There are a
number of benefits to buying a timeshare, including having a place to call your
own when you travel so you can opt out of paying for expensive hotels, being
able to build equity, and being able to claim special tax advantages. You can
get many of those benefits from owning a vacation home, as well. However, there
are many benefits you can get from owning a timeshare that you can't get from
owning a vacation home.
Here are a
few benefits that buying a timeshare has over buying a vacation home:
Timeshares are More Affordable
A condominium
in South Beach or a nice cottage in Martha's Vineyard would make awesome
vacation homes, but they'll also cost you an arm and a leg. Vacation homes are
often way out of most people's budgets. However, a timeshare can give you the
chance to own a piece of that dream vacation home.
Most
timeshares are much more affordable than buying the vacation home by yourself.
You can enjoy that luxury vacation home without having to pay full price for
it.
You Pay for What You Use
When you buy
a vacation home, you are responsible for the mortgage, taxes and upkeep all
year long. However, you may only end up staying in the home a few weeks out of
the year (at most). You may not want to rent it out in order to keep it
available for when you like it. The house could go unused for the majority of
the year.
With a
timeshare, you only pay for what you use. You pay a portion of the ownership
costs, and you get access to the property for a corresponding amount of time.
You Share Responsibility
Caring for a
second home is a big responsibility -- especially when you don't live in it.
You can have to pay for and manage the upkeep, including cleaning, repairs,
utilities, and so on. It can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.
When you own
a timeshare, you share that responsibility with the others who own the house.
You only care for the house as long as you are staying in it, significantly
reducing your burden for responsibility.
You Can Trade It
If you own a
timeshare in the Outer Banks but you decide you're tired of spending your
vacation there every year, you can trade your timeshare for the chance to stay
somewhere else. You can use a timeshare network to trade with another timeshare
owner to stay in a more exotic location.
If you own a
vacation home, you are tied to that location. House swaps are possible, but
they are not as easy to arrange as timeshare trades.
Owning a
vacation home is a luxury that many people dream of but that few are able to
afford. Timeshares are more affordable and offer owners a number of other
benefits over vacation homes.
What do you
think are the best benefits of owning a timeshare instead of a vacation home?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
About the
Author:
Carmen Guzlas
is a writer and manager for Movoto, where she has recently been researching Real
Estate in San Jose.
Her main hobbies are making soup (daily!) and hiking with her dog.
4 comments:
Yes, the nice thing about time shares is that you can stay somewhere else every time you use it. Mexico, Los Angeles, Florida, etc.
Follow the next steps to know how to buy a timeshare appropriately:
Be aware about the numbers: Timeshares are an expensive purchase, and a complicated product, therefore, they cannot be entered into lightly. The average price of a timeshare is $20,000 usd, that without considering the yearly fees. Be sure that you will be able to afford the unit. Be also sure that the resort (and the location) where you are buying has a good reputation and that it entirely pleases you.
Do not believe everything you hear during the timeshare presentation: Timeshare presentations are known for being extremely high-pressure and for using misleading sales tactics. You will be told that a timeshare is a good investment, that you can travel all over the world with it, that you can sell it easily, that you can rent your weeks in case you cannot use them. Those statements are not true. Ask as many questions as possible and be sure that all the verbal promises are written in the contract.
Be an informed buyer: Find out everything you can about fractional ownership: How it works, how much the maintenance fees are, how much they can rise, how robust is the resale market, how to cancel a timeshare, what are your timeshare cancellation rights, among other things.
Thousands of International travelers, particularly from the US and Canada, have fallen victims oftimeshare fraud while vacationing in Mexico. Resort developers hire skilled salesmen to represent their timeshares as many different attractive packages, such as financial investments, deeded properties, or vacation clubs, just to increase their sales.
Natalie...while I respect your comments, it is important to note that it is wrong to paint the entire country of Mexico and all of the timeshares there as scams. It is NOT the case.
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