Like the buying process for any good or service, you will want to ensure you have the best value for the money spent. When buying a timeshare, an important factor to remember is that the value of a timeshare is in its' use and utilization. So, in order to gain the best possiblity for use, there are several options to consider.
Flexibility
Timeshares are wonderful types of vacation property to own. They are vacation destinations waiting for your yearly arrival to reward you for all those long hours you worked during the year. They are a safe haven away from the daily routine, to provide a setting to slow down and enjoy your loved ones. Timeshares offer you convenience, comfort and a place for rejuvenation even in the busiest of vacations. You timeshare property is your home when you are away on vacation. What a timeshare is not, is an investment. If you purchase a timeshare, the only way the value of your purchase is returned to you is through use. Essentially, if you own a timeshare that you do not use, you are experiencing a loss on many levels each time you do not utilize your property during the year. You lose the ability to utilize your accommodations, the chance to vacation at the resort where your timeshare is owned, and the maintenance fees paid for the year in which you did not use your timeshare. If you buy timeshare property, you must plan to utilize it as the value of a timeshare is in its use.
It’s unfortunate when plans change and vacations are postponed, but it can happen to anyone. If you own a fixed week timeshare property, a last minute change in plans may prevent you from utilizing yours. Sometimes with enough notice, a timeshare can be rented out for a fee so that you may recoup some of your loss, however this process can be time consuming and the success of a rental is not always a guarantee. If you foresee this kind of situation being inevitable in your lifestyle, you may benefit from the flexibility of floating week timeshare property instead of a fixed week. The degree of flexibility in your timeshare property’s usage is a big factor in its value.
A timeshare property’s ability to adapt to a fast paced lifestyle with potential last minute changes in scheduling and accommodations equates to value. Ensuring this kind of adaptability and flexibility in a timeshare purchase will depend largely on the brand of resort you choose as well as the amenities and options selected.
Another aspect of flexibility is the ability to upgrade your accommodations effortlessly. You may have an extra vacation guest at last minute and need an extra bedroom. Or you may need an amenity that you did not have originally. Sometimes these kinds of upgrades and changes in accommodations are easy to honor by the resort depending on what is being requested and may be fulfilled on courtesy alone. Other times this may result in you needing to buy more points, or increase your maintenance fees or dues.
One proponent of value within a timeshare property is exchangeability. As mentioned previously in this guide, if you desire to utilize an exchange program to trade your timeshare property for other resorts around the world, then it is imperative that you purchase an attractively balanced highly desired timeshare property. Not only do the high demand aspects of a timeshare ensure exchangeability, highly demanded timeshares also sell easier on the resale marked providing you decide to part with it one day. The same points that apply for buying timeshares in high demand also apply with buying timeshares for exchangeability. Location, Season, and Week must all be in high demand if you choose to buy timeshare property at a specific resort.
Resorts, Brands, Ratings and Reputation
Like all brands of products and services, resorts are branded as well. Selecting a reputable brand like Hilton or Marriot poses an effective method to ensuring value in your purchase. Unlike the real estate market, buying timeshares is a different process from the prospect of the buyer. When you buy a home, you take a tour of the home with a realtor, maybe even take pictures for your own reference or even get a licensed home inspector to make sure everything checks out with the property before purchase. When you buy a timeshare property, much of your discretion is left in good faith within the hands of the resort. This is no doubt one of the reasons that more branded resorts are sold sight unseen than less well known resorts on the market.
We may not be inclined to hold onto everything we purchase indefinitely and thus the reason for always considering the resale value of any major purchase. When we buy a home we try to speculate a future sales price including improvements and equity. When we buy a car we want to know how much it is worth once we drive it off the lot. Unsurprisingly, this is also a common element of buying timeshare property. I wouldn’t call it a fortunate aspect for those buying retail because market research indicates that a timeshare property bought on the retail market will rarely sell for more than 50% of the developer’s pricing. This will be discussed later in the timeshare guide in the methods to sell section. It’s responsible to assume that the sell of your timeshare property may be something you will ponder one day, and considering this assumption, buying a branded resort is considerable option.
Aside from the reputation of the branded resorts and their inherent value, simple name recognition will also contribute to the worth of the timeshare property. This will become advantageous in a situation if you must sell your timeshare on the resell market. Because of the reputations of branded resorts, their timeshares have a better chance to sell quickly and at a higher price that non-branded resorts within the same level of accommodation, and demand.
Resorts also use rating systems to define how each property sits in relation to other comparable properties on the market. Like name recognition of popular resort brands, familiarity with the rating system of resorts also comes with an assumed level of comfort, value and accommodations. The common one is the start rating system and ranges from one to five stars in terms of score. The star rating system ranges from economy and value to deluxe and luxury. The same system of attaching assumed value to a resort property is also used by hotels, restaurants and other areas of the hospitality industry. Bronze, silver, gold and platinum are all grouped into another resort grading system, whereas some use the crown system. Silver Crown and Gold Crown are also rating systems that resorts use.
Though each resort’s rating system has its own meaning, typically the differences in levels between each rating system indicate and represent similar aspects and features of the resort’s property and services. The difference between a low rated economy minded resort property and a higher rated extravagant property will be in the details. Aside from the actual square footage of the room, there are other things that will reflect the rating. It may be the difference between an older off brand bed mattress and a new name brand comfort minded bed or poorly coordinated décor to trendy matching décor and furniture through out. In some lower rated resorts you may find less expensive countertops such as Formica or laminate, repainted cabinets and older plumbing fixtures yet find top of the line fixtures, newer cabinetry, and premier countertops such as granite or marble.
The rating you desire for a timeshare property will Depend on your needs and requirements, but it is important to know what is standard within the resort rating system between resorts. If you find yourself appreciative of a four start resort in one destination, you cannot assume a four start resort in another location or at another resort will be comparable. It will be important to ensure the amenities are comparable. This is something that you will likely encounter when shopping around when looking to buy timeshare property. You may take a tour of a three-start resort in Orlando, and decide a three-start resort is an acceptable level of accommodation for you and your family. If you then shop for property at another location or with another resort brand, you will want to verify that three-star accommodations are acceptable at that resort before you commit to buy. You may find that three-star accommodations are too extravagant at a competing resort, or may find that you need to look at a four-star rated resort to find your desired level of accommodation. The star rating should give you a general idea at how economical or luxurious a resort may be, but you will realize quickly this system is mis-used and somewhat diluted in meaning when comparing one resort to another.
Following resort brand and resort rating are reputation and professionalism. The policies set forth by the management of operations and the procedures practiced at a resort will determine reputation. The final word on customer satisfaction with hotels and resorts are at the mercy of reviews and surveys. It is becoming standard policy to provide guests at resorts with a follow up questionnaire after their stay to ensure a high level of expectation was met. This is a counter act against the many review forums on the internet which allow guests to rate a hotel or resort after their stay. During the research phase of selecting a resort when people are ready to buy timeshare property, reviews of hotels and resorts are easy to find and analyze and use as data for the decision making process. When guests write reviews and complete surveys, their opinions and views are a direct reflection of the professionalism of a resort’s property and staff.
I would not recommend allowing a review or survey found online to make or break every deal you encounter, however, I would recommend using the reviews to find the smaller details that you cannot discover from asking customer service or a resort representative. Sometimes, others find these small details valuable matters as well and in turn, you may find what you are looking for in consumer and guest reviews. I enjoy staying in historical hotels or historical resort properties. Others may as well, but for different reasons. Some people enjoy historical hotels because many of them have high ceilings and more spacious rooms. Others may find value in the events that have taken place the site in the past. Nostalgia, style, décor, stigma and legend are other reasons some people may select a historical hotel or resort for lodging accommodations. My reasoning is the quietness and serenity. When I want a peaceful stay, I generally look for historical hotels or resorts and read reviews to find what I’m looking for.
“I was amazed at how quiet the rooms were.”
