The USA is reported to currently stock at least 1,540 timeshare resorts. It is obvious from that number that timeshares are popular in America. The problem is, so is timeshare crime. Each week I scroll through timeshare news on Google to check up on the current goings-on. I would say the majority of news I find is about timeshare scammers being convicted. And most of them are American.
The American Consumer protection advocates warn people of timeshare downsides:
- The second you buy a timeshare, it likely decreases in value.
- It’s often hard to unload.
- Annual fees/assessments must be paid each year, and the amount tends to increase over time (my friend pays $1,500 a year).
- It chains you to one property or one company’s properties.
A report published by the American Resort Development Association states that:
“An estimated 9 million Americans are timeshare owners. The average outlay spent on a timeshare as of 2015 is about $19,000”.
Further to this, The Detroit Free Press has written an article about timeshare investments:
“A timeshare is not like owning regular real estate. Either you buy a fraction of an ownership on a particular unit, or you simply buy the “right to use” a unit at a certain interval, buying enough “points” to get you, for example, two weeks a year for the period of the contract.
Still, because timeshares usually are in beautiful resorts and scenic locations, we’re lured by their promise. My friend likes the certainty of the arrangement. He has a choice of Disney properties. It takes away surprises. It’s not risky like booking a condo on the Internet or paying for a resort.”
But he might be the last generation to think that way.
Courting millennials
Timeshare sales peaked in 2007 at $10.6 billion a year but have plummeted since. Last year, they were $7.9 billion, up from the depths of the recession but not recovered.
Concerned about whether future generations will buy into timeshares the way past generations have, ARDA recently advised marketers not to pitch a timeshare to skittish millennials “as a lifelong ownership product.” Instead, present it “as an alternative to the next vacation.”
Will that work? Nobody knows. The giant millennial generation (roughly ages 18-32) is notorious for wanting new experiences and spur-of-the-moment travel options. They use lodging search websites Airbnb or VRBO to rent condos 10 minutes before they leave. They don’t sign contracts for 50-year timeshares.
So that’s one big issue. The other one, of course, is fraud.
Past scams involved high-pressure sales tactics to get people to buy timeshares. This still occurs, but stricter consumer protection laws in the U.S. and tougher laws in Mexico have mitigated some of the issues.
The worrisome scam du jour targets timeshare owners. Some firms promise to help people escape their timeshare contracts, for a fee up front, of course. Other scammers call owners and promise they have a keen buyer for their timeshare. All the owner has to do is send in a few thousand dollars up front for closing costs and fees. A remarkable number of people do it, never to see a penny of their money again”.
Before you purchase your timeshare have a think;
Do you want your children to inherit it?
Do they even want it?
Can they afford the maintenance fees?
Will you be able to go to the property in a few years?
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk