Posts Tagged ‘timeshare resale’

The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Selling Your Timeshare Part 5

Friday, January 11th, 2008

Mistake 7: Not knowing what you own

Whether you’re selling your timeshare through a timeshare resale company or on your own, get clear in your mind exactly what it is that you own.  Go over the documents you got when you purchased and call the resort’s Owner Services department for further clarification. 

Do you own a  studio, 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom?  Is it a lock-off?  Is your resort affiliated with RCI or Interval International? Do you have a deed or is it a right to use?  Do you have a fixed or floating week?  If it floats can you reserve it for any one of the 52 weeks in the year or are certain dates like Christmas, New Years, Easter and Fourth of July blacked out?

You wouldn’t want to find an interested buyer and find out that your floating Red week is only good in the summer.  Or, that the Home Owner’s Association fee is $751 rather than $610.  That will kill a sale faster than anything. 

If you’re listing with a timeshare resale company and it doesn’t have a good description of your resort, the on-site amenities, nearby attractions and why someone would want to own there, make them get one.  The operative word when selling your timeshare is “selling” your timeshare.  I’ve seen many a timeshare resale company with multiple listings for the same resort, use the exact same verbiage to describe the resort in each listing.  Think up some selling points on your own.  You want your listing to stand out from all of the other ones.

Mistake 8: Buying into the timeshare resale companies guarantee

Many timeshare resale companies guarantee that you’re timeshare will be listed for as long as it takes to sell for no additional charge.  Many sellers misunderstand this to mean that the resale company is guaranteeing the sale.  Big difference! This is one of the ploys disreputable timeshare resale companies use to get you to list with them.  Since they’re paying very little if any fees for advertising YOUR timeshare, it’s easy to guarantee the listing will never expire. You’re likely to hear this from timeshare resale companies that are mainly interested in collecting up front fees than actually selling your timeshare.

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The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Selling Your Timeshare Part 4

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Mistake 5:  Signing an exclusive listing with one timeshare resale company

Never give an exclusive listing to one timeshare resale company to sell your timeshare.  An exclusive listing means the company will be paid their commission, typically 10%, no matter who sells it.  Even if you sell it to your neighbor or co-worker you will owe the listing company their 10% commission.  And it effectively prevents you from listing it with multiple other resale comapanies since they wouldn’t get paid if they did sell it.

Always sign an “open listing” giving you or anyone else the right to sell your timeshare.  This means you will only pay the listing company a commission if they sell it.  If you can find more than one reputable resale company then sign an open listing with all of them.

Mistake 6:  Not checking with your home resort

See if the developer of your resort will buy it back.  It’s rare but worth a shot.  Also, check to see if there is still an onsite salesperson that handles re-sales.  It’s easier to sell it to someone onsite than to someone that just sees it on their computer screen.  Finally, if the first to suggestions aren’t available see if there is an onsite bulletin board where you can hang a flyer.  I would advise against putting an add in the local paper.  It’s too expensive and not effective.

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The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Selling Your Timeshare Part 3

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Mistake 3:  Not checking out the company’s credentials

Finding a well-established timeshare resale company that doesn’t charge an upfront fee will be your biggest challenge.  The best companies will not only be listed with the Better Business Bureau, but also should have a Real Estate Broker license.  You can check out a company with the BBB by going to it main page at www.bbb.org, entering the zip code of the resale company’s location to get to the local BBB chapter.  You can then enter either the phone number, address or name of the company to see if there has been any complaints, how they were resolved and what rating BBB gives them. 

Find out if the company is a member of the American Resort Development Association, ARDA, the respected trade organization that expects its members to abide by a set of ethical guidelines when selling timeshares.

You can also check with the Department of Real Estate where the company is located to see if is a licensed Real Estate Broker.

You now have three very powerful agencies to report to if you do have a legitimate complaint.

Mistake 4:  Trying to sell your timeshare before it’s paid off

Depending on how much money you owe on your timeshare, you may not be able to sell it.  If you still owe $10,000 on your timeshare and it will only sell for $3,000 you’d have to pay off the $10,000 first. Most likely the mortgage note you signed promising to pay is non transferable.  The disreputable resale companies, after finding out you still owe $10,000, on your timeshare will tell you they will list it for $15,000 just to get a listing fee.  And there it will sit never to be sold.

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The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Selling Your Timeshare Part 2

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

Mistake 1:  Paying upfront fees

If a resale company asks you to pay any fee upfront to market your timeshare, don’t walk, but run away.  This is the sure sign of a rip-off.  The fee quoted can be anywhere from $200-$1,500 depending how desperate and vulnerable the listing agent feels you are.  They’ll tell you the money is to be used for a listing, appraisal or advertising fee.  Some really disreputable timeshare resale companies will tell you they just so happen to already have a buyer and just need $500 to open escrow.

Regardless of the story given as to why you have to pay money upfront, companies that charge upfront fees are far more interested in collecting fees than selling your timeshare.  The most these companies do to actually sell your timeshare is to put it on their website along with hundreds of others.  There it will sit and sit and your calls will not be returned. 

Do not listen to how they advertise in the New York Times or USA Today or how much they spend on web exposure.  If they’re asking for money up front it’s a scam. Many of them will tell you they will sell your $15,000 timeshare for $25,000 just to get your listing fee.

A sure sign of a reputable timeshare resale company is that, other than a nominal fee of $50-100, they will take their typical 10% commission at close of escrow just like in the regular real estate market.

Mistake 2:  Listing your timeshare too high

Most timeshares sell, when they do sell, for only 10-50% of your original purchase price.  As mentioned before, this is because of original marketing costs and the vast supply of weeks for sale. 

You must research what your or comparable resorts are selling for on the Internet. Look first to your resale company’s listing for comparable properties but don’t stop there. Take some time and look at some of the thousands of other resale sites as well.  You will find a great disparity in prices for exactly the same timeshare.  I’ve seen the exact same week listed for $1,500 on one site and $15,000 on another.  The company that had it listed for $15,000 was most likely a rip off and told the owner it could be sold for that just to collect the upfront fee.

Most importantly, if the company you are going to use has your exact same timeshare for sale, which is not unusual, for $2,500 you should obviously price yours below that. You’ll need to check back periodically to see if someone else has undercut your price and adjust accordingly.

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