They Wouldn’t Have this Problem if They’d Bought Timeshare Resales
Monday, March 31, 2008
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. 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.
