The biggest myth about vacation ownership maintenance fees is that they are a scam. If you purchase with a reputable timeshare company there is no scam involved, rather, you are helping to protect your investment and ensure that your property is as beautiful when you arrive as the day you bought your timeshare.

Maintenance fees are unavoidable with any kind of vacation ownership, whether that be full ownership, deeded fractional ownership or timeshare. When you purchase 100% of a property, your maintenance fees convert into your costs forever! When you buy fractional or timeshare, you benefit from being able to share the expenses of maintenance and pay maintenance proportionally for the weeks that you use. That makes much more sense if you are only going to be spending a couple weeks every year in your vacation property.

Another myth is that your maintenance fees just cover your timeshare unit and therefore your fees may seem to be too high. In general, vacation ownership maintenance fees will cover the maintenance of all common areas, including the pools, spas, gyms, beach furniture and so forth. Therefore the more facilities and luxury you enjoy in the resort, the more you will pay for maintenance. The great thing is that your fees will be worth it and you can see exactly where your money is being spent.

Finally, part of your maintenance fees will be dedicated to the replacement of furniture and other elements that may need to be replaced over time. The natural order of things is that they will deteriorate if they are not used and maintained.

The key is not to see you maintenance fees as a hidden expense but an integral part of vacation ownership.