Whether you are looking for a way to get rid of a timeshare you no longer want or are simply looking to see if a timeshare is a good opportunity, you’ve come to the right place. We have no affiliation with any timeshare companies and therefore can give you the plain truth which is that for 95% of people, a timeshare is a terrible financial move. You can begin with our Timeshare Trap Introduction or look at any of the topics of interest in the sidebar.
What Is A Timeshare Trap?
The timeshare trap is the Catch-22 that many timeshare owners find themselves in when they decide they want to sell their timeshare. After paying thousands of dollars for a timeshare, many find that they are unable to even give their timeshare away for free due to the yearly maintenance fees. Nobody wants to buy the timeshare because the yearly maintenance fees are often higher than it would cost to rent the exact same timeshare on the open market. Many timeshare resorts won’t take the timeshare back because they would rather have the yearly maintenance fees than the timeshare unit. Timeshare owners find that they are trapped with a timeshare they don’t want because there is no way to get rid of it.
If you have questions or comments, please feel free to Email Us with your timeshare trap story or questions.
Timeshare Truths Timeshare Resorts Won’t Mention
If you are ever in the market for a timeshare, the timeshare resorts will tell you time and again how fantastic they are. What they will fail to tell you is that timeshares come with a lot of minuses as well that ultimately means they aren’t nearly as great as the timeshare resorts make them out to be. Below are some of the secrets that the timeshare industry conveniently fails to mention when they talk so grandly about timeshare units:
Timeshare Units are a Terrible Investment
The truth is that timeshares are even worse than a crappy investment since they really aren’t an investment at all. Nobody in their right mind invests in a depreciating asset and expects to sell it for a gain years later. Timeshare sales representatives used to push timeshares as a great investment in years past, but due to numerous complaints they no longer do this outright. This doesn’t stop them from trying to link timeshare and investment together. Many timeshare salespeople will use subtle wording to give the impression that purchasing a timeshare is a good financial move. It’s common for a timeshare to be referred to as a “life-quality investment” to make it sound like a timeshare is a good investment. If you fail to listen carefully to the way the timeshare sales representative talks, you can easily believe that a timeshare is a good financial investment when nothing could be farther from the truth.
The Exact Timeshare You are Looking at is Available for Half the Price
Actually, you can probably find a timeshare for a lot less than half off and may even be able to get the timeshare for free. Timeshares are notoriously difficult to sell, especially in a slow economy. There are always a lot of people that want to get out of a timeshare and even escape a timeshare any way they can. Anyone that owns a timeshare they no longer want must offer a huge discount in order to sell their timeshare unit. By simply searching the timeshare resale market and buying from an owner instead of the timeshare resort, you can find the exact same timeshare unit for 50% off or more.
You Will Lose 50% or More of Your Money When You Sell
If people can buy timeshares for a 50% or more discount, that means when it’s time for you to sell, you will have to sell at this deflated price. As mentioned before, reselling a timeshare is extremely difficult in the best of times at quality timeshare resorts. A good analogy is what happens when you drive a new car off a dealer’s lot and it instantly losses a large amount of it’s value (since it instantly becomes used). Timeshares do the same thing and will lose 50% or more of their value the instant that you sign your contract. Even worse, you may be trapped with a timeshare unit and you can’t sell the timeshare at any price (or even give away for free) because nobody wants to be stuck paying the yearly maintenance fees.
You Can Rent the Exact Same Timeshare Unit for Less
When timeshare owners can’t sell or use their timeshare unit, most try to rent the timeshare out to recoup a portion of their money. It’s common that you can rent any week you want at the exact same resort for less than it would cost to own the same timeshare unit without any of the associated risks that come with owning a timeshare.
Timeshares Come With a Lot of Hidden Risks
In addition to yearly maintenance fees, you may also have to pat timeshare special assessment fees. These special assessment fees are usually to cover unexpected costs. When you purchase a timeshare unit, you purchase a part of that timeshare resort. That means that if there is any type of problem or disaster which results in damage to the timeshare building, you are responsible for a portion of the rebuilding costs. Timeshare resorts should retain adequate insurance, but they don’t always do so for every disaster that may occur due to cost. This leaves you responsible for covering these losses if the unfortunate should happen.
If You Can’t Use Your Timeshare One Year, You’re Better Off Not Buying
When the timeshare sales representative make calculations on how much you can save owning a timeshare, he will be assuming that you use the timeshare every year for 10+ years into the future. Unfortunately, life events happen where you probably won’t be able to use it every year. When all the timeshare costs are taken into consideration, missing a single year of use will destroy any savings you may have had. If you use a hotel, rent a condo, rent a timeshare unit or use some other similar accommodations for your vacations and one year you can’t go for any reason, you aren’t out any money. With a timeshare, however, you lose the entire amount you have already paid toward the timeshare.
Trading a Timeshare Isn’t as Easy as Claimed
Timeshare sales representatives will make it sound like you will be able to easily trade your timeshare unit with others around the world. The reality is that it’s rarely as easy to exchange as you were lead to believe, and if you are lucky enough to make a trade, you will often have to pay additional fees to make it happen. If you won’t be going to the exact same spot year after year, it’s not in your financial interest to purchase a timeshare.
If You Can’t Pay in Full, a Timeshare is a Terrible Deal
When calculating the timeshare costs and how much you can save, timeshare sales representatives will rarely include the cost of financing the timeshare. Timeshares don’t qualify for home mortgage loan status so instead of low rates that are tax-deductible, a timeshare loan will come with a double-digit interest rate and in most cases won’t be tax-deductible. When you add the cost of this financing to the overall cost of the timeshare, you should quickly realize that timeshares are not the vacationing deal they are made out to be.
Travel Costs Aren’t Calculated When Comparisons Are Made
One of the many tricks timeshare sales representatives sometimes use when attempting to show you how much a timeshares can save you is that they will include your travel expenses when calculating the cost of your current vacation, but conveniently forget to include travel costs when calculating the cost of the timeshare. If you don’t pay close attention, you may believe you’re getting a deal when in reality all the savings came from leaving out the travel expense that you must still pay.
Hotel Prices Will Increase, But So Will Timeshare Fees
Another trick timeshare sales representatives use is to explain how much hotel prices are increasing and then tell you that your time share will still be the same price 15 years from now. What they fail to explain is that the timeshare yearly fees are not locked at the current rate and will also likely increase with time. There will also likely be special assessment fees added so the timeshare can be upgraded to keep up with newer competition. This means all that money you were supposed to save is unlikely to ever materialize.
In the end, there are thousands of people that are stuck with a timeshare they don’t want, they can’t cancel the timeshare or break the timeshare contract. They are literally in a timeshare trap. This website is here to explain some of the timeshare selling options you may have when you want to get rid of a timeshare.
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