Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines investment as “the outlay of money usually for income or profit.”
 
So, we can understand why Jacquelyn and Victor were so upset when they complained to Florida’s attorney general after Bluegreen promoted the timeshare they purchased as a good investment.
 
“We purchased a timeshare from Bluegreen Vacations in 2016 which we are now seeking a way out of.”
 
“We were misled and deceived by Bluegreen’s sales team, who promised us a good investment that would increase in value.”
 
“Increase in value.” That would be the “profit” part of an investment.
 
“They also told us the timeshare could be sold if we ever wanted out, and that it would be easy to use and could be rented out when not in use.” 
 
“Rented out.” That would be the “income” part of an investment.
 
“Unfortunately, none of these things turned out to be true and we have realized just how misled and deceived we were.”
 
Uh oh. 
 
“The annual maintenance fees keep increasing year after year, and the value of the timeshare has not gone up as promised.”
 
That’s odd. Because between 2016, when Jacquelyn and Victor bought their Bluegreen timeshare, and 2023, residential real estate values in Florida increased 86%!
 
You see, it’s not that Bluegreen timeshares are a bad investment – it’s that they don’t meet the definition of an investment at all (or real estate, for that matter).
 
Or, as Jacquelyn and Victor put it:
 
“We feel that this is a clear case of deceptive advertising and misrepresentation by Bluegreen.”
 
We couldn’t agree more.
 
If someone convinces you to make an outlay of money that doesn’t increase in value and doesn’t generate income, that’s the definition of a scam, not an investment!
 
We wonder whether Bluegreen president and CEO Alan Levan even knows the difference. Let’s email him at alan.levan@bluegreenvacations.com and find out.
 
And Bluegreen isn’t the only company that promises their timeshares are a good investment. So, we should also email Jason Gamel, the President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), which represents the timeshare industry in Washington, DC, and suggest that all his members look up the definition of investment before claiming their timeshares are good ones. Jason’s email is jgamel@arda.org.
 
Does your timeshare company’s leaders know the difference between an investment and a scam? Use this list of timeshare VIPs published by ARDA to find out.
 
Did your timeshare turn out not to be the investment you were promised? Let us know at info@timesharefacts.com
 
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