Why Your Timeshare Has Negative Value

If you have purchased a timeshare you are not alone.  Over 7 million timeshares are currently owned. Over 9 billion dollars are made each year on timeshares. 

When someone purchases a timeshare they personally guarantee that they will pay the timeshare resort a yearly fee for the rest of their life or as long as they own the timeshare.  This yearly cost is usually equal to or greater than the cost of renting a comparable condo in the same resort. The resort calls this cost the homeowner’s association fee or the yearly maintenance fee. The timeshare owner has virtually no control over the amount set each year for this fee. This fee can vary in amount each a year without any limitation. The timeshare resort usually sets this fee each year. This fee is generally greater than the cost of simply renting a similar room or condo in the same resort each year. Did I mention that the owner is legally liable for this fee each year for the rest of their life and the life of their heirs as long as they own the timeshare? After purchasing a timeshare sooner or later the owners realize that they can’t give it away. The timeshare resort has sold them a poison pill, a tar baby that no-one in their right mind would ever want.

A timeshare owner eventually discovers that he can’t sell his timeshare or even rent his timeshare to cover the cost of the yearly maintenance fee. This leaves the timeshare owner with a severely limited set of choices. He can pay the yearly maintenance fee and use his timeshare week or not use his timeshare week and still pay the yearly maintenance fee. Did I mention that the owners have personally guaranteed that they will make these yearly payments for the rest of their life?

When purchasing a timeshare the potential buyers are never shown an independent appraisal of the timeshare. Any other form of real estate purchased these days allows the buyer to receive an appraisal before closing the sale. Maybe an independent appraisal would have shown the timeshare purchasers they were paying for something that was in reality worthless. A true independent appraisal would properly have shown the value of the timeshare to be negative. A timeshare represents a guaranteed yearly cost in return for the use of a hotel room or condo. A comparable condo can often be found being rented by the same timeshare resort to anyone for less than the owner’s yearly maintenance fee.

The timeshare industry has skillfully laid out traps for the unwary vacationer. Timeshare resorts target vacationers and convince them to make an impulsive “feel good” purchase. Timeshare resorts are known for their hardball sales tactics. The owners of timeshares are more likely than not simply victims of these hardball sales tactics.

An owner of a timeshare eventually discovers that they can't rent or sell their timeshare. The owner can only use the week he owns each and every year so long as he has pre-paid the yearly maintenance fees. If they ever want to transfer their timeshare the owner finds out that there are only very limited choices available.

If an owner attempts to rent their timeshare they will quickly find that their timeshare resort is in direct competition with them. Not only is the timeshare resort renting similar units out cheaper than it costs the timeshare owner each year in maintenance fees, the resort will not assist the owners in renting their timeshares. If the timeshare owners somehow do rent their timeshare then there are usually additional fees they must pay to the resort. After all, this means one less room the timeshare resort can rent from its vacant timeshare inventory. An owner can spend many years and lots of up front charges to find out that they can't rent their timeshare. Even if they are lucky and do find a renter for their timeshare the timeshare resort still receives this rent in the form of the yearly maintenance fee. This is a good result for the resort not so good for the owner.

A timeshare resort is indistinguishable from a hotel. There is no difference other than the words used to describe identical objects. A hotel is instead called a timeshare resort. Hotel guests are called timeshare owners.  Instead of a free hotel reservation the timeshare owner is given a piece of paper called a timeshare deed and in return pays money upfront for their timeshare ownership and then guarantees they will rent the same week for the rest of their life or for as long as they remain the owners.  A great deal for the timeshare resort and a bad deal for the timeshare owners.

A person can call a hotel and reserve a room in advance for one week at any time. The hotel charges no extra cost for the reservation. The reservation is for free. This is because a hotel is in the business of selling rooms and a reservation is simply a promise of a future sale. There is no charge for a reservation.  The hotel is happy to reserve a room in the hope of later renting it. Most hotels average a 20% vacancy at any one time which means that every day at least 20% of the rooms go unrented. 

Just like hotels, timeshare resorts always have a large amount of vacant rooms that they are constantly trying to rent. Just like any hotel anyone can reserve a timeshare condo in advance for no additional fee.  The reality is that the occasional renter pays less to rent a comparable timeshare than the timeshare owner pays the resort each year in maintenance fees for the dubious privilege of ownership.

If a person tries to sell his timeshare he will find that there is virtually no resale market for timeshares. A quick tour on E-BAY looking for comparable property can be helpful.  If a person goes online and searches for timeshares on E-bay they will see page after page of timeshares for sale for $1.00. These are past victims desperately trying to pass the fraud forward hoping someone will take the financial burden off of their hands. The truth is that timeshares are simply little more than a yearly financial burden. Timeshares can’t be given away. Who would want to receive a yearly financial burden even as a gift?

Timeshare owners desperately trying to rent or sell their timeshares are frequently targeted for scams. There are plenty of businesses who will charge an upfront fee to list a timeshare for sale but will not tell the owner that there is no re-sale market.  There are also scammers promising to rent a person’s timeshare for an upfront payment. After the payment is made the renter is never produced.

After the timeshare owner purchases the timeshare they will find that they can't sell or rent their timeshare to anyone.  The only way out for most people is to pass the fraud forward to an unsuspecting person. At the TIMESHARE DUMP we offer another alternative.

At the TIMESHARE DUMP we directly take on the liability for the timeshare by taking title to the timeshare deed. We charge a flat fee and we relieve the timeshare owner from the yearly financial burden of ownership by accepting the timeshare deed without conditions. At the TIMESHARE DUMP we have the knowledge and experience to dispose of your timeshare efficiently without any further cost to the timeshare owner.