There are somethings you don’t want to do with timeshares. I can’t cover them all, because I don’t know your situation. But I can point out some that are universal.
Financing
Don’t buy a timeshare with financing. Interest rates are high and payback periods are short. That makes for large monthly payments. When you add the loan payments to your annual maintenance payments, using a timeshare for vacations suddenly appears very expensive.
Moreover, timeshares are usually an impulse purchase. Consequently, the ongoing burden of making monthly payments for many years is not good psychology. It will sour you on timeshares when you should be enjoying your timeshare instead.
Selling a timeshare or just getting rid of it is difficult. Selling or disposing of a timeshare encumbered by financing is impossible.
Place
Don’t buy a timeshare at a place to which you may not be able to afford to travel in future years. If you live in Maine, owning a timeshare in California may not be a good idea. Just the airfare to get you and your family members to California each year may eventually seem an expensive burden, even if you can afford it. Better to buy a timeshare in upstate New York. If you get tired of paying for airfare or if you can’t afford airfare any longer, you can drive to New York.
Airfare between major US cities is usually reasonably inexpensive. But airfare to smaller out-of-the-way cities that are gateways to resort areas is often quite expensive. Traveling to such a place once may not seem so expensive, but committing yourself to traveling to such a place every year may turn into a financial burden you will come to regret.
For most people, traveling outside the US is invariably more expensive than traveling within the continental US. Something to keep in mind.
Season
Don’t buy a low-season timeshare. You may save a few dollars, but you’ll get very little trading power for it and will find it almost impossible to sell or dispose of. Perhaps the one exception is the case where you prefer to visit the resort in the low season.
Transaction
Don’t buy a timeshare without having a proper closing. There are just too many pitfalls unless you’re a real estate attorney or otherwise knowledgeable in real estate dealings. Use an attorney’s office, a title insurance office, or a timeshare closing service to close a timeshare transaction. It’s not cheap, but it’s your only assurance that you will have a successful transaction.
Investment
Don’t buy a timeshare as an investment (to get a financial return). Most states have laws prohibiting timeshare salespeople from claiming that timeshares are good investments. The likelihood that you will get any return on your investment is nil.
On the other hand, if you feel that the timeshare you want to purchase is a good vacation-recreation investment, you should give serious consideration to buying it. The return on such an investment is measured in enjoyment rather than money.
Selling
Don’t pay anyone to sell your timeshare. They will claim to have a buyer, but they won’t sell your timeshare, and you won’t get the fee back. Be very skeptical of any scheme that purports to sell your timeshare for a payment. There are plenty of schemes, but they don’t work.
There is one selling service that may work for you if you can verify that the entity offering the service is one of integrity. It works this way. You pay them to take title to your free & clear timeshare. You give them a deed and register them with the resort developer as the new owner; you are thereby relieved of any further obligation. But such a service cost a lot, typically $4,000+, and the selling service will be fussy about which timeshares they will accept. In other words, you sell your timeshare for a negative price. In every case, such an arrangement should always be closed just like a normal sale of a timeshare.
Use
When you buy, don’t assume you’ll always visit your timeshare resort. Today’s excitement may be tomorrow’s boredom. Always have a strategy to use your timeshare to visit other resorts, to use it in a different way, or to convert it into another recreational activity such as a cruise.
Rules and Policies
Don’t ignore the rules and policies. Before you buy, review the rules and policies regarding timeshare use set by the resort developer or your HOA. You might be unpleasantly surprised. And don’t assume the rules will stay the same forever. See them as dynamic; that is, expect the rules and policies to change often. Don’t fall behind in keeping up with the changes. If there’s something you don’t like, complain to the resort developer or take it up with your HOA.
Plan
Don’t procrastinate on planning your timeshare use for next year today. Don’t let your timeshare get the best of you. Get the best out of your timeshare. You can usually do so only with advanced planning.
