Pros - Buying a timeshare resale makes more economical sense than purchasing a vacation home.
Most Americans only have 2 or 3 vacation weeks a year.
Why pay for 52 weeks to own some house but only enjoy it for 2 weeks? In addition, timeshare resales go for much cheaper than the original timeshares sold by developers.
Most retail timeshare properties depreciate in value by thousands of dollars the minute you buy them.
Often they are resold for pennies on the dollar by people desperate to dump a timeshare they can't get to just to get out of paying yearly maintenance fees.
From a maintenance point of view, you don't have to deal with the upkeep of the property.
There is always someone who has an eye on your property if anything goes wrong with it, which is not always true if you have a vacation home.
A timeshare is your guarantee.
If you're so busy during the year with your job, business or family that you don't have time to organize your vacation, then a timeshare would be perfect for you.
It will make it much easier for your planning if you already know when and where you're going and what your vacation budget is.
Timeshares are great for large families.
Instead of spending your money on booking extra hotel rooms, save your money and time by simply settling with a timeshare.
You will also save on food bills as most timeshares have full kitchens as well.
Many timeshare companies have some kind of an exchange program or points that will allow you to trade your timeshare unit with another.
This provides a great flexibility for your vacation by letting your choose a different location and time period.
This way you don't feel tied to the same place and time every year.
You can make some extra money by renting it out.
Some timeshare companies even allow you to rent out properties other than yours, provided you own a timeshare with that company.
You can rent out your unit or other units, your assigned time slot or other time slots.
Rent it to your relatives, friends, or strangers on eBay - that's up to you.
While timeshares are not investments, time share resales could be.
If you think a specific region will be more developed perhaps in 10 years and you believe the property values will go up there, purchasing a timeshare resale at a fraction of the original price may make a great financial sense.
Cons - Timeshare resales are not the original timeshare properties, so they may need more maintenance sooner rather than later.
Most timeshares already have high maintenance fees.
The typical maintenance fees are somewhere from $300 to $600 a month depending on the timeshare location and resort.
Maintenance fees can rise every year.
Many people who buy a time share forget about the yearly cost of the maintenance fees.
You might be locked into a limited time share contract.
Some timeshare resorts don't like when you rent your deed too much.
Some time share contracts may require that you can't rent, exchange or sell your place for a certain period of the year or for a number of years.
Your vacation schedule is not flexible.
If you do not have a popular time of year or location then you may not be able to exchange your timeshare and be stuck having to visit it every year.
Also, your timeshare company may not have a high timeshare exchange pool on its own, and may not participate with any other timeshare exchange company to swap time shares.
A timeshare means commitment.
Timesharing needs a commitment from the owner to pay the full cost upfront and also to pay the yearly maintenance fees on time.
While the cost of most timeshare resales is much lower than the original timeshare cost, the commitment is still required to pay this cost upfront and the maintenance fees every year.
Timeshare resales can be bad investments.
If you purchase a condo at a resort that is hit by a natural disaster such as a hurricane then, of course, it may depreciate in value.
Most Americans only have 2 or 3 vacation weeks a year.
Why pay for 52 weeks to own some house but only enjoy it for 2 weeks? In addition, timeshare resales go for much cheaper than the original timeshares sold by developers.
Most retail timeshare properties depreciate in value by thousands of dollars the minute you buy them.
Often they are resold for pennies on the dollar by people desperate to dump a timeshare they can't get to just to get out of paying yearly maintenance fees.
From a maintenance point of view, you don't have to deal with the upkeep of the property.
There is always someone who has an eye on your property if anything goes wrong with it, which is not always true if you have a vacation home.
A timeshare is your guarantee.
If you're so busy during the year with your job, business or family that you don't have time to organize your vacation, then a timeshare would be perfect for you.
It will make it much easier for your planning if you already know when and where you're going and what your vacation budget is.
Timeshares are great for large families.
Instead of spending your money on booking extra hotel rooms, save your money and time by simply settling with a timeshare.
You will also save on food bills as most timeshares have full kitchens as well.
Many timeshare companies have some kind of an exchange program or points that will allow you to trade your timeshare unit with another.
This provides a great flexibility for your vacation by letting your choose a different location and time period.
This way you don't feel tied to the same place and time every year.
You can make some extra money by renting it out.
Some timeshare companies even allow you to rent out properties other than yours, provided you own a timeshare with that company.
You can rent out your unit or other units, your assigned time slot or other time slots.
Rent it to your relatives, friends, or strangers on eBay - that's up to you.
While timeshares are not investments, time share resales could be.
If you think a specific region will be more developed perhaps in 10 years and you believe the property values will go up there, purchasing a timeshare resale at a fraction of the original price may make a great financial sense.
Cons - Timeshare resales are not the original timeshare properties, so they may need more maintenance sooner rather than later.
Most timeshares already have high maintenance fees.
The typical maintenance fees are somewhere from $300 to $600 a month depending on the timeshare location and resort.
Maintenance fees can rise every year.
Many people who buy a time share forget about the yearly cost of the maintenance fees.
You might be locked into a limited time share contract.
Some timeshare resorts don't like when you rent your deed too much.
Some time share contracts may require that you can't rent, exchange or sell your place for a certain period of the year or for a number of years.
Your vacation schedule is not flexible.
If you do not have a popular time of year or location then you may not be able to exchange your timeshare and be stuck having to visit it every year.
Also, your timeshare company may not have a high timeshare exchange pool on its own, and may not participate with any other timeshare exchange company to swap time shares.
A timeshare means commitment.
Timesharing needs a commitment from the owner to pay the full cost upfront and also to pay the yearly maintenance fees on time.
While the cost of most timeshare resales is much lower than the original timeshare cost, the commitment is still required to pay this cost upfront and the maintenance fees every year.
Timeshare resales can be bad investments.
If you purchase a condo at a resort that is hit by a natural disaster such as a hurricane then, of course, it may depreciate in value.
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