Malta

Easter is just around the corner, and are you looking forward to a nice relaxing well earned holiday in one of Europe’s top locations like Malta?

A dip in the hotel pool or the Mediterranean, a walk along the beach, a stroll along the promendade perhaps?

Not much else could be better or relaxing. But in many of Europe’s top holiday destinations the calm and serenity is often disturbed by salesmen and women pouncing unexpectedly to try to sell a timeshare unit in the vicinity.

Tactics can range from someone introducing themselves by holding a map and looking at first as if they are going to ask the unsuspecting holidaymaker how to get somewhere, but then launching into a sales pitch to try and get them to a timeshare presentation.

Another favourite is to offer a scratchcard, with a prize of a free round of golf, a bottle of wine, or something similar - every scratchcard is a ‘winner’ - the flipside being that it has to be claimed at a timeshare sales presentation.

Once at the timeshare presentation, the sales team go into overdrive, with a slick presentation promoting the virtues of buying a timeshare week.

Often included is the ultimate financial inducement - not only will you have your own holiday home in the sun - but it will be an appreciating asset than can be easily sold at a profit in years to come.

And if you like to vary the destination where you take your holidays? No worries, you can swap your timeshare week for another week at a similar resort in locations around the world easily, allowing you the freedom to vacation wherever you want, whether it be Malta, Lanzarote, holidays in Majorca or elsewhere.

But the truth is often far removed from what is claimed at timeshare presentations.

Timeshare units often plummet in value - do not buy a timeshare if you need the money and it forms a good part of your savings. Sometimes a week’s timeshare is advertised as a re-sale at less than 20 per cent of the price paid.

And don’t buy a timeshare week on the premise that you can holiday anywhere in the world, often timeshare owners find it nigh on impossible to swap their week with a week elsewhere, especially if the week owned is in low season.

Timeshare weeks in many European holiday resorts are a poor investment, carry annual maintenance charges that can add up to the equivalent of two return flights, and the chances of swapping for alternative locations not guaranteed.

Next time you’re approached by a timeshare tout, ignore them, and if they’re persistent report it the local tourist authority - if you do go to one of their presentations expect to be there a long time and be prepared to lose a fair bit of money.

For information about a holiday in Malta visit http://www.yourmalta.com and to see more about timeshare see what people are saying in real time with twitter

The Yorkshire Evening Post have given a timely reminder about just how precarious buying a timeshare can be, reporting on a couple in Leeds who bought one in Malta and have seen the value plummet - and ending up paying a company thousands to market it for sale.

To read the article click here

For freehold Malta property visit maltaproperty.info

For a Tenerife map and the weather in Tenerife visit yourtenerife.net