Timeshare presentations

[Cathy Rosen]

if you don't want your timeshare, best to deedback or give away but if you cannot you might be able to walk:

Is your contract a deed for a specific unit in a specific resort? or a points trust? If it is a deed in Florida you are in luck because as an anti-deficiency state all they can do is take back the timeshare if you stop communicating and don't object to the foreclosure (objecting could enable them to go after your other assets. Tread carefully if you go this route.) You could also take a credit hit. Here is the Florida law

Links to Official State Timeshare Laws and Guides/Manuals

@TUGBrian @DeniseM @CalGalTraveler take a look. This weekend, I’m creating a spreadsheet with official links to states’ timeshare laws, as well as their statuses as to non-judicial, anti-deficiency foreclosures. In the meantime, I will just keep adding notes. * Legal Disclaimer: This list...

tugbbs.com

Points trusts are untested in the courts so no one knows.

Join TUG and research what you own and how to maximize. Best $15 you will ever spend on your timeshare.

Yes, its a deed, and it is a specific unit in a specific resort. So it sounds like she is not lying then when she said that all I have to do is stop paying. I actually don't mind that. I think of it as just prepaying for vacations. I have no desire to sell it, I just want it to go away when I'm done using it, because as we all know, in the end having a Westgate deed is worthless. Thank you for that information. I still need to think about it. After all is said and done, I still love it, which is why this screws with my head so much.

 

[dioxide45]

I'm a Westgate vacation club member which is different than a timeshare owner. I've attended numerous presentations where they pressure you to buy and I've bought numerous times and cancelled within the legal time frame.

Just did it again. What I've noticed at all presentations at Westgate is that its always in a large room with loud music playing so that you have to strain your ears to hear what the sales person is saying. What's your take on that? Do you think they do it to keep you in the dark about the details and keep you confused? That's the only reason I can think of. There has to be a reason for it because its always like this at every presentation I've attended, and at every location attended at Westgate.

They do it in on all sales floors. Go into a car dealership? Loud music. It creates the distraction and makes it so you misinterpret facts.

 

[GTStone]

Let me get rhis straight. You gave them $5000 upfront and pay $1000 a year and in 17 years it all goes away. Or for another $12000 you can get a 2 bedroom for every other year.

Instead you could go to a resale for maybe $1000 or less that is affiliated with RCI points where you select one with a lower maintenance fee then-have it deposit to your account and use the points for multiple vacations every year at a larger variety of spots or save them up for an extended vacation. At the end you still have the deed you bought for a much lesser amount and may easily recover that minimal investment.

The noisy room should be clear that those salespeople have no ethics and will gladly place you at a disadvantage even after they het your $$$.

 

[Cathy Rosen]

Let me get rhis straight. You gave them $5000 upfront and pay $1000 a year and in 17 years it all goes away. Or for another $12000 you can get a 2 bedroom for every other year.

Instead you could go to a resale for maybe $1000 or less that is affiliated with RCI points where you select one with a lower maintenance fee then-have it deposit to your account and use the points for multiple vacations every year at a larger variety of spots or save them up for an extended vacation. At the end you still have the deed you bought for a much lesser amount and may easily recover that minimal investment.

The noisy room should be clear that those salespeople have no ethics and will gladly place you at a disadvantage even after they het your $$$.

No. I paid $5000.00 for my vacation club, and I have the option of renewing my membership every year for $200.00, or if I sign up for automatic renewal, then its only $150.00 a year. With that membership, I can rent a studio for 400.00 a week, a one bedroom condo for 600.00 a week, or a two bedroom condo for $800 per week, and I am allowed two rentals per year if I want. For an additional 12,000 per year, I get a deeded timeshare. It's a two bedroom loft, but its really more like three bedrooms. It only has two bathrooms, but one master bedroom, a room with two double beds, and the loft has two twin beds. However, it exchanges like a three bedroom. I get one week vacation every year, not every other year, but my maintenance fees of $1,036.00 are paid every other year. So its like 618.00 per year if I paid yearly.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I am confused. So this vacation club you own is a deed but it goes away after 17 years? If so, why on earth would you want to upgrade into something you will be stuck with that will be instatly worthless if you already have an exit out of the current ownership in 17 years?

You would do better using up your current vacation club until it expires or it goes away (per your post), and then augmenting with another system friendly to resale (e.g. HGVC, Vistana mandatory, Worldmark) or renting getaways on Interval or from other owners if you want more vacation time.

 

[Cathy Rosen]

I am confused. So this vacation club you own is a deed but it goes away after 17 years? If so, why on earth would you want to upgrade into something you will be stuck with that will be instatly worthless if you already have an exit out of the current ownership in 17 years?

You would do better using up your current vacation club until it expires or it goes away (per your post), and then augmenting with another system friendly to resale (e.g. HGVC, Vistana mandatory, Worldmark) or renting getaways on Interval or from other owners if you want more vacation time.

