New time share owner - want out!

Please help. I bought a timeshare at a presentation in Orlando back in April. It's a new resort called villas at regal palms, 12 miles from Disney. At the presentation, we were promised 6 vacations with air and accomodaion anywhere in the world, but didn't realize these were coupons with other purchases required in order to get something for free. We called the company, and after explanations that did not make sense, we just don't want to own our timeshare anymore. we bought 3 bdrm, 2.5 ba everyother year, with floating weeks for 13,000. we paid $199.00 to a company called IBD marketing back in July and haven't seen our listing anywhere on their website. I advertised on TUG, and red week for sale and for rent but haven't received any offer yet. It was financed by the timeshare company and we've been paying since May. It's been the worst decision we made while taking vacation. It's costing us a lot of money. Please help us on the best way to sell this thing. Thanks, OJ,

ojonge wrote:

Please help. I bought a timeshare at a presentation in Orlando back in April. It's a new resort called villas at regal palms, 12 miles from Disney. At the presentation, we were promised 6 vacations with air and accomodaion anywhere in the world, but didn't realize these were coupons with other purchases required in order to get something for free. We called the company, and after explanations that did not make sense, we just don't want to own our timeshare anymore. we bought 3 bdrm, 2.5 ba everyother year, with floating weeks for 13,000. we paid $199.00 to a company called IBD marketing back in July and haven't seen our listing anywhere on their website. I advertised on TUG, and red week for sale and for rent but haven't received any offer yet. It was financed by the timeshare company and we've been paying since May. It's been the worst decision we made while taking vacation. It's costing us a lot of money. Please help us on the best way to sell this thing. Thanks, OJ,

You will not get back on the resale market what you paid the developer. Resales garner only about 1/3 to 1/4 of what was paid the developer. Also, the vast majority of people will not buy a resale that has a mortgage on it.

Look in your contract to see if it has a rescission clause. By law, the contract should contain this clause, however even if it does you are way beyond any rescission period.

All upfront fee resale companies such as IBD are rip-offs. You may as well be throwing your money down the toilet.

My suggestion is to keep paying on your mortgage and enjoy your timeshare until it's paid off and then try to sell it. A 3 bedroom, 2-1/2 bath shouldn't be hard to sell if you price it right (1/3 to 1/4 of what you paid the developer.) The reason developer bought timeshares are so high in cost is that you, the buyer, are paying for the developer's expensive marketing.

There are literally millions of people that have bought their first timesahare from the developer and then they go on to buy more resale weeks, so don't beat yourself up over your purchase. Many people get hooked on timesharing.

Many Thanks for your response....I'm just frustrated at the thought that I am voluntarily giving money away for something I don't intend to use much.

I would contact the legal department at Consolidated Resorts, they are the "mother" company of Villas at Regal Palms. I know because I bought a timeshare w/them in vegas a few years ago and eventually upgraged to the Monarch 4 bdrm at the Villas. We also rec'd the holiday adventures trips, which we have actually used 2 of them and a third is in the planning stages

ojonge wrote:

.... we just don't want to own our timeshare anymore. we bought 3 bdrm, 2.5 ba everyother year, with floating weeks for 13,000. we paid $199.00 to a company called IBD marketing back in July and haven't seen our listing anywhere on their website. Please help us on the best way to sell this thing.

Consider yourself fortunate that IBD stole only $199 of your hard earned money ... normally their upfront fees are much more than that.

ok... i read on another thread here about GNR being a scam, but this ordeal sounds truly horrible. I have never been big on timeshares I think they are one of the biggest market scams ever developed. Really how can anyone outside of the property company benefit from paying that kind of money to get a few weeks here and there at a property you NEVER really own. You have no rights as an owner and trying to dump one of these on some poor soul is nothing short of fraudulent. Paying a one time fee for weeks at varying resorts around the world certainly seems like a better deal. You have a choice of where you want to vacation and are not limited to the same old year after year, but what happens if the company ceases to exist... just like a load of timeshare companies over the years... I think i'd rather lose a one time fee of a few grand then 10 to 50 grand on some timeshare. As for MLM companies... you would be surprised how many are out there thriving. Just because it is MLM does it mean it's a bad thing for the consumer. Besides do any of you know what kind of commissions and kick backs are given to travel agents and travel firms. I was in the biz for many years and we traveled on the resorts dime many times just for our company to pick up and promote the resort or hotel through our biz. It's all the same when it comes right down to it. The only ones getting screwed over are the consumers. You know the saying " Buyer Beware" or " Do Your Homework" or "It's Too Good To Be True" hmmmm.. they all ring true when it comes to timeshares, memberships in travel companies etc... be a smart consumer it makes the world of con artists a much harder place to operate.

sweetieb: Timeshare is indeed a complicated arena which, I will readily acknowledge, unfortunately has more than its fair share of bandits, parasites, con artists and liars.

