Remembering why you bought your timeshare!

tarag92 wrote:

jayjay,

If you are talking about when i made my mistake buy, I did sign, and when I had it taken care of, that was all done through the lawyer of the company that helped me out. All paper work was read, and sign, and the lawyer took care of everything else.. it is all legal and binding.. but thanks for your concern.

I was referring to your post where you said, "I think people are getting so frustrated because the sales people are taking advantage of owners. they do not disclose things they should"......

My response was to those that were given promises verbally that were not written in the legal contract.

Oh ok, yes you are right they can and do "say" a lot of things, but if you do not read and make sure it is in the contract they do not have to provide what they say.. I did not think that way about the sales men for the timeshares but I now look at them like a used car sales man. They will say ANYTHING to get a sale... it is a shame that people cant be more honest when trying to sell them because they have beautiful places and wonderful perks. It is when they tell you that you need more then you actually do, but it is up to the buyer to read, I wish I had taken my own advice on that, but sometimes you get caught up in the excitement of what they are telling you..

I fully agree with that.We bought in 2004 paid top money.still regretting Not easy to rent,all owners should get together and think to do something.I do not know what.

You bought in 2004 and must have loved the resort and wanted to go back many times or why else would you have bought it? Forget how much you paid at this point as that ship has sailed and get your money's worth from using it for many years. Timeshares should never be bought for rental as this would be foolish on anyone doing it. Most people over paid for their new cars but we don't have forums for owners to complain about being taken at the dealerships!

PHILL12

I agree that we should make the best of what we purchased. I was very happy with my timeshares I had in Ormond Beach, Florida. I bought them just for the purpose of exchanging through RCI. I had many great exchanges until RCI got bought out by Cendant. Then corporate greed took over and they started renting out the prime properties to the public and denying those exchanges to the members.

I made it my mission to make the best of the bad situation. I contacted my home resorts and rented them out to cut my loses until I was finally able to dispose of them. I kept my Las Vegas timeshare because I go there often and when I don't use it it rents in a heartbeat.

Anyone who is not satisfied with their timeshare or points should make it a priority to list them for rent and sale or contact your home resort and see if they will take them back. No one is going to take your property from you unless you make an effort to dispose of them

Good luck

First let me say that I have owned a red week time share at Vail for 20 years. We go to Vail every year and I have never exchanged. The maintenance fees are high but not more than renting a condo or a stay in a hotel. The major disadvantage is that it it use or lose. Sometimes it has been inconvenient to go during our period but we juggle priorities an go anyway.

That said I think some of you are a bit harsh in saying that the purchase is totally "buyer beware". I agree that in the end that this is the case but --- the industry must bear some responsibility for their actions and the actions of their so called representatives better known a used car sales men.

First the industry reaps huge profits from the initial sales. In doing so they encourage their reps to pull out all the stops to make a sale to unsuspecting people. Their tactics are unscrupulous at best and approach fraud.

It is all well and good to put the blame on the public for every aspect of the timeshare purchase but in most other business there are codes of conduct designed to protect the customers who in general are not as astute as perhaps many of the posters here are. For instance in most states there are disclosure laws governing real estate sales and the mortgage industry has just recently been required to tighten up their responsibility to their customers.

In the end I suspect that most of the dissatisfied owners would, in quiet moments, would agree that they should have been more careful. However the required extreme caution goes against human nature. You want to trust people and what they say. People generally do not go into a "conversation" expecting to be lied to and to be subjected to the pressure that is applied during the "presentations" which approaches excessive coercion.

For most people purchasing a timeshare in any form is a major financial commitment. I believe we as a people have a right to expect good behavior on the part of those who are offering us goods and services and that it is incumbent on the industry to clean up their act. Otherwise your and my timeshare will continue to be looked on with suspicion, our investment will continue to be questioned and at some point the timeshare industry will be compared unfavorably with Bernie Madoff.

That's the reason why we forum regulars say that "if most timeshare salespeople move their lips .... the're lying".

However, many people bought from the developer before Al Gore invented the internet (yeah right), but now that the internet is available everywhere (even at public libraries) people should research backwards and forwards if they are somewhat interested in buying a timeshare from a developer to find the pitfalls of such.

Yes, going to a presentation and hearing all the BS about how great the resort is and all it's amenities can be mind boggling and overwhelming and people cave in to buy that developer timeshare when they could get the very exact same product by buying on the resale market.

