Real Estate Timeshare Scams

The description of a Timeshare is buying a portion of a property and sharing the time with other people. (Hence the name TimeShare) All timeshares have you pay a portion of the property value and common area upkeep for the grounds and building.The scams come into play like this;

You received a phone call to get involved in a Timeshare at your favorite vacation spot.They offer you the opportunity to buy a portion of the property with the promise you will receive anywhere from a week to three weeks of time on the property annually.BUT in order to take advantage of this opportunity you need to go to a presentation to learn more about the timeshare.Just for attending this free seminar you will receive a boat, or two week stay in a luxury hotel, or even a car!How can you refuse?After all they didn´t say you had to buy the property, just go and learn more about it.Does it sound too good to be true?It usually is.Recently a timeshare scam in England promised the guests a brand new boat and all the client had to do was pay for shipping.What they received was a toy boat and dingy!Timeshare promotions are on the rise, and the more realistic offers for attending a presentation are free knife set, discount coupons, free hotel room or weekend getaways.But understand even the valid timeshare presentations will involve heavy and hard sales people.

Other ways a timeshare can be a scam is they say you can sell the timeshare you already have.The sale does not go through and you are stuck with two timeshares.There have also been cases of the company taking your deposit and going out of business.

Some folks worry that a timeshare can be difficult to sell.According to Nolo Press, there are many more timeshares on the market then there are buyers. It also depends on the real estate market, just like any other property you sell. Also, your original investment may have included as much as 40% increase to cover sales costs.When you try to sell the timeshare, it may have decreased in value and you also have to pay the brokerage fees just like any other real estate deal.

You can look at the costs of buying a timeshare as the money you will normally spend on actually taking a vacation yearly.Just be sure that you will want to go to the same place every year or that there are good options for trading which will work for you annually.

Here are some generally rules to consider when you want to invest in a timeshare.

Don´t ever buy on the spot.Go home and sleep on it and give yourself time to research and evaluate.Always read the fine print on the incentives AND the real estate deal.In fact it is a good idea to take the contract to an attorney for review. It will be worth your time and effort. If you begin to feel extremely high pressured, LEAVE!You have a right to walk out at any given moment.You can also ask for references.If you are given a 900 number DON´T CALL.These are usually scams and may turn up on your phone bill in the hundreds of dollars.