Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Where's Your License?

I'm happy to reprint this information which comes from our good friends at Inside The Gate.

Very few consumers bother to find out if the salesperson they're dealing with is licensed and what the licensing requirements for sellers are when purchasing a timeshare,  Remember that the person asking the questions is in control  Make certain that's YOU.

STATES WHERE NO SPECIAL LICENSE IS REQUIRED TO SELL TIMESHARE:
  • MAINE: Maine Real Estate Commission. No license required. FAX 207/624-8637 -Phone 207/624-8603
    Website: http://www.state.me.us/…
  • MISSOURI: Under Missouri state law, timeshares are defined as merchandise and fall within the guidelines of Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act, Chapter 407.600, Missouri Revised Statutes. No Timeshare or RE License required. For more information visit the MO-AG website
    For info about real estate issues:
    Website: http://pr.mo.gov/realestate.asp
  • OKLAHOMA: The Securities Commission regulates Timeshare sales and dealers in Oklahoma. No special license required.
    Website: http://www.securities.ok.gov/
  • TEXAS: Texas Real Estate Commission. No special license required.  If the sales agent is an employee of the owner of the timeshare, the employee would not be required to be licensed. [Rule 535.5(d)] Otherwise, the sales agent needs to be licensed
    Website: https://www.trec.texas.gov/search/node/timeshare
  • VIRGINIA: Virginia Dept. of Professional & Occupational Regulation. No special license required. Phone: 804/367-8526
    Website: http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/

STATES WHERE SOME KIND OF SPECIAL TIMESHARING SALES LICENSE IS REQUIRED:
  • LOUISIANA: Louisiana Real Estate Commission. Must be registered as a timeshare interest salesperson, unless you are already a licensed RE Agent.
    Website: www.lrec.state.la.us/
  • TENNESSEE: Tennessee Real Estate Commission. Timeshare salesperson license required. A timeshare salesperson must be affiliated with a licensed real estate firm which is affiliated with a registered timeshare development. A license is required to be issued by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission to engage in the activities of a Timeshare Salesperson.
    Website: https://apps.tn.gov/licenses-app/view?id=984
  • UTAH: Utah Division of Real Estate. According to Utah law, all individuals who market, offer, or sell interests in a timeshare or camp resort project in the state of Utah must register as a timeshare salesperson with the Utah Division of Real Estate. To register as a salesperson, submit to the Division:
    Website: http://realestate.utah.gov/timeshare/…

EVERYWHERE ELSE:
  • ARIZONA: Department of Real Estate. RE License required. FAX 602/468-0562 – Phone 602/468-1414
    Website: http://www.re.state.az.us
  • ARKANSAS: Arkansas Real Estate Commission. RE License required. FAX 501/683-8020 – Phone 501/683-8010
    Website: http://www.state.ar.us/arec
  • CONNECTICUT: Real estate issues concerning timeshares are regulated by the Department of Consumer Protection. RE License required.
    Website: http://www.state.ct.us/dcp/
  • GEORGIA: Georgia Real Estate Commission. RE License required. FAX 404/656-6650 – Phone 404/656-3916
    Website: http://www.grec.state.ga.us
  • KANSAS: There don’t seem to be any timeshare resorts in Kansas, but for your convenience here is information for the Kansas Real Estate Commission.
    Website: https://www.krec.ks.gov/
  • KENTUCKY: Kentucky Real Estate Commission. RE License required FAX 502/426-2717 – Phone 502/425-4273
    Website: http://krec.ky.gov/
  • NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina Real Estate Commission. RE License required. Phone 919/875-3700
    Website: https://www.ncrec.gov/
  • NORTH DAKOTA: There don’t seem to be any timeshare developments in North Dakota, but for your convenience: North Dakota Real Estate Commission. (Does not specifically reference timesharing.)
    Website: http://www.realestatend.org/

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Thursday, May 17, 2018

Aggressive, Mean-Spirted and Unethical

I read an article last night at 2:00 am while the fire alarm was going off in the building next to mine, about how some top executives in the timeshare industry were upset and concerned about the proliferation of companies designed to get people out of their timeshare. 

