Business

The Downside Of Timeshare Rentals

January 12, 2021
Doris Marino

During the sales presentation, you might have been captured by the charisma of the sales agent and the way a timeshare contract is presented as a valuable investment. But in reality, owning a timeshare can be a liability, as evidenced by the growing number of people seeking to cancel timeshare contracts yearly.

Timeshares are not bad in themselves; no. Any service that can help you save money while away on vacation is a welcome idea. However, most timeshare contracts today are turning out to be huge liabilities for the owners.

Here are 4 reasons why:

  1. You pay huge fees to use a property for only a short time yearly: Think of it. You only have a month for vacation yearly, and you spend two or three weeks out of it in a property where you pay the equivalent of several hundreds of dollars daily. In the end, you will also have to pay maintenance fees, which will increase the timeshare value.
  2. It is difficult to exit the contract: Timeshare companies know that after some time, the clients will realize that they do not need a timeshare and would prefer to opt-out. This is why they make it difficult to rescind the contracts. Once clients miss the legal rescission period, it is almost impossible to cancel timeshare contracts without a legal team.
  3. Reselling is difficult: Although timeshare resale offers a way out of contracts, it is almost as difficult as getting a rescission after the window closes. Timeshare resale companies list hundreds of properties for resales, yet, only a few of those may be sold within a certain timeframe. If you cannot get a rescission or find someone to buy, you might be stuck with the liability for a long time.
  4. Your travel destinations are almost limited: Now, unless you have more money to spare, you become limited in the choice of destination for your vacation. Since it would make no sense to pay thousands of dollars yearly for a property and not use it, you may find yourself taking your family to the same boring place every vacation until you can get out of the contract or resell it. To cancel timeshare becomes a priority to fix.

You have to be aware of the above downsides to timeshare rentals before making any commitment to contracts. While there may be some benefits to timeshares, the downsides far outweigh them.