# I want the members' thoughts on "timeshares only"



## JJason705 (Mar 24, 2008)

Hey folks:

Before finding about "TUG" i foolishly paid an upfront fee to www.timesharesonly.com 

what are your thoughts on that company. i've listed with them for 10 months and i have had no leads.  and my pricing for my property was very competitive.


would you happen to know if refund is possible with them? i haven't call them yet. but any stories or past experiences with "timeshares only.com" would be greatly appreciated.

much thanks to all the great members of this forum.

sincerely,
newbie jason


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## SDKath (Mar 24, 2008)

Well, I will tell you as a buyer that their website is aweful.  They have literally thousands of listings without much description so I can't tell for most what season they are in, how many points they are worth, etc etc.  Unless the seller makes an effort to correctly list their timeshare in detail, I am overwhelmed by the number of choices and just move on to Redweek or another site (that is free or minimal in price).

For example, for Sheraton Broadway Plantation, I get 100 listings.  Most do not say what season, only that it's "red" or "prime."  UGH.  Overwhelming and not worth my effort to enter the "request more info" boxes for every one....

Katherine


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## JJason705 (Mar 24, 2008)

*thanks katherine*

thank you for sharing your story with me. i really do appreciate it.  this forum really helps newbies like myself navigate through the world of selling a timeshare.

i wonder if i can get a refund for the upfront fee i paid


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## Keitht (Mar 24, 2008)

JJason705 said:


> i wonder if i can get a refund for the upfront fee i paid



Good luck with trying to obtain a refund.  Gut feeling is that you would have more chance of filling a bucket with rocking horse droppings.  I suspect their response will be along the lines that you have paid for your property to be listed on their site and that has been done.
Please prove me wrong.


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## GrayFal (Mar 24, 2008)

In the past 2 weeks, I have made 10-12 inquiries - I receive an automated email and then NO RESPONSE about the property listed.


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## bnoble (Mar 24, 2008)

> my pricing for my property was very competitive.


Competitive with what?  Competitive with other asking prices on Timeshares Only, or competitive with the prices at which comparable weeks actually sell?

There can be a wide wide gulf between these two senses of "competitive".


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## Steamboat Bill (Mar 24, 2008)

This web site is good for buyers (not sellers) as they have a huge inventory, however, you must call them to filter the current listings from the old stuff that never gets cleaned out of their database.

You often can find better prices here than eBay as there are less buyers.

 I doubt you can get any refund on a listing agreement. Now try listing it on eBay and that will tell you if your asking price is reasonable or not.


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 24, 2008)

I have advised people privately as to how you get a refund from these kinds of companies, and several people have emailed me to say it worked. 

First, contact anyone at Timeshares Only and tell them you want a refund, then ask to speak to a supervisor, then ask to speak to someone else who can help you.  If that doesn't work, the important thing is to *document *all of your calls.  You are going to need those names/ extension numbers and the times you called.  

Second, contact the BBB and tell them you paid a fee with absolutely no results.  You will fill out a form, telling the BBB who you talked to in detail and what was said.  Wait for a few weeks to hear back from the BBB.  

If that doesn't work, contact the Real Estate Commission in Florida, tell them the entire story, too.  There is always the State Attorney General that may be able to help.  You can always contact the above agencies all at once to get a faster response.  

Believe it or not, these organizations really do care about stopping fraud.  The thing is, most people who buy timeshares do not think of an upfront fee as a big expense to sell a timeshare they no longer want.  They don't complain and just pass it off as a lesson learned!  If 1/4 of the owners who had a listing on Timeshares Only (most that never sell) DID complain, just think of how long Timeshares Only would remain in business.   There are government agencies that can shut these guys down.


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## bnoble (Mar 24, 2008)

Shut them down for what?  They take a fee to market your interval, and that's what they do.  That they never (and will never) sell is irrelevant.

Perhaps I'm missing something.  TSO is clearly not the most useful service that exists for the timeshare owner, and no one should ever, ever give them money in the hopes of actually getting a sale, but I'm not clear on where the fraud is here.

(Edited to add: this is a serious question, not a rhetorical one.  I really do suspect I'm missing something.)


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 24, 2008)

Brian, they lie.  That is fraud.  Just because they are bigger than other companies does not make them more honest.  Think about what you are saying here.  There are brokers that work for Timeshares Only, which makes that company susceptible to the laws that regulate real estate transactions.  

As a broker/ Realtor myself, I can tell you that a large number of complaints to the Real Estate Commission, and that is all it would take to close them down.  Believe me, they are already skating on thin ice.  I have made a call or two myself over the last three years.

