Navigating the Timeshare Market: Top Picks and Pitfalls to Avoid in Your Purchase Destination

Location.  Nonsense!

Where to buy a timeshare is a question I notice all over social media sites, Yes, location is important up to a point but does not necessarily determine where you can exchange. Decide where you absolutely want to vacation, and that will be the best location to own a timeshare.

Regardless of where you own, you will compete with other members when you attempt to exchange into other areas. This can be frustrating when the salesperson sold you a red week on the beach and told you that you could go anywhere at any time. Technically, this is true but only if where you want to go is available. 

The value of your timeshare and the exchange possibilities have everything to do with supply and demand for the resort where you want to vacation and the supply and demand of the resort where you own your timeshare, regardless of its location. No one can guarantee where and when you can use your timeshare unless it is a fixed week, and you vacation at that property during that week. This is the major benefit to fixed week owners, especially in vacation hot spots like Hawaii.

You can own the most beautiful and expensive penthouse suite in the area, but if you bought a timeshare in upstate New York in winter, your exchange chances are going to be limited. Why? Because the exchange company must believe that somebody wants to vacation at your timeshare during the time that you own. Even if you bought a floating week or points, it is always attached to a unit and week. Look at your paperwork. This doesn’t mean that you can’t go on vacation somewhere else, but availability might be limited.

One good thing is that many empty timeshare slots around the world need to be filled. There are always possibilities but less if you buy a winter week in upstate New York or any off-season, unpopular time. 

Why You Should Always Consider a Fixed Week Timeshare

My advice is to purchase a fixed week timeshare at a resort and location that you wouldn’t mind visiting repeatedly. You can purchase your timeshare near a beach, at a ski resort, in a city, or even on a houseboat or canal. A fixed week is a guaranteed week that no one can take from you because you own it. Unlike the points system, which is a right-to-use product, fixed-week buyers buy actual real estate. This is why we call fixed week buyers “owners” and points buyers “members” because they don’t “own” anything.

If you don’t want to use your timeshare in any particular year, you can deposit the week with an exchange company. The resort can then rent that week out to generate income and bring in new guests to market their timeshare program.

Even in Cancun, some resorts still sell fixed weeks. Royal Resorts is one of those companies. They have six resorts to choose from in Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and the Dutch Caribbean islands of St. Maarten and Curacao.

The Timeshare Resale Market Is The Pick of The Litter

There are thousands of timeshares for sale all over the world. Timeshare owners want to sell their timeshare for a variety of reasons. Many timeshares are offered online for as little as $.077. That’s right. You can buy a timeshare today that costs a timeshare buyer thousands of dollars for under a dollar. Timeshares bought on the secondary market may have a reduction or elimination of benefits. Buyers should thoroughly research restrictions before buying a timeshare from the secondary or “resale” market. 

The good thing about the resale market is that you get to choose exactly what timeshare you desire without being pressured during a multi-hour timeshare presentation and paying top dollars. You can get the same timeshare with the same benefits for a fraction of the resort’s asking price. A member of the Licensed Timeshare Resale Broker Association can explain the differences in buying from the developer direct compared to buying a resale. (Sell My Timeshare Now harms many by charging $1,400 or more to list timeshares known to have little to no secondary market.) Timeshares are listed by resort name, country, unit size, and resort photos.

Redweek.com and TUG2.com also have timeshare resales or timeshare rentals on their sites. So do other online sites.

There are many timeshare resales for sale for as little as $1, as the owners just want to be rid of them. This is a great buy because as a member of the exchange companies, you have access to the bonus and getaway weeks, as do other members, regardless of where they own. It is truly an open market for exchange members.

Your Check Off List Prior to Purchasing

• Is the price negotiable?
• If it is deeded, when, where, and what size?
• If it is a points system, walk away.
• Review the resort reviews and complaints. 
• Who pays the closing costs?
• What are the current and past maintenance fees?
• If it is a right to use, how many years remain? Is it perpetual?
• Is there a secondary market?
• Where is the contract enforceable?
• Is it a timeshare or a travel club?
• Why is the owner selling it?
• Who are the legal owners, and do they all agree to sell the timeshare?