Generally, with a timeshare, you buy a week at a "resort" location, and you own that week indefinitely. Certain weeks are, of course, less costly than are others. For example, the summer months in Florida would be quite affordable while winter weeks would bring a higher price.
You pay a yearly maintenance fee that covers the upkeep of your timeshare property plus taxes. They can vary drastically, being as low as $300 a year, or as high as $1200. Often, suites in timeshares are closed down for two weeks on a rotating basis so that maintenance can be completed.
WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF TIMESHARES?
-1. Sometimes, a resort sounds or looks fantastic in advertisements. But once you arrive there, you discover that the rooms are too small or the beach is far too crowded. That cannot happen with a timeshare, because you go to a place with which you are already familiar. You know exactly what you will be getting.
-2. Timeshares can be a great bargain. You get much more space than you would ever get for the same price in a hotel. The cooking facilities are always a nice extra. And you can have guests without being charged a fee.
"Timeshares are an awesome thing to own," Rosanne Luba, director of sales for sellmytimesharenow.com, said. "You get a quality of vacation that you might not otherwise be able to afford. Some places even have PGA qualified golf course. And a lot of them have water parks or other amenities. Research shows that 74 per cent of people who own timeshares are quite satisfied with them."
WHAT ARE SOME CAUTIONARY WORDS ABOUT TIMESHARES?
-1. Some sales agents claim otherwise, buy a timeshare will generally not become more valuable with time as might a stock or bond. In fact, as is the case with cars, they start losing value the minute you purchase them. That happens because you will never be able to recoup the sales and marketing expenses that went into making that sale.
"Timeshares are a lifestyle investment - something to enjoy - not a means of making money," Ms. Luba said. "So, if your life style changes - you get divorced, or your kids are no longer enthralled with being near Disneyland - they might no longer be of interest to you. That is a pretty common thing to have happen."
-2. If you do "outgrow" a timeshare and want to sell it, you have to be aggressive. More traditional ways of advertising tend not to work; about 93 per cent of all timeshare shares take place on line.
"You need constant exposure to sell a timeshare," Ms. Luba said. "There is no way you will get that exposure form an ad that appears once in a magazine or newspaper. You need the kind of exposure you can get on a web site. And you need the right asking price. Otherwise, the timeshare will not sell."
