Typical annual maintenance fees for timeshares in 2025

Last updated 2026-07-26

how much is a timeshare, really, once you count the fees

The purchase price is the part timeshare buyers remember. The maintenance fee is the part they live with. A one-week timeshare interval typically sells (or resells) for anywhere from under $1,000 on the secondary market to $20,000-plus for a new-purchase deeded week at a name-brand resort, but that upfront number is almost beside the point after year one. The recurring annual maintenance fee is what actually determines whether the ownership is affordable. According to the American Resort Development Association's (ARDA) 2023 State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry report, the average annual maintenance fee per timeshare interval was $1,190 in 2022. That figure is an industry average across a huge range of resort types, so plenty of owners pay less and plenty pay a lot more. A studio-sized interval at a modest drive-to resort might run $600 to $800 a year. A two-bedroom, lock-off unit at a major branded resort in a high-demand market (think Hawaii, Orlando, or a ski town) can run $1,800 to $2,800 or higher, especially once you're several years into a fee schedule that climbs every year. So when someone asks "how much do timeshares cost," the honest answer has two parts: the purchase price (which is often negotiable to near-zero on the resale market) and the maintenance fee (which is not negotiable and never really goes away as long as you own). Owners who bought resale for $1 still owe the same annual fee as the person who paid $25,000 for the identical week.

how much are timeshares to buy versus to keep

Buying and keeping are two different cost problems, and conflating them is how a lot of people get talked into a bad deal at a sales presentation. On the buy side, developer (retail) prices for a one-week timeshare interval commonly range from $10,000 to $25,000 depending on brand, season, and unit size, though high-end fractional or fixed-week luxury products can run well past $50,000. On the resale market, the same intervals frequently trade for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, because timeshares have almost no resale liquidity and many owners are simply trying to escape the fee, not profit from a sale. On the keep side, the maintenance fee is the number that matters for a household budget. ARDA's data puts the industry average at $1,190 a year, and most contracts include an annual increase, commonly cited in owner complaints and state consumer guidance as running 3% to 5% a year, sometimes more. Over a 10-year holding period, a fee that starts at $1,000 and rises 5% annually reaches roughly $1,630 by year ten, and the owner will have paid over $12,500 in cumulative fees for that decade alone, before any special assessment. That compounding is the part sales presentations rarely walk through with a calculator.

what's a typical maintenance fee by unit size and resort type

Studio or 1-bedroom, off-brand/independent resort	$500 - $900
1-bedroom, branded resort (mid-market)	$900 - $1,400
2-bedroom, branded resort, popular destination	$1,400 - $2,200
2-bedroom lock-off, luxury or high-demand market (Hawaii, major ski resorts)	$2,000 - $3,000+
Fractional/private residence club interval	$3,000 - $10,000+	These ranges are directional, built from the ARDA average and the wide spread commonly reported in owner forums and state consumer-protection complaint files, not a single controlled study; treat them as a planning range, not a quote. If you own or are considering a specific resort, the actual current fee schedule (and any pending special assessment) should come from your HOA's annual budget disclosure, not a marketing brochure.

There's no single national fee schedule. Fees are set resort-by-resort (or by the HOA/owners' association that runs the property) based on the actual cost to operate and maintain the building, so location, brand, and unit size all move the number a lot. | Unit type / tier | Typical annual fee range (approx.) |

why do maintenance fees keep going up every year

Maintenance fees fund the actual operating budget of the resort: payroll, insurance, property taxes, utilities, landscaping, furniture and appliance replacement, and a reserve fund for big-ticket repairs like roofs and HVAC systems. Insurance and property tax lines have both climbed sharply in coastal and hurricane-exposed states over the past several years, and those increases flow directly into owner fees since there's no other funding source. Most timeshare governing documents allow the HOA board to raise fees annually without a fresh owner vote, often capped at a percentage tied to inflation or board discretion. A 3-5% annual increase is common enough that consumer advocates treat it as the baseline expectation, not the exception. Over 15-20 years of ownership, that compounding can roughly double or triple the fee from its starting point. The part that catches owners off guard is that the fee increase is contractual, not optional. You agreed to it when you signed the purchase contract or accepted a deeded transfer, and stopping payment doesn't cancel the obligation. It can instead trigger late fees, collections, and eventually foreclosure on the timeshare interest, which can also hit your credit report. If you're behind or thinking about stopping payment, talk to the HOA and, if needed, a licensed attorney in your state before doing anything, rather than just walking away.

