Americans who bought into the popular timeshare craze in the 70s and 80s are now facing issues they never expected while under the spell of the original high-pressure sales presentation. They heard the same pitch, over and over: “Own a piece of your vacation resort.” “You can always sell it and make a profit.” “We take care of all the cleaning and maintenance. You just pay a small fee every year.”
As more and more of these buyers are facing their retirement years and thinking of selling their timeshares, a few harsh realities begin to surface.
Selling a timeshare isnt as easy as it sounds. Over the years, the timeshare market has become saturated, and properties on the secondary market can be had for pennies on the dollar, if they sell at all. In addition, the annual fees keep increasing every year. That $300 maintenance fee the purchaser signed up for twenty years ago may be $1500 or more today. That can be a hard pill to swallow for a retiree on a fixed income. Worse, those fees are assessed to the heirs in perpetuity upon the purchasers death.
According to nationally syndicated financial adviser Dave Ramsey, “Timeshares go down in value worse than a car. Its better to cut your losses than to continue to lose any more money.”
“What we have heard most from Timeshare owners is that the Timeshare has become a huge burden and has been extremely frustrating,” says Karen Holloway, owner of Lonestar Transfer, a Rockwall company specializing in resolving timeshare ownership traps. “Our specialty is helping Timeshare owners immediately dispose of their Maintenance Fees and Special Assessments.”
Its very much a niche business, but Karen discovered nearly a decade ago that the problem was way bigger than anybody knew. “These maintenance fees go on forever. And by forever, we mean even after you die. Thousands of family members have been unpleasantly surprised to find that they were on the hook for fees their parents or sibling had taken on years ago. And, as hard as it is to sell your timeshare, most owners find themselves stuck with huge bills that go on and on, for services they didnt sign up for and may never use.”
Lonestar Transfer works by having the Timeshare owner sign a new legal deed removing their name from the contract and releasing them from all liability. “We are not a listing company. We do not promise Timeshare owners something we cannot do. If Timeshares could be easily sold you would not be looking for a way out of it,” says Karen.
To find out more, visit www.lonestartransfer.com.