No. The vacation club is NOT a deed. Its just a membership that I can use if I want to. I don't have to pay the 200.00 per year unless I plan on using it. Its supposed to last 17 years, but Westgate can actually end it earlier if they want to. I'm eight years in and even if they end it early, I still got my money's worth. Its not as good as it was when I first got it. At first I could rent any size condo up to 3 bedrooms for $500.00 no matter how many bedrooms. The condos I got were often the newest and the best. They raised the price since then. There are also locations where I can't rent because the demand from the owners is great, places such as Miami and Cocoa Beach. If I upgrade to a timeshare, then I can use all locations anytime of the year. Timeshare owners always get first dibs, then the vacation club owners get to choose from whatever is left. So with a timeshare, I have more options, more flexibility, and the best quality of condos. I also get to book the owner events. I understand that if I stop using it and want to sell, it will be worthless. But if I use it and get my money's worth and its okay to just stop paying the maintenance fees to get rid of it, I'm okay with that. I think I may have some relatives that might be happy to continue the maintenance fees to use the timeshare when the time comes. Also, after I talked to the closing agent about cancelling, they came back with a better offer.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

No. The vacation club is NOT a deed. Its just a membership that I can use if I want to. I don't have to pay the 200.00 per year unless I plan on using it. Its supposed to last 17 years, but Westgate can actually end it earlier if they want to. I'm eight years in and even if they end it early, I still got my money's worth. Its not as good as it was when I first got it. At first I could rent any size condo up to 3 bedrooms for $500.00 no matter how many bedrooms. The condos I got were often the newest and the best. They raised the price since then. There are also locations where I can't rent because the demand from the owners is great, places such as Miami and Cocoa Beach. If I upgrade to a timeshare, then I can use all locations anytime of the year. Timeshare owners always get first dibs, then the vacation club owners get to choose from whatever is left. So with a timeshare, I have more options, more flexibility, and the best quality of condos. I also get to book the owner events. I understand that if I stop using it and want to sell, it will be worthless. But if I use it and get my money's worth and its okay to just stop paying the maintenance fees to get rid of it, I'm okay with that. I think I may have some relatives that might be happy to continue the maintenance fees to use the timeshare when the time comes. Also, after I talked to the closing agent about cancelling, they came back with a better offer.

Okay. Makes more sense.

Run away from their counter offer. Stop talking to them. It's just a rep who will lie because she wants your commission. When she says you can get more resorts as an owner, she is lying or twisting the truth to be low season when you wouldn't want to travel. You will never see her again. She knows she will never see you again so say anything to get the commission. The reason they lie is because the only thing that is real is what's in the contract. And her promises will not be there. The corp lawyers have taken care of that.

Your vacation club sounds like the best they can offer if it contractually goes away in 17 years (check your contract), you don't have annual fees if you don't use it. and you got your value out of it. That's what you want. That will not happen again.

Westgate is a roach motel - owners can buy in but cannot get out. What if you buy and you, your family or friends have health issues, lost job, don't want to vacation anymore, and cannot help pay the MF? TUG boards are laden with worthless Westgate deeds that owners cannot get rid of. If you walk from a deeded unit you may have a ding on your credit record which could affect your job, insurance rates, apartment rent. Why add the headache?

Besides, you can do better with another system via resale and Interval International/RCI last calls getaways that won't lock you in.

Or simply rent for the value of maintenance fees from owners. If you still want Westgate (I don't know why when you could get Hilton or Marriott quality), there are likely "stuck" Westgate owners that cannot cover their MF. You can likely rent for lower than MF and have zero obligation.

 

[GTStone]

200 + 800 is $1000 to get a 2 bedroom plus you already paid $5000 up front. You said the new offer was for $12000 upfront plus maintenance fees every other year. Well you pay MFs for use years, so that makes it an EOY use. However you seem determined to move ahead with this rather than listening to what all of us experienced users are saying with our responses.


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[shorep]

I'm a Westgate vacation club member which is different than a timeshare owner. I've attended numerous presentations where they pressure you to buy and I've bought numerous times and cancelled within the legal time frame.

Just did it again. What I've noticed at all presentations at Westgate is that its always in a large room with loud music playing so that you have to strain your ears to hear what the sales person is saying. What's your take on that? Do you think they do it to keep you in the dark about the details and keep you confused? That's the only reason I can think of. There has to be a reason for it because its always like this at every presentation I've attended, and at every location attended at Westgate.

Did you also note the smoke and mirrors and the total lack of reality and truth???????

 

[CalGalTraveler]

BTW...check out the top resorts listed and sold for 2020 on TUG:

#4 listed = Westgate

But Westgate does not show up on top 24 sold in 2020 = NO sale = owners stuck with a timeshare they cannot easily get rid of.

Most popular Timeshares sold and rented by Owners!

This year we're going to Belize instead and so I did some searching and it looked better for us to rent out all our weeks and pay cash in Belize. That’s what I did last time we went to Europe and I did the same for our next European vacation.

tugbbs.com

 

[benwann1]

Hi Everyone!

My latest article on the timeshare experience is out! This group was huge in making my first one so popular!

Love to hear what you think.

You Should Go to a Time Share Presentation

By understanding each principle, knowing the signs, and how to say "no," you will be well-positioned to avoid being taken advantage of by others by being persuaded to buy or do what someone else wants. Since the book was first published, Cialdini has acknowledged that "dark forces&qu

benjaminwann.com