Travel and Leisure Articles

While the timeshare industry doesn’t have the best reputation for being completely forthcoming about how timeshares actually work, usually a lot of what the sales person says can be regarded as hype rather than outright fraud. Unfortunately though, this isn’t the case in Mexico where fraud is pretty commonplace in timeshare sales.

If you purchase a timeshare during a tour in Mexico, you should be aware that Mexican law requires a 5 business day cooling off period for timeshare purchases. This is also known as the rescission period. But getting this rescission period honored by the timeshare sales force is another matter all together.

Most of the fraud that occurs in the Mexican timeshare industry has to do with the rescission period. It is not uncommon that this law is completely ignored and some timeshare resorts require you to sign your rights away even though Mexican law does not allow this either.

Let me reiterate. The “cooling off” period is a right guaranteed to you by Mexican law and you cannot waive this right away, even though many timeshare sales personnel will insist that you must do so. It does not matter if they are selling you a “used” timeshare or if you are turning in a timeshare you own to cover part of the purchase price. You still have the right to cancel the sale within five business days.

Of course, enforcing the rights you do have is another matter altogether. If you do find yourself in a situation where you are trying to cancel the purchase of a timeshare that you bought in Mexico, make sure to contact your credit card company and dispute the charges if you paid by credit card.

In addition to your credit card company, you should also immediately contact Mexico’s consumer protection department, called Profeco. Their phone number is (+52) 55 5211-1723. You will need to send them a complaint letter and fill out some paperwork, but they will be a big help making sure that you get your money back, though it may take a while.

This is just another reason why I would recommend buying your Mexican timeshare from Ebay or another reseller located in the US rather than buying it in Mexico itself. You will save money and a great deal of hassle.

Having a timeshare is a great investment in my book. I mean how many things out there work around the same principle as a timeshare? But you know, sometimes things can go wrong financially. It happens to us all, so don’t feel embarrassed. Since these property types are so popular, what you could do is sell yours to make some extra cash.

You may run into some problems selling your timeshare though, especially if your timeshare is in not one of the more popular places (although we all still end up settling for Branson Missouri). Also, seasonal reasons make it difficult to sell a timeshare. The best thing to do is to dress up your timeshare in order to sell your timeshare. Think of it as painting the walls of your house and getting a bigger offer for selling it.

Before even starting selling your timeshare, make sure you locate all documentation related to your timeshare. Do yourself a favor and buy a filing folder from Walmart to keep your timeshare information. Some of you probably have a Right to Use timeshare (RTU) and others may actually have the deed (which is much more attractive when selling your timeshare).

Just like selling a house, selling a timeshare comes with similar help: real estate agencies or timeshare selling places. Both, like selling a house will usually involve forking out some cash to cover commissions. But still, sometimes you should leave the selling of your timeshare to the professionals.

tip: Try eBay to plug your sale. Chances are you can get a fair market value for your property.

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything in life and they vary from person to person. You will need to consider whether buying a timeshare suits your personal lifestyle and finances. Will you be investing your hard-earned nest egg or only a small part of your overall worth? Whatever your situation, however, any intelligent investor will certainly scrutinize the pros and cons of the investment carefully.

Looking at the advantages first - To start with, timeshares are clearly far more economical than buying a piece of real estate for a lifetime if, realistically, you are only going to end up using the property once a year. If you spent $200,000 on a property compared to investing a much lower amount, say $10,000 plus $500 annual maintenance fees, in a timeshare property over 30 years the maths would look like this:

$10,000 (initial purchase) + 30 years x $500 (fees) = $25,000 for 30 years

The total saving would be $175,000 compared to a real estate property! Quite a sum! How much of a good investment is it to put that much money into a property used so little?

Now let’s also compare this with staying in a hotel for 30 years. We’ll use a modest $1,200 per year as our base cost:

$1,200 hotel costs per annum x 30 year lifetime = $36,000 (still $11,000 more than the $25,000 timeshare costs over 30 years!)

Not only do you save money but you still have all the home comforts of staying in your own place rather than a hotel suite. Typically, today’s timeshare condos have two or three bedrooms, a couple of bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room and its own laundry room…and last but certainly not least - an indoor or outdoor pool! Add all this to everything the resort has to offer and you have the perfect combination of home comforts and full facilities.

