Timeshares are marketed to buyers as a way to take regular, exotic getaways and save money. This image of budget-friendly vacation ownership is tempting, but unfortunately, it is a lie. Setting aside the massive purchase price of a timeshare, there are many hidden costs of timeshare ownership that you won’t find out about until it’s too late.
Bills for mortgage interest, annual maintenance fees, special assessments, exchange fees, and more await you after you sign a timeshare purchase agreement. Paying these fees is not only a headache but a severe financial strain that you didn’t intend to sign up for. To add insult to injury, getting out of the timeshare agreement will prove to be just another headache.
As the top timeshare exit company in the world, Centerstone Group’s team has decades of experience in helping thousands of timeshare owners to be free of the excessive fees and financial burdens of timeshares. Here, we’ll help you understand exactly what that timeshare contract means for you financially.
This article will cover the various hidden costs and fees that come along with owning a timeshare. We’ll look at how timeshare companies “disclose” (which usually means disguising or ignoring) these fees as well as how timeshare owners can avoid or mitigate some of the hidden charges.
No, timeshare companies don’t disclose all costs upfront. At their high-pressure sales presentations, timeshare salespeople are focused on getting you to sign a contract first — and possibly purchase expensive upgrades after that. They infamously minimize (or sometimes even outright lie about) the additional fees that timeshare owners can expect to bear year after year. Though you might expect some of those costs, others may come as quite a surprise.
These experiences are as old as the industry, and there’s no sign of them slowing down any time soon. In 2024, the New York Times ran a story about a couple who joined a vacation club for the eye-watering price of $27,000. To the couple’s horror, they later found hidden upgrade fees, unavailable resorts, and a promise of “free” nights at resorts that required further purchases to use.
If you’re looking into a timeshare purchase, the best practice is to do your own research before signing any document with a timeshare company. Talking to current owners, checking with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and doing some research online may reveal many hidden fees. Several of these are discussed below.
There are a variety of unexpected fees associated with owning a timeshare, including annual maintenance fees, special assessments, and exchange fees. But timeshare companies are as creative as they are obsessed with making a buck. Therefore, the fees listed below probably aren’t the only ones you’ll find, but they are some of the most common.
If you don’t have enough money on hand to purchase your timeshare interest outright, you will have to get a mortgage to pay for it. Unlike the mortgage on a traditional home though, there is not as much security for a timeshare mortgage. (Timeshares are simply not worth as much as typical real estate, if anything.)
As a result of this value problem, banks generally don’t want to make a financial commitment (or take a risk) on timeshare mortgages. That means that your only alternative for a mortgage loan is with a company tied to the timeshare company itself.
The interest rates on these loans are often sky-high — up to 17% or more. Your timeshare salesperson certainly won’t mention that when they’re trying to sell you on what a good deal your timeshare is.
One of the biggest pain points for timeshare owners is the constant bills for annual maintenance fees. Timeshare maintenance fees are used by resorts for the upkeep and repair of common areas, landscaping, and other elements of the timeshare resort — and to pay themselves a management fee. While your salesperson might have told you what those fees would be for your first year, they likely neglected to mention those fees would rise every year.
In 2024, the American Resort Developers Association (ARDA) estimated the average maintenance fee amount to be $1,260 per year. A conservative estimate of fee increases would be 10% per year. If you’re paying the average amount, then in five years, you’ll be paying over $2,000 per year in maintenance fees.
Special assessment fees are another fact of timeshare ownership that were likely glazed over in the sales presentation. Special assessments are non-regular costs assessed by your homeowners association (HOA), which is likely run by your timeshare company, to pay for major repairs, renovations, and improvements to the timeshare property.
Special assessments will vary based on the size of the project they’re being collected for, but they can run in the hundreds or thousands of dollars when they come due.
Another of the hidden costs of timeshare ownership is the fee for a timeshare exchange company or exchange program. Timeshare exchange companies are supposed to let you take your timeshare interest and temporarily “trade” it with another member so you can use someone else’s timeshare for a year.
There are many problems with these companies, not the least of which is the availability of reservations when you actually want to take a trip. Even if those problems did not exist though, exchange programs do not come cheap. Expect to pay at least hundreds of dollars just to be a member, and more once you make a reservation.
And if you think that you will just avoid these companies, watch out — your timeshare company may sign you up as part of your timeshare purchase.
It’s hard to avoid the hidden costs of timeshare ownership. There are, however, some pointed steps you can take to avoid or minimize the damage they can cause.
In most cases, it’s best not to purchase a timeshare at all. In practically all situations, taking traditional vacations (i.e., getting a hotel room or renting a condo) will be cheaper and less stressful than becoming involved with the timeshare industry.
If you decide you still want to sign a timeshare contract, the best practice is to pay cash for it. If you can’t afford that, then you probably can’t afford a timeshare at all. Not having a mortgage means you don’t have to pay interest or associated mortgage fees to the timeshare company.
Also, not having a mortgage minimizes legal and financial risk if you do run into money problems in the future. If you don’t pay your mortgage, you will likely suffer through a foreclosure that can cause you legal trouble and destroy your credit.
Maintenance fees and special assessments, unfortunately, are part of the experience of owning a timeshare and can’t be avoided. Failing to pay these fees can result in a foreclosure in the same way as not paying your mortgage.
But with exchange company fees, you may have some more wiggle room because an exchange company usually has a contract separate from the timeshare company, which means it may be easier to get out of. Getting out of both the timeshare contract and the exchange company contract is the best idea. Even if you wanted to keep the timeshare though, consulting with an expert on the proper procedure for breaking with the exit company is a good idea to help save on fees.
Finally, if you currently suffer from one or all of these problems, you can minimize the damage by looking into a timeshare exit with Centerstone Group. We can work with you to find the best way out of your contract and the hidden costs of timeshare ownership. Once you’ve started getting out, we can also help you begin to repair the damage that has already been done with credit monitoring and repair services.
As long as you allow them, timeshare developers will use your timeshare to nickel and dime you for the rest of your life. Because the hidden costs of timeshare ownership are how developers make their money, the fees will come early and strong, and they will never let up.
The best thing that you can do is consult an expert about how to end the contract and all of its associated fees permanently. That’s where Centerstone Group comes in. With our unmatched experience in the timeshare industry, we can use our proprietary three-pronged strategy to design a plan for you and get you out of that timeshare.
We are an A+-rated, accredited business with the BBB, where we also hold a 4.77-out-of-5-star customer satisfaction rating. Wherever your timeshare is and however long you have held it, we can help you find a winning strategy.
Contact us today for a free consultation so we can see what we can do for you.
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