Posts by THE HOTH

8 Hidden Timeshare Costs Companies Don’t Want You to Know

hidden timeshare costs

There are over 1500 unique timeshare resort properties in the US alone. That makes it a nearly $9 billion industry.

For comparison, the music industry is only worth $7 billion.

The average person will pay around $20 thousand to buy in. But this initial investment is only a drop in the bucket. Very soon after that initial purchase, people learn the hidden timeshare costs that no one told them.

I’m here to share them with you. Whether you’re thinking of buying or having second thoughts, you need to know this.

Let’s explore the timeshare costs they don’t want you to know about.

1. Your Life

Does that sound overly dramatic? You’ll quickly see why. Buying a timeshare is often a lifetime commitment.

Once you’re in, it’s almost impossible to sell it to someone else. You’re competing with all of the new, unsold properties at the same resort and others.

Lose your job? Go through a divorce? Terrible diagnosis? It doesn’t matter. You’re responsible for whatever you agreed to in your contract.

Failure to meet these obligations could result in legal actions taken against you.

Now onto less dramatic, but still impactful hidden timeshare costs.

2. Your Freedom

Want to go to Disneyland this year? How about Venice? Did you always want to visit Dubai?

As they say: Variety is the spice of life.

But not for you. You have a timeshare. You already know where you’ll be going every year for the foreseeable future.

Even if you do have several resorts to choose from, your choices are very limited. The top destinations may require booking years in advance.

And they may not tell you up front that you’ll pay yet another fee to exchange units.

One of the hidden timeshare costs is playing vacation deja vu for the rest of your life.

The resorts know that people hate monotony. They’ll try to sell you upgrades every chance they get.

3. The Not So Hidden Hidden Costs

When you own a timeshare, you’ll probably be told up front that you’re responsible for annual ownership and maintenance fees.

It seems all transparent. You’ve got this. You know exactly what you’re in for.

But do you?

These fees are due whether you use the property or not. If the property goes into decline, they may go up. Depending on your contract, they could go up a lot.

And, they usually don’t cover the big stuff. Does the resort need a new parking lot, roof or lobby? They’ll send you the bill.

4. A Hefty Tax Bill

When you buy your timeshare, you’re savvy enough to ask probing questions.

Is this all I’m responsible for? Are there any hidden timeshare costs I should know about?

They may look you straight in the eye and say that’s it.

Then you get your tax bill. As a property owner, you’ re responsible for the annual property taxes. You can’t write these off.

A timeshare broker doesn’t have much to do with these hidden costs. It might simply slip their mind.

But you could owe a thousand or more in property tax each year in addition to the costs you knew about.

This timeshare is looking like less and less of a bargain all the time.

5. Real Estate Fees

When you buy a timeshare, you’ll pay the same kinds of real estate fees you pay when you buy a house. There’s an assessment fee, an appraisal fee, a transfer fee and so on.

The resort may even find some clever finder’s fees or other fees to tack on there. These fees should be in your final documents. But they are often hidden until you are already excited and well into the buying process.

These hidden timeshare costs can really bite into the value of your timeshare. But there’s more.

6. More Real Estate Fees

Let’s say that you find a buyer for your share down the road. You may be thinking that you’ll get at least most of your money back.

But when you add up real estate agent fees and concessions you have to make to sell the timeshare, you really end up paying these fees or more twice.

And if you do sell it, this doesn’t get you out of any back fees you may have acquired during ownership.

7. Travel Fees

Okay. You already knew that the resort wasn’t going to pay for your plane tickets to the resort every year. But these are hidden timeshare costs that almost always slip the buyer’s mind.

In order to enjoy your timeshare, you’ll need to pay for you and your family to travel there.

If fuel costs go up and you can’t afford to travel, you’re stuck with a terrible choice.

Either don’t use the timeshare that you’re paying thousands for each year. Or go into debt to travel there.

When you consider other options like waiting until fuel prices go down or taking a close to home vacation that year, you’re wasting a ton of money.

8. Depreciation

You buy into this great resort. You see all kinds of entertainment venues and restaurants going up around it. What a great investment?

Think again.

Timeshares rarely, if ever, go up in value. In fact, plan to take a mighty loss on it when you sell it.

We’re not even taking all of your annual fees into account. That’s a loss out of the gate.

If you paid 20 thousand for it, expect 10 or less. Yes, really? When you add up all of the hidden timeshare costs you no longer have to pay, you’ll actually be relieved to dump it.

But There’s Good News About Hidden Timeshare Costs

It’s possible to get this burden off your back. You may be ready to dump the timeshare and you don’t care what you lose. But wait!

You may have options.

