Last minute rental payments - money transfers

My sister and I are using Craig's List to rent some of our excess time share weeks and two or three times now, we have rented our week less than seven days prior to the rental period. We have always suggested using paypal but if the buyer does not have paypal it is a real hassle to set it up. Is there any quick way to transfer money? How about Western Union - how does that work? any other ways? Thanks funtime

Western Union is expensive, and used by scammers, so it may scare away potential renters. I would recommend that they over-night a US postal money order, so you don't have to wait for it to clear, and you know it's good.

*I just checked and it's $40 to instantly send $500 within the US.

However, I don't think setting up Paypal is a hassle at all, although it may take a couple days if linked to a bank acct.

Thanks Denise - tuggers are used to planning in advance. Renters not always the same. We had one guy that was already on the road traveling to the timeshare and had not yet paid! He finally figured out paypal but I wish there were an easier way. We have found that the Craig Listers are often "Last minute Louies." Funtime

If you're convinced the renter is legit, you can get them to send a wire transfer to your bank. I'd call the bank and get the wiring instructions and be sure that they can't use this info to make withdrawals from your bank account. A lot of banks have one routing number for incoming wires and different routing number for ACH debits that a scammer would use to withdraw money from your account, and I'd be sure that this is the case with your bank. Also, I think a renter can pay via Paypal with a credit card without being registered on Paypal. You'd have to pay a 3% Paypal fee but it's probably worth it to get it rented at the last minute. Good luck.