Before You Buy That Timeshare, Read This First!
Before You Buy That Timeshare, Read This First!
Reading this before you buy that TimeShare may save you significant dollars and dramatically improve your vacationing experiences for life!
Do you remember when the Great TimeShare Concept revolutionized the vacation world? I don’t remember when it actually started but I got hooked pretty easily. We loved the ocean, I loved golf, and we all loved just getting away. So, I took the plunge……………..I mean, I went in deep. I bought 6 weeks at Hilton Head Island, right there in Harbour Town, right next to a golf course. I was now a TimeShare owner.
What I knew before buying the TimeShare versus what I learned after owning it was dramatically different. Back then, I thought, there would be no more worrying about booking a hotel, resort or cottage at the last minute. No more paying the “going rates”, which were on the rise year-after-year. Not only that, there was a great likelihood that the TimeShare itself would appreciate in value and provide a resale opportunity down the road if I wanted to part with it. What could be better…….after all, I liked to vacation and so did my family.
Let’s fast forward to 2003…….twenty years later. Over that 20 year span, we actually made good use of the TimeShare vacation at least half of the time. Seldom was I able to get away for the full 6 weeks anytime between “fixed week plan” of May – August, because I had a job that simply didn’t permit that much time away from the office on an annual basis, let alone in the summer. When I signed on the dotted line, I was made aware of my annual financial responsibility. There was a fee for things like maintenance, taxes, reserve funds, etc, etc. In 1983, the total of about 7 or 8 individual items was a very affordable 0. That times 6 equaled 0 per year, a little pricey but because I was going to gift 4 weeks in the not distant future, I thought it reasonable…………a good investment if you like.
Well, what do you think happened? You probably guessed it……….the annual fees went up. And as they went up, the TimeShare marketplace was still on a meteoric rise. They were selling like hotcakes. TimeShare owners and users were flooding the marketplace. This both helped and hurt me in ways I didn’t suspect at the time. One of the features of the TimeShare world was the ability to either occupy your week(s), bank them for future use, rent them, trade them for other worldwide locations if available, or simply let them expire. Well, as I said, we did occupy ours for a number of years. But as the kids were growing and my career was developing, we found it harder and harder to actually use all the weeks. We tried banking them for a few years but they just piled up and eventually expired. Zero value! We tried renting, but the industry growth made that difficult because there were so many choices that rental fees barely, if at all, covered the maintenance fees, and that was if you could even find a renter. The annual fees were increasing until they became quite burdensome. Mine exploded to 0 per week, an outcome neither I nor my salesman believed would ever be the case. No telling what they are today.
Well, I finally ended up selling the weeks as it was obvious to me that my two daughters would not be able to afford these fees as they were just starting out on their life journeys and careers. So, I ended up selling them for significantly less than I paid for them in 1983. Yes, I did enjoy them over the years, but I could have saved significantly before buying those TimeShares if I had done something else………but the choices then were very limited.
Fast forward now to 2010…………………..just a few years later. The travel and entertainment industry is still robust and the vacation industry remains over the top. Granted, there are vacation deals out there but most of them require you to be able to travel either immediately or within a week or so; otherwise they evaporate. However, while I was struggling with my TimeShare vacations, another program had developed that offered greater flexibility, longer entitlement and……………cheaper!
Let me explain. I have found a vacation opportunity that provides for all the conveniences I mentioned earlier. You know, fully furnished, great availability, worldwide locations, first class accommodations, etc. I also discovered I could occupy these facilities for 50 – 80% cheaper than my Hilton Head TimeShare vacation weeks on an annual basis when comparing the rental costs to my maintenance fees. Bear in mind, I had to pay for each week outright which is not included in the above percentages. And, I am unlimited in the number of weeks I can vacation in a given year
So, here’s your opportunity: Before you buy that TimeShare, know that you can own a bargain plan for vacations for life and just enjoy vacationing at significant savings. There’ll be no more travel agent fees, unrealistic, non-refundable deposits, or inflation indexed maintenance fees with no caps. The world awaits you!
Gene Harbula is a retired aviation executive and former U. S. Air Force pilot who has found an alternative to buying a TimeShare without paying for annual maintenance fees, hiring travel agents or plunking down significant deposits, often non-refundable no matter what the reason.
He promotes this vacation opportunity through his home-based internet business. Additionally, he offers a blueprint to starting your own internet business to enable anyone to offer any product they wish to offer and to participate in the collateral benefits of being an affiliate marketeer.
Gene Harbula (573) 239-5151 www.your-theboss.com
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