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When you financially strip down timeshares, they certainly are not as attractive or as sexy at first blush. If you take away all the trappings like the exotic locales, the seemingly low cost per vacation and the over-friendly salespeople, you potentially take on a growing financial burden that may last your entire life. Even if you are considering a resale timeshare for a low upfront fee, be sure to figure out how much it may cost you in the future.

The idea of a timeshare sounds fantastic. You can purchase one week of use of a condo unit at a luxury resort that normally would be completely unaffordable if you were to buy the unit outright. Although there is typically a high front-end fee to purchase a timeshare, a good timeshare salesperson can go through the finances and magically convince you how you’d actually save money in the long run. The annual maintenance fee sounds reasonable in order to keep the unit in tip-top shape.

But what is it really? Timeshares are prepaid vacations. You pay for time at the resort in full without ever going. The average upfront cost for a timeshare in 2007 according to ARDA (American Resort Development Association) was $19,000. The purchase typically grants you a lifetime of one week stays. So, if you used it 19 times, the cost per vacation week would end up about $1,000 per vacation week (or roughly $140 per day). Not bad for luxury resort accommodations for up to 4-6 people.

But will you use it 19 times? If you end up using it once or twice, that $19,000 seems awfully steep for a week or two of decent vacation. What could you have gotten for $19,000 on one vacation? You’d have servants, 24-hour care, a butler, a limo driver, a personal chef…you get the idea.

Now, there are timeshare resale “deals” where the upfront costs are very low compared to $19,000. So, what if there were no upfront cost? There are still annual maintenance fees. The average for a one-bedroom in 2007 was approximately $600 per year. Still, any vacationer would pay $600 for a week for the family or friends to go to an upscale resort right? It would be less than a $90 a day total for 4-6 people!

But would you pay $1200 to stay for that week? $1800? Annual maintenance fees must be paid regardless whether the timeshare is utilized or not during the year. So, if you miss a year, tack on $600 to the bill of the last time you went to your timeshare. Also, maintenance fees will increase over time. What may have been $600 a year could be $700 or more years later. The timeshare vacation gets less appealing fast.

Some owners may say, “I’d still pay $1200 or $1800 for our whole family to go to a nice place every 2-3 years or so.” Keep in mind that those amounts do not include the upfront cost. The totals also do not include any special assessment fees that the timeshare property management companies can impose unilaterally on all their timeshare owners whenever they choose. Plus, all the fees are mandatory. You do not have a choice to pay or not.

An alternative would be to rent timeshares when you want to vacation. Developers are renting their unused timeshare inventory, often for less than what owners pay in maintenance fees. The timeshare rental industry is booming because of the lack of use by owners. By renting units, the developers earn an additional income stream on top of the maintenance fees and special assessments paid by owners who never used their timeshares that year.

Timeshare ownership will only make fiscal sense if you plan to use your unit every year without exception. If a substantial amount is paid upfront, then the plan on using it consistently over many, many years for you to break even.

Bobby Hernandez is a leading consultant within the timeshare industry. He has years of experience with the sales & marketing of timeshares. He’s a previous timeshare owner, and now advocates extreme caution for those looking to purchase a timeshare as the financial obligations for many would-be buyers will often exceed the vacationing benefits.

Mr. Hernandez is most dismayed by the number of owners trying to resell their timeshares. His personal resale experience includes many broken promises and costly, yet unsuccessful resale attempts. Feeling exhausted and jaded, he decided to listen to a company called Timeshare Relief Their service not only promised but delivered on the permanent elimination his financial burden related to his timeshare.

More information can be found at http://www.timesharerelief.com including a free online presentation about the company and the options available to owners.

Marriott Time Share – How To Sell or Rent

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