Yesterday The Timeshare Authority offered a rebuttal to a post found on a financial advice blog that claimed timeshares are essentially the worst deal ever. ‘Piling on’ is an expression that describes how critics can jump on the bandwagon against a concept or cause, fueled primarily by the criticisms of others. Some critics of timeshare seem to ‘pile on,’ attacking the concept because others in their field have done so yet never fully exploring what timeshares are all about and how much timeshares have to offer.

If you missed yesterday’s post, (10 Reasons Timeshares are a Good Deal – Part I) we hope you will go back and read it as well as the post below that addresses the final five criticisms of timeshare and our rebuttals:

6. Miss One Year and You’re Better Off Without a Time Share. If you are not going to use a timeshare, don’t buy one. On the other hand, it is hard to say that missing one year of use is the kiss of death either. Many timeshare companies offer you the option to bank your timeshare for use in the future. Another solution to missing a year of timeshare use is to rent your timeshare during the period you won’t be able to use it or to thank someone you know by giving a week’s use to your favorite relative, school teacher, pastor, hardworking employee, or prospective client. There are many ways to benefit from timeshare and they aren’t all wrapped up in whether you personally vacation in it or not.
7. Trading Isn’t Near as Easy as Claimed. Again, this claim is challenging to address as the writer doesn’t say who is making the claims or what those claims are. Each year, thousands of timeshare weeks are exchanged. Timeshare exchange includes in-network exchanges, exchanges through timeshare exchange companies, and even something as simple as swapping a week or a destination with another timeshare owner you know. Timeshare exchange companies come in all sizes from the giants, RCI and Interval International, to dozens of smaller companies, all with different terms and offerings. A timeshare owner may never be able to exchange a January week in a Cape Cod timeshare for the same week in the Caribbean, but there are options for timeshare owners who are willing to learn more about how the timeshare exchange process works best.
8. If You Can’t Pay in Full, It’s a Terrible Deal. If most homeowners paused to look at the amortized cost of home ownership, when financed over 20 or 30 years as is typical with home mortgages, there would probably be a lot fewer people who make the decision to buy a house. One of the excellent benefits of recent regulations in credit card reform is that your monthly statement now shows you very clearly what you are paying when you borrow money at credit card interest rates. Paying in full for anything you buy is almost always the best practice, whether that is for your home, your car, paying off your credit card each month or paying for your timeshare at the time of purchase. But to accurately evaluate the cost of timeshare financing, you have to assess both the purchase price and the financing terms. There are terrible timeshare financing deals, and then there are better ones. Every case is different.
9. Travel Is Not Calculated When Comparisons Are Made. Travel costs do make a difference in the big picture cost of timesharing, which is why it is especially nice that when travel costs are atypically high or your vacation budget is a little smaller than usual, you can exchange timeshare for a destination that is closer to home, keeping your travel costs under control.
10. Hotel Prices Are Increasing (But So Are Time Share Fees).Good advice for anyone who is considering buying timeshare is to research if and how much timeshare fees have increased in the past at the resort where they want to buy. The cost of purchasing many things increases over time but this is not always a decision maker as to whether or not we will buy them. If the cost of buying timeshare or a timeshare resale is a better deal today than the cost of vacationing in a hotel, and both the timeshare and the hotel increase in cost, then the timeshare is still a better deal than the money paid for hotel accommodations.

Timeshares, as a vacation product, are neither inherently good nor bad; they are simply a choice. Yet for many people, timeshares are a choice that translates to years of vacation enjoyment.

Last week we ran across a financial blog that gave ten reasons why timeshares are not a good deal. As you might expect, here at The Timeshare Authority, we have a different opinion.

Taking the article’s criticism of timeshare, one by one, here is Part I of a two-part series offering you 10 reasons to disagree, based on the fact that timeshares, for many vacationers, are not only a great deal, but are the very best deal:

1. Time Shares Are a Lousy Investment. Okay this is like saying an automobile or a new shirt is a terrible investment. Never buy timeshare for investment reasons; instead buy timeshare because you want to enjoy a vacation and timeshare ownership can make that easier—period! Timeshares are not intended as an investment (neither are new shirts) so don’t buy them with that in mind.
2. You Can Get the Same Time Share for Half the Price. No argument here. You can pay more for timeshare purchased directly from the developer or typically buy it at a discounted rate from the timeshare owner who currently owns the timeshare. This fact does not make timeshares a bad deal; it simply reinforces the point that the timeshare, the automobile, or the shirt you buy as a resale doesn’t have the same market value as that product purchased from the original vendor.
3. You Lose 50 Percent or More When You Sell. Okay, this is getting to be like a broken record, with the original critic repeating the same point over and over. So what if you get approximately 50 percent back on your timeshare resale—how much did you get back after your last hotel stay? How much you make or lose on a timeshare sell depends on many factors including how much you paid to buy it, the timeshare season you own, and the demand for timeshare at that destination.
4. It’s Cheaper to Rent a Time Share. Timeshare rental offers excellent deals. Sometimes it may be cheaper to rent than to own; sometimes it won’t be. But there are many different reasons to buy timeshare including ease of vacation planning, with timeshares offering the number one way to ensure that you always have at least one vacation period scheduled each year for you and your family to enjoy.
5. Time Shares Come With Multiple Hidden Risks. It’s hard to address this because it is a non-specific criticism. Yes, there can be risks in buying timeshare. But statistics show that over 80 percent of all timeshare owners are satisfied with their purchase. Living your life comes with multiple hidden risks, as does buying a home, getting married, going on vacation at a hotel, and any number of other things that people weigh their options on and then make the decision that is best for them.

