Timeshare Stories
My parents owned a few timeshares; hence I can relate to everything. They had a great experience with the first one. When the next tour came around, they didn’t think twice about getting another timeshare; however, the timeshare industry had changed by that point. It was a life-long contract that didn’t stop with them. It would get passed down after they had passed on. Their maintenance fees started going up yearly, and availability decreased. When they had gone on the tour, there was even a little model of a new building with new amenities, like a playground and a water park. They were told they were getting ready to build that, and it should be done within the following year. Five years later, they still hadn’t even started building it because it was a lie. They used that as another tool to pull my parents in.
– A. Johnson, IA
My husband and I owned five timeshares as we love to travel with our grown kids. Everything changed when my husband broke his back. He never recovered because of complications with his diabetes, and we lost half of our income because of this accident. I didn’t know what to do because the timeshare companies kept billing us. We couldn’t afford them any longer. My kids couldn’t help or take over the timeshares either. I called the timeshare companies, which didn’t help at all. They had no empathy. We started getting threatening letters. I had to do something right away, or they were taking us to court. On top of that, two of our timeshares also started sending special assessment bills. I guess it was because of the damage they sustained in storms. We just kept falling further into the hole.
– D. Williams, Fl
My mom and dad owned several timeshares and initially enjoyed them until the car accident that killed them both. They didn’t have time or make the time to figure out what to do about the timeshare(s) before this happened. I mean, who could tell? I am their only son, and I had just gotten diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. It was progressing fast.
At first, I thought it was an excellent thing to inherit the timeshare(s). I thought I could sell them, enabling me to pay for my medication. I soon found out that no one wanted them. I even tried to sell them online on eBay. I was shocked to find out they aren’t even worth a quarter. You can’t give them away! By this time, my disease was progressing quickly. I went on disability. I was anxious to receive my inheritance from the probate court to help me out. I got a letter stating that one of the timeshares had put a lien on my legacy, which kept it from settling. That was four years ago…