Buy Timeshare Resale? : The Truth About Resales

Should I consider buying a timeshare resale?

A timeshare resale involves purchasing a timeshare property from the current owner instead of directly from the timeshare company or resort and it comes in mind buy timeshare resale?. The original timeshare buyer is looking to sell their stake and terminate their contract obligation to continue with buy timeshare resale?. At first glance, this secondary resale market appears in buy timeshare resale? to offer a more affordable way to buy a timeshare compared to retail prices of buy timeshare resale?.

However, acquiring someone else’s timeshare contract is filled with risks and potential downsides that often get overlooked of buy timeshare resale?.Many timeshare owners struggle and do not know that buy timeshare resale? to comprehend just how difficult it is to escape the perpetual fees and restrictions after purchasing, making them desperate to sell at any cost.

Are Timeshare Resales Ever a Good Deal?

On the surface, a timeshare resale seems like it could be a bargain. After all, you are buying at a steeply discounted price compared to what the current owner originally paid the timeshare company. But in reality in buy timeshare resale?, you are taking over someone else’s financial headache with few advantages of buy timeshare resale?.

The discounted price doesn’t make up for inheriting costly, long-term contract obligations from the previous owner. You will still need to pay ever-increasing annual maintenance fees to the timeshare company, often amounting to thousands per year. And you receive no special privileges, just the same restrictions on dates, locations, and amenities access.

Is Timeshare Resale a Scam?

While there may be a few legitimately motivated individual timeshare owners looking to sell, the broader timeshare resale market is unfortunately riddled with unscrupulous actors and scams. So the question buy timeshare resale? Dishonest timeshare resale companies make big promises but have no intention of providing the services they advertise.

Common Timeshare Resale Scam Red Flags

Some common tactics used by timeshare resale scammers include which you must know to know buy timeshare resale?:

• Requesting upfront fees before any actual resale service is rendered
• Using high-pressure sales tactics and “limited time” offers to rush buyers  
• Making false guarantees that they can quickly resell or rent out your timeshare
• Assuring you that you can easily exit the timeshare contract whenever you want
• Advertising drastically underpriced or “too good to be true” resale timeshare deals
• Claiming special insider connections or access to untapped buyer databases

Even if you avoid outright scams, there are conflicts of interest with any company involved in the resale process. Their monetary incentive is to convince buyers that the timeshare product is a good deal so they can complete a sale and earn commission fees.

Legitimate Resales Still Have Major Downsides

Purchasing a resale directly from an individual owner comes with its own issues and risks:

• You take over all existing loan balances and unpaid fees/taxes from the previous owner
• The resort may require you to pay for costly “special assessments” upon transfer
• You have zero ownership rights and can be denied usage by the resort at any time
• Rescinding or terminating the resale contract later is extremely expensive/difficult

While you may save some upfront costs going the resale route, buyer beware. You have little recourse if saddled with a bad deal, and virtually no leverage for exiting or negotiating once the transaction is complete.

Is Timeshares Worth Buying?

Whether purchased directly to buy timeshare resale? from the resort on a promotional tour or through the resale market, timeshares are rarely worth the long term fees and obligations. Even at resale pricing, the total costs over a typical multi-decade contract duration make timeshares one of the worst “values” in vacation ownership options.

The Math Shows It’s Cheaper to Rent

Timeshare sales people love to boast about the upfront “savings” their product offers versus paying hotel rates for a similar number of nights annually. While there may be minor short-term savings, the cumulative costs quickly swamp any perceived discount within just a few years.

Independent financial analyses have consistently shown that renting hotel rooms, condos, or vacation homes is almost always cheaper than owning a timeshare, even when making conservative projections about inflation and nightly rental rates. Especially once you factor in the ever-escalating timeshare maintenance fees that compound over decades.

The difference of $50-100 per night in buy timeshare resale? for comparable accommodations adds up fast versus tens of thousands in perpetual fees and loan obligations with a timeshare. Flexibility and availability are immensely more valuable than being locked into one option that loses value immediately after purchase to buy timeshare resale?.

