Florida Time-Shares Generating Billions

Florida time-shares are slowly but surely getting over their questionable past. "Once defined by hard sell tactics and unethical practices," the Florida time-share industry has come a long way.

There are now more than 500 Florida time-share resorts, and the American Resort Development Association, "an industry trade group which represents about 30 time-share developers," claims that the satisfaction rate of buyers is 87 to 92 percent.

While the American Resort Development Association may not be the most unbiased source, they are probably not exaggerating. It is hard to ignore the fact that in 2004, time-share sales increased by 21 percent, reaching $7.87 billion nationwide. Not surprisingly, Florida beat out all the other states when it came to time-share sales.

With thousands of perspective buyers touring Florida time-shares every week, it is not hard to understand why Richard Thrawl, head of the Orlando office of the Florida Division of Land Sales, believes that, "If (every) other industry in Florida ran as well as this, we´d be in pretty good shape."