{"id":556,"date":"2012-03-26T14:14:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T14:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-1199783855.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/26\/become-an-informed-timeshare-consumer\/"},"modified":"2012-03-26T14:14:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T14:14:00","slug":"become-informed-timeshare-consumer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/26\/become-informed-timeshare-consumer\/","title":{"rendered":"Become an Informed Timeshare Consumer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>March’s “Ask The Timeshare Crusader” question comes from Howard:<\/p>\n

I am trying to become an informed consumer before purchasing a timeshare. I have read books on timeshare, the forums pages on RedWeek.com, and the articles in TimeSharing <\/p>\n

Today, among other things, and am more confused than ever.
There seems to be a glut of information out there, but no consensus on much of anything – is it better to buy directly from a developer or resale; points versus deeded ownership; vacation club or single resort ownership? <\/p>\n

The options are endless. Plus, whenever I go to a timeshare presentation, I hear stories of doom and gloom unless I spend yet more money to “upgrade”. What am I to believe?<\/span>

Lisa Ann’s Answer:<\/span>
I agree with you that there is a ton of information out there and yet not much agreement on anything except a few salient (no upfront fees) points. As I’ve stated before – and also mentioned in my “Timeshare Vacation for Dummies” book – stay away from absolutes. Some timeshare owners LOVE their timeshares and have learned how to use them, and some are still wandering aimlessly.<\/p>\n

If you own a timeshare in a place that you love, that keeps annual fees at a reasonable level, that has regular communication with you, and so on, then you will likely be happy with your purchase. However, as a potential buyer, there can be confusion – and maybe even worry – when reading stories from owners at resorts facing bankruptcy, or resorts charging hundres or thousands of dollars in special assessments.<\/p>\n

It’s important to understand who is giving out information and then discern what their motivation is for giving out that information. When dealing with a timeshare salesperson, take what they say with a grain of salt and by all means, verify what they say before making any decision. <\/p>\n

When reading forums or blog posts, try to discern what the author’s agenda is: were they scammed and now hate the entire timeshare industry; do they own at a resort that is not treating owners fairly, or treats their owners wonderfully; are they affiliated with a resort or brokerage and are trying to ‘sell’ via third-party forums and blog sites? Generally there are clues if you read carefully and try to verify the information you are reading.<\/p>\n

I applaud you for being as informed as you can. Remember that there are great resources out there, you just need to do the legwork and find them.<\/p>\n

Share Your Thoughts<\/span>
Care to comment on Lisa Ann\u2019s answer? Please leave a comment below, or join the conversation on our Ask the Timeshare Crusader forum<\/a>. <\/p>\n

You can also read more of Lisa Ann\u2019s timeshare advice on RedWeek\u2019s The Timeshare Crusader.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March’s “Ask The Timeshare Crusader” question comes from Howard: I am trying to become an informed consumer before purchasing a timeshare. I have read books on timeshare, the forums pages on RedWeek.com, and the articles in TimeSharing Today, among other things, and am more confused than ever. There seems to be a glut of information…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog-origin.redweek.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}