Timeshare Real Estate

News from the Berkley Association of REALTORS® exemplifies how timeshare real estate, commercial and residential real estate professionals see individual and community need firsthand

Last week the Berkeley Association of REALTORS® released an announcement about its generous contribution to area community groups. Whether the field of expertise is timeshare real estate, commercial, or residential real estate, the licensed, professional brokers within the industry come in contact with people in unique and personal ways. A residential,  commercial, or timeshare real estate broker interacts with individuals in times of transition. The purchase or sale of a home, building, or even of timeshare real estate ownership can mark a new beginning in a person’s life and exciting, positive change, a  marriage, a new addition to the family, the growth of a business or a family’s commitment to regular vacations as part of their life. But the transaction can also be spurred by a death, divorce, financial challenges, illness, or any number of other traumatic changes.

Commercial, residential, and timeshare real estate professionals work with clients who are dealing with the stress of change; real estate transactions are typically very personal. Often, they are in a position to see where the greatest needs lie in communities, programs, and services. And from this interaction, selfless acts of compassion and service arise, such as the generosity of the Berkeley Association of REALTORS®.

Shared below is the Association’s announcement to the media, regarding its recent donation. Praise to this group of industry professionals for their awareness, commitment, and caring.

Berkeley Association of REALTORS® Contribute $30,010 to 32 Area Community Groups

Berkeley, CA – April 25, 2013 – On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 the Berkeley Association of REALTORS® (BAR) awarded grants totaling $30,010 to thirty-two (32) area community groups during a gala reception at the BAR.

BAR has administered a Grant Program for their Youth Arts & Education Fund and the Workforce Housing & Homeless Fund since 2006. The dollars are generated through various programs including direct contributions by REALTOR® Members and Affiliates as well as numerous BAR fund-raising events.

BAR President Anita Thede noted that, “We award grants to under-funded and developing programs that support youth in the communities served by our REALTOR® Members and related real estate professionals. Our Grant Program also supports organizations that provide direct assistance to the homeless and their advocates as well as organizations that provide affordable housing within our communities. As REALTORS® and real estate professionals it is important that we reinvest in the diverse communities that we serve.”

• From the Workforce Housing & Homeless Fund seven (7) grants were awarded to:
• Rebuilding Together – Funding for materials for National Rebuilding Day
• Berkeley Food & Housing Project – Funding for their Meals Program
• BOSS Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency – Funding for their Children’s Learning Center
• MISSEY – Funding for Case Management services at-risk, sexually exploited girls
• Options Recovery Services – Funding to renovate the Women’s Residence Home
• YES!-Youth Enrichment Strategies – Funding for Summer Camp for low-income youth
• Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center – Funding for Housing Case Management Staffing

From the Youth Arts & Education Fund twenty-five (25) grants were awarded to:

• Youth Spirit Artworks – Funding for a mosaic sign at Malcolm X Elementary School
• Berkeley Symphony – Music in Schools Program
• Pegasus Project – Marine Environment/Education Voyages
• St. Mary’s College High School – Funding for the purchase of Clear Com Communications System for the Performing Arts Program
• Berkeley Ballet Theatre – Funding for Outreach Performances for school children
• Community Alliance for Learning – Funding for Writer Coach Connection Program
• Rosa Parks Elementary School PTA– Funding for Green Schoolyard Program
• Aurora Theatre – Funding for the Student Education Program
• Victory Garden Foundation – Funding for Climate Solutions Summer Program for Berkeley High School Students
• Berkeley Arts Magnet – Funding for Funnel Ball Game for the Kindergarten yard.
• Thousand Oaks Elementary School PTA – Funding for Character Development Through Song Program
• Studio Ephemera – Funding for High School Art Class Workshop
• Berkeley Public Education Foundation – Funding for Scholarships for “Jumpstart at the Cazedero” music program
• Community Resource for Science – Funding for Science Superstar Challenge Program
• Bridges Academy at Melrose (Oakland Unified School District)- Funding for Physical Education Program
• St. Martin de Porres School – Violins for 5-year old students
• Oakland Leaf Foundation – Funding for Creative education for community youth & families
• Nia House Learning Center – Funding for New chairs in the Preschool
• Lincoln Child Center – Funding for Program to expose urban youth to No. Cal. Aquaculture
• Kensington Education Foundation – Funding for Band Program
• The Berkeley Project – Funding for Community service projects for local elementary & middle schools
• Green Branch – Funding for the Bookmobile
• Kala Art Institute – Funding for the MLK Jr Elementary School Mural Project in Oakland
• Berkeley Repertory Theatre – Funding for Art education & Outreach Programs
• Sponsored by Councilmember Darryl Moore’s Office – Funding for customized student backpacks for Rosa Parks Elementary School

Also recognized during the event were real estate offices that make a total commitment to the Community Funds, boasting 100% Agent Participation by contributing at the close of every escrow.

Recognized for their participation in the Community Funds 100% Club were:

• Pacific Union International
• Berkeley Hills Realty
• Thornwall Properties, Inc.
• Northbrae Properties
• Daniel Winkler & Associates
• McGuire Real Estate Berkeley
• Marvin Gardens Real Estate Solano Office

The Youth Arts & Education Fund and the Workforce Housing & Homeless Fund are 501C3 organizations administered by the Berkeley Association of REALTORS®. Since 2006 BAR has contributed a total of $173,710 in grants to organizations who make the communities they serve a better place.

The Berkeley Association of REALTORS® (BAR) is a trade organization offering educational services, professional support and political advocacy for its 700 REALTOR® and Affiliate Members since 1902.