To quote the article;”...the constant barrage of aggressive ads from lawyers, wannabe lawyers and other sharks offering to help hapless owners was upsetting to the public and, particularly, to owners who were being prompted to question their purchase.”  It continued to quote the COO of a timeshare company that is currently facing legal action from one or more of its sales agents accused of selling timeshare points as a financial investment;”...seeing a dramatically rising incidence of default.” and categorized the activity of these companies as “mean-spirited and, in the opinion of resort shareholders, unethical.”  

I kid you not. The timeshare industry accusing these companies of being aggressive, mean-spirited and unethical. Have any of these guys ever sat through a 3, 4 or 6 hour timeshare sales pitch?  

Dear timeshare industry people:  Rather than complain about the proliferation of companies designed to get people out of their timeshare, how about you stop suppressing the secondary market and devise a fair exit strategy?  


Fondly, Lisa 

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Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Beware-New Heinous Sales Tactics

We all know that consumers must be cautious during a timeshare sales pitch. Actually, consumers must remain cautious during any transaction anywhere.

 Timeshare sales pitches are unique due to the mountains of paperwork that the sales and closing personnel force you to sign without any chance of reading beforehand---it's all about the fake 'one day only' offer.

 Lately, I've heard from consumers who find out that the developer opened one or more credit cards in the buyers' name without their knowledge or consent. Here's a link to a story that got media attention:

  https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/consumer-alert/couple-goes-to-wyndham-timeshare-meeting-unknowingly-gets-15k-line-of-credit

How does this happen and how can you protect yourself?

 Before I get hammered with nasty comments, let me state for the record that the consumer bears some responsibility for this happening. Just as in all the cases I hear about 5, 6 or 7 hour long sales presentations where the consumer was denied food, etc. while these tactics are heinous, I have yet to understand why people don't just get up and leave.

 In the case of finding out a credit card has been unwillingly opened, it's a bit easier to understand how it happens. There's just too much paperwork presented in too short of a period of time.

 Some tips to protect yourself:

 Don't hand over your Drivers License or credit card to anyone
Don't let anyone make copies of those
Don't sign or initial anything without reading it, or at least having an understanding of what the document is
Don't use a tablet or other electronic device to sign anything...insist on paper
Do not provide your Social Security Number
Do not provide any bank account information
Do not give permission to anyone to run your credit report
Do not provide your date of birth

 Obviously, if you decide to purchase, some of that information will be required.

 It’s imperative for you to maintain control during the entire process. If you don’t understand something, STOP and regroup. If you feel you’re being rushed, STOP and regroup. If signing feels wrong STOP and regroup. If you’re not getting straight answers, STOP and ask yourself if you want to continue. If portions of the paper you’re signing are kept hidden from you, STOP and do not proceed.

 I don’t want to sound like an alarmist; most developers do not open credit cards in your name without you knowing. However, even one reported story generally means that there could be hundreds if not thousands of unreported incidents.

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Friday, May 4, 2018

A (Not So) Brief History of Timeshare Related Scams

This is an excerpt of a longer piece from Inside Timeshare, published in the UK. 

I find it sad and truthful. I’ve yet to find another industry that continually comes up with ways to scam consumers and more troubling, one that consumers continue to reward this horrible behavior by dropping money and then crying ‘foul.’


When timeshare first started it was a very good concept, the accommodation was superb, far better than what was available through the high street travel agent, but something went very wrong. Greed took over.

Some of the first “scams” were the buying off plan schemes, where all you purchased was a hole in the ground and an architects plan. Many of these were never built with hundreds of people losing thousands of pounds.

The industry itself did little to “police itself”, countries laws where these timeshares were being built were not adequate, allowing many frauds to take place, with the perpetrators getting away with millions.

