There is perpetual confusion among timeshare owners as to what “maintenance fees” truly are. Why am I paying them, what is being maintained, how do developers determine what they are, who does that money go to? For the most part, there never seem to be real answers to those questions, sort of like “shipping and handling fees” for products bought on TV. Does is really cost $10.99 for someone to ‘handle’ a set of kitchen knives?
But there is a recent posted item from Disney that sheds a little light on what they consider maintenance.
There will be “the refinishing of wood floors or replacing of carpets; timeshare units repainted, and blinds or drapery replaced. Sofas and love seats are to be reupholstered and all one-bedroom and larger timeshare units … will receive the addition of a twin sleeper chair. Kitchens will gain new granite countertops and new hardware for the cabinetry; ceiling fans will be replaced throughout; and new lamps will be added in the living room and master bedrooms. Electronics will receive an upgrade as all televisions are replaced with flat panel units.”
That’s the sort of transparency that all timeshare developers should be using. That way if your maintenance fees increase dramatically or subtly from year to year, at least you’ll know why, and developers would be far less likely to be able to hide what they are using your money for.
From other web references, here are some other examples of what maintenance fees may cover:
- furnishings and carpet
- property taxes
- Insurance
- cable television
- phone and utilities
The explanation for the blanketing of these fees together is so that you “don’t have to worry about them” yourself, but often the developer won’t give you the option to line item these costs, because they don’t want you to be exactly aware of what they’re charging you for, and they probably don’t want to be legally responsible for paying for something specific – they would want to have the option to spend that money on anything they want.
That flexibility, however, also gives developers the right to increase your fee rate at any time without any real explanation, and that is where the trouble usually starts. You ask why you’re suddenly paying hundreds of dollars per year more than you intended, and they can say, “well, the changing maintenance fees are talked about in your original contract …”
About the Author: The timeshare experts at Apex Professionals, LLC, concentrate on helping disillusioned timeshare holders to rid themselves of unwanted maintenance fees, unnecessary assessment costs, and to do away with those annoying high-interest mortgages by offering to take over unwanted timeshare agreements instantly. Related posts:
At Festiva, we always provide a detailed line item summary of the annual maintenance fees to our owners and members. We also keep owners informed through our website or e-mails about upgrades, improvements and refurbishments at our properties. In addition to what you listed above, maintenance fees also cover security, unit upkeep and refurbishing, housekeeping, and maintenance and upkeep of common areas and amenities (pools, golf courses, landscaping, parking lots, etc.).