Nov 10 2012
Is a Timeshare a Scam?
The History of Timeshares
The term Timeshare was coined in Great Britain in the early 1960s; expanding on a vacation system that became popular after World War II in Europe. Vacation Home Sharing, also known as Holiday Home Sharing, involved four European families that would purchase a vacation cottage jointly; and each would have exclusive use of the property for one of the four seasons. They rotated seasons each year, so each family enjoyed the prime seasons equally. This concept was mostly utilized by families related to each other because of the trust factor involved in joint ownership, and no property manager. However, few families vacation for an entire season at a time; so the Vacation Home Sharing properties were often vacant for long periods.
Enterprising minds in England decided to go one step further, and divide a resort room into 1/50th ownership, have two weeks each year for repairs and upgrades, and charge a maintainer fee to each owner. It took almost a decade for timeshares in Europe to evolve to a smoothly run successful business venture.
The first timeshare in the United States was started in 1974 by “Caribbean International Corp.” based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It offered what it called a 25 year “Vacation License” rather than ownership. The company owned two other resorts the “Vacation License Holder” could alternate their vacation weeks with, one in St. Croix and one in St. Thomas; both in the Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands properties began their timeshare sales in 1973 with owners Hillie Meyers, Don Saunders and Arthur Zimand. Wikipedia
Is a Timeshare a Scam?
Earlier this year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) issued an alert on timeshare telemarketing scams after seeing a significant increase in the number of complaints about these scams. The victims—mostly owners trying to sell—were scammed by criminals posing as representatives of timeshare resale companies or by actual employees of companies that were committing fraud.
In the IC3 complaints, perpetrators telephoned or e-mailed timeshare owners who, in many instances, had advertised their desire to sell in industry newsletters and websites. These company representatives promised a quick sale, often within 60-90 days. Some victims reported that sales reps pressured them into a quick decision by claiming there was a buyer waiting in the wings, either on the other line or in the office. Timeshare owners who agreed to sell had to pay an upfront fee—anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars—to cover various costs such as advertising or closing fees. Many victims provided credit card numbers to cover the fees. FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center
An Alternative to Timeshares
There is an alternative to timeshare ownership where you can actually travel to three, four and five star resorts that have timeshare properties without owning a timeshare or without ever having to pay maintenance and other fees. There’s companies that are offering timeshare alternatives through it’s online membership. You can join for under $2000 for 2 prime weeks and up to $12,500 for 20 prime weeks vacation and these are lifetime memberships.
You will be able to travel to 3, 4, and 5 star resorts for as little as $398 per week to the very most, $699 per week. You can also take cruises and get discount airfare. This type of timeshare alternative is wildly popular today and those who own timeshares can see the value immediately. Timeshares devalue so quickly and are worth about 10 cents on a dollar. You can find very expensive timeshares for sale for ridiculously low prices on the internet because people realize that once they buy them, they are stuck with the maintenance fees as long as they own them.
Those maintenance fees can go up after a major hurricane, or when the timeshare owners decide they just want to remodel, or for no particular reason at all. With the timeshare alternative, the Global Resorts membership club, you don’t have to worry about any additional costs. Don’t buy a timeshare as your first choice. Look into joining a membership club. You will save money.
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