That said, however, for the person who is actually willing to "get educated" BEFORE they "get burned" instead, and buying ONLY in the resale market, timeshares can provide years of affordable, guaranteed vacations. While I certainly made a few mistakes along the way (fortunately, none of them too expensive), timeshare ownership has provided me with a whole lot of fun and a lot of great memories for over 25 years now.

As always, the devil really IS in the details. Nowhere is that more true than in timeshare purchases. Broad generalizations denouncing the entire timeshare industry really don't do fair justice to the good which can be experienced by the timeshare owner / user who takes the time and exerts the considerable effort required to become a well informed consumer --- BEFORE buying.

We can certainly agree on one point --- BUYER BEWARE!

jayjay wrote:

ojonge wrote:

.... we just don't want to own our timeshare anymore. we bought 3 bdrm, 2.5 ba everyother year, with floating weeks for 13,000. we paid $199.00 to a company called IBD marketing back in July and haven't seen our listing anywhere on their website. Please help us on the best way to sell this thing.

Consider yourself fortunate that IBD stole only $199 of your hard earned money ... normally their upfront fees are much more than that.

All I can say is "Do your homework!" .. we own 4 timeshares all of which we purchased from the same Gentleman . We have been to every resort presentation prior to buying resale and would go back to our rooms to figure out why anyone would by from a developer.. the cost is just too high for only one week and you still have the maintence fees to pay each year on top of that as well. We bought all float weeks so we can go anytime throughout the year and we bought at the Sheraton Vistana REsort that has endless things to do. I hate to say it but we need people out there to buy new so that they will be available on the resale market down the road for the ones that buy resale. You can get great honest owners that sell there timeshares for various reasons. YOu won't have to take out a mortgage and you usually will be able to resell it if need be if you don't want it anymore without loosing much at all. Go to the presentation of the resort that you think you might want to buy into then go to the websites (Redweek-thats how I got all 4 of mine) and just compare and do the math. Timeshares are wonderul , you can have endless vacations and it does make you to on a holiday when sometimes you just make excuses not to. I personally for my needs have found resale to work best for our family especially with the cost factor and if you homelife changes and you don't want to go to your home resort any longer than join and exchange company and go somewhere else its still cheaper than booking thru a travel agent with the commisions that you don't see that you pay .. I know I worked at one for 8 years and they only put on the racks what they make commision on and the other travel books are in the back room . If the resort wants you to buy from them most likely if you called the agent back when you got home the price would be the same because it is for the person vacationing the following week that sitting in the same spot you just left from .The best info you can get is from the people at the pool or in the hotub I learned everything from that even down to the "points" system. I am a very happy Timeshare owner and have no regrets but again I bought all resale. Good Luck! just enjoy it now.

Hi Buying a timeshare from the developer is not a geat financial deal, but it is better than buying a new car. At some point, you will own the timeshare outright except for the maintenance fees. If it is a good company, you will have nice vacations in the future at less cost and better facilities than renting a hotel room. So, while it may not have been the best decision, don't beat yourself up. Stan.

stanleyf5 wrote:

Hi Buying a timeshare from the developer is not a geat financial deal, but it is better than buying a new car. At some point, you will own the timeshare outright except for the maintenance fees. If it is a good company, you will have nice vacations in the future at less cost and better facilities than renting a hotel room. So, while it may not have been the best decision, don't beat yourself up. Stan.

Sorry, I have to agree with bonnie above .... one can save mega bucks by buying on the resale market as opposed to buying from a developer and you get the exact same product. There are perks that some developers offer but when you buy from them, you are paying for those expensive perks bigtime.

And when the time comes to sell your developer bought timeshare, you will get nowhere near on the resale market what you paid a developer.

jayjay wrote:

stanleyf5 wrote:

Hi Buying a timeshare from the developer is not a geat financial deal, but it is better than buying a new car. At some point, you will own the timeshare outright except for the maintenance fees. If it is a good company, you will have nice vacations in the future at less cost and better facilities than renting a hotel room. So, while it may not have been the best decision, don't beat yourself up. Stan.

Sorry, I have to agree with bonnie above .... one can save mega bucks by buying on the resale market as opposed to buying from a developer and you get the exact same product. There are perks that some developers offer but when you buy from them, you are paying for those expensive perks bigtime.

And when the time comes to sell your developer bought timeshare, you will get nowhere near on the resale market what you paid a developer.

