What is timeshare and how does it work?
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Dear Sarah,
The rendering of the timeshare service, regardless of the name or form given to the corresponding legal act, consists of making available to a person or group of persons the use, enjoyment and other rights agreed upon over a property or part thereof, in a variable unit within a given class, for previously agreed periods, upon payment of a certain amount, without, in the case of real estate, transferring the ownership thereof.
It is the right to use weeks or intervals of a Tourist Development during a specific period. It is the anticipated purchase of a vacation for a certain number of years.
Timeshare ownership is very similar to condominium ownership except that your rights of use are limited to certain weeks or intervals during the year. The basic concept is to divide the lodging unit into 52 intervals of use to be sold individually.
The answer to how a timeshare works can be very complicated, as it really comes down to the type of membership you are considering purchasing and the terms and conditions of the contract.
Essentially, a timeshare is a vacation unit owned by several people. Each unit is divided into weeks, and these are sold separately. Timeshares were initially sold as “fixed weeks”, but in recent years this has been changing and some other timeshare plans and promotions have been introduced.
A timeshare is a very expensive financial commitment, it should never be considered as a financial investment. Timeshare owners have many financial obligations associated with the resort. In addition to the down payment and the total purchase price, there are other expenses that will be continually charged to you, such as maintenance fees and special assessments, which are likely to increase each year. Another factor to keep in mind is that timeshares do not go up in value; in fact, a timeshare loses about 70% of its value at the time of purchase.
In recent years, and due to the increasing number of complaints and scams, timeshares have often been linked to tourism frauds. Unlike traditional rentals or hotel reservations, where the client has the option to choose where to stay and how much to pay, timeshares require a very expensive down payment.
Timeshares are often criticized for being too expensive and for the ever-increasing maintenance fees, and resale of a timeshare is almost impossible. However, what has hurt the industry the most are aggressive sales practices. Timeshare presentations are high-pressure, time-consuming and deceptive. During a timeshare presentation, it is not advisable to rely on the verbal promises told by the timeshare salesperson, as those promises do not really answer the question of how a timeshare works.