After the “off plan” scams, the industry through how the product was sold was instrumental in the next phase, the resale scam. As timeshares were being sold as “property” which would go up in value, the resale companies capitalised on this. Offering clients the promise of selling their timeshare for more than they actually paid for it, taking thousands to “list” the timeshare for sale and then disappearing.
Now because the laws have been strengthened, especially in Spain, we are seeing bogus claims companies taking thousands for relinquishments and no win no fee claims. 

Just recently Inside Timeshare has been getting enquiries about one of these companies, RSB Legal. Many have paid them to cancel their timeshare and claim the money back, but they are now no longer trading, they have simply vanished, leaving hundreds of clients out of pocket.

These stories show why you must do your due diligence and homework before going to any presentation, or doing business with any company. Check, check then check again, ask the questions, are they for real, how are they going to claim, can they do what they say they can do, how long have they been trading?

Sadly, for consumers, there are far more opportunities to be scammed than ever before. These scammers are relentless and extremely good at what they do, playing on fear of loss and in some cases, pure intimidation. 

It is getting increasingly more difficult to determine who to trust in this space. I don’t know how long the industry and the extended timeshare community can continue to exist before it all comes crashing down. Will it be rebuilt, or is the end in sight?

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Thursday, April 19, 2018

Lies, Lies and More Lies

These horror stories continue to come to me. I get something similar to this at least once a week. 

 WHY is this allowed to happen?  WHY is local consumer media loathe to cover these stories?  WHY is ARDA not taking any action when these sales tactics are being reported to them?

 ‘We were mislead, misinformed, lied to and basically not given important information on several different things during a 6 hour Timeshare Sales Presentation while in Branson, Missouri . 

 We said NO several times but that did not satisfy the Sales Personnel. After we thought they accepted our NO, they sent in someone else called the Hospitality Person which we thought would be the end of our excruciating experience where we would get our gifts and leave, but it was not. 

 She talked fast and moved us quickly to purchase a so called "Sampler Package" with the understanding we could cancel just like any other Timeshare purchase, but found out later that we could not cancel it according to what they say is Missouri law. We just wanted out the door!!!  
We went back the next day to try to cancel the "Sampler", but were told we couldn't. They put us with one of their higher up personnel who gave us the same old sales pitch convincing us to purchase a Timeshare package and telling us the "Sampler" package would go away...and "unofficially" telling us we could cancel that purchase with the understanding it would ALL go away since we were not happy purchasers.  

 HELP, we are presently stuck with this "Sampler" package that's come back to haunt us even though we cancelled the "Timeshare" purchase. We are NOT HAPPY at all with DRI and needing advice on what we can do.’
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Thursday, April 5, 2018

Would You Fall For These When Buying A Car?

Consumers purchase a lot of products and services each and everyday. Most, though not all of these purchases, are not impulse buys. Sure, you may buy a candy bar, OK a whole bag of candy bars, a pair of jeans or even a $300 purse because it’s cute.

But when was the last time you purchased anything for $20,000 on impulse? How about buying something for $20,000 after a 5 hour high pressure sales presentation where there’s no possible way to read the terms and conditions before you sign the contract?

For some reason that I’ve yet to comprehend, consumers do this ONLY with timeshare. There’s some ‘mojo’ about buying a timeshare that sways people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.

Don’t believe me? Read over these situations. All I did was substitute car for timeshare and oil changes, gasoline and front wheel alignments for annual maintenance fees.

Would you buy the car under these circumstances?

Buy the midsize car and whenever you drive, we’ll upgrade you to a full size one.

Buy the car using our financing and you won’t have to pay for any upkeep.

The only way you’ll be able to sell your car is if you buy this other car, then you can sell them together.

Buy this car and you can drive it anywhere. Until you find out you’re not getting a steering wheel.

If you want to drive the car in another state, you have to buy another car in that state.

If you ever want to rent out your car for a week, call me and I’ll help you do it. You’ll make enough to pay for your gas and upkeep for the year.