“There were people staying on both sides of our unit, and we never knew they were there”
“It was so quiet; it’s the best sleep I’ve gotten all year”
In my experience, this seems to be common trait associated with the older and more historical resorts and hotels, and consequently, I would have never noticed without researching some of the reviews and surveys on line.
Sometimes to get the information you need, a phone call to the resort’s customer service desk may get answers. This will also be a good time to get any questions answered regarding your stay, check in times, and information on any possible additional fees and reservations. The professionalism and knowledge of a customer service department will also give you insight into the reputation of the resort.
Value In Buying Resale
Once you have an idea of the resort and destination where you would like to buy timeshare property, you can begin preparing for the buying process. There are multiple ways you can get your hands on a timeshare property. Some methods are easier than others, while some may save you money but require more time and negotiations. Having a timeshare deeded to you is also another option. It’s not an uncommon transaction. Sometimes it’s within an owner’s best interest to deeds their timeshare ownership to a friend or family member. If you’re not in a position to have a timeshare deeded to you and have to consider purchasing one on your own, you still have economical options available to you.
In general, there are two methods to buying timeshare property. You can buy timeshare property on the retail market, or buy timeshare property on the resale market. Both methods have advantages, however, you will quickly find the most burdensome disadvantage to be cost. In this case, buying on the resale market will always be a more lucrative option. I’m not advocating the resale market exclusively, because some people prefer to buy retail for their own personal reasons. However, when you include the facts behind retail and developer pricing, justification of higher pricing by the resorts becomes clear .
Many people buy timeshare property every year when they take a tour of a resort destination. A common marketing trend is to send invitations to potential buyers of vacation property. These invitations often include a free weekend stay at the resort in appreciation for taking a tour and listening to a sales demonstration. Sometimes the reward is a gift card, or a voucher to use any of their resorts for a night. The motive behind the invitations is potential sales. The sales staff of resorts understands that the ratio of people who commit to buy versus those who show no interest is low. In order to offset the expense of marketing ploys such as free stays, gifts and vouchers, the retail price of the resort sales are marked up considerably. When you judge the value of a timeshare property bought on the retail market, the resale value has to be considered because a timeshare property rarely, if ever, resale at the same price at which it was bought. I have mentioned previously in this guide that the value of a timeshare is in it’s use. The retail price is one of the supporting reasons behind this fact.
As a buyer, you can mitigate this factor somewhat by buying retail. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can buy a timeshare on the resale market and then sell it for the same price you bought it or at profit. It does mean however that you can expect to pay much less for the same property that others are buying for up to %50 more {Is THIS RIGHT??} As consumers, we are always looking vigilantly for the catch or the strings attached to any good deal or the fine print on any document we sign.
When comparing retail pricing and resale pricing, the pros and cons are quickly evident. By paying the price for buying vacation property retail, your expense put forth cover a considerable overhead such as marketing, advertising, sales staff pay, etc. That’s definitely the disadvantage, however, the advantage is the ease of transaction; you sign your name, write a check, and walk away and come back next year for your vacation. The resort that you buy from handles all of the paperwork, fees, dispersal of funds, recordation of deed, and mails you an owner’s packet. It’s not a great deal of work on the part of the buyer, but why should it be? The price you paid for a timeshare property in comparison to retail demands the right for an easy transaction.
Inevitably, judging by the description of buying timeshare property retail, the resale process must be much more difficult. To a degree, the resale process requires more steps. Foremost, it requires that the owner of a timeshare complete the steps to put their property on the resale market. Since the ownership is switching hands between the seller and the buyer, suddenly the interest of two people becomes involved. Both the buyer and the seller are looking for a good deal. The buyer wants to recoup any losses if possible and get the most money for their timeshare, whereas the shopper on the resale market is looking for a bargain. So, unavoidably, negotiations will take place before any sales process begins.
This comparison of retail to resale may seem oversimplified, and that is the intention. I’m only presenting the pros and cons of each method. The actual process of each is comprised of several steps, however, you will not have to interact with the required processes so much unless you’re heading for the resale market to buy timeshare property.