I can help you better understand what those are. The timeshare may have been misrepresented. Perhaps, they told you it was an investment or that your annual fees were fixed.

Don’t suffer under a timeshare anymore. Learn about your options. Set up a free consultation today.

Why It’s Always A Bad Idea to Sell Your Timeshare

sell your timeshareThese days, everyone is aware of timeshares. While they might be synonymous with presentations and pushy sales pitches, timeshares can be an affordable way to get some vacation time on the books.

With the increase in timeshare sales, the expansion of timeshare resales has gone up, too. Timeshare sales by owner can reduce the cost for buyers, giving people the opportunity to vacation at an especially steep discount. Timeshare resales can be a boon for the buyer, but as a seller, it may be a bad idea to list your portion of the property yourself.

Maybe you’re considering selling your timeshare. If so, there’s a lot to be aware of before attempting to unload your share on the internet or elsewhere. For one, there’s no timeshare resale market. Secondly, there’s a huge risk of getting scammed. Keep reading for a look at why you should never sell your timeshare without first consulting with a lawyer.

Why You Might Want to Sell Your Timeshare

The allure of the timeshare is undeniable. Instead of buying a whole vacation home, you purchase 1/50th of the place. This way, you get to use the property for that week you have off, and you’re not paying for the time that you don’t spend there.

In theory, it’s great — and millions of people have bought into it. But, over time, the fees start piling up. There are maintenance fees, and they keep climbing. After a while, maybe you’re not able to travel much, or you want to spend your vacation in a new place instead of the old one.

Whatever the reason, selling your timeshare on the market might seem like a way to get out of a contract that feels relentless.

Let’s take a look at some of the challenges posed by trying to offload a timeshare:

Selling a Timeshare Isn’t At All Like Selling Traditional Real Estate

Just because you sold your house by owner doesn’t mean you can do the same with a timeshare property. First of all, timeshare laws vary depending on the state or country in which they are located. Second, you’re selling a fraction of a piece of property — so while you might be raring to go with the paperwork, the resort or governing association might not recognize the new owner.

Additionally, when you’re selling a timeshare, you must compete with a number of others who are selling literally the exact same thing. We’re not talking multiple two-bedroom units, we’re talking multiple two-bedroom units with the same layout, same decor, same amenities.

The other part of this is location. If you happen to have a timeshare in Hawaii, Disneyland or some kind of exotic locale, you’ll probably find more buyers are interested in taking over your arrangement.

Unfortunately, sellers with timeshares by a lake in New Hampshire or Minnesota might not be able to drum up the same amount of interest, no matter how beautiful the view.

Be Wary of Scams

Unfortunately, because there’s not much of a market for reselling timeshares, there are a lot of people out there trying to take advantage of those trying to sell.

Fraudulent Third-Party Resellers

There are a number of third-party companies that will promise to help you find a buyer, but there’s a catch. How this works is scammers target potential timeshare sellers saying they have a buyer ready or promise to sell your timeshare in short order.

The service will ask you to pay an upfront fee — typically via wire transfer. The fee justified by the scammer who says it’s used to cover closing costs, maintenance fees, taxes, or other costs linked to the sale. And, usually, when you send that money, the seller disappears without having made the sale. You’re out hundreds or thousands of dollars and still have an unwanted timeshare to deal with.

My recommendation to timeshare owners is, never send money to someone you don’t know. Get everything in writing and do not pay until there is proof that the sale has been made.

This type of scam is so widespread that the Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning, telling sellers to avoid services that require an upfront payment. Red flags include unsolicited calls or emails from a third-party seller and the promise that you’ll turn a profit.

Donation Scams

A slightly less common type of timeshare scam is the donation scam. In this case, there are companies preying on timeshare owners so eager to get out of their timeshare that they’ll give it away.

Unfortunately, this process tends to cost thousands of dollars in fees–in exchange for an eventual tax write-off. The companies involved in this scam advertise a large charitable donation write-off based on the property value, but this amount is usually overblown. Many timeshares in saturated markets might not be worth anything at all.

This is Not a Seller’s Market

In some cases, the resort will be able to help you with the resale process, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll be able to make a sale. While there are legitimate timeshare resellers out there, and buyers who will take them, you likely aren’t going to get your money back.

Don’t Sell Your Timeshare Without a Lawyer

If you do decide to sell your timeshare, it’s important to keep your expectations in check.

As you can see, selling a timeshare is nowhere near as easy as buying one. There are so many scams and Craigslist listings and shady deals out there, that no one should try to offload an unwanted vacation share on their own.

My Timeshare Attorney can help with all matters related to your timeshare. Contact us today for a free 30-minute consultation, and we’ll come up with a plan.


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