Owners of timeshare properties know the drill. Each year, they receive a billing statement indicating their annual maintenance fees for the timeshare they’ve purchased. On top of those yearly recurring fees, timeshare owners get billed for what timeshare companies refer to as special assessment fees. These fees include charges for amenities, in addition to insurance costs acquired over the year.
Fees for amenities cover a variety of things. It is not uncommon to find items like a newly installed bathtub or pool, high definition TVs, and even a new sound system for the entertainment area, all listed under charges for amenities of their timeshare unit. Fees reflected under amenities normally amount to a few hundred dollars and may even go all the way up to a couple thousand dollars.
Another type of fees charged under special assessment includes insurance coverage as well as expenses incurred due to damages in the property. Most of these expenses can be attributed to natural causes, accidents, and other unanticipated circumstances. For instance, a timeshare unit may sustain some water damage after a flooding incident in the wake of a recent thunderstorm. Hence, timeshare properties located in areas with highly unpredictable and constantly changing weather patterns suffer most, and are thus more likely to incur fees of this nature because of the increased likelihood of experiencing these accidents.
With the greater incidence of these events, companies that offer timeshare, often transfer the burden of taking on the rising insurance costs onto the owner. To make matters worse, insurance companies charge a lot more for damages that have been repeatedly incurred by the property. Thus, the location of your timeshare becomes of prime importance if you are looking to cut back on these fees. So if the idea of being constantly charged for these damages greatly concern you, then it is best that you opt out of buying a timeshare in such areas. If, on the other hand, you are already saddled with this problem, consider seeking timeshare relief.
Special assessments come with a brief explanation justifying the charges reflected in the notice. And refusing to pay for the newly installed lighting fixtures in your timeshare unit can not be easily settled in your favor, because more often than not, your contract stipulates your agreement to pay all required fees that come with maintaining your unit.
In effect, special assessments effectively bind you to your timeshare unit, with their seemingly unending fees and charges, most of which are incontestable. Therefore, it is prudent that timeshare investors make the effort to understand the terms and conditions prescribed in their timeshare ownership. Avoid being trapped into a timeshare contract that holds many biases against you.