I Want to Buy a Timeshare

Since you are reading this on our website, we presume you’re researching the cost to buy a timeshare on the resale market. Good decision, since resale prices can save you at least 50-60 percent compared to the cost of buying a timeshare at the resort through the resort sales team.

Wonder why those discounts are so significant? It’s because of the sales process at the resorts.

Especially with timeshares sold through the major hospitality brands such as Hilton, Marriott, Diamond and others, many resorts are in active sales so they have large sales and marketing programs designed to sell timeshares to guests at their resorts. The cost of bringing guests to a resort, marketing expenses and sales commissions paid to the sales person selling the timeshare are recouped through the sale – accounting for up to 50-60 percent of the overall sale price charged at the resort.

This is much of the reason why the average sale price of a new timeshare is nearly $23,000 according to the American Resort Development Association.

Those costs do not factor into resale prices, because you are buying a timeshare directly from an existing owner. By removing the sales and marketing costs, you’ll have a more realistic idea of the resale cost when you are viewing timeshares for sale online.

Keep in mind that timeshares can be as different as the colors of the rainbow. Some timeshares in branded resorts such as Disney Vacation Club hold their resale value better than others at, for example, an older, single site resort. Factors such as resort location, size of a unit, season of ownership and location of the unit (think oceanfront vs pool view) can also impact the resale price.

These factors can also increase the resale price a well. For instance, a ski week in January at a ski-in, ski-out resort in Breckenridge, Colorado would be worth more than the same January week at a resort in Atlantic City.

Resale bargains can be seen throughout the internet. Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas in California is one of the most sought-after timeshare resorts in the country and there are timeshares for sale for as little as $9,000. Similar deals can be seen on popular Orlando timeshares such as Diamond Resorts Mystic Dunes with timeshares advertised for $7,000.

Once you see a timeshare you want to buy, you begin the negotiation process with the owner and can get an even better deal.

Choosing a timeshare-specific resale website is the best way to begin the process to buy a timeshare. This gives you control over the process, as you search for the best available timeshare that meets your vacation needs and handle the negotiation yourself without the need to pay high sales commissions to agents.

The first thing you can do is narrow down your primary vacation goals before you begin searching to buy a timeshare. Is it the Disney theme parks you want to visit? A ski destination? A family-friendly beach location such as Myrtle Beach? Do you need a two-bedroom unit or will a one-bedroom configuration work?

Once you have your goals established, then you can begin looking for a timeshare that meets your priorities.

The branded vacation club-style timeshares can provide more flexibility beyond the single site resorts, but keep in mind that most of the club programs use the home resort model to manage their programs. For example, Disney Vacation Club sells points that are deeded back to a specific resort, which would then establish the home resort for those points. This gives the owner certain benefits at that resort such as an early reservation window, even though the points can also be used at other resorts within the DVC network.

Remember that you can have flexible use options even with the non-branded, single site resorts through external exchange companies such as RCI or Interval International. Membership in these exchange platforms allows the owner to deposit the use of the timeshare and exchange it to stay at a different resort around the globe.

We mention these aspects to help you evaluate your search for a timeshare. Once you have found one that you want to buy, you can place an offer through the website and the owner will provide a response either to accept, decline, counter or request more information. The negotiation begins until you settle on a price and the agreement can be drawn up and sent to closing for the ownership to be transferred into the buyer’s name.

Certainly, owning a timeshare can provide significant benefits especially for owners in popular resorts in high demand vacation locations.

Think of a destination such as Maui during peak season. A vacationer looking to stay in a resort over New Years Eve would be at the height of the travel season, with hotel prices and availability at a premium. Timeshare owners who own during that week would be assured of a quality vacation prepaid through their timeshare ownership without the hassle of looking for the best deals and availability at an unknown resort.

Ownership also provides the ability to exchange the use of a timeshare to stay in a different resort among the 4,500+ timeshare resorts around the world. Again, because the accommodation payment has already been made, owners don’t have to deal with international exchange rates or coming up with extra cash to book accommodation.

In addition to securing quality accommodation and looking forward to great vacations every year, ownership can save you money on vacations in the long run. You are essentially prepaying for your accommodation at today’s prices and prorating the cost over the number of years you own your timeshare.

Even with the cost of the annual fees, it can be a great deal, especially if you buy on the resale market and save the 50-60% off prices charged at the resorts.

Let’s say you buy a timeshare resale for $8,000. The average annual maintenance fee cost is about $1,000 per year. Over 20 years that adds up to $28,000 but the per-year cost of your vacation week would be about $1,400 for a week of accommodation or about $200/night. Considering timeshares are primarily multi-bedroom, condo-style units with kitchens and all of the conveniences you would want at a top resort, it’s a great way to secure annual vacation time. And the longer you own, the better the deal.

Paying off your timeshare is similar to paying off a loan on any other item you own. Your mortgage on your timeshare would be paid off and you would own your timeshare free and clear of any liens.

This would obviously reduce your overall expenditure on your timeshare and your deed would be sent to you. As far as the actual use of your timeshare, nothing would change as you would still be able to use your timeshare in the same manner as you have in the past. You would still be responsible for paying your annual maintenance fees and any applicable charges.