"...The bush burned with fire but the bush was not consumed"
It was around 2 am when I answered the phone. She was crying. She said "I'm sorry." I inquired for details. "The house is on fire. Your house is destroyed."
When daylight broke, the situation became more visible. Our rental property caught fire, it was destroyed and unlivable. It might've been our house, but that was their home. The family had survived a traumatic experience. Lost many of their possessions. They needed somewhere to live ASAP. We had to decide what to do next.
We didn't have much time. What we did have was a distant and unfamiliar timeshare out in Las Vegas. We had never stayed there before. We had points that would expire the following year. This became our temporary solution. We booked a 6 week stay. This would allow us more time to figure out a more permanent solution. In the meantime, we arranged for the tenant to stay at our house.
Why did we have a timeshare that we had never stayed at before?
It wasn't inherited. It wasn't a poor decision made under duress during a sales tour. We were familiar with timeshares. In fact, this was our 2nd timeshare; acquired for a very specific purpose. We had access to Interval International through our first timeshare. We wanted access to RCI. Research led us to one of the well-known "secrets" in timeshare. That a triennial contract at The Grandview was the most cost effective access to RCI.
In the years since we bought our first timeshare, traveling became the most exciting part of our lives. Not just because we were staying at some of the most well known and respected brands in the hospitality industry: Marriott, Four Seasons, Hilton, etc., but because the cost of these stays were unbelievably discounted! So much so, that one might insist that I was missing some undisclosed resort fee or hidden cost.
Anyone whose attended a timeshare tour has been shown these discounted prices. The only catch is, you have to own a timeshare. You do NOT have to pay thousands of dollars, pay a deposit, and finance the difference over 20 years. Unfortunately, many people do just this. When the monthly payments on their financed timeshare, and the required maintenance fees no longer justify the purchase incentives, they become the scorned anti-timeshare mob who discourages anyone from buying or using such a terrible product. Luckily for us, that wasn't our experience.
In our uninformed days, we made the mistake of buying from the developer and financing a timeshare. Thankfully, we reviewed our documentation immediately, and not only learned of our right to rescission, but also that we could get a timeshare for free. The more prestigious contracts with many benefits, you could buy for less than $1,000. Which is exactly what we did.
We loved it! We couldn't believe that we had access to our accommodations at the price that we paid. Our vacations took us to new places that we otherwise wouldn't have explored. Hello Breckenridge!
When we visited familiar cities, the experience was elevated! In our pre-timeshare days, we made the most of places like The Quality Inn and The Circus Circus- a rite of passage for Las Vegas. We kept a sensible budget. We were just grateful to be on vacation.
Our post-timeshare travels took us to some of the most highly rated resorts for the same sensible budget. It became addictive. We couldn't wait for the next trip! It was easy to dream of living on vacation.
Coming home to sleep in my bed after staying at a Quality Inn for a few nights was highly rewarding. But after staying in the Westin Heavenly Bed, it felt more like a punishment.
We couldn't vacation all the time, but I'd constantly see amazing deals. I'd also see the average, low or mid season inventory that always seemed to be available. Not just a week here or there. I'd see week after week at Westins, Sheratons, and Marriott properties. Tons of unoccupied timeshare inventory while the anti-timeshare mob just continued to grow. Don't we all know someone who could tell us their timeshare horror story? How they no longer wanted it and couldn't get out? How they wasted a ton of money and would never make that mistake again? The math definitely has to make sense. The math I was doing led me to suggest to my husband on more than one occasion that we should just live in our timeshares.
That didn't seem feasible. For years, we discussed moving to the Southwest. Even before timesharing, most of our vacations were either to Las Vegas or Arizona. We loved the desert! We had family nearby. Our timeshares would be even more accessible. But there were always reasons not to move as well. We had two mortgages already and werent comfortable taking a third. We didn't want to rent at the time. We didn't agree on whether we should get a house or a condo. We considered the impact that a cross country move would have on our kids and our social network. The idea was essentially paralyzed.
In discussing our options after the fire, the idea of moving resurfaced. We talked logistics. We would no longer have two mortgages. An extended timeshare stay would give us flexibility unlike a lease. We could explore houses and condos while experiencing living in the area before settling down. If we decided against it entirely, we could come back to the Midwest.
We were invigorated by the idea of finally moving! We thought about how much this would change our lives. How we pondered doing it for many years. How a house fire would be the catalyst that finally made it happen.
My husband commented.
"Didn't Moses see a burning bush before his life changed too".
There was fear and uncertainty. Thankfully, no loathing. We didn't know what to expect. Less than 5 days after the fire, we had everything we could take loaded into our cars.
We were headed to Las Vegas!