He added, "Delinquent maintenance fees can incur abusive late charges, plus you cannot bank your week for trading until the fees for the year are paid."

ARDA says average maintenance fees nationally in 2004 were $479, but most local owners contacted by the Morning News said they pay hundreds more than that.

The new Henley Manor development in Cedar City has an interesting alternative to maintenance fees. It sells "peerages," or leases (for $9,975 to $19,900), good for 10 years of resort use. It says it charges no maintenance or other fees beyond that — and includes tickets each year to either the Utah Shakespearean Festival or Brian Head ski resort.

Bad exchanges

Salesmen often promise that timeshares can be easily exchanged for similar accommodations and periods around the world with other owners banking their weeks through companies like Interval International or Resort Condominiums International.

Timeshare owners report the process is actually complicated and frustrating, and a class-action lawsuit against RCI even claims it is near impossible to obtain fair trades for timeshare units put into its overall pool.

"It's absolutely ludicrous," said Ed Solomon, a Philadelphia dentist who is an owner at Westgate Park City. "If you want to go anywhere in the Caribbean, no way. It you want to go to Vail, you can, but in August" — which is not ski season. "Last year I tracked it. There were no winter openings (at ski resorts) for up to two years."

West said, "We owned several good weeks that only traded with RCI. After banking them, we were totally unable to trade for anything. They seemed to never have availability anywhere. I would not buy another timeshare that traded through RCI for any price."

Fugate, a Park Regency owner, said, "I thought I could trade via RCI, but it is rather a joke. It's a one-way street: (a traded week) only goes in and you cannot get it out."

Companies like Interval and RCI require timeshare traders to buy an annual membership, which costs about $100, and then pay exchange fees when trades are made (around $160 for domestic exchanges and around $200 for international trades). All maintenance fees must be prepaid on weeks put into the trading pool.

Miller, a Westgate owner, said, "It's difficult to get the exact dates and locations unless you plan a year or more in advance. ... Example: I just booked a Hawaii vacation through RCI. The exchange fee is $169. The one-year membership is $89. We will get a two-bedroom condo next November (13 months away). That was the closest date available."