The Pitfalls of Buying a Timeshare

Owning a timeshare can sound like a great idea at the beginning. Who wouldn’t want to have their very own vacation spot where they could go every year? Sounds amazing right? But what the salesperson doesn’t tell you is the costs of owning a timeshare and how you get trapped in one. Something that the salesperson would not tell you is that you would be stuck to the same resort and forced to pay the fees regardless of if you visit the place or not . Come to think of it, why would you want to go to the same resort year after year when you can explore many different places with the same amount of money? Many times we are under the misconception that it is easy to sell a timeshare or pass it on to someone else. Although there are different ways to cancel a timeshare, it can be hard and cause a lot of unrest.

1. Ever increasing Costs

Although you may not have to worry about the maintenance fees, what you do have to worry about is their annual fees. In addition, the fees usually increases every year. Regardless of whether you use the property or not, you are forced to pay the fees every year. Not just that, you would also be required to pay additional fees for the utilities, taxes etc. This could become cumbersome over the years. Not paying the fees could lead to foreclosure of the property.

2. Misconceived as an Investment

Many times the salesperson would fool you into believing that it is a good investment or saving option. However, you must know that this is not the case. If ever you think of buying a timeshare, do it if you want to enjoy your vacation in one particular resort, but not as an investment. It is difficult to know how to timeshare and you may often loose a lot of money in this process.

3. Timeshare Scams

Due to the difficulty in selling a timeshare, there have been a lot of scammers that have emerged in the recent years. They pose as brokers who are willing to find you buyers and all this for a hefty price. Sometimes after you have lost a lot of money in the first scam, a second set of scammers come and say they would help you regain what you lost for a certain price. However, there are genuine companies out there too. Hence you need to be very alert and do a proper background research on how to cancel your timeshare before you decide to take any further steps.

4. Cancelling Timeshare can be Hard

Although the salesperson makes it sound so easy, the truth is that it is not easy to cancel a timeshare. The resort and the timeshare company can make it quite difficult for you stating various reasons as to why you cannot cancel the timeshare. However, you need to stay firm and also make sure you are aware of all the steps required for cancellation. Sometimes the resort may agree to buy back the timeshare for a price or you can also find out how to sell your timeshare or even transfer the ownership. If things get out of hand or if you have crossed the grace period, you could always get legal help.