Experience shows that most people are content with their timeshare and the idea of reselling is far from their minds; nevertheless, unforeseen circumstances or an inheritance might mean you are in the position of looking to sell your timeshare unit. Regardless of the reasons, timeshare resales are here to stay and the purpose of this blog is to help you to avoid some of the pitfalls surrounding the timeshare resale market.
Timeshare Resale Scams
The first thing you need be careful of are the clever ways scammers seek to separate you from your money. One common resale scam is when you receive a telephone call, email or letter claiming that a resale company has found a buyer for your timeshare. When you respond (perhaps you hadn’t even considered selling before they offered such a great price!), they ask you to pay an introduction fee. You never see this money again, nor do you ever meet the potential buyer.
Other companies offer to sell your timeshare for an upfront fee and once again you are left waiting for the miracle resale to happen while the company are long gone. Another variant on this scam is when a resale company offers to buy your timeshare but they say they need to run an appraisal or report, which has a cost. You hand over the money but the sale never goes through.
Timeshare Resale success?
The first question you need to ask yourself is whether you want to sell your timeshare privately or through a timeshare resale broker. When using a broker, make sure that it is fully registered and try to find one that works on commission only. This will sort the scams from the genuine companies and hopefully save you a lot of hassle.
When selling your timeshare privately, you will need to decide how much you are going to sell your unit for. You need to research the prices carefully of similar timeshares, taking into consideration the location, resort, age, size etc to decide on an attractive price. You will then need to think about how and where you are going to advertise the timeshare. Will you use a resale site or a local newspaper?
They are 5 signs that will let you know you’re being a victim of a Timeshare Resale Scam Companies:
Unsolicited phone calls
Upfront fees
No real estate license
Unrealistic pricing
Inflated closing costs
If you notice any of those signs, you’re surely getting scammed.
This fraudulent sales practice is commonly used by sales managers as well as timeshare developers; however, they are very clever and very well protected. A common way to offer the resale of existing timeshares is to hire other companies to take charge of the sale or resale (paid by customers).
I have been a victim of a Timeshare Resale company. Warning to anyone out there … do NOT use Transfer Smart. It’s a scam!!!!!!!!
Before you purchase, you need to think carefully how you will use it in your life, and if you have the money to spend; take your time and don´t make any commitments on your first visit. Also, don’t forget to do an internet search on the company, and if the company is legit they will let you come back another day if you wish to make de purchase.
When making a timeshare purchase that costs thousands of dollars, you should expect professional and legitimate service from all the timeshare staff members that you encounter. The Timeshare salesperson are hired by the resort to represent their sales efforts.