Most timeshare owners say that they had purchased in a moment of weakness.

Because a timeshare is a lifetime obligation to pay dues and maintenance fees, it is a liability, not an asset, and one which many people come to find they no longer want or can afford. Hard-sell tactics are a key reason owner’s end up buying a timeshare they can’t use over the long run.

Discipline and advance planning are a must in the timeshare world. Year after year, timeshare owners have found it difficult getting the week they want. You have to call a year in advance to reserve a week, and if you wait two days later, those weeks are gone. More times than not, the large developers hold on to 30% of the inventory to book for prospective owners, and frequently when the actual timeshare owners call the resort and request additional rooms, they are denied—not because the resort is fully booked, but because the rooms are being held for expected clients the developers have marketed to.

“Most of the unhappy owners are people who own a timeshare in a ‘legacy resort,’ or an older, single-site property not affiliated with a large club”, said Howard Nusbaum, the former CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), an industry trade group.

ARDA says maintenance fees have grown an average of 12% a year since 2005. Most people don’t use their resorts every year and end up paying for something they are not using. Even if you die, your kids will have to pay.