The Ugly Truth About Timeshares

There are many of us that will never forget the day we bought our timeshare. It was full of bells and whistles celebrating our purchase, food, wine and a very happy salesperson. However, as we stare at our most recent maintenance fee bill that has (not surprisingly) increased since the prior year, we start to look back with a little bit of regret and the feeling of,"what did I get myself into!" These moments of regret and dissapointment seem to be a fairly common within the timeshare owner community and there is certainly a reason why. A lot has changed in the timeshare industry and in most cases, negatively affected each and every owner. From increased maintenance fee bills, unexpected special assessments, and inability to get the week that you want to developers being bought out by other developers and all of a sudden, you own a completely different timeshare than the one you signed up for! If you are finding that your ownership is more of a burden for you than a blessing, then taking a closer look at the changes in the industry will help to make sense of why you are wishing you had never bought it to begin with.

One of the biggest changes in the industry is the availability of travel through other means. The internet, like in so many other industries, has changed the face of the travel industry forever. It used to be that one had to be a timeshare "OWNER" to be able to stay at a timeshare resort, and today that is no longer true. There are a plethora of timeshare vacation rental sites that anyone can visit and book a vacation through. Today, anybody can stay at a timeshare resort, whether they've invested thousands of dollars in to the unit or not, if you are willing to pay for the weeks vacation, you have a place to stay. Most timeshare resorts today function exactly like a standard hotel; last minute bookings, discounted rates, and no "ownership" necessary. And ofcourse, a lot of these changes have been made possible via the internet.

During the timeshare presentations, many of us are told that this timeshare resort is "exclusive" to the owners, that you HAVE to be an owner in order to stay there. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case and it has undoubtedbly decreased the value of every timeshare on the resale market. If one of the "main" benefits of owning a timeshare is no longer a benefit then a lot of value is immediately taken away. How do you go about selling a timeshare for thousands of dollars when anybody can use a timeshare for just the rental fee? As a result of many of these changes, the resale market for timeshares has been completely stripped away. Many of us are convinced in to buying a timeshare because we are told that it is real estate. Although most owners do receive a deed for the "property," the reality is, a timeshare equals one week at one resort. It's not "property," it's a membership to a club that doesn't require a membership. It doesn't take a whole lot of research to see how the changes in the industry have affected the value of timeshares. If you take a look at timeshares for sale on ebay on any given day, there will be hundreds to thousands for sale from $0.01 to $100. What this reveals is that there is very big difference between retail price and resale price of timeshares.

Even without the fact that the accessibility of timeshare rentals and a plummeted resale market has resulted in timeshare ownership becoming non-existant, there are many other factors that go into timeshare ownership that can be incredibly frustrating. One of the frustrations is called maintenance fees." Owners are billed each year (right around Christmas time) for their yearly dues, which for numerous owners have increased anywhere from $20 to 200% consistently. And yes, if you go on vacation it pays for itself" but what will you think when 10 years from now you're paying $3000 for a week on vacation while everyone else is getting there through orbit at $1000 for the week. The reality is, an ever-increasing bill will only stay competitive for so long, until you are paying beyond premium.

So if you are considering the purchase of a timeshare as a wise way to invest your hard-earned money, then be encouraged to do your research beforehand. According to the Wisconsin Consumer Protection, only 3.3% of people have ever been able to resell their timeshares over the last 25 years. If those statistics sound good to you then by all means go for it. If you are already a timeshare owner, perhaps some of this information can be discouraging to you but there are options available to help you with your timeshare hassles. Timeshare listing companies don't seem to give owners much hope for their money, but companies like Timeshare Depot are dedicated to helping timeshare owners understand the circumstances and risks associated with ownership.