what is a special assessment and how much can it cost

A special assessment is a one-time (or occasionally multi-year) extra bill layered on top of the regular annual maintenance fee, charged when the HOA's reserve fund can't cover an unplanned or major expense: storm damage, a roof replacement, an elevator overhaul, a full unit renovation cycle. Special assessments are the single biggest reason timeshare costs spike unpredictably. They aren't rare. Owners in hurricane-prone states (Florida in particular) have reported assessments ranging from a few hundred dollars to $3,000-$5,000 or more per interval after major storms, on top of that year's regular fee. Florida's timeshare statute requires that the association's budget and any assessment be adopted and disclosed to owners according to the governing documents and the statute's accounting and disclosure provisions, but it does not cap how large an assessment can be ^[1]. There's no federal cap on special assessment size, and few states impose one. The honest planning approach is to assume that at some point during ownership, most owners will face at least one assessment equal to a year's regular fee or more. If you're evaluating whether to keep a timeshare, budget for that possibility; it's not a hypothetical for most long-term owners.

are timeshares scams

The timeshare product itself is legal and regulated in every state that allows the sale of vacation ownership interests; it is not, structurally, a scam in the legal sense. But the sales process and, separately, the exit industry both have well-documented patterns of deceptive practices that consumer regulators actively pursue. On the sales side, the FTC and multiple state attorneys general have brought or supported enforcement actions over high-pressure sales tactics, misrepresented resale value, and false claims that a timeshare is a good "investment." The FTC's consumer guidance on timeshare resale scams warns that companies "may say they have a buyer lined up, or that your timeshare will sell quickly" and then charge upfront fees for a sale that never happens ^[2]. On the exit side, the scam pattern is even more consistent: a company cold-calls or advertises promising an easy, no-risk exit, collects a large upfront fee (often $3,000-$8,000+), and then does little or nothing, sometimes advising the owner to stop paying maintenance fees, which damages their credit and can lead to foreclosure. The FTC and a group of state attorneys general sued the operators of Reed Hein & Associates (which did business as Timeshare Exit Team) in a case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging the company collected more than $124 million from consumers with deceptive promises about its cancellation service; the company agreed to a settlement that included a $2.9 million payment and a ban from the timeshare exit business ^[3]. If a company promises they can get you out and wants payment in full before doing any work, that's the single biggest red flag in this industry. For a rundown on how legitimate exit paths differ from scam patterns, see timeshare exit companies.

how do you get out of a timeshare (the legitimate options)

There are really four legitimate paths off a timeshare, and which one applies depends heavily on timing. Rescission. If you just signed, every state gives buyers a window to cancel for any reason, no explanation needed, by sending written notice per the contract's instructions. The length of this window varies enormously by state, from as short as 3 days in some states to 15 days or more in others, so confirm your state's rescission window before assuming you're covered, and act immediately since these deadlines are strict and unforgiving. See how to get out of a timeshare for a state-by-state breakdown. Deed-back or surrender programs. Many resorts and management companies now run their own deed-back (sometimes called "exit" or "surrender") programs that let an owner in good standing (fees current, no liens) hand the deed back for free or a modest processing fee. This is the cleanest legitimate off-ramp for owners past their rescission window, and it should always be the first thing you check with your HOA before hiring anyone. Resale. Selling is legal but the resale market is genuinely weak; expect a low price, possibly near zero, and be prepared to pay closing costs yourself. Never pay an upfront fee to a company promising to find you a buyer; the FTC's own consumer guidance shows resale-fee scams are a recurring pattern in this industry ^[2]. Hiring a licensed professional for a contested exit. If a resort won't accept a deed-back and you believe the contract was misrepresented or otherwise voidable, a licensed real estate attorney in the state where the property sits can review your options. This route costs money and time, and it should come after you've ruled out rescission and deed-back.

