is actually what the resort charges PER NIGHT for the same room…

Last week, just for fun we bid on another resort, Cabo Villas on the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja Peninsula which was where my bachelor party was held (on the roof at the Baja Brewing Company.) We actually won this auction for $1. With the transfer fees, our costs were $300 US for a timeshare which if purchased through the resort would cost about $14,000 US.

Cabo Villas Beach Club

Essentially what you pay for is your right to book a week at the resort every year and pay a fraction of what it would cost to book the same accommodations through the hotel. We have had no problems dealing with either the timeshare closing companies (or escrow agencies) or the resorts once we have become owners.

There are tons of timeshares for sale on e-Bay and not just in Mexico but in the Bahamas, Tahiti, Hawaii, Fiji and even in Banff….The great part is that you can join RCI and trade up your timeshares to stay in resorts all over the world. I’ll blog some more about RCI in another post to explain how the banking and trading of timeshares works.

Merry Christmas! This morning the folks over at “1000 Awesome Things” have a post about the kid’s table. Our family dinners always had one down the end of the main dining room table where all the children would sit and slowly eat Turkey dinner. Some of the fondest memories I have about Christmas dinner were when I was at the kid’s table with a paper crown half-way down my face. From the article:

The Kids Table is where all the kids eat dinner at holiday family gatherings.

It’s generally a rickety card table from the basement pushed beside a yellow plastic one from the playroom that ends up turning Grandma’s hallway into an eat-in kitchen. Sometimes it’s two different heights, sometimes the chairs are broken, and usually the whole thing is covered in a plastic Christmas tablecloth freshly ripped from the dollar store cellophane.

No matter what though, The Kids Table a great place to find burps, laughs,and juice spills at a holiday meal. Everyone’s enjoying a warm evening with cousins decked out in their finest cableknit sweaters, rosy red cheeks, and massive bedhead.

So here’s to everyone who will be having Christmas dinner with family this year and remember those fortunate ones to be situated around the Table of Tables!!