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Tip!
Choose the right company. There are many timeshare sellers out there,
and unfortunately, some are scams.
Why pay more than you need? Non
rated resorts in high demand areas will trade just fine into Gold Crown
and 5-Star resorts.
There is a myth out there that you have
to own Gold Crown or 5-Star to exchange for same. This is not true. In
fact ownership in rated resorts can actually LIMIT your exchange!
Tip!
Get exposure. Choose a company that will expose your timeshare to the
most potential buyers.
2. Buy in a High Demand Area.
By far the single most important factor
in determining trade power is location, location, location!
Remember that past demand for a
particular resort is the key factor built into the exchange company
software which determines what you will be offered in exchange.
Examples of high demand areas are
Hawaii, California Coastal, Palm Springs Winter, Florida Coastal and
Orlando, the Caribbean, Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Myrtle Beach, Hilton
Head Island, ski areas, - in short, any area that is short of timeshare
space relative to a high number of people wanting to vacation in that
area.
Tip!
It is a very good idea to actually see the timeshare you are buying.
Some timeshare resellers may “talk up” their timeshare.
3. Buy Prime Season
If you buy prime season, you won't be
restricted as to what time of the year you can request to exchange - you
can request any time of year for your destination resort.
4. Buy in a Resort That Has a
Reasonable Maintenance Fee.
Since maintenance fees go on forever,
don't buy in a resort with an extra high maintenance fee. (Unless
perhaps you can buy truly below bargain-basement price.)
5. Buy as Inexpensively as Possible.
Remember that your goal is to minimize
your cost; It is easy to lose focus and start assigning importance to
features that have nothing to do with how well the timeshare will
exchange.
You may not even like the timeshare,
but who cares?
If it is located in a hotly-demanded
area and you buy inexpensively, it will serve well to trade you into the
finest resorts. When you save thousands of dollars by buying it, you can
trade for may decades before the exchange fees would equal what you
saved by buying right in the first place!
6. Buy Through a Licensed Real Estate
Broker.
It can hardly be imagined the number of
problems and challenges that come up in performing what would seem to be
a very simple transfer of ownership.
A licensed Broker has a lot to lose if
dealing fraudulently with the public, unfortunately the same cannot be
said if you deal with individual sellers or non-licensed companies, so
why do it? Be sure all funds are held in a Trust Account until closing.
Other complaints involve issues
surrounding the yearly maintenance fee. Some critics talk of ever
escalating fees that owners cannot afford, and the resulting financial
pressure prohibits them from keeping their weeks. In the worst cases,
there are maintenance fees, homeowners' fees, rental fees, fees for
trading weeks, property taxes (depending on location), and an
assortment of hidden fees that buyers were not aware of when they
first bought their timeshares. In addition, if a resort suffers as a a
result of a natural disaster, it may need some special assessments to
recover it..
7. Receive Title Insurance, If it Is
Available.
Title Insurance is available on most
deeded timeshare purchases. It is your assurance that you are receiving
clear title with no liens or judgements attached to the property.
8. Verify the Details of Your First
Year's Use.
Many misunderstandings in a timeshare
purchase center around as to when the buyer can first use the timeshare,
whether the week is banked, and many other details. Whatever your
understanding is, have it verified in writing with the exchange company,
the resort management company, and the seller.
9. After the Sale Closes, Verify That
the Change of Ownership Gets Done on the Resort Computer.
This is a crucial step, because it is
common for the resort to either take a long time, or forget entirely to
make the ownership change on the computer.
A separate concept not addressed in
this article, involves buying where the intention is to primarily use
the timeshare in a very select upscale luxury system of resorts, which
warrants paying far higher prices. These and other issues are covered in
the Timeshare Resales blog. You'll also learn what the Gold Crown rating
means and how it affects your buying logic.
There are also a lot of timeshare user
groups that form different forums. If you happen to have an interest
in purchasing a timeshare, you may want to check various internet
communities like Yahoo, AOL, Google. If you own a big point system,
those groups also provide a place to rent out your points or rent more
points from other owners.
Larry
is a Timeshare Industry Leader and has been a licensed realtor since
1969. He is the original No Upfront Fee broker, and has been quoted in
prestigious publications on and offline including the Washington Post.
Read more about how to buy (and sell) smarter with Timeshares at
http://www.alltimeshare.com/.
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