how to sell a timeshare without getting scammed

Selling a timeshare yourself is possible but slow, and pricing expectations need to be realistic from day one. Most timeshares resell for a small fraction of the original purchase price, and a meaningful share list for $1 on secondary marketplaces just to escape the annual fee. Before listing anywhere, get current on the maintenance fee (a buyer's title search will surface any unpaid balance and it will kill the deal), pull your deed or contract to confirm exactly what you're transferring, and get a written payoff/transfer estimate from the HOA so you know closing costs upfront. List through the resort's own resale program if one exists, since that route usually has the most credible buyer pool. Watch for the two most common resale scams: a "buyer" who wants you to pay a transfer or escrow fee before any purchase closes, and a company that charges you an upfront "marketing fee" to list your timeshare with vague promises of a quick sale. The FTC's own consumer guidance specifically warns owners about companies charging upfront fees with false promises of a fast resale or exit ^[2]. For more on legitimate exit routes if a sale isn't realistic, see timeshare cancellation and how to get out of timeshare.

how to get rid of a timeshare you inherited

Inherited timeshares are one of the most common reasons people search for an exit, and the fee obligation follows the deed, not the original buyer. If you're named as a beneficiary or the estate transfers the deed to you, you become responsible for the annual maintenance fee and any special assessments the moment the transfer is recorded, whether or not you ever use the property or even wanted it. The estate has options before the transfer is final. An executor can disclaim (formally refuse) the inheritance on the heir's behalf in many states, which passes the timeshare interest elsewhere per the resort's contract terms or, if no one accepts it, back to the resort. Some resorts also have a specific deed-back process for estates, since they'd rather take a paid-up week back than chase a deceased owner's family for fees. If you've already accepted the deed and want out, check with the HOA about a deed-back program first; many will accept a surrender from an heir even if they wouldn't from a distressed owner, since it clears their books of a difficult collection case. Don't assume you're stuck just because a relative left you a timeshare in a will.

how do maintenance fees compare to other vacation ownership costs

It helps to see maintenance fees next to the other recurring vacation-property costs people already budget for, since a timeshare fee isn't automatically cheaper than the alternatives, and sometimes it's more expensive per week of actual use. A typical HOA fee on a standard vacation condo runs anywhere from $300 to $800 a month depending on market, which sounds much higher than a timeshare's annual fee, but that condo owner gets 52 weeks of access, not one. Per week of usable vacation time, a $1,190 average timeshare fee for a single week works out to roughly $1,190 per week of access, whereas a $500/month condo HOA fee spread across even modest personal use (say, 6 weeks a year) works out closer to $1,000 per week, plus the condo has resale value that a timeshare largely lacks. This comparison is imperfect since a condo also carries a mortgage and property tax the owner keeps regardless of a timeshare, but it's a useful gut check: the timeshare fee is not automatically the cheap option, and it climbs every year regardless of how many weeks you actually use.

what happens if you stop paying timeshare maintenance fees

Stopping payment is not a legitimate exit strategy, and some exit-scam operators specifically (and irresponsibly) tell owners to do it. Don't take that advice. Missing payments typically triggers late fees first, then referral to a collections agency, then, if the balance stays unpaid, foreclosure on the timeshare interest by the HOA, similar in mechanism to a home foreclosure. A timeshare foreclosure can appear on your credit report and can, depending on the state and the specific debt, result in a deficiency judgment for the unpaid balance plus collection costs. Some states also allow the HOA to pursue the owner in small claims or civil court for the fee balance even after foreclosure clears the deed. If you genuinely cannot afford the fee anymore, the responsible path is to contact the HOA directly about a deed-back or hardship option before you miss a payment, not after. Missing payments to force a resolution almost always makes your position worse, not better.

how exithonest.com's exit kit fits into all this

Everything above is free information you can act on yourself: confirming your rescission window, requesting your HOA's deed-back policy in writing, checking whether your state's attorney general has consumer guidance on your specific resort or management company. Some owners want a structured, one-time resource that walks through documentation, sample request letters, and a decision framework for their specific situation (rescission-eligible, deed-back candidate, inherited ownership, or facing a fee dispute) without hiring an ongoing exit company or paying a recurring retainer. That's what the $149 one-time Timeshare Exit Kit is built for: a flat-fee, self-directed toolkit, not a promise of a specific outcome, and not a substitute for a licensed attorney if your situation is contested. You can build one for your situation at /exit-kit-builder. We don't contact the resort or developer on your behalf and we don't promise a specific outcome; nobody legitimately can, given how much state law and individual contract terms vary.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a timeshare on average?

Purchase prices for a one-week interval typically run $10,000-$25,000 new from a developer, though resale prices are often just a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. The annual maintenance fee averages $1,190 per interval according to ARDA's 2023 industry report, and that fee recurs every year regardless of what you paid to buy in.

