We all know that the resale market for timeshare is almost non-existent, you only have to look on ebay to see that many people can’t even give them away, even when they offer to pay the transfer fees. Those that have prices are either very low and have no offers or bids, the ones with highly inflated prices are what the owner thinks they are worth and hope they will get.
It has also spawned one of the biggest frauds in timeshare, the resale company, many owners have been victims of these over the years. In Europe the EU Timeshare Directives forbids these companies to take a fee for listing the timeshare, but they still do. Quite often they will claim that it is not a listing fee, but a marketing fee to give you your own webpage to create your very own personalised advert. Charges of around 1,000€ are not uncommon, once it has been paid, that is probably the last you will ever hear from them.
The most common scam in Europe is the call to tell you that they have a buyer already lined up, but to get this sale underway a “bond” needs to be paid, which is refundable once the sale has taken place. This particular scam was also used by the “Discount Holiday Clubs” such as Club Class and Designer Way Vacation Club, who would tell the owner that they have a corporate buyer wanting their timeshare. They would then attend a meeting either in the UK or have to travel to Spain.
At this meeting the classic “bait and switch” would take place, they would take your timeshare off your hands leaving you maintenance free, but you would need to pay around 10,000€ to join their discount club. In many instances, three years down the line the unfortunate timeshare owner found that they still owned their timeshare and were now in arrears.
This situation is actually the fault of the industry itself, mainly thanks to the false promises that they would “buy back” the timeshare when the owner no longer required it. Another factor is the perpetuity contract, which many owners found impossible to get out of leaving them and their families burdened with ever increasing maintenance fees.
This is Lisa Ann Schreier‘s Open Letter to Developers published on 18 June 2018 on her Timeshare Crusader Blogspot:
http://thetimesharecrusader.blogspot.com/2018/06/an-open-letter-to-timeshare-developers.html
An Open Letter to Timeshare Developers
Dear Timeshare Developers:
I’d appreciate an honest answer from any of you.
Why do you not buy back your own product when it’s being sold for $1,000, $100 or $1.00 on the secondary market when you can turn around and sell it the very next day or week for whatever grossly inflated price you do each and everyday to unsuspecting consumers?
It’s not like we’re talking about a product that deprecated due to rust or even the fact that it’s outdated. You maintain the product with the owners money and you determine the usage rules.
ARDA just reported that the average price of a timeshare was $22,180.
In under a minute, I was able to find these listings on a reputable resale site:
Marriott’s Desert Springs $4,295
Orange Lake North Village $3,000
Sheraton Broadway Plantation $500
Summer Bay Orlando $0 (not a typo)
It seems to me that you guys could turn a nifty profit by snapping these up and selling them for $22,180 or whatever your salespeople try to get.
But you don’t. Why is that? Are you trying to give the impression that these timeshares aren’t worth anything? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing.
Thank you Lisa for allowing Inside Timeshare to publish your letter in Europe, (even though this will be read worldwide). Inside Timeshare has had the pleasure of working with Lisa, albeit over cyberspace, Lisa is a long time advocate of the timeshare owner and we hope that we continue to work together.
If you have any comment or question about this article, or any other published, then use our contact page and send it in. Inside Timeshare welcomes your input.
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