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Time(share) Bandits (by Gail J.):

ken1193

samd12 wrote:

Timeshares are the gift which keep on taking, so to speak...

For all those out there who got taken by a developer, just look in your mailbox for the latest offer of "relief" from your TS burden. This is yet another scam from the same industry which picked your pocket way back when. Now they want to pick it again under the guise of "helping" you dump that worthless junk you shelled out $15 K for and which you shell out $700/yr for so-called maintenance.

If anything, the people doing this are even bigger crooks than the ones who whacked you in the first place. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the very same people are involved in this end of the business.

Remember -- the only people connected with the TS business in any way who might not be scumbag thieves are the housekeeping staff at your property.

Bitter words, with which I must (in part) respectfully disagree after my own nearly 25 years of affordable and enjoyable timeshare ownership and use.

Developer prices are obscene, no question. Yet, people keep on buying from developers at prices 75-85% higher than prices for what is (usually) the EXACT SAME THING on the "resale" market. Some people don't even bother to learn that there *IS* a resale market until AFTER they buy from a developer. Draw your own conclusions about that sad fact...

You are, however, absolutely right about the "Timeshare Relief" or "Timeshare Rescue" bandits. Although they have nothing whatsoever to do with developers, they have still found their OWN little niche to pick pockets. They are opportunists, taking advantage of owners so desperate to get rid of an unwanted timeshare that they will actually PAY someone $3500 to TAKE IT OFF THEIR HANDS! And people DO pay! What these bandits do is basically collect an amount equivalent to about 5-7 years worth of maintenance fees from a desperate owner, then dump the (sometimes nearly worthless, but not always) timeshare item on eBay for one dollar. They also use a mandatory "affiliated" closing company (can you say "kickback"?) and make some more money there too, even if selling the timeshare for only a dollar. The sooner they successfully "dump" the timeshare, the more of that $3500 (which they ALREADY have in hand) becomes profit. Yes, it's a racket; a very profitable one.

Timeshare can be affordable and enjoyable; it has been both for me for nearly 25 years now. But you have to learn to swim --- and swim well --- BEFORE jumping into the shark infested waters of timeshare. Those who jump right in BEFORE first learning to swim are known to the assorted hungry sharks circling around in the timeshare world as....BREAKFAST!

Beautifully, beautifully, precisely written. Thank you!