Timeshare Sales

Whether you call it sensationalism, deceptive marketing, or an urban myth … here’s one that just won’t die: “You will never be able to resell your timeshare.” How do I know it is untrue? Because since Sell My Timeshare NOW began tracking offers in 2006* through our website, www.sellmytimesharenow.com we have generated more than $2.1 billion in offers to buy or rent timeshare resales advertised by owner.

As they say, ‘do the math.’ You will quickly realize that this number averages out to more than $1 million per day in offers to rent or buy timeshare.

Last week via our websites, we facilitated 1,765 offers to buy or rent. The value of these offers last week was over 4.7 million dollars. And the value of offers through our website year-to-date was $146,232,752. That is a lot of offers and a lot of money for a product that some people would like you to believe is impossible to resell.

Does every timeshare resell? No, and it would be deceptive to imply that it does. And timeshares do not resell for the same amount of money you paid for them; they are a product, like many other products, that depreciates in value, with some losing more value than others lose. But timeshares were never meant to be an investment and ‘experts’ who become indignant that timeshare owners have lost the value of their investments are trying to create an injustice where one doesn’t exist.

Timeshares are not an investment product, just as in the same way you never get a financial return for a hotel room for which you paid to vacation. You get the pleasure of the vacation, but your vacation stay doesn’t result in a financial return on your dollar. Like the car you buy, drive, and enjoy, timeshares depreciate. However that doesn’t mean they are unsalable; it only means you will not make money on timeshare resales.

Not only do timeshares depreciate, but some resell slower than others do. Yet there are often buyers, even for timeshares at less popular locations and less popular seasons. For the same reason you were attracted to buy your timeshare to begin with, there will likely be another buyer who values it as well.

*We’ve been selling timeshare advertising since our company was founded in 2003, but we did not initially track the number of offers to buy or rent timeshare, so we can only cite our results since 2006.

On the heels of last week’s 14^th annual Shared Ownership Industry Conference (SOIC) held in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel reported on the overall feeling among timeshare and vacation ownership industry executives. (See: Time-share industry sees daylight ahead). The Orlando Sentinel summarized the ups and downs of timeshare sales by identifying that the collapse of Lehman Bros., followed by the credit squeeze, together made it, “… very difficult to finance time-share purchases …”.

Capital One Financial Corp. was credited with getting into the timeshare market early in 2012, and in so doing, afforded timeshare developers and timeshare sales a measure of relief. The Orlando Sentinel quoted American Resort Development Association (ARDA) president Howard Nusbaum as saying that the involvement of the What’s in Your Wallet investors has been, “manna from Heaven.”

Timeshare Sales Hurt By More than Recessionary Economy

The article also pointed to other factors, in addition to the difficulty in financing timeshare sales, which have had a negative impact on vacation ownership, including:

• General consumer uncertainly about the economy.
• The decline in building new resorts has led to a reduction in inventory.
• Baby boomers—timeshare’s traditional market—are giving way to Generation X, a demographic that tends to vacation differently than did their parents.

And let’s not overlook the elephant that is always padding about the room, timeshare resales. The fact that a generation of timeshare owners has reached a point in life that they want to sell timeshare they no longer use or can no longer afford,  and that there has been historically the absence of a timeshare exit strategy for them, has also hurt current timeshare sales. Selling new timeshare can never be enhanced by current owners clamoring  loudly about the challenges of resale. Although most timeshare can be resold, most owners understandably don’t know how to go about it, who to trust, how much to realistically expect as a resale price, and what to do if they happen to own timeshare that is not an easy resort or interval to resell.

Nevertheless, as the Orlando Sentinel accurately reported, the industry’s overall attitude is upbeat, with many leaders anticipating a return to pre-recession timeshare sales numbers in the near future. Ron Goldberg is president of Wellington Financial, a lender that has been there with the timeshare industry through thick and thin. He assesses the environment, saying, “… demand is really starting to pick up as the developers are working through the inventory they have amassed.”

At Sell My Timeshare NOW and VacationOwnership.com, we did not have a Labor Day Sale on timeshare resales, just like we didn’t have a Back-to-School Sale and we won’t be having any holiday shopping sales heading into the Christmas buying season.