The first timeshare we bought was from a developer after the salesperson showed us the units, the luxury and all the great amenities ..... we were overwhelmed (we had never been to a timeshare resort before) and we signed on the spot to later find out about the resale market.

All in all, what is stated verbally by a salesperson in a timeshare presentation holds no water in court of law .... only what's in the written contract. That's why we strongly recommend that anyone that's even thinking of buying a developer timeshare to include ALL THE PROMISES MADE in the written contract.

I remember back in the 1970's or 80's being approached by a timeshare salesperson on the beach in FL. I think we were offered a transistor radio if we attended a presentation, however we declined. Then not long after 'timeshare' became a bad name and most timeshare resorts folded leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of the public.

Then along came the 1990s and 2000s and big name brands are building timeshare resorts (Disney, Hilton, Marriott, 4 Seasons, Hyatt etc) and once again the timeshare product exploded with babyboomers retiring or getting ready to retire then the great recession of 2007 hit and once again timesharing has a bad name due to that recession.

Many people blame it on the resorts = presentations, but in truth no one was blindfolded and forced to sign that contract (we definitely took responsibility for our only developer bought timeshare .... it got us into buying resales .... we traveled to some wonderful areas in the USA that we would not have visited if it had not been for timesharing).

Most people think that just because a timeshare is a luxury product (not needed for everyday life) that they are entitled to force the resort to take a deed back, however most will not .... a legally binding contract was signed by all parties and recorded in county real estate records.

You don't buy a car or a house then when you get tired of making payments or paying for upkeep you can't just return that car or house to the bank as you signed a legally binding contract when you purchased.

I believe that all resort presentations should be mandated to be tape recorded .... that way all promises verbally stated by a salesperson could be proved/verified.

:) Is there anything you like about timeshare? Have you ever had a good experience? Are all timeshare companies the same?

We could all lighten up a bit. I guess I'm grateful I bought from Marriott as they do have great properties in great locations. They are in this for the long haul and are motivated to keep the customer base happy. I need to remind myself that I did buy a luxury product and that such products are usually had at a premium price.

It's Valentines Day and I guess I paid an extraordinary price for a card and will now pay a premium for dinner with my dear wife. It's all OK. :)

dennish144 wrote:

:) Is there anything you like about timeshare? Have you ever had a good experience? Are all timeshare companies the same?

We could all lighten up a bit. I guess I'm grateful I bought from Marriott as they do have great properties in great locations. They are in this for the long haul and are motivated to keep the customer base happy. I need to remind myself that I did buy a luxury product and that such products are usually had at a premium price.

It's Valentines Day and I guess I paid an extraordinary price for a card and will now pay a premium for dinner with my dear wife. It's all OK. :)

We have had so many great vacations over the years in timeshares. Every week at our home resort and most exchanges have been great too! Like I have stated many times this all starts with buying into a resort you want to return to many times and exchange sometimes. This was really a great Valentines day even though its just me and the dog. The wife flew to Texas for our first grand daughter who was born today at 2:01 pm and is so beautiful.This one of the best holidays for us and maybe if we keep our last remaining timeshare we can take Madison to it like our daughter has many times when she gets a little older. This is what timesharing is all about! Not renting them or showing a profit but just enjoying having a nice place to go each year.

Phill The new grandfather!

dennish144 wrote:

:) Is there anything you like about timeshare? Have you ever had a good experience? Are all timeshare companies the same?

We could all lighten up a bit. I guess I'm grateful I bought from Marriott as they do have great properties in great locations. They are in this for the long haul and are motivated to keep the customer base happy. I need to remind myself that I did buy a luxury product and that such products are usually had at a premium price.

It's Valentines Day and I guess I paid an extraordinary price for a card and will now pay a premium for dinner with my dear wife. It's all OK. :)

Oh yes, at one time we owned 9 timeshares and saw many great areas in this wonderful country via exchanges .... if we were still traveling we would certainly buy back into timeshares via the resale market (some even free) saving pennies on the dollar from developer bought timeshares. There are many great timeshares at wonderful resorts on the resale market at great prices .... we sold all of our timeshares before the recession of 2007 hit.

Marriott is a good brand .... you did well even if you bought from Marriott directly IF you are enjoying what you bought and have no regrets buying developer.

However timesharing has been a whole different ballgame since the recession with many people out of work, losing their homes etc. It's great that you have the funds to keep your ownership but many people do not.