New to buying

I am looking into buying a timeshare in Gatlinburg, TN. I am worried about getting scammed. What important information should I get? Right now it looks like I would pay the $100 fee for the deed plus a filing fee for a quick claim deed. Is it possible for someone to be behind on maintenance fees or still owing money on a mortgage for the unit resulting in that debt being passed to me? If so, who do i contact to find out?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Lauren

laurenm150 wrote:

I am looking into buying a timeshare in Gatlinburg, TN. I am worried about getting scammed. What important information should I get? Right now it looks like I would pay the $100 fee for the deed plus a filing fee for a quick claim deed. Is it possible for someone to be behind on maintenance fees or still owing money on a mortgage for the unit resulting in that debt being passed to me? If so, who do i contact to find out?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Lauren

Do your 'due diligence' .... by that I mean have the owner produce a copy of the deed of their ownership ..... after that you can call the resort explaining that you're in the process of buying from the owner and ask if the owner is up to date on their maintenance fees or any other fees.

Thanks!

timeshares are like toilet paper on your shoe...(or worse, stuck hanging out the back of your pants or skirt) renting is almost always better. Buy only if you buy secondary market in distressed sale, want to go there every year, can handle mx fees, special assessments, and constant deterioration in quality. good luck.

Thanks i too am interested in purchasing but wasnt sure how to move forward its a staroption unit and i want to make sure im getting all that im about to pay for. No surprises.

Holy cannoli, the more I read the more confused and concerned i become. This would be my first time share ownership. I gather the way to go is resale. What I'm concerned with is the title transfers, escrows, is it all legit? I found a resale studio in Cancun at Westin. It's so cheap compare what the developer just to sell it to me for two months ago during a timeshare presentation. Is buying resale a scam or what? I'm not so concerned about banking and trading the week as I know I really like the property from spending a week there a few months ago. That being said I'm more concerned as to why so many people want out. Am I missing something? My offer was accepted now I'm getting cold feet. What do I need to know before I sign? Thx

What you need to know is that you will agree to a lifetime of increasing maintenance fees and assessments. They can make improvements and repairs and charge the owners in addition to the yearly maintenance fees. If you surf the rooms you will find people are willing to pay to just have someone else take over their timeshares. You can rent them from someone without committing yourself to these fees. Somewhere down the road your life could change and you will then have to face the same ordeal of trying to dispose of your timeshare. I would advise you to rent rather than buy. Your choice.

Thank you for your insight. I was concerned about uncontrolled increases in maintenance fees. Even though i was told they can't raise them more than 5% a year. i also asked the broker about special assessments and never really got a straight answer. Again thank you for this info. Think I'll rent! Appreciate it.