timeshare news

Lawmakers to rethink development of timeshares—Virginia community says “no” while Massachusetts town opens the door to developers.

On January 9, 2006, we told you about a controversy in Amherst County, Virginia over what appeared to be a single-family home. Area residents later learned the new construction, Pedlar Camp, was being sold in four-week blocks of fractional ownership. “No Timeshares Here!” read the signs posted in homeowners’ yards along the winding road up Banks Mountain, as area Virginians quickly made their opinions known to both developers and lawmakers. 

The result of community outcry was the February 22 decision by the Amherst County Board of Supervisors and County Planning Commission to implement an ordinance prohibiting the construction of timeshare properties in areas zoned as agricultural residential.

Pedlar Camp, with its potential twelve co-owners, was—per the ordinance—deemed to remain because its permits were issued before the implementation of the new ruling. The commission nixed all other planned fractional ownership vacation homes and timeshares, despite the position by developers that tourists would help boost the local economy.

But Pedlar Camp, it seems, was caught in a loophole.  While it could remain as timeshare property, the developers wouldn’t actually be able to use it as such. It seems that Pedlar Camp was not registered with the state as a timeshare before the ordinance passed and once the ordinance was in place, the registration application was denied. At least for now, if you want to vacation in this  particular nook of the Blue Ridge Mountains you can’t do it in a timeshare.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts residents have found themselves engaged in a similar battle. Pittsfield lawmakers, developers, and residents are united in their desire to shore-up a struggling local economy, but a proposed timeshare in Ponterril has become a point of controversy. 

For the present, already congested areas of the city will not be further built-out with timeshares, based on recent actions by the mayor and the city council to drop a provision that would have permitted their construction. But other areas (those zoned as R-43) will permit timeshare properties, recognizing that in so doing, they will be building the local tax revenue base and potentially holding property tax increases at bay for everyone.

New legislation helps safeguard consumers, but there’s still cause for consumers to be vigilant.

An article published this past Saturday in the online version of The Australian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18145220%255E25658,00.html) has many good things to say about the state of timeshares in Australia. While I personally am very pleased to see such optimism reflected in the pages of a major online periodical, I do have some constructive criticism to voice.

New legislation forbids Australia’s timeshare salespeople from advertising timeshare as a financial investment. This is great news! More and more countries around the world are implementing similar policies, which have been gratefully received by the timesharing public. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that a timeshare’s monetary value almost always depreciates, and timeshares should not be considered a sound financial investment because of the likelihood of such depreciation.

This legislation has improved consumer confidence in the product of timeshare, and the Australia timeshare business is booming as a direct result. Again, this is good news. Australia is a wonderful place to visit (here’s a tip: September to December is a great time to go scuba diving around the Great Barrier Reef), whether for a week or an extended stay. The people are wonderful, the scenery is spectacular, and I’ve noticed that children in particular are especially intrigued by Australia’s wildlife (especially koalas).

However, reading between the lines of this article, I find that a certain amount of foreshadowing becomes evident. As with any healthy industry, it is only a matter of time before the lure of easy money convinces some timeshare salespeople to abandon their scruples.

The article mentions that direct marketing is increasingly becoming the most popular method of attracting new timeshare buyers in Australia. This concerns me because many of the complaints we’ve heard about timeshares have to do with how a timeshare property is marketed.

I feel that a timeshare property should rely on its own qualities to sell itself, rather than sales hype. Hopefully most would agree that our company’s business model reflects this attitude. A lot of timeshare buyers have been led to sign less-than-agreeable contracts after being wined and dined, subjected to free gifts, treated to elaborate and lengthy sales presentations, or subjected to other inducements.

In areas with a longer history of timeshare development, hype and high pressure are falling rapidly from favor. In areas like the United States, consumers are becoming more aware about the product of timeshare and how it is marketed, and fewer of these folks are likely to buy a timeshare because of marketing hype. However, in other parts of the world, timeshare sales practices exist which may differ startlingly from an American’s idea of “business as usual”.

Maybe I am overly skeptical of direct marketing as it applies to timeshare, but I have good reason: I am involved with the resale sector. If you’re a timeshare owner, and you receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be a timeshare reseller, use extreme caution. If you smell a rat, hang up the phone if you need to. The person on the other end has probably obtained your personal information from someone selling lists of known timeshare owners. If you want to buy, sell or rent timeshare, don’t wait for a stranger to cold-call you! Contact a reputable timeshare-by-owner company or a licensed timeshare broker.

It has always been my belief that people should buy a timeshare because it fits well with their lifestyles and vacation goals – NOT because of free toasters.

It is my sincerest wish and hope that owners of Australia timeshare properties will enjoy a lifetime of amazing vacations. By saying no to timeshare hype, you have the power to make it happen.

See if you know the correct answer to today’s brainteaser; also know as, “our-research-department-has-too-much-spare-time.”

Question: What (or who) is Cherokee Park?

1. A legendary power forward for Duke basketball (’91-95) who was a first round NBA draft pick by Dallas in 1995.
2. A 400-acre city park in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as the name of parks in cities and towns across America.
3. A residential area in Madison, Wisconsin, primed for timeshare development.

Answer: All of the above, if you allow Cherokee Parks (the person) to add the “s” to his name.

College basketball fans, will no doubt remember Duke’s somewhat bohemian, power forward, Cherokee Parks. Or perhaps you caught this shaggy-haired, tattooed California boy during his playing days with the Mavericks, the Timberwolves, or one of the half-dozen other NBA teams for whom he played between 1995 and the 2004 playing season.

And if you grew up in central Kentucky or southern Indiana, you most likely have spent a few pleasurable days picnicking, chasing Frisbees, or enjoying an outdoor concert in Louisville’s beautiful Cherokee Park. Even if you haven’t, it is such a common name, you have probably visited a Cherokee Park in some city in the United States.

But if you are familiar with the lovely wooded neighborhood on Madison, Wisconsin’s north side, known as the Cherokee Park Development, you already know that the area includes a golf course, country club, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family dwellings. Moreover, golf pro and developer Dennis Tiziani and other partners are working on plans to add retail shops, timeshares, and additional recreational facilities. 

Tiziani has been named by Golf Digest to the list of Best Golf Instructors in Wisconsin in numerous years and was formerly the golf coach at the University of Wisconsin. He has long been involved in the growth and development of the Cherokee Park area.

The January 17, 2006 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal reported, “…City officials are pleased that a master plan with an emphasis on preserving open space is being prepared for the area, (Cherokee Lake and Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park) which has been under development for about four decades.”

The State Journal quoted City Planning Unit Director Brad Murphy as endorsing the project with this comment, “We view this as a very positive step,” and added that the towns of Burke and Westport’s involvement will be needed to complete the effort.

New website helps to coordinate search and rescue efforts

Here’s an update on last week’s post about the disappearance of Jennifer Kesse, a 24-year-old Orlando woman employed by Westgate Resorts.

Police released two photos taken by a surveillance camera on the day of Jennifer’s disappearance. Police are asking for help identifying the person in these photos. Visit http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_local_orlandocrime/2006/02/police_want_to_.html for more information.

Family and friends of the missing woman have created a website to help with search and rescue efforts. Please visit this site at http://www.jenniferkesse.com.

See Also

• Orlando Sentinel News Blog – Jennifer Kesse
  Police want to speak with the person in these surveillance photos
• Jennifer Kesse
  Website created by Jennifer’s friends and family to help find her.