THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508170227
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Real Estate
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
The sales center is bustling at 9 a.m. on a Friday morning. Dozens of people wait in a large lobby. They're here because they accepted an invitation for a free three-day, two-night stay on the Outer Banks in exchange for one morning of their time.
Five minutes ago, a real estate agent called the names of a husband and wife who arrived on the Outer Banks yesterday from Washington, D.C. They went to another large room - a room not unlike the student lounge at the local college - where two dozen salespeople had already begun pitching their product to other guests.
The couple, one of 30 or more who will visit the center this Friday - sit around a small table, near a world map painted on the wall. Because the room is open and noisy, they strain to hear what their sales agent has to say. The noise, in fact, helps keep them focused. It adds excitement; it breaks down the barriers.
All the folks in this room are here for the pitch. Each agent has, roughly, two hours to close a deal. Unlike traditional real estate purchases that often take weeks of comparative shopping, negotiation and financing before closing, this sale will be an impulse purchase. If the sale isn't closed when the customer leaves, it isn't going to happen.
This is time share.
Is there pressure? You bet. Like every other real estate agent, these agents work on commission. If they don't make sales, they can't pay their bills. Unlike most other agents, they don't have to find and farm their own leads: the developer provides the prospects; agents just have to show up and be ready to talk.
But for many who love vacations and can't afford to buy a beach house - or for those can afford to buy but don't want to be tied down to one resort - the time share pitch sounds like music to their ears.
Bill and Jane Cooler, Blacksburg, Va., bought their first time share week eight years ago in New Orleans. Three years later, they bought a week at Barrier Island Station in Duck. Then another week. And then two weeks at Barrier Island Station in Kitty Hawk.
``I guess you could say we're sold on Barrier Island,'' explains Jane.
They're also sold on time share. Unable to do much vacationing before Bill retired from teaching at Virginia Tech, they now look forward to visiting their homes away from home.
``We don't buy with the idea of trading,'' says Jane. The locations are perfect for Bill's fishing and Jane's bird watching. The buildings are well-maintained and Jane likes Barrier Island's spacious layout.
If the truth be known, she says, they favor Barrier Island because it puts them in close proximity to blue crabs, fresh fish and other coastal food they enjoy.
``My husband's idea of a good vacation is for me to cook in a different kitchen,'' laughs Jane.
For the Coolers, this is time share.
Barrier Island Station at Kitty Hawk is the Outer Banks' newest time share resort. Sales began in January; 350 of the 11,750 time share weeks are sold. Eight out of 235 two- and three-bedroom units are built; more are underway. Sellout of the project is expected to take 10 years.
The 73-acre development, located in Kitty Hawk Woods, a maritime forest less than a mile from the beach, is one of more than a dozen time share resorts on the Outer Banks. With the potential for 11,750 owners (235 units multiplied by 50 weeks - the developer reserves two weeks in each unit for repairs and maintenance), Barrier Island Station at Kitty Hawk is the largest.
Like its sister resort in Duck, the Outer Banks Beach Club, Sea Scape and others, time share owners at Kitty Hawk enjoy an attractive vacation package: year-round recreation facilities including swimming pools, tennis courts and health spas; a full-time activity director with programs for all ages; shuttle service to the beach; and a prime location.
The resort has earned the Resort Condominiums International (RCI) ``Gold Crown'' designation, an honor accorded only to the top five percent of their 2,800 resorts. But, according to Russell, the plush accommodations may go unappreciated by most buyers: 77 percent buy at Barrier Island to trade for a time share week someplace else.
Owning a time share is not about owning real estate, although time share sales and its agents are regulated and licensed by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.
When you own a time share week on the Outer Banks, you get a fee simple, General Warranty deed to property just as most property owners do. But you share ownership with all other owners. For example, if you buy a week at Barrier Island Station at Kitty Hawk, when the project is sold out, you will own one fiftieth of your unit and one eleven-thousandth of the assets of the owners association.
This interest in property is real estate in the broadest sense of the term. It can be passed on to one's heirs, sold or given as a gift. But a time share is no bankable asset. It's not a purchase that will give you a monetary return on your investment.
Marvin Beard, an independent time share broker in Nags Head, has sold more than 15,000 time share weeks over the past 12 years. ``I've represented 1,300 owners,'' said Beard. ``Out of those, if ten have broken even I'd be surprised.'' On the Outer Banks, where time share is in relatively short supply, a return of 80 cents on the dollar is about average; in other places, it can be less than 50 cents.
Buying time share is buying a lifetime of vacation accommodations. It will usually cost between $2,000 and $25,000 in cash upfront, depending on where and what you buy and the week you want to use.
If, like most buyers, you finance the purchase, it will cost you substantially more. Most time share developers offer installment loan financing. Buying on the resale market will save you money, but you'll usually have to find your own lender.
Time share owners must pay annual fees for maintenance and replacement of facilities. The fee for Barrier Island Station at Kitty Hawk is currently set at $300 a year.
A time share purchased through an RCI affiliate offers owners vacation flexibility. RCI members can trade their weeks for comparable times and places at hundreds of locations worldwide for a small exchange fee.
The couple from Washington, D.C., has heard the sales pitch, seen the facilities. But their decision won't be about this land in Kitty Hawk or if they'll use the swimming pool or tennis courts. Theirs will be a choice for nearly limitless travel possibilities or for ``guaranteed'' accommodations at the same time, same place, each year.
This is time share, too. It's a commitment to take regular vacations. Often easier said than done, it's a commitment people find too appealing to pass up. by CNB