Buying a timeshare appears to be an exciting decision as it means that you are now the owner of a vacation home. It is presented as a place that you can visit every year to go and relax and spend quality time with family and friends. No more wondering where to go and wondering whether the choice is the right one since you already know what to expect.
After a few years though, this may not be as exciting as the first few years and you may want to cancel it or resell it to another buyer. Timeshare resale in Canada is not very easy as it could be difficult to get buyers who are willing to invest in that particular location as well as finds the time of the year suitable. One should consider all these points before you think of investing in a timeshare resort. When you’re unprepared for a timeshare presentation or unaware of what the purchase entails, salespeople tend to be rather convincing. In other words, people purchase timeshares because they’re uninformed. Anyone that takes the time to truly investigate the expensive product will clearly see it’s not worth it. Something that may seem like a needed getaway for an affordable price can easily turn into a costly experience.
One particular timeshare owner spent 4 hours being pressured into buying into a point system with a well-known resort. She visited previously and was coerced into signing up for a program to allowed her to save up for a potential down payment if she came back for another presentation.
So, she listened for a while and decided that it wasn't something she could afford. Her manager said, "If you didn't come with the intention on buying then you broke the contract and you'll be charged full price for the stay". She said she agreed to come back because she was still curious but it is not something she could afford right now. She was not expecting to come yet but had no choice as she received an email stating the program was only valid for 1 year and was expiring and could not be refunded.
The timeshare owner said OK then what happens to our money? Is it used for the room or refunded? The snarky sales rep said “neither, it doesn't work that way.” The realization that she was going to lose $2000 and be charged an additional $2000 was terrifying. She kept telling him I want to go, that we've been there a long time and we hadn't eaten lunch and were starving, even pleading that she wanted to enjoy the sunset. She was so worried we finally relented to get away from him. They then made us pay another down payment after repeatedly told them we really didn't have money to spare at the moment.
She eventually realized that she was clearly scammed. Unfortunately, the scare tactic that we may have just thrown away almost $2000 and that we would be charged an additional $2000 worked.
Getting out of the timeshare contract is a difficult task for most timeshare owners. The multitude of timeshare sellers flooding the resale market devalues the timeshare’s sale price.
Since the resale timeshares that are for sale outnumber the buyers, the many sellers are stuck with their property. At times they are even forced to sell at a price that is much lower than the amount they invested. This is when the sellers may consider consulting with a timeshare attorney to approach the timeshare company to cancel it. This is also quite difficult but it is possible. There are solid timeshare lawyers who are specialists in this and will make sure that you are able to cancel successfully.