In regards to the above.. I bought at the Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando and bought a 2 bedroom in the Lakes section of the resort . I only paid $800.00 to own this timeshare. So now lets buy new which was $24,000.. for the same thing and pretty well the same units. I ask myself do the perks that come with owning new are they worth the difference of $23,000 ?? as well as for most the struggle to pay this mortagage at the same time. If all you want to enjoy is just a simple family holiday per year in a 2 bedroom timeshare then buy resale. I have no regrets with buying resale and would by 10 more if I could . I am an RCI member and I exchange and yes pay a small fee but when you subtract that small fee (139.00) from say the $23,000 you are still $$$$$$ ahead. At this stage unfortunately you are going to just have to enjoy it and just live with your decision as you will not be able to sell it most likely for even half now as there are just too many timeshares for sale right now if you look especially ones that are only less than a mile from Disney. Also I just picked up an Orange Lake studio for $400.00. I am going to give it to RCI and pay the exchange fee which is approx $ 179.00 to upgrade to a 2 bedroom at Sheraton .. so why would I buy new again? You are right Stan we have all made mistakes and when you can't turn back you just have to go forward and enjoy .

stanleyf5 wrote:

Hi Jayjay, My point was not to buy from the developer, but that once you have done so make the best of it.

I completely agree with you. There are so many people that buy developer then find they could have gotten the same timeshare for 1/3 or 1/4 of what they paid developer on the resale market, so they become disillusioned with the entire concept of timesharing thinking they had been 'taken' by the developer. However the developer has a tremendous amount of overhead and he has to make a profit.

We bought our first from the developer and it was too late to rescind when I arrived home and had time to research timesharing and finding out about resales, but we chalked it up to an expensive lesson learned. We also went on to buy several resale weeks at bargain basement prices. We figured that at least the developer bought week got us into timesharing and we eventually learned how to use it and all of our resales to our advantage by either using or exchanging.

We purchased a timeshare at the Westgate Villa's and Towers in Orlando last week, think it was July first. After arriving home we realized that it was a huge mistake and talking with my brother inlaw about the in's and out's of purchasing. We found out that we had a ten day "cooling off period" so I contacted a real estate lawyer and did what he suggested, it worked. Can't believe it was that easy.................

CV

cathyv37 wrote:

We purchased a timeshare at the Westgate Villa's and Towers in Orlando last week, think it was July first. After arriving home we realized that it was a huge mistake and talking with my brother inlaw about the in's and out's of purchasing. We found out that we had a ten day "cooling off period" so I contacted a real estate lawyer and did what he suggested, it worked. Can't believe it was that easy.................CV

Actually, you didn't have to retain an attorney to rescind a developer bought timeshare contract that's within the rescission period. A simple note, including details of purchase saying that you've changed your mind and sent by USPS certified mail with return receipt would have been all that was necessary. Rescission days (or the cooling off period) is the law and resorts get them everyday.

cathyv37 stated in part: >>We purchased a timeshare at the Westgate Villa's and Towers in Orlando last week... We found out that we had a ten day "cooling off period" so I contacted a real estate lawyer and did what he suggested, it worked.<< ===============================================

The right of rescission time period in Florida is actually only SEVEN days, not ten. Sundays don't count, but Saturdays do. This time period varies from one state to another, from 3 days to 10 days. In most instances, it's 5 or 7 days.

The right of contract rescission (cancellation) is provided by law throughout the entire United States, with only the time deadline varying. In the case of your developer purchase in Florida, the specific instructions to exercise your right of rescission were printed on the back of your purchase contract (as they must be, by law). Accordingly, I hope you didn't actually pay an attorney just to follow the instructions which you already held right in your own hands.

P.S. I guess it wasn't JUST your "idiot husband" who made the purchase in the first place, as you had initially indicated in a separate RedWeek post...

IBD marketing is a SCAM! You can read more about them on this site - http://rcivip.com/2008/ibd-marketing-to-sell-timeshare/ Maybe it has some info that can help you:)

I only spoke with a paralegal, did not hire a lawyer. Done what they told me and realized yesterday that they had withdrew from my checking account 213.29, monthly payment. I sent them a letter and have the signed receipt, put a stop on my checking account but the slick a## people changed the name in order to slip thru my bank. I am now in the process of of waiting on the bank to do their job. Most likely will have to close my account I've had since 1989 and reopen another one.

Never want to go to Orlando again, rip off scam artists.

Thanks for any advice you care to share with me.

Actually, you didn't have to retain an attorney to rescind a developer bought timeshare contract that's within the rescission period. A simple note, including details of purchase saying that you've changed your mind and sent by USPS certified mail with return receipt would have been all that was necessary. Rescission days (or the cooling off period) is the law and resorts get them everyday.

cathyv37 wrote:

...realized yesterday that they had withdrew from my checking account 213.29, monthly payment. I sent them a letter and have the signed receipt, put a stop on my checking account but the slick a## people changed the name in order to slip thru my bank.