The timeshare industry has historically been plagued by developers who use high-pressure and deceptive sales tactics to close a timeshare sale. Using false and misleading statements of what buyers could expect from their timeshare ownership, the industry has a tarnished reputation which over the years grown ever worse.
In 2008, with the collapse of the economy and crash of the stock market, many homeowners found themselves no longer able to afford their homes much less the timeshare that they had purchased in a moment of weakness.
Because a timeshare is essentially a “lifetime” obligation to pay maintenance, taxes and fees it is a liability not an asset, that many people could no longer either afford or want.
Faced with the prospect of ever increasing maintenance fees, and desperate to get rid of the so – called “ vacation of a lifetime” many timeshare owners turned to the timeshare resale market in an effort to be relieved of their lifelong obligation to pay ever increasing dues and fees.
Into this vacuum of desperate owners wanting to sell, jumped the timeshare resale scammers.
Armed with false promises of ready buyers, fast sales, big profits and money-back guarantees fly – by – night scammers proliferated with promises of a quick sale and lots of money for what was now an unwanted timeshare.
The truth is timeshares are not an appreciating asset and there is no ready market for a used timeshare. A simple search on ebay can verify the truth of this statement. By simply entering the search term “timeshare” hundreds of supposedly valuable timeshares will appear for as little as $1.00 with the seller agreeing to pay all the closing costs.
With the timeshare resale scam running rampant, the Federal Trade Commission and state consumer protection agencies began to shut down dishonest timeshare resellers for bilking timeshare owners out of millions of dollars.
The state of Florida quickly passed a state law designed to crack down on this kind of fraud. That law forbids timeshare resellers from making unfounded promises and collecting large upfront fees.
The Federal Trade Commission was even more proactive, spearheading a national effort against the timeshare resale scam bringing over 200 actions nationwide against the scammers in 28 states.
So if you are a timeshare owner who is no longer interested in the ever increasing fees, lack of availability and high pressure sales pitches to “upgrade” avoid the timeshare resales scam at all costs.
If you own a timeshare, question any offers to help you resell it. Moreover, if you are thinking of selling a timeshare look first at what is out there. Listen carefully for the promise of lots of money quickly and a request for an upfront fee. Those are two signs of a timeshare resale scam.
The California Bureau of Real Estate warns: “The fraudsters use the names of companies (some of which have professional-looking but usually phony websites, fancy-sounding titles and addresses, and purport to be escrow, timeshare resale, finance, and/or title service businesses) and individuals in California.”
Remember this, once purchased a timeshare is very, very hard and almost impossible to sell.
So if you are looking to be relieved of your timeshare and its lifelong financial obligations, find a company who can provide you a guarantee to cancel your timeshare contract.
At the offices of Vacation Ownership Consultants, we have helped hundreds of timeshare owners who no longer wish to be burdened with their timeshare.
For more information on how you can safely eliminate an unwanted, unsellable timeshare, please contact us today. Our consultants are standing by to assist you. Call 1-800-614-5288
