Timeshares are the investment that people brag about, but no one ever profits from because just like buying a car, the value depreciates as soon as you those keys are officially yours. Being able to call a luxurious vacation resort your own sounds pretty nice, but the annual maintenance fees, additional traveling costs to the location and of course the part about never profiting from this investment might steer true investors away, and this is why timeshares are a bad investment.
So then why do timeshare holders boast over their great deal or luxurious vacation home? Since their investment is never going to make a profit, they’re probably trying an alternative ROI option by kindly hyping up their property in hopes of you renting it out helping them to generate some kind of profit.
Owning something you can only use a few times out of the year, if that, doesn’t seem too appealing at all. In fact, paying maintenance on a property you haven’t seen in 11 months seems pretty ridiculous and a waste of money too. Sure timeshares allow you to change locations, but those “shares” of stock in your vacation property are based on a points system which are similar to credit card points, even allowing consumers to convert points in stores like Bed Bath and Beyond and Best Buy. But who wouldn’t want to trade in their vacation resort for a new blender?
The only one who profits from a timeshare is the sales person and owner of the resorts. The owner of the timeshare is then stuck with a property they will never collect cash flow on, or sell for more than the purchasing price.
Owning this property does not give you the same authority as owning your own home, to begin your property is shared with other people who got suckered into this timeshare commitment. Consequently your interest is not a stand-alone ownership and your freedom to decorate, upgrade or refurnish the property is taken away.
These vacation properties were meant for people who can’t afford a vacation home. But the sales people sure got you to think you were living the good life with the hype of being able to stay at a Caribbean resort you can call your own. The only thing missing from your sales person’s speech is the part about no profitable return on this investment. Well, the sales person is still profiting, but you however will not be because your vacation home is not a source of revenue, instead it’s an expense.
To keep you unconvinced from this “investment” opportunity, look into other timeshares on the market and compare the value (or devalue) of their resort home today. Also check the numbers on property taxes and overall cost of the investment. Paying $250 per month doesn’t sound like much, but that one-week vacation just cost you $3,000 this year and $60,000 in twenty years!
Please take this advice and your money, and go invest in something that offers the opportunity to profit.
photo credit: coconut wireless via photopin cc
