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Beware scams when trying to resell time share

Beware scams when trying to resell time share

It all began so innocently.

A suburban Pittsburgh couple was walking to their car near Williamsburg, Va., in 2000 when they were approached by a young woman. She asked if they would like to see the renovation work at a historic Virginia plantation.

The middle-aged couple agreed. They got directions and drove to the site -- a sales office where they met a guide. He took them on a walking tour.

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Afterwards, a man at the sales office asked if they'd like to see another site. They said yes. He drove them to a time-share complex. They had heard about high-pressure time-share spiels and assured themselves they wouldn't fall for one.

But they did.

Although time-shares may work for some people, they don't for others. The couple paid $14,000 for a double unit known as a lock-out that can be used individually or jointly. Each unit sleeps six.

Why did they do it?

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"We thought it would be a great place to visit during 'our week,' which happens to be the week after Thanksgiving when Williamsburg is all decorated for the holidays," the wife said.

"Unfortunately, we never used it and never traded it to an exchange program. Belatedly, we realized that the annual maintenance fee could be -- and has been -- raised arbitrarily by an unelected board of directors and we had no recourse.

"And then my husband died, I retired and the stock market crashed. My need to sell the time-share became urgent and I explored various options to rid myself of what had become an albatross. I am an intelligent woman who ran her own business for more than 25 years, but my desire to sell the time-share led me to become a classic example of what not to do."

She agreed to tell her story but didn't want to be identified "because I can't believe how stupid I was. I don't want this to happen to anyone else."

She listed her time-share for sale last year and the scam artists closed in.

The first one said he had buyers at a price nearly double what she had listed it for a couple of years earlier. He said the 'buyers' were a brother and sister from Canada who would each buy one of her two connecting units and use them or rent them out.

He wanted $1,396 up front for "a title search, etc." which he said would be refunded to her when the unit sold.

"Needless to say, I did not hear back from this company once I had provided my credit card," she said.

She did, however, hear from two other firms within a week. Each claimed to have "really good offers" for her.

One salesman said a corporation was willing to buy her time-share for $46,500 -- three times what she hoped to sell it for.

The woman was so desperate to sell the time-share that she fell for several similar schemes.

Having paid more than $10,000 upfront to different scam artists who claimed they had buyers, she decided to call the Better Business Bureau in Las Vegas where the latest company claimed to be located. She discovered no such firm existed and no business was located at the address.

A subsequent call to the attorney general's office in Nevada found that the company did not exist. That evening, she got a call from the salesman who said he had a "deal." He wanted $2,500 up front to close it.

When she said she couldn't afford it, but would gladly pay him that amount from the sale of the unit, he was less cordial. And when she told him about her calls to the BBB and attorney general's office, he hung up.

What she has learned:

"Time-shares are extremely difficult to sell. Don't buy one without carefully studying how you will use it. Take a day or two to think about it even if the salesman says the special offer is only good for that particular day.

"Time-share resellers are, essentially, designed to take money from people who are trying to unload their units. The urgency of their desire to sell is equaled only by the deviousness of the people trying to make a quick buck from your situation.

"The Better Business Bureau is a good source of basic information about the company that is trying to get you to list your unit with them. But you have to read between the lines of their evaluation of the company; they don't actually tell you to avoid doing business with the firm.

"And be realistic. There are thousands of time-share units out there. If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don't let your desire to unload your unit blind you to the reality of a scam.

"If you accept a call from someone offering to help sell your time-share, take careful notes. Do not commit to anything during that call. Investigate the company thoroughly. And, whatever you do, don't pay money up front to facilitate the sale.

"You may still have that unwanted time-share, but your bank account will be safe and you'll be able to sleep at night."

For more information on time-shares, go to www.bbb.org and:

www.myflorida.com/dbpr/lsc/index.html for Florida laws on time-shares.

First Published: October 30, 2008, 4:00 a.m.

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