Laguna Surf Resort, Laguna Beach, California saw its units being put up for online auction last Wednesday. The reason for the sale was to raise the funds for unpaid taxes to Orange County Treasurers Tax Collectors Office. These taxes have gone unpaid to the county for a period of over 5 years which has led to a debt of over $850,000.
There were a total of 286 Timeshares put up for auction at the bid which had 69 people registered to bid at the start of the auction. However, as the auction got underway, it was obvious to Orange County that the 69 registered bidders were not all going to make a bid on the day, whether they were registered just to be nosey, or pulled out last minute, no-one knows.
The auction raised a mere $23,500 in total from 9 bidders. These lucky bidders have come up trumps on this one with several units going for only $100. The highest winning bid on the day was $4,400 for one of the beach front units just off Laguna Beach. All of these units are out with the peak season that California sees, where the beach is more tranquil.
What one has to wonder, is if these buyers have actually walked away with a good deal, or have they just fallen into the trap of a timeshare purchase in a resort that could be on their knees. With a remaining 268 units still up for grabs, it is likely that there will be another auction in the future. Meanwhile, the question has to be asked whether the upkeep of this Timeshare resort will be satisfactory.
Due to all of the debt still owed, and the lack of maintenance fees being received, these unsuspecting buyers could have landed themselves with more of a problem than a deal. There could be future issues such as ridiculous maintenance fees, due to the fact that there are less people contributing to the maintenance, as there are so many empty units. Someone has to fork out for these fees, and it certainly doesn’t look like it will be the resort with the debt that they are already in.
There may also be further decisions made, at the moment Orange County are saying that there will be further auctions for the resorts that still owe taxes. There are several resorts which are included in this debt to Orange County, including San Clemente Cove Resort, Laguna Surf Resort and Capistrano Surfside Inn. One has to wonder whether the remaining timeshare owners will be relocated in the future to fill one resort. This is definitely one to watch, and we would be interested in hearing from any current owners in the named resorts.
We would like to warn timeshare buyers that a good deal is not always a good deal. Here the units have been sold to recuperate tax. However, this could end up costing the new owner a lot more than the initial outlay. Always do your homework when spending your hard earned money. If it looks too good to be true, it usually is!
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk