The original concept of a timeshare was simple and genuine. Every contract defined the legal status of the purchaser. You were buying the right to occupy a specific unit and access the common areas at any time.
Open access to common areas is known as ‘undivided’ while the timeshare unit was only accessible to those who had specifically purchased a right to use it.
Although you were only able to access the unit for a set period of time and between specific dates, the legal standpoint was still that you were buying a piece of the property. As such this became a real estate deal and all sales needed to be ‘deeded’.
All deeded property sales should be recorded in public property records to clarify the status of the property.
For the timeshare owner this was the right way to go. Every property was deeded and could not be deeded to more than one person; you could verify this at the local office and know that your timeshare unit was yours to use as you pleased.
Unfortunately this was not so beneficial for the timeshare developer. They could sell all their units, but only sell them once. While this might be correct legally, it was not the way that most timeshare developers were hoping to operate. Without deeding the property they could easily sell the same unit several times and limit access.
The Loophole
Timeshare developers took a new approach. Instead of selling real estate ownership they sold points. Every point purchased will give you access to a resort; additional points increase the access amount or the number of resorts you can access.
Suddenly there was no limit to the number of points that could be sold; timeshare owners would now be able to access apartments in multiple resorts; effectively paying to purchase an apartment in each resort. But the same apartment can be sold multiple times through the points system!
Providing there is always a unit free to house someone wanting to take their vacation then the developer can simply continue selling points.
In addition, the marketing and prices can be upgraded, as you ware purchasing access to several different places!
In many ways this could be called the most impressive (and sneaky) marketing strategy ever devised.
The Sad Truth
This approach is marketed as being cheaper than outright ownership; however, at this point you are no longer purchasing a property. You are purchasing the right to stay in one of the developer’s resorts for a set amount of time each year; with no guarantees regarding any of the more intricate details.
This solution definitely served the developer well, but the timeshare owner loses their real estate and, with every point sold, the value of your own points decreases.
This may only become obvious when you attempt to book your annual vacation and find that you have nowhere to stay and that you can do nothing about it; this is when your vacation ownership deal is revealed for what it truly is; a money making scam for the developer.
Fidelity Resource Management’s timeshare attorney network has decades of experience in the field of contract litigation. They will analyze your case for misrepresentations, omissions, or deceptive sales practices in addressing its merits, and adopt an approach that best fits your timeshare cancellation needs.
Call us today at 877-218-3223!
