The Timeshare, the Forgotten Option

As the leaves begin to fall and the air turns crisp, many of our thoughts start to turn towards that mid-winter vacation and just where we’ll go. Perhaps stay in one of the finest hotels in the tropics? Or head out on the open water on a cruise? Or what about that forgotten place, the home away from home – the timeshare?
Timeshares, among the many other types of homes, have had their ups and downs ever since they first showed up on the market in the 1980s. They didn’t really become hugely popular in Canada until about 20 years later, and they remained one of the best and cheapest ways to take a vacation for several years. But, with a downturn in the economy hitting in 2008, people could no longer afford to pay their mortgages, let alone the payment on their timeshare. Now though, the economy is coming back and what’s even more interesting for these vacation properties, timeshares are becoming more available, which might not have them forgotten for long.
Many of the timeshares that Canadians have sought after in the past are in sunny places across the border in the States. The U.S. is a favourite spot for Canadians to travel because it’s far without being too far and we can still get in all that much needed tropical sunshine in places like Hawaii, Florida, and California, to name just a few U.S. hot spots. More recently, American vacations have become even more popular among Canadians because it’s so cheap! With the Canadian dollar just recently hitting parity with the U.S. dollar, and with it being much higher for months before that, going to the States for your vacay is starting to pay off!
There’s one more reason though, aside from what’s going on in the current economy, for the rising again of the timeshare. This is because the people who were the first to get in on the timeshare deals are now reaching an age and point in their life where they no longer want to travel, or want to travel somewhere different than the same place they’ve been going to for the past 20 years. Because of this, this “first generation” of timeshare owners are now looking to sell off their share – and there’s a lot more on the market because of it!
Remember that a timeshare doesn’t have a mortgage like a permanent residence, nor is it an investment like your permanent residence. And while you won’t be gaining any equity in your timeshare, you will get that return on your investment when you’re sitting on the same beautiful beach year after year!