There is still a lot of stigma and bad press surrounding Timeshares in Europe and the Timeshare industry as a whole. I find it quite useful and amusing when I want to have a quite drink in my local bar and I’m being pestered by the person sat on his own to start up a conversation. I will normally steer the conversation round to him asking me what I do for a living and as soon as I answer “I sell Timeshare†He will normally make his excuses, drink his beer and leave as quickly as possible! It’s easier than trying to explain that I’ve just dropped in for a quite drink on my way home and don’t really want to talk to anybody.
But is Timeshare really that bad?
I don’t think so, I think it has been badly sold in the past by unscrupulous companies who were just in it for a quick killing and thankfully for the genuine Timeshare Developers and Marketers, they have now fallen by the wayside or are tied up in the latest Costa del Scam that seems to spring up every year out here. We also have to take into account that good news doesn’t sell newspapers!
All in all Timeshares can be a very good investment for your future holidays providing you buy in the right resort at the right price.
Here is a brief guideline if your thinking of buying into a Timeshare or Holiday Points Club.
Firstly make sure you buy at a resort you don’t mind going back to every year. The resort should be affiliated to either R.C.I. (Resorts Condominium International) or I.I. (Interval International) which are the two main Timeshare exchange companies that will allow you to bank your week or weeks with them and exchange them for another resort in their system but they can only work with what other owners give them to exchange so sometimes availability can be low at popular resorts and you wont always get your first request.
Take a few presentations or bonus weeks and check out the resorts and facilities before you make your final decision. These are readily available through various marketing companies these days. After all you wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it first would you?
Make sure the yearly maintenance fees are capped or fixed to inflation and always bear in mind that the more facilities like golf or spas your resort offers the more your maintenance costs are going to be.
Finally once you’ve looked at all the ins and outs and made your choice on a resort you’d like to own at, check out a few of the reputable timeshare resale companies around to see if they have it listed. You can pick up some very good deals at a fraction of the normal resorts retail price.
Alan takes a deeper look at the changing face of Timeshare in Europe and discusses how these changes are affecting Timeshare Owners World Wide. Drop by for regular updates on the Latest Industry Developments
Tags: exchange, II, Points Clubs, RCI, Resales, timeshare
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