Many people have heard about timeshares. There’s a lot of jokes that have been made about timeshare salespeople and losing money in the long term. However, many of these are due to unscrupulous salespeople and timeshare companies, rather than a fault with the actual concept. With a timeshare, you purchase repeated use of a vacation destination. Typically these are located in tropical or beach locations. Different individuals buy weeks at a location that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit. While one or two week sections are standard, some people may choose to try and get a longer period of time at a timeshare, though that’s not always available. Like any vacation option, there’s both benefits and disadvantages to getting a timeshare. This article will look at a few of the different aspects of timeshares. It should be noted this is just scratching the surface and obviously more research should be done before investing in a timeshare. 

Fixed vs. Floating Timeshares

Quite simply there are two different forms of timeshares. The first is fixed. Fixed timeshares ensure that you own the exact same dates or weeks every single year. This means that you’ll always know when you can go on vacation and plan around it. 

The second option is a floating timeshare. The floating options allows buyers to pick their days within a set timeframe. In some cases this may be the entire year, but typically it’ll be within a smaller block, as some seasons will be more desirable and cost more money. For example, tropical locations enjoy their high season during the cold winters, making December through March very popular. This comes with a downside however. These timeshare owners have to make sure that they get their choices in with plenty of time, else another owner of that block might end up getting the dates someone wants. 

Benefits of Getting a Timeshare

Getting a timeshare can be a great option for a lot of people. Timeshares will allow for people to 

• Stability - Having a timeshare is a stable vacation option. If the timeshare is paid/purchased upfront, then ideally the cost of future vacations has already been taken care of. This can be very good if travel costs rise quickly in general. 
• Repeat Something you Love - Once you’ve had a great vacation, you can go back repeatedly and know some of the best things that are there. 
• No Maintenance - When you get a timeshare, it means that you don’t have to do the maintenance on the property. Yes, you’ll pay annual maintenance fees, but it’s better than having to maintain the property as you would with a vacation home. 

Disadvantage of Getting a TImeshare

While there are some good things about timeshares, there’s also some disadvantages. In some cases, they may be the same concepts, just to different people. Some of the disadvantages include: 

• Lack of Flexibility - In many cases, getting a timeshare means you are locked into the same vacation each year. While this is beloved by some people for the repetition and memories, others don’t like this. This issue can be countered by using a timeshare rotation 
• Hidden Expenses - Sometimes timeshares add up extra expenses through their maintenance fees. As a timeshare building enters more disrepair, these can increase. It’s important to note these during purchase. 
• Poor Long Term Investment - Reselling a timeshare is often difficult, which means that it’s likely going to be a sunk cost. Timeshares should purely be a cost for vacationing instead of as something that can be sold later.