The Opportunity Cost Is Enormous

In addition to the excessive fees, there is a massive opportunity cost in tying up funds long-term into an inflexible and inevitably depreciating asset. The typical $20,000-50,000 investment into a timeshare would generate substantially higher returns if invested more wisely into diversified assets over the same period in buy timeshare resale?.

Not only do you lose out on that long-term compound growth by sinking money into a timeshare, you are saddling yourself with high borrowing costs and interest rates if financing any portion of the purchase with a loan. All for a vacation product that loses most of its value the second ink hits paper.

How to Avoid Timeshare Resale Scams?

The reality is there is no surefire way to safely navigate the timeshare resale landscape – the entire system is fraught with peril for buyers. However, if you insist on exploring resale options, extreme caution and diligence is a must. Assume any offering or sales pitch could potentially be a scam until definitively proven otherwise.

Do Your Own Extensive Research Upfront

Before even considering a particular resale opportunity, spend time thoroughly educating yourself on timeshare ownership from objective third-party sources. Understand exactly what you may be signing up for in terms of fees, booking rules, exit requirements, and more. Do not take any marketing claims at face value.

Once you have a clear understanding of the obligations, take a hard look at whether the costs and restrictions still make logical and financial sense for your situation over the extreme long-term duration. Run your own numbers on hypothetical annual fees, rental comparisons, and opportunity costs before moving forward.

Watch for These Red Flag Resale Scam Tactics

If a particular resale company uses the following high-pressure and dubious tactics, immediately disengage:

• Demanding upfront fees or “incentives” before providing full documentation
• Aggressive, time-sensitive sales techniques like “limited inventory” claims  
• Making hard guarantees about future resale value or exit opportunities 
• Avoiding direct answers about all perpetual fees, loan obligations, and restrictions
• Withholding details about your actual ownership rights and resort policies

Any sort of bait-and-switch, obfuscation of risks and requirements, or overly rosy promises of easy resales down the road should be seen as major red flags indicative of potential fraud or deception.

Even with total transparency, you still need to scrutinize whether taking over someone’s existing long-term contract is a prudent decision. Walk away from any transaction causing doubts or discomfort.

Navigating the Right to Exit Timeshare  

Even once buyers become informed about the risks and downsides, many still mistakenly assume that “getting out” of their timeshare contract will be relatively straightforward should their situations change down the road. This could not be further from reality.

Rescission Periods Provide Brief Safety Net  

The only real exit opportunity most timeshare purchasers have is through the legally-mandated “rescission period” or “cancellation window.” State timeshare laws typically allow new buyers 5-15 calendar days from signing the contract to reconsider their decision and cancel it obligation-free.

During this recession window, timeshare companies are required to accept cancellation notifications from buyers according to specific protocols outlined in the contract. Buyers can essentially back out for any reason, no questions asked.

Perpetual Contracts Are Designed for No Exits

Outside of that short rescission window, the language and provisions embedded across timeshare contracts are unilaterally structured to ensure owners have virtually no ability to exit or cancel their obligations unilaterally. This perpetual ownership model guarantees long-term, permanent revenue streams for the corporations.  

The contracts legally establish the timeshare as an inheritable “perpetuity interest” that auto-renews indefinitely until specific conditions are met for official termination and exit – conditions which are essentially impossible for individual owners to satisfy alone.

Strict rules also prevent or heavily penalize owners from simply abandoning or refusing to pay fees. The companies can easily foreclose and proceed with collections. So there are no easy “outs” once the clock runs out on rescission.

Cons of Timeshare Resale You Don’t Always Hear About

While the well-known issues like high-maintenance fees and restrictive usage policies are clear negatives about timeshare ownership in general, there are several key drawbacks specific to the resale market that often go unmentioned:

You Inherit Prior Owner’s Worst Contract  

When taking over someone else’s timeshare via resale, you are automatically absorbing the oldest, least favorable contract version originally purchased years or decades ago. As timeshare companies update and modify their agreements over time, prior owners are stuck grandfathered into antiquated terms.

