Over the course of the buyer’s ownership experience, Marriott did a poor job of providing transparency regarding the purchase. Although the points program wasn’t “illegal” itself, Marriott should have never charged buyers for something they’d never be able to acquire.
Similar to maintenance costs for timeshare owners, resorts randomly charge travelers for things like add-ons and upkeep during check out without any transparency. Because most hotel chains do this, it’s been accepted as normal by consumers. While it’s made them a lot of money in the past, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be tolerated much longer.
Floating the idea that buyers can effortlessly resell or rent a timeshare is down right criminal to say the least. But resorts aren’t the only entities that deceive fractional owners. Learn more about the process of leasing timeshare intervals and why it’s risky business for nearly any type of consumer or investor.
Back in 2017, a local Arizona resident reached out to ABC 15’s Joe Ducey to do a story on his deceased mother’s timeshare in Las Vegas. In the reporter’s routine installment titled “Let Joe Know,” he aired out some the inquirer’s frustrations before shedding light on the reality of the situation.
After speaking with thousands of timeshare owners over the years, we’ve confirmed that a majority are completely misinformed on the way the resale market works. Some of our clients were even told that purchasing multiple agreements creates multiple revenue streams that’ll cover the purchase while allowing them to travel nearly anywhere.
Despite the Osceola County Property Appraiser’s Office’s timeshare tax assessment of $92.85 million for both 2011 and 2012, Wyndham challenged the obligations of their resort, Cypress Palms, by alleging they only owed around $41.5 million total. According to court documents, Katrina Scarborough processed a proper valuation in Kissimmee, Florida.
Most family members absolutely love it when they receive free timeshare accommodations during the holidays. Although limited availability is usually the cause, some owners have excess weeks or a surplus of points that need to be used. This forces them to hand out intervals at the end of the year. While gifting a weekly interval may seem like a fine Christmas gesture, it can also backfire in a big way.
In 2015, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) and some of their resale partners voiced that the default rates they experience are far less than the rest of the industry. What’s interesting is they didn’t exactly refute this with actual data. Out of Disney’s 200K+ owners, they say only 0.5% are involved with foreclosure auctions.
Americans shell out an awful lot of money during the holiday season. The increase in indulgence is fairly apparent. From Black Friday deals to Cyber Monday specials, nearly every product or service looks to take advantage of loose spending habits during this time of year. The distractions give travel companies and resorts quite the opportunity to position timeshare promotions.
In the past, timeshare companies have been able to keep concerns regarding special assessments under wraps. But in recent years, a number of stories with vague insight have surfaced. One of them involved Bluegreen Vacations’ swift notice of foreclosure to hundreds of their owners in Louisa County, Virginia.
No timeshare owner wants to wonder which deal is real or regretfully pay for a property they don’t understand. But in order for them to see through the nonsense, they have to educate themselves on reality. We’ve been able to prove that you can’t believe everything you read on the web. In most cases, it’s not that easy to verify the advice you receive. But ignoring ambiguity here can be extremely costly.
After investigating consumer complaints from Harbor Hill timeshare owners, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) found that Donna Zoppi had been manipulating the resort to her advantage from the late 2000’s all the way until 2015. While the criminal actions of Zoppi were definitely disturbing, what she did wasn’t a simple case of stealing.
Today, anyone can easily find an opinionated article supporting an idea that means something to them. This is dangerous in the timeshare realm because most unhappy buyer surf the web for help. When an owner feels scammed by the resort and wants to walk away from the contract and its fees, some online user is always eager to reassure them this is a smart decision.
Devastating financial blows, like special assessments, can really leave fractional owners reeling. This partly due to laws that limit the their ability to challenge unexpected costs. So today, we wanted to highlight a Florida bill from 2015 that enabled resorts to charge more for assessment costs while limiting the buyer’s ability to cancel timeshare contracts.
When seeking timeshare relief, owners normally have no idea where to begin. Most file complaints or join online conversations to share their story with users who’ve experienced similar misconduct. When complaints aren’t pursued to their satisfaction, they have no choice but to find someone who can advise them on what to do with their timeshare.
