subject: Safe Hands Transfers: Legal Timeshare Answers [print this page] What do you do with a vacation resort timeshare? Well, according to one article: you cant store your unwanted timeshare in the basement next to your dusty exercise bike! That is a great statement, not only because its funny but because its true.
Timeshare owners are now doing anything and everything just to get rid of that annual money-drain called timeshare. Desperate more properly illustrates what lengths owners will go to in order to get out of the contract. I even know of a couple who were willing to burn it down, if only it was nearer! Fortunately for them, the timeshare was tucked away in Mexico, a bit of distance from Wisconsin. Such timeshare properties are being dumped all over eBay, Craigslist, and even local ads.
Timeshare owners have been deceived at every turn by timeshare companies. How many prospective buyers were sold on the concept that purchasing a binding contract is a great investment? Among the supposed rewards are a low vacation price that will never go up; assurance of a readily maintained vacation property; and eliminating the usual hassle and bustle that comes with reserving and planning. And let us not forget the investment of wonderful family memories that are simply priceless! Wow! Talk about a hardcore sales strategy. How can a perspective timeshare owner say no to all of that?
On average, timeshare maintenance fees are increasing 15% annually. If you factor that by another 10 years, these fees can be life-changing, especially for elderly owners who are on fixed incomes and find themselves not utilizing their timeshares as much as they used to when they were younger. Timeshare owners are also realizing that now that their children are grown and out on their own, they dont enjoy their timeshare as much as they used to. Factor in the cost of air travel and time off from work to go to the timeshare, and it becomes a real financial issue. Most people will go on holiday for 4 days on average, not seven. In the current economic climate, it is more and more difficult to justify taking time off and then pay $1,000 in maintenance fees, and another $2000 in special assessment fees, for something we would rather not be using.
The timeshare owner purchased the use of the timeshare resort, not the property itself. Usage has no intrinsic value, but merely enjoyment value. Yet that was one of the concepts being sold during the timeshare sales presentation. Dont get me wrong. There is considerable value in the memories that are made on family vacations. Yet it is misleading to make the leap to a financial investment gain. It is indeed an investment, just not an investment that will pay off someday. That is why it is more accurate to say that in monetary terms, it is a liability and NOT an investment.
There is hope though! A company called Safe Hands Transfers is helping owners from all 50 states as well as Canada find solutions to the timeshare misconception. Safe Hands Transfers is a company that is willing travel to meet with timeshare owners, and discuss face-to-face what solution works best. There are no hidden fees and no shady deals. This is really the only option for timeshare owners to get out of that mistake called timeshare.
