It was our pleasure at Sell My Timeshare NOW to host a business forum on Monday with representatives of our local (Dover, NH) business community and featured guest, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter.

Approximately twenty invited guests, representing businesses ranging from florists and real estate companies, to banks and accounting firms, attended the event. At Sell My Timeshare NOW, we worked with the Dover Chamber of Commerce and representatives from Rep. Shea-Porters office to coordinate the business forum, which was designed to facilitate discussion of issues relevant to small businesses, and was attended by representatives of the business community.

We are truly honored to have hosted Congresswoman Shea-Porter. We hope Sell My Timeshare NOW helped create an interactive environment for the forum that will aid her in representing the people and the needs of our District. And what issues were important to the businessmen and businesswomen in attendance?

We talked about healthcare, transportation, taxes, alternative energy sources, our country and our community’s current economic challenges, and the subprime mortgage crisis. Specifically we talked with Congresswoman Shea-Porter about the Economic Stimulus Package, which includes $44 billion in tax cuts and incentives for businesses in addition to tax rebates for families.

It sounds like the business people of Dover, NH are concerned about the very same issues that are on everyone’s mind these days.

Follow this link to read the official Sell My Timeshare NOW press release about the Congressional Representative’s visit. Contact information for Carol Shea-Porter’s Dover, NH offices is:

104 Washington Street
Dover, NH 03820
phone: (603) 743-4813
fax: (603) 743-5956

To learn more about the opportunities in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals, visit www.sellmytimesharenow.com.

Do you know that you can resell your residential home (or any other type of real estate) without hiring a real estate agent or Realtor(r) to assist you? Of course you know that, and you’d be indignant and probably downright angry if it was any other way.

If you own a home, a piece of land, an office building, or other type of property, you have choices when it comes to reselling it. You can handle the sale yourself or hire a real estate professional to help you. You can use a buy-owner company to assist with part of the process, or you can select a range of services, from title agents to real estate attorneys, using only those you need to help you.

And the fact that no law requires you to buy or sell real estate from a real estate professional hasn’t done a thing to harm the real estate industry as a whole. In fact, the diversity of ways to sell is part of what makes the industry competitive and fair.

Millions and millions of people, who have sold their homes by a method, other than hiring a real estate professional, will tell you that they saved a lot of money that would have gone to an agent or a broker for advertising and showing the property or other fees that are paid as part of the commission. You also see the same ads on television that I see, with testimonials from people who have used a buy-owner real estate company to help them sell their homes, and are thrilled with the money they saved, or other features of the service they received. And as with anything, there are stories of people who tried to sell property themselves, and for whatever reason, got burned and wished in hindsight they had used a Realtor(r).

In any industry, including those that involve the sale of real estate, and those that involve the sale of timeshare real estate, there are good services and bad ones; there are services that work well for one person but maybe not for another. But American business is built on our freedom to choose to work with companies that we think, best serve our individual needs.

Ways to Sell Timeshare and Timeshare Resales

Timeshare developers, timeshare resellers, and timeshare advertising and marketing companies are all valid and contributing parts of the timeshare industry. Professional associations, such as ARDA, the American Resort Development Association, recognize this and support all factions of the industry.

While a few timeshare developers offer buy-back programs, the majority does not, leaving timeshare owners to come up with their own ways to sell timeshare they no longer wish to own.

Some people have a network of personal contacts that is so large, and a way to get the word to all of them, that they can sell timeshare themselves. But most of us don’t, nor do we want to hit on our friends and family members, trying to convince them to buy timeshare from us.

Some people want to sell timeshare but be separate from the process, letting someone else handle all the details, and for them it may be a great idea to work with a timeshare broker. And other people, just need help marketing their timeshare resale or perhaps handling the closing paperwork. The right choice for them could be a timeshare advertising and marketing company or perhaps a timeshare title transfer company. But it all goes back to choices…

Real Estate and Timeshare Real Estate in the US

Let’s face it. The residential real estate market in the US is about as bad as it has been in many years. But who do we blame for that? We can lay part of the blame on the rising price of oil that leaves people pumping larger and larger chunks of their paychecks into their gas tanks, with less and less money to spend on a new home.

