When you think about it, credible information online can be difficult to come by. In a world full of people that are vying for the consumer’s attention, it’s not surprising that most information is nothing more than an opinion. Although finding dependable resources is becoming more popular amongst the general population, most people still aren’t sure what is actually believable. This is especially true when it comes to reasonable timeshare advice. Since most communication within this industry is rather aggressive, consumers are essentially forced to trust what seems to be the most ideal.
The problem is, most advice in the timeshare realm is questionable at best. While you might assume we’re writing this to promote the agenda of our cancellation services, it couldn’t be further from the truth. At the end of the day, we want to help potential buyers and current owners make favorable choices regarding timeshares. Knowing what you’re getting yourself into and who might mislead you along the way helps you avoid the inevitable disaster that follows an uninformed purchase of this magnitude. Consumers deserve to know the truth and we’re eager to share the efforts we’ve invested in to prove our communication is sincere.
Keyboard Warriors Can Be Very Persuasive.
Assessing the types of online messaging that timeshare owners come across while browsing the internet can’t be done in one article. So we decided to focus on what we believe to be the loudest voice in the digital world, the keyboard warriors. Whether they’re logged into social media accounts, chatrooms, message boards or website comment sections – these people are extremely motivated to share their opinions on a number of topics. It always seems like they have excessive time to burn and rarely waiver from their stance no matter how much factual information is presented to them.
Considering timeshare advice from those that seem to be credible is flat out dangerous. If you’re uninformed and looking for guidance, keyboard warriors can be awfully persuasive. Because they believe in something (or someone) so strongly, they feel like they have to influence people to adopt their perspective. They also think they have the right to verbally destroy (or type to death) anyone in opposition. Challengers often walk away from these types of digital arguments due to a person’s ignorance or lack of open-mindedness during the conversation.
Since a majority of remorseful buyers want to believe they can get out of expensive timeshare purchases for free, they tend to value the opinion of those who confidently spew timeshare advice. Especially when the resort hasn’t been helpful and they’re considering paying for exit services to avoid further penalties. Anything that encourages owners to remain optimistic, even if it’s inaccurate, clouds their judgment and causes them to avoid using logic.
What Kind of Timeshare Advice Can You Expect?
When seeking timeshare relief, owners normally have no idea where to begin. Most file complaints or join online conversations to share their story with users who’ve experienced similar misconduct. When complaints aren’t pursued to their satisfaction, they have no choice but to find someone who can advise them on what to do with their timeshare. Since many aren’t to the point of hiring a lawyer or cancellation firm, they ideally would like to find a way to work things out. The last thing they want to do is sign up for a scam or incur more penalties.
Inaccurate Input Regarding Timeshare Relief.
When the answers they receive tell them they’ve been lied to further, it’s believable. For the most part, disgruntled buyers have been deceived throughout the entire timeshare experience. Responses that arrogantly inform them that, “The resort will just take back the mortgage” or “You don’t need to pay to get rid of your timeshare,” can be misleading to say the least.
Those on the verge of legally terminating their agreement with a legitimate company can be influenced to change their mind when they’re told, “All exit companies are scams” or “You shouldn’t hire them if they charge upfront fees.” Even owners that have wasted money trying to sell their interval can be encouraged to keep trying by a keyboard warrior lacking substance. In reality, there is no resale market for timeshares. There’s no way around it.
Believing that all resorts have a “take back program” is also untrue. The fact of the matter is, most do not. Even when one does exist, it’s very difficult for owners to qualify. Aside from being forced to pay off the entirety of the mortgage, owners are usually required to cover the anticipated cost of maintenance and assessment fees for the next couple of years. Something usually goes wrong and they remain stuck in perpetuity with additional expenses that range in the thousands.
None of this timeshare advice is credible. While there are ways to work things out with the resort, you will most likely be funneled through a continued sales cycle and encouraged to purchase more to resolve your issue. Even if you’re able to process an equity trade in or interval transfer, it’s highly unlikely that it’ll resolve your underlying complaints. Often times, buyers upgrade into more problems or find themselves stuck in multiple agreements. Although a good portion of exit solutions are scams, not all are out to steal your money. At the end of the day, researching options through credible resources yourself is the best solution.
Refusing to Pay is Bad Timeshare Advice.
