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.