We
find a good percentage of individuals who find TUG are doing so before
making that first plunge into the Timeshare world as owners!
Another large percentage are those who have already made that
first purchase, but have discovered that perhaps it was not ideal for
their situation, or after enough time, just simply does not fit their
Timeshare "dream" any longer! This guide is not going to
answer
all possible questions for you as they are simply limitless, but
instead act as a road map of sorts to at least point you in the right
direction to do your research before your next purchase!
If
there is one thing to take away from this article before you even go
any further, is that no matter what Timeshare you wind up deciding on,
do yourself a favor and research buying on the resale market from an
existing owner! We cannot stress enough how much money you
can
save by doing this, and there is absolutely no reason at all you
should not at the very least check out resales before you buy your next
Timeshare!
The
rest of this article
will ask a series of questions that all individuals should be able to
answer before any Timeshare purchase is made! Doing so will
narrow down your choices and have you end up with exactly what you want!
Where do you want your Home Resort to be?
This
is the first question you want to ask yourself when deciding on a
Timeshare purchase. The general rule when purchasing a
Timeshare,
is to purchase where you want to vacation most!
When doing this,
you know that the location you buy in will always be available to you
for a vacation, this way you don't have to rely on exchanges or rentals
to vacation at your most beloved spot, your home resort will let you
stay here every year!
There are a few exceptions to this rule
however! If your favorite vacation spot happens to be
Orlando, or
Las Vegas, we would suggest considering another Home Location!
The reason for this is very simple: These are the
two
timeshare capitals of the world, More Timeshare units exist in these
two locations than anywhere else! This means there is always
a
surplus of rentals, and exchanges available to travel to either of
these two locations!
What are your top 5 Vacation destinations?
This
will perhaps have the
most impact on your decision to purchase your next Timeshare!
Where do you want to travel to on vacations besides your home
resort location? Do you want to travel overseas?
Mexico?
Hawaii? If your vacation plan includes a myriad of
destinations, you certainly want to look at the modern developers that
provide a wide selection of resorts in or near those destinations!
You will want to examine the costs (in either points, or
trade
value) to stay at the various locations that are not your home resort
location to see if you could easily trade or exchange into those other
destinations on years you wont travel to your home resort.
Chains
like
Marriott,
Wyndham,
Starwood,
Disney,
Hilton,
and
Diamond
all have
huge portfolios of resorts to choose from, but you usually want to
focus on the bulk of your vacation wishes!
How big is your Vacation Family?
How
many people do you normally travel with? Do you require 2 or
even
3 bedroom units for your vacations due to a large family or multiple
adult couples? Finding resorts that have large timeshare
units
available in multiple destinations will narrow down your search
substantially, although it is more and more common to see 3 bedroom
units (that are actually a combination of a 2bedroom unit connected to
a separate 1bedroom unit called a lockout or lockoff). In other years
that perhaps you do not use your Timeshare, or the entire family does
not want to attend, you can possibly rent out the unused portion of
your unit to offset some or all of the annual maintenance fees!
What level of accommodations do you prefer?
This is where we
separate into various classes of Timeshare resorts! Does your
family expect to stay in a 5 star world class resort for vacations?
(Disney/Starwood), are you happy with 4 star very good
resorts
(Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, etc), or are you just looking for a roof
over your head and a bed to sleep in at night?
Obviously the
biggest difference in these is cost, but as we mentioned before, buying
resale can save you a fortune, and you would be surprised what you can
purchase on the resale market (compared to what you likely would pay
buying retail!).
What are you comfortable with spending each year?
Owning
a Timeshare requires the payment of annual maintenance fees to use the
unit. As of 2013 the average annual maintenance fee at a
Timeshare Resort was roughly $800. In many cases, especially
for
those who cannot commit to vacation each and every year, this can be
cost prohibitive! It is very important for you to be
realistic
with yourself as you are essentially "pre-paying" for your vacations
every year forever whether you use them or not! As you would
expect, the nicer the timeshare, the more exclusive the location, and
the more exclusive the time of year (ie holiday weeks)...the more
expensive your annual maintenance fee is likely to be!
It is
also important to note that one should not expect your annual fees to
remain the same over the entire length of ownership.
Maintenance
fees historically increase year after year with few exceptions, and
while a few dollars each year is not going to make or break most folks,
it is something that can have a profound impact after 10, or even 20
years of ownership!
Are you aware of the resale market?
Yes we have
mentioned this twice already, but we find that almost universally all
first time Timeshare purchasers don't even think about the resale
market
until the need to sell their Timeshare! It is at this point
that
they are shocked by the difficulties (depreciation, scams) that they
encounter when trying to sell! You must be very honest and
upfront with yourself about purchasing your new timeshare and what it
will be worth years down the road when you find yourself looking to
divest yourself of ownership.
The
Final Word
There
are
more than 2 million timeshare owners today, and its important to anyone
looking to join this group of owners know exactly what they are getting
into before making the plunge and buying a Timeshare! You can
have some absolutely amazing vacations for outrageous value if you just
take the time and do your research before you buy! It is not just a
coincidence that the phrase we hear most from individuals who join TUG
is "I wish I would have found TUG before I bought my first timeshare!"
Some other helpful articles and links for you to read before purchase!
