We are excited to share with you our company’s new ad, which appeared for the first time in the February 2012 issue of Developments Magazine from the American Resort Development Association (ARDA).

As the ad explains, we offer:

“Timeshare Resales You Can Say YES To.”

Because we’ve taken care of the “no’s”

No upfront fees.

No strings attached.

No kidding.

We deliver proven resort resale and rental solutions, customized to meet your needs and your high standard of customer care.

Your business. Your way. From a company you can trust.

We are proud of the ad, proud of what we accomplished since our founding in 2003–very proud of the customers we’ve served and the relationships we’ve built.

We wanted to take this opportunity to share this message with you, to invite you to watch for this advertisement and others we’ve produced that will be appearing this year in timeshare and vacation ownership industry publications.

And most of all, we want to invite you to do just what the ad suggests: Contact us at 317-213-2553 and find out more about how we help timeshare buyers, renters, sellers, developers, HOAs, resellers, and others who have inventory and seek to buy, rent, or sell timeshare.

…no kidding.

Read this month’s issue of Developments here: http://www.nxtbook.com/ygsreprints/ygs/g24005arda_dev_feb12/

Interval International timeshare exchange recently announced expanded and extended services for King’s Creek Plantation LLC. (Additional info here: Kings Creek Plantation Timeshare Owners Gain Customize Services with Interval International).

Kevin Jones, cofounder and president of King’s Creek Plantation LLC, says, “Maintaining our strong partnership with Interval supports our customer-first culture, while opening the door for new products with more options. We are excited about our continued relationship and the many opportunities it will bring in the near future.”

Along with news of the extended relations with King’s Creek Plantation, the announcement included important updates about the new King’s Creek points-based vacation club, known as Club Explore.

Interval International is providing reservation services and special opportunities for Club Explore members. Timeshare owner / members who enroll in Club Explore expand their vacation options by being able to convert their timeshare points into club currency. They can then utilize the currency for vacationing at King’s Creek properties or for timeshare exchange within the vast Interval International global network of resorts.

In addition to timeshare exchange, Club Explore Points mean:
·         Members can choose to upgrade timeshare locations, unit size or season
·         As part of Interval Gold®, members can use ShortStay ExchangeSM to take long weekends or mini-vacations
·         Members can opt to exchange for (or purchase) great deals on cruise, golf and spa vacations
·         Access to personal concierge service available 24/7 via phone and e-mail
·         And that members receive complimentary Hertz #1 Gold® membership, as well as special offers on hotels, retail shopping, and restaurants

The spacious timeshare units, cottages, condos, (King’s Creek Plantation cottages and townhomes) and estate homes (King’s Creek Plantation Estates) at King’s Creek Plantation, with their convenient location near the attractions of Williamsburg are great reasons to be a King’s Creek Plantation timeshare owner. Now Interval International has added even more!

Many of the timeshare transfers at Sell My Timeshare NOW are handled through our partner relationship with Chicago Title Timeshare. With years of experience, Chicago Title handles over 10,000 timeshare transfers each month, making the process convenient for both the timeshare buyer and the timeshare seller.

If you are selling your timeshare by owner, (or buying one through the by owner timeshare sales process) here is more information about how the timeshare transfer process works and what you can expect.

Step-by- Step Timeshare Transfer

1. Timeshare owner (the seller) places his or her ad to sell timeshare on SellMyTimeshareNOW.com.
2. When the seller selects a buyer and has negotiated a deal with that buyer, the seller and the buyer exchange necessary contact information to start the closing process.
3. The seller initiates the processes with Chicago Title Timeshare by completing simple online forms.
4. Chicago Title Timeshare, using a username and password, emails the timeshare buyer, requesting the buyer complete online forms and verify information.
5. Both the buyer and the seller receive an email with the escrow number for the closing account.
6. Both the buyer and the seller receive by email, the transfer and closing documents from Chicago Title Timeshare.
7. The timeshare buyer and the seller review and sign documents and return them following directions provided by Chicago Title Timeshare.
8. The timeshare buyer then receives an estimated closing statement from Chicago Title Timeshare, including a request for the funds necessary for closing.
9. When Chicago Title Timeshare receives funds, they then close the timeshare sales transaction, and notify all parties of the closing. This includes notice to the buyer, seller, resort management company or the HOA.
10. Copies of final documents are sent to the new timeshare owner and the timeshare seller.

In the May/June edition of TimeSharing Today Magazine, one reader’s heartfelt letter to the editor expresses the number one challenge of the timeshare industry better than any words I could write. Here is an excerpt from that letter. To read it in its entirety, pick up a copy of TimeSharing Today or visit their website at: www.tstoday.com

The Timeshare Industry Taking Responsibility

In an economy that is upside down in more ways than one, people are walking away from home mortgages where the debt has become greater than the market value of the home, or the monthly payments are too much to shoulder. They are doing it with their homes and they are doing it with their timeshares when they reach the point where they feel there is no other option.

