Developers Fighting Re-Sale

Unscrupulous Developers dancing dirty

Timeshare Re-Sale has arrived and developers are taking note.  Over the last several years developers selling their product in high pressure sales rooms across the country are fighting back at the proliferation of Re-Sale brokerages.

Some are implementing shady practices in an attempt to curb the growth in Re-Sales, where consumers are getting the same timeshare products for on average about half the cost of developer programs.

Some of them are stooping to telling bold faced lies to the public about presumed differences in purchasing from them versus an existing owner. 

According to many of the customers we see on a daily basis, they are being told by sales agents that "owners use rights are severely restricted when acquired on the the re-sale market".  That "when purchased from anyone but the developer the new owners name is flagged as re-sale and they are treated as second class citizens from then on".  That "special privileges are denied and they can never attain what is referred to as VIP status" etc.

We say this is the biggest bunch of bunk we have ever heard.  Having sold hundreds of timeshares of all sorts for years, as agents for developers and as re-sale agents for customers all over the world nothing is further from the truth.

What is true is that some unscrupulous developers have attempted to corner the market on their product by building in restrictive covenants in their program rules that are on their face illegal and unenforceable.  Their attempts to corner the market is having no other impact than to discredit them as reputable developers and hinder their ability to market their product to savvy consumers.  Their greed will be their demise just as in any attempt to corner any market, as history has taught, ends in disaster. 

Unfortunately for the existing owners of these products the net affect is the devaluation of their property.  One such company is Shell Vacations Club.  Shell sells their points program from anywhere between five and six dollars per point in their boiler type sales rooms in Hawaii.  They tell people attending their presentations that "Shell points are not available on the resale market", that "they don't get the same benefits of ownership if purchased from anyone but Shell".  NOT  ! ! !   Shell points are readily available on the re-sale market for about half of what Shell sells them for, sometimes less.  To date we have not heard of one instance where the re-sale purchaser has not gotten full benefit of ownership without restriction.  What we have experienced first hand is difficulty in getting the points transferred to a new owner and rejections of direct purchases of shell points by our company ( we are considered a competitor according to Shell). The transfers have all been resolved, though Shell has made it an excruciating experience. Don't try this at home.

Our advise...... steer clear of unscrupulous developers and boiler room sales tactics.  Check with other owners who have purchased on the re-sale market to find out if any of this developer sales hype is accurate.  Owners are your best source for honest and accurate information.  They have the benefit of experience and will likely tell you the good, the bad and the ugly before any sales person will.

When purchasing a timeshare on the re-sell market consult a professional broker with experience like Red Time Realty. This is where you will get honest answers to all of  your timeshare questions or concerns.