Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Timeshares: Are They Worth the Cost?

Buying a beach front property or a vacation villa may be easy for rich and wealthy but not for common middle class people. The introduction of timeshare concept gave hope to those people who could not afford to buy a brand new vacation home. That is one of the reasons why the timeshare industry has grown by leaps and bounds ever since its inception in the United States. One of the aspects of a timeshare property that attracts most people is that they can have a wonderful vacation home without having to worry about its upkeep and maintenance. But at the same time people have many misconceptions about timeshares.

Probably one of the biggest myths when it comes to timeshares is that people believe they have the same benefits as everyday real estate investments. However, this isn't true and the appreciation values are much different. Unfortunately when you own timeshares you don't get the same profitable returns as you would owning a house for a certain period of time. In fact, when it's all said and done you could end up losing money.

So the question that always comes to pass is whether or not it's worth buying a timeshare. It's not an easy thing to answer because there are several factors that come into play. Whether it's comparable rent for alternative accommodation, appreciation of timeshare properties or the finance rate, they are all things to consider. So we want to show you a simple calculation.

Your profitability investment should be the first thing to consider. Here you measure the comparable rental rate, the rate of appreciation, and the finance rate. When you total them all out you will end up with a negative number. So before you get started you should understand that you will most likely lose money in timeshares.

Take your rent for instance, and let's say it costs $1000. The cost of the timeshare itself is $10,000. So your overall rental rate is 10%. When you consider the maintenance fees, membership costs and other expenses, they could run you about $500. So in the beginning you save $500 your rental rate is 5%.

These can also turn into negative percentages as well. If the appreciation rate is 10% and the finance rate is 16%, once you add in the rental rate and appreciation and then subtract the finance rate you end up with a negative percent. So, you're losing 1% every year you compare it to your rent. Keep in mind this is only a rough calculation, because the depreciation rate and finance rates are going to vary.

The maintenance fee costs will be something to look into as well. The majority of them charge reasonable rates, but there are times when you come across others that are extremely expensive. Listen, you want this to be a profitable setup and in order to keep it that way you may think about renting out your week from time to time.

What it comes down to is you should add up your timeshare costs for the entire year. Considering everything above you could be looking at 520,000. Would you really pay that much if this was regular real estate? The profits end up lining the pockets of the developers and investors that sell the timeshares. If you just take the time to weigh all the factors you will be able to get the timeshares you desire.


If you are thinking about timeshare ownership and desire to discover more Timeshare Information, you should visit We Own Timeshares. Meet and connect with timeshare owners on this Timeshare Ownership social network. It is free to join and you can set up your own profile in minutes. Share experiences and reviews of different timeshare locations and start asking questions in the forum. Visit today.

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