Tips

Following is a list of handy tips regarding timeshares – tips on buying a timeshare, selling your timeshare, exchanging for other resorts worldwide, and general things to know that will make your timesharing experience better.

Timeshare Vacations

Timesharing, also called vacation ownership, is one means to achieve your vacationing goals. It’s not for everyone; however, it can be a way to enjoy resort-style vacations in hundreds of locations worldwide. To get the most from your timeshare, you need to understand the rules of the game. Then, like any other game, once you know the rules, you know how to play the game to your advantage. There are many different facets of timesharing – some good, some bad, some in-between. If you know what they are, you can avoid being burned by the bad things, take advantage of the good things, and turn the others in your favor.

The Good

• There are over 5,700 timeshare resorts in about 100 locations worldwide and more are opening every year. You can take advantage of all of them for your vacations!
• Timeshares can be found in most countries of the world, except the former Soviet Union. There are resorts in big countries and little islands, in cities, towns and countrysides, on beaches and mountains, even in places you least expect such as Communist China!
• There is a worldwide network available for exchanging your timeshare for others. There are two major exchange companies that facilitate exchanges between timeshare owners, and they have working relationships with all 5,700 resorts. Plus, there are several smaller companies that provide the same services on a smaller scale and sometimes specialize in one location or certain groups of resorts.
• You can save lots of money when you buy your timeshare if you buy in the resale market instead of buying directly from the developer.
• Compared to renting the same unit, you can save more money on your annual vacation, because timeshare maintenance fees are generally 30-50% of the resort’s rental fee for the same unit.
• Timeshare resorts offer lots of activities, lots of facilities, lots of things to do both on the resort and in the local area, excellent dining, boutique shopping, live entertainment, athletics, watersports, snorkeling and scuba diving, boating and fishing, and upscale amenities and services.
• Timeshare resorts may also offer All-inclusive plans, where all your meals, beverages and activities are included for a per diem fee. Some plans are mandatory, some optional, and some resorts don’t offer all-inclusive plans but offer the same services on a pay-as-you-go basis.
• You can also exchange your timeshare for a cruise! Please see the section on this web site on exchanging for cruises for more information.
• Timeshares units are like apartments, townhouses or penthouses. They generally have kitchen and dining facilities relative to the unit size. Larger units have full kitchens all fully-equipped, dining areas for the maximum number of occupants of the unit, while smaller units will have partial kitchens with smaller appliances.
• Timeshare units may have multiple bathrooms, some with fancy showers or whirlpool/Jacuzzi tubs in the master bedrooms.
• Timeshares normally have balconies or ground-floor patios with a view. Many offer oceanfront or garden views.
• Timeshare ownership offers several ways to plan your vacations. Fixed weeks give you the certainty of owning the exact week you want. This method is good if you always vacation during the same week each year, if you have an occupation such as school teacher and need to be sure you own the week your school is on vacation (like President’s Week in February). If you want/need more flexibility, floating weeks give you a choice of weeks you may use; and you call your resort each year to reserve the week you want. Floating weeks let you vary the week you go to your home resort to best match your own schedule. And for maximum flexibility, points systems offer you the ability to select the unit size, time-of-year, and even which days of the week you want.

The Bad

• When you buy your timeshare from the resort’s developer, you have maximum choices of which weeks you want, what unit sizes you need, and even various plans for more or less flexibility. The developer has lots of inventory he can sell you. BUT, you need to understand that he also has very high selling expenses, and you will help pay for it if you buy from him. At least 50% or more of the price he will quote you will be overhead, and the rest is the value of the timeshare. So if you buy from the developer, you will lose at least 50% of your money when you go to resell it in the resale market. It’s like buying a new car from the dealership, then selling it later yourself. You will never be able to sell it at the same price you paid, or anywhere near that price. Now, that’s OK, just be forewarned that it’s gonna happen!
• Developers use the same tactic to get you to buy from them – “Come take our tour, we’ll give you some goodies like breakfast and tickets to local attractions, and all you have to do in return is attend a 90-minute presentation. You don’t have to buy anything!” And all that is absolutely true! However, the developer’s goal is to get you into his clutches where he can turn you over to a high-pressure salesperson who is very skilled at convincing you to buy a timeshare right then and there, before you get up and walk out. You might say, “Well, I’m pretty strong, and I can get up and leave anytime I want,” but you haven’t met the salesperson yet. These men and women are the best in the business, and their presentation is polished like a fine gemstone, so it looks so brilliant to you that you can’t turn it down.
• The salesperson may tell you “Buy now, because the prices are going to be higher next year or even next month.” Well, that’s true, because his costs are going to be higher. His employees are going to get a raise; his taxes are going up; the cost of his supplies will be going up, and he has to pass that added cost along to next year’s buyers. The salesperson may let you believe that you will therefore be able to resell your timeshare for more than you paid for it. And you tend to believe it because you have experience when you bought your house. It’s probably worth more today than what you paid for it, right? But in the timeshare resale market, where you will be selling your timeshare, that’s not the case. That’s because all those developer costs you helped pay do not exist in the resale market, and knowledgeable resale buyers won’t pay you for them!
• You may hear people say, “You can never resell your timeshare once you own it, so you’re stuck with it.” Those are the people who believed the developer’s salesperson and think they should be able to resell at or near developer prices. But now you know that’s not true, and you know why. The truth is you CAN resell your timeshare, provided you price it at resale market prices. Just like you CAN sell your used car, provided you price it as a resale.

   

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