Think Twice About $1 Timeshares

Due to the poor condition the timeshare resale market, and timeshare industry in general, is in there are many people scrambling to get rid of a timeshare. With the resale market so over flooded with a high surplus of timeshares for sale some owners have resorted to practically giving their timeshare away. There have been many posts on sites like eBay with timeshares going for only $1. While this is certainly a big deal in regards to how much the timeshare was originally purchased for, you should keep in mind this is not the only cost of the timeshare. Timeshares come with additional fees for upkeep and maintenance and even special assessment fees. If you own a timeshare and your name is on the deed you are obligated to pay these charges.

Not only should you be aware of these additional costs that come with the timeshare but you should realize that these fees have the potential to increase each year. Some timeshare owners have had their maintenance fees double or even triple in one year. If you are thinking about picking up a timeshare for cheap on an auction site you might want to think again. Unless you can afford the costs that come along with it a timeshare for only $1 is no sweet deal.

Timeshare Sales Tactic – Limited Offer, Today Only!

Whether you’ve been sold a vacuum cleaner, or a gym membership, or even a timeshare property, you are familiar with this phrase:  “today only.”  In other words, buy it right this very instant.  Because if you don’t, the price is going to be astronomical and you will spend the rest of your life wishing you hadn’t walked away from such an incredible offer.

Except maybe it’s not exactly true.  If a deal is legitimate and profitable today, it will be tomorrow, too.  The only reason the buy it now price is such a big deal is so you won’t go home and think about it.  Or ask for advice from an attorney or accountant or someone else you trust.

Here’s one person’s experience.  The salesman said a membership, was $6000.00. We couldn’t afford that, so he said a 10 year was $3999.00 and you have 36 months to upgrade to the lifetime membership. $395.00 down & $91.00 a month. Plus $300.00 in maintenance fees per year.

The catch?  This deal is only good for the day you go.

We asked, “You mean we can’t go home and think about it, and let you know Monday.” He said “Absolutely not, the price then would be $12,000.00.”

It won’t surprise you to learn that two weeks later a friend of his went to the same presentation and the $3999 price was still good.  But just for today.

Don’t You Love Your Kids? The Timeshare Hard-Sell

That’s the question that most rankled one prospective timeshare owner at a recent timeshare presentation.

“Of course I do,”  he answered.

“Then why wouldn’t you want them to grow up with such wonderful vacation memories?”

Granted, not every timeshare presentation uses manipulative sales techniques, but a few do.

Here are some common tools used during time share presentations:

An appeal to the emotions (see above)

Limited Time Offer  – if you walk out of the door, you can’t get the same deal tomorrow.

Everyone is doing it – some presentations are even known to plant another couple in the room who enthusiastically sign.

It will just take an hour – or two or three.  If they told you it would take three hours, you’d never agree.  You’ll notice there are no clocks in the room and sometimes alcohol is offered.  The bottom line is this:  the longer you are there, the more likely you are to buy.

A solution for that problem.  For every objection you come up, they will have at least four or five solutions.  You don’t have the money, they can help you find financing.

Promises, promises.  Regardless of what the salesperson says, if it isn’t written in the contract, it isn’t true.

Remember that timeshare salespeople are trying to make a living – sometimes their only source of income is the commission they earn from those sales (though they can be as high as 60% of the bill).  Still, buyer beware!

Seniors Choose Investments Carefully Especially If It Involves a Timeshare

Not every investment an aging relative can make is a wise one.  For example, if an annuity plan doesn’t start paying out for twenty-five years, a senior citizen may wisely sit out that particular opportunity.  Some people initially purchase a timeshare because they are sold on the concept of a timeshare as an investment over the long-term.

Because they have more disposable income than their younger peers, they are an attractive market segment for a timeshare company.

Sometimes a timeshare developer will advertise specials with very little lead time at a reduced rate with less than 14 days advanced noticed.  Seniors are often attracted to these deals because they have more flexible schedules.

In most cases, you will not make any money buying a timeshare and will probably lose money on the deal.  In fact, if you really want to find a vacation getaway that might appreciate, you’ll have to buy a resort condo or vacation home.

Interestingly, research has found that seniors often choose timeshares because they perceive them as being money-saving opportunities.  However, research shows that because accommodation costs are pre-paid, interval owners tend to spend about 20% more per day on their holiday than other types of tourists.

Thinking About Buying a Timeshare? Get Relief Another Way

Over the past five to eight years, the timeshare industry has suffered an influx of customer complaints that stem from timeshare owners being unable to get relief from their timeshare contracts. Certain business practices within the timeshare industry has led to this virtually non-existent resale market. Now, with a mature world-wide-web, potential timeshare buyers are getting scared out of the market, while timeshare owners are looking for ways out.

Until the past few years, timeshares were still considered lower-cost alternatives to owning luxury vacation homes that few middle class families could afford. However, in a bad economy where families are looking to cut out any non-essential bills, timeshares have been the first on their lists to cut. They soon discover that selling a timeshare is much more difficult than buying. In many cases, timeshare contracts obligate these owners in perpetuity.

One of the industry’s biggest fears is losing timeshare owners. In order to prevent losses, many preventative measures were drawn up to lock owners financially to their units with nowhere to run. For timeshare resorts, the name of the game is volume. Resorts and developers are motivated to sign and to keep as many owners as possible to a single unit to boost revenue and profit through the residual nature of annual maintenance fees.

Schedule rules, such as booking a year in advance, stymie an owner’s ability to stay at the resort. Yet, they make timeshare units available for presentation to potential new buyers. Contracts effectively in perpetuity require the payment of maintenance fees forever. These businesses practices demonstrate just a couple of ways timeshare operators tip the scales in their favor.

The more consumers could sign to a single unit, the more money the resort makes in annual fees. A lot of times, owners have to deal with the frustration of late or over bookings not because they didn’t follow the guidelines, but rather, because the resort oversold their unit space.