There are many advantages to owning a timeshare, but with any business venture it is wise to look at the pros and cons before purchasing.
- Monetary: Perhaps the main motive for buying a timeshare property is so that you can save yourself money over time. When you purchase your unit, you are in effect securing the cost of your future rentals at yesterday’s prices and will continue to reap the benefits for years to come.
- Frequent Vacations: It is proven that owning a timeshare encourages people to make the most of their vacation time. With a guaranteed week or specified season, owners are naturally encouraged to take advantage of having their accommodation already paid for.
- Best Locations: The larger, well established operators are experts in their field and choose the top destinations to develop their resorts. Most timeshare properties are favorably located in relation to restaurants and local attractions, meaning that your investment will be easy to rent should you wish to.
- Guaranteed Dates: If you buy a fixed week, you are guaranteed the dates that you want every year. You no longer have to battle to get accommodation at super high rates during the summer vacations or the holiday seasons.
Pros
- Long Term Investment: If you do not take a vacation every year you will probably not make your timeshare investment back as quickly. You will need to make sure that you rent your timeshare unit when you are not using it to secure a good return.
- Same Location: You might not want to return to the same location every year and wish to travel to a different destination. You will need to join a vacation club or exchange your timeshare privately.
- Resale Scams: You need to be careful not to fall into the trap of resale scams, which can occur when you receive a call offering a great price for your timeshare. You are then asked to pay a fee to receive the potential buyer’s information.
Cons
The timeshare industry has been into the lion’s mouth for the last couple of years, and it has generated lots of controversy and discussions in many forums and blogs on the web. However, since we’re living an economic downturn, anyone would expect that the timeshare sales collapse, but instead of that the sales seem to be increasing… but this comes with a trap: timeshare scams are increasing too. That leads us to the question: then, why keep people investing on timeshares?
Ever since the whole timeshare concept was created, the industry has been known for being very susceptible for scams. Timeshare ownership, however, can be a good purchase for people who enjoy traveling to the same vacation spot every year, but the truth is, that timeshares are not for most people, nor an financial investment either.
Unfortunately, most timeshares are sold in a high-pressure environment. Timeshare salespeople take advantage of vacationers, especially of those who are less able to resist hard and misleading sales practices.
Timeshare scams have been around since the beginning of the timeshare industry, but these frauds weren’t well known until recent years. What happen is that before there were not as many timeshare laws and regulations as there are now (as you can see on the article get out of a timeshare legally so many of the owners just resigned to the fact that they had to keep the timeshare they bought without thinking.