| It’s a New Year! And we are back to help take up an old fight. For some families, the fight against deceptive timeshare practices has gone on for a long time. And the burden is heavy. Carolynn shared this story with us over the holiday break: “My story is about the lies they tell you when they sell you the timeshare, and beyond. I originally wanted to purchase the timeshare for my elderly father who was in good health when I purchased it way back in 1998. I was told it was a good investment by the so called “Dreamteam” at Star Island Resort. The exact words were, “You have rights when you own a timeshare,” “you can rent it, sell it, refinance it for better interest rate, you receive a deed, it’s just like a piece of real estate.” All lies you don’t discover are lies until you try to exercise those “rights.” Oh, and here’s the biggest lie, “if you have any trouble at all, you contact any one of us on the Dreamteam.” The first right I tried to exercise was refinancing for a lower interest rate (I believe the loan rate for the principal $10,000 was 10%!) My banker wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole! So, I called the so-called “Dreamteam”, and was told by the sales lady, oh just do a “personal loan” with your banker, or put the principle on a “low-interest credit card.” The answer was a big “No” for both suggestions, so I called the “Dreamteam” again. I somehow got the sales lady’s home number & she went ballistic! I said, “you told me all these lies about this investment” “you can’t refinance this loan anywhere!” What am going to do? She said “our business relationship is over, I did my part.” I asked her to sell it for me, she refused. I said, you promised me I could call you with any problems, what happened to the “Dreamteam?” She said this conversation is over! At this moment I knew I was scammed by these sales liars! My Dad was able to use the timeshare once, to go visit my sister in Arizona. The whole family stayed with him at the timeshare. It was a beautiful resort & they all enjoyed their vacation. Of course, you have to keep up your membership with the exchange company “Interval International” which to their credit, were always great. They are well trained in Customer Service & very helpful. Then, my Dad had a stroke, and was never able to use the timeshare again. I needed to sell it. Who knew there were thousands of people selling timeshares? I didn’t know anything until I tried to sell mine! There were several available for $1.00 just so the owners could get rid of the annual real estate taxes & maintenance fees! What a rude awakening I had! Needless to say I couldn’t sell it. Next best thing, let’s make some money renting the timeshare every year. The most I ever made from having Star Island rent the 3 Bedroom lockout for me was $660. Only half of the annual maintenance fees! Star Island charges 40% to try to rent your week for you! There are no guarantees. You may make some money, you may not. And, don’t forget you have to claim that rental income on your taxes at year end. When Airbnb came along I said “finally I can rent it myself & not pay the outrageous 40% fee! Here’s the caveat, your maintenance fees have to be paid up by January, or the resort won’t release your week to the exchange company. If you can’t pay your maintenance fees all at once, you can’t rent your week until they are paid in full! Unless you are one of the lucky ones who purchased a holiday week when everyone wants to go on vacation. My new strategy is get a zero, or low interest credit card just to charge the maintenance fees each year to be able to rent my week. In my case 2 weeks, since I have a lockout unit. That’s another lie they told me, “you have the whole year to pay the maintenance fees. The timeshare industry is a snare & a racket all the way around! There’s no advantage to owning this worthless deed unless you can use it every year yourself, and money is no object.” The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) represents timeshare companies in Washington, DC. Jason Gamel is the President and CEO of ARDA. Maybe he should hear how these sales tactics impact the lives of real people, not just the bottom line of timeshare companies. Let’s email him at jgamel@arda.org. Or… here is a list ARDA published of its VIPs across all its member companies. Maybe you can find your timeshare company executive and share your story with them too! Tell us your timeshare horror story, too. Send it to us at info@timesharefacts.com. PS: Follow us on social media. Twitter Facebook Instagram |
