Fractional Ownership Scams
2010-07-20 15:08:20 by
This from Guardian.co.uk/money:
"Timeshare salesmen have new tactics and are enticing unwary tourists into investing in resorts, with promises of part-ownership. British consumers about to set off on their summer holidays are being warned to be on their guard against a potential new problem in the timeshare market: the hard-selling of "fractional ownership" of resorts.
"The consumer group, UK European Consumer Centre, is concerned that timeshare salesmen – a long-time nightmare for UK holidaymakers abroad, particularly in Spain – have switched tactics and are now trying to entice the unwary into investing in holiday properties and resorts, with the promise that they will own a fraction of its overall value.
"Their actions, it says, have been partly prompted by new European legislation that gives those signing up to timeshare schemes a cooling-off period of 14 days.
Their actions, it says, have been partly prompted by new European legislation that gives those signing up to timeshare schemes a cooling-off period of 14 days.
"Jed Mayatt, the UK ECC's manager, says the hard sell of fractional ownership is an emerging issue for holidaymakers. 'This is becoming a real difficulty in some resorts, with timeshare owners being told that if they buy more weeks, their investment can be converted to fractional ownership. The consumer is persuaded to buy more weeks, completes the paperwork, but gets nothing to show for it in terms of the deeds, etc. They have simply found themselves signed up to further weeks' timeshare ownership.'
"Piers Brown, who runs the website and exhibition business FractionalLife.com, says developers in Europe have increasingly turned to fractional sales as a way of shifting unsold developments and properties. 'With the overseas property market badly hit by the economic downturn, both developers and owners have increasingly been looking at fractional ownership. For consumers it makes sense because they no longer face all the costs of running a holiday home, at a time when prices are very uncertain.
"'It's imperative to make sure that you are being sold a 'deeded interest' in the property – your lawyers need to be checking this very carefully,' advises Brown. He points to the involvement of a number of big-name companies in the sector – the De Vere group is marketing fractional ownership of a number of luxury resorts in the UK – as evidence that this market is does have trustworthy firms."
"Timeshare salesmen have new tactics and are enticing unwary tourists into investing in resorts, with promises of part-ownership. British consumers about to set off on their summer holidays are being warned to be on their guard against a potential new problem in the timeshare market: the hard-selling of "fractional ownership" of resorts.
"The consumer group, UK European Consumer Centre, is concerned that timeshare salesmen – a long-time nightmare for UK holidaymakers abroad, particularly in Spain – have switched tactics and are now trying to entice the unwary into investing in holiday properties and resorts, with the promise that they will own a fraction of its overall value.
"Their actions, it says, have been partly prompted by new European legislation that gives those signing up to timeshare schemes a cooling-off period of 14 days.
Their actions, it says, have been partly prompted by new European legislation that gives those signing up to timeshare schemes a cooling-off period of 14 days.
"Jed Mayatt, the UK ECC's manager, says the hard sell of fractional ownership is an emerging issue for holidaymakers. 'This is becoming a real difficulty in some resorts, with timeshare owners being told that if they buy more weeks, their investment can be converted to fractional ownership. The consumer is persuaded to buy more weeks, completes the paperwork, but gets nothing to show for it in terms of the deeds, etc. They have simply found themselves signed up to further weeks' timeshare ownership.'
"Piers Brown, who runs the website and exhibition business FractionalLife.com, says developers in Europe have increasingly turned to fractional sales as a way of shifting unsold developments and properties. 'With the overseas property market badly hit by the economic downturn, both developers and owners have increasingly been looking at fractional ownership. For consumers it makes sense because they no longer face all the costs of running a holiday home, at a time when prices are very uncertain.
"'It's imperative to make sure that you are being sold a 'deeded interest' in the property – your lawyers need to be checking this very carefully,' advises Brown. He points to the involvement of a number of big-name companies in the sector – the De Vere group is marketing fractional ownership of a number of luxury resorts in the UK – as evidence that this market is does have trustworthy firms."