First, the asking prices are low to very high for the same thing.  This means they aren't helping owners with asking prices.  What kind of Realtor/ broker just allows someone to set their own price without giving guidelines?  This is part of the fraud!  Tell people what they want to hear, and you can get them to pay. What is the definition of fraud.  If you look in Webster's dictionary, it probably has Timeshares Only listed!   

Second, they don't answer all offers and literally IGNORE those of us who make offers on properties without taking the offer to the seller.  This is ILLEGAL!  According to real estate laws, all offers should be presented to the seller.  

Third, you are assuming this is just an upfront-fee company, but these are brokers that are working with Timeshares Only.  Upfront-fee companies don't have as much to lose, except their reputations with the BBB.  Brokers/ Realtors have a lot to lose.  

Fourth, Florida's Real Estate Commission is already sick and tired of developer's lies and misrepresentations, and now add Timeshares Only into the mix of problems, and you have a government agency just waiting for a reason to close them down.  Of course, they will probably just become like Sell My Timeshare Now and be a listing company after that, but it's a beginning.  

That is why this guy needs to complain.   

I have also recently conversed with Hawaii's Real Estate Commission, and they are very disgusted with the timeshare business--all of it, from the developers, to the upfront-fee and postcard companies, they get more and more complaints all the time.  Someone is going to stop the upfront-fee companies.  Some of the postcard companies are already hitting some roadblocks.  I won't say any more about it, but take my word........


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## JJason705 (Mar 24, 2008)

rickandcindy, i may try to do what you suggested.  i may call them and do a long, drawn-out process of requesting a refund through the proper channels and reporting it to the BBB.  i've looked up "timesharesonly" on BBB and they are not even listed with them but they do have over 50 complaints listed with them.  It indicates refunds were given once the BBB got involved.

On another note, the pricing was competitive to other timeshares.only listings.


thanks again to everybody who responded.  you guys are all GREAT! thank you!


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 24, 2008)

Jason, look at My Resort Network, which is a list-it-yourself marketplace.  See what owners are asking there.  

The lowest listing prices are probably nearer to what you can get.  Hyatt has a ROFR.  This is a good thing for you, if you truly want to sell it.

Personally, I would never sell Hyatt points, I would use them.  What a great product you have!  You can reserve something and rent it out yourself.  Reserve a ski week in Colorado and rent it out for more than your maintenance fees.  There is a great article here on TUG with advice on renting a timeshare.  We have successfully rented a number of our weeks without any problems.  

If you owe a lot of money on your Hyatt points, that is not a good thing because you aren't necessarily going to be able to pay off your loan with the proceeds.  That is why some asking prices are so high on various websites, because the seller had second thoughts and tries to sell.  Developers probably only sell one in every 7-10 people that sit at a sales presentation, so the vast cost of marketing is why a timeshare is not worth nearly what you paid for it.


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## bnoble (Mar 24, 2008)

Again, and just out of curiosity, how many of the things on your list to you _know_ to be true from first-hand knowledge, and how many are things you _think_ have happened?

I've never worked with TSO, so I have literally no idea.  

In the JJason's case, I don't see any evidence (yet) that s/he was lied to, or that there were offers on the JJason's week that weren't delivered.  That doesn't mean there wasn't deception, it just means that s/he'd get a lot farther if s/he could document something that TSO said that was in fact untrue.

JJason: did TSO tell you that weeks were _selling_ for those prices, or that they were _listed_ for those prices?  If the former (and you have documentation for it) you're in pretty good shape.


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## The Mawl (Mar 24, 2008)

*Read the FAQ*



rickandcindy23 said:


> Brian, they lie.  That is fraud.  Just because they are bigger than other companies does not make them more honest.  Think about what you are saying here.  There are brokers that work for Timeshares Only, which makes that company susceptible to the laws that regulate real estate transactions.



There are no brokers that work for Timeshares Only.

From http://www.timesharesonly.com/timeshare-faq

_*I read somewhere that it is illegal in the state of Florida to require an "up-front" fee for the listing of a timeshare. Is that true?*_
_
It is if you are a Broker. Section 721.20, Fla. Stat., does prohibit a real estate licensee from accepting up front money for the listing of a timeshare.  Timeshares Only is not a Broker and does not take listings - only advertisements._

Like RedWeek, My Resort Network and Sell My Timeshare Now, Timeshares Only sells advertisements.


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## bnoble (Mar 24, 2008)

Hi Mawl!

You're a shill for TSO, right?  I ask only because it seems odd that you'd just happen to come by this board, register for the very first time today, and make your first post on this rather obscure topic, quoting the TSO site along the way.

If you are a shill, it sure would be nice if you just came out and said that you work for/are affiliated with them.  It will save us all some time.

(As you can see, I'm an equal-opportunity skeptic.)


