Be careful of Timeshare Relief or Rescue companies!

Timeshare Owners... everyone has been warning you about timeshare resale scams but I want to take a minute to warn you about timeshare relief companies. On the outside, they all seem to offer a needed service... and in a very very few rare instances, they legitimately do but lets look at the whole picture even under the good situations!

First of all, they typically are preying on owners who have been trying to sell their timeshares unsuccessfully (typically, the lack of success has simply been due to either asking price, or chosen resale outlet!)They "pitch" to the timeshare owner that the timeshare is a liability, not an assett and they somehow convince an owner to pay a transfer fee (typically around $1,500.00) and then have the owner pay several years worth of maintenance fees (typically three to five) up front! And they say they are doing YOU a favor.

Let's ask ourselves a question.. if it is such a liability then why are they willing to take it off of my hands?

Another question... Why would I pay several years of maintenance fees plus the transfer fee, wind up with no vacations the next few years or no deed to a vacation and let them try to sell or rent it out and get money on top of what I gave them instead of me just paying my maintenance fees on schedule, use the timeshare while trying to sell it and not have to pay the upfront transfer fee? It makes no logically sense whatsoever!

Another question... If it is costing me too much to own it, does it really cost me less to wind up paying out the same costs of five years worth of usage all at once on top of the transfer fee?

If I bought my timeshare by a presentation that was geared emotionally rather then logically, why do I feel immune to being sold an idea like this emotionally rather then logically? Because when looking at it logically, it makes no sense whatsoever!

To be honest with you.. many transfer relief companies work like this.. They buy a list of names from a resale company of clients who paid to advertise their property but have not sold it. The resale company is happy to sell this list to the relief company because if they get you off of the back of the resale company, it is only to the benefit of the resale company. Now the transfer company either owns, or works through a negotiated deal with a transfer company. This transfer company makes no money if there are no timeshares being moved on the market. The relief company gives a PORTION of the transfer costs to the transfer company to redeed the property to a new name.. they just pocket the rest of what you pay them in the name of maintenance fees. All of those years worth of maintenance fees that you paid, will never ever make it to the HOA at all. Instead, the transfer company will place your deed into the name of an offshore company that is set up and designed to do nothing but go bankrupt. Now you just spent thousands of dollars on an emotional rollercoaster, again, the transfer company got paid to do their job and the relief company pocketed the HOA's maintenance fees for the next few years while using your property to raise their debt level enough to file bankruptcy.

The solution? There are no simple solutions but there are alternatives that are not so scammy and ill fated which do nothing but make scammers rich. Let's start with a solid, legal, good, reliable resource of information.. visit www.vacationbetter.org for information. Visit www.arda.org for even more information. Email me with questions or suggestions and I will be happy to give you my opinions. fredastemick@yahoo.com

Should you buy a Timeshare? Should you keep the one you have?

Many people have heard great things about timeshares from their neighbors or family about timeshares, and are considering purchasing one for themselves. The rest of you already purchased a timeshare and just feel the financial burden too heavy so you want to sell it or get rid of it.

It is irrelevant if you purchased your timeshare for $1 on Ebay or $30,000 direct from a retailer. Once you own a timeshare, there is a reason to own it. There is a reason your neighbors bragged about theirs, and there is a reason you were inclined to purchase it to start with. Timeshares provide you and your family with a way to vacation without staying in hotel rooms. Timeshares provide a kitchen, living room, dining room, and seperate bedrooms usually. Timeshares force you to think of and plan for your vacation each year.. and a vacation is a time period spent away from work and friends, to be with family and create memories. Timeshares allow you to stay in luxurious resorts with swimming pools and activities versus staying in an economical hotel room that forces you to eat out at restraunts and becomes constricting and frustrating.  

Many people complain about the maintenance fees for example. They want to sell their timeshare because they are tired of paying that $600 per year maintenance fee. Well.. lets see. If you book a hotel room for 7 days in a hotel on the beach, you are going to pay just about $600. You will eat your meals out. You will be cramped in the room with the whole family, and noone has any privacy at bedtime.

I guess my point is that there are so many people on the internet complaining about being "suckered" into buying a timeshare or feeling like they paid too much, or even just simply not wanting to tell their friends they bought one, and the trend goes towards trying to sell it for next to nothing. I just wonder if you really stopped to think about what a timeshare is and the reasons for keeping it while you are in the middle of trying to find a way to sell it.

If you truly are not able to use it anymore then yes, go on and try to sell it. But if it is just that you dont WANT to go on a vacation every year with your family, then you NEED the timeshare!