If you have a timeshare the hassle of dealing with general upkeep of the condo is all dealt with by the developer. Gone is the constant worry of the maintenance needed on a piece of real estate property.

Also, if you or your partner are bad at scheduling vacation time, with a timeshare you will definitely make a point of taking at least one vacation a year! What could be more relaxing than planning a trip to your own timeshare condo?

Most timeshare developers are linked to other timeshare companies which greatly facilitates timeshare exchange - yet another reason why people are so keen to buy timeshares.

If we talk a little about the disadvantages of timeshare, unfortunately it’s a sector that has seen its share of fraudsters of late and been plagued with scammers. Stories abound of people being hit with unethical, pressurized selling techniques after having innocently attended free seminars about timeshare. Steer clear of these scams. Do read all paperwork carefully before signing it and pay attention to the fine print! Do your research and find out who the timeshare company is before you buy.

If you pay a large deposit you may be losing interest on any moneys you’ve borrowed, plus you will also be paying the maintenance costs.

Probably the biggest disadvantage is the lack of appreciation. Timeshares don’t tend to appreciate in value and can even depreciate over time. They are also more difficult to resell than real estate property.

One final point is that the lack of flexibility of timeshares may not suit everybody as you are necessarily tied to using it each year at a specific time. Although some companies offer flexibility you are always competing with many other timeshare owners who may be planning to take their holiday at the same time.

Real Estate agents say Florida timeshares are an excellent way to invest your money due to the continued economic growth, the stress free lifestyle and ever increasing number of tourists. Agents suggest any spot in Florida proves to be a good choice.

Florida is not just one of the most popular American destinations throughout the world but also a hotspot for American residents when picking their annual holiday. The theme parks attract families, young people and couples. Also it’s important to consider that the climate, lifestyle and beautiful beaches attract everybody of every age.

Having a timeshare ensures you of a good vacation and a good investment…

Those who sell timeshares can boast of the fact that Florida is one of those rare places where you can get away from all the buzz and clamor of the life in the metropolis. An additional benefit is having excellent access to local amenities twenty-four hours a day.

With its friendly residents, a tourist or a new settler can say that he is at home. If you have a timeshare, you can look forward to a wonderful vacation. You can really maximize your stay by just thinking about where, when and with whom you want to be with.

With a timeshare, you won’t have to worry about where you would stay, just about the next time you can go. You will instantly meet other timeshare owners and Florida will indeed become your second home as well as an excellent short term and long term investment.

Are you interested in an investment that can not only guarantee you and your family a great vacation each year, but also it will provide you with some extra income? There is a way to get all of this out of your time share. By getting a time share in Disney world, time share rental can become easy. You can do the following to get your vacation and your income.

First, take your free trip down to Disney World by finding a resort online that will offer you a free stay if you go through their presentation. This is a great way to check out what you are really getting. At the presentation you will need to hold out until the sales person brings in a manager to help close the deal. This is their final offer and will be the lowest number they will give you.

Second, make sure you buy at least two weeks maybe even three or four. Also, get the largest possible unit because this will give you some serious leverage. Plus if you have a large unit you can even share it on your own vacation with family or friends. This can also allow you to charge rent when you vacation. This can help pay for your plane tickets and other extras on your trip.

Last, after you have your Disney World time share rental you will be able to rent it out on the weeks you are not using it and make a very nice income off of it. You can make between $1,500 and $4,000 each and every week that you rent it out so if you have 4 weeks and use it for one of them, then you have income for three other weeks. Plus you still own the time share and can sell it eventually.

Many people ask “what is fractional ownership?” and the closely related question “Is it timeshare? In this article I will attempt to answer these questions. This article is concerned exclusively with the fractional ownership of leisure/luxury assets. However most of the principles would apply equally to the fractional ownership of a practical item (e.g. for business).

Definition of Fractional Ownership

In its broadest definition, fractional ownership is any arrangement where a group of people (numbering from 2 to 10 or more) share the ownership of an asset and also share certain rights to use the asset. The use of the word “ownership” in the definition therefore excludes timeshare arrangements, where there is no ownership of the underlying asset. Unfortunately however, some so-called fractional ownership schemes are closer to timeshare than they are to true fractional ownership. When investigating whether to purchase a fraction it is essential to know what your relationship to the asset purchased is. The best arrangement is to be identified as the legal joint owner of the asset (or in the case of multiple assets, the owning organization).

