I’ll speak from experience…it was one of those messages left on my voice mail that I would usually ignore; however the voice said, “This is not a sales call. You have entered a drawing and have been selected to win one of three prizes. This is time-sensitive. Please call back and claim your prize.”  I know full well that time share for sale by owner and time share rental by owner is a much more cost effective and easy-going process than attending some sales presentation, which has promised that I have won a prize, but come to find out I am only “eligible” to win a prize…ENTICEMENT!!!  What is this analogy I speak of; it is the very game that resorts play to get consumers to buy over-priced and over-promised time share units.  The individuals enticing you to attend the seminar promise it will last only an hour, 99.99% of the time these seminars stretch to 2 ½ hours plus.  At times the presentations feel like a religious revival. A representative corners you in one part of a large room and “every time one or another couple signs a contract, a guy with a microphone  announces it and everyone applauds.

Many consumers have fallen victim to the above scenario, after all curiosity is easy to pique. The question arises; is it worth it to attend these vacation club/time share pitches for the chance of a free trip or tickets to a theme park?  The answer…NO.  Are they scams or legitimate?  They are legitimate, but don’t break with the pressure, and here is why.  After I researched some of the units and resorts the “voicemail” was representing, I searched on buyatimeshare.com and found a similar unit with the same company at one-third the price being offered at the seminar. 

The challenge time share consumers face are that there are no federal laws governing timeshare presentations, although individual states may have their own regulations. Much more of the problem is deception of what is being promised; such as a nice room in a nice hotel and ending up in one the size of a closet. Or you may have a view of a brick wall instead of the ocean view you were promised.  Because 3^rd party sales agents are not allowed on the resorts to show a potential buyer the time share property, the most effective way to find a time share that meets your vacation requirements is on the world wide web via a for-sale-by-owner company such as; buyatimeshare.com or vacationpropertyresales.  Agents at resale companies are trained on the proper legalities of time share ownership transfer, and those companies who are advanced in technology offer 3-D models and video tours of the resort free of charge.

There are many things to consider when buying or renting a timeshare; the vehicle which you use is just one of them.  Another thing to consider is what a vacation club is.  It sounds a lot like a timeshare,and according to the Federal Trade Commission, there is a difference. With a timeshare, you buy a specific unit at a specific time every year, and you can trade or sell it. With a vacation club or vacation interval option, a developer owns the resort, and each unit or condominium is divided into time intervals. You buy the right to use an interval at the resort for a certain number of years — typically 10 to 50 years. The specific condominium may not be the same each year. In both timeshares and vacation clubs, there is often an additional annual maintenance fee.