And the Scams Continue . . .

There seems to be a never-ending supply of greedy, shady companies out there. And with the difficult economic times that some timeshare owners find themselves in, these companies are raking in a fortune.

Recently, a timeshare owner contacted me wanting to know if they should pay a company $2,000 to list their timeshare for sale.

This presented a few “problems”:

-The owner in question lives in Florida—new Florida DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) rules expressly forbid the collection of a listing fee for any timeshare owner residing in the state of Florida.
-The timeshare in question was located in Florida—ditto on the Florida DBPR rules.
-How did this company in question obtain the owner’s information?

I did some checking into the listings that this company had and was astonished . . . a rare thing for me to be when it comes to timeshare!

The site had thirty-three (33) timeshares listed from this particular timeshare property, ranging in price from $5,500 for a 1-bedroom to $32,000 (!) for a 2-bedroom. What was even stranger was that the same listing had a 3-bedroom timeshare for “only” $26,000—a “steal” compared to the 2-bedroom at $32,000!

So why my astonishment? As my regular readers know, I used to be a timeshare salesperson, and I also used to work for this particular timeshare resort. They are currently selling 2-bedroom timeshares (or the points equivalent) for $17,900. And this resale company had one of those 2-bedrooms listed at $32,000! One of two scenarios occurred here, and neither is particularly appealing:

1) The company in question got its hands on some owner listings and convinced some poor unsuspecting owner that for a fee of “only” $2,000, it would be able to sell their timeshare for them . . . and then get $32,000 in return; or

2) The company in question is making up their listings as they go: there is, in fact, no actual timeshare “for sale,” much less one for $32,000.

Why is the timeshare resale world even less regulated than the primary timeshare market? There is nothing at all to stop these companies from “listing” fictitious timeshare properties. And nothing to stop them from listing them under various “umbrella” companies. Oftentimes, one company will be doing business under various aliases, each listing the same properties.

It is more important than ever for consumers to be wary of these companies that prey on tough times and ignorance. There are legitimate places consumers can turn to if they are looking to sell their timeshare. And if consumers are in the market to purchase a timeshare on the resale market, they shouldn’t make a costly error. Work with a company that has full transparency, offers a recision (cancellation) period, has competitive prices, has a good rating with the Better Business Bureau, and that guarantees a “clear title.”

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader, is the founder of Timeshare Insights, the leading consumer consultancy company dealing with timeshare and timeshare issues. She is the author of “Surviving A Timeshare Presentation” and “Timeshare Vacations For Dummies,” both of which can be ordered on her site, and blogs for Holiday Group. Lisa can be reached at lisa@timeshareinsights.com.

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