You’ll be able to sell this car because we’re running out of inventory. Only to find out that the value of said car is nil.

Buy the car today for the today only price and I’ll teach you how to drive it. But only after your ability to cancel the purchase has passed.

Buy this car and the cost of maintaining it will never go up.

Buy this car today and when you refer your friends to this special website, you’ll get 20% of their purchases in cash which you can use for oil changes.

Buy the car today and if you’re ever not happy with it, we’ll buy it back for what you paid for it, there’s nothing to lose.

Buy another car and you won’t ever have to pay for an oil change.

Buy this car today, but you’re not going to be able to drive it for 6 months.

Every single one of these claims was made to an unsuspecting consumer at a timeshare sales pitch.

While I find it despicable that salespeople are allowed, even encouraged, to say whatever is necessary to get the same and the developer has the law on their side by using the ‘you signed the contract’ defense, consumers MUST take sone responsibility.

So listen carefully the next time you find yourself at a timeshare sales pitch. Would you buy a car under those promises?

Of course not.

So until we can get the laws changed, you have to vote with your wallet. Don’t let this continue.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

You Should Have More Rights

It’s no surprise that I don’t think timeshare is sufficiently regulated. I think the laws, written by the industry, favor the industry. 

So, I’ve developed the following ‘Bill of Rights’ for both the prospective owner as well as the owner. It’s important to remember that these are not the law of the land, but what I believe to be important rights. 

How will these rights become law and not just my suggestions? Easy! You, the consumer need to start voting with your wallet. If a developer isn’t abiding by these rights, don’t give them your business. If you’ve already given them your business then speak up. Write to me, write to your local law enforcement and contact the media. 

As always, I want to hear from you. Anything that shouldn’t be included? Anything that I’ve missed?



The Prospective Timeshare Owners’ Bill Of Rights

The right to receive fair, ethical, respectful and equal treatment without discrimination of ethnicity, race or religion in all matters related to the timeshare, including sales presentations

The right to review any and all documents prior to signing anything 

The right to say ‘no’ and have it be accepted during a sales presentation 

The right to receive a full disclosure of all fees pertaining to the timeshare as well as a five year history of said fees prior to purchasing

The right to NOT surrender your Drivers’ License, credit card or any other form of identification as part of a sales presentation 

The right to fully understand both the rescission period and terms of rescission prior to purchasing 

The right to pay whatever price you’re quoted during the sales presentation for the entire duration of your stay at the resort—-there’s no such thing as ‘today’s only price’

The Timeshare Owners’ Bill of Rights 

The right to receive fair, ethical, respectful and equal treatment without discrimination of ethnicity, race or religion in all matters related to the timeshare, including sales presentations

The right to have access to what you purchased no more than thirty (30) days from purchase 

The right to have any and all monies paid refunded to you no more than fifteen (15) days if you choose to rescind your purchase 

The right to be advised in advance if any meeting you’re asked to, invited to and/or gifted to attend is in fact a sales presentation and the fact that attendance is NOT mandatory 

The right to receive a sixty (60) day notice of all HOA meetings with proxy and explanation of items to be voted on accordingly

The right to receive minutes of any HOA meeting within thirty (30) days of such meeting and/or within thirty (30) days upon request

The right to have the developments' broker name, license and contact information available upon request

The right to have all members of the HOA board fully disclosed at any time including any ties to the resort or compensation provided for this position

The right to know the current delinquency rate of the Resort/ HOA within thirty (30) day upon request

The right to be able to sell a privately owned timeshare interest without unreasonable restrictions placed by the resort, HOA or its management

The right to be informed at least six (6) months in advance, if the developer or the HOA makes any changes to the ownership structure of the project. This includes liens that may be placed upon it, any legal judgments that may be enforced, any changes in the ownership of the holding company and/or any transfer of deeds, licenses and/or leases

The right to have access to the most recent and updated public offering statement submitted by the developer as well as any amendments to the POS

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