We can blame a greedy element of the mortgage industry, that put people into mortgages that were so riddled with hidden charges the people couldn’t get out of them before the one obvious cost - that ever- adjusting interest rate, soared through the roof. We can blame politicians, heads of business, or just a predictable swing in the pendulum of life, but we can’t logically say that buy-owner or help-u-sell real estate services are to blame for the falling value of home prices. And it wouldn’t make any sense to say that timeshare resale companies are responsible for the resell price you can or can’t get for your timeshare property.

Whether you are looking at residential real estate, timeshare deeded property, timeshare points, or something totally different like new and used refrigerators, things sell for what the market will bear. People, not companies, set prices by what they are willing or able to pay.

New cars sell for prices that are comparably much higher than the price for which used cars sell. And new cars will continue to sell for that higher price because we are willing to pay the price, and because auto manufacturers spend huge dollars on advertising to convince you to buy their product instead of someone else’s. When that same car is resold, the second buyer pays market value (the price the market will bear) because he or she no longer has to absorb the cost of the car manufacturer’s pricey advertising.

The lower resell price has nothing to do with the used car dealer; it is just a fact of economics that applies in much the same way for resale timeshares as it does to resale automobiles. The economics of this aren’t complicated, but sometimes, you have to keep explaining them over and over again, because a few people, just don’t get it.

Gary May of the Ottawa Citizen has written an excellent article with advice for buying timeshare and timeshare resales. The article was printed in last week’s The Vancouver Sun, and covers 10 things to consider when you are ready to buy timeshare.

Here are a few of the reasons his timeshare advice is exemplary:

Gary May does not start or end his article with warnings about why it is a bad investment to buy timeshare. He seems to have a solid (and correct) grasp of the concept, that buying timeshare is no more about investment potential than buying a new car. You buy it to use it, not as a replacement, or even a supplement, to your financial investments.

He identifies that timeshare buyers have choices and options and that time is on their side. He counsels you to shop around and seriously evaluate your needs. How do you and your family vacation? Do you like to visit the same vacation destination every year, or do you like to explore new locations? He talks about maintenance fees, taxes, and timeshare exchange. All of which are very important to consider when you buy timeshare.

And on May’s list are two points, that are very important and resonate with great truth:

“Don’t be railroaded into buying something you aren’t sure about. If you go to a special promotion, you will be required to attend a demonstration. Consider this an education on the merits of timeshare. Don’t buy on a whim. Ask questions. Think it over. If you like what you see, bargain the price down. Never buy at the first price they offer.”

“Consider buying a timeshare from an owner: resales are everywhere since people’s lifestyles change. Resales can usually be purchased for far less than the original price and are listed on timeshare websites and in newspaper want ads.”

Answer to Your Questions about Buying Timeshare

On Sell My Timeshare NOW’s website we have a page - a long page - devoted to answering frequently asked questions about buying timeshare resales. We explain the difference in types of timeshare ownership, discuss banking timeshare weeks, and help you understand why timeshare purchased directly from a timeshare resort developer costs so much more than timeshare resales purchased from their current owners.

Timeshare ownership can be a great opportunity for you and your family to enjoy a lifetime of vacations. But like anything else, it should not be purchased in haste, nor should it be bought during a high-pressure sales pitch.

And for more on the subject of timeshares sold by high-pressure tactics, read the Timeshare Owners Blog tomorrow when we will be looking at a Mexico timeshares company that has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

According to information released by Wyndham Timeshares and Resorts, the United Arab Emirates is undoubtedly one of timeshare’s hottest markets. “It is expected that Middle Eastern residents will spend an estimated $1.2 billion a year on shared ownership properties by 2020…” says Wyndham timeshare in a recent media release.

The company makes it clear that the problems in the US economy will not create problems for Wyndham Worldwide, which not only owns Wyndham timeshare, but is the parent company for Group RCI timeshare exchange. And they credit much of their optimism to the sunny predictions specifically for Middle East timeshares.

Wyndham Timeshare CEO Speaks at Dubai Tourism Summit

Chairman and CEO of Wyndham Worldwide, Steve Holmes, is also the vice chair of the World Travel and Tourism Council. Holmes was part of the panel on “Travel and Tourism - It’s Good and Getting Better” that met this week during the Global Travel and Tourism Summit in Dubai. Holmes explains, “Travel and tourism continues to be a stable and growing industry around the globe… We have seen that when it comes to taking time off, people will adjust their travel plans to fit their budgets, but rarely cancel their vacations altogether.”

