Avoid hell in a timeshare
THERE’S an old timeshare joke which has a poignant lesson worth remembering when purchasing anything. A timeshare salesperson dies and floats up to the pearly gates. He is offered a choice of living forever in either heaven or hell. Being a cautious person and knowing from experience not to believe everything he is told, he asks to see both heaven and hell before he chooses.
His guide first shows him heaven. It is very calm with lots of angels playing harps, lounging around on clouds and is full of people the salesperson has never seen.
Next the guide takes him to visit hell. Here the salesperson sees lots of his old friends, laughing, drinking and eating delicious food, playing games and having a great time.
The salesperson thinks for a moment and then informs the guide that hell will be his choice. Half a second later, the salesperson finds himself chained to a wall of fire and brimstone, the food, drink and games are nowhere in sight and the temperature is unbearable.
He sees his guide and cries out to him: “Hey, this is not what you showed me.” The guide smiles and simply replies: “That was the show apartment.”
Cute joke – until it happens to you. Many have been caught out in the past, but by following our five basic rules for buying timeshare you won’t be the butt of the joke.
1Buy
in a resort you would be happy to return to. Exchanging your week has a cost and you may not always get your preferred choice. 2 Make sure the unit size is the minimum you require. Purchasing a studio with the hope you will be moved or upgraded to a one- bedroom or two- bedroom unit is risky and highly unlikely. 3 Buy high- demand red time. This will ensure the major exchange organisations give you better trading/ exchange power. Most resorts will offer exchanges inside their own group of accommodation. High demand weeks are far easier to exchange. 4 Look at the annual maintenance fees and how they have increased in cost over a five- year period. If the resort has been maintained well and the increase in costs is similar to the rate of inflation, you should not have any major cost increases in future years. 5 Buy at the lowest price possible. This sounds obvious but when you buying directly from the resort up to 40 per cent can be added in marketing costs.
The resale market has had problems and sellers far outweigh buyers, so do a little research online and you will probably find a private seller willing to sell if you just cover the change of name fees.
Many timeshare owners seek advice from companies like SellMyTimeshare. tv on their own situation. SellMyTimeshare. tv has three offices in the UK and one in Tenerife, offering advice to owners on how to get the most from timeshare, how to book more easily and how to exit their timeshare entirely and be free to holiday in hotels, villas or even take a cruise.
Buy in a resort you would be happy to return to. Exchanging your week has a cost and you may not always get your choice