Types of Fractional Ownership

The most cost-effective form is where a group of individuals decide to purchase an asset jointly. They then decide on the exact asset to be purchased, draw up ownership documents (perhaps with the help of a legal firm) and purchase and manage the asset themselves. This avoids the sometimes substantial profit-margin that developers charge when selling fractional properties. This approach does have disadvantages, e.g. the amount of paperwork involved and the possibility of falling out with your fellow fraction owners (over cleaning, maintenance etc.)

Second in terms of cost-effectiveness would be a developer or owner-led scheme, where the individual fractions were being sold direct from the developer/owner (but where there were no expensive additional services bundled with the purchase). There will have to be a profit-margin associated with this type of arrangement, since the developer/owner is incurring additional legal and administrative costs. If fractions can be sold individually (without all the fractions of an asset being sold) then they are also taking the risk of having unsold fractions tying up their capital.

The above schemes blur into the next category, which I will call clubs. These are sometimes called Ownership Clubs, Private Residence Clubs, Destination Clubs etc. etc. Where they differ from simple developer/owner-led schemes is in the level of luxury/services provided and (sometimes) in the level of ownership. None of these terms have a particular legal meaning so it is up to the purchaser to investigate issues of ownership, booking arrangements, exit arrangements etc. A the extreme end of this group there are some similarities with Timeshare -so be warned!

How Much is it Costing Me?

Here I don’t mean in absolute terms, I mean how much is it costing in excess of the amount that I would have paid for the asset as a whole. Always try and do a comparison with a similar asset purchased outright to gain an idea of what the developer/owner’s additional costs and profits are. At the very least it might help you to negotiate a better price if you do decide to buy! You can and should do a similar comparison on the management fees (and pay special attention to any rights to vary them in the future).

Conclusion

True fractional ownership isn’t timeshare, but some of the schemes marketed as fractional ownership are. Be warned and do your homework if thinking about purchasing.

Are you looking for the perfect vacation for you and your family? Do you want to vacation without having to get a hotel or deal with all the amenities that you cannot get with a hotel like a kitchen, separate bedrooms, and more? If so, then time share rental is the best way to go. There are plenty of owners ready to rent to you and you need to understand how to get the best deal for you.

First, if you are looking for a time share to rent you will want to be a bit flexible with your destination. This will help you get the best price on your vacation. Pick three to five different vacation destinations and start your search for a time share in one of those areas to rent.

Second, if you can be a bit flexible with when you go, then you can also save money by booking a few weeks out. The closer the week gets the more willing the owner will be to negotiate on the price. They are not using it for a reason and sometimes they will be more willing to deal to get something out of it instead of nothing and let the week go unused.

Third, make sure you do negotiate. Offer half of what they are looking for and then work from there. Expect to be able to get a price that is closer to about 80% of what they are asking and if you can get that, then you are getting a great deal and you should take it. This is a great way to get your vacation and time share rental is a great way to keep your entire family entertained when you vacation.

Timeshares

Surprisingly, timeshare has been in existence as a concept since the 1960s. A ski resort owner in France decided that owning a set amount of time in a resort each year was a much more practical way to have a holiday than renting. Over time his idea became popular, and the timeshare concept has steadily grown in popularity ever since, particularly in the USA.

Why do people buy and use timeshare? When you buy a timeshare, you become owner a tiny part of the property, and for many people they like the feeling of security and ownership that gives them. Maintenance and other ownership costs are split amongst all the property owners, and generally the owners will combine to hire a professional manager to take care of the resort.

Once you own timeshare, you’re guaranteed to have that amount of time in the resort each year, which can be a big plus if it’s a very popular resort. When the resort’s a little quiet, they may offer extra weeks to owners at a much cheaper rate than normal rental weeks. The biggest benefits for most people, however, is that you can exchange your own week at your resort for a week at an entirely different resort. This is great if you don’t really want to vacation in the same place every year. You can exchange into resorts all over the world, which an enormous range of places and climates to choose from. So it will take a long time to run out of places you’d like to visit.

