When someone tells you that you need a timeshare appraisal in order to buy or sell timeshare, think twice.

Many people will unknowingly pay for a timeshare appraisal as part of their timeshare transaction because they assume it is necessary—after all, you pay for an appraisal as part of a home sale, so why not one for timeshare sales? The answer is very simple when you think it through.

When you buy a home, you pay the price the price you are personally willing to pay for that home—the true market value. But if you finance the home, your lender won’t simply trust the buyer and seller to have settled on the appropriate price. The lender will require that you hire a professional appraiser to assess the authentic value of the home so that the lender knows it is not lending you more money than the home is actually worth.

The home mortgage lender wants to see that it can get its money back on the home it holds as collateral if you default on the loan. Barring an economic freefall in the housing market (such as we have seen in the past few years), a home appraisal protects the lender from loss.

But who buys timeshare with a home mortgage? The lenders who loan money to buy timeshare typically do so through consumer loans, which are based on the borrower’s good credit history, not on mortgage loans that hold property as collateral against borrower default. When there is no lender to require a timeshare appraisal, what value would getting that appraisal serve either the timeshare seller or the timeshare buyer?

Timeshare Appraisal, the Timeshare Sales Expense You Don’t Need

Timeshare sales are based on market value—that’s the price consumers are generally willing to pay to buy timeshare of a given size, location, and season. When you want to know the market value of your timeshare, click on market value survey and Sell My Timeshare NOW will provide this information to you at NO COST.

And doesn’t knowing this make you question why a timeshare sales company might ever require you to pay for a timeshare appraisal when no lender is requiring it? Unfortunately, timeshare appraisals can be add-on or hidden costs that some timeshare sales and timeshare resales companies use unethically to pad their profits. Before you pay for a timeshare appraisal, make sure you understand why it is required for your timeshare sales transaction and who will benefit by it.

Fans of the ‘Centsable’ money-saving duo, Chrissy Pate and Kristin McKee, know them from their past appearances on Good Morning America (GMA) and their book, Be CentsAble: How to Cut Your Household Budget in Half. Now the two have applied their cost conscious strategies to travel and vacation planning with tips that save you money without compromising your vacation enjoyment… and of course, any discussion of great deals in vacationing always includes timeshare.

So here are Travel Tips #3 and 5 from the gurus of budget-conscious vacationing:

“Rent Vacation Club or Timeshare Points” and as an example, the two recommend Sell My Timeshare NOW by name as an outstanding resource. After Chrissy discovered that she could, for example, rent a $250 a night room at Disney’s Animal Kingdom timeshare for only $90, she described it as, “…like you have a timeshare, without paying all of the fees associated with a timeshare.”

“Rent Vacation Homes Directly” Although Sell My Timeshare NOW wasn’t specifically listed by name, it’s exactly the type of option they recommend. Both Pate and McKee are quick to acknowledge that when it comes to leasing or renting a vacation home, “leasing companies mark up the rental price, often even doubling it.” Sell My Timeshare NOW offers you the option to rent timeshare directly from the current owner.

Do You Rent Timeshare?

If you are not already saving money on your vacation with timeshare rentals, why not?

Many timeshare owners are thrilled to rent their timeshare or timeshare points to you rather than lose them because they cannot personally take advantage of them. Oftentimes, they are looking only to recoup their annual fees. Sometimes you can rent timeshare far in advance, but just as frequently, you will find it comes available as a last-minute deal. Either way renting timeshare or timeshare points is typically a win-win situation. And renting by-owner timeshare from Sell My Timeshare NOW means you are choosing to rent directly for the person who owns the vacation property-leaving out the middleman while keeping more of your hard-earned money in your pocket.

But don’t take our word for it… Pate and McKee have already done the research for you.

If you have ever bought a garment that was marked, “one size fits all” you know this simply is not always accurate. Moreover, when the subject is buying timeshare or owning timeshare, one size (or one type of ownership) will never be right for everyone.