While there is possibly a buyer for every timeshare out there and resources like SellMyTimeshareNOW.com do everything possible to connect timeshare sellers and timeshare buyers, it’s simple logic that the fewer buyers there are for a particular timeshare week and destination, the more challenging it becomes for sellers to find a buyer.

The vacation ownership industry does not need timeshare relief, timeshare bailout, or a timeshare rescue. But the call is there for a responsible plan that the timeshare industry creates and makes available for those individuals who no longer want to be timeshare owners.

Wander around the internet and it’s easy to find comments by first one ‘authority’ and then another bemoaning how many timeshare owners want to resell their timeshare. In a refreshing counterbalance to these many anti-timeshare articles (often written by people who have never vacationed in a timeshare), it is especially interesting to read an article that appears in the September/October edition of Timesharing Today magazine. Titled “Why we’re selling,” this article provides an unbiased look at the answers received when interviewing more than a dozen owners who are currently seeking to sell timeshare.

Why Timeshare Owners Sell Timeshares

Here’s what we discovered as we analyzed the results cited in Timesharing Today:

• More than twenty-five percent of the prospective sellers interviewed in the article cited “aging” as their primary reason for selling. At least two of the couples interviewed noted that they were beyond the age of 80 and simply didn’t travel and vacation as much as they once did.
• One timeshare owner mentioned that a certain timeshare destination has grown “too touristy” over the years and that, he had no interest in timeshare exchange. He to vacation at the timeshare destination he owned and his vacation destination was no longer enjoyable for him.
• Multiple owners noted that increasing timeshare dues or maintenance fees and the increase in travel costs, especially when combined with a reduced income or dwindling pension, made continuing to own timeshare a financial strain.
• Lifestyle changes such as illness, relocation, or children leaving the nest also came up in the quotes from the owners wishing to sell.

The Positive Side of Buying Timeshare

While a few of the timeshare owners interviewed either were unhappy with the management at a particular resort or had difficulties in timeshare exchange at the resort, almost every owner also had many good things to say about vacation ownership—even though they planned to sell. Many of the people selling were owners of more than one timeshare and sometimes were only paring down their inventory not giving up timesharing altogether. Several timeshare owners mentioned flexibility issues and cited that they would rent timeshare in the future but they no longer wanted the on-going commitment of ownership.

Quotes from “Why we’re selling”:

Life changes. Divorce, illness, job transfers or just the growing up of our families changes our interest and vacation needs. Timesharing Today did an excellent job with its article and when in reading it, you clearly understand that just because someone is selling a timeshare, doesn’t mean he or she had a bad experience with it.

Thank you again Timesharing Today for this candid insight into timeshare ownership.

When it comes to vacation planning, do we really want to know what the experts say? If you are like most people, apparently the advice of travel ‘experts’ does not rank very high on your list.

Most of us, it seems, put more stock in the opinions of complete strangers when it comes to travel and vacationing. And when viewed in comparison to the combined opinions of our friends, family, and travelers we’ve never met, travel experts fall far to the bottom of the list as influencers.

According to The Social Travel Report prepared by the independent media agency, Total Media, most consumers (based on a sample of 1,375 people) select hotels, timeshare, or other vacation lodging based on the feedback and recommendations of other consumers. The study reveals that nearly 70 percent of consumers use the internet to book vacations and that roughly 25 percent are influenced by the comments voiced online by other travelers and vacationers. In other words, consumers aren’t reading travel magazines, brochures, or consulting travel agents nearly as much as they are reading the online comments and testimonials of other consumers.

Testimonials at Sell My Timeshare NOW

Sell My Timeshare NOW has always appreciated the positive feedback the company receives from consumers who buy timeshare, sell timeshare, or rent timeshare online at www.sellmytimesharenow.com.

Follow this link to read some of the many glowing comments Sell My Timeshare NOW has earned from its timeshare buyers, renters and sellers … but here’s a word of warning, take along a cup of coffee, because this is a very, very long list!

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

“Just wanted to thank you for the wonderful service we received during the process of renting our Aruba timeshare this year. We received a promp phone call with assistance to writing an ad and it was advertised on your web site the next day. We were contacted 2 months later with an offer and received the check by the following week. What great service!!” J. and A.

“I would not hesitate to recommend your company to friends looking to sell or purchase timeshares.” Arthur Budge Jr (Ad 6954)

“I have used sellmytimesharenow.com the past two years for renting our condos in Cabo San Lucas at the Pueblo Bonito Rose and Sunset Beach. We have 4 weeks that we rent every year and always have a huge amount of inquires and rent them for our asking price. The investment to post these units on sellmytimesharenow.com is well worth the money. The staff is very professional and any website updates are handled immediately and accurately. We have used other websites and received no responses and were unable to rent our units. I highly recommend using Sellmytimesharenow.com for renting your units!” Brenda T. (Ad 204083)

Sometimes at Sell My Timeshare NOW and The Timeshare Authority, we talk too much about what we do, and what we can do for you, and we forget to tell you who we are. Over the next few months, I am going to change that, telling you about some of the very special people who work extremely hard, every day, to make it easier for you to buy, rent, or sell timeshare.