Although bias relief tips can prolong the process of actually exiting a timeshare contract, there are more serious ramifications that can result from listening to someone who has no business giving timeshare advice. If you’ve been told you can, “Just stop paying and walk away,” or that, “You can just foreclose on your own and nothing will happen,” guess again. In reality, the timeshare can come back and pursue you for a deficiency whenever they choose to. While the idea of telling the resort to kick rocks may sound good, not many decisions are worse.
An outstanding mortgage balance, interest, late surcharges, legal fees, court filing costs or past due maintenance and assessment fees will add up over time. The resort may not notify you right away, but they know what they’re doing. Just when you think you’re in the clear, they strike. If a judgement is filed, then you’ll have no control over how that money is taken. This gives the timeshare the right to forcefully collect from your bank account, garnish your wages or even enforce liens on personal property to settle dues.
Are you okay with rolling the dice by calling the timeshare’s bluff? Is hoping for the best an ideal strategy when the resort is pursuing you for contractual default remedies? Even though some unhappy buyers ignore potential consequences, you should most definitely take the timeshare’s threats seriously. They have all the ammunition necessary to pursue contractual fees. Walking away due to displeasure isn’t going to win the battle that will transpire. And your choice to base this decision on a keyboard warrior’s comments is even more erratic.
How to Assess Timeshare Advice by Keyboard Warriors:
If you want to make smart timeshare decisions and avoid irrationality, then you have to inspect the sources that influence you. In today’s digital-driven society, anyone and everyone can voice their opinion online as a keyboard warrior. Who you’re paying attention to can not only alter your perception of reality, but create quite a bit of grief. In order to help you with these types of investigations, we’ve come up with three questions you need to ask yourself before acting on the information you read from bold voices online.
- Determine where online users are getting their “information” from. The easiest way is to ask them detailed questions about their statements. Without challenging them, ask how they “know” or what type of evidence they have to sustain their claim. In most cases, another uninformed party told them this or they’ve believed in the resort’s misleading promises themselves. Some people simply refuse to admit their purchase was a mistake and expect it to work out. The more people they can influence to join in on their ignorance, the better they feel about it. Others simply read one biased article and now strangely consider themselves an expert on the topic.
- Do they have unique professional experience, training or resources that make them suitable to offer advice? If you’re unable to get anywhere with the question method then all you need to do is research the person. If the online profile doesn’t even have accurate credentials (name, title, contact info), then it’s pretty obvious they’re online surfers without much cause. A majority of people spewing out timeshare advice only claim to be experts. Without confirmation, consider their opinion nothing more than that.
- Are you able to validate their information from credible/documented sources or is it more bogus information? This is much different than the first suggestion. While many keyboard warriors are unable to substantiate their stance, some are able to supply you with sourced information. But this doesn’t always mean what they’re referring is accurate. Inspecting their provided resources is key to any validation of truth. When you take the time to properly assess the entirety of your argument, you’ll be able to gain clarity on what you can actually pursue as a fractional owner.
Most Online Input About Timeshares is Bogus.
Just because one person says that they walked away from their timeshare without any help or any penalty does not mean they are off the hook. On multiple occasions, we’ve received inquiries for help by owners dealing with 5-10 years of accrued fees. Like aforementioned, they don’t hear anything from the resort for years. Then out of the blue, they receive documentation that demands a lump sum within a certain amount of time, threatening legal action.
Uninformed people voice their opinions all the time online. We even ran into a situation on Facebook where a user was claiming to know the cost of our services. When another timeshare owner inquired about our pricing on one of our posts, our detailed answer was challenged by his errant remark. “Only $5000 up front,” he said. After looking through past correspondence with him, we confirmed we never even supplied him with a quote or had any correspondence with him to discuss our services.
For whatever reason, he felt the need to provide this form of timeshare advice without any rhyme or reason. While we’ve yet to cross paths again, he more than likely received some industry quotes and felt his educated guess was valid. Maybe he didn’t like the idea of paying to cancel a timeshare and wanted to encourage others to be fearful of the expense. Either way, his efforts weren’t necessary nor valuable. While he didn’t deter the unhappy buyer from proceeding, these types of comments play a huge role in the decisions timeshare owners make.
Find a Real Expert for Timeshare Advice.
If you’re interested in “no strings attached” timeshare advice, any of our consultants will be more than happy to address your concerns and aid you in relief. Sometimes, our attorney based service isn’t the best option. Our integrity is important to us and we’d like for you to be able to trust our insight and the guidance we provide. In the end, there’s no better feeling than helping previous and current timeshare owners enjoy their vacations.
