Blog Feed: Vacation Swindler - The Inside Truth of Vacation Ownership

Vacation Ownership - The New Buzz Word in the Timeshare Industry

Published on 2010-03-10 11:55:00

Afraid of the bad connotations that the word timeshare carries, they will call it vacation ownership or will invite you to “own” a piece of this resort or property; and if you give them a mere 60-90 minutes for a brief presentation to listen to their expansion plans for a future resort, they’ll reward you by giving you a free weekend trip, theater tickets, or sometimes even money. Vacation Ownership sounds much better than timeshare. Timeshare, just the word itself sounds limited and rest [..] > read more

What is a timeshare?

Published on 2010-03-07 19:40:00

It is spelt as one word, Timeshare. A timeshare at its core is essentially a group of people sharing the cost of a vacation home. Timeshares make vacation home ownership possible for many people who cannot afford a second home or who otherwise would not be able to enjoy such resort facilities. Timeshares through the years have grown to include a wide variety of vacation products and plans. It is also referred to as vacation ownership, interval ownership, fractional ownership, points clubs and [..] > read more

Free Round-Trip Airfare - Incentive Exposed

Published on 2009-05-30 10:34:00

As mentioned in a previous article, the next few posts will be exposing the truth of the incentives that you receive from the salesperson. This week, we are exposing the free round-trip airfare incentive. Actually the information presented below may even apply to car dealerships and other companies who offer you free round-trip airfare. We encourage you to always read all the fine print and plan accordingly to ensure you are able to use the incentive. While the rules and restrictions may vary f [..] > read more

Are Timeshares an Investment?

Published on 2009-05-25 23:16:00

This quote is perhaps the best advice I have ever received about timeshares, unfortunately it was after I was already stuck within one… “It is important to remember that purchasing a timeshare should never be viewed as a financial investment with the expectation of gaining a profit in either reselling it or renting it to someone else. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holidays, in family time together, and when viewed that way it can be a good investment indeed.”I believe [..] > read more

Financing

Published on 2009-05-21 10:52:00

It's not a deal even if you pay cash up front, however if you are financing, you are really being raped. For an example, let’s say you bought the least amount of points package available and it costs $15k for 150 points. With the lowest points package, you are very limited. In my research of several different timeshare companies the most you are able to book with the “starter” points package is 5 nights in a studio unit for up to 4 people during a low season, or a 2-3 night stay in a stud [..] > read more

Want to Sell Your Timeshare?

Published on 2009-05-16 23:53:00

Good luck. Honestly, good luck trying to sell your timeshare. Most timeshare companies do NOT have a buy-back program and if they do, they won’t pay you anywhere near what you originally paid. Most timeshares have a resale value of about 10% or less what you originally paid for it (and that is being generous). So if you paid $30k for a timeshare, you would be lucky to get $3k for it from resale – not a very good investment, if you ask me. If you ask most timeshare companies what the cur [..] > read more

Donate it – Give it away

Published on 2009-05-14 23:54:00

Some people who become tired of a timeshare and are unsuccessful at selling it sometimes end up donating it or giving it away to a friend/family member who wants a timeshare. If you plan on doing this it is best that you are completely upfront with your friend/family member about your likes/dislike of the timeshare, it would also be nice to tell them about any and all fees associated with the timeshare. If you simply give them the timeshare and they begin experiencing problems with the timesha [..] > read more

Limited Everything

Published on 2009-05-09 10:46:00

I am not sure about you, but when I think about vacation, I think about freedom, fun, relaxing, spending time with loved ones and limitless possibilities. I like to explore new places, I like to take chances and I love being able to go somewhere on a whim. The last thing I want to hear when trying to make my reservation is “no” or “that’s not possible”. As I have already indicated in previous posts, timeshares are limited. They have limited availability. You have to book 6-9 month [..] > read more

The Incentive Trap - Nothing's Really Free

Published on 2009-05-02 10:23:00

You’re a hard sell, so the salesperson starts pulling out the “free” stuff. It’s enticing – free airfare to Hawaii, cruises to exotic locations, perhaps even a new 42” flat screen plasma HD television. But none of those things are actually really free. There are a lot of fine print and other restrictions you MUST follow in order to redeem the free certificate. This often includes paying all taxes and fees, multiple blackout dates, selects travel dates, and sometimes requires you [..] > read more

Promise Me Nothing - Get it in Writing!

Published on 2009-04-25 11:53:00

I love watching old movies and even reading stories where a contract was a handshake and people did everything in their power to stand behind that handshake because they knew that was his/her reputation. Today, many salespeople are only concerned about making the sale and unfortunately will often times tell you anything you want to hear for you to buy, for this reason it is of utmost importance to MAKE SURE THAT ANY PROMISES THE SALESPERSON TELLS YOU IS IN WRITING. If they say it is in the cont [..] > read more