Timeshares also offer a quality vacation. Many timeshare resorts are of the highest quality, incorporating luxury features within the accommodation itself, and many extra resort facilities such as tennis courts and swimming pools. The variety is astonishing, and I’ve always been impressed with the resorts I’ve visited, both in terms of quality and facilities. Even in the short time I’ve owned a week of timeshare, I’ve stayed in a luxury Hawaiian beachside apartment, a chalet in the Canadian Rockies, by a peaceful lake in New Zealand and beautiful Australian bush setting.

Sometimes, a timeshare resort will set up an agreement with other timeshares, which means you get access to cheap weeks at the other resorts as well. If you find you don’t want to use your week one year, you can let family or friends use it. All you need to do is pay the annual maintenance fee. There are timeshare resorts available all over the USA, so you should be able to find one relatively close by. You can usually arrange a free tour, or even stay for the weekend at a reduced rate if you’re thinking of buying a week at the resort. During your stay it’s a good idea to talk to other owners and get their feedback. Timeshares can be a wonderful vacation option, so do you research and make sure you buy wisely, if you decide a timeshare is right for you.

You will read many articles that will tell you that time shares are a horrible investment and you cannot get much out of them when you sell them, but these are just people that have heard horror stories. You have to consider the entire picture and know how to treat your timeshare.

First, when you go to buy your time share you need to have a plan. You should start by taking advantage of the free vacation they will give you. They will give you a free 3 night 4 day vacation to get you on their property. Take advantage of this since all you will have to cover is airfare and extras.

Next, know when to accept their offer and buy the timeshare. I have sat through dozens of time share presentations and they are all very similar. The sales representative will show you everything and go over all the benefits and features with you. Then, they will give you a price and cut it in half or so.

They make it look like a great deal and it is a good deal, but they can do better. At this point if you act like you are not going to buy they will do one of two things: either get a manager to drop the price or drop the price themselves. You need to keep pushing until they get a manager to come over to your table.

The manager will be able to give you the final and lowest offer possible. This will give you a huge savings compared to the first number that was presented to you and you will have your time share for a rock bottom price.

Last, you need to take advantage of the network that the timeshare comes with This allows you to get discounts at other resorts around the world. You can transfer your time or you can just buy time in another one. You also need to rent your timeshare out when you decide not to use it.

OVer a 20 year period of ownership if you use your time share 10 times and rent it out the other 10 times you can make every cent you have in it back from renting it out plus get 10 vacations out of it. This is how you get your money out of a time share and, then you can sell it for a little more when you are done with it.

A timeshare is a real estate offering giving you a share of the ownership of a vacation property. It allows you access to all the amenities of the timeshare property and a place to call your own during vacations. Tourist destinations all over the world and in the United States have these offers to buy into a house condo, or apartment block.

If owning a vacation home is not financially realistic a timeshare may be a more budget friendly choice. Look at it this way, if you did buy a vacation home how often would you use it. Does it make financial sense to own a home that is only used maybe two times a year?

A timeshare allows you to divide the cost of owning a vacation home with other people who enjoy vacationing at the same location. You get to enjoy all the amenities during your time there at the fraction of the cost. The only drawback to this way of vacationing is scheduling your time at your destination. In some cases you will have to be flexible as to when you go, but you should know far enough in advance the dates when you can use your timeshare and plan accordingly. This of course keeps you from showing up at the same time as one of your co-owners.

There are many different ways to buy into a timeshare and which one you choose will depend on your vacation budget and how much you are comfortable spending. You can set up your plan depending how much you wish to use your vacation timeshare as well.

If you want to stay there one week a year you could do a 1/52 plan. If cost is an issue you might consider once every other year which would be a 1/104 plan. Of course if you really like going on vacation and go 4 weeks out of every year you would go with a 1/13 plan.

For the most flexibility you want to seek out a timeshare that is purchased through a sales service. This way you do not have to seek out co-owners on your own. By paying for a limited ownership you will only be making payments for a year or two. You can also sale you stake in the timeshare at anytime.

Buying a vacation timeshare can be a great option if you like to vacation in the same area every year or so. It\’s a good way to save on lodging costs and offers the convenience of a home which makes a vacation all that more enjoyable.