Taking a holiday at least annually is one of the best ways to relax. The most significant expenses in holidays are tied to accommodation, and this locks out most would-be travelers. Having a resort for a few days annually seems like the perfect guarantee to a yearly getaway.
One way to get this is with a timeshare. This investment assures you the use of a resort room for a specified time annually. However, many timeshare would-be owners forget the fact that there are many costs and fees associated with owning this luxury.
There are different fees other than the timeshare closing costs involved in the investment. Most investors disregard the hidden costs of a timeshare or do not carefully go through their contract in its entirety. As such, they end up with buyer’s remorse and an investment that proves too costly for them.
Here are some hidden costs involved in timeshares you need to be aware of, regardless of you are thinking of getting one, already have one or thinking of canceling the one you own.
Annual Fees
Your timeshare attracts a yearly maintenance and utility fee along with taxes. The exact price charged depends on your timeshare period, and hence you will pay more for peak-season shares compared with off-peak. It is important to note that you pay these annual fees whether or not you use the timeshare.
The charges are unfortunately not locked in and, as such, usually increase after you buy the timeshare. The increase or decrease of this fee depends on a lot of factors. If you don’t take this fact into consideration before buying a timeshare, you might end up paying more than you intended over many years.
Transfer and Recording Fees
Offloading a timeshare is not as easy as finding a willing buyer. Resorts will charge real-estate fees typically in the form of recording and transfer fees. In most cases, these fees are high and hence stop most owners from selling their timeshares.
There are many alternatives, though, you could choose from if you want to free yourself of your timeshare. It is important to study each option carefully and evaluate which one is best for your situation and aims.
Assessment Fees
As a business whose aim is to continuously find ways to make more profits, resorts might need many upgrades from time to time — some of them occurring more often than others. Unfortunately, you don’t have much of a say on this matter.
If your resort makes renovations or adds features, it might assess a fee to you to cover the project’s costs. Failure to pay the fees might cause your timeshare to be foreclosed.
The fees mentioned above are generally part of many timeshare contracts. In most cases, too, they are included in technical jargon, which is hard for most buyers to understand. To guarantee you fully understand what you are getting yourself into, reach out to a timeshare expert to review your contract and assess your situation before committing into anything.