Wyndham timeshare’s position is that historically they have benefited from people tightening their wallets because many of the products they offer are in the mid-price and economy segment. Holmes sounds sympathetic but not empathetic when he says, “While we would like to see the US economy rebound, our company is well poised to succeed, even in this economic environment.”

Last week, The Timeshare Owners Blog reported on the partnership of Group RCI and Al Ghaith Holdings to operate timeshare exchange at the Bavaria Executive Suites timeshare resort. Two days ago we looked at Marriott timeshare announcing Marriott Vacation Club Dubai Festival City. If the predictions hold up, you can expect to continue to hear a lot of positive news about Dubai and United Arab Emirates timeshares in the months to come here on our blog.

The March 31 Timeshare Owners Blog ran a post titled, They Wouldn’t Have this Problem if They’d Bought Timeshare Resales. We were looking at a situation that occurred when a timeshare developer presold timeshare units, in many cases without recording deeds, but failed to build the timeshare resort. In another instance, the resort is built and operational, but this same developer and his partner failed to pay bills on the property or to give owners their share of the timeshare rental money.

Robert Reposa of Hingham, MA, the property owner, now owes thousands of dollars in unpaid state and federal taxes, not to mention the restitution he owes to timeshare buyers at the two properties: the Navigator Beach Club and Beachside Village in Falmouth.

The MA Attorney General has 50 complaints from timeshare owners who paid for, but did not receive, deeds for the unfinished timeshare units at the Navigator Club. On Tuesday, the Navigator Beach Club was sold at auction to a man who says he does not intend to use it as a timeshare resort. What happens next is just a wait and see situation for timeshare buyers, some who are out as much as $50,000.

Contact Information Regarding the Troubled Timeshare Deal

The Timeshare Owners Blog will continue to provide information about this timeshare deal gone wrong as it becomes available, as well as offering good advice for avoiding this problem when you buy timeshare. Here is a list of phone numbers and contact information that may be helpful if you have questions about the property or the ongoing investigation:

Massachusetts Attorney General.
(617)-727-8400

Consumer Complaint Form

Det. Sgt. Ben Wunderlich (Working the case for the Dennisport Police and coordinating with the Attorney General’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office)
(774) 352-1433

Robert Reposa
(781) 264-5296

George Fintonis
(508) 398-9153
george@capecodoceanresorts.com

Website for victims and others trying to learn more about this situation:
http://www.navigatorbeachclub.org/

This is an interesting link to the actual property auction from the ABC affiliate in Boston, WCVB:
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/15827067/index.html

Earlier this week, I wrote in the Timeshare Owners Blog about a predicted future escalation in global tourism leading to a shortage of hotel and timeshare resorts. Starwood Hotels and Timeshare resorts is just one of several hoteliers and developers that seem to think such predictions are solid.

In a multi-year strategy to revitalize the brand name of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Starwood begins this week on an aggressive expansion plan calling for 54 hotels and 20,000 guest rooms to be added to the Sheraton brand by this time next year. According to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc, the company will be spending approximately $2 billion just on North American properties. The plans include $1.3 billion in renovations and $400 million in key brand initiatives and upgrades at 100 US hotels.

Starwood’s official news release says that Sheraton is already the company’s largest and most global brand, and that they plan to increase this by opening one hotel every 12 days during 2008. Target markets include Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. Globally, expansion plans include Egypt, China, Ireland, and Argentina.

Hoyt Harper II, senior vice president for Sheraton Hotels and Timeshare Resorts says, “Over the next several years, Sheraton’s footprint will become even more prominent, and as we grow, we will leverage Starwoods’ proven history of building great lifestyle brands to enhance the entire guest experience.”

Ready to Buy Sheraton Timeshare?

If you have ever considered buying Sheraton timeshare, there has never been a better time. You would become a Sheraton timeshare owner just as the company is putting billions of dollars back into their hotels and resorts - think of it as, getting in at the right time. And buying Sheraton timeshare from Starwood is not the only way to become a Sheraton timeshare owner. There are incredible opportunities to buy Sheraton timeshare resales, and bypass paying the developer’s upfront marketing costs. Visit Sell My Timeshare NOW today to learn more.

Here’s a YouTube video about the Starwood Spa collection that is reason enough to become a Starwood timeshare owner.

