At Timeshare Relief, we meet all kinds of timeshare owners that come from very diverse backgrounds. Many are from all kinds of different professions, age groups, and personalities. One commonality we note in many of them, though, is that when they first bought a timeshare they often did not intend to purchase it. In the beginning they developed a notion that it was such a good deal that they just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to own one. In the end they tell themselves how good a deal it was so they can rationalize it as financially prudent.
One author documents this phenomenon in his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. In it, Robert Cialdini recounts how obligation and personal consistency combine to be one very powerful influence on your buying decisions. It’s the driving force in what makes people feel that they must buy timeshares. This motivation will often cause an owner to buy several timeshares. If you were to ask them later why they wound up with so many, they will tell you they don’t know.
A vicious cycle commences with this type of thinking?once the obligation to buy at a perceived good price is present, the social pressure increases to keep buying at that good price. The owners feel pressure to stay faithful to that social pressure and their own self image of being good shoppers. Therefore, they keep telling themselves the purchase they make has to be a great deal; otherwise it would flatten their self-image and the image they project to the people near and dear to them.
If you are one of the people that have fallen victim to this compulsive buying cycle, you probably realized that timeshares have become a financial burden instead of that “great deal” you once thought they were. You should take action to do something about this. Understand that obligation you made to yourself and others is false. Be consistent and financially responsible and take action to get rid of those timeshares. Call 1-866-797-0535 to get information about what steps you can take to do this.
When you buy a timeshare, one of the sales pitches timeshare salespeople make to entice you is that timeshares can be willed to you children as an inheritance.
After all, they explain, once your children inherit your timeshare they can keep using it to make their own cherished memories during their family vacation trips. What a great gift to provide the timeshare to the next generation in your will. Your children will treasure it as a keepsake and talk about it being in the family for ages. Salespeople, especially timeshare salespeople, make it sound as if it is one of grandmother’s heirloom broaches or an adored family dog.
They “forget” to mention this part…
The maintenance and special assessment costs on your timeshare will increase. Your children will be stuck paying these rates at a much higher rate than you did.
Many timeshare resorts do not have a good reputation for maintaining the upkeep on the timeshares. Your kids will see a significant decline in quality. What was once a nice resort for you during its prime will be deteriorating once it is passed on to your children.
You are actually creating a financial burden for your children when they inherit a timeshare. They are going to be stuck paying perpetual fees whether they want the timeshare or not.
A better parting present for your children would be to get rid of the timeshare. Your children are grown and can make their own decision regarding their finances and vacation trips.
Since they purchased their Orlando timeshare in 2000, Sharon and her husband never ever used it. Yet, they paid the mortgage and maintenance fees dutifully until Sharon developed a tumor.
At the suggestion of their resort, they wrote a hardship letter to the resort to ask for some relief from the payments during the difficult time. Well, the left-hand did not know what the right-hand of the resort was doing. The resort management responded with a “too bad, so sad” letter according to Sharon and did not help.
In fact, the resort later sent a collection agency to recover the payments and charged a 25% interest penalty. How Sharon could recount these memories and smile is amazing! So, upon becoming clients of Timeshare Relief, they had a gigantic burden lifted from them.
Watch the video again and see the joy and a physical manifestation of the removal of the invisible weight of timeshare ownership.
ABC’s Nightline news program produced this video about timeshares and the financial dangers that timeshare owners face especially years after they buy their timeshares. Although it’s nothing terribly new to Timeshare Relief clients or to owners who have tried to get rid of their timeshares, the video may surprise many.
There are simply too many stories that are similar in the timeshare resales market and very few buyers. With escalating maintenance fees, potential for high special assessment fees and lifetime contracts, timeshares continue to prove to be a heavy burden on their owners.
If you are one of those who are seeking relief from your timeshare, contact Timeshare Relief now at 1-866-797-0535 and speak with one of our friendly, expert timeshare owner advocates. If the phone lines are busy, please keep trying. Stop wasting money on timeshare bills that keep going up.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) seems to have gotten word out about timeshare resales companies that are not fulfilling the services that they are promising timeshare owners. Local news stations and newspapers are picking up stories that all sound too familiar.
In the Chicago Sun Times, Francine Knowles writes about a Texas-based company, Resorts Condo Management, which has an “F” rating with the BBB. Several Chicago residents have complained about the company. One complaint alleged that the company called with an offer of $31,000 to buy the owner’s timeshare. The owner paid a $3,000 upfront fee via credit card and was told that the deal would close within six weeks. No buyer materialized. A refund was provided only after a complaint was filed with the BBB.
In Nebraska, both NTV and WOWT report residents losing money to timeshare resales companies. One man paid $5,000 upfront to another Florida-based company with no results. Another allegedly paid $7,710 to Premier Timeshare Solutions in the belief that he could sell his two timeshares. He was later told that the sale went through, however he still had the deeds to the timeshares. He recognized that a sale could not have gone through without the proper closing documents including the deeds. Premier Timeshare Solutions also has an “F” rating with the BBB.
The stories all have common themes. The timeshare owners were promised a sale – some are told that a buyer was waiting to purchase. They were asked to pay upfront after receiving a telemarketing call. Remember that the company called THEM. They were not guaranteed a sale in writing.
Upon hearing these stories, some owners may wonder about the service that Timeshare Relief provides. Please remember that Timeshare Relief guarantees our service in writing. We do not make claims of a quick sale or that we have a buyer in the wings. We acknowledge that the timeshare resales market is a difficult one which is a reason why a fee is necessary to get rid of a timeshare for an owner. Once a timeshare is transferred from an owner, someone else is responsible for the financial obligations in these hard economic times.
At Timeshare Relief, we meet all kinds of timeshare owners that come from very diverse backgrounds. Many are from all kinds of different professions, age groups, and personalities. One commonality we note in many of them, though, is that when they first bought a timeshare they often did not intend to purchase it. In the beginning they developed a notion that it was such a good deal that they just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to own one. In the end they tell themselves how good a deal it was so they can rationalize it as financially prudent.