Yesterday, May 3, 2013, Florida lawmakers passed House Bill 7025. Timeshare Closing Services Inc. released the following announcement of congratulations and thanks to the lawmakers involved as well as to the American Resort Development Association, ARDA ,for its passage and for their support in ensuring the law’s fairness to both timeshare owners and  the timeshare resale industry.

The full media announcement appears below:

Timeshare Closing Services Commends Fla. Lawmakers on Timeshare Law

Timeshare Closing Services, Inc. of Orlando Florida, along with Sell My Timeshare NOW, commends Florida State Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland) and Representatives Debbie Mayfield (R-Vero Beach) and Dane Eagle (R-Cape Coral) on final passage of Florida House Bill 7025 relating to timeshares. Timeshare Closing Services also extends its appreciation to the American Resort Development Association, which was instrumental in the passage of the new legislation to fairly represent and protect both the timeshare resale industry and timeshare owners.

Scott Roberts, CEO of Timeshare Closing Services, Inc., says, “The bill sponsors balanced the needs of timeshare developers with the needs of consumers. A timeshare resale market that respects owners’ property rights is critical to the health of the timeshare industry. Timeshare Closing Services is committed to ensuring that lawmakers hear the voices of timeshare owners.

“We also express our deep appreciation to ARDA for its willingness to work with us and its recognition of our valid concerns. The result of ARDA’s attention to bringing about a workable compromise is now codified in the legislation that passed here in Florida today,” adds Roberts.

Executives from ARDA, Timeshare Closing Services and Sell My Timeshare NOW met earlier this year when the timeshare company voiced its concern that the legislation, as initially proposed, would negatively impact the timeshare secondary market and would increase the cost for timeshare owners to resell their units or points on the secondary market.

The new legislation is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013.

About Timeshare Closing Services, Inc.

For more than ten years, Timeshare Closing Services, Inc. has specialized in facilitating timeshare transfers of even the most challenging properties. Timeshare Closing Services, Inc., is a full service title insurance company and is licensed, bonded, underwritten and insured.

Want to know more about the exciting, new development by Breckenridge Grand Vacations on Peak 8, that we told you about on Thursday? (See: Green Light for Breckenridge Grand Vacations Expansion at Peak 8) As many readers have shared with us, the fabulous amenities and design of the existing Breckenridge Grand Vacations timeshare properties set the bar high for this newest development to be yet another outstanding vacation ownership ski resort.

The new resort will include a five-story building that will be home to 75 timeshare units, an aquatics area, spa, café and multiple movie theaters. There will also be tributes to the Bergenhof day lodge, a historic restaurant that operated for some fifty years at this location. The landmark will be demolished, but the new Breckenridge Grand Vacations property will honor the memory of the lodge and what it once represented to the community. The $80 million construction project will also give preference to hiring local subcontractors in the Breckenridge, Colorado area.

What else does a timeshare resort project like this Breckenridge Grand Vacations resort mean to the community?

• The new timeshare resort is anticipated to protect some 130 jobs that are to be phased out in the next six to eight years as the existing Grand Lodge on Peak 7 approaches sellout.
• Besides protecting existing employment, the new lodge is anticipated to bring some 100 additional jobs to the local community.
• The project will also generate approximately $2.5 to $3 million in town revenues through real estate transfer tax.

Excavation will begin in May of 2013 with sales projected to begin in the fall of 2014.  Breckenridge Grand Vacations co-owner Rob Millisor says, “We’ll do the major utility work and dirt work this summer. Then next April (2014) is when we’ll start putting in the footers and then we’ll go vertical.”

It clearly looks like another great resort in the BGV family of properties will soon be underway, which is great news for current Breckenridge Grand Vacations owners, future timeshare buyers, the vacation ownership industry, and the community of Breckenridge, Colorado. 

Consumers will spend $1.6 billion on chocolates and candy for Valentines Day 2013. But what if you could do so much better than chocolates or conversation hearts? What if you planned a timeshare resort vacation and gave your beloved a beach in the Bahamas, the glitter of Broadway or the Vegas Strip, a moonlight stroll in the Caribbean, time by the pool at a sunny Florida resort, or an evening in front of the fire at a cozy ski lodge?

All of these options are easy to plan and surprisingly affordable when you choose a timeshare resale or timeshare rental for your next romantic getaway. And while couples rarely reminisce about a box of chocolates, the beautiful memories of a vacation at a Florida timeshare, a Bahamas vacation ownership resort, or other Caribbean timeshare beach property can last a lifetime.

Timeshare resales are vacation resort timeshares that you purchase from the current owner. You can buy timeshare resales directly from the person or family that owns the timeshare or you can choose to work with a licensed timeshare real estate broker who specializes in vacation ownership and will “broker” the timeshare sale for you, still making it possible to take advantage of the great prices in by-owner timeshares.

When you buy a timeshare, you may be purchasing deeded ownership that represents your fraction of ownership; you may be buying a right-to-use timeshare; or you might be purchasing someone else’s timeshare points. Choosing to buy a timeshare also means that the romantic vacation you enjoy this year is only the beginning of years of vacation fun that you and your spouse or partner, your children, and even your grandchildren and your friends can enjoy.

With so many opportunities in timeshare ski resorts, Las Vegas vacation ownership, and thousands of other popular travel destinations, it is easy for you make a commitment to vacationing better, vacationing more, and enjoying your leisure time the way you’ve always wanted to vacation.

… Besides, timeshares are zero calories and fat free, something you just can’t say about that box of Valentine candy.