Recent Timeshare Owners Blog posts about Starwood timeshares include:

• Starwood Will Be Selling Timeshare from New Sales Galleries
• Starwood Timeshare Opens The Phoenician Residences

In “The Tourism Time Bomb,” (Harvard Business Review, April 2008) the authors, Paul F. Nunes and Mark Spelman, predict a global tourism explosion resulting from an expanding middle class. The message is good news for the economy, good news for timeshare owners or people who want to buy timeshare or resell timeshare, and eye-opening information for travelers and vacationers worldwide.

Tourism Time Bomb Could Result in a Shortage of Hotels and Timeshare Resorts

Yesterday, when the Timeshare Owners Blog looked at this Harvard Business Journal report on vacation trends and tourism, we noted three possible outcomes of such a tourism explosion. The first likelihood deals with a shortage of accommodations and the prediction that hotel rooms could become a scarcity. As noted in the blog post, Good News for the Middle Class Could Mean Good News for Timeshare Real Estate, if this happens, demand will increase tremendously for both hotels and timeshare units. And timeshare owners, especially those who own timeshare with exchange options, or who own multiple timeshare units or timeshare weeks, will be in good shape. If an accommodations surfeit actually happens, then timeshare owners will be in the enviable position of owning vacation property at a locked-in price.

No-Vacancy Signs at Hotels, Timeshare Resorts, and Attractions

The second scenario that could result from a global tourism explosion is that overcrowding and over-demand at popular vacation destinations might result in restrictions on the number of people allowed to visit there. This goes beyond the problem of overbooked hotel rooms and becomes a matter of tougher regulations limiting the number of visitors to sensitive areas such as historic ruins and environmental habitats. It will also mean more days when popular attractions reach sold-out capacity early in the day. Already there are peak times when vacationers arrive at theme parks only to be turned away because the location has reached max capacity.

The report goes on to explain, that with the strange psychology of supply and demand, the destinations with the longest waiting lists, will ironically become the places people most want to visit. Restrictions on visiting certain destinations will simply make those places more desired than ever.

The third situation that could occur because of a surge in tourism is that secondary destinations and even as-yet-undeveloped destinations could turn into vacation hot spots. According to “The Tourism Time Bomb,” China has developed the Hawaii-like Hainan Island and Macao, a gaming paradise located on China’s southern coast. Thanks to the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet rail line, the number of visitors to Tibet increased 64 percent last year to more than 4 million, while high-rollers and gamers of all levels already head to casinos in Biloxi and Detroit to avoid the crowds on the Las Vegas strip.

Buy Timeshare and Get Ahead of the Crowd

As a parting thought, consider this bit of advice from the authors of the report: “Get in while you can.” The only thing I might add to this wisdom would be: “Get in while you can…buy timeshare resales so that the tourism explosion never stands in the way of your vacation.”

CNNMoney.com reported last week that despite the fact that hoteliers in general are feeling the pinch of the tight economy, hotel companies that have a timeshare sales component are doing just fine.

Backing up this theory are strong financial reports from timeshare companies, including Wyndham Worldwide, with fourth-quarter 2007 timeshare vacation revenue up 4 percent to $576 million and Marriott timeshare sales and services revenue up 2 percent in the same quarter.

Here’s What Leading Financial Analysts Said about Timeshare Sales

Last month, Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kent toured Florida timeshare resorts belonging to Marriott, Starwood, and Wyndham. CNNMoney.com quoted him as saying, “We came away with a renewed sense belief that timeshare sales should be able to muscle through the current difficult economic environment, given a proactive sales model and the compelling quality of the product.”

Robert LaFleur, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, reportedly said that timeshare sales remain a very profitable business and at the same time afford a way for hoteliers to extend their brand. But perhaps LaFeur’s most quotable observation relates specifically to why people continue to buy timeshare despite challenges in the US economy. La Feur said, “It’s (buying timeshare) like going to Costco and buying vacation in bulk.”

No Mistake About It: Timeshare Sales, NOT Vacation Home Sales

If you don’t think consumers clearly understand the difference between the value of buying timeshare vacation ownership property in this economic market and buying sole ownership vacation homes, think again. Vacation home sales (sole ownership properties) dropped 30.6 percent in 2007, from their 2006 all-time record high.

Timeshare ownership…for millions of satisfied people, it’s a great vacation solution no matter what the economy.

