If It’s Important To You Ask To See It In The Contract

As if last week’s post of common lies, I mean misrepresentations, told at a timeshare sales session wasn’t enough, here’s a recap of an email I received:

Here is a list of some of the lies we were told:

>They said we would own property that wouldn’t depreciate and we could use it as a tax write off

>They said there was a resale department that we could use if we ever wanted to get out of the timeshare. What they purposely didn’t mention when they misled us was that it has to be paid off first

>They said we could cover maintenance costs by renting the timeshare out. Unfortunately, the rental market is as overcrowded with useless timeshares as the resale market. So, we do not have a penny from rentals but we do have increasing maintenance fees

>They neglected to tell us about many charges including not booking 60 days in advance as well as for booking in places other than where we signed up

>They told us we could use our points for airfare, cruises, car rental and other amenities. What they didn’t say as that it would take hundreds and thousands of dollars to get this many points

>They told us we were buying in the location that they showed us but

our contract is actually located at a different place

>They didn’t tell us about the rescission period either

ALL of this could have been easily avoided by the consumer a) using a modicum of common sense and b) asking to see exactly where the pertinent clause is in the contract. This person paid over $12,000 for her timeshare. 

What I don’t understand is this:  If these things were so important to her and may have been some of the reasons she purchased seeing as she clearly remembers these items more than 4 years after purchasing, WHY didn’t she ask to see where these items were covered in the contract?

Misrepresentations You May Hear

This is reprinted from my most recent article I wrote for SeniorNews.com

If you’ve ever sat through a timeshare sales pitch, you know that they can be high pressure. The sales staff has been trained to do one thing and one thing only—-influence you to purchase on the spot. Because of that high pressure, these sales pitches can be laced with, ahem, some misrepresentations. Here are the most common things that are misrepresented at timeshare sales pitches:

Price Today vs Price Any Other Time

This is the one that is used the most, often in conjunction with ‘quoting’ some State Statute. If there is such a statute, such as in Florida, it has to do with whatever gifts you’re being bribed with to sit with the salesperson, not the price. Trust me, they’ll take your money tomorrow, next week or next month.

Resale Value And Your Ability To Resell

The truth of the matter is that the resale market is awash in timeshares that owners are willing to sell for $1,000 or less. Sales agents simply refuse to disclose that. In some cases, licensed brokers will refuse certain listings because the timeshare literally has NO resale value because of the draconian restrictions placed by the developer in secondary market purchases.

Maintenance Fee Relief Programs That Do Not Exist

There are many permutations of this misrepresentation. Suffice it to say you should not purchase additional timeshare under some bizarre plan that you’ll be able to pay off your fees with the points. Read that again. It makes no sense, does it?

The Value of Travel Awards

Again, there is a myriad of promised schemes using timeshare points and the ability to purchase certain travel rewards. Bottom line, buy timeshare only to use as timeshare, not for the promise of being able to use it for airline tickets, etc.

Stating A Lower Interest Rate Can Be Obtained From A Bank Or Credit Union

In the event you’re smart enough to balk at the ‘convenient’ 15%, 16% or 17% financing the resort will offer you (and you’d be stunned to find out how many people agree to those insane rates), some salespeople will tell you that you can get a personal loan. Wrong. I have yet to find a bank that will finance a timeshare. What are they going to do if you’re foreclosed on? There is however a reputable source for people with good credit history. Check out LightStream.com.

Ease Of Ability To Return To Your Home Resort

Unless you purchased a fixed week/fixed unit timeshare, highly doubtful, you’re going to have to make reservations to come back to your home resort. You’ll be battling other owners and owners who are exchanging into your resort for prime season. You better fully understand exactly when you need to make a reservation and what the process is before you purchase. Don’t rely on the salesperson, talk to other owners.

Ease Of Ability To Trade/Exchange

If you think coming back to your home resort takes some doing, it’s nothing compared to attempting to trade or exchange into another resort. In addition to the fee averaging over $200 (!) most owners find out too late that they need to make plans either 12-13 months out or less than 60 days out in order to get what they want. A week in Branson, Missouri is not going to get you Christmas Week in Hawaii.

