Buying a Timeshare - Good or Bad?

One summer almost thirty years ago, a family purchased a second home in a seacoast community where they had vacationed for several years. Their ten-year-old son was disgusted with them. "Do you REALIZE," he demanded, "how many nights in a hotel you could buy for that much?"

His thinking is something to bear in mind when you're listening to the sales pitch on resort timeshares. Eager timeshare proponents will repeat the word "value," and even at its best, with no fraud or scam intended, it's easy to be misled by the figures.

The timeshare seller's logic goes something like this: if a typical family takes two vacations a year, and pays even a modest $130-$150 a night for resort hotel accommodation, a year's vacations with travel, food and entertainment thrown in cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,000 to $6,000 a year, more if the destination is at a distance. "And nothing to show for it," the seller will remind you. A resort timeshare priced at, say, $18,000 looks like a good deal when you think in terms of a decade.

But keep in mind that the purchase price is not your only obligation with buying a timeshare. You also commit to paying annual maintenance fees (about $800 a year is cited as average) and dues, and likely you will discover surprise assessments for future improvements waiting in the wings. And of course your vacations will STILL involve costs for travel to your destination, food and entertainment. The number of timeshare resales on the market, and the number of hapless timeshare owners trying to get rid of a timeshare, tell the story. Do the paperwork ahead of time, and don't forget the details. The devil is always in the details.

And the beach cabin that ten-year-old kid was so adamant his parents shouldn't have bought? Well, the family has paid insurance and taxes and utilities over the years. But they've been able to remodel it to their taste, and paint it the colors they like, and leave their stuff in it so they can travel light when they go. They've used it a lot (any time they want to, without counting points). And so have the grown-up kid and HIS friends. The advantage of the cabin is that it is real property, free and clear. Bet they can sell it faster than they could sell a timeshare!

Did you already buy a timeshare? If so, and would like information on how to get rid of your timeshare because the hidden costs are becoming a burden, schedule a free consultation by visiting http://www.ProfessionalTimeshareServices.com and filling out our online form.