When Tom Corbin and Steve Bodack bought timeshare units at the Navigator Beach Club in Dennisport, Massachusetts, they thought they were making vacation planning simple. Instead, they bought into a huge headache.

In May of 2006, Corbin paid $16,000, (according to a report published online by TheBostonChannel.com) for the right to vacation one week per year in timeshare unit number 6 at the Navigator Beach Club. Bodack paid $4300 for his timeshare and Ernie Morin paid $4500 for his. Each of the three men is still waiting.

It now looks like it is going to be a long wait.

Not only is construction on the Navigator Beach Club timeshare unfinished, but the resort had been scheduled for auction for nonpayment of the $2.2 million mortgage, just two days from now. Instead, the developer, Robert Reposa of Hingham, caught a break; the lender has agreed to give him another two weeks to find a buyer for the partially built timeshare resort property.

The Legalities of Buying Timeshare

According to Kathleen O’Donnell, a property law expert, Corbin, Bodack, Morin, and an undisclosed number of others have, “…bought something that doesn’t exist.”

Massachusetts law requires developers to form entities and file deeds. Neither of which was done in the case of the Navigator Beach Club timeshare resort. Simply put, where there is no entity to sell timeshare, any “timeshares” sold just don’t exist.

The next step is likely to be that the Massachusetts Attorney General will get involved. Whether or not the timeshare buyers ever see their money again is anybody’s guess at this point.

Don’t Gamble; Buy Timeshare Resales Instead

There are many situations in which timeshare developers legitimately sell pre-construction timeshare units. And as the situation at Navigator Beach Club timeshare resort proves, there are times when they don’t.

The simplest advice to avoid falling victim of a timeshare scam, is to know what you are buying. You can do this by thoroughly investigating the business stability and track record of a timeshare developer before you sign on the dotted line or you can buy timeshare at a resort that is already built, already operating, and already proven.

Timeshare resales can take a lot of the guesswork out of buying vacation ownership property. Not only can you visit an operational timeshare resort and decide for yourself if you are spending your money wisely, but you can talk to others at the resort and online at Sell My Timeshare NOW’s Timeshare Owners Forum. Find out what current owners like and what they dislike about their timeshare resort.

Vacations are supposed to provide you rest and relaxation - freedom from worry, which might be the best reason ever to buy right-priced, already proven timeshare resales.

USA Today ran a question and answer this week in their “Personal Finance” segment that was intended to deal with an IRS tax issue. Instead, it sounded more like a ‘criminal’ matter to me.

A reader posed the following question to tax expert, Andy Mattson of Mohler, Nixon, Willams and Campbell:

“I sold my timeshare for a gross gain of $3,000. However, because of the huge commission I paid to the timeshare company for selling it, my net was a loss of $6,000. Do I have to pay capital gains on $3,000 or do I consider it a loss and not report anything?”

Wait! Set aside the matter of capital gains and taxes owed for a minute. Is this reader really saying that he or she paid a $9000 commission to sell a timeshare unit for $3000? If this was the case, then I say that the terms of this timeshare sale are a lot bigger problem than the matter of paying capital gains taxes.

Selling Timeshare through a Timeshare Broker

There are times when a timeshare owner who wants to sell timeshare needs or prefers to work with a licensed timeshare broker. The broker earns a commission when the timeshare unit or weeks sell. People who are considering selling timeshare with the assistance of a broker, should understand from the beginning what the commission rate is and of course, the rate should be clearly defined in the written agreement between the seller and the timeshare broker.

But there is simply no way that you should ever have to pay a $9000 commission on a $3000 timeshare sale - that’s why I called it ‘criminal’. If you are facing this scenario, why wouldn’t you donate your timeshare, save the sales commission, and perhaps gain a tax deduction in the process? Or consider using Sell My Timeshare NOW to help you advertise and market your timeshare resale, and handle the sales transaction yourself. Either option makes far more sense than paying 3 times more in commission than you are grossing in your timeshare sale.

Answering the Question of Capital Gains on Timeshare Sales

Now back to the matter of the capital gains owed. Mattson, the tax expert, must have interpreted the timeshare seller’s question the same way I did, because his answer was this:

“It sounds like you had to pay a commission of $9,000 on gross proceeds of $3,000.

What a shame this timeshare owner didn’t contact Sell My Timeshare NOW.