exchange company membership

Definition: A timeshare resale is simply a timeshare, which is being sold by the current owner well below retail resort pricing.

Even if you don’t attend a timeshare presentation, when you purchase directly from a resort, you pay to absorb all of the administrative and marketing fees associated with the sale of the property. When buying from a current owner, you pay only the fair market value of the timeshare. This discounted price can be anywhere from 40% – 65% below the developer’s price. Pricing of timeshare resale weeks varies depending on a variety of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, the time of year, geographical location, resort’s amenities, size of the unit, unit amenities, and of course, market demand.

Rights of ownership (such as membership in the resort owners association) are transferred directly from the current owner to you when you purchase on the timeshare resale market.

Exchange company membership is one of the features typically not transferred to the buyer through the purchase of a timeshare resale, unless specifically stated in the sales contract. Make sure you clearly understand the additional cost associated with exchange company membership, as you will find many vacation advantages of becoming a member!

Lets briefly talk about the points system as it relates to the timeshare industry. Points are a unit of measurement sometimes used to determine the value of a timeshare interval. Points are assigned based on a week’s desirability in terms of season, size of the unit, amenities and location. The more desirable or in-demand a resort week is, the more points it is worth. If you are considering purchasing from an owner whose timeshare resale is part of a points-based system, don’t fret that you will not enjoy the same benefits that traditional timeshares afford owners. Many respected multi-destination resort groups such as Wyndham Vacation Club use points-based programs to provide their owners with flexible usage options that allow them to stay for a shorter or longer period than the traditional weeklong timeshare interval. Vacation Clubs are a type of vacation ownership (often referred to as a membership) that commonly utilizes a points-program. Vacation Club members are given points each year which can be used at resorts within the Vacation Club’s network. As with traditional timeshares, Vacation Club memberships can be sold on the resale market, since a legal deeded or RTU (Right to Use) contract (see below for a detailed explanation) is the designation of ownership.

Deeded timeshares are treated just like traditional deeded real estate. In other words, once you have purchased a timeshare resale, you own it in perpetuity. It is yours to use, give away, rent out, sell or leave to your heirs. When purchasing a deeded timeshare resale, be sure that the new deed in your name is recorded in the county where the vacation property is located.

In locations where deeded ownership of vacation properties is not permitted by law (primarily outside the United States) the owner is given a contract very similar to a lease which defines a set time during which the owner has claim to the property. RTU contracts commonly encompass time frames ranging from 20 to 99 years. If you are thinking of purchasing a RTU timeshare resale property, be sure you know how many years of usage are left on the contract before initializing a sales transaction.

A maintenance fee is a mandatory fee that the resort management company or homeowners association charges its owners for the upkeep of the timeshare property. This fee most often covers property taxes, utilities, insurance, and any other maintenance expenses. Maintenance fees are generally levied on annual basis, however certain resorts may levy them monthly or biennially. When purchasing a timeshare resale, you will pay annual maintenance fees as well as any other associated fees for the property in which you have purchased.

How to close the deal on resale timeshare property: Complete timeshare closing and title transfer services are available from a variety of well-respected companies. Their services can be all-encompassing including, but not limited to, deed preparation, management of the escrow of funds, and preparation of timeshare estoppel certificates and closing statements, or they can handle any single aspect of the closing which you do not feel capable of handling yourself. We always recommend using a respectable title company that deals exclusively in timeshare properties. Buyers of timeshare resales are expected to pay most fees associated with the closing and transfer of the title.

So, in closing, if you are a savvy buyer, looking for a great deal on resale timeshare property, do your homework, do the math, and come out a winner! You could save thousands over what the property developers get from retail resort pricing!

To learn more about Timeshareflex, please visit our website.