And the beautiful smiling face, and warm personality of Angela Cantanzaro, Customer Care Manager for Sell My Timeshare NOW, seems like a great place to start. Here is Angela’s story, in her own words:

Here’s an interesting thought regarding vacation planning: Last week the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, a government-industry aviation safety group, elevated “birds” to its list of priority aviation safety issues.

Everyone knows about US Airways Flight 1549 that made a miraculous and safe emergency landing in the Hudson River last January; an incident precipitated by a flock of Canadian geese. According to an article that appeared in USA Today, “… last month, a bird blasted a hole through the windshield of a cargo plane over Arizona and another gouged an 18-inch tear in the side of a Delta Air Lines jet near Phoenix. Birds also have been involved in several helicopter accidents this year, including a crash in Louisiana that killed eight people headed to an oil platform.”

Even if concerns over airline safety are not enough to keep you grounded (air travel remains the safest form of transportation available), there are other reasons to buy timeshare at a drive-to destination.

Reasons to Buy Timeshare near Your Home

• A drive-to timeshare vacation translates to money saved on travel, meaning that even when your vacation budget is tight, because timeshare affords you prepaid vacation accommodations; you can probably always manage to take a vacation.
• When you buy timeshare located near where you live, you can work in ‘mini vacations’ thanks in part to the fact that today’s timeshare intervals can typically be enjoyed in periods of less than a week—some even allowing you to enjoy your timeshare one night at a time.
• Depending upon where you live, odds are that if your timeshare is near your home, it is within driving distance of other large populations meaning that when you want to sell timeshare or rent timeshare you have a targeted market of others who may be interested in drive-to vacations.
• If your timeshare is sufficiently close to your home, you can also use it for overflow housing for guests, visiting relatives, or business associates who are in town.

While the FAA will likely be able to spur the development of solutions to problems our fine feathered friends create for jet engines, one idea that is definitely not for the birds is how much sense a drive-to timeshare can make.

When you are ready to sell your timeshare, you don’t want to become involved in a process that slows you down or leaves you in limbo. Whether you are trying to eliminate the cost of annual timeshare fees, have found that you no longer use and enjoy your timeshare, or you are ready to buy a new and different timeshare, you want to be able to sell timeshare in an efficient, safe, and uncomplicated way.

Many factors enter into timeshare sales and timeshare resales. The desirability of the timeshare interval you own, the appeal and amenities of the resort, and even the size of the timeshare unit all factor into how easy it will be to sell your timeshare. Above all other aspects, however, here are the two most important, top critical factors in selling your timeshare: price and visibility.

You must price your timeshare to sell. You must price it competitively so that people have a reason to buy your timeshare instead of buying a better priced timeshare at the same resort or a resort with similar amenities. No, it is not necessary to give your timeshare away. But if your timeshare resale is priced higher than others on the resale market, you could be left holding on to for a long time, and that is just common sense.

The second critical factor in selling timeshare is that you must advertise it in a global marketplace of interested timeshare buyers. Not a neighborhood market; not a bulletin board at the grocery store; not a webpage you put up yourself or even your average timeshare resale website—why? Because traffic is the key. Lots and lots of people who are interested in buying timeshare, renting timeshare, or becoming timeshare owners. Worldwide traffic, from consumers in all parts of the globe.

Now you’re talking. Pay attention to these two critical factors and the opportunity to sell your timeshare improves considerably.

Follow this link if you are interested in receiving a free Timeshare Valuation Report.

We love to check out the advice real estate guru Barbara Corcoran has to offer for buying or selling a home or vacation property. Besides the fact that Corcoran took a $1000 loan and turned it into a five billion dollar real estate business, she is also the expert who told viewers of The Today Show to turn to online timeshare advertising—and specifically named Sell My Timeshare NOW – as the recommended way to resell timeshare.

Here’s what Barbara Corcoran’s advice about selling your home that’s equally meaningful for anyone who wants to resell timeshare.

• Remember that the most enticing homes on the market are the newest to the listings and the lowest priced.
• Stay ahead of the pricing curve in a down market.
• Be prepared to price your house 15 percent below comparable homes on the market.
• If you have to make a price reduction to get your property sold, don’t make it a tiny one that just causes your property to languish on the market even longer and eventually results in you making a second, third, or even more price drops.

In a good real estate (or timeshare sales and timeshare resales market), price your property aggressively in order to get the sale, pricing it as low as competitive properties. And in a difficult market—if you really want to sell your timeshare or your home—be the most competitively priced property in your market.

More about Barbara Corcoran from The Timeshare Authority:

• The Today Show Recommends SellMyTimeshareNOW.com for Timeshare Resales
• The Today Show’s Real Estate Expert Who Suggests Sell My Timeshare NOW, a Star on Shark Tank

And just for the fun of it, see if you can catch reruns of Barbara Corcoran wheeling and dealing during this season’s Shark Tank on ABC.