Timeshares! - Updated Sept 2, 2004


Timeshare in general has reflected "bottom feeding" marketing strategies since the early days of the concept where potential buyers are coercing into paying more than double the value of property which often can be purchased for half the price on the secondary market, unlike common real estate investments. Since those early days, Hilton, Marriott and Westin and others have attempted to add polish to the timeshare industry. That is why Get'em is closely watching the tactics and performance in this field.

I purchased a timeshare on the secondary market and bought a 2 bedroom lock-out that originally sold for $25,000 for $11,500. That is obviously very un-realestate-like. This meant that those that bought originally we're essentially ripped off, even though they thought they were getting a fair deal, especially since they probably said no to the selling agent enough times to get some price reduction. However, I knew better.

A 2 bedroom lock-out in Hawaii means you supposedly have prime real-estate that is tradable for almost anything anywhere else.You can supposedly split the lock-out so you can take say one week in Palm Springs and another in Hawaii. However, there can be a lot of undisclosed information by the seller.

First, I found out that I had to join RCI in order to take advantage of the lock out, even within the location itself! This meant that I would have to pay hundreds of dollars more each year to facilitate the lock-out. Otherwise I would only be able to have one week with both rooms, two kitchens, etc. What we the two of us do with two kitchens?

Then, the board of directors for Kahana Falls, that meets once a year and doesn't respond to letters from homeowners (at least not my letters) created a new rule that prevented you from using the lock-out at all in certain situations even with RCI (after spending all that money.) One suspects collusion between a handful of directors and the property management that makes money when you can't use the unit. In stalling, they cost us one year of use (worth approximately $700.). This meant they could rent the unit to their own profit.

RCI now claims you need to give them 2 years advance notice to use a timeshare in Hawaii, even your own. We have to use a week prior to may next year. The only ones that will probably be available will be in Elko, Nevada off-season. RCI, your property management and your board of directors are more than happy to have you pay the fees to maintain the timeshares each year while they profit from the rental of your timeshare. Most people don't get it. You pay the expenses while they take the income. It's a gold mine for RCI and your property management amounting to millions if not billions of dollars each year in the industry. That's right, you've been scammed!

Some of the tricks RCI uses to keep you from using your timeshare include, dropped calls to them and unanswered questions. For example, they booked us with the first week checking out of our resort on the 18th of the month at 10: am. Then we would sleep in the street (imagine doing that in Mexico) and check in the following day at 4 p.m. Are these the typical dishonest RCI Timeshare tricks so that they can rent out your unit to someone else while you paid their costs through your maintenance fees? Imagine my frustration when I learned from some World Mark owners that they never had a problem. Well, almost never. It appears that RCI favors these bigger timeshares because to lose them could be costly. If you own with a smaller Timeshare development, you could be way out of luck. Let's just say, with a company that doesn't post its statistics, I have no trust at all and recommend strongly against any kind of Timeshare ownership. It is an industry filled with either ineptness or fraud. I'll let you decide which.

To date, we have never been able to take advantage of our Kahana Falls timeshare.

Get'em recommends extreme caution when investing in these volatile products. Read the fine print. Get'em is always interested in your personal experiences in the timeshare industry. Check the Internet for people reaching out to warn you before investing your 7 to 100 thousand in such crafty ventures.

What can you do about it?

  1. Don't buy a Timeshare in the first place at any price. It's never a bargain. Put your money in a bank and earn the interest. You'll come out ahead and have more flexibility.
  2. Use extreme caution if you feel you have to invest in these volatile products. Read the fine print–there's lots of it. Get'em is always interested in your personal experiences in the timeshare industry. Check the Internet for people reaching out to warn you before investing your 7 to 100 thousand in such crafty ventures.
  3. Already Own? Contact organizations that watch dog the industry. See if they can help you.
  4. I hope you like your resort. Use your weeks there and avoid RCI and all the headaches, heartaches and fees involved in using them.

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