Bottom line here is do not do anything in haste. If you’re looking for assistance in determining what’s true and what’s false, figuring out if a timeshare is for you, or like millions of people who already own and no longer want or use what they have, contact me at lisaschreier617@gmail.com.

Is DVC Really Just ‘Another Timeshare’ Now?

Effective January 19th, Disney Vacation Club is implementing some changes, joining many other developers in placing some rather stringent usage restrictions on resale purchases. 

In short, here’s what’s changing;

>Resale contracts purchased for the original 14 resorts at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and 3 stand-alone locations will only be able to use their points at those 14 existing resorts

>Buyers who purchase a resale of Disney’s Riviera Resort or Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge (the newest resorts now being built) will only be able to stay at the DVC resort they purchased 

These are fairly substantial changes and are certain to affect resale prices, which have traditionally been very high, going forward. It also means that DVC will most likely exercise their Right of First Refusal more than they currently do, swooping in and purchasing inventory only to turn around and sell it again as ‘new’.

As one writer described it:  ‘The time of innocence is over. DVC is just another timeshare.’

Thoughts?

Charged Closing Costs For a Non-Deeded Timeshare

Another reason to not purchase a timeshare or related product outside of the US and to carefully read and understand the rescission clause:

So still fighting with my credit card company trying to reverse a charge from a meeting at a time share in the Dominican.   Again we were pressured into signing something and after 24 hours went back and issued them a cancelation letter but they are keeping fees for closing costs. I asked closing cost for what? We canceled within the time period.  They said it was in our contact that we signed and agreed to.  I said no the salesman told us we could cancel without any penalty. They sent the contract to my credit card company and therefore my credit card company has charged it back to my account. How can they do this? How can they charge this fee when we canceled? How can they charge us closing costs on something that's not deeded or a piece of property? Any advice?

Sadly, this is not the first time that I’ve heard of a timeshare company retaining some of the down payment even when the purchase ad cancelled within the legal time frame. It’s also not the first time I’ve heard of a timeshare company charging closing costs or other fees commonly associated with a real estate transaction when there was no real estate involved. 

It’s yet another example of consumers needing to ask the right questions and not being afraid to get up and walk out if the answers aren’t agreeable. 

Remember that YOU, not the sales staff is in control. 

P.S.  To make matters worse, I asked this person if this was in fact, a timeshare that she purchased or a vacation club. Her answer?  “I don’t know the difference.”  Kinda difficult to assist now, isn’t it?

The 80s Called-They Want Their Marketing Back

It’s 2019 and timeshare resorts are still using high pressure and antiquated marketing strategies that just don’t work. Here’s a case in point from an owner who checked into her home resort last week.

“I was immediately accosted about an update when I checked in.  I refused.  The concierge ASSURED me there would be no sales talk, and no hard sell, and  "it only takes an hour."

I continued to refuse, and suddenly my $200 gift card became $300, then finally $400.  I still refused.  I said "my time is worth more to me than that, I am on vacation, and you and I both know it NEVER takes just an hour."

The following morning, a different concierge called  our unit. A guest answered, and  said I was not available.I was asked to call back the concierge, which I deliberately did not do.

Finally, on 1/2, another call,  from yet another person working the concierge desk, at which point she went back to the original spiel of "$200 Visa gift card" gift, and that I "really needed to attend, as I had not attended an update in over a year."  My response to her was that the guy on Saturday had promised me $400 , and he had gotten nowhere, dropping the price would not get her better results.   Legal things need to be in writing anyway, I already owned what I wanted, and they had nothing they needed to talk to me in person about.  Period.

I also reminded her of what I had ALSO told the concierge when I checked in:  I had a death in the family recently (my mother), and the LAST thing I wanted to do on my vacation was to sit through any sales type of meeting or presentation. I also said  I was there to decompress and grieve quietly on my own, and that I would appreciate it if they just left me alone to do that.

They obviously never noted that  I had said that on Saturday. Either that,  or they really just do not care at all. (Maybe they think that people in mourning are more vulnerable to their pushing?)  I WILL say that after THAT call, I did not hear from them again, and the rest of the stay WAS quiet and I was not bothered.”

Enough already. It’s time to try something else.