How much do timeshares cost per year to maintain?

The industry-average annual maintenance fee is $1,190 per interval per ARDA's 2023 report, but actual fees range roughly $500-$3,000+ depending on unit size, brand, and location. Fees typically increase 3-5% annually, and special assessments can add several hundred to several thousand dollars in a bad year.

Are timeshares scams?

The timeshare product is legal, but sales tactics and the exit industry both have documented deception problems. The FTC's own consumer guidance shows resale and exit-fee scams charging upfront money are common. A legal ownership structure with a predatory sales and exit ecosystem around it is the more accurate description than a flat "scam."

How do you get out of a timeshare?

Check your rescission window first if you recently bought (varies by state, confirm yours). Past that window, ask the resort's HOA about a free or low-cost deed-back/surrender program, which is the cleanest legitimate exit for owners current on fees. Resale is possible but usually nets very little. Avoid any company demanding a large upfront fee for an easy exit promise.

How to sell a timeshare?

List through the resort's own resale program first if it has one, since it reaches the most credible buyers. Get current on fees before listing (unpaid balances kill closings), get a payoff statement, and expect a low sale price, sometimes near zero. Never pay an upfront marketing or transfer fee to anyone promising a quick sale.

How to get rid of a timeshare?

The realistic paths are rescission (if you're still inside your state's cancellation window), a resort deed-back/surrender program, or a resale (usually for very little money). Stopping fee payments isn't a legitimate exit; it typically leads to collections and foreclosure. Start by asking your HOA directly whether they run a deed-back program.

How much are timeshares to buy new versus resale?

New developer-purchase prices for a one-week interval commonly run $10,000-$25,000, sometimes more for luxury brands. The identical interval on the resale market often sells for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, since resale demand is weak and many sellers just want out of the annual fee obligation.

What is a typical special assessment on a timeshare?

Special assessments vary widely, from a few hundred dollars to $3,000-$5,000 or more per interval after events like hurricane damage or a major building renovation. There's no federal cap on assessment size, and few states limit it. Owners should budget for at least one significant assessment at some point during long-term ownership.

Do timeshare maintenance fees ever go down?

Rarely. Fees are set to cover a resort's operating budget and reserve fund, and those costs (insurance, taxes, utilities, labor) generally rise over time, not fall. A fee decrease would require the HOA board to cut the budget or reduce reserve funding, which is uncommon and can itself be a warning sign of deferred maintenance.

Can you inherit a timeshare and get out of it?

Yes, in some situations. An executor can often disclaim (refuse) a timeshare on an heir's behalf during estate administration in many states, before the deed transfers. If the deed has already transferred to you, ask the resort's HOA about a deed-back option for heirs; some resorts have a specific process for this.

What happens if I stop paying my timeshare maintenance fee?

Expect late fees, then collections referral, then potential foreclosure on the timeshare interest, which can hurt your credit and in some states leave you owing a deficiency balance. Stopping payment is not a recognized exit strategy and can make your situation significantly worse. Contact the HOA about a deed-back option before missing payments.

Is a timeshare a good investment?

No. Consumer regulators have repeatedly warned that timeshares should not be viewed as a financial investment, since resale markets are thin and units commonly resell for a fraction of the purchase price. Buy a timeshare only if you value the guaranteed vacation access itself, not as a way to build wealth or resale equity.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes Section 721.13, Owners' association; financial and other reporting requirements: Florida's timeshare statute governs owners' association budget, assessment disclosure, and financial reporting requirements
2. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice: Timeshare Resales: FTC consumer guidance documents timeshare resale scams that charge upfront fees and fail to deliver a sale
3. Federal Trade Commission, FTC v. Reed Hein & Associates LLC (Timeshare Exit Team), Case No. 2:19-cv-01659 (W.D. Wash.), settlement announced October 2021: FTC and state attorneys general sued Timeshare Exit Team over deceptive upfront-fee cancellation promises and reached a settlement including a monetary payment and business ban
4. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a deficiency judgment after foreclosure?: A foreclosure can result in a deficiency judgment against the borrower for the unpaid balance plus collection costs
5. U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-14-231, Timeshares: Additional Information on Consumer Protections Could Help Buyers: State consumer protection frameworks and rescission periods for timeshare purchases vary significantly across states