You might think timeshare sales or timeshare resales bidding wars would be a good idea. After all, consumers have always loved a sale and with the downturn economy and many retailers operating in markdown mode, shoppers have become addicted to sales and sale pricing. Paco Underhill, of Envirosell, a company that studies consumer behavior, explains that retailers have added to the shop-on-sale mindset of many consumers. After several consecutive shopping seasons in a struggling economy, where retailers have used discount pricing to stay alive, consumers no longer want to buy what is not on sale. Many shoppers even say that paying full price, “takes some fun out of” shopping. Underhill even adds that, “Sales are just like heroin.”

So why not take advantage of consumer’s love for sale pricing and advertise “Weekend Specials” or “Doorbuster Timeshares?” Because at Sell My Timeshare NOW and VacationOwnership.com, timeshare sellers set their price and timeshare buyers determine what price they are willing to pay for timeshare points or timeshare weeks and intervals. We sell timeshares at market value—the price the consumer market says timeshares are really worth.

SellMyTimeshareNOW.com and VacationOwnership.com Where Timeshare Resales are always on “Sale”

Instead of being like the retailer with the Labor Day Sale Special, Sell My Timeshare NOW and VacationOwnership.com are much more like that even bigger retailer with its motto of, “everyday low prices.”

Despite what you may hear, timeshares—even on the resale market—really aren’t worth only a dollar or a penny. With a few exceptions, most timeshares have some resale value although it is never as much as the price at which the timeshare originally sold. And timeshare owners seeking to sell timeshare they no longer use, as well as vacationers looking to buy a timeshare, can count on our websites to always offer them the biggest, most competitive marketplace in timeshare resales today.

Sell My Timeshare NOW and VacationOwnership.com—you might just call us the home of everyday low timeshare resales prices.

We are hiring! What better news is there to share in the timeshare brokerage and vacation ownership industry? You may have already seen our ads for timeshare sales applicants. If not, here is more information:

• We are hiring real estate sales professionals for our Florida offices. The office location is 8680 Commodity Circle, Sand Lake (Orlando) Florida 32819.
• We have 5 openings for Timeshare Brokers. Requirement: all applicants must have a valid Florida Real Estate license (sorry, no exceptions).
• Here’s some of what we offer our timeshare brokerage employees: Guaranteed income; PTO; Health/Dental/Disability; Convenient schedule with no weekends; and Ongoing training.

Who Is Right for this Timeshare Brokerage Job?

To apply for this job you must have a Florida Real Estate license. You must also have a high level of integrity, a willingness to learn, and a strong work ethic. You will be working among some of the most successful timeshare real estate brokers in the industry, so be coachable, be ready to learn from the best, and come into this job with a proven ability to close sales.

Our clients at Timeshare Broker Services and VacationOwnership.com have vacation ownership property  they want to move. For any number of reasons from age, to health, to income changes, relocation, changes in marital status, and even the desire to sell timeshare so they can buy a timeshare at another resort, our sellers want their timeshare sold—that’s why they picked our company to handle their transaction. We respect our clients, their desire to see their timeshare sold, and their objectives as the seller. You should only apply for this position if you want to be part of a highly successful, transparent, customer-centric timeshare brokerage.

Why Real Estate Brokers Choose to be Timeshare Brokerage Professionals

Frank G. Laroche, the company’s Director of Brokerage Sales explains, “When you join this company, you immediately recognize it’s like no other company out there. We are a progressive growth company and our success comes from uncommon performance. If you want to make sales and close real estate, then you want to be here because we sell timeshare … the numbers tell the story.”

Frank adds, “Our timeshare brokers have the opportunity to touch a lot of clients on any given day due to our resale inventory and our strong internet presence. We offer pay, training, and qualified warm leads and while a timeshare and vacation ownership background may be helpful, our training is so good, it’s not necessary coming in, but strong ethics and a Florida Real Estate license—those are absolutely required.”

If you are interested in learning more, contact 603-205-9257. And read The Timeshare Authority Blog again tomorrow when we’ll be talking with more timeshare brokers at Timeshare Broker Services and VacationOwnership.com about why they love this opportunity to sell timeshare and what it’s like to work in a timeshare brokerage that never makes cold calls.