Newer contracts may have different policies regarding things like guest allowances, upgrade opportunities, and various nickel-and-dime fees. The original purchaser is locked into archaic language with no mechanism to migrate to updated agreements as consumer-friendly provisions get introduced.

Liability for Prior Owner’s Financial Obligations

One of the biggest pitfalls of the timeshare resale process is willingly assuming 100% legal liability for all outstanding loans, back fees, special assessments, and taxes attached to the prior owner’s contract and property share.   

Far too often, individual owners looking to exit their timeshares by offloading to an unsuspecting resale buyer have racked up extensive debt obligations over years of neglected payments. Maybe they can no longer afford the fees. Maybe they intentionally sabotaged their contract to facilitate offloading liability.

Whatever the case may be, the new resale purchaser becomes solely and fully responsible for those entire delinquent payment histories and loan balances the moment pen hits paper – even if the full extent isn’t disclosed transparently upfront.

Special Assessments Can Blindside New Owners

One of the most under-the-radar yet potentially devastating financial impacts for resale buyers involves special assessment fees unilaterally imposed by the timeshare management company for things like:

• Major renovations or construction projects 
• Weather/natural disaster recovery efforts
• Implementation of new resort amenities
• Covering delinquencies from foreclosures

These one-time assessment charges for capital expenditures at the resort can run into the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars for timeshare owners. And the brutal reality is when you acquire a resale contract, you immediately inherit any assessments on the horizon.

So even if you negotiated what felt like a great price on the resale, a sudden multi-thousand dollar special assessment bill can quickly negate any perceived discount. The prior owner likely already knew about looming assessments, which is why they wanted out.

If You Are Trapped in an Existing Timeshare, Timeshare Exit Today May Be Able to Help

If after reading all of the warnings about timeshare resales and the pitfalls of perpetual ownership, you find yourself realizing you are already ensnared in an existing unwanted timeshare contract, there is still hope. While the deck is stacked against owners by design, there are a few reputable companies that focus on timeshare exit services and advocacy that may be able to provide assistance.

One such firm is Timeshare Exit Today, an organization dedicated specifically to helping owners legally and permanently terminate their timeshare contracts and rid themselves of those money pit liabilities for good. Their experienced team understands all the loopholes, tactics, and pressure points to strategically apply in negotiations with resort companies.  

Proven Track Record : Buy Timeshare Resale?

While they provide no guaranteed outcomes and do charge service fees for their work, Timeshare Exit Today does offer a proven track record of successfully freeing thousands of distressed owners from their perpetual timeshare liabilities over the years when resorts refused to let them out.  

Their approach focuses on upholding consumer rights and leveraging defensible claims surrounding deceptive sales practices, non-compliance issues, and contractual breaches used to force settlements where resorts agree to terminations. So the burden and legal fees get shifted back onto the resorts looking to cash in on unsuspecting owners.

For those feeling inescapably handcuffed to a financially ruinous timeshare neither you nor your family can or want to continue paying for anymore, exploring Timeshare Exit Today’s services could be the best potential lifeline. While an upfront investment is required, it may be worthwhile compared to subjecting yourself to decades more of perpetual, exponentially growing fees.

Summary

If your timeshare situation has genuinely become untenable despite your best efforts, seeking legitimate external exit assistance may provide the only realistic path forward when dealing with corporations determined to squeeze every cent from owners indefinitely.

If you need a credible ally to advocate on your behalf and fight the notoriously aggressive timeshare companies tooth and nail to free you from your contract prison, take a look at Timeshare Exit Today’s background and consumer testimonials. For many, they could end up being the lesser of two costly evils compared to the alternative of indefinite entrapment in an albatross timeshare.