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## JJason705 (Mar 24, 2008)

*rickandcindy23*

thank you for your valuable advice.  yes, hyatt does have right of first refusal (ROFR) so it would be great for sellers like myself.  i never thought about reserving a ski resort and renting it out.  that sounds like a great idea 

I just don't feel right about a huge upfront cost for advertising.  what's the incentive for a company such as timeshare.only to work for my money when they have already received my money.

i would rather go to a commission based internet company and pay them a flat rate commission.


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## Dave M (Mar 24, 2008)

JJason705 said:


> i just want to sell it and recoup the cost of what i bought it for.


If you bought from the developer, you won't recoup your cost. Simple as that. If you expect to recoup your cost, you will own your timeshare for a very long time!

For the real scoop on avoiding scams and upfront-fee resale companies, setting a realistic asking price on your timeshare, where to list it (legitimate sites and companies) and more useful timeshare selling info, see this link to our TUG "how to sell" article.


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## bnoble (Mar 24, 2008)

In light of that, I think you have a good case---particularly over the statement that $25,000 was a great price, and _especially_ if they suggested the price, rather than you.

Technically, though, your week is listed with others of comparable "value", because they are all weeks from the same resort.  The asking prices differ, but the value is the same. 

You are absolutely right about the incentive for an up-front fee company.  Then again, it's not clear to me why you didn't come to that conclusion before giving them the money---why would they _ever_ have worked hard for you after that check clears?


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 24, 2008)

The Mawl said:


> There are no brokers that work for Timeshares Only.
> 
> From http://www.timesharesonly.com/timeshare-faq
> 
> ...



What is your tie to GMAC Real Estate Group?  I did buy a timeshare from the company, from a BROKER with GMAC named Bobbie Dixon.  

If you are an upfront fee company only, and not real estate brokers, what is the relationship?  Perhaps the Real Estate Commission would be interested in that piece of information.  

You represent yourself as being brokers when you close the deal, so what is with that?  

Sell My Timeshare Now is a completely different type of company, but I don't know how they match buyer with seller.


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## JJason705 (Mar 24, 2008)

*i agree with bnoble*

i do believe mawl is an inside man/woman for TSO.

this is indeed a random obscure topic that i posted and why would mawl sign up today to defend TSO.  what are mawl's hidden agenda/ ulterior motive?

rather than helping me or answering my question, mawl attacks rickandcindy's  take on the TSO's possible deceitful practice.


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## jbcoug (Mar 24, 2008)

Folks, I wouldn't be so tough on the Mawl. Although he supports a view on brokers we don't want to hear, he led us straight to the spot on the website that gives you chapter and verse of what to expect from this company. The site clearly indicates that you aren't paying for what you want, a sale. It's crystal clear that what you are paying for is simply advertising. In fact a dark murky pool of advertising that your listing is never going to surface from. All they have to do is say through each of the media they list that "they have timeshare listings for sale" and they have satisfied their promise. That's not exactly what the person paying was thinking, but they have done what they said they would. 

They are definitely slime, and if anyone can connect them to brokers, great! But the truth is that sellers believe what they want when dealing with these outfits and that is what makes these companies successful. Unfortunately many people who believed the lies when buying initially, didn't learn a lesson, and then believe the lies again with these companies.

John


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## Carmel85 (Mar 24, 2008)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Jason, look at My Resort Network, which is a list-it-yourself marketplace.  See what owners are asking there.
> 
> The lowest listing prices are probably nearer to what you can get.  Hyatt has a ROFR.  This is a good thing for you, if you truly want to sell it.
> 
> ...



rickandcindy23,

"Personally, I would never sell Hyatt points, I would use them.  What a great product you have!  You can reserve something and rent it out yourself.  Reserve a ski week in Colorado and rent it out for more than your maintenance fees.  There is a great article here on TUG with advice on renting a timeshare.  We have successfully rented a number of our weeks without any problems. "

I would be very careful because if you get caught renting out a Hyatt vacation club other that the week you own or HRRP week Hyatt can and will fine or forfit those points and you will loose out. USE CAUTION!!!!!


Are you Hyatt owners now?  If so I would be careful in renting out Hyatt's.

In regards to Jason I'm sure if he has not gotten any offers his price is way to HIGH. He should lower his price or list is on e-bay for 10,20 or 30 days it will sell for what it is worth and a Hyatt 1300 is very very low on the point scale on 1100 is lower so Jason is near the bottom of the barrel compared to 2200 points for a 2 bedroom timeshare.

Jason will be luck if he get between 5-7K for his timeshare that is what a 1300 point weeks are selling for. Im sorry to bring the bad news but that is the facts in this real estate market.


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