Considering buying a timeshare – Read on

Buying anything in life should involve an element of research. From a £100 mobile phone to a £6,000 flat screen TV, it pays to look at both the product, a market comparison and customer reviews, that way we all get a better understanding of whether we are about to make a mistake, or be 100% satisfied with what we buy.

In the world of timeshare, we aren’t looking at the numbers above but a whole lot more. In Europe, entry level timeshare is now hovering around the £20,000 mark. In the USA it’s nearer $24,000. Now for that kind of expenditure we would assume a good deal more research is needed before signing on the dotted line. Unfortunately, from the majority of comments TCA receive scant little research is ever carried out before signing on the said dotted line.

It’s fair to say that the primary reason for this is the sales process used by timeshare developers. Locked in a room for many hours, bombarded with all the positive reasons why you should buy, in an extremely high pressure environment, given scant opportunity to look, understand and really dig down about what the product actually is and how it will benefit you or otherwise if you purchase.

Whilst timeshare as a product does have some positives, unfortunately these are overwhelmed by the negatives. The major problem with the negatives is you never actually find out what they are until you are an owner, and then it’s too late.

Sales staff at resorts will never look at the negatives; you can’t blame them for that as their job is to get a deal. Painting a less than rosy picture of the product will hardly help that quest. So if they won’t do it, it’s up to TCA to do the job for them. Below are some of the points the sales team won’t tell you, but should be taken into account before committing to buy in.

Reasons not to buy

1. You don’t have to buy a timeshare to use one. Timeshares are easy to rent, either directly through the timeshare company or, for those looking to save money, through third-party online booking sites such as Tripadvisor, Expedia or Booking.com.
2. Timeshares are still far too expensive. As we stated above, the average price for a single timeshare week sold by developers at sales presentations is in the tens of thousands, and don’t forget that’s at entry level. At higher end resorts, such as the Hilton Elara in Las Vegas, a typical points package would be nearer £48,000 ($60,000).
3. Timeshare maintenance fees are payable every year, whether you use your timeshare or not. In addition to the upfront purchase price, owners have to pay annual maintenance fees that, on average, are currently £1,000 per year and will only increase annually with no cap or upper limit.
4. Timeshares come with long term contracts,  in some cases they are in perpetuity. The contracts are one-sided (because they were written by and for developers) and often include NO cancellation clauses for buyers who might have medical or financial hardships in the future (which is extremely common).
5. A timeshare purchase should never be considered a financial investment. Timeshares have little to no resale value. A timeshare that cost £20,000 can easily be found on the resale market for as little as £1!
6. No buy back or take back policy. Only in rare occasions will developers take back unwanted timeshare, let alone buy it back.
7. Availability is a perennial problem. Because of the now industry standard points system, there are too many points owners and not enough inventory to go round, especially in prime resorts at prime times.
8. The licence to lie. Often what is said by the resort sales team doesn’t come to fruition. Developers will vehemently deny that their sales team lie or at best embellish the truth.

TCA comment

Running blind into an expensive long term contract such as timeshare is something to be avoided at all cost. You may ponder for hours over whether it’s Apple or Android phones but even if you choose the wrong one, the financial damage is small and easy to repair. Spending upwards of £20,000 is a whole different ball game.

In this article we have only pointed out in brief some of the major potential pitfalls of buying/owning timeshare, there are more but for the purposes of this article we hope we have made it clear that you need to carry out as much research as is earthly possible.

Remember, if you do attend a timeshare presentation, the sales staff will try every trick in the book to get you to sign up on the day but don’t. Despite being told the offer on the table is only available today, it isn’t, it will be there tomorrow, the day after and for eternity, as long as there is still timeshare.

Take your time, research then research again and only if you are 100% sure that what’s on offer is good for you, then buy. If you are in the slightest doubt, walk away.

For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk