There are
several reasons not to own a
timeshared deed. You may end
up having to try and rent
the timeshare out for
your week or weeks to
someone else just to lose
less money on the whole
deal. Ownership is forever
until sold or traded away by
using the exact legal
description for it.
The timeshare industry has
been widely criticized and
even sometimes likened to a
travel scam. Unlike the
customary renting
arrangement, where the
customer decides every year
on the quality and price of
accommodations, timeshare
requires to make a major
payment up front. There
exist doubts as to whether
timeshare buyers ever
recover the money spent.
There are also some
complaints that owners have
to return to the same resort
every year, but there exist
several companies that
enable timeshare owners to
exchange their weeks into
literally thousands of
resorts around the world.
There are a growing number
of independent timeshare
exchange organizations
available to timeshare
owners.
Other complaints include
issues surrounding the
yearly maintenance fee. Some
critics talk of ever
escalating fees that mean
owners cannot afford to keep
their weeks due to financial
pressure. One of the major
benefits of the product is
the fact that vacation
timeshare is real property.
Resort developers purchase
land in a location and
develop a timeshare resort.
They are actually selling
consumers deeded weeks of
real property at a specific
location, meaning customers
can do what they wish with
the weeks they own. This
flexibility includes the
opportunity to rent the
timeshare out for weeks
that are not used or indeed
to lend them to friends or
family.
Persons interested in
purchasing a timeshare are
strongly advised to look
online at the secondary
market listings for the
development they are
interested in. Developers
put a very large mark up on
new inventory and a new
owner will find the resale
value of their timeshare to
be half or less of what they
purchased it for. It is also
very helpful to have this
information in hand before
going into any timeshare
sales presentation.
Like any other product,
timeshare exchange or
rent of the timeshare is
subject to the law of
supply. This should make the
exchange mechanism a fair
and meritocratic system. For
example if a timeshare owner
deposits a studio apartment
in low season that owner is
unlikely to be able to
exchange into a villa during
a country's high season. In
practice the major exchange
companies have proprietary
exchange formulas that add
complexity to the system.
The study of and issues
revolving around exchanging
are beyond the scope of this
article and should be
researched before making any
timeshare purchase or
rental.