Individual timeshare vacation needs and preferences vary greatly and include vacation clubs, deeded ownership, and right to use timeshare ownership, any of which may or may not include points-based usage. And as popular as points-based timeshare has become, timeshare ownership through points is not the right choice for all property owners. In the same regard, one timeshare points system can be very different from another. Your goal, as an informed timeshare owner, is to understand your options so you can pick the type of timeshare points (or system without points) that best fits your objectives.

Examples of Timeshare Points Structures

Wyndham timeshares can be owned either by points or by whole ownership. Wyndham allows (and encourages) its timeshare owners to convert from ownership to points ownership only. When you do this, you literally deed your timeshare ownership to Wyndham timeshare, while you take points ownership in exchange. You can now use your points to trade or exchange within the Wyndham system. One downside is that you lose your automatically reserved week of timeshare at your home resort, requiring you to request your week of usage every year. If you happened to like knowing you always have a timeshare unit at your favorite resort, year in-year out, then you won’t like making this switch to Wyndham points.

RCI timeshare points are some of the most flexible to use. One simple feature is that RCI has a timeshare points policy that 9000 points will get you any available US timeshare within 45 days of your vacation date. RCI timeshare points can also be use for car rentals, air travel, and other vacation related expenses, which is a popular perk among timeshare owners.

In February of 2009, Disney Vacation Club redistributed their timeshare points. (Read more here: Disney Timeshares Are Changing Timeshare Points Structure) and in July of 2009, Marriott timeshare began integrating its timeshare points system with Marriott Rewards. (More on Marriott timeshare points: Timeshare Points System at Marriott Vacation Club is Changing). Starwood timeshare also made significant changes to their points systems in 2009, with some of the changes overriding privileges that many Starwood timeshare owners felt were part of the rights of their deeded timeshare ownership.

Takeaway point here? How each timeshare company or timeshare exchange company distributes and utilizes timeshare points is very different from one company to the next. Ask before you buy. Understand what you are buying. Timeshare owners who truly get the most out of their timeshares are almost always the owners who have a rock solid understanding of what they own and how it works.

How about tall pines and the sounds of nature? Spring with the dogwoods in bloom or winter with freshly fallen snow? We’re talking about California timeshare at Lake Arrowhead, located in the heart of the San Bernardino National Forest.

Writer Brian Welch profiled NorthBay at Lake Arrowhead timeshare resort in the May/June edition of Resort Trades’ Management & Operations magazine. The Timeshare Authority blog, and other timeshare news sources regularly update you on Marriott timeshare, Wyndham Vacation Club timeshare, Disney timeshare, and the several dozen “big names” in the hospitality and timeshare resort industry. But none of us should ever overlook timeshare resorts that may not always be top of the mind, but can certainly become tops on your list of favorite vacation destinations.

NorthBay at Lake Arrowhead is precisely this type of timeshare, described in the Resort Trades article as, “off the beaten path, tucked away on a slope forested with towering pines…with terrific amenities and contemporary facilities yet offers an old-fashioned experience and atmosphere that encourages spending time together.”

And just as importantly, as the article goes on to point out, this is timeshare ownership where individual owners are valued and respected and where long-term relationships are built. President and CEO of The Alderwood Group (management services for North Bay at Lake Arrowhead timeshare), Tom Johnson says, “We understand our owners have entrusted us to ensure the viability and longevity of their investment. We are remaining focused on our clients…”

NorthBay at Lake Arrowhead, a Favorite California Timeshare Resort

Geared for boaters, skiers, hikers, horseback riders, and other outdoor sports enthusiasts, even if you choose to spend your day leisurely curled up with a book enjoying a backdrop of serene nature, you’ll enjoy unwinding at the resort’s indoor heated pool and spa and the redwood saunas. And how much more peaceful can the nighttime be than when you leave the city and your worries behind and relax under a canopy of twinkling stars?

Breathe deeply, you can almost smell the pines already. And with opportunities in NorthBay at Lake Arrowhead timeshare resales you can soon be enjoying this tranquility firsthand.

Hat tip and our thanks to: Resort Trades’ Management & Operations magazine and author Brian Welch.