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8 Timeshare Gotchas (and Where to Get Solid Advice)

Timeshare Gotchas
(Photo: Thinkstock/iStock)

“Congratulations! You’ve won a free weekend in Florida! All you have to do is attend a brief session where we’ll let you in on a great vacation opportunity.”

You’ve probably heard or read that pitch—or some variation on it—in the mail, via email, or from a street hawker. And you probably know that the objective is to get you to buy into a timeshare.

Timeshares themselves are not all scams. Lots of owners are extremely pleased with their timeshares, and many own multiple intervals. Like conventional vacation rentals, they offer a lot more space and features per dollar than a comparably priced hotel room. But timeshares entail some unexpected risks and peculiarities. Before you buy into the idea, you need to get familiar with the key timeshare gotchas.

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