The Costs Behind Timeshare Ownership

When consumers look to purchase a Timeshare, they are naturally concerned with one major factor, the alleged savings. By owning a portion of the location, one is led to believe they are entitled to a discount on booking costs, included packages, and getting exclusive deals not normally offered to the public. This is far from the truth however, and Timeshares usually cost owners roughly 400-1000% more than a regular vacationer would pay to book the room or resort online.  Even the promise of ownership itself is a falsehood meant to appeal to the emotions of prospective consumers.

Hidden Fees

The theory behind the deception is a simple one, getting consumers to pay annually or even monthly for a property they may only utilize for one week out of the year. It begins in small increments, an affordable monthly payment that appears to be a fraction of the cost for a normal booking. What the resorts do not make clear is the high interest rates and additional charges of “maintenance fees”, that will inevitably rise with every passing year as well as the span of time they expect one to continue paying for life, and perhaps beyond. Rates are raised unexpectedly while bogus charges are added within existing fees, quickly spiraling to larger and larger payments. What seemed like a good deal at the time becomes a consuming debt as years go on. This process begs an important question to the consumer, “Are you truly an owner, or a renter?”

The Issue of Ownership

The historical definition of a timeshare was a joint purchasing of property rights from multiple patrons through a divided form of ownership, where each owner was granted the usual rights of owning a property outright while reserving a specific time for personal use. Over time, this definition has greatly changed, and rarely is a timeshare sold as anything but a ‘partial use’ in a points program. Guaranteeing only the right to book a room somewhere, and nothing else. A timeshare owner enjoys none of the rights and benefits that are granted by owning the portion of the resort claiming to be sold, and even then, proper deeds of ownership are rarely ever given out to consumers. Beware of Sham Deeds that look real, but only are a ‘point system’. A Timeshare owner is in a worse situation as an average vacationer who books a location a year any time they want online, versus a timeshare ‘owner’ that is forced to book a year in advance. The vacationer pays as they stay, while the owner is buried under predatory fees, as per a contractual agreement. Booking restrictions may be placed on owners, such as 11-month wait periods and unexplained non-availability. With miles of red tape and rising fees, can you claim to own anything at all?

The resorts have a vested interest in concealing the total cost one should expect to pay for the actual use of a timeshare annually, which in some cases, can easily exceed ten times the online rates.

To learn more about the total costs of a Timeshare, visit, https://thetimesharelawfirm.com/

To schedule a consultation, contact The Timeshare Law Firm at, 321-224-1111