September 2009 Q & A

Q: I have been contacted by a timeshare resale company that wants to list my timeshare for sales. They want $500 up front, which means I would gain about $4000. I do not know much about these time share “realtors,” but I am in the mood to sell, since my circumstances have changed in the last year and selling now would be advantageous. Should I take their offer? Thank you for any information you can give me. –Barbara

A: Thanks for the question, which I know MANY other people are asking. The quick answer is NO! do NOT pay anyone up front to list your timeshare for you.

First of all, if you live in the state of Florida, or the timeshare property is in Florida, it is now ILLEGAL for anyone to charge you this up front fee, courtesy of the new ruling by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations.

Nine times out of ten, these companies are only interested in the fee, and have no interest or desire to sell your timeshare. Worse yet, if they do manage to sell it, you have no control over the price, and many times the title is never actually transferred–meaning that next year YOU get the annual bill from the developer.

There are a number of better ways to go. Since I don’t know the specifics about your timeshare or your particular circumstances, these solutions are bit generic:

-Rent your timeshare for a period of a few years before selling it, and try to charge more for the rental than your annual fees amount to.

-Advertise your timeshare for sale through publications or a legitimate company, such as redweek.com.

-Sometimes, a timeshare resort will be interested in buying the property back from you. Always call them first to see what they say.

There are other options. If you want to pursue this, e-mail me at lisa@timeshareinsights.com and I’ll give you a 30% discount on my services for being a loyal reader!

Q: With so many different timeshare companies out there, how can I know who to trust if I want to buy a timeshare, or even if I might want to sell my timeshare? –Phyllis in Tempe, AZ

A: Phyllis, excellent question and I applaud you for asking before you make a mistake. If you want to buy a timeshare you want to first make sure that you are buying it free of any and all encumbrances. When you purchase from a company such as Holiday Group, that is guaranteed . . . unfortunately, not so with individuals and some other firms. If you are in the market to sell your timeshare, you should not pay a listing fee to anyone. In certain cases, it is illegal to do so. You first want to check if the company that you are using is in excellent standing with the Better Business Bureau. Unfortunately, some of the largest players in the game are in horrible standing with them. Timeshare Insights offers unbiased consulting services on both of these dilemmas. The key is to find someone who isunbiased and has no financial interest in any outcome.

Q: We’re looking at a timeshare that I think does not trade with either RCI or Interval International. It does trade through a smaller exchange company on the West Coast. We don’t want to use the same resort all the time but would like to travel to other timeshares when we can. In your experience, would this be a wise move, or should we look for something else? –Manny

A: Manny, are you certain that the resort is not affiliated with either of the larger two?  In 99% of the cases, the actual property is affiliated although this does not block you out from using another of the smaller, boutique type exchange companies.  I would first do some checking with the resort itself to make sure.  The only concern I have with the smaller exchange companies is their relative lack of properties.  Before you purchase, I would ask for an entire listing of affilated resorts with this company so that you can better determine if it gives you sufficient options.

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Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader is the author of Surviving A Timeshare Presentation, and Timeshare Vacations For Dummies, and blogs for Holiday Group.

Do you have a timeshare-related question for Lisa, “The Timeshare Crusader”? Click here to send your question to Lisa.

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