Okay, these are just the first five reasons that timeshare is not a bad deal. Be sure to check The Timeshare Authority tomorrow to read the next five.

One size never fits all (a point we made here on The Timeshare Authority just last week in a discussion of timeshare points programs Getting to the Point of Timeshare Points). Your need to find the best individual solution for you is equally as important when it comes to the right way to for you to buy timeshare or sell timeshare as it is in selecting a points system that fits your vacation style.

Sell-by-owner timeshare resale is an excellent option for many timeshare owners who want to manage details of the timeshare transaction themselves. However, working with a timeshare broker, such as the experts at Timeshare Brokers Services, may be the best choice for your situation. Here are five reasons you might want a timeshare broker to help you buy or sell timeshare.

Reason Number One to Choose a Timeshare Broker:

1. Your time matters. If you are too busy to use your timeshare for vacationing, it is very possible you are too busy to take on the project of selling your timeshare yourself. Using a timeshare broker can be a turnkey approach when it comes to selling timeshare. Likewise, a timeshare broker is a great help to consumers looking to buy timeshare who don’t have either the time or interest for micromanaging the process themselves.

Reason Number Two to Choose a Timeshare Broker:

2. An experienced timeshare real estate professional is a great safety net for both the timeshare seller and the timeshare buyer. You can sell timeshare or buy timeshare with total peace of mind that a professional is handling the details. Most of us have enough on our minds already that it makes sense from a life-management perspective not to add one more item to the list of things that already occupy our thoughts.

Reason Number Three to Choose a Timeshare Broker:

3. A timeshare broker is a trained negotiator. Not only is a timeshare broker a skilled negotiator with your best interest at heart, but he or she serves as a liaison between the buyer and the timeshare seller, providing a “cushion” between the two to smooth the waters over any points of disagreement that may occur during the timeshare resale transaction.

Reason Number Four to Choose a Timeshare Broker:
4. The timeshare real estate market, just like the residential real estate market, is always changing. If you don’t feel confident that your personal knowledge of real estate matters, timeshare laws, or timeshare sales closing and transfer requisites is accurate and current, you could find yourself in over your head trying to handle the timeshare resales process on your own.

Reason Number Five to Choose a Timeshare Broker:
5. Buying or selling timeshare by owner may not save you a penny, first because an experienced timeshare broker—representing either the buyer or the seller— potentially can negotiate his or her client the best deal. Secondly, if you have any problems along the way in buying or selling timeshare without broker assistance, you could wind up not only losing money, but spending money you hadn’t planned to spend in the process.

Is a timeshare broker the best choice for you when it comes to buying timeshare or selling timeshare? Maybe, but you will never know for sure unless you contact one, ask questions, and evaluate what is best for you and your busy schedule.

Bonus time for timeshare includes timeshare weeks that have not been sold or rented by the developer, homeowners association (HOA), or timeshare exchange company. In addition to unsold weeks, a resort’s inventory may also include property that because of owner default or other reasons has returned to the hands of the HOA. When a timeshare owners association cannot rent timeshare to the general public, the HOA may choose to make the timeshare weeks available to other property owners at the resort, offering it at a greatly reduced rate.

Timeshare exchange companies may also offer their members the use of unsold weeks at a substantially discounted price. Either way, this excess inventory is typically called “bonus time” and represents one of the underutilized benefits of timeshare ownership that many people either do not know exists or do not understand how to use.

Bonus Time at WorldMark Timeshare Resorts

Each timeshare company or timeshare exchange company handles bonus time in its own way. For example, bonus time for owners of WorldMark timeshare allows timeshare owners to take advantage of any available units or last-minute cancellations within 14 days of the renter’s scheduled arrival. If the timeshare owner is booking bonus time for a guest, then the property can only be reserved five days in advance. Bookings of bonus time at WorldMark timeshare may be made in increments of one to four days

As a WorldMark timeshare owner, bonus time means you can enjoy a last minute timeshare holiday for timeshare on which you are not paying annual fees. WorldMark’s cancellation policy for bonus time does have restrictions, but is considered by many timeshare owners to be one of the most flexible available. WorldMark timeshare bonus time is not “paid” for with credits or points but is a cash rental.

WorldMark timeshare owners can search for bonus time opportunities on the WorldMark member’s web pages. Also, always remember when you are searching for last minute timeshare travel deals, that in addition to owner’s bonus time, both timeshare owners and non-owners can find excellent prices on last minute (and not so last minute) WorldMark timeshare rentals at Sell My Timeshare NOW.